Sunday was a busy day. We had our regular Sunday meetings and then at 4:00 PM, we had a special meeting to reorganize the East Stake from 6 wards to 5. All of the wards except Strathmore were dissolved and then recreated with new boundaries and names. Where I live used to be 7th Ward. We're now in the Valley View ward. It takes in portions of 11th and 9th wards and stretches through the SW part of the stake.

The Bishop that I was serving with (Bishop Leavitt) is in the Elliston Park ward now. That means I've been automatically released as 2nd Counselor. On Saturday, in the process of being released, I received a new calling. It won't be announced until Feb 10th, when I'll be sustained. Just about everyone in every position in the stake was released all at once. The bishops and their counselors, and new high council members were all sustained on Sunday. Now all of the auxiliaries need to be re-established. We have a bit of a transition during the calling of new leadership where people will continue to help out in their old callings.

11th Ward had commissioned me a couple of weeks earlier to do a ward picture. It was mostly a coincidence, since they didn't have foreknowledge of the reorganization. They meet at 9:00 AM, which is the same time as 7th Ward, but in the Stake Centre, so I took my equipment with me to Church so that I could go there quickly after our meetings. Just before I left, we quickly organized our own ward photo. It turned out really well. I had some trouble though. I didn't recharge my batteries for my flash, so they died pretty quick. I had to run home on my way to the Stake Centre to get a fresh set.

The 11th Ward pictures were ok. The composition wasn't as good as I had done with 7th Ward. I needed to assert my ideas better. I stood on the stage looking down. That view is not nearly as powerful as it could be. Since I was there, 15th Ward got a ward picture as well. I had to wait around a couple of hours until 2:00 pm for their meetings to finish. I stacked them on the stage with a set of chairs in front and a set of chairs on the stage. People could stand behind on the stage and stand in front on the floor and the kids would sit out front with their Bishop. I was really impressed with how it turned out. It was the same composition as with 7th, but I got the lighting figured out better.

A major cold system blew in at the same time as all of this. There's a family with a son in a wheelchair that normally gets a taxi to take them to church. They were stuck at church for several hours waiting and just couldn't get a taxi. Victoria took them home and then I took them afterward to the Stake Centre and back. I was glad to be able help, since it was so cold out. The temperature dropped from -8 C in the morning to about -25 C by the evening. The wind chill was nearing -40 C.

After all of this, we were able to relax a bit and talk about the changes of the day for a while. I got a phone call at about 8:30 to tell me that Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, just died. It's amazing how fast the news spreads. He had died at 7:00 pm.

To me, President Hinckley was a great prophet. His example of service and love is powerful and had far-reaching influence on the lives of people everywhere. His vision of the modern church helped it to grow immensely. He was open and embracing of the power of the Internet to communicate among church members. I'm particularly impressed with the church website and the new familysearch.org site.

It feels like a new church now. It's a similar feeling as in the past when we've moved into a new ward, except we'll see a lot of familiar faces (I just need to learn their names). Our friends haven't gone anywhere, but we won't see them as often.

We'll have a new president soon. According to tradition, it will be Thomas S. Monson. He's got an amazing presence. I saw him when he was in Calgary a couple of years ago at a conference, but didn't have a chance to meet him. I expect this new era to be mostly the same, but I'm sure Monson will add his own touch that will make his leadership tenure memorable.