Friday, October 20th, 2017

Nashville, Tennessee

84th operating temple

Dedicated: 21 May 2000

By: James E. Faust

Jesus Christ, Appearances, Postmortal

Matthew 28:9

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 9:1-22

*What do you think it means to offer a sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit? What blessings does the Savior promise to those who come unto Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit?

-Elder D. Todd Christofferson: "You can offer the Lord the gift of your broken, or repentant, heart and your contrite, or obedient, spirit. In reality, it is the gift of yourself - what you are and what you are becoming. Is there something in you or in your life that is impure or unworthy? When you get rid of it, that is a gift to the Savior. Is there a good habit or quality that is lacking in your life? When you adopt it and make it part of your character, you are giving a gift to the Lord" (GC April 2004, or Ensign, May 2004, 12).

Doctrine Covenants Scripture Mastery

DC 121:34-36

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson - 

36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

General Conference

Turn to the Lord

Bishop W. Christopher Waddell

"How do we respond when events, often out of our control, alter the life we had planned or hoped for? Hyrum Shumway lost his sight in World War II, but he never doubted his divine nature and eternal potential. Like him, we are spirit sons and daughters of God, and we accepted His plan by which we could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize our divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.'

No amount of change, trial, or opposition can alter that eternal course - only our choices, as we exercise our agency."

I felt the Spirit today reading about Hyrum Shumway in Bishop Waddell's.  I also felt the Spirit when I read "Jesus Christ: Our Sure Foundation" in the month's Ensign. The article is by Elder W. Craig Zwick. He lists four ways to build our lives upon the sure foundation of Jesus Christ: 1) Listen to the Holy Ghost, 2) Nurture your faith, 3) Keep the commandments, and 4) Follow the Prophets.

From my book,"Prophetic Events of the Last Days," this quote by President Hinckley: "From the day of Cain to the present, the adversary has been the great mastermind of the terrible conflicts that have brought so much suffering. Treachery and terrorism began with him And they will continue until the Son of God returns to rule and reign with peace and righteousness. . . . Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God" ("The Times in Which We Live," Ensign, Nov. 2001, 72).

We read a chapter from "Miss Leslie's Secret," and then James went to town. He wanted me to go with him but I told him I would stay home and fix him a nice meal instead. I fixed an Italian Beef Soup from a recipe I got off of Facebook. The only problem is I didn't get it into the crockpot until 12 and it is supposed to cook nine hours. 

I actually caught up on my blog today which made me very happy. I worked on family history by getting the names I got off the "Take a Name" app, the ones that need baptism, so we can take them with us to the temple tomorrow. 

It was windy today. James moved the tractor and the trailer up on  the hill but he is still having problems with the CAT. He set some traps to see if he could catch the rats that are chewing the wires in two.

Oh, by the way, the Italian Beef Soup is delicious!

We watched an episode of Heartland, "Full Circle."

Elk season started today. Gail's friend Paul

got his elk this morning. I think the young guy

with him was his guide.

James has a love/hate relationship with ladders.

He loves to climb them but hates to fall off.

Here he is cleaning the pine needles out of the gutters.

Sheri, humiliating her friend Rachel.

The herd is back.

Fall

Temple names found on 

"Take a Name"

More temple names

Vernon ward Young Women on their temple tour.

The Vernon Young Women have a lot of fun!

Sunday, July 30th, 2017

Logan, Utah

2nd operating temple

Dedicated: 17-19 May 1884

By: John Taylor

Rededicated: 13-15 March

By: Spencer W. Kimball

Alma 42:26-43:14

*How can we not become distracted by questions that do not need to be answered in this life and focus on repentance?

DC 106:1-8

1-3, Warren A. Cowdery is called as a local presiding officer; 4-5, The Second Coming will not overtake the children of light as a thief; 6-8, Great blessings follow faithful service in the Church.

vs. 6...Has there been a time when I felt there was joy in heaven because I made an eternal decision?

*Personally I believe when I feel joy, true joy, there is joy in heaven, and that happens when I bear my testimony, accept a call to serve, attend the temple, support my leaders, etc. In short, when I keep the commandments, repent often, and have a humble heart, I feel joy and heaven rejoices with me.

General Conference

And This Is Life Eternal

Elder C. Scott Grow

"In our home we wanted our children to learn to recognize the voice of the Spirit. We believe that happened as we studied the Book of Mormon each day as a family. Our testimonies were strengthened as we talked about sacred truths. Scripture study becomes the channel for the Spirit to give each of us a customized tutorial. As you study the scriptures each day, alone, and with your family, you will learn to recognize the voice of the Spirit and will come to know God."

That Our Light May Be a Standard for the Nations

Elder Benjamin De Hoyos

"The light that we are talking about comes from the devotion that we give to Sabbath day observance, in the Church as well as in the home; it is the light that grows as we keep ourselves unspotted from the world; it is the light that comes from offering up our sacraments on His holy day and from paying our devotions to the Most High - all of which enable us to always have His Spirit with us...

As we keep the Sabbath day holy and partake of the sacrament, we are not only cleansed, but our light also grows brighter."

My Primary lesson today was on Zion Camps march to Missouri. The purpose was to help the children learn that trials and tests of faith can strengthen us if we are faithful and obedient. I showed a video of Zions Camp and the kids really enjoyed it. I felt the Spirit the most when I talked about Curtis and Zemira. They did not get to bed until 2 a.m. because they stayed to clean up after Trenda's reception. Instead of sleeping in this morning the entire family was at Church. I talked about their family being faithful and obedient in coming to Church even though it would have been so easy to sleep in.

Those attending my class: Colter, Curtis, Liana, Gracie, Zemira, and Bailey. We were missing: Taylor, Cameron, Braxton, Jace, Wyatt, and Lej.

Elder Hansen, a red-headed missionary from Utah was the first speaker in sacrament meeting. He spoke on seeking a testimony of Jesus Christ. A testimony is a witness of what we believe. Elder Hansen said he struggled to know if he wanted to go on a mission. He prayed, fasted, and attended the temple. While reading in Ether about the brother of Jared he felt God's presence come into his life. It was at that moment he knew he wanted to serve a mission. He said that Christ is at the center of his testimony. He bore witness to the youth in the congregation of how you mission will impact every decision in your life. He said it is his, "holy ground."

Our stake patriarch, Roger Toronto was the concluding speaker. He talked about patriarchal blessings and how Heavenly Father delights in blessing His people. Patriarchal blessings are unique and special and like our own personal Liahona. Patriarchal blessings chart the way to our heavenly home. They work according to our faith. Adam blessed his posterity to bring them back into the presence of God. Jacob blessed Ephraim with the birthright blessing. Joseph Smith, Sr. was the first patriarch in this dispensation. You should use our patriarchal blessings to help guide our lives and give us direction.

Since today is a 5th Sunday the bishopric did the third hour teaching. The two counselors spoke to the youth and Bishop Miller spoke to the adults. 

Bishop talked about fasting and prayer and that sacrificing is giving up something we want for something the Lord wants.

We need to be mindful of the law of the fast in our lives in order to bless not only ourselves but others also. Hunger could be eliminated if everyone lived the law of the fast. 

He then moved on to speak of family history work. We are the link to the past and the future. "Just keep plugging away." Sister Rut Wallace has done over 30,000 ordinances for extended family members. Many of our ancestors are waiting. Make a sacrifice of time to go to the temple more often. Don't wait, just go.

The bishops last topic was the Vernon ward youth. All the girls in our ward have been asked to have sex, all of the youth have seen porn. Many of the youth feel hopeless regarding this matter. They must see you go to the temple and you must also take them to the temple. Get them to do family history. The comes a spiritual change of heart when we do temple and family history work. Pornography is no respecter of persons or callings. "I am as tempted as the next person." We have to step it up! Relationships come through a sacrifice of time. Overcoming addictions takes a support team. The law of the Gospel is the first two great commandments, loving the Lord and loving our fellowman. If we are critical of others we aren't living these two commandments. We need less criticism and more compliments. Be more gentle, please be kind to one another.

Wow! Such a powerful message from our Bishop. You can tell how much he loves the youth and how concerned he is for them. He was in tears. He ask us to please fast and pray for them.

We had leftovers for lunch and then went outside and read while it rained. Rain is such a beautiful thing!

This is how the rest of my day went. I colored my frog picture from my calendar, worked on my blog read, and fixed blt's for dinner.

We went to bed by 9 p.m.  It was a beautiful Sabbath day!

More photos:

This picture was taken yesterday at Marisa's

baby shower. These are all people I know and love,

from left to right: Tammy, Adrian, Christy, Sheri, Marisa, and

Courtney.

Vernon ward young women.

There is something about those mountains!

(The Alps)

Arizona Highways: 

San Francisco Peaks in the background.

I have always loved koala bears.

I also like cute animal pictures.