Tue, Aug 17th, 2021: Logan Utah Temple #2: Rain, Blue Ridge troubles, Scarlett, Read "Chances Are", Covid continues

 

Logan, Utah

2nd operating temple

Dedicated: 17-19 May 1884

By: John Taylor

Jesus Christ, Prophecies about

Helaman 5:9

O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.

Book of Mormon

Alma 51:22-37

D&C

89

"Come Follow Me"

The Word of Wisdom is a "principle with a promise."

AprGenCon

"What Has Our Savior Done for Us?"

President Dallin H. Oaks

First Counselor in the First Presidency

What else has our Savior, Jesus Christ, done for us? Through the teachings of HIs prophets and through His personal ministry, Jesus taught us the plan of salvation. This plan includes the Creation, the purpose of life, the necessity of opposition, and the gift of agency. He also taught us the commandments and covenants we must obey and the ordinances we must experience to take us back to our heavenly parents.

Ten Virtues

#2

Honesty

Men and women of integrity understand intrinsically that theirs is the precious right to hold their heads in the sunlight of truth, unashamed before anyone.

Another day with Covid. Lots of naps and laziness.

Sister Wilhelm picked up my thyroid prescription today. She is such a sweetie!

I got a birthday card from Dennis and Denise and one from Dave and Laura. It's nice to be remembered on ones birthday.

James has been eating alot of tilapia and I have been eating hamburgers and corn on the cob. I guess you could say our appetites are returning.

We listened to our book, "Chances Are" for about 6-7 hours today.

I also watched a little TV. I tried to watch "The Middle" and "Reba" but they are both just so silly. I listened to "Act in Doctrine" and "Don't Miss This" as part of my "Come Follow Me" study. I'm just having a hard time focusing.

Something very sad happened in our community over the weekend.

A 17 year old girl lured a 19 year old young man to Show Low Lake where two boys who attend Blue Ridge High School beat him up. Blue Ridge has had to close the school because of protests by parents and others in the community. The superintendent of Blue Ridge Schools is a member of our high council. He is the one assigned to the Vernon ward. His name is Brother Wright and my heart goes out to him right now.

It seems like these boys, who are athletes, would have been disciplined by now. I don't have all of the facts but I know Brother Wright to be a fine upstanding man.

Mon, Aug 16th, 2021: St. George Utah Temple #1: Scarlett's temple tour, Rain and sunflowers, Charlie, Haiti's earthquake, Trouble in Afghanistan

 

St. George, Utah

1st operating temple

Dedicated: 6-8 Apr 1877

By: Daniel H. Wells

Jesus Christ, Prophecies about

Alma 21:9

Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.

Book of Mormon

Alma 51:13-21

D&C

Saints 15, p. 166-68, RIC "The Word of Wisdom"

"Come Follow Me"

89-92 "A Principle with Promise"

AprGenCon

"Bless In His Name"

President Henry B. Eyring

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

"For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

"They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.

"And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord."

Ten Virtues

#1

Love is the only force that can erase the difference between people or bridge the chasms of bitterness. Love is like the Polar Star. In a changing world, it is a constant. It is the security of the home. It is a beacon of hope in a world of distress.

We had 25 wild turkeys in our yard this morning. Several were right by the front porch when James first got up. There were about five hens with their little ones. I wish we could have gotten some pictures. It was quite a sight. I've never seen so many wild turkeys together in all of my life. It brightened up our day.

We feel better but are still taking lots of naps. We are still managing to have scriptures and prayers. We are doing some indexing and I am slowly keeping up on my blog although there really isn't much to write about. 

James went outside and ran his skidsteer for awhile but said he just didn't have enough energy to keep it up. Someday we will get our yard put in. 

We got more rain today. It is just so lush and beautiful!

Ruby texted us to tell us that they are getting a bunny. They got the cage and then were looking for a rabbit. James told her to get a Dutch chocolate, and that's what they ended up getting. Ruby is over the moon. The rabbits name was "Widget" but Rowan doesn't like that name and since the kids all pitched in money everyone has to be happy with the name.

Ruby is soo excited and I am happy these kids are getting a pet!

James and I started a new book called, "Chances Are." It's about a girl with cancer. Sounds like a downer but it has a good story to it.

We watched the two Meghan Markle movies I had on the DVR. I actually like her as an actress and both movies are good. James even enjoyed them too.

Our friend Sandra left two bottles of apple juice on our front porch this evening. We are so grateful because that's what sounded good to us.

Little Miss Scarlett on her temple tour

Who's dog?

So sad

New Visitors Center dedicated by Ulisses Soares

Another sad thing in the world

 

Sun, Aug 15th, 2021: Durban, South Africa Temple #168:Meeting, Skidsteer fixed, Text to Pam, Childs' trip, Charlie,

 

Durban, South Africa

168th operating temple

Dedicated: 16 Feb 2020

By: Ronald A. Rasband

Jesus Christ, Prophecies about

Alma 7:10

And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.

Book of Mormon

Alma 51:1-12

D&C

88 Review

"Come Follow Me"

"Establish a House of God"

AprGenCon

"This Is Our Time"

Elder S. Gifford Nielsen

Of the Seventy

When winds blow in our lives, where is our focus? Remember, there is always one reliable source of strength and courage. The arms of Jesus extend to us, just as they extended to Peter. As we reach for Him, He will lovingly rescue us. We are His. He said, "Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine"(Isaiah 43:1). He will prevail in your life if you let Him. The choice is yours.

The Articles of Faith

#13

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul - We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Inklings

"God Loves His Children" 

Taniela B. Wakolo

Jeremiah 29-31

We watched part of our ward's Zoom meeting. Brother Reynolds was the speaker. He is our ward's preparedness expert and he talked about being prepared both temporally and spiritually for what lies ahead. It was a good talk. They had the sacrament part of the meeting first and we missed the first speaker. James prepared, blessed and passed the sacrament here at home. He has the permission from our bishop. 

We got an email from our stake president today, President Beeler. He spoke about some horrible events occurring in our community and I was not sure what he was talking about. He spoke about the resurgence of Covid and how many are suffering. He talked about President Nelson's message and the importance of staying on the covenant path and following the Prophet. He sent a picture of the United States rain levels showing saturation levels in our area being the highest anywhere in the United States, which is really hard to believe. He attributes it to the fact that we are doing indexing, temple and family history work.

I finally had to tell my friend Pam that I have Covid. She had been trying to get me to get the vaccine for several weeks now. Here is the message I sent her when she asked who in our ward  was sick:

Pam, because you are a dear friend I am going to share with you what is going on with James and I. James has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was ready to start treatments when we both got Covid from a friend. I have an autoimmune disease and because of the medicine I am on, my immune system is compromised. The CDC page says it is not known yet if it is safe for people with autoimmune diseases to take the vaccine. Just as a side note, the friend who exposed us to Covid had taken the vaccine. My daughter has a friend who had Covid, waited three months and had the vaccine and was hospitalized and almost died. Because we have Covid hopefully we will have immunities built up in defense of getting it again. As far as others in the ward who are sick, I don't know because I have been quarantined for the past ten days.

Sister Wilhelm reached out to us today to ask if there was anything she could do for us. She wanted to bring dinner. I told her neither of us have much of an appetite right now but if she wanted to get us some apple juice, that would be great. She said she would be going to town tomorrow and would definitely bring us some. Hurray for good friends!

Owen brought back James's skidsteer today. He fixed it and then instead of charging for fixing it he used it for a project he was doing. I haven't seen James so happy in quite some time. 

James and I finished "The Blue Orchid Society" and I finished "His Lady in Hiding." Listening to audio books is our favorite pasttime right now. 

James and I both decided tomorrow is going to be a good day!

 

Sat, Aug 14, 2021: Arequipa, PeruTemple#167:Joshua's 15th birthday, Malea's first birthday, Hallmark movie, Facetime with Jared and Charlie

 

Arequipa, Peru

167th operating temple

Dedicated: 15 Dec 2019

By: Elder Ulisess Soares

Jesus Christ, Prophecies about

Mosiah 16:15

Teach them that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord, who is the very Eternal Father. Amen.

Book of Mormon

Alma 50:21-40

D&C

88:117-141

"Come Follow Me"

Review: "Establish a.....House of God"

AprGenCon

"You Can Gather Israel"

Ahmad S. Corbitt

First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency

The Children and Youth program is a prophetic tool to help you youth power up your great faith. President Oaks taught, "This program is designed to help you become more like our Savior in four areas: spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual," As you youth lead - lead - in living the gospel, caring for others, inviting all to receive the gospel, uniting families for eternity, and organizing fun activities, the great faith in Christ you had in the premortal life will resurface and empower you to do His work in this life!

The Articles of Faith

#12

We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

Today is Joshua's fifteenth birthday. He was born on Paul's dad's birthday. Paul's dad passed away a few years later. I still remember seeing Gilbert at the Chandler Hospital as we all waited for the baby to be born. Joshua is loved by all of his older brothers:

Today is also Malea Grapp's birthday. She is one year old and I wanted to be there to celebrate with her and her family. Everything is put on hold because of Covid.

I am worried about James's breathing. He is having a hard time. We both slept most of the day. 

This evening we watched the newest Hallmark movie starring Jack Wagoner and Josie Bissett:

Jared Facetimed us unexpectedly this evening. He wanted to see how we were feeling. We are about the same. They are planning on coming on the 19th so James can ordain Jared a High Priest. If we are not well then they may have to cancel their trip. We are praying that won't happen. Charlie was in a great mood and wanted to visit with us. She brought in her new sparkling rain boots to show us, and then she brought in her dinosaur shoes that Autumn made her. We were getting ready to say goodbye when she said just a minute she had one more thing to show us. She came back with a Beauty and the Beast tablet. She drew a picture of the Beast and then one of Beauty for us before saying goodbye. I don't know when I have enjoyed talking with her more. She cheered us up in our most miserable state.

Thank you Charlie!

It has been 11 days since James's first symptoms and he is not any better. I am beginning to think this is going to last longer than we had thought.