Thursday, June 6th, 2019

Seoul, Korea

37th operating temple

Dedicated: 14 Dec 1985

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

DC 93:21

And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn;

Book of Mormon

Alma 12:1-19

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

John 14:15-31; John 16:5-15

April 2019 General Conference

A Home Where the Spirit of the Lord Dwells

President Henry B. Eyring
"There is the key to leading your family to rise to that spiritual place you want for them - and for you to be there with them. As you help them grow in faith that Jesus Christ is their loving Redeemer, they will feel a desire to repent. As they do, humility will begin to replace pride. As they begin to feel what the Lord has given them, they will want to share more generously. Rivalry for prominence or recognition will diminish. Hate will be driven out by love. And finally, like it did for the people converted by King Benjamin, the desire to do good will fortify them against temptation to sin. King Benjamin's people testified that the had 'no more disposition to do evil.'"

We sold a $27.00 book this morning. I also got a new DFY list yesterday and ordered all of the books from it today. 

James left early to go to the Chacon job. When he got there, he was told to leave. Mario has decided to wait to start this new house until the other house being built is finished. He said he would hire James to do the other job but he has already paid Robert, the guy working on it.

What is James supposed to do with all of the materials he bought for the job. I guess he is going to store them at Bill Valentic's yard.

I did two blog posts this morning before leaving Darrel and Trina's. James made it back in time to go with me to meet Sheri for lunch. 

We met her at Cafe Rio. We all ordered tostada's and Sheri paid for our lunch. I had the green chili pork on my tostada and a side of guacamole. It was quite delicious. Thank you Sheri. 

After saying goodbye to Sheri James and I drove to Tempe to see his mom and Dawn. Rebecca was an added bonus. I guess Thursday is art day because they were working on art projects. Here are a couple of picture they made and gave to us, along with a bookmark.

 This one is the one James picked out. Can
you see the horses face?

This one is mine

From Lois's we drove to Stacy's. James is installing a door for them and he wanted to look at where he would be working. He dropped the door off earlier today, leaving it in their garage. 

At first Stacy and the three dogs were the only ones at home. Before we left Dallin and Sarah and their dog came and then Michael came. Joshua was gone camping with the Scouts.

We did not stay too long. Stacy did give me a tour. They have all of their boys living there except Dallin. Sophie barked at James unless Stacy was holding her. It was very annoying.

Next stop was Kim's house. James wanted to pick up his phone charger. I visited with Kim a few minutes. Brian was still at work. Kim is feeling a little better but is still having more tests done.

Before going back to Darrel and Trina's we stopped at Fry's and picked up a few groceries, shakes, applesauce, snacks, and a chicken and rice bowl to share.

Trina fixed some dinner tonight that was quite tasty. I had a small bowl.

Brown rice, onions, sweet potatoes, hamburger

and brussel sprouts.

Here are some of the happenings this evening: Ruby beat me at Rummicub, James walked outside and I walked inside. It's too hot and stifling outside even after the sun goes down. Sheri brought Evan and Max over to spend the night but Evan is the only one who stayed. I went out to say hello to Max in the car and complimented him on his haircut. 

Darrel, as usual, didn't get home until after nine.

Trina and her friend took their kids to the
river today. Except for Addy who went to
Sunsplash with her friends.

 Not sure why Lola has her leg in the air.

Darrel and Trina's remodeling project.

 Never been 

I wish!

These two are so cute together!

 Only in Paris

 Celebrating 50 years of marriage.
So sad we missed their party.

 Kids and siblings, and grandkids

 Grandkids
Zach, Quentin, Harold, Vickie, Kaitlynn, Madison, Jeffrey, Colby

Saturday, May 25th, 2019

Papeete, Tahiti

25th operating temple

Dedicated: 27-29 Oct 1983

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

1 Nephi 11:24

And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.

Book of Mormon

Alma 5:43-52

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

Matt 23:1-12; John 12:20-50

General Conference

Cleansed by Repentance

President Dallin H. Oaks

"One purpose of God's plan for this mortal experience is to 'prove' us 'to see if we will do all things whatsoever the Lord our God shall command us' (Abraham 3:25). As part of this plan, we are accountable to God and to His chosen servants, and that accountability involves both mortal and divine judgments."

Today we left for the temple around 5:40 a.m. We listened to scriptures and conference talks all the way. It was a beautiful morning!

This was the first day for our new coordinator's, the Elmer's from Eager. My main assignment is working with Sister Reidhead at the veil for all three sessions during our shift. I love Sister Reidhead and enjoy working with her. 

The Palmer's did our training during preparation meeting. We talked about the new veil. Our temple is one of the first temples to have the new veil. Personally, I did not notice the difference. 

Since this is a holiday weekend I wasn't surprised that several of our workers had gotten subs. One of the subs was a girl I went to high school with. Her nephew married one of the girls from our ward in Chandler, and we made that connection. Her name was Luanna Geiger in high school. Now her last name is Solomon.

Brother Toronto, our stake patriarch, worked today along with his wife. Elwanda, (Sister Reidhead) and I wanted to ask one of them if they knew Jimmy Toronto, someone we went to high school with, but we did not do it.

Every single session was packed and had someone getting their own endowment. An older couple from our ward who have been engaged for awhile, were sealed today, Brother Gordon and Sister White. Brother Gordon came up to me and said, "Your husband didn't call me to help clean the temple tonight like he normally does." I said, "Sam, we decided to give you a break since you are getting married today." He just smiled.

Amy, Sam's new wife is very shy and doesn't smile very often. I went up to her after the ceremony and congratulated her. She gave me a hug and a big smile.

We had some leftover Chinese chicken salad to take home. James actually liked it and said he was going to go home and add a few more seasonings and finish it off. There were no rolls left, but I only brought half and the other half are still at home. James had bought some croissants at Costco when he was in the valley and we had several of them left. 

When we returned home after our shift, I did a little walking and then both James and I laid down for a nap. Kim and Brian said they had had a great day so far, including a Razr ride. Kim was working on a puzzle and Brian was watching a cooking show on TV.

We left to clean the temple this evening around 5:40, just 12 hours from when we left this morning. 

We clean with the Show Low Creek ward. I gave the opening prayer in prayer meeting and James gave the spiritual thought. I was asked by Brother Patterson to give the spiritual thought but I told him I required a little more preparation time. James did really well. He talked about the King who had the dinner from the scriptures and invited guests and many of them made excuses why they couldn't come. 

James and I were assigned to clean the women's dressing room. At first James was a little hesitant, but soon he realized it was an okay job.

These are the people who attended from our ward:

Teresa Smith, Holly and Charlie Gordon, Brother Peeler, Brothers Scott, Cooper, Romyak, and Curtis. Kerri, Anne, and Cammy. Tamara and Jimmy Applegate, the Lauritzen's, Dave and Rosa, the Allens, Stefani and Sean, the Klug's, and us. 25 in all. The Show Low Creek ward had 10 people which included President Beeler and his wife. Kerri was happy because she cleaned the oxen with the Beeler's and had a good time.

When we got home Kim, Brian and I watched the new Hallmark movie, From Friend to Fiance. James went in the bedroom and worked on his Primary lesson for tomorrow. 

Kim felt a little dizzy before going to bed.

 Clouds in Wisconsin

 Jill Wagner, of Hallmark fame, and her husband

on their farm in Tennessee. Kim says they

raise Highland cattle.

 The ever adorable Charlie!

Kim finished her donut puzzle

Sunday, April 28th, 2019

Barranquilla, Colombia

161st operating temple

Dedicated: 9 Dec 2018

By: Dallin H. Oaks

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

Acts 3:13

The God Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 18:17-35

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

Review Matthew 18 and Luke 10

General Conference

Prepared to Obtain Every Needful Thing

David A. Bednar

"Blessings will come as we strive to fulfill our individual responsibility to learn and love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ."

I missed seeing Shelly this morning at church. She didn't want to cause a disruption in the chapel so she sat in the foyer and I missed her. Afterward sacrament meeting she went to the singles ward.

We sat by Kim and Brian during sacrament on the back row. Several youth spoke on conference talks and it was difficult to hear them. Elder Irish was the last speaker and we could hear him fine. He bore his testimony and shared some messages from the prophet, President Nelson. Kim and Brian went home after sacrament meeting. 

Cammy was nervous about teaching in Relief Society. She is teaching from Elder Holland's conference address, "Behold the Lamb of God."  The sisters came through for Cammy and we had a good discussion about reverence in the chapel and during the sacrament. I noticed that Holly G. wasn't there and I texted her after church to make sure she was okay. 

We had a family history meeting after the block. I forgot about it and was visiting in the RS room with Tamara, Kailee, and Kerri. I was a little embarrassed coming in late. Everyone was there except our teenager Ty. I texted him afterwards and told him we wanted him to visit Charlie G. and that James would go with him. Tamara his mom said he would do it but it would be after May 4th because he is preparing for the state track tournament.

James and I fixed biscuits and gravy for Kim and Brian before they left. James did all the work. I got the biscuits out of the freezer and warmed them up in the oven. The venison gravy was delicious!

Kim, Brian and I played a game of Five Crowns before they left. Brian whipped us each by over a 100 points. Maybe he was getting even with us for eating Rocky Road ice cream in front of him. (He's lactose intolerant).

After Kim and Brian left James went to the Howard's to help Tom with family history. While I was home alone I listened to a podcast interview with Sheri Dew about her association with prophets. She has written three books about prophets, Ezra Taft Benson, Gordon B. Hinckley, and now Russell M. Nelson. She told the story of the circumstances surrounding the meeting of Wendy Watson and President Nelson. She was a part of them getting together. I want this book that she has written for mother's day. I have told James and posted an advertisement for it on my white board. No jewlery honey, just a book.

I caught up on my blog this evening and watched a Mormon Message video, "The Passover Lamb." Tamara told us about this video in Relief Society today. This is something I will watch every Easter.

Happy Sabbath from these two sweet girls!

 Anxiously awaiting!

Dear sweet Ruby

Friday, April 26th, 2019

Cedar City, Utah

159th operating temple

Dedicated: 10 Dec 2017

By: Henry B. Eyring

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

John 19:7

The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 17:1-20

New Testament "Come Follow Me
Luke 10:25-37 How can we be better neighbors?

General Conference

Exercising Our Spiritual Muscles

Juan Pablo Villar

"Just as reading and earning about muscles is not enough to build muscle, reading and learning about faith without adding action is insufficient to build faith."

This morning I work up thinking of my neighbor Kathy Crane. Interesting how today's Come Follow Me lesson is about the Good Samaritan. I think I am feeling guilty because I have not bought any eggs from Kathy. I also woke up with the impression that I should visit the sisters I minister to and take them some bread. Most of my inspiration comes in the early hours of the morning.

Well Paul is going to Costa Rico with his boss. She chose him over several other people. I hope she doesn't think he speaks Spanish. 

We are surrounded by smoke this morning because of the brush burn. This does not make me happy. 

I buffed the wax on the floor today and I must say they look pretty good. James loves how they look. I think I put too much wax on and they are a little too shiny. I spent most of the afternoon cleaning, getting ready for Kim and Brian. They arrived at 6 pm. Grateful to be here. It's 104 degrees in the valley and they are already tired of it. 

Kim, Brian and I were watching a Hallmark Christmas movie when James came in and announced that he did not have his temple recommend. I guess it was in his wallet that he left at Darrel and Trina's.

We sold another book and made $15.63 profit. Whoopee.

We were in bed by 9:30 because we have to get up early tomorrow for our shift at the temple.

                                trade our time in Chandler for anything.

 Molly looks happy, Charlie looks a little scared.

The movie I watched with Brian and Kim.

 Giraffees are such interesting animals.