On Friday February 10th, 2006 after picking up Idaho Supreme's mail at the Firth post office I stopped by the local gas station (Hard Times) to buy a couple of bottles of water. I was standing in line to pay when my cell phone rang. The caller identified herself as Elaine President Gordon B. Hinckley private secretary. She said the Prophet had a couple of questions for me...(my whole 13 months as Bishop of the Idaho Falls 9th Ward flashed before my eyes). I immediately asked, "am I in trouble?" She answered, "not yet." I explained to her where I was and asked if I could call them back in 5 minutes when I got back to my office. She said that would be fine and started giving me the Prophet's personal phone number. I stopped her and told her I didn't have a pen or piece of paper and if she could wait just a second I would find something to write with and something to write on. I frantically looked around and saw nothing on the counter by the cash register but then I saw some paper at the other end of the counter with a pencil laying by it so I grabbed them and wrote down the Prophet's phone number. I told Elaine I would call as soon as I got back to my office. When I got to my desk I pulled the paper from my pocket and immediately realized I had written the Prophet's personal phone number on the back of a lottery ticket. When I got Elaine on the phone, I told her what I had written the phone number on and asked, "am I in trouble?" She said she didn't think so, but then paused and asked, "is it a winner?" When I answered, "no" she said I was probably in trouble now. The reason for the call was a beautiful sister from my ward Ann Staker had passed away and she was the mother of President Hinckley's personal physician. And since I was conducting the funeral he wanted to ask me a few questions about Sister Staker so he could write a letter he would like me to read at the funeral. Later that afternoon the letter was faxed to me and I began to have a lot of anxiety about reading such a beautiful letter with the dignity it deserved. The Prophet or Elaine probably never thought much about it, but it was the greatest phone call I ever got...and of course I handled it in the normal Homely Haws fashion...
