Sunday, November 25th, 2018

Mesa, Arizona

7th operating temple

Dedicated: 23-26 Oct 1927

By: Heber J. Grant

Jesus Christ, Death of

Mosiah 14:12

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Book of Mormon #1

Mormon 6:6-22

*Mormon asks his people why they rejected the open arms of Christ. Mormon taught that their reunion with the Savior world have been joyful (6:17). We too must prepare ourselves to stand before the Lord at the Judgment. President James E. Faust explained: 'We long for the ultimate blessing of the Atonement - to become one with Him, to be in His divine presence, to be called individually by name as He warmly welcomes us home with a radiant smile, beckoning us with open arms to be enfolded in His boundless love. How gloriously sublime this experience will be if we can feel worthy enough to be in His presence. The free gift of His great atoning sacrifice for each of us is the only way we can be exalted enough to stand before Him and see Him face to face. The overwhelming message of the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each of us. It is a love fully of mercy, patience, grace, equity, long-suffering and, above all, forgiving. The evil influence of Satan would destroy any hope we have in overcoming our mistakes. He would have us feel that we are lost and that there is no hope. In contrast, Jesus reaches down to us to lift us up. Through our repentance and the gift of the Atonement, we can prepare to be worthy to stand in His presence.'" (CR Oct 2001).

Old Testament

Hosea 13-14

General Conference

The Father

Brian K. Ashton

"In the premortal world, we were born as spirits to Heavenly Parents and lived with Them as a family. They knew us, taught us, and loved us. We wanted very much to be like our Heavenly Father. However, to do so, we recognized that we would have to: 

1. Obtain glorified, immortal, physical bodies;

2. Be married and form families by the sealing power of the priesthood;

3. Acquire all knowledge, power, and divine attributes."

Up at 6 a.m. Study, ready for church. James studies his lesson, "Daniel in the Lion's Den."

The DeWitt's spoke in sacrament meeting this morning. We haven't seen them for weeks. They returned from their mission to the Taiwan temple towards the end of May. These talks were to report on their mission.

Wendy  did not think she would need to learn Mandarin. When the temple president told her she would she asked him for a blessing and specifically asked for the gift of tongues. As a result of that blessing she learned all of the ordinances for the temple in two weeks. This has never been done before and she believes it was a miracle as a result of her blessing and her study. She says she has never studied anything so hard. She really is quite an amazing person.

Collin only had a few minutes to speak. His talk was heartfelt and I truly felt the Spirit. You can tell he loves Vernon and the people here so much!

The second hour I went to teacher council meeting which was taught by Brother Allen and Bishop Miller. We talked about the new program beginning in January and how to get people to study at home. I said in order to stand as a witness we need to have a testimony of the gospel and we get that through study and prayer.

Brother Grapp says he has learned from his children. He took Benson to visit someone with a boy Benson's age and Benson introduced himself by saying: "Hi, I'm Benson. Do you read the Bible. Let me tell you about my favorite story, Daniel in the Lion's Den."  

Sister Curtis taught Relief Society. The lesson was on personal scripture study. We had a great discussion and Diana used the microphone. 

James told me on the way home that during the 3rd hour teacher council meeting the bishop talked about me and how I got to know the kids in my Primary class and visited the inactives. James said he mentioned me several times. I don't deserve all the praise but I am grateful.

We had Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch. Delicious!

Sister Dye has been moved to a rehab center and will be there for at least a month. She is doing much better be needs some therapy.

During naptime I watched, "Reunited for Christmas." I really liked this movie about memories at Nana's house and family traditions.

I also finished my gospel study and worked on my blog. 

A nice evening at home with a fire and Christmas movies:

Along with "Reunited at Christmas" I watched

"Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe"

and 

"Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane"

Two old people in front of a tree.

 So adorable!

 When Lola had a crush on Evan.

 All dressed up with pink shoes.

CityScape Phoenix

Sunday, August 26th, 2018

Louisville, Kentucky

76th operating temple

Dedicated: 19 Mar 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Crucifixion

Psalms 22:16

For dogs have compassed me the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Book of Mormon

Alma 56:41-57

*Will ye go to battle for what ye believe in?

- Am I prepared to die? What in my life is worth dying for? My family, my friends, and my faith in God. As I trust in the Lord and strive to do His will, the Lord has promised me in the scriptures that He will deliver me. So, knowing I will be delivered by and to Him, I am not afraid to die.

Old Testament

Psalms 81-85

81 Israel is commanded to sing praises to God - If the Israelites had walked in the Lord's ways, they would have triumphed over their enemies.

82 Thus says the Lord, Ye are gods and children of the Most High.

83 God is asked to confound the enemies of His people - Jehovah is the Most High over all the earth.

84 The righteous cry unto the living God - It is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of wickedness - No good thing is withheld from those who walk uprightly.

85 The Lord speaks peace to His people - Truth will spring out of the earth (the Book of Mormon), and righteousness will look down from heaven.

General Conference

Ministering

President Russell M. Nelson

"Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Sister Jean B. Bingham, General President of the Relief Society, will explain how assigned brethren of the priesthood and assigned sisters of the Relief Society and Young Women will now function in serving and watching over members of the Church throughout the world."

James and I got to sacrament meeting a little early and saved an entire row behind the Wilhelm's for Sheri, Ian and the boys. I was so glad that Ian came even though they all left after sacrament meeting and were gone home before we got home from the block.

Andy W. was the youth speaker in sacrament meeting. He spoke about his experiences on trek. It was short. Next was Sister Hunter. She spoke about the temple and her experiences as the temple prep teacher for the members of our ward getting ready to go to the temple. She told about going through with Anthony last week. She said that he said to her in the Celestial Room, "Wow!"

Brother Howard's name was on the program but obviously he could not speak because he is in the hospital. Brother K. Hunsaker spoke on intentional and righteous parenting. That topic sounds familiar. That's what I spoke on when I spoke in sacrament meeting on May 19th, 2018.  He did a good job.

Before Sunday School began I asked Sister Johnson if she would be in charge of getting photos, birthdays, and favorites of the young women to put on the wall in the back of the Relief Society room. She said she would be glad to. She also gave me a birthday card. She wrote a note on the inside that said: "Dear Karen, You are such a great example to me of faithfulness, humility and obedience. You are always striving to do what the Lord wants you to do. I want to be just like you when I grow up!" This really touched me because I look up to Paula so much. She is the president of the Vernon Park, distributes food from the Vernon Food Bank, and is a member of the Vernon Women's Club. She is constantly giving service. I told her that I felt the same way about her!

For Sunday School I attended the teacher council meeting taught by our Sunday School President, Brother Allen. We talked about closed and open ended questions. I couldn't find that particular topic in our manual so I turned to the lesson on Asking Inspired Questions. There are three headings in this lesson about the kinds of questions a teacher should ask. 1.) Ask Questions That Help Learners Gain Basic Knowledge of Eternal Truths - "What did the Savior do for us in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46).

2.) Ask Questions That Touch The Heart and Mind - Becuase responses to these questions often rely on the feelings and experiences of the leaarners, the questions usually do not have just one correct answer. "How do you think the Apostles might have felt as they walked to the Garden of Gethsemane with the Savior?"

3.) Ask Questions That Invite Learners To Act - "What will you do differently because of what you learned today?"

Before Relief Society began I asked Sister Moore if she would be a ministering sister. She said she would love to, but she did not want to drive because of her eyes. 

Sister Curtis gave the lesson in Relief Society entitled: "True Ministers Focus on the Needs of Others." As always, she did a great job and used several of the examples of ministering that Sister Bingham gave in her conference address. We have a new sister in our ward, another one from the Concho branch. Barbara was not there today. I am afraid that although she lives in our ward she wants to continue to attend the Concho branch. She told someone at the temple that she likes Concho better than Vernon.

We had orange meatballs and salad for lunch. James took a nap while I did my weekly planning and we both ran off ancestors names we got from the app "Take a Name." I think I have enough ordinances to last me at least a month or two.

James talked to Sister Peeler. She had low sodium they are trying to treat. She is no longer in the rehab center but back in the hospital. She is getting quite discouraged because it just seems she has one setback after another.

I love this field of sunflowers somewhere in France!

I am obsessed with homemade cards!

 Wouldn't this make a nice summer home!

My sweet friend Amaron turned 9!