Monday, January 21st, 2019

Halifax, Nova Scotia

64th operating temple

Dedicated: 14 Nov 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

2 Nephi 31:ll

And the Father said: Repent ye repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.

Book of Mormon

*How does Nephi show patience and understanding to his brothers?

New Testament "Come Follow Me"

BD: John, the Gospel of John

General Conference

The Role of the Book of Mormon in Conversion

Elder Shayne M. Bowen

"As we better understand who we are and the purposes of the Book of Mormon, our conversion deepens and becomes more certain. We are strengthened in our commitment to keep the covenants we have made with God. A principal purpose of the Book of Mormon is to gather scattered Israel."

Addy made plans to go to the mall with her friends today. She sat down on the couch and began counting her money. She has $330. II reminded her to pay her tithing and she said she would. Saturday night she earned $50 babysitting. I also said I thought she should open up a savings account so she wouldn't be tempted to spend her money. She said that was a good idea.

Ruby and Rowan each went to a friends house today. Lola went to dance class and then her friend Ivy came over to play. 

James took Jared this morning to Hertz to pick up the car they reserved. Because the credit card it was reserved under was in Kacey's name, she had to be the one picking up the car. James came back to the house and took Kacey to the car rental place on McQueen and Guadalupe. 

We met Jared and Kacey for lunch at the Zuppa's on Baseline and Val Vista. The weather was nice so we ate on the patio.

Grandpa was finished eating first so he

held Charlie so the rest of us could finish

our lunch.

After lunch we drove over to visit with James's mother and his sister Dawn. Dawn told us to hurry because she was leaving soon and she wanted to see the baby. 

Of course Lois had James's birthday gifts ready for him. A shirt, six pairs of socks, $40 cash, and a plaque that she made that said: "Escape the Indoors." Dawn gave him a $40 gift card for Joe's BBQ. He was quite happy.

This is one loved baby!

Back to Chandler and my appointment at Dr. Shah's. He says my incision is 70% healed and wants to see me back on Friday, Feb. 1st. I have instructions to brush with the mouthwash on the incision area, use a water pick, an electric toothbrush, and floss. It almost makes me wish I never had to eat...well, not really.

Back to Darrel and Trina's. James went upstairs to take a nap. I was going to walk but then decided to find a UPS store and mail our book boxes. I found one on Ellsworth and Baseline. After mailing the boxes I also found a Soda Rush and got myself a sugar cookie. 

Trina, Jared, Kacey, and I were sitting around the family room talking and playing with the baby when I got a text from Stacy asking if I had made reservations at Firebirds. We had made plans to meet there at 6:30. I said no, I didn't, would she. She said she didn't want to so Trina called for me.  The earliest they can get a party of 11 in is at 7:30. Stacy said that was too late for her, so we went a little early and they seated us before 7:30. It was a fun night and a great way to celebrate Jared and Kacey's second anniversary.

The food was good and so was the company!

Everyone here except Darrel who had to work and

Ian, who was tired from working all day. Sheri took

his dinner home to him.

Back at Darrel and Trina's I unloaded the dishwasher, and put the dirty dishes in. I also had to spot mop the floor because my shoes had something black on the bottom of them. I didn't go outside to walk because it was too cold. As a result I only got 5,927 steps today.

 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
That's why there was no school.

 This was last night in Arizona around 8:30 p.m. but we forgot
to check. The moon was gorgeous tonight when it came up.

This is what Charlie woke up to.

Lola eating peanut butter. She's all ready

for her dance class.

 There are advantages, at least for Ollie, in
keeping your tree up.

We love you Elder Wilhelm!

Beautiful!

Love this!

Rowan and Ruby went to Sheri's while we were at

Firebirds. We drove with Trina and she dropped them off.

This is afterwards. Rowan working on his homework.

I try.

Monday, January 16, 2012
MLK day so the kids were out of school.
It was nice and cool when I went on my walk to Walmart. I warmed up by having a fruit and oatmeal cup at McDonald's for breakfast. You are right Sheri they are yummdelicious!
I had an appointment at Arizona Arthritis and Rheumatology today. It's just my routine that I have every 4 months where I see the doctor and then have my blood drawn. (They took 4 vials today). My blood pressure was 112/62 and I'm not mentioning my weight. Let's just say I need to loose some.
In high school Stacy had a friend named Cindy Ganado. Cindy was a devoted Catholic girl and Stacy tried inviting her to Church activities but she was never interested. When they were 16 Stacy gave Cindy a Book of Mormon. Cindy ended up joining the Church and marrying a good friend, John Teasley, who also happens to be Mormon. Stacy got a Christmas card from John and Cindy this year (they live in Carlsbad, Calif.) with the following letter from John inside:
"Stacy, I wanted to share an experience with you that I had today at church. I teach Sunday school to the 14 year olds (including our 14 year old, Alyssa). This year we will be teaching from the Book of Mormon. Cindy has such a powerful conversion story, I asked her to come share her experience with how she came to know that the Book of Mormon is true.
Stacy, as you know, it was the Book of Mormon that you had the courage to give to her when you were 16 that she read when she received a spiritual witness as to the truthfulness of that book. As she related her experience of how the Book of Mormon was the foundation of her testimony, and how it was the something that she couldn't deny when deciding whether she should be baptized or not, I got to thinking. I started to think about what would have happened if you hadn't given her that Book of Mormon. When she began to have a mild curosity about the church when we were dating as freshmen in college would she have reached out to me or someone else to get a copy of the Book of Mormon? Probably not. She didn't even tell me that she had been reading it until she was well into the book. Other questions flashed through my mind such as: If that book that you gave her wasn't easily within her reach, would she have been baptized? Would we have been married? Would we have had kids born under the covenant? Would our lives and the lives of our children have been the recipients of the rich blessings that we have received over the years as a result of the gospel? Maybe, but maybe not. Regardless, it hit me like a ton of bricks today that I owe you a huge debt of gratitude for loving her enough and having the courage to write down your testimony and giving her that Book of Mormon back in high school.
Though she would never admit it, or even necessarily agree with it, today, Cindy is a force for good in the gospel. She is one of the most noble and valiant spirits I have evern known. She has affected so many lives through her example, love, and service. She has faithfully served in many callings. She has served in the Young Women's program, as a stake missionary, and as a Primary President. Currently she is the Relief Society President in our ward ministering to the temporal and spiritual needs of many. Most importantly, she keeps me on the right track, and is an amazing mother to our 4 children.
Please know that your single act has had a major impact for good in Cindy's life, my life, the lives of our children, and the lives of countless more. Thank you again, Stacy. I guess we sometimes wait for years to realize the impact of sharing our testimonies with others.