A Homecoming for Elder Adcock

Kamiko spoke in our ward this past Sunday. We have church at 1:00 pm, so we invited friends and family to come over before church. We made breads and cinnamon rolls and had fruit and juice and milk. It turned out great. A lot of his mission friends and friends from before the mission came over. We just visited and snacked. Then I kicked everyone out around 12:40 so we could all get to the church on time. Allie and Mel and friends had left earlier to save a couple of benches for the family.

Our boy did a great job on his talk. He was assigned on how to come closer to Christ. He spoke about faith, repentance, change, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It was great; stuff he'd been teaching for 2 years. In fact, he only used notes that were on his phone to give his talk. He told about people who changed their lives for the gospel.

He shared the following story that he got from a Hugh B. Brown talk. My son became a huge fan of Hugh B. Brown on his mission. How funny is that?

Sometime ago a great actor in the city of New York gave a wonderful performance in a large theatre, at the close of which there were rounds of applause. He was called back again and again. Finally someone called to him, “Would you do for us the Twenty-third Psalm?”

“Why, yes. I know the Twenty-third Psalm.”

He recited it as an actor would, perfectly, with nothing left to be desired as far as a performance was concerned. When he was finished, again there was thunderous applause. Then the actor came to the front of the stage and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, there is an old man sitting here on the front row whom I happen to know. I am going to ask him without any notice if he will come and repeat the Twenty-third Psalm.”

The elderly gentleman, of course, was frightened. Trembling, he came to the stage. Fearfully he looked out over the vast audience. Then, as though he were at home only with one, he closed his eyes against the audience, bowed his head, and talked to God, and said:

“The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

Then changing to address the Savior directly and intimately:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” [Ps. 23:1–6]

When the old man finished, there was no applause, but there was not a dry eye in that house. The actor came to the front of the stage. He, too, was wiping his eyes. And he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I know the words of the Twenty-third Psalm, but this man knows the Shepherd.” (Adapted from Hugh B. Brown, The Quest,Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1961, pp. 335–36.)