OUR FAMILY: temple with Ben

Edmonton, Alberta
67th operating temple
Dedicated: 11 Dec 1999
By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Creator

Moses 2:1

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak. I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.

Book of Mormon

Alma 51:22-37
*How did the personal preparedness of each of Teancum's soldiers turn the tides of Amalickiah's success?
- Mormon tells us of Teancum's courage and how he put his life on the line for the benefit of the cause...Today I will work on being more courageous in doing what the ord asks, even though it may seem hard.
A team is only as good as it's weakest player. We all have to do our best for the good of the team, ward, family, etc.
Old Testament

Psalms 33-37
33 Rejoice in the Lord - Sing unto Him a new song - He loves righteousness and judgment - Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
34 David blesses the Lord at all times - He counsels, Keep your tongue from evil; do good and seek peace - He says that not one of the Messiah's bones will be broken.
35 David complains of his enemies and their wrong dealings - He asks the Lord to judge him according to his righteousness.
36 David praises the Lord for His mercy, His righteousness, and His loving kindness - The fountain of life is with the Lord.
37 David counsels, Trust in the Lord and do good - Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him - Cease from anger and forsake wrath - The meek will inherit the earth - The Lord loves justice and does not forsake His Saints.

General Conference

Ministering with the Power and Authority of God

President Russell M. Nelson
"Brethren, there are doors we can open, priesthood blessings we can give, hearts we can heal, burdens we can lift, testimonies we can strengthen, lives we can save, and joy we can bring into the homes of the Latter-day Saints - all because we hold the priesthood of God. We are the men who have been called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of our exceeding faith,' to do this work."

"Everything I do must be in Christ."
-A.S. Miller

Alex got up early this morning and said he and his friends were going to Big Lake to go fishing today. We reminded him that we were leaving for the valley. Soon Alex got Carter, Shayna and Sky up and they left before I ever go to see them.

We left a little after ten but we had to come back twice. Once for my phone charger and once for the fishing pole Joshua is borrowing for his first camping trip as a scout. It's a good thing we got an early start.

We stopped at the gas station/carwash in Show Low. While the car was being James went over to McDonald's and got us a couple of quarter pounders and me a diet Coke. We have slipped a little on our diet, especially when we are traveling.

Something is stuck in our ac fan and when it's on high the steering wheel vibrates. We read a little from "The Secret Keeper" but I can't read much on the windy Salt River Canyon route.

This first place we went when we arrived in the valley was Stacy's. We got there around 3 o'clock just before she had to leave to pick up Joshua at school. As an added bonus Michael was there and I got to visit with him about his trip to California.

We dropped off the fishing pole, a slip and temple dress and my slippers for Stacy. While I was inside, James was outside operating on the car. He cleaned out the ac fan so now we can use it on high. The fan is also working better too. I got to see Joshua for a minute too.

Next I dropped James off at Sheri's. He's Ben's escort and they have to be at the Gilbert temple by 5:30.

On my own now. I entered the address Trina gave me for where they live and drove east to find 2706 Calderon in East Mesa. I could not find it. Google Maps kept taking me to the 3500 block and Map Quest the 3700 block. Finally I tested Trina and told her the problem. She said, "Oh, I gave you the wrong address," it's 3706." Success at last. Darrel, Addy, Ruby, and Lola were at home. If I'd have known that Darrel was home I could have contacted him but I thought he was at work. Trina and Rowan are at Main Event for Rowan's birthday party. Darrel carried my luggage in for me and then he and the girls left. They are spending the night at gramma Suzy's for the next two nights so Darrel and Trina can celebrate their anniversary. Suzy also has Bryce and Lexy's kids and Westley's and Lacey's, 12 kids in all with 6 of them 4 and under. She and Bob are brave grandparents!

I left for the temple around six for the seven o'clock session. I arrived at 6:30, the same time as Stacy. The parking lot was packed.

We got ready and went up to the waiting room which was already full with a line waiting outside. We asked if we could go to the front of the line and the temple worker said we could but we would have to get permission from those in line. We told them we were the grandmother and aunt of one of the young men going together for the first time. Another brother was the dad of one of the young women going through and Jeffrey D. was there with his wife. His brother Isaac is going through for the first time too. Luckily we were all able to get in the session. Sheri and Kim said they were worried we weren't going to make it.

It was a great session. James and I went up for the prayer circle along with Sheri and Ben. In the celestial room there were several members of Sheri's ward; Adrienne and Mike E., Jason and Drea B., the Jensen's, Bishop Lewis and his family, and of course the Dowdles. There was such a good feeling and Ben looked so happy. He said he had the most spiritual experience of his life doing the initiatory ordinance.

Afterwards we tried to take pictures outside but it was a little dark. Ben is spending the rest of the evening with his friends.

James was hungry so we stopped at Chik-fil-a before going home.

James got a sandwich which he tried to eat while driving. He got grease on his light suit. He said he was going to go back to Trina's and wash it. I told him it was dry clean only. Now he's worried.

We visited with Darrel and Trina this evening before going to bed.

The kids are all at the Case's.

I only got 7,051 steps today.