(Couples)

• I bless you in your marriage;
• I bless you with increased unity;
• I bless you with greater love and harmony, that your unity will be utterly unbreakable;

(Brethren)

• I bless you that you will draw strength from your wife;
• That you will manifest and display kindness to your companion;
• That she will interpret it as kindness;
• That you will be inspired to know and act;

(Couples)

• I bless you in your relationships with children and grandchildren, that at times will grieve and concern you; 
• Teach them through the Spirit;

(Sisters)

• I bless you with self-confidence;
• And the power to accomplish things;
• Counsel together with your family in wisdom and righteousness;
• I bless you that you will be able to teach through his gifts and know what to say;
• Heavenly Father will give that to you.

(Couples)

• Joseph Smith taught that if we are faithful to our covenant, our children will be with us in the end in an eternal family--that promise, in large part, is a prophesy, that they will choose in the end God and you; they will not be able to resist the Spirit.
• I bless you with greater power to defeat the power of the adversary;
• In the millenium, Satan will be bound because of the righteousness of the people;
• The Millenium can come to your home now through consistent righteousness;
• I bless you that temptations lose their attractiveness;
• Remove from your home the evil one, your home will be  a haven, a bit of heaven;
• You are His, that he may prosper you.

Notes from President Oostendorp on Elder Nelson's apostolic blessing on our stake:

Elder Nelson blessed us as a stake that we will:

1. Feast upon the words of Christ and apply His teachings
2. Sustain the new stake presidency
3. Have a blessing of healing and health
4. Be blessed with growing faith
5. Be missionaries by example
6. Be blessed with all that God knows that we need

From Sister Randi Van Oostendorp: Bart and I were Married in the Los Angeles Temple in 1997. We celebrate 17 years of happiness this December. Bart attended UOP Dental school graduating in 2002. I attended and graduated from AZ culinary institute in 2003. Though I've never worked outside the home with my culinary skills, my love of food has not gone to waste and my family is usually well fed...usually. We moved to Mesa Az after school where we practiced dentistry for 8 years. After Bart was involved in an off-roading accident in 2009  we were led to beautiful NC. Bart now has been practicing  in Brevard almost 5 yrs now. We have 5 children:

• Bartel 14
  
• Chloe 12 (turns 13 next week)
  
• Annie 9
  
• Oliver 5 1/2
  
• Charlie 2
  

We love the Asheville area and don't plan on leaving anytime soon, and now with this new calling I'm pretty sure we'll be around for awhile.

Both Steve and Janna Hargadon grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Janna as a member of the Church, but Steve learning about the Church from her. They married in 1987 and being sealed by Janna's grandfather in the Logan Temple. They have four children: Anna, graduated from BYU, and teaching theater to children with Autism in Provo; David, attending UVU; Kate, serving a full-time mission in Nasheville, TN (right!); and Caroline, a junior at AC Reynolds High School. Steve runs a number of large online conferences, has been on social media for a long time (22,000 Twitter followers :), and has the skin condition Vitiligo (loss of pigment), which you'll notice prominently on his hands and his face. They moved to Asheville for a work project, and Janna volunteers at the hospital doing art therapy. 

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles arrived from Salt Lake City, Utah on Friday, Oct. 31 to meet with members of the Asheville, NC stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Nelson, who turned 90 in September, was accompanied by R. Randall Bluth, an Area Seventy from Prairieville, Louisiana. 

Local priesthood leadership met with Elders Nelson and Bluth for a training meeting on Saturday, followed by an evening session of Stake Conference. On Sunday, Nov. 2, members filled the Stake Assembly Building in Arden, NC to capacity where Elder Nelson counseled members about the importance of teaching their children the principles of the Gospel and the importance of furthering the Lord's work through missionary efforts. He then bore testimony of Jesus Christ and left those in attendance with an apostolic blessing.

Elder Nelson, a pioneer in the medical field and renowned Cardiothoracic surgeon, was called to the apostleship in April of 1984. His expertise, and his extensive connections within the medical community were valuable as he transitioned into full time volunteer service for the church, assisting him in building bridges of friendship and faith with many nations that previously closed their doors to the Mormons. 

All leadership positions within the LDS Church are volunteer. The lay ministry, from the highest offices of the church down to leaders and teachers within local congregations, consists of men and women from all walks of life, with various careers, experiences, and skills. While members of the 12 apostles, like Elder Nelson, are called for life, local leaders serve for shorter periods of time and may hold many different callings and handle a variety of responsibilities through the years of their church service.

While in Asheville, Elder Nelson worked with Elder Bluth to reorganize the leadership of the Asheville, NC stake, changes made effective at Sunday's meeting. President Wallace. W. Booth was released as President of the Asheville Stake, as were his counselors, Grant R. Hardy, and Dale A. Curriden. 

Bartel Van Oostendorp, of Hendersonville was called as the new Stake President with Steve Hargadon and John Garner, both of Asheville, serving as counselors. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah has more than 15 million members worldwide, with 29,000 congregations and church materials printed in 189 languages. 88,000 missionaries are serving in 406 missions all over the world. The Asheville, North Carolina stake consists of 11 units in western North Carolina and northern Georgia and has more than 3000 members.

Story by Jenny Proctor, photos by Destinee Blau.