Ways to know you have a great ward.

Let me be the first to admit that when you have nine-o-clock church on Sunday it is a very bad idea to go see a movie at ten-o-clock the night before and still have to drive home another hour after that. BUT, We made it on time! ( if i had the choice I'd do it all over again with Donnie and Jessica Howell)
This week we decided to go with the family ward to see how we fit in there. Thanks to an on-the-ball elder's quorum president, we were already known to the bishopric and had all the necessary paper work filled out for requesting our records before sunday school had started. This particular ward has what is referred to as a Snow Bird attendance. Members from Arizona and St. George come up here to Logan For the summer and go back down for the winter months. i think what really made this ward the right choice was all of the youth and kids from primary. Sacrament meeting always goes faster when i have a kid to tease on the bench in front of me. I love the inspired fact that i get to be with Kylee for two thirds of church but it would be so nice if she was by my side for the full three hours. I must say though, I get this really happy feeling when i get to leave priesthood and find her in the hallway waiting for me. What really warmed me up to this ward was the service that was given and still needed among the members. Quite a few of the families are like us, just starting out and getting through college. Others are well established and are working on having grand children. Family wards are a must in the church in my opinion. there is an invisible glue there that makes it hard to just move out without feeling like your leaving good friends behind. Its a place where life long friendships are made.
Maybe I'm biased having never been to a singles ward or any other limited demographic of a ward. But show me a child who misbehaved in primary and I'll show you a primary president who wants to know how his date to prom went. Family wards are not about going to church every week. They are your extended family for life.

~Jacob, the wild child in primary