Talks over the years

Dear Family,

It is sometimes said you are in my thoughts. May I say you are in my talks.Over the past 20 years I have given many talks. In one way or another you have all been in them. My talks almost always include some rememberance from my family,childhood,ranch life,ancestors,tractors,airplaine crashes,climbing the Tetons,home cooking,growing up in rural Wyoming,cows, horses,brothers and sisters,the Oregon trail, double dexter washing machines and any other thing that I could possibly stretch into a gospel subject.

I possibly should have quit on these stories early but people kept encoraging me. Some of course with the polite good talk Brother Bagley, but many with the we always look forward to your talks because they are so differnt and interesting .

President West was even polite in finding something nice to say after I gave my "Never buy new cars or trucks--Always rent when you are going to drive a lot of miles in a short time talk" in stake general priesthood meeting. My bridge to this subject was provident living. It was a bit of a stetch but it became my most requested talk for copies.

I have to admit that more often than not I had some story I wanted to tell and I find a gospel subject to fit with it.

Our last stake conference was my favorite. The gospel subject was repentance. I mixed into this talk the sights and smells of Monday washday in Grover. This included discribing the Double
Dexter washing machine, the wringer, the rinse tubs, the cloths line with sometimes frozen cloths on it. I wove into these images the priniples of repentance and becoming clean. Towards the end as I have done in some of my talks I sang a song---- Ye Simple Soals Who Have Strayed. There is a bit of a risk in trying to sing in the middle of a talk especially if you have become emotionally involved in the message. I love this song so I took the risk.

Anyway. I wanted to thank you all including my parents and grandparents who have contrubuted to the material that I use and will continue to use till someone stops me and says enough already Bagley

Seasons Greeting to you all, Errol