Wednesday, May 15th, 2019

Provo, Utah

15th operating temple

Dedicated: 9 Feb 1972

By: Joseph Fielding Smith

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

1 John 3:23

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 29:33-47

New Testament

Matthew 20:1-16

General Conference

Look Unto Jesus Christ

Kim B. Clark

"Brethren, as bearers of the holy priesthood, we are engaged in the work of salvation. In the last year, the Lord has placed the leadership of this work squarely on the shoulders of the elders in Israel. We have an inspiring charge from the Lord - working with our sisters, we are to minister in a holier way, accelerate the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil, establish our homes as sanctuaries of faith and gospel learning, and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ."

Jeffrey R. Holland: "...His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there."

What lack I yet?

I know I have to repent more and change my attitude towards some people.

Sold a book and made $8.75.

I got my first "Done For You" book list. There were seven books on the list and I tried to buy all 7 but 2 were gated. I sent a question in to support as to what could be done about this but as of yet I have not received an answer. 

I actually did some cleaning today. I vacuumed the family room, and swept and mopped the kitchen and wiped down all the countertops. The reason for this flurry of cleaning? The Relief Society presidency is having a meeting here tonight.

I made muffins this afternoon but not for the Relief Society sisters, they were for me. How selfish.

Maxine and Kerri arrived at 6:45 for our 7:00 meeting. Maxine brought half of a cake that she made for Mother's Day. We each had a normal sized piece and saved the biggest piece for Tamara. She ended up taking hers home with her. 

The main purpose of our meeting this evening was to go over our ministering assignments and make some needed changes.

Maxine is going to the temple to do baptisms on Saturday with the youth so I gave her the family baptism cards I had. Maxine is wonderful. She goes to the temple every Tuesday. She is also going tomorrow with a sister from our ward who hasn't been in 20 years. She is going again tomorrow afternoon with her husband. She is a couple of years older than I am. Where does she get her energy?

Kerri told us that since January 500,000 illegals have entered the country. Since she is a former border agent she keeps up on this kind of news.

We made proposed changes to our ministering assignments and will go forward with them as we receive approval from the bishop. 

Has Brienna Nichols had her baby. We don't know but she posted this photo on Facebook.

Caleb 

I found out later that Brienna isn't due until July 24th.

This is a picture of her now three year old, Caleb.

Brienna, did you know that people would think you had had your baby?

Our meeting was over at 9:30 when Tamara got a text from her husband which said: "Please come home."

I stayed up until 11:30 in order to get my new goal of 15,000 steps. 

 Ruby looks adorable in her glasses!

 This little girl always looks adorable!

Jill and Victor, two of my favorites

 Ben's last supper before his mission.
Where is Evan?

Monday, December 3rd, 2018

Provo, Utah

15th operating temple

Dedicated: 9 Feb 1972

By: Joseph Fielding Smith

Jesus Christ, Death of

John 12:33
This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Book of Mormon #1

Ether 2:13-25
*The lord wants us to grow and learn as we make our own decisions. He also wants us to take our conclusions to Him frequently for His confirmation. When the brother of Jared asked the Lord about the matter of light for the vessels, the Lord answered with a question of His own: "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels"? According to President Harold B. Lee, the Lord's question was similar to saying the following: 'Well, have you any good ideas? What would you suggest that we should do in order to have light? Then the Lord went away and left him alone. It was as though the Lord were saying to him, 'Look, I gave you a mind to think with, and I gave you agency to use it. Now you do all you can to help yourself with this problem; and then, after you've done all you can, I'll step in to help you.'" After considering the possibilities, the brother of Jared demonstrated his great faith by asking the Lord to touch 16 stones and supply lights. The Lord answered this plea and not only provided light for the vessels but gave this faithful man a vision unlike any other. President Lee concluded: "This is the principle in action. If you want the blessing, don't just kneel down and pray about it. Prepare yourselves in every conceivable way you can in order to make yourselves worthy to receive the blessing you seek." 

Book of Mormon #2

Helaman 3-4
Old Testament
Jonah 3-4

General Conference

Lift Up Your Head and Rejoice

M. Joseph Brough

"I was forever changed upon hearing these words from Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve, spoken in the midst of his struggle with leukemia. He said, 'I was doing some pensive pondering and these 13 instructive and reassuring words came into my mind: 'I have given you leukemia that you might teach my people with authenticity.' He then went on to express how this experience had blessed him with 'perspective about the great realities of eternity. ...Such glimpses of eternity can help us to travel the next 100 yards, which may be very difficult."

I was up at five this morning. James got up around six. We had scriptures and prayers before we started getting ready for our trip to the valley. James made a trip to town in my car to get gas for his truck because his truck would have never made it. 

I have two more packages to mail today. I forgot to send Lois's Christmas stockings to the kids in Texas so I will need to send them today. I also have Ben's Christmas package. 

We are taking both the car and the truck. James is leaving the truck and the Bobcat in the valley for the Mesa job which Armando will be running when and if they get the permits. 

I was ready to leave a little before 11. James was still doing something with the trailer. I told him I had to stop at the church to leave my roaster and then I was going to the post office. He actually ended up passing me up while I was at the post office and I never caught him because I stopped in Show Low to wash Lexy. I never caught up to him. I went the Salt River way in case something happened to James's rig I would be there to help.

I had wanted to stop at Deseret Book when I got in to town but there was no time. I drove directly to my appointment with Dr. Shah. The appointment was a consultation about putting in an implant. James had a meeting with Armando then he dropped his truck and the Bobcat off at Bill V.'s yard and then walked over to Sheri's to wait for me to pick him up. 

I am set for an implant on Tuesday, January 8th and thanks to Care Credit I will pay $250 a month for the next year interest free. Whoopee....$3,000 is still a lot of money. Am I sure I want to do this? Why is everything so expensive?

I picked up James and we went to Olive Garden for dinner. I had Zuppa Toscana soup and salad and of course breadsticks. James had salmon. 

After dinner we went across the street to Target to finish shopping for Ben's Christmas package. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't find cozy socks. 

We finally ended up at Darrel and Trina's for the night. Lola was certainly "wound up" this evening. She had a rope around her stuffed dog Tommy and was dragging him all over the place. She, Ruby, and I also played hide the ball in the Christmas tree. I was afraid we were going to knock the tree over so we changed the rules a little. 

Trina was telling me about her dad's childhood this evening. She said his mother was killed by a drunk driver when he was 18 months old. He used to stand and wait at the door for her to come home. His mom was pregnant when she was killed. They story gets worse. His first stepmom was a little crazy and did some bizarre things including trying to kidnap Trina's dad. 

His second step mom was very jealous of anything his dad did for him and demanded he do the same for her kids. Finally one of his older sisters came and got him and took him home to live with her family. Elder Bernecker's grandmother wanted to adopt him and have him come and live with them. Bob, Trina's dad is one of the nicest, kindest, unselfish people I have ever met and I never knew he had such a difficult childhood. 

When Darrel got home from work at 9:30 He went upstairs and changed into a white shirt and tie so he could give James a blessing.  The kids were in bed and Trina was upstairs so it was just the three of us. The blessing was a great comfort and Darrel emphasized the importance of healing and being patient after surgery.

I did some walking before going to bed. 

President Nelson's talk at last night's devotional was wonderful.

 The Long Road ahead

Love these two!

 Our friends the Umphress family

 Dec 3, 2012