Monday, May 11th, 2020

Las Vegas, Nevada

43rd operating temple

Dedicated: 16 Dec 1989

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, King

Isaiah 44:6

Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me" Mosiah 18-24

"We Have Entered into a Covenant with Him"

Mosiah 18 with James, Sunday journal, study guide

Podcast: The Scripture Study Project with the Horton's

April General Conference

"Consider the Goodness and Greatness of God"

Elder Dale G. Renlund

"The consistency of pleas from prophets to reflect on the goodness of God is striking. Our Heavenly Father wants us to recall His and His Beloved Son's goodness, not for Their own gratification but for the influence such remembrance has on us. By considering Their kindness, our perspective and understanding are enlarged. By reflecting on Their compassion, we become more humble, prayerful, and steadfast."

"The Power of the Book of Mormon in Conversion"

Elder Benjamin M.Z. Tai

"Jesus Christ is the Master Physician. Through His Atonement, He binds up our wounds, takes upon Himself our infirmities, and heals our broken hearts. Through His grace our weakness can become strong He invites us to follow Him by learning of Him, listening to His words, and walking in the meekness of His Spirit. He has promised to help us in the lifelong process of conversion, which transforms us and brings everlasting joy."

"The Canker of Contention"

Russell M. Nelson

April 1989

"Bear Up Your Burdens with Ease"

David A. Bednar

April 2014

I love Monday mornings. Mondays are the beginning of a new week and represent a new beginning. Hopes are high and resolves are firm on Monday morning. 

As I was walking and listening to conference talks this morning I came across this statement:

"With a sincere heart, with real intent, invite

the Spirit of the Lord into your life."

It took me most of the morning to write in my blog for Sunday. I did fine until it was time to download pictures when the computer kept freezing up. I was determined I would finish, and I did.

I was excited to see that my book balance, over the weekend had gone up to $955.54! How exciting! Also, I sold another five books today.

We started another Aunt Dimity book today. It is funny how I have read all of these books but I don't remember any of them. I guess it has been over ten years. This book is called, "Aunt Dimity and the Lost Prince." 

We had the rest of the chicken tacos today for lunch. They were quite yummy. After lunch we both took about a 30 minute nap and then James went to the post office at my request. I had a book to mail and I wanted to see if we had gotten our stimulus check. 

We struck it rich at the post office. Not only did we get our stimulus check but I got Mother's Day cards from Sheri and Kim. Sheri's card had a $50 gift card to Cheesecake Factory, and Kim's had a $25 Olive Garden card and a $25 Amazon card.

We got a letter today from the Snowflake temple president, President Palmer. He said that the Snowflake temple would be open for living endowments only. I wanted to share a portion of the letter on here.

The temple will reopen in phases. Phase 1 is the initial phase and will require only a few workers. We know you are all anxious to return to service, but please wait for a call from temple leadership before expecting to return to service in the temple. Thanks for your patience and willingness to serve - we look forward to the day when we return to full temple worship opportunities in the temple. 

For your information, Alma Yates and Nikki Yates have been called to serve as 2nd counselor and Assistant to the Matron in the Snowflake Arizona Temple. As you know, Mike and Kim Seaman have been called to serve as Temple President and Matron of the temple beginning 1 November 2020. Those serving with them as counselors and assistants to the matron will be Roger and Sharman Toronto and Gary and Darlene Perkins. We are very excited about the calls they have received to serve - we will love serving with them. 

With love,

President Palmer

We have worked with the Yates on our shift. He is a sealer and they served a mission in a spanish speaking temple so they are fluent in spanish. I love both of them. Roger Toronto is our stake patriarch and his wife Sharman is over indexing in the stake and attends our quarterly stake family history meetings. They are both dedicated disciples of the Lord. I don't know the Perkins, although I might know Darlene if her maiden name is Palmer. I shall see.

Monday's are always exciting because we hear from our missionary Elder Trezise. James and I got a short message from him and of course Sheri always shares her letter with us. 

James went on a Luna ride this evening, a short one. He wants to make sure she gets her exercise. I will be glad when we can fence our field and then she will be able to get all the exercise she wants.

As I sat down to study the gospel this evening I realized how tired I was. I decided to go crawl into bed and take another 30 minute nap. I had not been in there more than 30 minutes when James came in and crawled in with me. After our nap we got up and went to the dining room table to study.

The last thing James and I did this evening was watch episode one of season two of "Lark Rise to Candleford."

The series opens with a wonderfully captivating seasonal tale that unites the past and the present. When Dorcas and Emma each want to give Laura the same gift for Christmas, an old family wound is opened up and Laura finds herself torn between two mothers. As the inhabitants of Lark Rise and Candleford prepare for the festivities, loyalties are tested and, amid the gift giving and caroling, tensions are building. ( I might add that there is a happy ending and a good message to this story).

Quotes

Laura as the episode opens:

"These are times when we can forget how fortunate we are. There are those who spend the whole lives searching for a sense of belonging the rest of us take for granted. The best of intentions can pull families apart. Parents and children can be divided by their wish to love and be loved." (Another thing I love about this series is that Laura is an avid journal keeper!)

Ruby to Walter as she encourages him to get to know his children 

better and to not run away back to sea.

"Surely we can do for one day what seems 

impossible for a lifetime."

Ben's good friend

 Woke up to fog this morning

 Cutie in a drawer

James said this is the first time he has seen

turkey on our property

 This mama turkey was looking for water but

she was afraid of Luna

Kacey saw this critter on their 

animal safari last week. I named

him Tex Earnhardt.

Sunday, May 10th, 2020

Portland, Oregon

42nd operating temple

Dedicated: 19 Aug 1989

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, King

Isaiah 43:15

I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Mosiah 17; Read with James; Discussed with Goodman's, Sunday journal, study guide

April General Conference

"A Living Witness of the Living Christ"

Bishop Gerald 

"The entire 'good news' of the gospel is contained in the image of the Savior tenderly extending His 'arms of mercy' to invite each individual to come unto Him and receive the blessings of His Atonement."

"The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent"

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

October 2007

I spent the morning finishing my study of this week's "Come Follow Me" lesson, Mosiah 11-17. James and I watched the video included with the lesson which shows Adinadi preaching to King Noah and his priests and Alma accepting his words and fleeing from the king. Alma baptizes his followers at the waters of Mormon. 

The first person to wish me a happy mother's day was Kacey with a sweet text that said:

Happy Mother's Day! I am so grateful for your example and righteous influence in my life and our family's life. I regret that I came into the picture later, but I am so grateful I get eternity with sch a wonderful mother and family. I love you!

This message touched my heart so much. I am so grateful to Kacey and her righteousness and her love for Jared. I truly and honestly believe that she saved him.

Others who sent their wishes: Addy, my cousin Rita, Jared, Brian, Kim, Sheri, Stacy, Michael, Darrel, Trina, Cathi and Barbara Goodman. I am truly blessed. James gave me the cutest and sweetest Mother's Day card. Michael actually called me and when he a nice visit. He just graduated from Grand Canyon State and is planning on going on to get his Master's and his Doctorate degrees. I am proud of his academic goals. I hope he still has the goal of being married in the temple.

James made me a Mother's Day breakfast this morning, scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, sausage, and hashbrowns. It was delicious but I couldn't eat it all because I had already had three mini powdered donuts and half a slice of cheesecake. 

At 11:00 we met with the Goodman's at their home for the sacrament and to study the "Come Follow Me" lesson. We sang "Upon the Cross of Calvary" and Pierce and James blessed and administered the sacrament. The Peeler's daughter is visiting with them so that's why they aren't here and Kathy Crane is still recovering from surgery and wasn't feel well enough to come.

I shared Bishop Causse's quote regarding the Savior's arms of mercy and then we decided, since the Goodman's hadn't seen it, to watch the Abinadi/Alma video. After the video we discussed Mosiah 15 and the Father and Son statements by Abinadi in the first five chapters. I read to them gospel scholar Robert Millett's statements as found in his book, The Power of  the Word. Here they are: 

Abinadi's Testimony of Christ as the Father and the Son

"One of the grandest messianic sermons ever delivered was Abinadi's defense before King Noah and his wicked priests, particularly that portion constituting chapter fifteen of Mosiah. The first five verses of this chapter are especially poignant and may be understood in light of ... the ministry of Christ as the Father and the Son. ... Key doctrinal matters are given in verses one through five:

1.) God himself - Jehovah, the God of ancient Israel - will come to earth, take a physical body, and bring to pass redemption for all men.

2.) Because Jehovah/Jesus Christ will have a physical body and dwell in the flesh - like every other mortal son and daughter of God - he will be known as the Son of God. On the other hand, because he will be conceived by the power of God and will thus have within him the powers of the Spirit, he will be known as the Father. This same doctrine is given in a modern revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith (see D&C 93:4, 12-14).

3.) The will of the Son is to be swallowed up in the will of the Father. That is, the flesh will become subject to the Spirit, the mortal subject to the immortal. 'I seek not mine own will,' Jesus explained, 'but the will of the Father which hath sent me' (John 5:30; compare 6:38). In short, Jesus will do what the Father would have him do.

4.) Thus Christ will be both the Father and the Son. He will be called the Father because he was conceived by the power of God and inherited all of the divine endowments, particularly immortality, from his exalted Sire. He will be called the Son because of the flesh - his mortal inheritance from his mother, Mary. Therefore Christ will be both flesh and spirit, both man and God, both Son and Father And they - the Son and the Father, the man and the God, the flesh and the spirit - are to be blended wondrously in one being. Jesus Christ, 'the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth."

One thing I would add to Brother Millett's list would be that Jesus Christ is the Father of our salvation.

After our lesson Barbara served us crumb cake. I told James he should every crumb of his crumb cake. While we were eating we somehow got on the subject of lizards and reptiles. Barbara said on their acreage in Tucson they had a Gila Monster. She also said she saw a Komodo dragon on the streets of Tucson. She showed me a picture and it was so huge and massive it looked like a dinosaur. 

Pierce walked us out to the car when it was time to leave. I showed him some chewed up tissues and said we had a mouse in our car. He then said that Owen Peeler has killed 61 mice in his car. Oh my gosh! So much of our time up here is spent in catching critters!

James dropped me off at home while he went to deliver plants to Colleen Franklin, Sandra Wilhelm, and Donna Peeler. When he returned home he grilled steaks and made asparagus with olive oil and salt and lemon pepper. We have a delicious lunch.

During nap time I ran off the talks on gratitude and began reading them. I already listened to them on my phone but this time I am reading and underlining.

On my phone I watched the first episode of "The Chosen" series. Mary Magdalene has evil spirits cast out by the Savior. Up until this time she has been called Lily but he called out to her and said: "I have called you by name." That is the title of this episode.

We FaceTimed with Jared, Kacey, Charlie and Tanner. Tanner had to show us his mullet. Kacey said she had a nice mother's day. Jared fixed her baked ziti for dinner. 

After our FaceTime called we Skyped with Kim, Brian, Sheri, Stacy, Paul, Kacey and Jared for a study of the gospel principal of gratitude. Sheri led the discussion. Our two favorite talks to study were Elder Uchtdorf's, "Gratitude in Any Circumstances" and President Eyring's "Remember, Remember." We had a good discussion. Kim said she has a tendency to be negative and she has taken up the habit of expressing gratitude for three things when she gets up in the morning to get her on the right path. She also listens to conference talks and looks forward to our weekly gospel discussions. This has helped her attitude tremendously. Kacey will be leading the discussion next week and then James the week after.

This evening James and I both wrote letters to Ben. I also worked on my blog before going to bed. Today was a wonderful Sabbath day and a happy mother's day.

The Bogles: Elise, Betty, and Monique,

since Betty had ten children, some are missing.

 Miss Scarlett

Kacey and kids, except for Autumn

Saturday, May 9th, 2020

Frankfurt, Germany

41st operating temple

Dedicated: 28 Aug 1987

By: Ezra Taft Benson

Jesus Christ, King

Isaiah 33:17

Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Mosiah 16; Read with James, Sunday journal, study guide, CWIC podcast, CFM Weekly

April General Conference

"Come Unto Christ - Living as Latter-day Saints"

Elder John A. McCune

"As followers of Christ, we are not spared challenges and trials in our lives. We are often required to do difficult things that, if attempted alone, would be overwhelming and maybe impossible. As we accept the Savior's invitation to 'come unto me,' He will provide the support, comfort, and peace that are necessary, just as He did for Nephi and Joseph."

"A Perfect Brightness of Hope"

Jeffrey R. Holland

April 2020 

Part of my gospel study includes reading a portion of the "Come Follow Me" reading assignment in the morning with James. James reads the scripture and I read the commentary provided in "The Book of Mormon Study Guide" by Brother Thomas R. Valletta.

After reading we have our family prayer together. As part of my personal prayers I pray for each of my family members by name as I think of them and the things they are struggling with. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of my family because they are His family too.

My book balance is at $786.58 right now. I will be sent the money next Thursday. I wonder how much Amazon will keep in my account. I have sold 80 books in the last 30 days. Woohoo!

James decided he was going to ride Luna down the road to see if Richard was working this morning. Richard was not there and the grader looks like he broke a hydraulic hose because there was oil all over the ground. I hope we get the rest of our road done.

On the way back James said that Luna started trotting and then loping and then tried to buck him off. He showed her that she couldn't buck him off and she probably won't try it again with him, but what about the grandkids. She is a gentle horse but she needs more training. I guess she is not used to being ridden as much as James has been riding her. Luna is in the back yard munching on the grass right now.

James took the Cat down to try and smooth out the road where Richard lift big piles of dirt.

I used the bagged chicken I got from Costco to make chicken tacos today. I made twelve. James loved them and said they were the delicious.

James came in after lunch and said, "Can I ask you a favor"? I said, most certainly you can ask. "Will you go to town with me?" What? I went with you to town Thursday and Friday. You need to go again? Yes. I need to get two pins for my trailer, a trailer jack for a different trailer and two bolts for the auger. I thought about it and decided I had nothing pressing to do. I was going to try to find a message to send to my ministering sisters but I could do that on Monday. I said I would go and it made him so happy I was glad I made that decision. 

We stopped at the Tractor Supply Store. They had a few animal figures and I found a horse that looks similar to Luna that I wanted to get. James was okay with it. I also bought a bag of black licorce for us to munch on. He was definitely okay with that because he loves black licorce. 

I got no pictures of the licorce. We ate the entire bag on the way home.

James needed some nasal spray so I told him if he would drop me off at Walmart he could go to Home Depot where he could get the pvc pipe he needs to fix a sprinkler. 

Walmart did not have the nasal spray he asked for but I got three different kinds. Hopefully one of them will work. I also bought myself a piece of cheesecake two tops and two pair of pants. Happy Mother's Day!

While we were in the car I read to James from "Aunt Dimity and the Village Witch." We both are really in to this story as it nears the end. This has been one of our favorite Aunt Dimity books.

This evening James went to the church with the rest of the Melchizedek priesthood holders in our ward to pick up Mothers day gifts to distribute to the sisters in the ward. He came home with this:

I know it looks a little droopy but once

I watered it, those flowers perked up.

I loved this gift. I think I surprised James by how much I loved such a simple thing. When he said we were getting flowers I pictured a long stemmed carnation with the stem wrapped in a paper towel. 

I told him I wanted chocolate. I love this gift because it shows thought and care. The pot with the word "mom" printed on it took time and care. Planting the petunias, my most favorite flower to plant, took time and care. Putting the M&M's on a stick and wrapping a pipe cleaner around it to look like a butterfly with antennae took creativity and time and care. All in all I thought it was a sweet, thoughtful gift from our bishopric. Later I learned that Sister Goodman and Sister Hunsaker wrote the "mom" on the pot and the bishop and Brother Goodman did the butterflies. I love it.

James came home and gave me my flower. We went back to the church and met Tanna Conrad and Pam Wood and gave them their gifts. There were quite a few people at the church. It was fun to see our ward members involved in this activity. I love the Vernon ward!

We will deliver Sister Peeler's gift and Sister Wilhelm's gift tomorrow. 

We watched an episode of "Lark Rise to Candleford" before going to bed. Season 1 Episode 10, the last episode of season one.

Dorcas decides to sell the post office and leave Candleford. Philip's possessiveness causes Laura increasing concern. There are surprises, joy and sorrow when everyone gathers at the post office for Zillah's birthday party.

Quotes

Laura: "All of his life Twister had been known as a slack, twisted old chap. But searching in the storm for Edmund he had courage, his own kind of courage."

Emma after coaxing her in the arts of womanly wiles:

"Miss Margaret, I have every reason to believe that you will be married by Christmas."

Dorcas Lane to Sir Timothy: 

"There will always be reason for you and I to be in one another's company and I feel we have to be strong in our resistance. 

Sir Timothy:

"Yes, I understand. Of course I've always understood that we should do thing exactly at your bidding. It is at your bidding that we live like this. Tell me why Dorcas?

Dorcas: "Timothy, please.

Timothy: "Tell me why Dorcas? I live my life bound by duty and obligation. I didn't want any of this, all I ever really wanted was you. Tell me why you refused me? Tell me the truth."

Dorcas: "It was my father. He told me it could never work, love never crosses the great divide of social class. Those were his words."

Sir Timothy:"So your father was a bigoted, small-minded, fool of a man." (Slap) "At last something real between us."

(Sir Timothy grabs Dorcas in an embrace as she starts to leave.)

Dorcas:"Do you know how long I have longed for this moment? (Lady Adelaide, Sis Timothy's wife, sees the embrace.)

Thomas to Miss Lane when she announces she is selling the post office and he says it will never happen. 

"Your will is one thing Miss Lane, the Lord's will is what we live by."

I'm not sure why I love this show so much. I guess I love the English accent and the scenery and costumes and the characters and the way they express themselves. How long I will include lines from it in my journal, I am not sure.

 I took this picture walking in the Tractor Supply

parking lot while waiting for James.

The clouds are coming!

Sheri has her Ollie, James has

his Luna

 Saturday night snack

 Autumn and Kacey

These meant so much to me

Oliver and Erik at Oliver's baptism

 Oliver at the Mogollon Rim