One of Ethan's best friends, Monte Evans, got married and Ethan was a groomsman. It was hilarious leading up to the wedding. The boys were all given the color of pants they were supposed to get but none of them were really worried about it. The moms all ended up stressing and buying their pants to make sure they were what Maci (the bride) wanted. It was hilarious and very typical of this group of boys. They are so chill.
The day before the wedding they had a day-long bachelor party. They went to a location that rents rooms where you can play video games. So they played hours of video games, went to lunch, and then went to Top Golf to play games. They had a great time being together. They have a close group of friends who have been together since elementary and have grown up together. They ended up at Monte's house playing games and chatting. Ethan ended up going online and paying to become an ordained minister (just in case the Bishop didn't show up the next day, haha).
On the wedding day, they all got ready and went to Washington to the venue where they were briefed on how to walk down the aisle with the bridesmaids. They were told to walk not too fast and not too slow. They were trying to figure out how to walk funny to make it hilarious but they did have their limits and didn't want to mess anything up.
Here is Ethan with Duncan and Jackie who were married in March.
These are the boys they grew up with: Monte, Jaxson, Corbin, Duncan, Brennon, and Ethan.
Ethan took this picture to show us how handsome he was all ready for the wedding.
There were hours between the wedding and the reception. Monte asked his mom if they had to stay and she said they didn't so they all loaded into cars (I thought it was interesting that Monte was with the boys and Jackie was in another car, haha) and went to Duncan and Jackie's house to hang out. They played games and waited until it was time to go back for the reception.
Duncan didn't like the reception because people kept telling him congratulations and it annoyed him. The couple didn't want a line but people wanted to congratulate them and ended up forming a line anyway. So we went through the line, ate some treats, and then left. Ethan stayed and helped to decorate the car and send them off. Maci and Monte have been dating for about 3 years so she is used to the boys, which is probably good because they will be around a lot.
Here is the happy couple with this beautiful picture taken by Jaquel Reber who grew up on our ward and was their wedding photographer.
I really like the books by author Traci Hunter Abramson. She is a good friend of my older cousin, Connie, so I have met Traci a couple of times. We worked together at Connie's daughter's wedding (Traci did the food and I did the wedding cake). She was nice enough to sign a couple of books for me after the wedding before I flew home.
Traci had a couple of new books coming out in the Spring and was going on a book tour. I noticed that one of the stops was Seagull Book in St. George so I made plan to go and buy the books and get them signed. I showed up about 30 minutes early and got in line with a friend who just happened to show up the same time I did. They were pre-selling a book that wasn't coming out for a couple more months, so that was cool! After waiting in line for about 30 minutes, I got my books signed, she recognized me and we had a good chat, I was given a cinnamon roll (it goes along with the book), and then she took a picture with me. It was fun and now I have 2 new books to read!
Mallards spend time near the shore of Utah Lake. Mallards migrate north in March and April to breed, according to the Utah DNR field guide. (Ethan Pack)
Migratory birds have begun their annual trek north, exciting birders and bird enthusiasts who will be watching for them.
KC Childes has been a birder for more than 25 years and is a board member of the Utah County Birders organization. He said the spring migration usually spans from mid-February to the start of June. Utah County can expect large numbers of waterfowl, such as duck, geese and swans as they move northward from Central and South America, he said.
“I went out this morning and it was fun to already start seeing migrants coming through, like mountain bluebirds, and seeing a lot more ducks out on Utah Lake starting to move through,” he said. Sparrows usually come next, followed by shorebirds, Childs said.
For birders — people who seek out sightings of birds — the spring migration is an exciting time to see birds that otherwise don’t spend time in Utah.
“You’re not getting to see all the same birds you see all winter. There’s starting to be a shuffle of birds,” Childs said. “So I’m just excited to see what shows up.”
Birds often stop in Utah to rest and refuel on their flight north, Keeli Marvel, BYU graduate and wildlife biologist, said. Utah is in the Pacific Flyway, a major migratory path for birds traveling north or south, she said.
In addition to Utah Lake, birds stop at the Great Salt Lake to feed themselves, Marvel said.
“We’ve got the Great Salt Lake and so we host a very large number of waterfowl and other shorebirds that migrate through and they stopped to fuel up at the Great Salt Lake,” Marvel said. “(The Great Salt Lake) has got a significant brine shrimp and brine fly population and a lot of shorebirds will stop over and double their weight eating the brine shrimp and the brine flies,” Marvel said.
Birds frequently stop in Utah County specifically because of its diverse terrain, Yvonne Carter, Utah County Birders president, said.
“Utah County is very phenomenal because we have all of the habitats … All the way from the alpine to the mountains, a lot of your water areas and wetlands (and) your desert terrain,” she said.
Birds have been migrating slightly later this year than they have in the past, according to Carter’s observations. Bird migrations are often so precise observers can pin exactly when the first of a species, such as Snow Geese, will pass through an area.
“They can almost pin it down to the day that (Snow Geese) will go through and we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of Snow Geese at once,” Carter said. “They just cover the fields, all of Gunnison reservoir; it’s crazy.”
Those interested in seeing any of the birds that will be traveling to and through Utah should know location matters. Areas with plenty of foliage and water are often the best to find many species, according to Marvel.
“Anywhere there’s a lot of trees — so funny enough, cemeteries are actually kind of good for bird watching, especially in the winter,” she said.
Utah has several bird festivals, including the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival in May. Apps and programs such as eBird can help birders identify the birds they see.
As any full-time missionary can attest, talking to everyone is part of the calling as a servant of God. It doesn’t matter if a person is rich or poor, lives in a nice house in a large city or a small hut in the jungle, is literate or illiterate—Christ wants all to come to Him. Why?
As part of His earthly ministry, Christ did everything “for the benefit of the world” (2 Nephi 26:24), ultimately sacrificing His life because of His love for us.
Think of someone you love. It could be a family member, a neighbor, or your best friend. How do you show love to this person? We often show love to those we care for by buying them gifts, calling to check on them, supporting them in an activity, or serving them. These are all great ways to show our love—but Christ has asked us to do more. He has asked us to give what cannot erode over time or be forgotten: bring others to Him so they can enjoy eternal blessings that only He can offer through covenants.
Does Christ want only a select few to have these blessings? No. He invites, “Come unto me all ye ends of the earth” (2 Nephi 26:25). Those who know Christ have been commanded to bring this knowledge to others and “persuade all men to repentance” (2 Nephi 26:27). Christ wants all of us to belong to His Church and have a “sense of belonging.” No matter what happens in our lives, if we honor the covenants Jesus Christ offered us, we can have a “powerful sense of belonging among the covenant people.”
Wilford Woodruff felt this desire to bring others to God as soon as he first heard the gospel preached on December 29, 1833 in Richland, New York. When he heard Zerah Pulsipher preach, Wilford knew it was what he had been looking for. He wrote, “I could not feel it my duty to leave the house without bearing witness to the truth before the people.” He was soon baptized, and over the next three months, he labored with other members in the Richland area to teach the truth they had found. He knew that he didn’t need to be set apart as a missionary to share the gospel.
Christ invites all to come to Him. Like Wilford Woodruff, we don’t need callings as full-time missionaries to speak of Christ. As members of Jesus Christ’s Church, we need to do our part to help those around us hear the invitation to come to Him.
Lynne Jackson speaks at This is the Place Heritage Park. Jackson has been involved in racial reconciliation efforts previously and was instrumental in getting the first-ever Dred Scott statue erected in St. Louis, Missouri. (Ethan Pack)
The event was hosted by the Brigham Young Racial Reconciliation Ministry, a group committed to fostering truth, healing and reconciliation within and outside of their faith community, according to their website. The dinner was meant to honor Jackson and her efforts to honor Dred Scott, as well as to advance reconciliation efforts in Utah.
The event began with a tour of the park’s monument honoring Black pioneers, such as Jane Elizabeth Manning, Green Flake, Hark Wales and Oscar Smith. The tour was led by Mauli Bonner, a musician and filmmaker who wrote and produced the film “Green Flake.” Bonner served as the monument’s lead coordinator when it was installed in 2022.
“These men and women represent the strength of Black people in the valley and even though their stories have been whispers for so many years, I think this is going to help those stories be more common knowledge — not just to the Black community but the community at large,” Bonner said.
Jackson led efforts to erect the first-ever statue of Dred and Harriett Scott in St. Louis, Missouri in 2012. Scott, an enslaved man, sued his family’s owners for their freedom in 1846. According to the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation website, his case was struck down several times, including by the Supreme Court, but he and his family were freed in 1857, a year before he died. His case would hasten the end of slavery in the United States.
“Thank you for the visit to your monument because it was outstanding and gorgeous and beautiful, and I’m so proud that you took the steps to make that happen,” Jackson said.
Mauli Bonner speaks about the monument. It was erected in 2022 and sits across from the visitor’s center. (Ethan Pack)Mark Shurtleff holds the book he authored, “Am I Not a Man: The Dred Scott Story.” Mark Shurtleff served as Utah Attorney General from 2001-2013. (Ethan Pack)
Robert Burch is the executive director of the Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation, and a member of the Brigham Young Racial Reconciliation Ministry Council. As such, he has been a part of reconciliation efforts for several years and was excited Jackson could come and see the monument.
“It’s good to have someone who’s coming from so far away from Missouri and other places in the world who are beginning to understand that there is Black history in Utah,” he said.
At the dinner held afterward, speakers including Jackson, African-American leaders in Utah and descendants of Brigham Young spoke about the history of their reconciliation efforts and what is to come.
“We work to inspire hope and resilience in the face of historical and religious challenges that obscure truth and create divisions of distrust,” Burch said. “Myths, folklore, and one-sided narratives continue to perpetuate falsehood and hinder genuine reconciliation.”
Marian North, a descendant of Brigham Young, welcomed Jackson and spoke about her desire for reconciliation.
“I want to be clear that I don’t represent all of the descendants of Brigham Young … I do, however, represent a small handful of descendants of Brigham Young. I have no more qualification than a little bit of his DNA, but we have ears to hear, and hearts ready to love,” she said.
In her remarks, Jackson said she hopes reconciliation efforts between the Brigham Young family and African-Americans in Utah will continue. Having worked with several other families to do the same thing, she said she has seen the great results such efforts bring.
“I hope and pray that what they’re doing will encourage others of her family to at least explore what they’re trying to do and hopefully join them because wonderful things await you when you do good works for God and this reconciliation,” she said.
Anyone wanting to see the monument dedicated to honoring Black pioneers, titled Pioneers of 1847, can see it at This is the Place Heritage Park. More information about Dred Scott can be found at the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation website.
More than 40 people attended the Lynne Jackson honorary dinner on Friday, March 1. Lynne Jackson is Dred Scott’s great-great-granddaughter and president of the Dred Scott Heritage Foundation. (Ethan Pack)
Courtney's ward had a temple trip and Courtney went along. She had a great time. The temple is about 2 hours one way so they went early so they could eat at Kneaders and shop at Trader Joe's. They took a group picture afterward. They all look great!
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
