Chicago, Illinois
35th operating temple
Dedicated: 9 Aug 1985
By: Gordon B. Hinckley
Jesus Christ, Redeemer
Isaiah 59:20
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
Book of Mormon
Helaman 6:15-31
D&C
Review 102-105
"Come Follow Me"
FSS&FHE & Review "After Much Tribulation...Come the Blessing"
AprGenCon
"Jesus Christ: The Caregiver of Our Soul"
Elder Ulisses Soares
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
My dear brothers and sisters, on this Easter Sunday, I bear my solemn witness that Jesus rose from the dead and that He lives. I testify to you that through Him and HIs infinite Atonement, the Savior provided us the way to overcome death, both physically and spiritually. In addition to these great blessings, He also offers us comfort and assurance in difficult times. I assure you that as we put our trust in Jesus Christ and in His supernal atoning sacrifice, enduring in our faith to the end, we will enjoy the promises of our beloved Heavenly Father, who does everything within HIs power to help us return to His presence one day. This is His work and His glory!
Family Proclamation
#5
We Declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.
Inklings
"Room in the Inn"
Gerrit W. Gong
Luke 10:25-37
Luke 5:4-11, 7:11-16, 13:11-17
14:1-6, 17:12-19, 22:50-51
Up at 6:30. I've gotten to be quite lazy on Sundays. It's a hard habit to break.
This week's "Come Follow Me" takeaway:
In D&C 103:22 and 105:16 the Lord uses the phrase, "the strength of my house." As I read this phrase I asked myself, what is the strength of my house? "Covenant keepers live here, the Spirit is always welcomed and invited here; visual reminders of the Savior and our covenants are found here; our home is a place of intentional learning; we both forgive and seek forgiveness here; this is a home built on love. We know who we are in this house, we know God is good and we cannot get by without Christ. These are the strengths of my house."
Sheri and Evan were the only ones who went to sacrament meeting with us. We were a little late and since we are doing every other row, we sat in the overflow, behind the Bowen family. It was nice to see Sean although he was on oxygen.
Bishop and Pierce are both gone so Brother Grapp conducted. Ty Woods from the high council who is speaking today was on the stand with him. Brother Grapp gave this quote before the speakers began: "Conflict is inevitable, contention is a choice." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Next week is fast and testimony meeting because the week after is General Conference and the week after that is stake conference. Brother Grapp encouraged us to read Isaiah 58 as part of our fast next week.
Our first speaker today was Paige Flake. I'm not sure what ward she is in but she will be leaving for the Washington D.C. mission on October 4th. She talked about some of the attributes and roles of Christ. He is the Great King Immanuel, He is the light and life of the world, the Creator, the Savior of the universe, He loved His neighbor and Atoned for our sins. In the song, "The Lord is My Light" it says He is our strength and our song. We must learn to rely on Him. In the Book of Mormon it says, "Zeniff did go up in the strength of the Lord to battle. I know Jesus Christ offers us strength. With Him we are never lost. He takes our weaknesses and makes them into strengths. (see Ether 12:27). The keeper of the Gate to the Celestial Kingdom is the Holy One of Israel. (see 2 Nephi 9:41) He waits for us with open arms. (Can you imagine running into them?) He is the bread of life and descended below all things. He is the Comforter and saves us from the Refiner's fire. He loves each of us and connects us to Heaven. Because of Him life is full of meaning and purpose. He is the Light of the world and we are all born with the light of Christ. Our light increases when we choose to follow Him. Missionaries carry the light of Christ. They are Christ-centered and have the power to teach us to become Christ-like. Sister Flake said to be a lighthouse, not a disco ball. She talked about the song "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam". Jesus is the Messenger of our Salvation. She bore her testimony before closing.
Special Musical Number: "Nearer My God to Thee" sung by Elder Wangsgard. He was absolutely awesome and could be a professional singer.
Brother Ty Woods - He spoke about miracles of the Savior. The Savior asked Peter, "Whom say ye that I am" Peter answered: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." President Nelson has said that we won't be able to survive spiritually in the future without the constant guidance of the Holy Ghost. Distraction and divisiveness are tools of the adversary. Contention is a choice. We must reduce and eliminate contention. Our hearts need to be knit together in unity and love. Sometimes we judge others on their worst actions. We must not do that. Meeting our Savior will be the ultimate moment in our lives. What direction are we headed? If we are to bring others to Christ we must be headed there ourselves. We also must choose to follow the Prophet.
Collin came and sat by me during Sunday School. Wendy was not with him. James asked him if Wendy was okay and he said, "no." She fell off a ladder last Tuesday. She shattered the bones near her elbow and had to have a plate put in during surgery. She also hurt her hip and is not able to walk without a walker. Wendy's birthday is this coming Wednesday and she will be turning 70. Collin said she is not looking forward to turning 70 and told her kids not to do anything for her birthday. I told him I was going to bring her a birthday cake. On the way out of Sunday School we told Tamara but she is going to be gone on Wednesday so I need to find someone else to go with me to present the cake and sing Happy Birthday.
Brother Applegate was supposed to teach Sunday School today but it was Brother Scott instead. Brother A got his second vaccine this week and got sick after the first so he must have had a reaction to keep him home today. Brother Scott did a good job but he has a difficult time getting people involved. James and I probably answered more questions than anyone. I told James I think that people aren't sure what he wants from the questions he's asking. Maybe he should ask, "what was your takeaway from this week's lesson?"
Adam, Kaitlyn, Joshua, Sheri, Evan, Michael, and Joe were all gone home when we returned to the cabin. My friend Maxine had given us a loaf of zucchini bread and James and I both had a piece. Since it has pineapple in it, Kim didn't want to try it, but Brian did.
When Kim and Brian left we took a picture of them on the front porch as is our tradition. The only people we have left are Max and Alex and they are in the family room watching football. They are anxious to watch the Cardinal's game which starts at one. James and I were tired. We went into the bedroom to take our naps. James's nap was cut short because Anthony called and asked him and his companion, Brother Westbrook, to bring him the sacrament. They were gone a couple of hours. James said it was a good visit and he is glad they went. Anthony has COPD and is mostly staying at home.
The Cardinals beat the Vikings 34-33 and Max and Alex give me a hug before they head for home. I'm home alone until James gets back from Anthony's.
I worked on my blog this evening until I felt a little sluggish and went to the recliner to take a break. While there, James brought me some shrimp to eat.
A cute little sea creature.
I call him Casper
The sunflowers have been replaced with
small yellow daisies
Aaron's birthday is one day
before Darrel's
Happy Sabbath with Charlie!
Scarlett
