Bismarck, North Dakota
61st operating temple
Dedicated: 19 Sept 1999
By: Gordon B. Hinckley
Jesus Christ, Redeemer
Titus 2:14
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Book of Mormon
3 Nephi 5:16 - 6:14
D&C
118
"Come Follow Me"
119-120 By paying tithing, I help build and "sanctify the land of Zion."
OctGenCon
"Sinply Beautiful - Beautifully Simple"
Elder Gary E. Stevenson
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
May we keep the gospel simple as we take upon us our divinely appointed responsibilities.
Christlike Attributes
Obedience
Obedience is the first law of heaven. It is an act of faith. You may sometimes be required to do things you do not completely understand. As you obey, you increase in faith, knowledge, wisdom, testimony, protection, and freedom. Strive to be obedient to the Lord, and the living prophet.
"The discipline contained in daily obedience and clean living and wholesome lives builds an armor around you of protection and safety from the temptations that beset you as you proceed through mortality."
-L. Tom Perry
Inklings
Decide now when you will attend the temple over the next six months. Set a realistic goal, write it down, schedule the appointment, ahead of time, and make necessary childcare arrangements if needed.
The adversary know the good that awaits you, so expect resistance and follow through!
James left for his cancer treatment around 6:30 this morning and then went on to the valley to work. We read scriptures and had family prayer before he left.
At 10:40 I left for Barbara Sayers house. She ask me if I would take her to get her dog's toenails clipped and then we would go to lunch at LaCasita. When I got to her house she asked me to come in because she needed to talk to me. She showed me an ad for Blue Ridge Pet Clinic and asked me if I knew where it was. I said no but I could put the address into my phone and it would give us directions. 712 W. White Mountain Blvd. should not be too hard to find, although it is almost into Pinetop. Then she dropped two bombs. Instead of getting her toenails clipped she wanted to have her dog put to sleep. Okay, the dog is old and tired looking and I guess is using Barbara's house for a bathroom. She also says she can't see very well nor hear very well. Next bomb. Her appointment is at 3:00. Why am I here at 11? I told her I needed to go home and come back in a couple of hours. She suggested we could go get lunch and then sit around until 3. That didn't sound like something I wanted to do. I went home and told her I would be back at 1:30.
I got back around 1:20 and we tried to get the dog, Nikki, into the car but she was not co-operating. Neither Barbara nor I could get her in. The dog has short legs but is very fat and hard to grab around the middle. Barbara said she was going to go see if her neighbor could help. She walked across the street to the neighbors house and her cat followed her. The neighbor had a dog tied up outside and the dog went crazy when he saw Barbara's cat. She's yelling, "John, John" but evidently John doesn't hear her or he isn't home. The dog runs towards the cat but reaches the end of his rope and stops. Barbara sees he's trying to get the car so she grabs his rope and pulls him back and starts yelling at him. I said, Barbara, the dog can't reach the cat and I'm afraid you are going to hurt yourself. Please come back.
Barbara has had a couple of strokes and she walks with a limp, usually using a cane. She has no cane but she is a woman on a mission and walks faster than I have ever seen her walk. She goes across the street to another house and starts yelling Mike, Mike. Mike comes out of his house and takes Barbara by the arm and tenderly walks her back home. He talks to the dog and lifts her up and puts her in the back seat of the car. The cat is out and Barbara says to just leave her out. Mike says I'll go home and she will come over on my porch and when she goes to sleep I will bring her back. We leave him the key to Barbara's house. Mike seems like such a nice guy and a real animal lover. Without him we would never had gotten Nikki into the back seat of my car.
I have to say something here about the swiftness of Barbara's moves. She is 75 years old and has had two strokes. Normally she walks with a four pronged cane and goes slow because of a lack of balance. I have never seen her move so fast as she did when she was "saving" her kitty from what she called, "that wolf." The dog was a German Shepherd and was a family pet but she insisted he was a wolf. When she went over to Mike's house she was still moving at a rapid pace. I think she was tired when she finally got into the car. Our first stop in town was at National Bank because Barbara wanted to go in and get a paper notarized. I told her I was going to go to Book Barn, the local church bookstore and see if they had a book I wanted. I'm looking for Anthony Sweat's new book, The Holy Invitation. I ask Brother Rhoton who owns the bookstore and he said no, they've been sold out for quite sometime and the books are on back order. Same story at Deseret Book. I tried Amazon but it takes 5 weeks to ship.
When I get back to pick up Barbara I wait a few minutes and then she comes out and I help her get in the car. I asked her if she was successful and she said no, they wouldn't do it because I didn't have any ID. Oh dear. I told her I knew she needed ID and she said, Why didn't you tell me? Barbara, I thought you knew. I told her Tamara was a notary and would probably come to her house. She said she was going to call her.
We finally got to the pet clinic. Barbara went in and I stayed in the car. Soon a couple of women came out and asked me if I had Nikki. I said yes and then they asked if she was friendly. I said she was harmless and docile. They took her in, talked to Barbara and they all went back to another room. I told Barbara I was going to go for a short walk. The tree lined road I walked down was beautiful and so peaceful. I was gone about 10 minutes and when I got back Barbara was waiting for me. She asked me why I went for a walk and I told her for the exercise. She said she didn't want to see Nikki be euthanized so she came outside. She wasn't sad, she was more relieved. She said they will bury her after she is cremated in a pet cemetery with flowers and it will be so nice. She told Nikki to look for Jerry, Barbara's husband, when she got to her new home.
We stopped at LaCasita for lunch/dinner. It was around 4:00. Barbara didn't eat all of her food so the waitress brought her a "doggie bag."
I put it in the back seat where Nikki had been. When we got back to Barbara's, Mike was there waiting to help us get Nikki out of the car. I wonder what he thought when he opened the back door and the only thing back there was Nikki's water bowl and a "doggie bag." He asked me how it went, thinking the dog was getting her toenails clipped, and I said, "You probably should talk to Barbara. She told him after I left and then called me and said he was not happy.
Barbara kept telling me she didn't know what to do with Nikki so she prayed about it and the Lord told her it was time for her to go. She kept asking me what I thought. I told her I didn't know the dog well enough and that this was her decision. I think she wanted me to tell her she was doing the right thing, but I just couldn't do that, because I wasn't sure she was. What a day. At least I have something to write about on my blog.
I watched some TV while walking and some of the time I listened to my book, "To Marry an Earl." I watched Nadiya while working on my blog.
James is staying downstairs in the common area at Sheri's house tonight as Ben is in the bedroom he was staying in. Ben did a great job today and he won't let his grandpa pay him because he just wants to help.
Autumn has Charlie so Jared & Kacey
can go to the temple in Dallas
Cancer fighters
other people are.
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