Institute Boys

*Disclaimer: This post is very "chick-flickish"*

It is interesting, the way that boys at the LDS Institute on campus, particularly the Return Missionaries are so very different from any other boys around.

The picture there is of a young man I met at the Hill Cumorah Pageant, he was in my cast team. He is one of the many examples of sweet guys that I know. This picture was taken in the Sacred Grove, which is very near to the Hill Cumorah.

There are two particular boys in my Book of Mormon class that really now how to make a girl feel good. They notice when something is wrong without it being obvious, they do little things that just make you feel warm and fuzzy all over. They show how well-read they are without being boastful. They are willing to contribute at any time during the class and are chivalrous in how they treat a lady.

One of these RM's is named Tom. He just had his 24th birthday on Monday and I really like the way he treats me. Yesterday, I was having a tough day and I was sitting there as the devontional was going on and he looks at me, (I can see this through my periferal vision) and he leans over and asks "Are you OK?" Well, there is no lying to him, he knows how to read feelings so I shook my head, "no." He asked me to tell him about it and I whispered back to him that now wasn't the time to talk about it because we were in class - "later" I said. Then I asked him how he knew I wasn't feeling good today and he said, "it was in your eyes."

I thought that was so sweet, that he can look into my eyes and tell what I am feeling.

The next thing I knew I found a piece of paper with nicely lettered handwriting on it declaring that I should, "spill." I had to be careful about what I told him, because as much as I like him, I don't know him all that well - yet.

I explained, very briefly and somewhat vaguely what the problem was that I was having. His concern was genuine and his words were kind. As I read what he had to say in reply to me it was if he was giving me a hug.

The things that were talked about in class were also very helpful - he just expounded upon it in a personal sense.

Class ended and I took an extra few seconds to pack up, but he waited for me by the door. We walked down the stairs and to the main entrance hall and I expected that he would leave to go to his next class and I would stay and take a nap on one of the Institute's comfy couches. He insisted that he talk to me more, because his talking to a beautiful young woman right now was more important than getting to class.

I said, "no, you need to get to class, you can't be late." But he insisted that his teacher, who is a bishop, would understand that he was late because he was consoling a beautiful young woman. I am not jazzing this up by saying beautiful. He really said that! I didn't want to believe him, but I let him stay.

As I spoke to him, I couldn't bear to look into his deep blue eyes because they were so full of concern that it made me ache to see . I, instead, looked at my feet. We talked for a few minutes. But there came a point when I didn't really want to talk anymore, and he seemed to pick up on my hint so he said that he would see me on Wednesday and that he was heading to class.

I watched him leave, just because, and to my amazement he didn't hurry off to class. He saw that a young man was having car trouble and he stopped, without hesitation and helped him. I couldn't believe how full of service he was that day. How humble and kind he was.

My questions for you are these:
What do you think of what he did?
What qualities do you think are mandatory for your ideal husband/wife?
What do you think I should do about what he has done for me - if anything?

Feel free to add any other comments. Thanks for reading.

~Holly