Sunday, January 13th, 2018

Madrid, Spain

56th operating temple

Dedicated:  19 Mar 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Divine Sonship

Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Book of Mormon
1 Nephi 11:12-30
*Who do I know that needs to read the Book of Mormon?
* Why didn't the angel just tell Nephi the meaning of the vision?
New Testament "Come Follow Me"
Luke 1:46-55 Mary's Magnificat
46 - My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 - My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 - He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: ... henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 - He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50 - His mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 - He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 - He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53 - He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 - He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 - As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
General Conference

For Him

Joy D. Jones

"Can you think back on a time when you lovingly reached out with sincere effort to help someone in need and felt that your efforts went unnoticed or perhaps were unappreciated or even unwanted? In that moment, did you question the value of your service? If so, may the words of King Benjamin replace your doubt and even your hurt: 'Ye are only in the service of your God.'

Rather than building resentment, we can build, through service, a more perfect relationship with our Heavenly Father. Our love for and devotion to Him preempts the need for recognition or appreciation and allows His love to flow to and through us."

Ensign: "Mary, the Mother of Jesus" 

Gabriel appeared to Zacharias because he and Elisabeth had prayed for a miracle child, but he came to Mary ... not to fulfill a petition but to announce God's will for her. Calls of discipleship often require alterations to and personal life plans. 

It is another winter wonderland outside. It snowed during the night and we have another 6-8 inches. I love new snow, it makes the world look so beautiful and white. 

As I was studying Brother Bowen's talk, "The Role of the Book of Mormon in Conversion" for Relief Society I came across this statement:  "When I arrived in Chile, my mission president invited us to read the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded in the Joseph Smith-History every week. He taught us that a testimony of the First Vision would have a direct correlation to our own testimony of the gospel and our testimony of the Book of Mormon.

I believe this is true and I took the time today to read the First Vision. 

The bishop called James up out of the congregation during sacrament meeting to bear his testimony. I must say, he did a great job. I had several people tell me afterwards how much they enjoyed what he said. 

We didn't go to the Peeler's because Brother Peeler said his road was too bad but we found out later that Kathy and the Lauritzen's went so Donna did get the sacrament. 

Lorraine Vaught was not at church today so I called her to make sure she was okay. She said she had taken a fall yesterday and because of the snow she decided to stay home today. She thanked me for checking on her. Sister Halcomb, Kerri's mom, wasn't there either. Kerri said her hip was bothering her and she didn't want to take the chance of falling so she stayed home. 

I have today and tomorrow morning to finish my ministering interviews. I have 12 companionships and quarterly I am supposed to contact at least one person from each companionship. I was able to get 9 out of 12. I tried to contact the last three but they did not answer me.  Tamara got 10 out of 13 and Kerri 4 out of 13.

I quit taking my ibruprofen and hydrocodone because one of them was causing me to have shortness of breath. I went back to tramadol and it is causing me to itch like crazy!

President Nelson's 67 year old daughter passed away this week from cancer. She is the second daughter he has lost to cancer. He and Wendy were in Paradise, California today speaking to victims of the fire. 

A Prophet who has drawn from a hidden well of strength from the Lord.

James and I studied from the "Come Follow Me" lesson this evening. This week we are studying about worshipping the Savior in Luke 2 and Matthew 2.

I am excited that the new season of Victoria is on Masterpiece Theater beginning tonight. We did not watch it but I have it taped.

These two are a couple in real life. Maybe that is why they

are so believable.

 Getting ready for the Rome, Italy temple 

open house. The dedication is in March.

Brother and Sister Renlund spoke to

the young adults this evening.

 Trying out some cereal

 Not sure she likes it.

 Teething is the pits!

 Our little southern belle.

James writing in his journal.

From last week's lesson.

I love Walter Rane's artwork.

Monday, August 6th, 2018

Madrid, Spain

56th operating temple

Dedicated: 19 March 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Creator

Mosiah 26:23

For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand.

Book of Mormon

Alma 46:11-28

*Who were the first people to call themselves Christians?

- And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come. Nephite civilization, about 73 B.C.

Old Testament

Job 23-25

23 Job seeks the Lord and asserts his own righteousness - He says, When the Lord has tried me, I will come forth as gold.

24 Murderers, adulterers, those who oppress the poor, and wicked people in general often go unpunished for a little while.

25 Bildad bemoans the lowly state of man and classifies him as a worm.

General Conference

The Prophet of God

Elder Neil L. Andersen

"Although we admire all of these noble qualities, why do we follow President Nelson? Why do we follow the prophet? Because the Lord Jesus Christ has called him and designated him as His watchman on the tower."

F.H.E.

Meek and Lowly of Heart

Elder David A. Bednar

"The Christlike quality of meekness often is misunderstood in our contemporary world. Meekness is strong, not weak; active, not passive; courageous, not timid; restrained, not excessive; modest, not self-aggrandizing; and gracious, not brash. A meek person is not easily provoked, pretentious, or overbearing and readily acknowledges the accomplishments of others."

James went into the well house this morning and realized the leak was worse than he thought. There was water on the floor and mold growing on the walls. Something needs to be done. Little did I know that the bath I took today would be the last for awhile.

I read an article in the Ensign this morning by Elder Kevin W. Pearson, "How to Survive Spiritually." Here is what he suggests we do in order to survive spiritually:
1. Love and obey God first.
2. Hold personal prayer and seek the Holy Ghost.
3. Seek learning even by study and also by faith.
4. Search the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon everyday.
5. Focus on the big picture.
6. Above all else, Trust in Jesus Christ.

I fixed a big lunch today. Pork chops with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables. I would have fixed a salad but the salad mix had gone bad even though it said it was good until August 9th.

"Love is the only thing that lasts." - Adam S. Miller, "An Early Resurrection."

James wrote and I typed, a letter to Jeff Omahen of National Turf regarding the work done at the Phoenician Golf Course. James asked for full payment in a timely fashion. After he wrote this letter he left for the Howard's. He was back after a short time because no one was home. The next thing he did was head for Stanford Store with two gas cans to get gas for my car. I don't think I could have made it if I drove there. I'm glad I didn't drive because Stanford was out of gas and James had to go all the way into Show Low.

Jared called this afternoon. We are trying to decide when James and I should come to Texas after the baby is born. Finally, after talking to James, we decided on Sept 18-24. That means we will need to get a sub to work for us in the temple on the 22nd.

This evening we watched the latest Hallmark Summer Nights movie starring Cameron Mathison and Catherine Bell.

 Bishop Tomlinson is an amazing guy!

Looks like the road we were on when 

I saw my herd of bachelor elk or I

should say elk royalty!

Wednesday, February 28th, 2018I

Madrid, Spain

56th operating temple

Dedicated: 19-21 Mar 1999

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ Authority of

Hebrew 5:10

Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

Book of Mormon

*What could an ensign symbolize for us?

-The temple is an ensign and it symbolizes eternal life.

Old Testament

Numbers 4-5

4 When the camps of Israel move, Aaron and his sons cover the holy things in the tabernacle - The Levites of the families of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari carry the burden of the tabernacle.

5 Lepers are put out of the camp - Sinners must confess and make restitution to gain forgiveness - Women believed to be immoral undergo a trial of jealousy before the priests.

General Conference

The Voice of the Lord

Elder Neil L. Andersen

" We should not be alarmed when the words of the Lord's servants run counter to the thinking of the world and at times, our own thinking. It has always been this way. I am on my knees in the temple with my Brethren. I attest to the goodness of their souls. Their greatest desire is to please the Lord and help God's children return to His presence."

I watched the first episode of season one of "Victoria" on my phone this morning via Amazon Prime. I was going to cancel my Prime membership but now I have changed my mind. Here are some of my favorite lines from this episode:

Lady Flora: "Does the queen deem me capable of betraying all that I hold dear?" (The queen suspected her of having an affair)

The queen demands an examination of Flora to see if she is "with child." When she finds out she is not, but has a tumor and is going to die, she goes in to apologize to Lady Flora. This is what Lady Flora says to her: "To be queen you must be more than a little girl with a crown. You have a responsibility to your subjects, you cannot play with them like dolls." Queen Victoria goes to her room and takes the doll out that she brought with her. She locks her up in a chest in the bottom of her dresser. The name of this episode: "The Doll."

Victoria and Albert

Albert: "A love like ours can burn down a city."

We have over 1 inch of snow on the ground this morning. This seems to always happen on a day we are leaving for the valley. 

I got some more good quotes in my reading this morning. This one is by Michael Crichton who is at the Rootstech Conference:

"If you don't know history you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know its' part of a tree,"

President Uchtdorf from the February Ensign, p, 80: " The pursuit, discovery, and application of truth are what we are on this earth to discover."

We left around 10 this morning. It really was hard to leave the snow. We saw snow and frosted trees for over 50 minutes on our drive towards Salt River Canyon. We stopped at Burger House for refreshment. 

Only Darrel and Lola were home when we arrived in East Mesa. James unloads me and our stuff and heads for his doctor's appointment in Glendale. Dr. Moffat requested he see an infectious disease doctor because of his re-occurring sinus infections. Long story short, he couldn't find the doctor's office and the battery went dead on his phone. He came home and made another appointment on the 14th of March. 

I spent the afternoon working on my blog at Darrel and Trina's kitchen table. Addy is not feeling well. She is having her next choir concert next week on March 8th. I hope I can come. 

Rowan has a school assignment to invent and display a planet. I forgot to take a picture of his display but it is orange with a yellow rings around it. James thought it was Saturn. Rowan says it is made of cheese and potatoes and its' name is "Munster." In describing parts of it he said that the Swiss hills are filled with caves. (The boy is clever!)

Ruby is playing with her friend. She came home for a minute and grabbed her tablet and asked Addy if she could borrow her old backpack. Of course Addy says yes. Pretty soon Ruby's friends mother calls Darrel to ask if the girls are at his house. He says no and goes out looking for them. He finds them at the park on their bikes. 

Ruby recently did a report on Abraham Lincoln. While we were out walking this evening she said: "Did you know Abraham Lincoln laughed at farts?" No Ruby, I didn't know that and I'm not sure why you do.

Lola loves to play and use her imagination. She talks to herself and plays and watches TV. She is a very happy little girl.

I know this photo is blurry but it shows Lola

watching TV and using her pillow as a horsey.

Trina got home early from work so she could go to New Beginnings with Addy but Addy does not feel like going. 

She stayed home while the rest of us went for a walk around the block a few times. I got 15,000 steps today.

Oops! 15,070 steps!

Happy Birthday Trenda! 

I think you are 20. Am I right?

I want one of these

Friday, September 22nd, 2017

Madrid, Spain

56th operating temple

Dedicated: 19 March 1999

By: President Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Appearances, Antemortal

Deuteronomy 5:24

And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man,, and he liveth.

Helaman 7:13-8:10

*When have you raised your voice in support of the living prophet?

-Some of my thoughts: "By my sustaining vote in General Conference, by listening to their counsel and trying to follow it, bearing testimony and standing as a witness. I try to remember them in my prayers and speak out against those who are critical of them.

DC 138:1-10

*How can pondering the scriptures be a prerequisite to receiving revelation?

-Revelations come to those who are prepared spiritually and mentally. "When we are relaxed in a private room we are susceptible to revelation. My best thoughts come in the morning when I am relaxed and thinking about the duties of the day." -President David O. McKay.  Studying and pondering the scriptures prepares one's mind and heart to receive the things of the Spirit. Under those conditions one can be taught from on high.

General Conference

Let the Holy Spirit Guide

Elder Ronald A. Rasband

"If we let the Lord know in our morning prayers that we are ready, He will call on us to respond. If we respond, He will call on us time and time again and we will find ourselves on what President Monson calls 'the Lords errand.' We will become spiritual first responders bringing help from on high."

"Following gospel standards and keeping the commandments set us apart as true disciples of Christ. When we make that step to go from good to even better, we truly please our Father in Heaven. We need to rely on Jesus Christ and the power of His Atonement to improve at least a little bit each day. There are no fence-sitters in the gospel. We are either moving forward or falling back, and the idea of 'I'm doing well enough right now' will inevitably cause us to fall back." - Elder Neal A. Maxwell

The Church, because of some generous donors, was able to acquire the printers manuscript of the Book of Mormon from the Community of Christ Church for $35 million.  

The inauguration was held for the 17th BYU-Idaho President. President Henry B. Eyring formally installed his son, Henry J. Eyring.

Trump declares disaster in Puerto Rico and makes more federal funds available.

The Church is grieving the deaths of several LDS during the recent quakes in Mexico while providing temporal and spiritual support.

I had lunch at my friend Pam's today. I am her visiting teacher and she invites me to lunch. She made the most delicious minestrone soup. After we finished eating we went to visit Mary C. who is my visiting teaching companion. We came away from the visit trying to figure out how we could help Mary. She has four small children at home and one of them is a little boy who has autism. He does not sleep well at night and is quite a handful during the day. Mary is exhausted and we feel like she could use some help. I am going to talk to the Relief Society president and see what can be done.

While I was making egg salad sandwiches for our potluck at the temple tomorrow James went on a Razr ride down to Chocolate Lake. He ran out of gas. I had to stop what I was doing and take him some gas. Oh the things we do for those we love.

We watched Heartland, "Sweethearts of the Rodeo."

This is Frankie, she is a handicapped goat

taken care of by "Goats of Anarchy."

Dallin with choir backup. I think Joe is in the choir.

Primary booklets to be given out at the end

of the year. A page summary of each lesson.

An example of one of the pages.

This month's visiting teaching handout.

The purple case is a sewing kit that goes

with the scripture: "Our hearts knit together

in unity and love." -Mosiah 18:21

Paul, Stacy and Joshua at Disney's

Splash Mountain.

Stained glass windows at the San Antonio temple.

This photo was taken by Jared Lambson.

Cathi and Terry in Salt Lake for

the family history conference.

Cathi and Terry on their wedding day.

Arizona Highways

Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017

Madrid, Spain

56th operating temple

Dedicated: 19-21 March, 1999 by

Gordon B. Hinckley

We had 7 elk in the yard this morning.

It's hard to get them all in a picture together.

Mosiah 21:1-22

After Limhi's people revolt against the Lamanites and are beaten three times, they humble themselves before the Lord and begin to prosper.  

* How did the people change after their third defeat?

* Even though the people were not immediately delivered from captivity, how did the Lord bless them as they began to repent?

* What are you doing to seek the Lords power of deliverance from your sins?

* In what ways have you been "prospered by degrees" when you have sought the Lord's help?

Gospel Principle:

When we humble ourselves, call upon the Lord, and repent of our sins, He will hear our prayers and ease the burden of our sins in His own time.

3 Nephi 20 - The beginning of the Covenant People Discourse

1-9 Jesus miraculously provides the sacramental elements

10-22 The Fulfillment of God's Covenant with Israel

23-24 Jesus Testifies of Himself

25-46 The Gathering of Israel fulfills the Abrahamic Covenant: Priesthood, Property, Posterity, and Prosperity

DC 64:26-43

The Saints are warned against debt; The rebellious will be cut off out of Zion; The Church will judge the nations; Zion will flourish.

What great things have I seen when I have been doing service for others?

Hearts softened, love increasing, I feel closer to the Savior.  "Out of small things proceedeth that which is great." My trials seem less important.

General Conference

Certain Women

Linda K. Burton

"We learn from these New Testament sisters that certain women are disciples centered in the Savior Jesus Christ and have hope through the promise of His atoning sacrifice."

"My Peace I Leave With You"

President Henry B. Eyring

Ether 12:27...for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

"These words can be a comfort to us.  Those who do not see their weaknesses do not progress.  Your awareness of your weaknesses is a blessing as it helps you remain humble and keeps you turning to the Savior.  The Spirit not only comforts you, but He is also the agent by which the Atonement works a change in your very nature.

Then weak things become strong."

I went on the website northstarlds.org today to learn a little more about gender dysphoria.  Here are some things I learned:

"As we interact with those who have gender dysphoria it is important that we have heartfelt compassion, unfeigned love, emotional sensitivity, open-mindedness with an uncompromising devotion to eternal principles and to our eternal identities and potential as His sons and daughters."  

"For those who experience gender dysphoria, we know that it is possible to live your life in harmony with the gospel as you manage your dysphoria.  It is not a sin to have this condition."

These things helped me feel better but I still have alot of questions and alot to learn.  Chloe's mother said that every LDS counselor she went to, and she went to more than one, said this is not something that will change or go away.  

There is lots of smoke today because of a prescribed burn.  It makes me angry that the Forest Service doesn't care how their smoke affects people with health issues like James and Sister Hunter in our ward.  It makes it difficult to even go outside.

The elk were back again this evening.

It's like we have our own private herd.

I made banana nut muffins for dinner.  I also read to him from "To Kill a Mockingbird."  We also watched a couple of Good Witch movies, "The Good Witch's Charm," and "The Good Witch's Destiny."  The messages: Things don't always appear as they are, and we create our own destiny.

Fun Photos:

Trina says:  Don't let the boots fool you.  I

carried her the entire way.  She was so relaxed

and comfortable she took a nap.

Antelope Canyon

I wonder how it got it's name.

I miss Holly.

She had a great life.

Heavenly Father is so creative.

The Tucson temple open house starts June 1st I believe.