Dear Friends,

April is gone. I like April. Everything seems fresh. The sunshine seems different than it does in January, February, or March. The flowers are in full blossom and the leaves are on the trees again. April is also General Conference month. Was it not wonderful to listen to the words of the prophets and know that they are talking to us? Sometimes, it feels like we are sitting on the edge of our seats, waiting for the next words of wisdom. I especially loved this April because we are the proud grandparents of a new baby boy, Adrian Spencer Perez, who was born on his Grandpa Romney's birthday. What a cool present, don't you agree? But, like I said, April is now past. We are in the month of May.

May is such a wonderful month. The flowers have bloomed and the weather is usually nice. We celebrate Mother's Day. Children are looking forward to summer break and many families are planning their vacation. Some families are looking forward to planting their gardens and dreaming of wonderful fresh produce. Some families are preparing for the many camps that occur in the summer: Girls' Camp, Boy Scout Camp, and Cub Scout Day Camp. Some families are preparing for prom, for Seminary Graduation, High School Graduation, or College Graduation. Some leaders of the Stake are looking forward to Stake Conference and are preparing for that day. May just seems to be a month for preparation. Some families are even preparing for weddings!

In all of our preparations, I hope that each of us will take time to visit with those we love and love those we visit. If we want to succeed as wards and branches in this great church, we must love those who we serve, love those who serve us, and love those who are not with us each Sunday for whatever reason. We must look for opportunities to show our love to those around us, not just on Sundays.

President Howard W. Hunter spoke words that are for all of us. He said, "In short, we need to love one another with the pure love of Christ, with genuine charity and compassion and, if necessary, shared suffering, for that is the way God loves us. The Savior has commanded us to love one another as he has loved us; to clothe ourselves “with the bond of charity” (D&C 88:125), as he so clothed himself."

Let us use the beautiful month of May to prepare ourselves to love more fully.

Love,

Pat Romney