I couldn't go back to sleep, so I scrolled through facebook, and was saddened to see that Elder Von G. Keetch, a General Authority Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints passed away last night.
I recognize very few of the General Authorities by name. Elder Keetch is an exception. I knew him by more than just his name, though. He recently gave a prayer in a session of General Conference. I hadn't heard his name announced, but the second I heard him start praying (I was streaming and didn't have a visual), I said, "That's Elder Keetch!" He had a very distinct voice.
A couple of years ago, Elder Keetch presided at our Stake Conference. My normal reaction to a General Authority at Stake Conference is sort of "meh" (for lack of a better way to describe it). They come, they speak, they move on. It's fine. People in certain callings will rub shoulders with the General Authorities when they come due to various assignments surrounding the event, but I'm not in those positions, so I don't typically connect with them while they are in our presence.
Elder Keetch, again, was an exception.
When Elder Keetch came, Scotty and I attended a dinner for ward council and stake council members and their spouses (Scotty was the executive secretary at the time, and I was his plus-one). There were hundreds of people there, Elder Keetch and his wife included. In essence we were having dinner "with" the General Authority, but with so many people there, it wasn't really an intimate occasion. I was more interested in the free food than the presiding authority. Plus, the dinner started very late, and we were all rushed to finish up and get the chairs set up for a meeting that was taking place right after.
Later that night, Elder Keetch spoke to the adults of our stake. He was very funny and relatable, which is always nice when you're in the position of listening. I ended up really enjoying his message and thinking, "This Elder Keetch is pretty cool."
After the meeting, Elder Keetch was was making his way out of the chapel, and he was pretty close to me. I didn't intend to say anything to him in passing because, again, they come, the speak, they move on - regardless of how "cool" they are. But he walked right into my pew, right to me (I wasn't even making eye contact or anything), shook my hand, and told me how thankful he was that I was there, As if we'd been life-long friends. In my head, I was thinking, "Dude, you don't even know me." But he was completely sincere, and he sought me out in a chapel full of hundreds of people. I didn't go to him.
I left the meeting that night thinking, "I like this guy. Imma remember him."
A few months later, he gave the devotional address at my school, and I was able to watch the broadcast. I soaked in every word and have revisited the transcripts several times.
I've had the chance to teach the youth from Elder Keetch's conference address, "Blessed and Happy are Those Who Keep the Commandments of God" (I wrote on the board, "Welcome to Shark Week" and I gave all the kids a bag of gummy sharks. I thought I was hilarious. The kids just rolled their eyes). I thought there would be more conference addresses to come. I thought I'd see a lot more of Elder Keetch over the next twenty years.
I am heartbroken that that won't be the case, but... I like this guy. Imma remember him.
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