Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Salt Lake, Utah

4th operating temple

Dedicated: 6-24 April 1893

By: Wilford Woodruff

Atonement

2 Nephi 11:5

Jesus Christ, Advocate

DC 45:3

Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him-

Alma 43:27-40

Moroni acted on the knowledge he received from the prophet

*What did you notice about the Lamanites' reasons for fighting? (29-30)

*What were the Nephites' reasons for fighting?

*What can we learn from the examples of Moroni and his army to help us in our battles against the adversary?

Principles:

1. As we pray for help in accomplishing our righteous plans and desires, God will help us accomplish them.

2. We are inspired by a better cause than those who oppose the truth.

3. The Lord will help us fulfill our duty to defend our families, our liberty, and our religion.

DC 107:21-40

21-38, The First Presidency, the Twelve, ad the Seventy constitute the presiding quorums, whose decisions are to be made in unity and righteousness;

What attributes must be present in the quorums for them to make righteous decisions?

*"Every decision made by either of these quorums must be made by the unanimous voice." (27). When unity is present among individuals, peace and love are felt for those present and for those whom we serve. Families and marriages should be the same. Unity with the Lord is critical for our success.

General Conference

Trust in the Lord and Lean Not

Bonnie H. Cordon

" Service," Amy testifies, "saved my life. Where I ultimately found my strength to keep moving forward was the happiness I discovered in trying to relieve the suffering of those around me. (Amy has a very serious cancer.) I looked forward to our service projects with great joy and anticipation. You would think that someone who was bald, poisened, and fighting for her life was justified in thinking that 'right now it is all about me.' However, when I thought about myself, my situation, my suffering and pain, the world became very dark and depressing. When my focus turned to others, there was light, hope, strength, courage, and joy. I know that this is possible because of the sustaining, healing, and enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

Today I spent some time on Family Search. I am trying to find a wedding date for William Walker and Sarah. The problem is the only information I have on Sarah is her name. My next step is to look for a marriage record in the early 1880's in Georgia.

We got a call from President Miller at the Snowflake temple today. We scheduled Wednesday, August 16th at 10 a.m. to meet with a member of the temple presidency about James and I becoming temple workers.

I left for town late morning with the intention of getting bloodwork done at Sonoran Lab for Dr. Moffat. When I got into town I discovered that the lab is closed from noon until one and it was about 12:15. I decided that next week when I get my infusion I will have them send lab results to Dr. Mofford. I went to Aliberto's and got my two tacos with rice and beans. I am saving the rice and beans for later. It was raining when I finished my lunch and headed for Walmart. 

I did some shopping and picked up five prescriptions at Walmart. I talked to the pharmacist who knew Darrel. His name is Brett B. He is also a bishop in Show Low.

When I got home it was raining so James wanted to read on the deck. After reading I worked on my blog and cleaned the family and living room floors and dusted. 

James spent the morning at the Howard's again. He came home exhausted. He also said that Brother Howard fell off the ladder and hit a tree. 

Trina called today and said the only thing Rowan wanted for his birthday was to come to the cabin next weekend. I told her we would love that!  

James and I watched "The Nanny Express" on the Hallmark channel this evening. 

Photos:

Kacey posted this video. Summer teaching Jared a

dance move and laughing when he succeeds.

Pretty cute!

Arizona waterfalls are the best!

2013. I love Joshua's toothless smile.

They rode the Razr after this.

Tasha and her boys, Zack and Quinton.

Emery and Trenda honeymoon in Colorado.

Saturday, June 24th, 2017

Salt Lake

4th operating temple

Dedicated: 6-24 April 1893 by

Wilford Woodruff

3 Nephi 16

Jesus will visit others of the lost sheep of Israel; In the latter days the gospel will go to the Gentiles and then to the house of Israel The Lord's people will see eye to eye when He brings again Zion.

Alma 21:1-23

Aaron and his brethren preach the gospel in spite of trials and imprisonment.

* One of the trials Aaron faced was opposition from the Amalekites as he taught them (see Alma 21:5-10). What can we do if someone wants to argue with us about religion or challenge our beliefs?

* If we faithfully persist through trials, the Lord will help us do His work. (Read Alma 21:16-17 to see how the Lord helped Aaron and his brethren do His work.)

DC 90:17-37

19-37, Various individuals are counseled by the Lord to walk uprightly and serve in His kingdom.

General Conference

The Godhead and the Plan of Salvation

Elder Dallin H. Oaks

"Any person that had seen the heavens opened knows that there are three personages in the heavens who hold the keys of power, and one presides over all..."... these personages ...are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the Witness or Testator. It is the province of the Father to preside as the Chief of President, Jesus as the Mediator, and the Holy Ghost as Testator or Witness."

James made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast. Afterwards he and Kacey and Jared go to the Phoenix temple. Kacey wanted to go to a temple that she had never been to before.

I didn't go because of my cough.

Kacey and Jared at the Phoenix temple

Cute picture 

I wish they were holding hands.

Ian, Sheri, Ben, Max, and Evan came over to swim today. 

Ben's face says it all!

I'm not sure who won.

Patty cake, patty cake

There goes Evan!

After swimming they all came back inside our room.  Sheri, Max, and I played Five Crowns and then it was time to say goodbye.

Soon after the Trezise's left, James, Jared, and Kacey returned.  They changed clothes and I got dressed.  We all headed to the Olive Garden in Scottsdale to use the gift cards James got for father's day and the one I got for mother's day.  

After Olive Garden we went to Bass Pro Shop so James could get some ammo and exploding targets for his Top Shot competition at the cabin.  Kacey couldn't believe it was 120 degrees outside.

Thanks for smiling Kacey!

When we got back to the resort Kacey and Jared watched "Beauty and the Beast," I worked on my blog, and James took a nap.  

After the movie Kacey and Jared went to Sonic for drinks.  Of course I ordered one.  For dinner the guys grilled us hot dogs and hamburgers.  I fixed corn-on-the-cob and beans, and strawberry shortcake.

  

After dinner we played Five Crowns.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Salt Lake Temple in the spring

Mosiah 15

* Can you find the words redeem, redeemer, redeemed, and redemption in this chapter. ( I found 11) Underline them.  These words are important to Abinadi's message.  Redeem means to release from debt or to set free by paying a ransom.

* What would happen to us without Christ's redemption?

3 Nephi 7-8

7 The chief judge is murdered, the government is destroyed, and the people divide into tribes - Jacob, an anti-Christ, becomes king of a secret combination - Nephi preaches repentance and faith in Christ - Angels minister to him daily, and he raises his brother from the dead - Many repent and are baptized. About A.D. 30-33.

8 Tempests, earthquakes, fires, whirlwinds, and physical upheavals attest the crucifixion of Christ - Many people are destroyed - Darkness covers the land for three days - Those who remain bemoan their fate. About A.D. 33-34.

DC 61:19-39

36 And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you;

How can verse 36 help us to remember that the Lord is always near?

General Conference

Let the Holy Spirit Guide

Elder Ronald A. Rasband

 "By divine assignment, the Holy Ghost inspires, testifies, teaches, and prompts us to walk in the light of the Lord."

Whatsoever He Saith unto You, Do It

Elder L. Whitney Clayton

When we decide to do "whatsoever God saith unto us,"

we earnestly commit to align our everyday behavior with 

God's will."

Today during Primary class I ask my kids if I could take a picture of them.  This is what I got:

Taylor should be in our class too:

My phone betrayed me during teacher council meeting today and began playing a song.  I had to go out in the hall to stop it.  I could have just turned the volume down but I could a little too rattled.

James did not make it to his meetings today but he felt better this afternoon.  We had 11 elk in our backyard.  They saw us looking at them through the window and got a little skittish but ended up staying.  James watched them for a long time and finally scared them off because one of the yearlings kept eating leaves off one of his apple trees.  He had sprayed them but the elk would chew on it and then spit it out.  He did this several times, so off they went.

While listening to Elder L. Whitney Clayton's conference address, a phrase stuck in my mind: "Simple daily practices of faith lead to miraculous events."  As a result I sent a text message to my kids reminding them that it is through obedience that we receive blessings.  I felt the Spirit very strongly and I was aware of Heavenly Father's love for me for one of the first times in my life.

Text Message 

As I was listening this evening to Elder L. Whitney Clayton's conference address, "Whatsoever He Saith Unto You, Do It," something was brought back to my memory, a miracle that occurred in my life.  I know I have told most of you about this miracle, but as I have pondered over it the last several weeks since it occurred, I have learned something very profound: The small things really are the big things.  Elder Clayton says it this way: "Simple habits of belief lead to miraculous events." 

Let me tell you about what happened when we stopped at a gas station in San Antonio and our car began making a terrible noice.  When Erik heard via cell phone the horrific noise our car was making he told us to stop driving it and have it towed right away.  When dad told me this I said no, we will be ok, drive on. For the first few miles on the freeway this loud clanging noise continued and then it stopped and our car was running smoothly again.  We have not had a problem since.  Oh, did I mention that I was praying continuously and talking to Heavenly Father about how important it was for us to be at Jared and Kacey's sealing.  This was their day and we did not want the distraction of worrying about getting our car fixed, and we could not afford a huge repair bill right now.  

When we returned to Chandler, Erik did a diagnostic test and said it looked like we had had a bad valve but everything was okay now. To me and Dad and Erik this was a miracle, a tender mercy of the Lord.  When Elder Clayton said "simple habits of belief lead to miraculous events," I though of all those early mornings of gospel study and prayer and I realized I was able to obtain this blessing because of my faithfulness.  I say that in all humility because without the Lord and His goodness I am nothing.  I have a testimony that if we strive to be obedient the Lord will bless us at the most opportune times.  I just wanted to share this with all of you whom I love so very much.  The Lord wants to bless us but he can only bless us when we are obedient. 

After scripture study, indexing, and blogging, James and I watched the season finale of "When Calls the Heart" this evening.  I love this show. Although I was a little disappointed that Mounty Jack didn't return from fighting in the Northwest territories.

Random Photos:

Gorgeous!

Watching the hummingbirds

August 2013

Molly can be very entertaining!

She looks so little.

Addy and Lola

Three years ago

I love these two faces!

Monday, January 2, 2016

A light in the darkness

1 Nephi 1:16-2:15

What do you admire most about Lehi and his family?

DC 1:11-20
How can we better prepare ourselves to counsel with the ord and then have the courage to do His will?

GC:   The Master Healer by Carole M. Stephens

"Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?"  She had received a witness - she had begun to partake of the living water - and she desired to witness of His divinity to others.  When we come to Him with humble and teachable hearts - even if our hearts are heavy with mistakes, sins, and transgressions - He can change us, "for He is mighty to save."  And with hearts changed, we can, like the Samaritan woman, go into our own cities - our homes, schools, and workplaces - to witness of Him."

I am definitely getting a cold.  I was too tired and miserable to even get up and say goodbye to Michael and his friends before they left.

Thanks to James for this picture.

Michael, Alexis, Daniel, Connor.

Alexis was sick while she was here, but she looks like she is

feeling better.

I did manage to get up and say goodbye to Alex and Shana when they left.

A couple of cuties

Alex took this picture outside of Heber.

I played a game of Five Crowns with Kim, Brian, Max, and James. Max wanted to stay with us even though the rest of his family went home yesterday.  I am afraid I wasn't much fun.  Thank goodness for Kim and Brian!  They played lots of games of Mexican Train with him.

Somewhere in Arizona

As is my habit, I checked our bank accounts on my phone this morning.  There was a charge on James's business account of $105.82l made at a Filiberto's with a debit card.  Very strange.  I am the only one who has a debit card for this account and it is in my wallet.  I immediately called the bank and they will dismiss the charge and send a new debit card.  Thank you Chase Bank.

I love Mother Teresa!

Kim and Brian fixed taquitos and pizza pockets for lunch and I had some.  This afternoon James and I started the last book in the Millennial Glory series, "Adam Ondi Ahman."  

I went to bed before dinner because I felt so lousy.  Kim and Brian fed Max.  I hope he understands how sick I am and I am not just ignoring him.

Cabin memories:

Alex looks so young!

Rockband with Michael, Ian, and

Joe while Evan and Max look on.

Friday, December 18, 2015

Salt Lake temple

I was tired this morning.  I got up to study scriptures and pray.  I ate some breakfast, took my pain pills, laid down to rest and felt better.  I got up and read my scriptures, read from Jesus the Christ, studied this week's Sunday School lesson, and read two conference talks.  

James tries to clean the car, but it is still pretty muddy from being stuck yesterday.  

We had a lunch at Wes and Teresa Smith's today.  Pam and Rick Giles were there also.  Teresa made a green chili casserole which was quite tasty.  We also had chips and salsa.  James and I brought some corn and some broccoli.  

After our lunch we went into town to Book Barn to get calendars for Christmas presents.  We had to take a detour coming home because of an overturned propane truck.  

Harold and Vickie came out this evening to help James with the satellite.  They brought us a Christmas present that Harold made, and we gave them a calendar and also sent one home for Dennis and Denise.

 Now all we have to do is add everyone's birthdays!

 Harold worked for over an hour but couldn't get the satellite to work.  He told James what he needed to do and said he would come back when James was ready.  Thanks, Harold.

Of course we watched a Christmas movie before we went to bed.

 

Monday, November 29, 2015

One of the things I like about being here in Chandler is making a run to Sonic every morning.  I get me a drink and Cathi a cherry limeade.  Drinks are half price before 10 am. 

Cathi got up this morning and said she had an appointment with the Foot Locker for her sore heel.  I said: "Oh, I didn't know they made appointments to fix people's feet."  Cathi said: "Yes, that's what the foot doctor does."  Maybe I need a hearing aid for Christmas.

This morning Cathi did her "My House" work on the computer.  I tried to catch up on my blog.  I also read my scriptures and read seven pages from "Jesus the Christ." 

News Flash from Vernon! Chris got his elk.

A two point bull

Congratulations!

While Cathi was gone to the foot doctor I ran some errands. 

This evening we ordered enchiladas from Elmer's.  They are Cathi's favorite and I figured I would give them a try.  It's funny, I have been going to Elmer's for 40 years and I've never had their enchiladas.  They are delicious!  They use the machaca meat for the filling.  Yummy!

The dogs were so fun tonight when we sat down to watch our Christmas movies.  They both wanted to sit by me.  At one point Lady was sitting by me and Indy was on the ground.  Indy started crying and looked up at me with tears in her eyes.  Indy comes up and Lady growls at her so Indy sits on my lap.  

All settled in for our Christmas movies.

While we were watching our three Christmas movies, "A Dollar for Christmas", "A Royal Christmas", and a "Crown for Christmas", Kim had a s'more party at her house.

Evan, Max, and Joshua

 

 

Monday, April 20, 2015

 

"When we live righteously and have

received the ordinances of the temple,

everything else is in the hands of the Lord."

-Richard G. Scott

 

I was full of aches and pains this morning.  To cheer me up James offered to take me to lunch at Brio Tuscany Grill in the San Tan Mall. 

A nice restaurant and the food was delicious!

James had crab cakes and roasted vegetables and I

had pesto pasta, which was amazing!  I liked it better than my chicken pesto dish at Cheesecake Factory.

 

The food was a distraction for awhile but I definitely needed a nap when I got home.  I hurt more than I have since I first got rheumatoid arthritis back in 1984. 

 

We are a little frustrated about our kitchen cabinet doors.  We either need to get new ones or we need to have the ones we have re-finished.  James asked for a price from Home Depot a couple of weeks ago and they have never gotten back with him.  He also called Dan Taylor for a price to get them re-finished but he hasn't called back yet either.  Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. 

 

For FHE tonight we listened to Elder Christofferson's talk: "Why Marriage, Why Family." 

 

James took a picture of his mom the other day when we were over there visiting.  She had made a box of Barbie doll dresses for Connie and her granddaughter's.  Lois is amazing!  These dresses are absolutely gorgeous!

Such a talented woman!

 

In other news, I found this picture of our ward Primary president and her daughter on Facebook.  I thought it was so cute that I wanted to keep it to remember her by.





Paula Casto is on the right.  She is our ward Primary president.

She and her daughter Tanae went to a sockhop at some place in Scottsdale and had a great time.!  Paula reminds me of Tinkerbell!

 



Sunday, January 18, 2015

 

"There are very few big and spectacular miracles in most of our lives.

But it is a quiet multitude of little miracles that makes life sweet

and adds to our testimonies."

-Marjorie P. Hinckley

 

Today is what is being called "Honoring the Sanctity of Life" day.  It was 42 years ago since the Roe vs. Wade decision was made.  I pray everyday that abortion will be stopped.

 

Stacy and Paul went to John and Shelly's ward for their son Preston's mission farewell.  He will be leaving soon to serve in New Jersey.  Stacy was very impressed with his spiritual maturity and how ready he is to serve.  Three Johnson cousins are now serving missions. 

 

We had a missionary who just returned from his mission speak in our ward, Cameron Payne.  He gave a great talk.  I was impressed with how well he knew the scriptures.  We know his sister, Rebecca Silva and her husband Tony.  They were in Del Rio 2nd ward with us. 

 

James and I met with Bishop Lewis during Sunday School.  We told him that we were going to be here until around the first of July and would like to serve in the ward, especially as home and visiting teachers.  It was a good visit.

 

Amber Reyna gave the second Ezra Taft Benson lesson on prayer today in Relief Society.  She started out by casting a fishing line with a gummy worm on the end of it into the audience.  It hit Robyn Rogers' mom in the chest and she called out: "Oh, don't worry there is no hook on the end of that line."  Pretty funny.

 

I made chili for lunch and then we took a nap.

 

Stacy had a little fender bender in Tara's red car today.  Nothing too serious but it will need to be repaired.

 

Sheri came over this evening for a visit.  We played a game of Five Crowns with here.

 

Laura came home from the hospital today.