I certainly enjoyed mine! It was very busy with two camps, two weddings (one was technically in the spring), and a few side trips here and there with the family. I love the summertime, but it sure wears me out!

By the time you receive this, you will likely be packing for the Feast. There’s something indescribable about the feeling I get as I prepare each year. Getting out suitcases, picking out which clothes to take, buying snacks for the road trip. (I get a little crazy in that department.) If I had to sum it up in one word, it would probably be hope.

As a small child, I looked forward to the Feast with hopes of playing on the beach and maybe getting a new toy or two. As a teen, I looked forward to the Feast with the hope of making new friends and having new adventures at various places I’d never seen before. As an adult, I still look forward to these things (including toys—even at my age), but there’s more to it than that.

What does the Feast of Tabernacles represent? Well, in a word—hope. It foreshadows a time when all of mankind will have an opportunity to live in a world free of evil influences. For God’s firstfruits, we’ll no longer be held down by physical limitations like health and energy. While this sounds good on its own, God grants us those things for a reason.

In the Millennium, the first 1,000 years of the Kingdom of God here on earth, we will have a job to do. As kings and priests ruling with Jesus Christ, we will have the responsibility to help others understand their opportunity to join the family of God. It might be a challenge at first, and some may ultimately choose not to accept their calling. But if you were to describe our job in one word, it would be to give them—you guessed it—hope.

I’m very thankful for the opportunity to spend my summer with quite a few of you at summer camp. And I look forward to the opportunity to see some of you at the Feast of Tabernacles in Panama City Beach this year. But beyond that, I am brought great joy by the hope of serving alongside you and our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, in the Kingdom of God.

Have a wonderful Holy Day season!