Sun, June 5th, 2022: Fast & Testimony Mtg, Sunday School, James's PS scores, Facetime with J,K, Ch, Jared's raise, Jackie Hall, Jael & Sisera

 

Helsinki, Finland

124th operating temple

Dedicated: 22 Oct 2006

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Second Coming

Daniel 7:13

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

Book of Mormon

Alma 11:21-46

"Come Follow Me"

Review Judges 2-4; 6-8; 13-16 "The Lord Raised Up a Deliverer"

AprGenCon

A Mighty Change Of Heart: "I Have Nothing More To Give You"

Elder Eduardo Gavarret

Of the Seventy

"And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

I thought of the people's reaction to King Benjamin's words:

"Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us . . . , which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."

"Ladder of Faith"

Elder Larry S. Kacher

Of the Seventy

The simple faith we have in Jesus Christ as we first begin to learn about Him can remain in our hearts as we confront life's challenges. Our faith in Him can and will guide us through the complexities of life. Indeed, we will find that there is simplicity on the other side of life's complexities as we remain "steadfast in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope."

For some reason I had a dream about Sheri and Tiffany last night. I don't think there was any meaning to the dream but I'm just wondering why I thought of Tiffany and Sheri. 

I was up at five to do some journal "catchup." As I was thinking back over the past few weeks I was reminded of my friend Jackie Hall from Chandler. She has lost her husband and her sister in a matter of weeks. I miss Jackie and I am reminded of the time I spent with her. She and Janis Willis were my visiting teachers and we would meet at Serrano's in Chandler for lunch and a visit. We always ordered a chili relleno ala carte. Jackie's husband, Elliot was a non-member and he never joined the church because he promised his mother he would not. He did attend church with Jackie. He was well liked by everyone. I did not know Jackie's sister Linda who recently passed away,  but I know that Jackie named a daughter after her so I imagine that they were close. I hope Jackie will stay close to the Lord and that He will strengthen her through this difficult time. Jackie has always been an example to me of patient faithfulness and quiet strength.

James got his recent PSA scores which indicates what is occurring with his cancer. When he started doing radiation his score was 12. After radiation it was at 2. Three months ago it was 1.3 and now it is 1. He is progressively getting better. He faithfully drinks pomegranate juice and cranberry juice everyday. We are so happy with these results!

Brother Allen conducted our fast and testimony meeting today. Brother Judd has been bringing his boys to pass the sacrament but we have not seen Amber of the rest of the family in weeks. I have her on my prayer roll but I think I might need to reach out to her and let her know we miss her.

These are the people who bore their testimonies today:

Steve Allen, Sister Vaught, Sister Sayer, the Tesarek's including their daughter Dagny. Parker Harris who is six and Pierce's granddaughter. He was not here today to hear her and she did an amazing job all by herself. Wes Smith, and Johnny Wilhelm. Johnny gave a very grown up, sweet testimony. I felt the Spirit during the Tesarek's both of them, who talked directly to Amber Brown who was baptized yesterday and confirmed today. They are converts of seven years and Michelle said she never knew what joy was until she joined the Church. Travis talked about his first year after baptism and how much he learned.

For children both Parker and Johnny's testimonies were amazing and I felt the Spirit. I also enjoyed the Tesarek's, Brother Smith's, and Brother Allen's testimonies. All of the testimonies were good but these were my favorites. 

Neither one of us felt very good today and considered going home after sacrament meeting but thought better of it when we realized we would be missing Brother Applegate's Sunday School class. We were glad we stayed!

James fasted today for better health. I prayed for moisture. This afternoon we FaceTimed with Jared, Kacey, and Charlie. They had spent the week in Bentonville, Arkansas and had a great time. Lots of bike trails and outdoor activities. Beautiful and green. They said they wouldn't mind living there. Jared got a phone call while he was in Bentonville. He got a job offer from a business in Longview offering him a $17,000 raise. Right now he works in Tyler and drives 40 minutes to work. He was tempted to take the job so he called his work and told them about the offer. They came back with a counter offer of $30,000 and Jared took it because he loves working there. Since starting 3 1/2 years ago he is making $90,000 more than when he started. Wow! Congratulations Jared!

One of my favorite stories interpretations this week from the "Come Follow Me" lesson was the story of Jael and Sisera. Jael drove a nail through Sisera's head. According to Dave and Emily, Jael stands for Jehovah and Elohim and Sisera means sin.  Jehovah and Elohim conquered sin with a nail.