Friday, February 28th, 2020

Manaus, Brazil

138th operating temple

Dedicated: 10 June 2012

By: Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Jesus Christ, Judge

2 Nephi 12:4

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks-nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

2 Nephi 29

Many Gentiles will reject the Book of Mormon - They will say, We need no more Bible - The Lord speaks to many nations - He will judge the world out of the books which will be written. 

Saints Volume 2

Chapter 28 - Until the Coming of the Son of Man
Chapter 29 - To Die in the Harness

 Take Up Our Cross

Elder Ulisses Soares

"My dear friends, we must remember that taking our cross upon ourselves includes being humble and trusting in God and in His infinite wisdom We must acknowledge that He is aware of each of us and of our needs. It is also necessary to accept the fact that the Lord's timing is different than ours. Sometimes we seek for a blessing and set a time limit for the Lord to fulfill it. We cannot condition our faithfulness to Him by imposing upon Him a deadline for the answers to desires."

To help his disciples to understand that devotion to His work includes submission and suffering, the Savior emphatically declared:

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lost his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

I was listening to Elder Soares talk and when I heard "To help his disciples to understand that devotion to His work includes submission and suffering" it really struck me. I thought of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the suffering he endure for the gospel. I thought to myself, what have I suffered for the Lord to show Him that I love Him and want to obey Him? I have made sacrifices in order to be obedient but I don't consider that as suffering. Am I doing enough?

I am starting another blog. This one is to record my life history. It is called karenmaxwelllambson.blogspot.com. At least once a week I will be sharing a story from my past. I have been wanting to write my life story but it always feels so overwhelming. If I can do it a story at a time, line upon line, so to speak, maybe I can get started.

Another day spent at home blogging, working on books, walking, eating, and studying the gospel. Tomorrow we are scheduled to work at the temple. I do not have rolls to fix so I made some brownies instead. 

My books are all inventoried and ready to ship. James helped me clean them up. I noticed one that I bought is an Indian edition. It looks just like the English edition but I am afraid to send it in because we are not supposed to sell Indian editions. I guess I will  get on the book arbitrage Facebook group and see if I can get some direction. In the mean time I may wait until next week to send in this shipment of books.

I made green chili stew today. I was going to take it to the temple tomorrow but decided not to. James and I will eat it on Sunday and then probably a few days next week when we get back from the valley. 

Spent the evening studying JS-H 1:14-26 and 2 Nephi 29.

 Morning sunrise

 Trina and Tristan in Hawaii

Alex's drawing

 Dallen Lambson's latest creation

Tonight's Sunset

Friday, November 29th, 2019

Bountiful, Utah

47th operating temple

Dedicated: 8 Jan 1995

By: Howard W. Hunter

Jesus Christ, Head of Church

DC 33:5

And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this church have I established and called forth out of the wilderness.

Book of Mormon

Mormon 9:1-21

New Testament

2 Peter 1; I/F: 2 Peter 1:1-11 Through the power of Jesus Christ, I can develop my divine nature. 

10/19 General Conference

"Take Up Our Cross"

Elder Ulisses Soares

"To help His disciples to understand that devotion to His work includes submission and suffering, the Savior emphatically declared:'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lost it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

RWC: Bear you testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ to your children.

Ensign: "Mary, Mother of the Savior" by Margot Hovley

It is snowing fast and furious this morning, it looks like a blizzard or a white out. Anthony, who was supposed to come to dinner tonight with the missionaries, cancels. The missionaries text and confirm this morning and then a couple of hours later they cancel too. All because of the weather. 

I spent most of the day preparing food and listening to BYU-Idaho Devotional Podcasts. 

We got the money for our loan in the account today but still have not received the check to pay off our creditors. The checks were supposed to arrive by UPS by now but I am supposing they are delayed because of the weather.

I made a green chili stew this morning, chicken enchiladas with white sauce, and Dennis's spanish rice. I also heated up the delicious refried beans from LaCasita. James and I had a wonderful lunch and we will have a refrigerator full of food for a few days. 

Vernon had some more electrical outages because of the storm. Most of them seem to be on the other end of town. 

Kim and Brian went to the David Arculetta Christmas concert this evening and Kim loved it. She said that it really put her in the mood for Christmas. She knows he is coming to Show Low on Monday and she wanted to encourage me to go see him. I would love too but I just don't know if it will work out. 

We watched a Christmas movie this evening before going to bed as is our custom.

The sun trying to break through but it

didn't last.

Christmas in Evergreen

I got 10,111 steps today.

Saturday, June 9th, 2018

Tucson, Arizona

157th operating temple

Dedicated: 13 Aug 2017

By: Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Jesus Christ, Condescension of

Moses 7:47

And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me.

Book of Mormon

Alma 13:10-20

* What do we learn about Melchizedek in this chapter? Why is he important?

- amberadamson: "I wish we knew more about Melchizedek, but from what we do know he was faithful and righteous. He must have been a loving and effective leader and teacher to help bring his unrighteous people to repentance and establish peace. To have the greater Priesthood named after you is a great honor. He teaches us that we have the potential to have great influence over anyone through our faith and righteousness.

Old Testament

2 Kings 5-6

5 Naaman, the Syrian, comes to Elisha to be healed of leprosy - He rejects the prophet's instruction at first but relents and dips himself in the Jordan seven times; he is healed - Elisha refuses to accept a reward - Gehazi accepts a gift from Naaman and is cursed with leprosy.

6 Elisha causes an ax to float - He reveals to the king how to conduct a war with Syria - Horses and chariots of fire protect Elisha - The Syrians are smitten with blindness - Benhadad besieges Samaria, and foodstuff sells for a great price.

General Conference

Teaching in the Home - a Joyful and Sacred Responsibility

Devin G. Durrant

"Family home evening, which was a high priority in the faith-filled home where I was raised. I don't remember specific lessons taught at family home evening, but I do remember that we never missed a week. I knew what was important to my parents."

I stilll can't bend my knee when I walk but I am going to the temple to work my shift anyway. 

I got up early to warm up the green chili stew and take a shower and eat. We arrived at the temple at 6:30, plenty time to get dressed and be in preparation meeting at 7. 

President and Sister Brimhall presided over preparation meeting. They are my favorite. We had three short videos regarding the sealing ordinance. 

After preparation meeting Sister Wenhardt asked me to go to initiatory. She left the schedules at home and her husband had to go back to St. Johns to get them for her. He said he was back in 72 minutes, which means he far exceeded the speed limit. 

My schedule is the same as I've had for the past 3 weeks. That's fine with me. I like this schedule. I get to do initiatory 2x and be the 1st follower in the same session as James. I also have the same break as he does, and when he is checking recommends at the front desk, I am right behind him serving as the baptismal greeter.

During our break James and I both had our bowl of green chili stew. By the end of the day it was all gone. 

James officiated at his first session today at 9:30. He did fine until he was demonstrating at the veil and got a little confused. He recovered but was standing so others couldn't see what he was doing and Brother Coltrin corrected him. 

When we returned home James made some phone calls regarding tonight's temple cleaning. I relaxed on the recliner. I am not going tonight because of my knee. Before he left for cleaning at 5, I made James and myself green smoothies. While James was gone I watched a couple of Hallmark movies, blogged and did the dishes.

He was home around 9:30. I asked how it went and he said he was a little embarrassed because we only had 12 people show up to clean. We are supposed to have at least 15. 8 people who said they would be there did not come. The real kicker is that the other ward who is assigned to clean with us, the Show Low Creek ward, only had 5 people show.

These are the people from our ward who came and helped:

James, Bishop Miller, Brother Curtis, Brother Cooper, Brother Scott, Brother and Sister Smith, Brother and Sister Reidhead, Brother Grapp, Brother Butler, and Brother Crane. Thanks to all of you for honoring your commitment and serving the Lord.

Addy got home from camp today. It sounds like she had a great time. They went to two ward members cabins 30 minutes north of Payson. Addy said her favorite thing was riding in the paddle boats on the lake.

Addy and friends

Ruby's birthday date, 2016

I wonder if the kids will visit any of 

these castles when they are in Scotland.

Baby Ollie

Older and Wiser Ollie

I love these posts, especially the comments by Sheri.

Monday, June 19th 2017

Rome, Italy

Estimated completion date:

Mid 2018

John 17:19 

Atonement

3Nephi 13

Jesus teaches the Nephites the Lord's Prayer; They are to lay up treasures in heaven; The twelve disciples in their ministry are commanded to take no thought for temporal things.

Alma 19:1-11

King Lamoni and many of his people repent and are baptized.

*Ammon's missionary efforts caused a ripple effect: Ammon, King Lamoni, the queen, Lamoni's servants, Abish, and many other Lamanites.

*What can we learn about the queen in Alma 19:7-11?

DC 88:99-110

95-102, Angelic trumps call forth the dead in their order; 103-16, Angelic trumps proclaim the restoration of the gospel, the fall of Babylon, and the battle of the great God;
What things will be revealed?
* All things will be revealed!
General Conference

"Walk With Me"

President Henry B. Eyring

"Every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defense the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every bond, to stand in the presence of God, to do all things according to His will, according to His command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from the foundation of the world." (Joseph Smith)

The Power of the Book of Mormon

President Thomas S. Monson

"We live in a time of great trouble and wickedness. What will protect us from the sin and evil so prevalent in the world today?

I maintain that a strong testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and of His gospel will help see us through to safety."

James left for the Howard's around 6 a.m. to work. While he was gone I did my gospel study and then started to get ready to go to the valley. I am spending the week at our timeshare in Scottsdale.

Today I am picking up Darrel and Trina's girls to stay with me.

Before I left I made a green chili stew for James.  It is one of his favorite meals and I was going to fix it for him for Father's Day but James told me he would rather I didn't fix it on Sunday.  It was a good idea because he isn't coming down to the valley until Wednesday and now he will have something to eat in my absence.

I was able to say goodbye to James before I left at 1:45.  I stopped in Show Low at the McDonald's for an ice cream cone. I ended up getting a Happy Meal to go along with my cone because they were giving away Beanie Babies with their Happy Meals, or so I thought. Instead of a Beanie Baby I got a Smurf cup that I ended up throwing away.  What a waste and the food wasn't even that good.

I felt like I was falling asleep between Salt River Canyon and Globe so I stopped a few minutes to rest.  I also stopped in Globe to get gas and then at Walmart to get some earrings because I realize I forgot to wear any and if I don't put some in the holes in my ears will grow back together again. I get some earrings and put them in. I also got some cheese sticks and some cherries to eat on the way.  I do better about staying awake when I eat. This is why I should never drive on long trips.

I arrive at Darrel and Trina's around six. Rowan opens the door and gives me a big hug.  Trina is at work and Lola is asleep. Addy and Ruby are ready to go.

These headphones are her favorite birthday gift!

That's what I call a loaded backpack.

I wonder what's in there?

Addy's bag looks a little less full.

Our first stop was the Chandler mall where we had some

dinner and then took Ruby shopping. She must have spent an hour

in this store and came out with one fake pair of glasses!

Addy did a little decorating once we arrived at the timeshare.

Our timeshare is Sheraton Desert Oasis on

1770 N. Hayden Rd. in Scottsdale. We were assigned

units 1023 and 1024 this stay. I was happy to get downstairs units!

Someone's sleeping in my bed!

Yikes! An alien in the bathroom!

Bambi's going to do a little reading.

Cream staring at his reflection.

I think Flower wants a drink.

Right by the front door to welcome us as we come in.

Now I know what Ruby had in her backpack!

Addy watched "Beauty and the Beast" while I went in to put Ruby to be.  Michael had slept in the bed she was sleeping in the night before and she wanted to know if there were any bedbugs.  I assured her there weren't but we had to check anyway.  We sang, "I Am a Child of God", "Nephi's Courage," and "You Are My Sunshine." You Are My Sunshine is Ruby's signature song.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Durban, South Africa

To Be Completed in 2018

Jacob 5:52-72

The Lord's 4th Visit to His Vineyard. Israel's Final Gathering.

In verse 70 the servant brought forth other servants to strengthen the vineyard.  Who do you think these servants might be? (Missionaries.)

Lesson: "The influence of gospel covenants allows Heavenly Father's children to overcome sin and bring forth righteousness." (BM Seminary Teacher Manual, 161.)

Alma 48 - 49

48 Amalickiah incites the Lamanites against the Nephites - Moroni prepares his people to defend the cause of the Christians - He rejoices in liberty and freedom and is a mighty man of God. About 72 B.C.

49 The invading Lamanites are unable to take the fortified cities of Ammonihah and Noah - Amalickiah curses God and swears to drink the blood of Moroni - Helaman and his brethren continue to strengthen the Church.

DC 45:36-46

39-47, Signs, wonders, and the Resurrection are to attend the Second Coming; 

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 shall be cut off.

45 But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud.

46 Wherefore, if ye have slept in peace blessed are you; for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected; and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.

These are the verses that spoke to me.

General Conference

The Righteous Judge

Elder Lynn G. Robbins

"To effectively teach a child is the very essence of good parenting, and to lovingly discipline is the very essence of being a righteous judge.  President George Albert Smith taught:

'unkind things are not usually said under the inspiration of the Lord. The spirit of the Lord is a spirit of kindness; it is a spirit of patience; it is a spirit of charity and love and forbearance and long suffering ... Kindness is the power that God has given us to unlock hard hearts and subdue stubborn souls.'"

James got home around 11 am.  He brought burros and my Tramadol with him.  We have to finish our book "The Governess" and "A Witness in the Dark" before next Tuesday when James goes back to the valley.  Cathi texted me and said her friend wants her daughter who will be down here for conference to take them back to Utah.  

San Tan Valley

I love the purples in this picture.

I blog, take a nap with James and then get up and make cookies for Ravenna Gillespie's funeral, and a green chili pork stew for dinner.  BTW, the stew was delicious.  James loved it!

We do lots more reading, then I go upstairs to make sure the place is company worthy.  It doesn't take long to get it that way and then it is back to reading.  Darrel, Trina, Addy, Kayla, Rowan, Evan, Ruby and Lola arrive around 9.  This is the first thing the four oldest kids do:

Playing Apples to Apples, Addy's favorite game.

In the background on the TV you can see that Darrel has

the NCAA basketball tournament on.

We are always grateful when our company arrives safely.

Fun Photos:

These two were fellow Primary teachers until Sadie got married and moved.  I miss her and I bet Rosa and her Primary class does too.

Rowan says he wants a dog just like Indy.

These four at science camp

May 2016

James making me a sling, like the one David killed Goliath with,

for my Primary class.

Grandpa and a couple of his sweeties.

I love it when LaVerne and Shirley come to visit.

Sounds good to me!