Bishopric Message 

I love the month of October. It’s a time when the seasons change and we see the beauty of the earth preparing for something new. It also can be a reminder of the Lord’s invitation to each of us to make changes in our lives that bring us closer to Him.

One of the greatest blessings of October is the opportunity we have to hear from living prophets and apostles during General Conference. What an incredible gift that twice a year, the Lord speaks to us through His chosen servants. Their counsel is not just for the Church as a whole, but meant to reach each of us individually.

President Nelson has often invited us to bring our questions to Conference, trusting that the Lord will provide answers through the Spirit. I know from my own experience that when I prepare with a prayer in my heart, the Lord speaks to me in ways that are personal and direct.

As we listen this weekend, I invite all of us to come with open hearts, ready to receive guidance and willing to act on what we hear. Just as the leaves turn and the season changes, may we allow Conference to help us make the small, needed changes in our own discipleship.

I know that Jesus Christ is at the center of every message that will be shared. As we follow His servants and live His gospel, He will strengthen us, guide us, and bring us peace in a world that often feels uncertain.

I testify that the Lord knows each of us by name, He loves us, and He is eager to bless us as we listen and act on the messages of His living prophets.

- Brother DeJesus

We’re Manny and Kristy Delacruz and this is our family! We met, married, and started our family in Northern California, and moved to Mapleton in 2011. We have four sons, three daughter-in-laws, and 5 granddaughters. Our kids and grandbabies are awesome and super fun and are the light of our lives!! We’ve been on-and-off empty nesters over the past few years and currently have our youngest, Sam, here at home while going to school at UVU and working for Heritage School. Manny is currently working as a Senior Software Developer, leading a team for CorEMR in Orem, and he is also Owner/CEO of our company, GunAuction.com. Kristy works for Payson City, running Payroll and Accounts Payable. Once upon a time, Manny served in the Marine Corps for four years active duty, and our son Jacob is currently serving as a USMC reserve. 21 years ago, Manny received a life-saving kidney transplant from Kristy's mom, and in appreciation of that precious gift, we have tried to live every day to the very fullest. 

We love to explore and travel and enjoy outdoor adventures. Many of our weekends are spent camping somewhere beautiful in our trailer or visiting our oldest son's family in Nashville, TN. Fun fact…Manny has been to 47 states and we will be visiting his last 3 states-Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont- this fall! We’ve enjoyed visiting many countries and our very favorites so far are Italy and Scotland. All of our boys and their wives served foreign Spanish-speaking missions, so we’ve been trying to learn to speak Spanish too. It’s a slow process haha. We’ve really enjoyed visiting some of the countries they served in, and we still have a couple to go. Manny loves to build and fix things, woodworking, mechanics, etc, and has an engineering brain that he passed on to all of our boys. He has a passion for music and loves Sci-fi. Kristy loves hiking, entertaining, and puzzles. We share a love of musicals and concerts, history, books, good food, riding our bikes, and especially time hanging out with friends and our family. We love Mapleton and the people here, and have felt very blessed to live here for the past 15 years.

Presiding: Bishop Finlinson

Conducting: Ryan DeJesus

Music Director: Sylvia Athay

Organist: Sonia Johnson

Announcements

Opening Hymn: #105 "Master, the Tempest Is Raging"

Opening Prayer: Brooklyn Christensen

Ward Business

Sacrament Hymn: #169 "As Now We Take the Sacrament"

Administration of the Sacrament

Speaker: Dave Collier

Musical Number by the Choir: #1050 "Stand by Me," accompanied by Marianne McKnight, Ryan Briscoe directing. The congregation is invited to join the choir on the 3rd verse.

Speaker: Myles Peterson

Closing Hymn #1045 "Jesus Is the Way," accompanied by Don Blackburn

Closing Prayer: Kyle Christensen