Thursday, July 9th, 2020

Porto Alegre, Brazil

102nd operating temple

Dedicated: 17 Dec 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Lamb of God

1 Nephi 14:1

And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks -

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Alma 30:42-60

April General Conference

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

Elder John A. McCune

This invitation to "Come unto Christ" has specific implications for Latter-day Saints. As members of the Savior's Church, we have made covenants with Him and have become His spiritually begotten sons and daughters. We have also been given the opportunity to labor with the Lord in inviting others to come unto Him.As we labor with Christ, our most deeply focused efforts should be within our own homes. there will be times when family members and close friends will face challenges. The voices of the world, and maybe their own desires, might cause them to question truth. We should do everything we can to help them feel both the Savior's love and our love. I am reminded of the scripture verse that has become our beloved hymn, "Love One Another," which teaches us, "By this shall ... men know ... ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

 Lambson Study Group

"Be 100% Responsible"

Elder Lynn G. Robbins

BYU Speeches 

August 22. 2017

James got up early to go work on the fence. I got up somewhere between 5:30-6 and walked into the kitchen to get something to eat, in this instance a piece of toast and a caramel protein shake. I have a pain in the back of my left leg that I am trying to get rid of. I walked around the bedroom and was able to sit after awhile. Thank goodness for Tramadol and walking!

While the Awesome Foursome (Dave, Laura, Cathi, and Terry) were outside target practicing I decided I was going to try to make some baked ziti. I used hamburger instead of sausage, rotini instead of ziti and cheddar cheese instead of mozarella cheese. It actually turned out quite tasty. James loved it! Laura and Cathi both tried it and liked it too. 

I inventoried my next shipment of books. I began removing stickers but got redirected to other activities before I finished. My last shipment that I sent in is no longer stranded but the books are not reserved or active. One more day and I will contact Amazon.

Laura told the story about the people who bought Jason's home, the old Robbins' place right next door to her and Dave. It seems the owner is not living in the home but is using it for a business, a daycare. Laura and the Wilson's next door on the other side, have counted over 20 children. They have complained to the city and now they are limited to four children until further notice. The neighbors are concerned about all of the traffic coming and going. 

Laura also is following the Vallow-Daybell case and told me to watch the Melanie Gibb interview on Dateline,  which I did this morning (Friday) via YouTube.  Melanie was Laurie Vallow's best friend while she lived in Arizona. Melanie tells the story of how Laurie and Chad met and what happened afterwards. It is almost a two hour interview. 

I made some banana nut muffins this afternoon adding extra banana and walnuts. James loved them!

Sheri called me this evening and asked me if I had seen a black panther when we had the cabin in Pinedale. I said I thought I had seen one driving up from Payson to Heber along the rim. I asked her why she had asked. I guess the boys were talking about it and Max told the story. She said, "I have learned to always believe Max." Max was right, I did tell them that I had seen one. We then started talking about if Sheri would be safe running when she came up. I told she would. I also told her there was another strange animal around here called a jaguarundi. We looked it up and it is a strange looking animal. 

We played a game of Five Crowns and this time James played with us. This was the highest scoring game I have ever played. Cathi won with 119 points, Terry 161, James 180, Laura 203, Dave 231, and Karen 233. 

For dinner James grilled us all hamburgers that Dave brought. We also had Busch beans and potato chips. I went to bed feeling a little discouraged. I didn't write in my blog, and I only got 5,000 steps. Must do better!

Wednesday, July 8th, 2020

Recife, Brazil

101st operating temple

Dedicated: 15 Dec 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Lamb of God

1 Nephi 13:40

And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the word; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Alma 30:30-42; "Teaching with Power"

April General Conference

"The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon"

Elder Ulisses Soares

The translation process of the Book of Mormon was a miracle. This sacred ancient record was not "translated" in the traditional way that scholars would translate ancient texts by learning an ancient language. We ought to look at the process more like a "revelation" with the aid of physical instruments provided by the Lord, as opposed to a "translation" by one with knowledge of languages. Joseph Smith declared that through God's power he "translated the Book of Mormon from (hieroglyphs), the knowledge of which was lost to the world, in which wonderful event he stood alone, an unlearned youth, to combat the worldly wisdom and multiplied ignorance of eighteen centuries, with a new revelation." The Lord's help in the translation of the plates - or revelation, so to speak - is also evident when considering the miraculously short time Joseph Smith took to translate them.

 Inklings

"Let there be light"

and laughter

Lambson Study Group

"Your Personal Influence"

Thomas S. Monson

April 2004 GenCon

I finished cleaning this morning in preparation for Dave, Laura, Cathi and Terry. When I finished upstairs I went to the basement and cleaned down there. I am not sure where Cathi and Terry will want to stay. Dave and Laura will stay in the family room on the couch. I sanitized the bathrooms, kitchen counters, and door knobs. When I was finished cleaning I worked on getting my books out of the stranded condition. I was finally successful!

It's funny because Cathi texted me around 11:30 and told me to stop cleaning. I was downstairs working on the bedroom when I got the text. My response was, "where are you?" I thought maybe she was here. She said they were stopped for construction at the Queen Creek bridge just outside of Superior. I knew they weren't going to make it here by one o'clock as planned when she told me that. 

Anyway, I asked Cathi how she knew I was cleaning and she said: "Because I know you." All I said was "Yes you do." 

Cathi also wanted us to notify the Crane's that there would be shooting tomorrow. One of the reasons they are all coming up is to do some target practicing. Cathi and Laura are taking a concealed weapons class. They both have pistols. Cathi's is purple. 

It was nice to visit with everyone. Terry had a temple recommend interview with Ernesto Jiminez via Zoom. We all got to say hello to him. He asked me what kind of candy Evan likes. I guess he works with the Deacons. I told him I wasn't sure of his favorite but I knew he didn't care for chocolate. I probably should have told him Mike and Ike's. I did tell him he likes hashbrowns so maybe he will take him a plate of hashbrowns. Ernesto's daughter Evie recently received her mission call to Porto Alegre, Brazil. She is to report on August 5th and will probably do home MTC and then serve somewhere in the states before going to Brazil. The said thing is, because of Covid-19, they don't get to go to the temple with Evie before her mission. She will go after she gets in the field when the temple opens up again.

We had our burros for dinner. Everyone except Terry and I got green mixed. Terry got red and I got just plain green. James went for a ride on Luna. While he was gone we played a game of Five Crowns where Laura was the winner. It was fun. We all went to bed around 9:30 because that's what old people do.

Happy 28th Birthday

Jared Ammon 

The sweetest two year old ever who

would sit at my computer and play

Freddie the Fish

One time when he spent the night he asked me:

"Gramma, why am I brown?"

This just melted my heart as I tried to explain to him that Heavenly Father loves all of His children and that we are all alike unto Him.

 This is the ice cream bar that James bought me 

yesterday at Dollar General

 Cathi showing off her gun.

Barely made 10,000 today

Tuesday, July 7th, 2020

Boston, Massachusetts

100th operating temple

Dedicated: 1 Oct 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Lamb of God

1 Nephi 11:21

And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Alma 30:19-29 with James and "Book of Mormon Central"

"April General Conference

"Prayers of Faith"

President Henry B. Eyring

 "Through His Saints, the Lord will offer the gift of His gospel 'to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.' Technology and miracles will continue to play a part - as will individual 'fishers of men' who minister with power and increasing faith."

Lambson Study Group

"Let Us Be Men"

D. Todd Christofferson

October 2006 GenCon

We received a letter in the form of an email from the Snowflake Temple President, President Palmer this week. President Reidhead has broken his hip and President Palmer is asking that we pray for him. Having a broken hip sounds so painful!

Anthony and James were out early today working on cementing poles in the ground for Luna's fence. I think when she is turned loose in her new field she is going to feel like she has been let out of prison. Once James is finished with the fence we are going to get Luna a companion so she won't be lonely anymore.

I am waiting to hear from Amazon about what to do with my 15 stranded books. I tried what the first technician told me to do and obviously it didn't work. I tried a couple of things on my own and then left it alone. I won't go back until I have heard something from Amazon.

We have company coming tomorrow and so I need to clean upstairs and make sure the bedrooms are ready, even though Laura and Dave will probably sleep in the family room. James said we should set the bug foggers before I clean. I told him I thought that was a great idea. He went upstairs and set them in the bedrooms. I was trying to read out loud to James but I started coughing. I told him I thought it was the fumes from the bug foggers. Come to find out, he set one out in the common area and those fumes were floating down. We decided we better leave for awhile lest we succumb to the fumes. 

I read to James in the car and we went to Dollar General to get ice cream. We saw a couple of ward members, James spoke with Heather Bowen who just found out she is pregnant, and Charlie Gordon who works at Walmart and says it is a zoo right now. I waited in the car. It is hot today, around 90 degrees. We are just holding on until it starts raining. 

After eating my ice cream I read to James. We drove along the 60 towards Springerville. We turned off on the dirt road going to Green's Peak but it was too bumpy so we came back. I was ready to go home. The bug bombs/foggers worked! So many dead bugs upstairs when I went to clean. Going on this little ride today was a nice way to spend some times with James. 

Chuck Lewis came today to put freeon in our air conditioner. He also fixed a leak. We are grateful he came today because of our company tomorrow. We have two air conditioning units and the one that was not working was the one for upstairs where Terry and Cathi will probably sleep. 

James went on his horsey ride while I stayed home and studied the gospel and finished getting my steps. No TV today except for "Lark Rise to Candleford" on my phone. Went to bed around 10 tired and hurting.

 Sweet Scarlett

 Logan, Utah temple

 The highlight of the talk for me

Monday, July 6th, 2020

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
99th operating temple
Dedicated: 17 Sept 2000
The : Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Lamb of God

2 Nephi 31:4

Wherefore, I would that ye should remember that I have spoken unto you concerning that prophet which the Lord showed unto me, that should baptize the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Alma 30:1-18; "Don't Miss This"

April General Conference

"Deep In Our Heart"

Douglas D. Holmes

"The unity we seek is to be one in Christ, to connect ourselves with Him. To connect our hearts with heaven, we need individual spiritual experiences, as Elder Andersen just eloquently spoke to us about. Those experiences come as the Holy Ghost carries the word and love of God to our mind and heart."

My 15 stranded books weighed heavily on my mind last night so it was the first thing I attended to when I got up this morning. I got out the email I got from Amazon seller support and did exactly what it said. The only problem was that I could not use the same SKU's so I created new listings with new SKU's. I felt good about what I had done and left it to rest for awhile while I got ready to go grocery shopping. I left around 9:30 or so for Taylor. 

My shopping trip was quite eventful. I come to Taylor because it is less crowded and I have a better shopping experience. My experience was highlighted by the friends that I saw. First it was the Peeler's and then my dear friend from Chandler who now lives in Snowflake, Ruth Gale. James served with Ruth's husband when Bishop Gale was our bishop. Ruth has applied to go on a mission. She was supposed to be assigned in April but with all that is going on in the world that assignment was delayed. She has now been asked to serve at home in Snowflake until otherwise assigned. I told her that all of our kids were in the valley except for Jared who lives in east Texas. Ruth said she loves Texas and if she lived anywhere else it might be Texas. It was so nice to see such a long-lasting dear friend. She is such a wonderful person and I have always looked up to and admired her for her many talents and her dedication to the gospel. Bishop Gale passed away a few years ago as did one of her boys, Thomas. Both were in motorcycle accidents.

One the way home I got myself a Whopper Jr. at Burger King. I was hoping that James in his travels this morning would have eaten some lunch. He and Chuck went to get another culvert for the road and some more poles and concrete for James's fence. When I got home I soon discovered James had not stopped for lunch as he was "grazing" in the kitchen. I then felt guilty for not bring him something to eat. 

While I was at Walmart I received an email from Amazon. It said that I had stranded inventory and if I didn't correct the issue in 72 hours my account would be in jeopardy. My worries regarding this issue are far from over. 

I have done all I know how to do to get my inventory active again. This is an entire shipment of books and I am just beside myself. I opened up my case log again to seek more help. Hopefully this issue can be resolved soon.

Dave, Laura, Cathi, and Terry will be here around one o'clock on Wednesday. I am stressed about getting the upstairs and downstairs ready for company. I also have a shipment of books waiting to be inventoried and shipped. Oh woe is me.

I walked, blogged, and studied this afternoon and evening. I enjoyed watching "Don't Miss This" with Dave and Emily. I especially enjoyed Dave's explanation, using an orange as an example, of the evidences of God in our lives. Korihor is a major anit-Christ in the Book of Mormon as are the Zoramites. 

James worked on the fence all afternoon and then had a short ride on Luna before coming in for dinner. I heated up the green chili pork I bought at Costco along with some mixed vegetables for him. We sat across from each other at the dining room table both working on our computers. We did not even take time to read from our book today. I missed spending time with my sweetheart.

Ben's letter was the best!

Jen is one of our Hallmark stars. She is a foster parent advocate
and I am impressed with her desire to help needy and 
abandon children. She has adopted one of the boys she fostered and
is trying to adopt his brother. She also just had a baby girl.
She knows the scriptures, the Bible, and is a devout Christian.

Getting the blood flowing to the brain

for a day filled with great ideas

This Costco find is quite yummy!

Dave and Emily' Summer of Heroes
The Dream Team Alma puts together to teach the
Zoramites.

Ben's Letter

What an amazing two year old!
A video of her singing "I Am a Child of God"
I need to learn how to post videos 
on this blog!

Sunday, July 5th, 2020

Birmingham, Alabama

98th operating temple

Dedicated: 17 Sept 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Lamb of God

1 Nephi 10:10

And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Review Alma 23-29 with study group at the Peeler's

April General Conference

"Spiritually Defining Memories"

Elder Neil L. Andersen

"My friend Clayton Christensen described an experience during a very prayerful reading of the Book of Mormon this way: 'A beautiful, warm, loving Spirit ... surrounded me and permeated my soul, enveloping me in a feeling of love that I had not imagined I could feel and these feelings continued night after night."

I got up this morning and as part of my gospel study I listened to Emily and Rio on the Inklings Institute lesson for the week. This is the line from the Restitution Proclamation for this week: "Pages of this sacred text include an account of the personal ministry of Jesus Christ among people in the Western Hemisphere soon after His Resurrection. We also studied Elder Gong's conference address, "Hosanna and Hallelujah - The Living Jesus Christ: The Heart of Restoration and Easter" We also discussed 3 Nephi 17:7-9 and 11:14-15. It was a great discussion. I learned that Hosanna means "save us" and Hallelujah means "you are saved." We start at the beginning and through truth and knowledge we grow in wisdom. As we continue to practice with persistence, we improve and our confidence grows. "With the passage of time, moral agency and mortal experiences help us become more like our Savior as we labor with Him in His vineyard and follow His covenant path."

Here are some of the comments left on the Instagram Inklings site: 

Someone shared this quote by Mary Magdalene from The Chosen:

"I was one way, now I am completely different, and the thing that happened in between was Him." 

Sue Heugly: "I have found that when I choose to have Jesus Christ in all parts of my life ... I don't drop him off in the morning and pick him back up in the evening. If "He" is to be within me always ... it works better if I include Him in my thoughts all day long ... for those thoughts are a speech before Him. A little Hosanna in the morning and a hallelujah in the evening, with prayers of gratitude in between, would definitely increase my personal connection with my Savior and make it more joyful for Him to find me."

I love hearing other people bear their testimony and express what the Savior means to them. 

We met at the Peeler's today for our "Come Follow Me" discussion. The Goodman's were not there. Barbara is still recovering from her shoulder surgery. As we discussed the missionary labors of the sons of Mosiah among the Lamanites, Brother Peeler shared a story from his mission to New Orleans, Louisiana. The missionaries were struggling to find people to teach. Brother Peeler and his companion met with a preacher from another religion. He gave an eloquent sermon. Afterwards Elder Peeler went up to him and asked who he thought God was. He took him several comments before he finally said, "I don't know." Elder Peeler then proceeded to teach him about the Godhead. Afterwards the preacher made this comment: "I didn't know this was what you guys believed. You are welcome to knock on the doors if anyone in my parish and those doors will be open to you." Brother Peeler said everything changed in the mission. They were able to get inside peoples homes and teach them and many people were baptized. A young missionary sharing a simple testimony made all of the difference.

Donna had made a cake with Coolwhip frosting and peaches on top for us to break our fast with. It was delicious!

We had a short visit with Kacey, Jared and Charlie via Face Time before our Lambson Study Group.

Our discussion this week was on mercy. Emily this morning said that mercy was especially active compassion. At least that is the Greek definition. We had three talks to study this week: "Mercy - the Divine Gift" by President Thomas S. Monson; "The Justice and Mercy of God" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland based on a talk he gave at BYU called, "Borne On Eagles' Wings"; and "Blessed are the Merciful" by President Gordon B. Hinckley. The talks were great. I loved the story of the southern soldier during the Civil War, Sargeant Kirtland, who carried water to the northern soldiers suffering and wounded in the battlefield. They built a statue of him in Fredericksburg, Virginia. I hope it wasn't desecrated by the protestors. 

This evening James  wrote a letter to Ben and I worked on my blog. It was a good Sabbath day. I listened to five talks and finished my Book of Mormon study guide. I love studying the gospel just about more than anything else.

 The Elmer Girls

 Poor Charlie!

 Love this!