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Show Ida's Sabbath 87 Ida's attention darted to a tiny spider that dropped onto the f i r st counselor's collar, springing back and forth between his shirt and blue suit jacket. Ida wished she could spin a magic thread like the spider. Then she could transport herself far away, weave new garments for herself, whatever she needed to do. The spider l i f t e d off into mid-air, crabbing at the slender thread. "...and Brothers and Sisters, i t seems that the Lord must be testing our f a i t h . With that in mind, l e t ' s open our hymn books to page 98 and sing 'Let Us All Press On,' after which Brother Bill Parsons w i l l open our meeting with prayer." Ida, pre-occupied as she was with the spider, trying to forget the last twelve hours, s t i l l noticed that Bishop Clarence Jensen, the f i f th bishop to serve during Ida's reign as organist, had forgotten to announce her name. He hadn't said, "Our hymn w i l l be accompanied by Sister Rossiter at the organ." Ida wanted to say "Wait...you forgot something," but she thought better of i t. Pressing into the keyboard, she played her version of the hymn, oblivious to Morris Sant, standing there, beating a different tempo. She proceeded at her own pace, added a few notes to the bass line, and poured extra volume into the "Fear nots." "But, Ida, you're a tradition," she said to herself, "almost a permanent fixture in this ward." Ida was an essential but unobvious element of the Gardenville Ward. No one thought of the organ without thinking of her with her soft pastels, short honey brown permed hair, and trim figure. She didn't make dramatic entrances like her best friend Milly, the bishop's wife, who bought all |