OUR FAMILY: Memphis Tennessee 80th temple

Memphis, Tennessee

80th operating temple

Dedicated: 23 April 2000

By: James E. Faust

Jesus Christ, Firstborn

DC 76:94

They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace;

Book of Mormon

Alma 35:1-16

New Testament "The Word of God Grew and Multiplied"

Acts 15

General Conference

Abound with Blessings

Elder Dale G. Renlund

"A fire must receive a constant supply of oxygen for the wood to ultimately release its full potential. Faith in Christ requires ongoing action for the blaze to continue. Small actions fuel our ability to walk along the covenant path and lead t the greatest blessings God can offer. But oxygen flows only if we figuratively keep moving our feet. Sometimes we need to make a bow and arrow before revelation comes as to where we should search for food. Sometimes we need to make tools before revelations come as to how to build a ship. Sometimes, at the direction of the Lord's prophet, we need to bake a small cake from the little oil and flour we have to receive an unfailing cruse of oil and barrel of flour. And sometimes we need to 'be still and know that God is God' and trusting in His timing."

Sold a book, "Design Drawing".

After scriptures and prayer this morning James and I went upstairs and he helped me put sheets on the beds. We checked for bugs in the bathtubs but there weren't any. I think we got rid of most of the moths.

When we were finished James took a short rest because he is not feeling well. He feels like his bronchitis is coming back. I called the doctor and made him an appointment on Monday, exactly two weeks since his last appointment.

He went to work for awhile at the Howard's, an hour or so, and then came home and we left for town. We are going to get my tire fixed.

We dropped Lexy off at Discount Tire and they said it would take about an hour and a half. We walked over to Chase Bank and had our Green Acres Cemetery papers notorized. Now we need to send them in. Next we walked down to KFC for their buffet lunch. As we were eating we began to talk about Colonel Sanders. James said he didn't like the mashed potatoes and started his own restaurant called The Colonels. I argued with him and then looked Colonel Sanders up on the internet. Here are some things we found out:

Harland Sanders was born in 1890. His mom was a widow and he was the oldest of three children and was forced to take care of the home and his family. This is when he started to develop his cooking skills.

He quit school after the sixth grade saying that algebra's what drove him off.

Eventually Sanders ran a gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. To make ends meet, he began to cook and sell meals for weary travelers who stopped at the station. His food, which usually consisted of pan-fried chicken, ham, string beans, okra and hot biscuits, garnered him something of a reputation in the region for his skills as a chef. A few years later, he took out the gas pumps and set up his first restaurant.

By this time, Sanders had begun to perfect the recipe for chicken which is still closely guarded by KFC today. His winning streak grew even hotter in 1939, when he developed a method of cooking chicken via a pressure cooker which cut down on grease and preserved flavor, moisture, and texture without sacrificing cooking time. For over a decade, Sanders' restaurant prospered.

In the '50s, Sanders was struck by two blows of bad luck in rapid succession, putting the success he had finally found at great risk. The first came when the highway junction situated in front of his restaurant was moved to another location, effectively putting an end to the busy traffic which regularly passed by - and proved him with customers. That alone would be enough to put a major dent in his business, but next came the announcement of a brand new interstate highway which was to be built on a location which bypassed the restaurant by seven miles. It became clear that Sanders and his restaurant were about to be left in the dirt.

Sensing the end was near, Sanders auctioned off the site of his restaurant in 1956, and he took a loss on the sale. With no income, he was forced to scrape by a living on his savings, the proceeds of the auction, and his Social Security check of $105 per month.

After the closure of his restaurant, Sanders, now devoted to his cooking, attempted a new business tactic. He traveled across the United States, visiting potential franchisee restaurants and offering them his chicken recipe in return for 4 cents on every chicken sold (he later raised it to a nickel). Sanders' first franchisee was Pete Harman, a friend in Salt Lake City. who had seen a boom in sales since beginning to serve chicken made with Sanders' method and recipe.

By 1964, Sanders had franchised over 600 outlets and built a company worth millions of dollars Although, at that time there weren't actually any Kentucky Fried Chicken location, only restaurants that sold their chicken.

Sanders sold his company, KFC, in 1964, for 2 million. He received a down payment of $50,000, the company's assets in Canada, and a lifetime salary of $40,000 per year. He was never truly happy with the deal.

He fought with the company after the sale

In 1971, Brown, Sanders attorney, sold the company and Colonel Sanders became discontented with the direction KFC was taking: the company moved its headquarters to Tennessee, began charging a franchise fee for its outlets and took a percentage of sales rather than Sanders' preferred rate of a nickel per chicken.

Here is the part where James was right about another restaurant named The Colonel. (Really, I should never doubt him.)

Eventually, Sanders chose to open a new restaurant which he named Colonel Sanders' Dinner House. KFC posited that they owned the rights to his name and threatened legal action. He renamed his eatery to the Colonel's Lady's Dinner House, but KFC insisted they owned the rights to the word "colonel." Sanders then decided to sue the company he began - for $122 million. KFC responded by suing him for trademark infringement. They settled in 1975 and the terms have not been disclosed.

He got in trouble with the company again in 1978, when he gave a newspaper interview complaining the gravy now tasted like "wallpaper paste" (James said it was the mashed potatoes), and the new chicken recipe was horrible. The franchise where he gave the interview tried to sue him for libel, but since he was talking about the whole company and not just one location, the judge threw it out.

His final years

Despite his troubled relationship with KFC, Sander continued to work for the company for the rest of his life. He continued to tour the country on KFC's behalf and, for the last two decades of his life, was never seen in public wearing anything but his iconic white suit. In his later years, he also found religion, and donated much of his wealth to charities, such as the Salvation Army.

On December 16th, 1980, Sanders died of leukemia at the age of 90. His body was ordered to lay in state at the Kentucky State Capitol, before he was buried in Lousiville, Kentucky.

In the wake of Sanders' death, KFC's fortunes exploded It became on of the US's leading fast food brands, opened up thousands of restaurants across the world and, in the fourth quarter of 2017, enjoyed a net income of $436 million dollars.

Sorry this was so long but I wanted to prove the point that James was right and I was wrong. I am eating humble pie right now along with my KFC chicken.

Darrel and Trina and the kids arrived around 8:30 this evening. Lola opened her birthday presents and we watched the Hallmark movie, "Christmas Love."