My Dad, the Bishop

The following is an excerpt from a letter Colton wrote his Dad when he found out that Dan would be put in as Bishop of the ward... This son of ours, wise beyond his years.

Dear Dad,

...Man I can't believe that you will be Bishop next week. I wish that I could be there to give some support. I know that it must have been hard last week having your last meeting together. Scott was an absolutely amazing bishop. I am so grateful for the love and support he gave me as I went through my own trials and hard times. He is an amazing man and I know that he did so much to strengthen the ward. I hope that you will send me love and gratitude to him.

I know that you are going to do an amazing job as bishop. You couldn't have picked two better men to be your counselors. I am so grateful for Chandler and Ed and how I was able to work with them in Young Mens. They are part to the reason I am who I am today. They have taught me so much and I know that they will do great serving with you.

I know that I have told you this before in previous letters, but I want you to know that I know that you can do this. It is kind of exciting the both of us starting a whole new journey and doing it relatively the same time. I know things won't be perfect and you will have to make some hard decisions, but I also know that you have been called by your Heavenly Father. That He trusts you. There will be times when you may feel weak and have so many things weighing down on you, but I can testify that the Lord calls on the weak things of the world to confound the wise. He has done that in my life. While being here in Germany I felt so weak and humble. It has been really tough at times to speak the language or to teach clearly, but I put my trust in Heavenly Father, and He strengthens me.

There are times when I don't believe that I can do this. I don't have a lot of faith in myself. But there is one person that I do have faith in. My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He has called me here to the work. I know that. He knows me better than I know myself, and whom the Lord calls, he qualifies. Even when I don't see it. I love Him so much.

Dad, I want you to know that I love you. You are one of my best friends. There is no one else that I would rather have be bishop of our home ward than you. I know that you can do this, but more importantly your Father and Savior know as well. I pray for you as you make this transition. I know that you will do great. I offer the same advice you gave me as I left on the plane for Germany. "Don't be too hard on yourself, You'll do great."

Know that your missionary son loves and supports you. You will do great things. I know that.

I love you very very much. Keep strong and keep reading from the word of God. Pray to Him and He will strengthen you.

Love,

Colton