"Your ward is being obliterated; resistance is futile."

Those words were spoken in January of 2009 by a friend of mine and bishop of our ward, a tiny ward in Billings, Montana called "Metra," one that would come to be remembered by many as the best ward in the entire church...ever! We were asked to attend a special stake meeting where we would learn about restructuring of ward boundaries in the stake. So we came, unsure what to expect, and hoping for the best.

The meeting began with the stake president informing us that one ward in the stake would be dissolved entirely and members dispersed to various other wards, while remaining wards would experience some change though not as dramatic. Which ward would be dissolved? Yes, our beloved Metra Ward. My friend and bishop was asked to speak briefly at that meeting, and that is when he shared his interpretation of what the stake president had told him: "Your ward is being obliterated; resistance is futile." He and I worked closely together, as I was the relief society president at the time. It was such a sad day...

...and not just for me. Eli also experienced the pain of change, as the young men were also scattered to and fro. His best friend, Jake, would no longer be in our ward. This was a transitional point for 16-year-old Eli, but teenagers are resilient. Eli bounced back much more quickly than I did and went on to lead the young men of the Skyview (new ward) Ward in many different ways.

Me? I struggled at first, but then I was called to be the primary chorister in the new ward, which is such a fun calling that, well, it's hard not to have fun.

Fast forward nine years. Last week we were informed that our regular block of meetings would be canceled this week, and we should all go to the stake center at 10:00 for a special stake meeting. No further details were given. Let the speculating begin! Was the stake president moving? Was an apostle coming to visit? The most likely situation? A change in ward boundaries.

I got up early and arrived a full hour before the meeting was to begin. I knew that everyone and his dog would show up to find out what was happening, and I was determined to sit in a soft, padded pew in the chapel, rather than in those back-breaking folding chairs in the cultural hall. Turns out there weren't even enough of those! For later arrivals, it was standing room only.

When the counselor announced that one ward would be dissolved, with others experiencing some sort of change though not as dramatic, I immediately texted Eli (who was sitting in the back on one of those folding chairs): "No way this could happen twice in one lifetime, reorganization of ward boundaries and only one ward being dissolved, and it's our ward. No way this could happen twice, right?"

Wrong.

Sure enough, it is our ward being dissolved. History has a tricky way of repeating itself. The tough part this time around is that almost everyone else is moving to the 4th ward together, and only a small handful of families will be going with us to the 3rd ward. I love so many that I'm losing. Ironically, for several years I hoped for boundary restructuring. I wanted some young men in the ward for Seth. Too often he was the only young man at the sacrament table, surrounded by adults.

But now he's off serving his mission, and after five years stuck in a corner (both literally and figuratively) teaching Gospel Essentials, I was finally released and called into my favorite auxiliary: Young Women! I've only been there 2.5 months. I've only taught four lessons. After a fabulous youth conference, we were just starting to talk about Young Women in Excellence (which a former friend used to lovingly call "Young Women in Mediocrity" but that's a whole other story). Second only to the people I will miss so much, this is the hardest part of this change. Can I say for the record that I love serving in Young Women. Really, I do. It's kinda breaking my heart.

"Your ward is being obliterated; resistance is futile." So we move forward. We face the unknown. The scary parts. We start over. We struggle to embrace faith and reject fear. In his talk this morning, President McIllese quoted the final line from the hymn Now Let Us Rejoice: "And Christ and his people will ever be one." May we hold tight to that truth in these coming days and weeks.