Sun, Oct 31st, 2021: Temple #77, Palmyra, New York: Grombach's, Bartels, Emsley's baptism, Halloween, Sabbath with Scarlett & Charlie

 

Palmyra, New York

77th operating temple

Dedicated: 6 Apr 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Redeemer

Alma 7:13

 Now the Spirit knoweth all things nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 17:1-25

D&C

Review 124

"Come Follow Me"

"A House Unto My Name"

OctGenCon

"Make Time for the Lord"

President Russell M. Nelson

President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I plead with you today to counter the lure or the world by making time for the Lord in your life - each and every day.

The Living Christ

#8

"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God" (D&C 76:22-24).

Inklings

"One Percent Better"

Elder Michael A. Dunn

1 Samuel 17

Up at 4:48. I sometimes sleep in on Sundays. I studied, prayed, and planned until it was time to get ready to go to church.

Brother DeWitt was the first person we saw when we entered the church. He greeted us and I noticed he had a beard. I asked him if he was going to be Santa and he said yes. I then remembered that brothers grow out their beards in November and he was getting a head start. I think he said he started October 1st. 

The Grombach's spoke in church today as did Sister Bartels.

Brother Grombach is a new member just recently baptized in May. He is quiet and shy so for him to speak in sacrament meeting is a big deal. He wife is a lifelong member but was inactive for many years. They moved to Vernon a couple of years ago to be closer to her mother, Sister Tedder. 

Sister Grombach talked about her spiritual foundation and how throughout the years it had developed several large cracks. She came to realize that it's now where she has been but where she is headed that is important. She met Willie and they fell in love. He was baptized and they have been coming to church ever since. They are excited about getting their patriarchal blessings and preparing to go to the temple to be sealed.

Brother Grombach gave us a bit of his life history leading up to his baptism. He loves Vernon and says the people here are more welcoming and kind than anywhere he has lived. At one time he made the comment, "I ain't turnin' Mormon." That proved to be a false statement. In 2010 he met Jana, his soulmate and someone he wants to spend eternity with. He said he started with skepticism and it turned into faith. He and Jana read the Book of Mormon together every night before going to bed. He talked about Luke 7:36-50 where Mary, a sinner, anoints Jesus's feet with expensive oil. Simon, the Pharisee criticized her but Jesus had compassion. He talked about having compassion for strangers as well as those we know. He said the people of Vernon have great compassion. 

Sister Bartels said the following: "I came here in June. You welcomed me in and showed me love and took me in, a stranger." She referred to a talk given by Elder Bednar in 2006, "Seek Ye Learning By Faith." She said that Satan's efforts against us have increased. She said that one of the reasons she joined the Church 58 years ago was because it was a church of doers, not just hearers of the word. The Lord's answers don't change as we search for truth. We need to be anxiously engaged in seeking truth. Missionaries help investigators learn by asking them to do certain things, such as read the Book of Mormon, and pray. She challenged us to take our questions to the Lord and seek for answers. She then bore her testimony.

James was very uncomfortable and did not want to stay for the second hour, so we left. Before leaving Sister DeWitt handed me a thank you card and she had one for Kathy took. I told her Kathy wasn't here today and that I would take it to her. She thanked me.

James went into town to CVS to get a laxative. We went home and we weren't home five minutes before Cammy and the kids came to runoff Emsley's baptismal program. Cammy, Liana and I worked in the bedroom by the printer while the kids played upstairs. Thomas had typed the program and sent it to me. I could not open my email on the computer. Something was definitely wrong with either my connection or the AOL sight. Finally Thomas sent it to Cammy's phone and we were able to print it off. This was only done after Liana offered a prayer that things would work out. We ran off 25 copies of the program and everyone was happy. Cammy and Liana thanked me several times before they left. 

Home alone I had some lunch but James did not eat. We watched a Christmas movie, "Much Ado About Christmas." This movie was filmed in Bucharest, Romania and the settings were absolutely gorgeous. We both really liked the movie.

A little before 3 we left for Emsley's baptism at the Vernon building. 

When we arrived Cammy ask if she could take a picture of us with Emsley, which she did. 

These are the people we knew at the baptism: The Goodmans, Bishop and Sister Hunsaker, the Peelers, the Gillespies, the Scotts, Klugs, and Halcombs. There were others attending that I did not know but no more than 2 or 3 families. We met in the Relief Society room where we sang the opening song and had the opening prayer. Sister Gillespie, the Primary president gave a talk on baptism, and then we all moved to the overflow of the cultural hall where the baptismal font is located. Cammy and I were witnesses. Emsley was baptized by her dad and she was completely immersed the very first time. Brother Goodman said I did a good job as a witness and I told him that was my kind of job.

Emsley was dressed and back in the Relief Society room in record time. She even beat her dad. Liana gave a talk on the Holy Ghost using the book, the Holy Ghost is like a blanket. She had all sorts of props and totally involved Emsley. It was great. Afterwards Emsley was confirmed and James was invited to be part of the circle. 

Bishop Hunsaker was the last speaker. He had a backpack and had Emsley come up and put it on her back. He mentioned some sins, and with each sin put a rock in the backpack. Pretty soon little Emsley was stooping over. He then explained that through the Savior's Atonement the burdens of sin (the rocks) could be removed from our lives. 

Emsley sang "I Am A Child of God" as part of the program too. It was great because the family was so involved. Tildy played the piano. 

We congratulated Emsley and gave her a card with a necklace before leaving. 

Back at home we watched another Christmas move, "The Christmas Promise." Before going to bed we watched an interview done at Dixie College in St. George, of Susan Easton Black and her husband George Durrant. It was great! At one point Susan said, "People tell us they are leaving the Church because they have questions. We tell them we are staying because we have found answers."

Ian's parents house

Vernon Halloween Party

Bishop Hunsaker and his wife

The Brady's

Stefani and Tyler's little girl

Bro & Sis Gilbert

I'm not sure who these guys are

Pumpkin Patch in Snowflake

Tanna and Bradley

The Wanlass family

Taylor's family

This is Halloween!

Happy Sabbath with Scarlett & Charlie

Sat, Oct 30th, 2021: Temple#76 Louisville Kentucky:the Grapps visit, Scarlett, Charlie, Jared, Ruby, Lola, Halloween, Ander's bday, Jack-o-lanterns

 

Louisville, Kentucky

76th operating temple

Dedicated: 19 Mar 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Redeemer

Mosiah 15:24

And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them. And thus the Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a part in the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.

Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 16:1-20

D&C

124:91-145 & Voices of the Restoration

"Come Follow Me"

Family Scripture Study & Family Home Evening

OctGenCon

"The Name of the Church Is Not Negotiable"

Elder Neil L. Andersen

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When we willingly follow the counsel of the Lord as revealed through His living prophet, especially if it runs counter to our initial thinking, requiring humility and sacrifice, the Lord blesses us with additional spiritual power.

The Living Christ

#6

Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: "His eyes were a s a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: 

"I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father" (D&C 110:3-4).

Inklings

Anna's kids foundation

1. Know God

2. Love your self/body

3. Serve, treat others kindly

4. Work hard

Up at 4:02. Self-Mastery: "A soft answer turneth away wrath." -Proverbs 15:1. I love this!

 In D&C 124:2 the Lord tells Joseph that he is to make a solmen proclamation of His gospel. vs. 3 This proclamation shall be made to all the kings of the world, to the four corners thereof, to the honorable president-elect, and the high-minded governors of the nation in which you live, and to all the nations of the earth scattered abroad. 4 Let it be written in the spirit of meekness and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be in you at the time of the writing of the same; 5 For it shall be given you by the Holy Ghost to know my will concerning those kings and authorities, even what shall befall them in a time to come. 6 For, behold, I am about to call upon them to give heed to the light and glory of Zion, for the set time has come to favor her. The Lord talks about this proclamation through verse 11. In verse 12 He asks that Robert B. Thompson to help Joseph write this proclamation. Seven months after this revelation was given Robert B. Thompson passed away. Joseph asked that others help write this proclamation but this didn't happen either. Finally in 1845, after Joseph's death, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Parley P. Pratt, wrote this proclamation. I looked for it on line on the Church website but couldn't find it. Finally I googled it and found it. I ran a copy of it. It is 16 pages long. 

Today I made Rice Krispy treats for the Wilhelm kids and for the Grapp's. I also gave each family a Halloween "bucket and ball" game. I gave each one of the Grapp kids, except for Malea who is too young, a folder with this week's Come Follow Me lesson in it. 

James delivered the Wilhelm's and the Grapp's came over this evening. Here is a picture of all of the Grapp kids except Malea. She did not want to be in the picture. It is exciting to see someone as small as Malea is walking!

My Halloween visitors

Leland, Benson, Liana, Emsley, Tildy

While here Liana, Cammy, and Thomas helped with the ice cream puzzle. They love to do puzzles as a family and they are quite good. Every time they found a piece Thomas and Cammy would kiss. How sweet. The younger kids played with the Halloween game and went upstairs to play. Thomas, Cammy and I went in to use our printer to print off some pictures of Emsley. Thomas bought a new computer but they did not like the way it printed. While I was with the Grapp's James was over at the dining room table indexing. He said he indexed an hour and only got eight names. I told him that was okay, that was how it was done, one name at a time. He is just used to doing directories and getting about 100 names an hour.

After the Grapp's left James and I went into the bedroom to listen to "An Unlikely Pair" and walk. While James was taking a shower I started watching "Much Ado About Christmas" before going to bed. I only watched about 15 minutes of it.

Seen near the East Fork of the Black River

Bremen's namesake

A couple of years ago up here

in Vernon

 

Fri, Oct 29th, 2021: Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico Temple#75: James Sun City and back, I work at home, Charlie & Scarlett, Sheri's Halloween crew,

 

Tuxtla, Gutierrez, Mexico

75th operating temple

Dedicated: 12 Mar 2000

By: James E. Faust

Jesus Christ, Redeemer

Mosiah 15:10

And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed"

Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 15:1-24

D&C

124:49-90

"Come Follow Me"

124:84-118 The Lord desires to give me specific counsel for my life

OctGenCon

"Miracles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ"

Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr.

Of the Seventy

I know that His gospel can bring us hope, peace, and joy, not only now, but it will also bless countless others in future generations.

"Look Down the Road"

Elder Alvin F. Meredith III

Of the Seventy

Focusing on the things that are most important - especially those things "down the road," those eternal things - is a key to maneuvering through this life.

 

The Living Christ

#5

He rose from the grave to "become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His "Other sheep" (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised "dispensation of the fulness of times" (Ephesians 1:10).

Inklings

Anna's Spiritual Foundation

God is my Father

Jesus is the Son of God

The Book of Mormon is true

We have Revelation today

Up at 4:38. I listened to Inklings with Emily Freeman and her friend Anna. They talked about a firm spiritual foundation. I had prayer with James before he left for his radiation treatment and then on to Sun City. 

I listened to Brother Halverson on "Unshaken" verses 49-90 of D&C 124. I also blogged and watched the next episode of this years "The Great British Baking Show." For the Signature challenge the bakers had to make chouxnuts, instead of doughnuts. For the Technical challenge they had to make filo dough and baklava. The Showstopper was a savory Terrine pie. Crystalline, my favorite, was star baker and Amanda went home. 

While walking I watched a Christmas movie which is based on a true story, "Operation Christmas Drop." It was great. I gave it a five star rating.

This afternoon I worked on cleaning out my closet. I filled two boxes which will go to Goodwill next week. I also worked on the puzzle Sheri started. I get maybe two or three pieces a day put together. It is a slow and tedious project.

I got a phone call from James this afternoon a little before 5. He asked me if he could come home. I said, "Of course." Then he says, "But do you want me to come home?" "Yes, I do." He then says, "I'll be there in ten minutes." He was just coming into Vernon. He finished his dry wall patching early and Armando and one other worker came to do the landscaping so it seemed like everything was under control. He came home the Payson way so there was no burros from Burger House.

While finishing up our walking we watched a couple of movies and read from our book. The first movie was called "Coffee Shop" on the GAC channel starring Laura Vandervoort. The last one was "Home Sweet Home" starring Natasha Bure, Candace Cameron Bure's daughter. They both were enjoyable. It was a relaxing evening and we went to bed before 10.

Cannisters for powdered sugar, brown sugar,

coconut, and chocolate chips

George is married to Susan Easton Black, my

favorite gospel scholar. She is 76 and he is 90.