OUR FAMILY: Friday, February 21st, 2020

Vancouver, British Columbia

131st operating temple

Dedicated: 2 May 2010

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Judge

2 Nephi 29:11

For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

2 Nephi 23-24

23- The destruction of Babylon is a type of the destruction at the Second Coming - It will be a day of wrath and vengeance - Babylon (the world) will fall forever - Compare Isaiah 13.

24- Israel will be gathered and will enjoy millennial rest - Lucifer was cast out of heaven for rebellion - Israel will triumph over Babylon (the world) - Compare Isaiah 14.

"Your Great Adventure"

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"The third thing we strive to master in this journey is to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and not be ashamed of being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. We do not hide our faith. We do not bury it. To the contrary, we talk about our journey with others in normal and natural ways. That's what friends do - they talk about things that are important to them. Things that are close to their heart and make a difference to them. That's what you do. You tell your stories and experiences as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Whenever you think you've got troubles, consider this prayer of an LDS woman in Paraguay:

"In 1987, the Pilcomayo River in Paraguay flooded, twice, wiping out homes, farms, livestock, and the chapel of a group of Latter-day Saints living near its banks. They were in knee-deep water for over a month and relocated twice. Eventually, Elder Ted E. Brewerton of the Seventy was dispatched with a rescue party to try to help. He found their situation bleak but their faces peaceful. That evening at the branch meeting a sister offered a prayer Elder Brewerton will always remember. She said, 'Father, we have lost our beautiful chapel, we have lost our clothing, we no longer have homes. ... we don't have any materials to build anything., we have to walk ten kilometers to get a drink of dirty river water and we don't have a bucket. But we desire to express to thee our gratitude for our good health, for our happiness, and for our Church membership. Father, we want thee to know that under any conditions, we will be true, strong, and faithful to the covenants we made to thee when we were baptized.'" (p. 182, "Live Up To Our Privileges")

This made me stop and think...do I really have anything to complain about?

It was cloudy most of the day today and it is supposed to rain all day tomorrow. James was so excited about getting his smaller Cat to run that he went outside and was gone for a couple of hours. I couldn't hear the Cat running and wondered where he was. I texted him but then remembered he can't hear texts with his phone right now. Soon he came in and I asked him where he had been. He said he had been down working on the road when the Cat died and he couldn't get it started. He finally got it started again but decided to bring it home. Now it's parking right out next to the driveway where I can see it whenever I look out the kitchen window.

I worked on my book business for much of the day today. Since I got my shipment sent off yesterday I started out by buying my 3 daily books. It took much longer than usual. Sometimes they are easy to find, and other times it takes forever. I also went through some old inventory sheets and discovered I had sold most of the books on that particular sheet. I also began to inventory the new books I have. My goal is to order fifteen books a week and turn around and send off 15 books a week.

I called Discover Student Loans again today. Jared Ammon has not contacted them. I told them I thought it was highly unfair that they are keeping my money until they get permission from my grandson to send it to me. He has nothing to do with that money. The poor guy I was talking to didn't know what to say. I think he was new.

When I got off the phone with Discover I texted Stacy and she did a screen shot of my text and sent it to Jared Ammon. She also said she would talk to him. I will give him a few more days and then call Discover again. If he hasn't contacted them I am going to ask them what they are going to do. I will not give up on this.

This evening I studied "Come Follow Me", finishing my notes on 2 Nephi 23. James wanted to watch a movie and I said okay but that would mean we couldn't watch one tomorrow night because I would need to catch up on my studies before Sunday.

We watched the latest installment of Picture Perfect Mysteries starring Carlos and Alexa Penavega. The name of this episode was "Dead Over Diamonds." I liked it. James is waiting for the next Jill Wagner mystery. They showed a clip and he said, "Let's watch that."