Last Saturday was an interesting experience. I thought I was going to be listening to general conference sessions during the day – until I was reminded that we had committed to helping some friends move into their new home. Specifically, they were moving from the Upper East Side to Harlem.

I’ve helped move people many times and have been grateful when others have helped me move. Still, I don’t know if I fully appreciated what I was going to experience on Saturday. New York City apartment houses often don’t have elevators and also can have pretty narrow hallways. The reality of this project was that it meant moving this family’s possessions down four stories (to get them out of their apartment) and then up three stories (to get them into their new apartment). It took a good chunk out of the day and we missed the morning and afternoon sessions of general conference.

These friends of ours (the ones that we were helping to move) are either evangelical Christians or Protestants. I am not exactly sure which branch of Christianity they belong too. It doesn’t really matter. I look at the way they live their lives, the Jonathan Edwards books on their shelves, the way they interact with their young daughter, etc. and I see people who are conscientiously trying to follow Jesus Christ. You can learn a lot of people by looking at their stuff – and you can’t help but look at stuff when you’re moving it around.

They had other friends helping them as well. As they arrived I was asked more than once if I belonged to “All Angels”, which I came to realize is part of the name of their congregation or church group. Only towards the end of the move did I divulge that we are Mormons. It came up when they learned my wife grew up in Utah – so naturally they asked if she was LDS.

When the move was finished, my wife and I were exhausted. I thought quite seriously about going home and just going to bed. Attending the priesthood session of General Conference is a serious tradition – but I thought maybe this time I had my excuse.

However, a couple in our ward had sent out emails, telling many of us in the ward that we should meet at Tony DiNapoli’s Family-Style Italian Restaurant that is just a few blocks from our Upper East Side chapel. I knew if I went to the restaurant I’d also have to go to the Priesthood session. I’m glad I did. We had a great time sitting and eating with friends from our ward. Afterwards the men and women split off while the men went to the chapel for the broadcast. It was one of the most rewarding Priesthood sessions/meetings I’ve ever been to. After so much physical exertion during the day, it was nice to just sit still and listen to the word of God.