Saturday, May 13th, 2017

Mexico City, Mexico

26th operating temple

Dedicated: 2-4 Dec. 1983 by

Gordon B. Hinckley

Rededicated: 16 Nov. 2008 by

Thomas S. Monson

Rededicated: 13 Sep. 2015 by

Henry B. Eyring

Mosiah 29:1-15

The people follow Mosiah's counsel to establish a system of judges as their form of government.

* What did the sons of Mosiah give up so they could preach to the Lamanites?

* What are some opportunities young men and young women sacrifice or postpone today so they can serve missions?

Mormon 8

The Lamanites seek out and destroy the Nephites; The Book of Mormon will come forth by the power of God; Woes pronounced upon those who breathe out wrath and strife against the work of the Lord; The Nephite record will come forth in a day of wickedness, degeneracy, and apostasy. About A.D. 400-421.

DC 75:1-12

Faithful elders who preach the gospel will gain eternal life; Pray to receive the Comforter, who teaches all things;

How does prayer and asking for the Comforter go hand in hand when teaching?

* Verse 12...Behold, this is the will of the Lord your God concerning you. 1. That you call on the name of the Lord for the Comforter which shall teach you all things that the Lord sees fit (verse 10).  2. Pray always that you faint not; and inasmuch as you do this, I will be with you even unto the end (verse 11).

Let us call on the Lord always!  And pray for The Comforter.  I know I need it every hour of every day!

General Conference

Overcoming the World

Elder Neil L. Andersen

"The blessings that the Lord has promised to those who overcome the world are breathtaking.  They will be 'clothed in white...and named in the book of life.' The Lord 'will confess their names before the Father, and before His angels.' Each shall have 'part in the first resurrection,' receive eternal life, and 'go no more out' from the presence of God.  Is it possible to overcome the world and receive these blessings?  Yes, it is."

James woke me up this morning around 5:30.  I would have been up on my own but I had another sleepless spell around 2:30.  I was a little grouchy and upset with him, but he made up for it by making me some oatmeal with walnuts for breakfast.  We left for home after a prayer, around 6:30.  Cathi and Terry and the doggies were still asleep.  

Cathi is excited that her neighbors landscaping includes roses!

I posted this picture because it reminds me of what Lady looks like when James is lying on the bed and she comes to the edge of the bed begging for a treat.  The only difference is, her tongue is sticking out and wiggling.

Oh yes, and the other difference is, 

Lady is a dog.

We stopped to get gas in Superior and then I ran into the Walmart in Globe to get a card and a gift card for Rachel's baby shower today.  I was happy to see the sign when we got to Show Low.  We were home before 10 a.m.

I hurry and unpack, iron me something to wear, shower and leave for Dennis's house around 11:30.  When I arrive and walk into the backyard Dennis is outside getting ready to grill hamburgers.  I walked into the kitchen and said hi to Rachel and Denise and Denise introduced me to a couple of her friends.  Jeff and Barb Caruthers were also there.  I asked where Vickie was and Denise said she was in the hospital with bronchial pneumonia.  When Monte and Tasha, Madison, Quentin, Zach, Brian, Jeffrey, and Colby arrived I mentioned that I was leaving early to go to the hospital to see Vickie.  None of them knew.  I did say Happy Birthday to Monte.  He is 47 today.  I left right after eating a green chili cheeseburger with potato salad and chips.  I got a cupcake to eat on the way out but threw most of it away.  I have an aversion to buttercream frosting.  Here is a picture of Rachel and Denise.

 Rachel is due on July 27th.

She is having a girl.  No first name picked out, but the middle

name will be Lynn.  That should make Vickie happy because that is her middle name.

When I got to room 217 at the hospital Vickie was resting so peacefully I did not want to wake her up, so I left.  Later Harold told me she only got about an hours sleep because everybody kept waking her up.  I am so glad that I didn't.

After I did my shopping at Walmart, I was on the way home and saw this guy.

I felt like telling him, thanks for the reminder.

When I got home I was so tired, I kept taking catnaps on the couch.  I typed James's quotes for his lesson tomorrow, but I was too tired to work on my lesson.  After dinner, I went to bed before nine.  I brought James along with me.

Stacy, Paul, and Joshua went to Tombstone today.  Joshua is doing a school report on Wyatt Earp.  I guess they had a great time.

Joshua's favorite part was the silver mine.  Here

he is holding a piece of raw silver ore worth about $7,500.

Paul said it weighed about 35 lbs.

Joshua and some of his new friends.

Stacy says they do a haunted tour but you have

to be 13 and of course Joshua is only 10.

Joshua and Wyatt

Gunfight

OK Corral

Trina says this is her best selfie

Friday, May 12th, 2017

Mesa, Arizona
7th operating temple
Dedicated: 23-26 October 1927 by 
Heber J. Grant
Rededicated: 15-16 April 1975 by
Spencer W. Kimball

Mosiah 28:1-20

* The sons of Mosiah desire to preach to the Lamanites.

* According to Mosiah 28:2-3 what were the reasons the sons of Mosiah wanted to preach to the Lamanites?

* How did the conversion of the sons of Mosiah influence their desire to share the gospel?

Gospel Principle: As our conversion deepens, our desire to share the gospel increases.

* Who received the sacred records?

* Why was Alma a good choice to care for these records?

Mormon 6-7

6 The Nephites gather to the land of Cumorah for the final battles; Mormon hides the sacred records in the hill Cumorah; The Lamanites are victorious, and the Nephite nation is destroyed; Hundreds of thousands are slain with the sword. About A.D. 385.

7 Mormon invites the Lamanites of the latter days to believe in Christ, accept His gospel, and be saved; All who believe the Bible will also believe the Book of Mormon. About A.D. 385.

DC 72:13-26; 73-74

72:13-26 Bishops are to certify the worthiness of elders.

73 Elders are to continue to preach; Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon are to continue to translate the Bible until it is finished.

74 Paul counsels the Church of his day not to keep the law of Moses; Little children are holy and are sanctified through the Atonement.

Why is it important for us to know little children are holy?

* Little children are sanctified through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  We would do well to remember this and treat them accordingly.  Also, this knowledge refutes the need for infant baptisms.

General Conference

The Language of the Gospel

Elder Valeri V. Cordon

"I notice a similarity between preserving a mother tongue and preserving the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.  Today in my analogy, I would like to emphasize not any particular earthly language but rather an eternal language that must be preserved in our families and never lost.  I speak of the language of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  By 'language of the gospel,' I mean all the teachings of our prophets, our obedience to those teachings, and our following righteous traditions."

We were going to go home to Vernon this morning but James had a sink to install.  I told him to go ahead and do it today so he wouldn't have to come back next week to install it.  He said it would probably take him 3-4 hours.  It actually ended up taking him 14 hours, minus the lunch break he took when he came home and took me to Taco Bell.  Oh, I forgot to mention the fact that this morning he jumped the doggie gate in the office at Cathi's and tripped and fell and hurt his wrist.  At first he thought it was broken because it began to swell up.  Cathi gave him a wrist brace to wear and it seemed to help.  The problem with installing this sink was the epoxy concrete top.  James had a hard time finding a saw blade that would saw through.  He finally got it done though and got home about 9:30 this evening.

I kept myself busy today.  The only thing I was sad about missing was the Young Women's fundraiser Navajo taco dinner this evening.  I had to cancel my order.  I was really looking forward to that Navajo taco.  I hear they made over 300.

I kept myself busy today.  I studied, worked on my blog, took a nap, and attended a meeting with Dave, Laura, Cathi, Terry, Dawn, and Wendy (Cathi's daughter), at Dave and Laura's for Lois's 90th birthday party in October.  Rebecca should have been there too, but she was out of town.  Dave and Laura have a new electronic toy.  Her name is Alexis.  She is a round disk that looks like a hockey puck.  Dave says: "Play 70's music and she plays the Beatles "Let it Be."  I guess she's kind of like Google.  You can ask her all kinds of questions and she will give you the answers.  I would like her to be my partner in my next Trivial Pursuit game.  

Wendy stayed and went back to Cathi and Terry's with us after the meeting.  I had a nice visit with her.  Cathi ordered us dinner from Panda and paid for mine and James's.  Wendy passed because she is on a carb free diet.  She said she had a pound of bacon this morning for breakfast.  She drank beef broth for dinner.

Wendy is very worried about her son Colton.  Colton is Max's age and he is over 6'2".  She found stretch marks on his back and other signs of a condition called marfan that is found in tall, slender people.  Michael Phelps has this condition.  It can be life threatening and affect the person's heart.  They are going to be doing more tests on Colton.  I have put him on my prayer list as well as Cathi's brother in law Paul, who has cancer.  Wendy says if you have this condition you cannot play in the NBA.  Some athletes who have had it have suddenly died.  Hopefully if Colton does have it they caught it in time and will be able to help him.

Because James got home so late we will not be going home until tomorrow morning around 6:30 a.m.

Photos:

White tigers are so beautiful!

I have a fascination with castles.

Trina made Rowan and Darrel take one of her first

aid kits to the Fathers and Sons outing.

Birthday shopping with Addy last August.

Andy and his new knife

Zemira loves Legos.

Ruthie and her pet purse.

James is their home teacher and asked me to buy

them something for their birthday's.

The most beautiful bouquet I have ever 

received from a child.

Preparing to leave for Havasupai.

Thursday, May 11th, 2017

Meridian, Idaho

Open House: October 2017

Mosiah 27:18-37

* In my scriptures I have a post-it with Alma, Before and After written on it.  On the before side I have written the description of Alma before he saw the angel as recorded in Mosiah 27:8-10.  On the after side I have written how he was after he saw the angel as recorded in Mosiah 27:23-24, 28-29.  This helps me to remember the importance of repentance and how powerful it is.

* How have you been changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ as you have repented and done your best to follow the Savior?

Gospel Principle: Each of us must be born again through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Mormon 4-5

4 War and carnage continue; The wicked punish the wicked; Greater wickedness prevails than ever before in all Israel; Women and children are sacrificed to idols; The Lamanites begin to sweep the Nephites before them. About A.D. 363-75.

5 Mormon again leads the Nephite armies in battles of blood and carnage; The Book of Mormon will come forth to convince all Israel that Jesus is the Christ; Because of their unbelief, the Lamanites will be scattered, and the Spirit will cease to strive with them; They will receive the gospel from the Gentiles in the latter days. About A.D. 375-84.

DC 72:1-26

Elders are to render an account of their stewardship unto the bishop; The bishop keeps the storehouse and cares for the poor and needy; bishops are to certify the worthiness of elders.

General Conference

Stand Up Inside and Be All In

Elder Gary B. Sabin

"Conference is a time of reflection, revelation and sometimes redirection. "If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.  All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him.'-Ezekiel 18:21-22.

What a fabulous promise, but it requires two alls to receive the promise of the third.  Turn from all; keep all; then all is forgiven.  This requires being all in!"

James and I had prayer together before he left for work.  For breakfast I had a shake, a blueberry muffin, blueberries and chocolate.  I played several games of Solitaire before I actually accomplished anything this morning.  Games are such a time waster!

I finished my Sunday post before starting my gospel study.  Part of my gospel study was the Gordon B. Hinckley lesson called "The Precious Gift of Testimony."  This was a wonderful lesson.  My testimony of Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ and the Restoration of the Gospel, including the Book of Mormon are my most precious possession.  I loved the examples President Hinckley shared of the lives of individual members of the Church and how they gained their testimonies.

James came home for a lunch break a little after 11.  We went to Pei Wei for lunch and beat the crowd.  While we were eating the line went out the door.  We ordered lettuce wraps to share and James ordered Mongolian beef with rice and I had the spicy chicken salad.  It was a delicious lunch.

I did some blogging later this afternoon for Monday and Tuesday while eating my leftover alfredo noodles from Olive Garden. Why do all my posts contain something about food?
 James came home and said my worries were over.  I asked him what he meant and he said Susan J. is engaged.  I teased him about her being his girlfriend.  She is marrying someone who is a sealer in the Phoenix temple.  

We got ready and left for Lois's around 4:45 to give her the mothers day card that Anna made for her.  We got an added bonus because Dawn was home too.  Our visit was short because we wanted to stop to get Addy some flowers before attending her last choir concert of the year.  We stopped at the Fry's on McClintock and Baseline.  They had a big display of flowers and James picked out a nice bouquet.  I think Addy will like them.  In the meantime, the candy bar I got her melted in my purse.  If I would have noticed sooner I could have gotten her another one while in Fry's.  

Highland High School is on Power and Guadalupe.  We arrived a little early and saved a row for Trina, the kids, and Trina's parents.  
During the first number Ruby says to me: "They sang this song last time."  I said: "What?  Is this a rerun?"  Lola loves Trina's parents but she did sit on my lap for awhile.  The concert wasn't too long and after it was over James gave Addy her flowers.

Addy and her flowers with Trina in the background.

10 year old Max and Harry Potter.

My friend Jean at Lone Butte buffet.
A good place to eat.

The Vernon ward young women.

Summer and Tanner getting ready for
scripture study on the grounds of the 
San Antonio temple.

New hats for Paul and  Joshua.

I want my porch and yard to look like this.

Scout is all grown up.

Wednesday, May 10th, 2017

Merida, Mexico

92nd operating temple

Dedicated: 8 July 2000 by

Thomas S. Monson

Mosiah 27:1-17

*An angel calls Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah to repentance.

*What does verse 14 teach about how we can help others who are struggling?

Gospel Principle: The Lord responds to our faith prayers for others. (see James 5:16).

*When have you felt that your prayers have made a difference in someone's life?

Mormon 3

Mormon cries repentance unto the Nephites; They gain a great victory and glory in their own strength; Mormon refuses to lead them, and his prayers for them are without faith; The Book of Mormon invites the twelve tribes of Israel to believe the gospel. A.D. 360-62.

DC 71:1-11

Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon are sent forth to proclaim the gospel; Enemies of the Saints will be confounded.

Why does the Lord counsel us not to engage in debates and arguments?

* Almost always a debate entrenches each contestant and his sympathizers more firmly in the views already held. - BRMc

General Conference

Songs Song and Unsung

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

"In those moments when the melody of joy falters below our power of expression, we may have to stand silent for a time and simply 

listen to others, drawing strength from the splendor of

the music around us.  Surely it follows that in singing the anthems of eternity, we should stand as close as humanly possible to the Savior and Redeemer of the world -

who has absolutely perfect pitch.

We then take courage from His ability to hear our silence and take hope from His melodious messianic intercession in our behalf.

Truly it is 'when the Lord is near' that the dove of peace sings

in my heart and the flow'rs of grace appear"

At 7:24 this morning I looked out the window and said: "I wish I could see some elk this morning."  Sure enough, there they were.  I love it when I am the first to see.  In all fairness it was a tie this morning because James went outside the bedroom window and saw 8 more, which added to my 5 makes 13 for this morning.  James thinks they are drinking water out of the tree wells.  They won't touch the trees because of the magic potion James's mom gave him.

I read Gospel Doctrine lesson 18 today entitled, "Establish...A House of God."  This was the directive the Lord gave the saints in Kirtland.  When they hesitated because of lack of funds, He chastised them.  He revealed to Joseph Smith what the temple should look like.  They needed a temple to be endowed from on high, even though temple ordinances were never done in this temple, the Savior, Moses, Elijah and Elias made visits to Joseph Smith and others.

James and I left for the valley this morning around 9:30, plenty of time for me to finish my gospel study.  We went in the truck because James has to pick up some tile and other materials for his job in Mesa.  Our first stop was to check the mail, none.  Next t was Arby's in Show Low because James said he needed to use the little boys room.  He brought back a brisket sandwich to snack on and a roast beef slider for me.  That out to hold us until we get to Burger House in Miami.  I read from "To Kill a Mockingbird" which I think we will finish today.

When we got to James's job, nothing had been done that was supposed to be done.  The drywall people made such a mess, James had to Bob's sister and her partner to clean.  It ended up costing $400 when he thought it would be $100.  This was because of the drywall mess.  Maybe he will hire a different company for the next job or ask this one to include cleanup in their bid.  

After checking on his job James takes me to Cathi and Terry's while he goes to do a job for Susan Jacobson.  I take a nap.  When he is finished at Susan's he comes back and works on his little trailer outside while I blog.  It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in Chandler with the high around 75.  I guess they had rain earlier in the week.  Bob said it was cold, but I doubt he really knows what cold is.

Around 6:00 this evening James and I headed for Deseret Book.  My friend Polly's son-in-law greets us at the door.  He is the manager.  James told me I could get a new set of scriptures for mother's day.  These are the ones I picked out.

The older you get, the bigger 

your scriptures are.

The first thing I am going to do is record everything the Savior said and did, just as President Nelson directed the young adults to do.

I can hardly wait to get started!

While at Deseret Book I bought Braxton's scriptures and had his name put on them.  After we finished at the bookstore, it was on to Costco which is just around the block.  We are here to get James's Alpine Valley bread that he loves, steaks for mother's day, and new jeans and a Sunday shirt for James.  If you aren't careful you can get really distracted at Costco and spend way too much money. This time we kept it under $100, $97.24 to be exact. 

We were hungry after shopping at Costco so we decided to have dinner at Olive Garden using the giftcards Kim gave me for mother's day.  James ate healthy, ordering the grilled salmon and steamed broccoli.  He also had one half a breadstick.  I order the steak gorgonza with alfredo noodles and had two breadsticks.  Oh dear.  After mother's day I am going to do better!

Back at Cathi and Terry's as James is putting our four fillets in the refrigerator he tells Cathi that two of the steaks are for them.  She thanks him.  Cathi, being raised on a cattle ranch, loves a good steak.  James goes over to talk to Terry and I sit down on the couch and visit with Cathi.  She tells me about her latest experience with Colin, their five year old grandson.  Cathi saw this trick on Facebook using sand, sugar, baking soda, and lighter fluid.  You pour the lighter fluid on the solids and a big snake like creature rises up.  She was excited to show it to Colin.  When he senses this is going to include fire, he runs over and gets the hose.  When Cathi lights the sand he says: "Don't you know this is not good for the ozone.  It's you old people that are destroying the ozone."  Cathi certainly didn't expect that reaction.  Later when she called Colin's dad, Brian, Brian said: "Yeah, I might have told him that."  Cathi says: "What's your next lesson about, how old people are stealing Social Security?"

As I predicted, we finished reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" this evening.  James is anxious to start the next book by Harper Lee. He is feeling so much better and can actually talk!  I guess it's the prednisone.

Photos:

Granny "Pods" are the new rage.  You set

one up in your backyard for granny to live in.

 This is James's cousin and good friend

Hayden.

Michael's before picture.

During the haircut

Stacy says it's even shorter

now!  Woohoo!

Look at this sweet kitty.

Looks can be deceiving!

Tuesday, May 9th, 2017

Memphis, Tennessee

80th operating temple

Dedicated: 23 April 2000 by

James E. Faust

Mosiah 26:15-39

*The Lord reveals to Alma how to hold members of the Church accountable for their sins and sets forth conditions of repentance.

*Why do you think the Lord requires us to forgive others?  How are repenting and forgiving others connected? (See 3 Nephi 13:14-15.)

*Gospel Principles: 1. Confession of sins leads to forgiveness.

2. The Lord will forgive those who repent in the sincerity of their hearts. 3. We must forgive others to receive the Lord's forgiveness.

Mormon 1-2 (Mormon means more good)

1:1-7 Ammaron prepares Mormon to receive the sacred record.

8-12 Bloodshed among the warring Nephites and Lamanites.

13-19 Spiritual darkness results from Nephite wickedness.

2:1-9 Mormon at 16 leads the Nephite armies.

10-16 The Nephites experience the sorrowing of the damned.

17-29 Mormon's anguish over the wickedness of his people.

DC 70:1-18

Stewards are appointed to publish the revelations; Those who labor in spiritual things are worthy of their hire; The Saints should be equal in temporal things.

What does it mean to be a steward?

*Stewardship is not ownership.  Stewardship is management with a responsibility to account to the owner or Master.

Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual

Keys for Avoiding Deception - Those Who Pervert the Ways of the Lord.

General Conference

Becoming a Disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Elder Robert D. Hales

"A disciple is one who has been baptized and is willing to take upon him or her the name of the Savior and follow Him.  A disciple strives to become as He is by keeping His commandments in mortality, much the same as an apprentice seeks to become like his or her master....Genuine discipleship is a state of being.  Disciples live so that the characteristics of Christ are woven into the fiber of their beings, as into a spiritual tapestry."

My friend Pam got a note from Elder Southward, the visiting authority for our stake conference.  He visited with her and Rick in their home, but a note was totally unexpected.  Pam is over the moon with excitement!

I made two blog entries today, one for last Thursday and one for last Friday.  I hate getting behind!  For lunch I shared my leftovers from Panda with James.
We left to go to the temple around 1:45 to make it to the 3:00 session.  One of the first people we saw when entering the temple was an old friend from high school, Paul R.  If you would have asked me in high school if Paul would ever be interested in joining the Church, I would have said no.  I guess marrying a good Mormon girl from Snowflake can make all the difference in someone's life.  Paul was the officiator for the 3:00 session and asked us to be the witness couple.  Of course we said we would be happy to.  

As usual, it was windy in Snowflake.

Brother Peeler from our ward was in our session.  He and his wife work in the temple on Tuesday afternoons.  If they aren't too busy, he does a session.  Sister Peeler says he comes to the temple just about everyday that it is open.  

James let me choose where to eat, and of course I chose El Cupido's.  I ordered the carne asada burro and James ordered a chicken quesadilla.  I think he orders light because he knows he is going to end up getting half of mine.  I love the drinks here because they have rabbit pellet ice.

I read to James from "To Kill a Mockingbird" and he returned the favor when we got home by watching "Dancing with the Stars" with me.  It was trio week.  I don't like trio week, and Lynn was very rude to Bonner by telling him he couldn't understand how he had made it this far.  Maybe some people are inspired by his story Lynn.  Anyway, Bonner can't dance very well and he ended up going home.

Photos:

Jared seems a little puzzled, I guess he

just doesn't get the joke.

Keep your nose out of my business.

The caption says Mt. Baldy, but I don't think

it's the one in Arizona.

Fun times last August with these two while their

parents and brothers hike to Havasupai.

While Max and Grampa played chess,

Evan read to me from his book.

These boys were amazingly good!

I am a sucker for a gorgeous sunset!