Sunday, May 14th, 2017

Monterrey, Mexico

110th operating temple

Dedicated: 28 April 2002 by

Gordon B. Hinckley

Mosiah 29:16-32

* According to King Mosiah, what benefits would come through making decisions by the voice of the people?

* What consequences would come if the people chose iniquity?

* Why is it important for both leaders and followers to be accountable for their actions?

Truths learned in Mosiah 29:

* Unrighteous leadership can bring contention and sin.

* It is not common for the voice of the people to choose something that is not right.

* If the people choose iniquity, the judgments of God will come upon them.

* Each person has a duty to uphold righteous laws and leaders.

Mormon 9

Moroni calls upon those who do not believe in Christ to repent; He proclaims a God of miracles, who gives revelations and pours out gifts and signs upon the faithful; Miracles cease because of unbelief; Signs follow those who believe; Men are exhorted to be wise and keep the commandments. About A.D. 401-21.

DC 75:13-22

All will come forth in the resurrection of the just or the unjust; The inhabitants of many worlds are begotten sons and daughters unto God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ; 

Was there a time I exercised faith and was given the strength to overcome?

* I can't think of a time right now.

General Conference

Return and Receive

Elder M. Russell Ballard

"Over the years, I have observed that those who accomplish the most in this world are those with a vision for their lives, with goals to keep them focused on their vision and tactical plans for how to achieve them.  Knowing where you are going and how you expect to get there can bring meaning, purpose, and accomplishment to life."

Kindness, Charity, and Love

President Thomas S. Monson

"And if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity." -Moroni 7:44

I was up at 4:00 a.m. on this beautiful mother's day to work on my Primary lesson.  The lesson is about Edward Partridge being the first bishop and what our bishop does for us.  

James wrote me a nice one page letter for mother's day.  He would rather write to me than to buy a card.

So sweet.

The mother's had an amazing day at church.  We got giant candy bars and a carnation in sacrament meeting.  During Relief Society the RS presidency set up a luncheon in the Relief Society room.  We had chicken salad sandwiches on rolls, veggies and dip, chips, and chocolate covered strawberries.  It was yummy and totally unexpected.  During Primary each of the children wrote a note to their mom's and gave them either a red or yellow rose.  The roses were beautiful.

Candy bar, carnation, and cards.

Cathi and Terry's grandson, Colin, filled this out at kindergarten.  I thought it was pretty funny.

I love her red hair and his answer to the last question.

James came home from church and made me a wonderful steak dinner.  We had fillets, baked potatoes, corn, and a salad.  I also bought a little chocolate cake but I ended up throwing it away because it had too much buttercream frosting.  

I got a call or a text from all of my kids.  Stacy wrote me a sweet message on Facebook.  Brian sent me a card.  Jared sent me a Deseretbookshelf plus card good for one year.  Darrel called me and Trina wished me a Happy Mother's Day.  Darrel had to work today and Trina spent the day making her mother dinner.  She also took this picture of three of her four kids.

While Trina was taking this picture Lola was inside and locked

them all out of the house.  Thank goodness Rowan knew how

to break in.  So, no picture of Lola.

When Stacy called me she told me a little more about their trip to Tombstone.  She said over 1200 bodies are in the bottom of the mine they were in.  She said the guide told them to take lots of pictures because they may get an orb.  Stacy got one and you can see a face in it if you look hard.  She said Paul got one that moved around.

The orb is way over on the left.  I can't see anything on here but I

did when Stacy posted it on Facebook.

Paul posted these pictures of Stacy and some of her boys:

Dallin

Michael

Joshua

We had some visitors this evening.  James got some closeups.

Cows 

James said there were five cows and

two yearlings.

Their light butts are so funny looking

They came to wish me a happy mother's day!

It was a wonderful day.  I am so grateful to my wonderful family.

I was impressed that Jared worked all day Saturday and then drove to San Antonio, arriving at 1:30 a.m. so he could fix Kacey breakfast and spend mother's day with her, and then drive back home Sunday afternoon after making her cookies.  

Here are some more fun reminders of Mother's Day:

Happy Mother's Day!

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.