Thursday, November 22nd, 2018

 Salt Lake City, Utah

4th operating temple

Dedicated: 6-24 Apr 1893

By: Wilford Woodruff

Jesus Christ, Death of

Isaiah 53:9

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Book of Mormon #1

Mormon 4:1-23

* Why is it important not to boast in your own strength? 

-When we boast in our own strength and go forth in our own might, repenting not of the evil we have done, but persist in our wickedness, our hearts become hardened. This leads to a lack of  the Spirit, which invites anger towards others. When we notice we have anger in our hearts, it should be an alarm to us that something is wrong. Our pride can convince us that we are okay, but anger is destructive. Repentance heals ill feelings, mends broken spirits, softens hardened hearts, and repairs damaged souls. Instead of looking for reasons to find fault in others, we need to recognize the fault within our own soul first. Also, everything good in our lives comes from God. We are selfish when we fail to acknowledge Him and express gratitude to Him for all of our blessings. DC 59:21 - "And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not His commandments.

Book of Mormon #2

Alma 40-42

Old Testament

Hosea 3-5

General Conference

Wounded

Elder Neil A. Andersen

"We search for happiness. We long for peace. We hope for love. And the Lord showers us with an amazing abundance of blessings. But intermingled with the joy and happiness, one thing is certain: there will be moments, hours, days, sometimes years when your soul will be wounded. Wounds of the soul are not unique to the rich or the poor, to one culture, one nation, or one generation. They come to all and are part of the learning we receive from this mortal experience."

Happy Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving started out by James turning on the smoker, taking the turkey out of the brine, cutting it in pieces, and putting it in the smoker, under Brian's capable supervision. 

We walked outside to put the meat in the smoker

and had to take a picture of this beautiful

sunrise.

These two make a great team!

Kim spent the morning making her pumpkin delight dessert. I will never eat plain old pumpkin pie again. The yellow cake crust with pecans is divine! 

Kim started to do the dishes from her dessert making when the water in the kitchen sink suddenly dwindled to a trickle. We told James and as he was going out to check the well, I noticed a huge puddle of water on the floor. The problem is under the sink. James immediately got under the sink and began looking for the leak. It's not coming from the pipes like it did last time. This time it's coming from one of the connecting fittings. 

Under the sink again, not the

way you want to spend Thanksgiving Day.

I am grateful for a husband who can fix anything.

Sometimes he has to wait until the stores are open for parts.

After trying for almost an hour to fix the leak, including using 

duct tape, James said he would have to leave the water to the sink off, but there would be no problem with the water throughout the rest of the house. We ended up doing all of the many dishes, probably the biggest meal of the year, in the bathtub.

James did most of the dishes, and I dried 

and put away.

Our smoked turkey was delicious. So were the mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry celebration, green bean casserole, yams, corn, and rolls. The meal was great and the company even better.

We used paper plates instead of china because

of the broken faucet. Grateful to Kim and Brian

for coming to see us every other year.

One of the reasons that Trina and Sheri like to stay at home is the Turkey Trot.

Turkey Trotters

Trina did her first Turkey Trot when she was a

freshman in high school. Addy is a freshman and

this was her first Turkey Trot.

Some of our blessings:

These girls had Thanksgiving together

in Arkansas.

Christmas movies:

"Wish Upon a Christmas"

"A Christmas Arrangement"

"The Christmas Contract"

starring the cast of 

One Tree Hill

"A Godwink Christmas"

Sunday, January 7th, 2018

Salt Lake City, Utah

4th operating temple

Dedicated: 6-24 April 1893

By: Wilford Woodruff

Jesus Christ Atonement through

DC 18:11

For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 5:7-6:6

*Lehi was filled with the Spirit as he began to read the plates. Which scripture really teaches you and why?

*The Nephites understood the importance of their genealogy. How has doing your family history made a difference in your life?

Old Testament Scripture Mastery

Exodus 20:5-6

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Old Testament/P.G.P.

Genesis 13-14; Abraham 3

General Conference

"I Have a Work for Thee"

Elder John C. Pingree

"Some of us wonder, 'Do I have any gifts?' Again, the answer is yes! 'To every man and woman is given a gift by the Spirit of God...that all may be profited thereby' (DC 46:11-12). A number of spiritual gifts are documented in scripture (see 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 31; Moroni 10:8-18; DC 46:8-26), but there are many others. Some might include having compassion, expressing hope, relating well with people, organizing effectively, speaking or writing persuasively, teaching clearly, and working hard.

So how do we come to know our gifts? We can reference our patriarchal blessing, ask those who know us best, and personally identify what we are naturally good at and enjoy. Most important, we can ask God. He knows our gifts since He gave them to us."

It rained in the wee hours of the morning and then quit before we went to church. It was nice to see the ground wet on a day we are fasting and praying for moisture.

Fast and testimony meeting today was a lot of reminiscing about President Monson. I bore my testimony and told how his daughter who cared for him while he was ill wondered what she could do to bring joy back in his life.  The thought came to her to take her father to visit old friends who were shut-ins. She did this and it made them and her father happy. 

These are the children in my Primary class this year: Jace, Colter, and Amaron are the boys. Gracie, Liana, and Andyn are the girls. I only have two new children. Everyone was here today. 

I sat by Amaron during sharing time and he was loaded with question. He asked me if I wore makeup, when I said yes, he said, "You are beautiful." I must say I do like him. 

"I Am a Child of God" was the only song we sang during sharing time. We are learning all four verses. During sharing time Lannie said that Heavenly Father knows us by name, just as he knew Joseph Smith by name. The bishop got up and made the same point. 

Sister Becky asked the children what it means to be reverent. Abby, from the six year old class raised her hand and said: "It means to be quiet and respectful." I thought that was a great answer to come from someone so young. I made a point to text her mom to tell her.

Liana usually comes back to my classroom and helps me cleanup and then helps me carry my things to the car. James was late. Just when I was about to text him he came running to the car and put his things in the backseat. He said he was going to go on a visit and he would see me at home.

In my readings regarding the Old Testament I came across this information. Between June 1830 and February 1831, the Prophet Joseph complete Genesis 1:1 through 6:13, which is now contained in the Pearl of Great Price as Moses 1-8.

The internet was not working very well this evening. I was trying to blog and James was doing indexing. Finally, we just gave up.

I did not watch any TV today. I spent the afternoon studying. I also made some assignments for James's party on the 20th. Stacy is doing a power point presentation and I asked if everyone could get their photos to her by Friday the 12th. We would also like everyone to share a memory and something they learned from dad. I am collecting those. 

Elder Heyman and two former missionaries he

ran into while visiting a stake conference.

A coatimundi killed by one of Jackson's friends.

(Sorry, this is not appropriate for the Sabbath.)

Interesting

Even more interesting!

I sure do love these two smiling faces!

Sunset