“Be sure to drink your Ovaltine” is a famous line from the movie “A Christmas Story”. In the movie, The little boy Ralphie gets a decoder ring to decipher a secret message of numbers from the Little Orphan Annie radio show. He is so excited, and imagines that the fate of the planet may be on his shoulders. He gets to the end and reads the message, which is “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine”. He is disappointed and mutters “A crummy commercial” You can watch the scene here.

Recently my daughter had an “Ovaltine” moment in church. She lives in Utah, and last month it was announced a special Stake Conference would be held in January, and that an Apostle would be attending. The rumor mill started up in the stake, with the splitting of the stake being the most likely outcome of this momentous occasion.

So last week all the stake gathered like Ralphie with their decoder rings to hear some special message for their stake. The fate of the planet (Church) could be on their shoulders! As you can imagine, it was an Ovaltine moment for the Stake. The message from the Apostle was Elders Packers quote “True doctrine understood will change your behavior quicker than study or behavior” A stupid commercial! Lots of disappointed people, though I’m sure it was mitigated by being taught at the feet of an Apostle.

My daughter, being chip off the old block, though it was funny that all the security men for the visiting Apostle wore sun glasses inside the building. I told her these were guys who didn’t get hired by the FBI, so were living out their boyhood dreams by working for the church! I think they were a step above being an ICE agent! Also my daughter wanted to know if she had to stand when the Apostle walked in. I said they do that for the Prophet, but it is not a rule written down anywhere, and that now people are doing it for Apostles. She said if it is just tradition, she will just stay seated, which she did.

So, what have been your “Ovaltine” moments in the Church? What are the biggest let downs you can remmber?