Wednesday, April 29th, 2020

Taipei, Taiwan

31st operating temple

Dedicated: 17 Nov 1984

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Judge

Matthew 25:32

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Mosiah 8; Sunday Journal - What were the 24 plates found by Limhi's people? Mosiah 8:5-12; Book of Mormon Study Guide

April General Conference

"Sharing the Message of the Restoration and the Resurrection"

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

"The Restoration belongs to the world, and its message is especially urgent today. When you share the Book of Mormon, you share the Restoration."

"The Blessing of Continuing Revelation to Prophets and Personal Revelation"

Elder Quentin L. Cook

April 2020

I called James this morning before I went out to feed Luna to make sure I was feeding her the right amounts. He said oats was a treat and only give her a little if any at all. Of course I gave her oats, that's her favorite! When I went out at noon to feed her she whinnied and started pawing the ground, first with her left foot and then with her right. James said he has never seen her use both feet before. I gave her an apple and was going to give her a second until I saw one on the ground in her corral. She does not like apples as well as she likes carrots.

When I called James I asked where he was. He said he was at the jobsite laying out the houses for the framers. He said after 8 o'clock it is pretty unbearable to work so he went at six.

I finally finished chapter 13 of Church History in the Fulness of Times. The last part was the best, the building and dedication of the Kirtland temple. The men would work all day in the temple and then stay at night to guard it. 

The work on the temple was not without difficulty. Mobs threatened to destroy the temple, and those who worked on it by day guarded it at night. Night after night for weeks, Heber C. Kimball said, we "were not permitted to take off our clothes, and were obliged to lay with our fire locks in our arms."

Heber C. Kimball: "Our wives were all the time knitting, spinning and sewing ..; they were just as busy as any of us."

The sisters also made the carpets and draperies for the temple and broke up their china to put in the outside plaster walls so the temple would glisten.

Because they were so willing to sacrifice in building the temple, the Lord poured out great blessings upon them. From 21 January to 1 May 1836 probably more Latter-day Saints beheld visions and witnessed other unusual spiritual manifestations than during any other era in the history of the Church. 

There was so much of grief and persecution during this period of Church history that it was so wonderful to read about the dedication of the Kirtland temple and all the blessings that attended it.

As temple workers James and I both received a letter from the Snowflake temple president, President Palmer. 

Here are my book stats for the day: My account balance is $415.68. I don't know when it has ever been that high. They will be sending me the balance on Friday. In 7 days I have sold 21 books and done $584.66 in sales. I still have over a dozen book sales which are pending and I don't believe these numbers reflect that. I now have over 518 listings of which 158 are active.

I watched some "Lark Rise to Candleford" today and would like to share a couple of quotes.

Robert to Queenie, whose real name is Victoria. Queenie has run away from home and is camping at the creek until her husband  Twister decides to grow up. She enjoys being alone and getting to know herself.

"Queenie, believe me, you can only listen to your own voice for so long before it loses its fascination. Twister is pining for you."

Laura reading from her journal:

"My ma (pronounced mar) says that of all the bonds that exist between people, perhaps the sweetest is the bond of friendship. For it is not born out of duty or blood ties, but out of sheer delight in another."

Dorcas Lane who is known for her wisdom and advice. I guess we could call her the advice diva but really, her advice is the best:

"I hope I do not pry, but I fear you are in distress."

James arrived home somewhere around 5 pm. He went in to take a nap and then got up and went for a ride on Luna. When he returned he had something to eat, took a shower, and then we watched the latest installment of "Matchmaker Mysteries."

Victor Webster and Danica McKellar

I spent an hour or so studying "Come Follow Me" and Inklings. I also ran off the talks Kim asked us to study this week. 

It was a beautiful day here in Vernon with the high somewhere in the lower 80's.

Trina's remodel

Ross Perot and Cowboy Joe

 Yes, she is the real thing!

Trina's fieldtrip to wet Beaver Creek

on Bell Trail

This looks like so much fun!

 Chicks in a row by Huntleigh

Tuesday, April 28th, 2020

Dallas, Texas

30th operating temple

Dedicated: 19-24 Oct 1984

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Judge

Moses 6:57

Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Mosiah 7:17-33; Sunday lesson: "If I turn to the Lord, trust Him, and serve Him, He will deliver me."

 April General Conference

"The Finest Homes"

Elder L. Whitney Clayton

"The Savior is the perfect engineer, builder, and interior designer. His project is the perfection and eternal joy of our souls."

"Look to God and Live"

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

October 1993

I told James that before he took my car to the valley we needed to go grocery shopping. He said it would need to be at 5:30 a.m. then.

We left at 5:30 this morning for Walmart. Today is the day that they open at 6 a.m. for senior citizens. James and I qualify.

On the way we listened to our scriptures and had a bit of a disagreement as to whether Zeniff's desire to go back to the land of Lehi-Nephi was wise or foolish. James couldn't see anything wrong with it. I, on the other hand, that it was rather foolish to go down into enemy territory just because you are homesick. Although Zeniff lived in peace for 20 years his posterity suffered the consequences of his choice and lived in bondage. Granted, the Lord would have rescued them had they been obedient and not killed Abinadi but I still think it was unwise to go there in the first place. 

What do you think? Zeniff admits he was overzealous and to be overzealous is to go beyond what is necessary.

As soon as we entered Walmart James went to get toilet paper. He came back with two packages, one for my cart and one for his. I sent him to pick up several items while I shopped for the remainder. I asked him to get a mother's day card and a birthday card for Autumn, but he said he couldn't find the cards. ?? I told him we would have to go to Dollar General but we didn't want to go now or our ice cream would melt. We did go to Aliberto's drive-thru where James got me an Arizona burro. It is big and will last me most of the day. It is filled with onions, potatoes, cheese and steak and it is delicious!

On the way home we stopped at the post office to mail a merchant fulfilled book I sold and to pick up our mail. I received a handmade card from our friend and fellow Vernonite, Judy Hunter. Here is a picture of the card and the message inside:

Sending you a great big hug

Dear Karen,

I just wanted to say Hi! 

I hope you and Jim are doing well. I miss seeing you at church, and I hope this will all be over soon. I always love looking

over and seeing you both carefully taking notes of our sacrament meetings. Please know that I am thinking about you, and hoping to see you again soon.

Love, Judy

Judy is a single sister the same age as we are. She taught school for years in Mesa and when she retired she came to Vernon to live in her deceased parents home. She has two sisters, one who passed away a year and a half ago. The other one lives in Mesa. Judy  has never been married so she has no children. She is very friendly and socialable and misses seeing people at church and at the temple where she is a worker. She is very intelligent and understands the gospel and is a wonderful teacher and friend. We both lover her and are so appreciative of this wonderful gesture.

As soon as we got home I put all of the perishables away and went back to Dollar General. I did not get a mother's day card for Lois but I did get a card for Autumn and one for Maxine, my friend, whose birthday is May 1st. I also got a thank you card to send to Judy. James thought I should make her a card but I am out of practice. ( I can't get my computer to go back to left align.)

James had some things he had to do before leaving for the valley so he went upstairs to work. He mentioned he had not had any breakfast. He had one bite of my Arizona burro and a shake. I immediately went to the kitchen and made him bacon, sausage, eggs, and toast and took it up to his office for him. He was most appreciative. I love doing things for him when it makes him happy.

Before he left he showed me what to feed Luna as he has some new feed and some hay. Luna is our sweet baby. When James goes outside he whistles to him and she whinnies back and starts pawing the ground. Tom Howard said she is the only horse he ever had that pawed the ground and now her two babies do the same thing.

I worked on my blog this afternoon, walked, and watched "Lark Rise to Candleford." Here are a couple of quotes I wrote down from the episodes I watched.

Emma to her son Edmund who wants to drop out of school

and go to work in the fields:

"Poverty is no disgrace but only a fool would chose it."

Margaret to her husband Thomas who just saw a young

boy die in the measles epidemic and was reminded of

losing members of his family the same way:

"To love is to lay yourself open to loss, but we love because it is worth it."

I love this series and will admit that I am rather obsessed or overzealous with it right now. I just started watching season 3.

I do miss my sweetheart but it sounds like he is having a good time. He is spending the night at Sheri's and he took Evan to Jersey Mike's for dinner. I asked about Max because that is Max's favorite place to eat. James said Sheri had made him 3 or 4 thick juicy steaks and he had eaten them all. Oh my.

James said he, Sheri and the boys, were going to have "Come Follow Me" together. I am glad he is spending this time with them.

I forgot to mention something Jared told me on Sunday when we spoke. I was telling him about Jeany Lambson Overman's mother-in-law passing away of a heart attack in England and the hospital put she died of the coronavirus on her death certificate. When her husband called to protest they told him that is what they were told to do. 

Jared told me that the coronavirus is 2 1/2 times more contagious than the flu. I guess maybe there is a reason to be careful about lifting restrictions.

Provo City Center temple

My favorite!

Jeany is James's cousin, Uncle Leon's daughter,

Hayden's sister.