In the early 90s I was in the MTC. I like to sing but I don't like to try and follow harmonies or read music. So I thought I was join the MTC choir thing where you get to meet and practice a few times right before some big shot came down to enlighten the missionaries with themselves. To give you a time frame I think Marvin J Asston or some other long dead a dude was one of these missionary devotionals.

On a side note, I had two mission presidents - one for about a month and then one I met in the MTC right before getting shipped - pants and all. And Marvin was uncle of my new president's wife. Is it any wonder he got "called" to the exotic place I went (overseas)?

So, at one of the practices we were informed that this week buses were coming to take us to Salt Lake City to perform for some New Mission Presidents function. So we were all loaded up and arrived at the Church Office Building. It was spring so between practicing and performing we milled about at some outside place and Temple Square.

During the morning practice we got to shake hands with Perry and some other apostle I forgot. I remembered Perry because we practiced singing "Called to Serve" while two lines of us on either side of the aisles in a theater like place marched towards him standing at the front podium and we formed several lines on risers behind him.

He was also memorable in that he was speaking a memorized first little intro about "these young, bright blah blah missionaries" while we were singing which seemed strange to me.

An apostle practicing lines?

Anyway, I got the distinct impression this was a big deal. So we sang and after the intro thing Perry said something witty that I can't remember to dismiss us.

Darn! I missed out on one of these super special meetings.

Long story short. It is a business. My new mission president's wife remodeled a perfectly good multimillion (euros weren't invented yet) dollars American house to the tune of thousand upon thousands. The canned New Mission President meeting is just the start of their wining and dining. In my opinion becoming a mission president is like winning the Mormon lottery. For some reason even the apostles themselves try to impress these people.

So, exciting this meeting of them is not. I have no idea why it is seen as such a big thing. But I prophecy that this "new" thing of broadcasting it and having the "prophet" involved is not going to start and end in 2013. I think the new "exciting" announcement is this boring meeting is going to become annualized.