Chicago, Illinois
35th operating temple
Dedicated: 9 Aug 1985
By: Gordon B. Hinckley
Jesus Christ, Messiah
Mark 8:29
And he saith unto the, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"
Review 3 Nephi 20-26
October General Conference
'Embrace the Future with Faith'
President Russell M. Nelson
The future will be glorious for those who are prepared and who continue to prepare to be instruments in the Lord's hands.
P7 S1
Two hundred years have now elapsed since this Restoration was initiated by God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls for breakfast. They were delicious.
We had all youth speakers in our ward today. First was Liana. Her talks was an organized, prepared talk and was very good. Brother Grapp sent me a copy. Liana just turned 12.
Aloha. As I watched General Conference "Watch Ye Therefore and Pray Always" by M. Russell Ballard stood out to me, and I had the feeling that I should use that as my talk. M. Russell Ballard said, "After we kneel in prayer we need to get up from our knees and help; help both ourselves and others." When I was preparing for this talk I went and said a prayer asking for assistance to inspire and help others through my talk. Then I got up and wrote it.
The earliest memory I have of a prayer being answered was looking for a lost movie. We looked but could not find it. We then decided to say a prayer to ask for guidance. We got up from our knees and looked. I found it in my mom's laundry basket. The combination of prayer and looking, or working, brought great things to pass.
Our prayers aren't always answered in our time but they are answered. Malea, my little sister, got lots of prayers from us and our doctor, and we had to wait nine months!! But our prayers were answered. Maybe not in our time but in Heavenly Father's.
James 1:5 says: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him." When Joseph Smith first read that scripture he felt prompted to "Ask of God." He went to the sacred grove and prayed fervently and sincerely. M. Russell Ballard said: "Motivated by sincere prayer we can improve and help others to do the same." Joseph changed his and so many other lives because he was motivated by sincere prayer.
The other day I was riding my horse Dannie in our pasture, trying to get her to go across our dried up creek bed. She wasn't thinking it was such a great idea. Then I heard a sound behind me, sort of like a whirring. I turned around and there was a big dust devil or a small tornado headed my way! The first thought I had was pray!!! I said a short prayer then kicked my horse. I stopped her to see where it was and said another prayer. I might not have folded my arms, or closed my eyes, or bowed my head, but I had a prayer in my heart. M. Russell Ballard said: "Brothers and sisters I urge you to redouble your commitment to prayer. I urge you to pray in your closets, in your daily walk, in your homes, in your wards, and always in your hearts." I sat there and watched that dust devil go right around me. All the while my parents were watching helplessly from inside. I watched it go over to our firepit and pick up a piece of plywood and carry it about two hundred feet then break it in half and drop it. That could have been me, but because of my prayer I was still on my horse and didn't have to tell my horse, "Dannie, I don't think we are in Arizona anymore."
The Bible Dictionary teaches, "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."
On Monday night I read the talk by M. Russell Ballard to help prepare me for my talk. Later that night as I was getting prepared for bed my dad came in to do our nightly praying. It was my turn and as I folded my arms the Spirit engulfed me. I knew what to say. Instead of the original prayer that had become a pattern this prayer was different, it was SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!!!!
The next morning during breakfast my dad mentioned how spiritual my prayer the night before had been. I told him how I had noticed a change too. He then asked why I had noticed a change. I then responded with, "I gave my true thoughts and concerns to Heavenly Father." The bible dictionary states that when we develop a relationship with God we will be able to tell Him everything!
In Matthew chapter 19 verses 13 and 14 we read, "Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." In third Nephi chapter 17 we read the touching account of Jesus blessing the children in America. From these scriptures and Jesus's admonition to become as little children, we know that much can be learned from children. My little brother Leland loves to say prayers for dinner or family home evening. After the prayer he says Hooray and claps his hands. From his excitement prayer becomes more meaningful for us as we think about how close he is to our Father in Heaven. My great grandpa shares a story about a camp. He said that they always looked for little children that were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because they knew how to pray.
President Nelson said, "My beloved younger brothers and sisters, you are among the best the Lord has ever sent to the world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation! You are the hope of Israel, 'children of the promised day'!" One night I had a feeling that I should ask my dad if he could start praying with us at night. Praying is now a tradition. I felt that my dad was too rushed at night because he has to wake up early and he is always rushing to bed. Praying would allow us to slow down and feel the Holy Ghost at night. As a youth I know what it feels like to want to be quiet and not share my feelings. You need to share your spiritual thoughts with your parents or grandparents. Parents you need to listen to your youth. Ask them questions that will help them open up. Help them with the goals. Be patient.
Prayer is wonderful. I bear my testimony that the more we pray the more we will have the Holy Ghost as our companion. Prayer can change lives! Prayer can move mountains!! If we have a prayer constantly in our hearts we will receive more blessings than we have ever imagined. We will be able to walk closer to Christ in our daily walk. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
This is what Liana's dad said when he sent this talk to me:
Attached is Liana's talk. We could not have been more pleased with the sincere and dedicated manner in which she approached her preparation. She was prayerful, read the talk she felt inspired to use several times, practiced to ensure she had sufficient time, and proceeded amidst the nervousness of an impending talk at Church. We shared quotes, scriptures, and experiences and she decided which ones to use, which ones to dismiss, and where to place them in her talk. We hope that you are as inspired as we were by her thoughts and feelings!
Love and Aloha!
Thomas Grapp
Liana is one amazing girl! I knew that when I had her in my Primary class and now I know it even more.
The other two speakers were Eugene Judd and Hailey Hunsaker.
After church I went home to take a nap. I left for the valley around 1:42. I did not make any stops and arrived at Darrel and Trina's at 5 p.m. Ruby and Lola carried my suitcases in the house and upstairs to Rowan's room. Trina is now using the room downstairs for her Shopwhirlygirl business. Darrel had dinner ready when I got there. BBQ chicken, coleslaw and chicken salad. It was all delicious. Trina worked today so I saw everyone but her.
James and I left for Sheri's at 6:00 and Darrel and his kids were right behind us. Sheri had food at her house but I was already full from eating at Darrel's.
Ben's mission stories were faith-filled and wonderful. He told the story of being in the mission van, he called it the "transfer train", in a round about when a truck passed right through them. It was truly a miracle. I hope everyone who was listening felt something when he told that story. Those attending: Sheri, Ian, Alex, Max, Evan, Kim, Brian, Joe, Stacy, Adam, Michael, Dallin, Joshua, and James and I.
It was great to have Kim there. She says she is feeling much better. Sheri gave me a set of Air Pods. She said they were not an early Christmas present but just because she loves me. I am very grateful.
Ben had an indexed Book of Mormon I wanted but he said he couldn't give it to me because it belongs to someone else. It was a nice evening spent with family.
Sabbath with Charlie
and wanted my approval. I told him he was
representing Vernon quite well.
Inklings with Anthony Sweat on
Priesthood and Covenants
Sweet Scarlett
Sweet Scarlett
I've had these before at my friend Karen's who
is of Danish ancestry.
talking about health issues.
we took him room.
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