Fresno, California
78th operating temple
Dedicated: 9 Apr 2000
By: Gordon B. Hinckley
Jesus Christ, Redeemer
Alma 9:27
And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name.
Book of Mormon
3 Nephi 18:1-14
D&C
125-126; RIC:"Take Special Care of Your Family"
"Come Follow Me"
D&C 125-128 "A Voice of Gladness for the Living and the Dead"
OctGenCon
"Pure Truth, Pure Doctrine, and Pure Revelation"
President Russell M. Nelson
President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
I have prayed about you and for you. I have prayed intently that this conference would be a time of revelation and reflection for all who seek those blessings.
We are delighted to be speaking to you from the Conference Center once again. Most of the seats remain empty, but the presence of some members of the Tabernacle Choir is a wonderful step forward.
We welcome you all to this largely virtual conference, wherever you are.
We are still dealing with the ravages of Covid-19.
We thank you for following our counsel and advice of medical experts and government officials in your own communities.
"The Greatest Possession"
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
With or without riches, each of us is to come to Christ with the same uncompromised commitment of His gospel that was expected of the rich young man in Mark 10:17-22. In the vernacular of today's youth, we are to declare ourselves "all in."
The Living Christ
"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters un God" (D&C 76:22-24).
Inklings
Affirmation:
I am gaining spiritual momentum with every small, daily effort to be a little better. I meet persistence with patience, undaunted in my determination.
James is miserable. When he went for treatments today the radiation tech's talked to a doctor and they recommended some things he could take to get some relief. He's still miserable.
I called Sister Bartels today to tell her I enjoyed her talk yesterday and to talk to her about her ministering. When I asked her how her ministering was coming along she replied, it's not. When I asked her to explain, this is what she said. Her partner does not want to go out because of Covid. One sister does not want any changes made and therefore does not want Barbara to visit her. She has made phone calls to the other two sisters. I praised her for this. She was feeling quite discouraged and I tried to encourage her. I told her to keep in touch, get to know them, and pray for them. I think she felt better after we hung up.
While I was working on my blog I listened to an hour and ten minute interview with Susan Easton Black. This interview was done in 2010 at which time she was married to Harvey Black. Susan is even more amazing than I thought. She was a single mom in her 20's. Her parents were extremely wealthy but all of their money was inherited by her brothers. She found herself with 3 young boys living in a cabin on a dirt road (sounds familiar) in Blue Jay, California. She loved to write and decide she was going to find out more about her family history and then write a book about her family. The library in Blue Jay was quite lacking. She had a friend who suggested that they help each other out. She told Susan she would watch her three boys one afternoon a week so she could go back to school. At this time she already had a bachelor's degree from BYU in political science. She got her masters degree and was invited to come to BYU to teach psychology, which she did. Dallin H. Oaks was the president of BYU at the time. He was raised by a single mother and wanted women on the faculty at BYU to be treated fairly. There had never been a woman on the religion faculty and he invited Susan to teach a Book of Mormon class. She was the first woman among a faculty of men who had a tendency to think she was not qualified to teach religion because she didn't hold the priesthood. Well, she proved them wrong and the rest is history. Susan has written more pages, at least at this time in 2010, than any other LDS scholar, over 80,000 pages, 125 books and 300 articles. She has received awards in writing from Harvard and Stanford. She said she doesn't need a fancy car or house. She has given thousands of talks all over the United States. She was taught by her parents that when you have been given much it is important to give to others. She has received 35 teaching awards and loves her students. She even plays ping pong with them. It's the one leisure activity she allows herself. She says that the classroom is a stage. She has a photographic memory and doesn't use any notes when she speaks or teaches.
When asked what her motto for life was, she said she had two. She said when she was a teenager she was out with her friend. When she came in she got on the phone and began talking about her friend. Her father brought her over a note which said: small people talk about people. She thought to herself that she was small in stature but she didn't want to be a "small person." Here is the entire quote: "Small people talk about people, medium sized people talk about events, and big people talk about ideas.
Her other motto is: "I Can, I Will, I Must"!
Another question Susan was ask was where does she get her energy. She said when she married Harvey Black she adopted his vegan lifestyle and that is why she is healthy and has so much energy.
The last question she was asked: "Do you have a woman that you admire and would like to emulate"? Her answer was, Ettie Lee. Here is what I found out about Ettie Lee. This is going to be a little long but I want it to be a part of my history.
Ettie Less was a high school English teacher in the Los Angeles area who noticed that some of her brightest students came from troubled homes and ended up in jail. When she noticed no agency offered these young men help, she decided to do something about it herself.
Ettie was born on November 2, 1885, in Luna Valley, New Mexico. She was one of twelve children and her mother died when she was a baby. She learned much from her father who lived his life helping the less fortunate. He moved the family to Thatcher, Arizona, when Ettie was fifteen. After an education at Gila Academy, she began teaching in a small schoolroom - she was seventeen years at the time. Even then she noticed the needs of one boy who had been expelled and worked to help him turn his life around.
After teaching for three years, she graduated from Northern Arizona Normal School and began teaching at Gila Academy - one of her students was Spencer W. Kimball. He has been known to say, "If only there were a thousand Ettie Lees."
She left Arizona in 1914, earned her master's degree from the University of Southern California in 1917, and began teaching in the Los Angeles area. She noticed young men who struggled with life's challenges and responded by writing English textbooks that were used in the school district. When she decided to do something to help the abused and neglected young men by providing them with happy homes, she knew she needed money so she went to her library and found a book on how to buy and sell real estate. She saved $100 a month - half of her monthly salary - and using the techniques the book outlined, she bought a vacant lot for $1,000 and sold it for $5,000.
That successful beginning in 1927 encouraged her and she soon had nine single-family dwellings that she rented. She managed to continue acquiring and selling real estate throughout the Depression. During World War II she temporarily returned to teaching. She purchased five ranches for future homes for at risk boys. In 1946, she retired from teaching and by 1950 she was ready to start operation.
At first her homes had home parents - a married couple with experience working with children - who would teach the boys how to become productive citizens while loving and supporting them. Her company, Ettie Lee Youth and Family Services, continues today, but no longer functions with home parent couples - the last retired in 2012.
Ettie was recognized for her life
s work in various ways: she was named Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in 1965, National Teacher of the Year in 1966, and Brigham Young University's Woman of the Year in 1967. She died on April 25, 1974.
I decided to bake the carrot cake I am making for Cammy today. Her birthday is tomorrow. The hardest part of the entire recipe was grating three cups of carrots. I made two layers and they both sunk. It sunk so much I decided I could not give this cake to Cammy, so James and I had a few pieces and then I threw the rest away. I also determined that it was not quite done. This means I will have to make another cake tomorrow. I decided to choose another recipe so I got online and found one on "Sally's Baking Addiction". She says it's her favorite carrot cake recipe. One thing I did to prepare for tomorrow was to grate the carrots today.
Sheri invited us for Thanksgiving today and James actually said he would like to go. Sheri was excited and so was I. I told her to give me a food assignment.
We got to FaceTime with Jared, Charlie, and Kacey this afternoon. Jared received the birthday card we sent him and wanted to thank us. He ask how his dad was and I told him of his struggles and pain. Jared said he was sorry and that they would continue to pray for him.
This evening while walking I watched "Dancing with the Stars." Tonight is Queen night so all of the dancers danced to a Queen song.
Jenna and Jojo and The Miz and Witney were the bottom two. Jenna and Jojo got all of the judges saving votes so The Miz and Witney went home.
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