Thursday, September 19th, 2019

Gilbert, Arizona 

142nd operating temple

Dedicated: 2 March 2014

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Glory of
DC 45:44
And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shal be cut off.
Book of Mormon
Helaman 6:15-31
New Testament 2 Corinthians 8-13 "God Loveth a Cheerful Giver"
2 Corinthians 11

General Conference

Abound with Blessings

Elder Dale G. Renlund

 "I invite you to faithfully activate heavenly power to receive specific blessings from God. Exercise the faith to strike the match and light the fire. Supply the needed oxygen while you patiently wait on the Lord. With these invitations, I pray that the Holy Ghost will guide and direct you so that you, like the faithful person described in Proverbs, will 'abound with blessings.' I testify that your Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, live, are concerned with your welfare, and delight to bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

James went out this morning looking for the "big" elk but he had no luck. He was gone nearly two hours. He thought because he was so close last night that he would bed down close by. I guess that's why this elk has lived so long, because he does the unexpected.

When James got home we had scriptures and prayer and then he went to check his mousetraps. 

I was going to watch the book webinar this morning but they had technical difficulties and cancelled.

I walked 2,000 steps while listening to Elder Renlund's talk. Then I blogged while listening to " The Sifting" by Elray Christiansen.

I must mention here something that James does everyday. He gets up and always makes our bed, unless I'm still in it. A year or so ago we decided that would be his "chore" and I would empty the kitchen trash. It has worked out wonderfully for me. I so love the fact that my bed is always made and I didn't have to make it!

I decided on what my three meals would be this coming week. I always try to plan on making three nice meals and then eating leftovers and eating out once a week. This coming week our meals will be: Chicken enchiladas with white sauce, pork chops with stuffing, and minestrone soup with rolls.

We went to town this afternoon. Our first stop was LaCasita for lunch. Because I am trying to lose some weight I ordered an enchilada without rice or beans. It was difficult because I love their beans and rice.

James dropped me off at Walmart while he dropped my book shipment off at UPs and then went to Lowes. 

On the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen and got two boxes of Dilly bars, one cherry and one chocolate because Darrel's family is coming up this weekend.

About six o'clock this evening James calls to me from upstairs:

"Karen, that bull is in the same spot again! Such excitement!

 I know these are videos but I don't know how

to post videos on here. The pictures

are still adorable!

 My kind of gingerbread house!

 This is for our friend Alice who

is a firefighter.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Scripture study: Mosiah 28:1-20

 why did the sons of Mosiah want to preach to the Lamanites?

What should be our attitude about missionary work? 

V3 - "Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human should perish; yea, even the very thought that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble."  

I love the compassion the sons of Mosiah have towards the people they considered their enemies.  But they didn't view them as that, they viewed them as children of God that were just like them, in need of help to "see" and the potential to change.  This really struck me today.  If only I could view all my "enemies" like that.  

Also, I believe the sons of Mosiah desired to preach to the Lamanites because they could relate to them.  

V4 - "And thus did the Spirit of the Lord work upon them, for they were the very vilest of sinners.  And the Lord saw fit in his infinite mercy to spare them; nevertheless they suffered much anguish of soul because of their iniquities, suffering much and fearing that they should be cast off forever."  They knew what it was like to be "lost" and then be "found" and to have the Spirit of the Lord work upon them.  They felt the amazing difference between the two and knew they could help others feel that too.   

I hope my attitude about missionary work would be similar to that of the sons of Mosiah.

Some thoughts from the Book of Mormon Student Manual:

"The desire to share the gospel is a natural result of personal conversion." - Howard W. Hunter

"The key to successful member missionary work is the exercise of faith.  Exercise faith by setting a date to have someone ready to hear the missionaries." - M. Russell Ballard

For my General Conference talk I read Elder Jairo Mazzagardi's talk, "The Sacred Place of Restoration."

'Palmyra was the stage of the Restoration, where the Father's voice would be heard after nearly two millennia.'

I read some amazing articles about General Conference in the New Era.  I love the New Era almost as much as the Ensign.

I usually read the Ensign first, then the Friend because I am in Primary, and then the New Era.

I'm just going to share a little bit from an article called, "My Conference Plan."  Here are the things we should do as a result of listening to General Conference:

Attend the temple

Read the scriptures

Be sincere in prayer

Open up to promptings

Listen to the Holy Ghost

Have the Desire

Find ancestors

Forgive others

I saw James looking out the window this morning.  He made the comment: "I wonder what that squirrel is eating."  I was curious so I came over and looked out the window too.  I wanted to say, an acorn, but there were no oak tree close by.  It looked like he was picking up something off the ground and holding it in his front paws and eating.  No sure what it was.

James loves the little critters we have around here.  He is always taking lettuce and carrots to the rabbits.  The other day he was holding a baby bunny and looking in the frig for something for him to eat.  

Here he is putting up the hummingbird feeder.

 He wouldn't let me take a picture of his face

because of his "owie's."

James is making great progress on the shed.  He's working on the roof right now.  He is so discouraged because he can't talk or hear right now, and his face has a big owie.

 

I changed sheets on three beds today and vacuumed our bedroom, the living room and the family room.  I also dusted those areas.  There was a ton of sawdust on one of the couch cushions so I had to vacuum that up too.  I think James must have sat there.

Jared has convinced me that ebooks are a nice thing to have on your phone.  Today I downloaded a book he said was really good called, "Amazed by Grace" by Sheri Dew.  It didn't cost me anything because of my platinum points.  I was a little disappointed it wasn't in audio.  The audio books cost alot more.

I also read from the book Jared gave me for mother's day, "To Mothers, Carrying the Torch of Faith and Family."  I think I am going to really enjoy it.

I worked out in the garage for an hour sweeping and organizing.  I was filthy, which called for a soak in the tub.

James Hayden had a ballroom dance recital tonight.  I wish I could be there to see him!  He is going to send me some pictures.  He danced to Phantom of the Opera and was dressed as the phantom.  Does it get any better?

Michael ran in the Meet of Champions tonight.  He got third.  Paul posted this picture.

 In two years I hope.

TBT on Facebook:

 He has grown so much!

Max totally looks like Harry Potter!

Tonight James and I watched a movie made in 2008 starring Jane Seymour.  It was a murder mystery with quite a bit of comedy thrown in.

James saw Jane Seymour on a plane one time.

For some reason he is not a big fan.

I like her.