Yesterday was Stake Conference here, which meant that perspective Elders who were ready to be advanced in the priesthood were presented to be voted on. One of those presented was Samuel.
Samuel has grown a lot during his time here in our ward. He's given his first talk, he's held his first calling, he's blessed the sacrament for the first time, and he's learned a lot about the gospel. Now, he's received the Melchizedek Priesthood.
I stood in the circle, along with the current Bishop, his home teacher, a former member of the Bishopric, with a member of the Stake Presidency - who was the Bishop when we both moved into the ward - acting as voice. I was honored to be invited to participate, but otherwise it was a fairly mundane experience for me. For Samuel, it was life-changing. After the ordination, he told me that when the words were being said, he felt the spirit stronger than he had ever before, even to the point of filling his entire body. I then told him that once he was reunited with his children and they are of age, he'll have the opportunity to baptize and confirm them. His was response was a genuine and enthusiastic "Wow!"
Having Samuel as a roommate has not always been easy, but I'm glad that I invited him to stay with me nearly a year ago. We've gotten to know each other very well and even though we don't always see eye-to-eye, I know that it's been a good experience for both us; his ordination is just the most recent example of that.
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