Tuesday, July 19th, 2022: Cleaning for company, wasps, bat poop, and bugs in the tubs, Temple with Ruth Gale, Rowan here working for James

 

Durban, South Africa

168th operating temple

Dedicated: 16 Feb 2020

By: Ronald A. Rasband

Jesus Christ, Second Coming

D&C 29:11

For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.

Book of Mormon

Alma 35:1-16

14 And Alma, and Ammon, and their brethren, and also the two sons of Alma returned to the land of Zarahemla, after having been instruments in the hands of God of bringing many of the Zoramites to repentance; and as many as were brought to repentance were driven out of their land; but they have lands for their inheritance in the land of Jershon, and they have taken up arms to defend themselves, and their wives, and children, and their lands.

"Come Follow Me"

Ezra 1 The Lord inspires people to bring about His purposes.

Ezra 4-5

AprGenCon

"Christ Heals That Which Is Broken"

Amy A. Wright

Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency

The Lord teaches us that forgiving others is a universal commandment: "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." Extending forgiveness can take tremendous courage and humility. It can also take time. It requires us to put our faith and trust in the Lord as we assume accountability for the condition of our hearts. Here lies the significance and power of our agency.

Family prayer this morning before James left for Globe. Darrel is bringing Rowan to meet him there to work. 

I cleaned downstairs because I thought Kim and Brian were coming today but now they aren't coming tomorrow. It was pretty clean anyway. 

I went upstairs to clean and that was a different story. Beds made by kids needed to be fixed, dead wasps on the floors, and bat poop on the couch. Yikes! I hate it! I don't mind living in the boonies but bats in the house is just too much, even if I never see them, they leave their evidence. Oh, did I mention, bugs in the bathtub. It took longer than I thought to clean upstairs and when I was finished I was sweaty and hot so I had to take a shower before going to the temple, which I should do anyway I guess.

This is the week I go to the temple with my friend Ruth Gale. We go to the 3:30 session. I got a family name, Avry Mae Strickland, to take but she needs her initiatory done too. I left in time to arrive at the temple a little before 3:00 so I would have time to do her initiatory. 

It all worked out well and I was waiting in the endowment room when Ruth came. We had just enough people in our session for the prayer roll. We were finished by 5 and again I had to wait in the dressing room for my locker. I just don't pick them very well. 

When Ruth and I met up at the prayer roll, she said to me, "I'm not very hungry. Shall we just go to Trapper's and get some pie and ice cream." I'm always up for dessert so away we went, Ruth following behind me.

Ruth told me about her granddaughter who has adopted two little black boys whose mom was on drugs and now they are going to adopt a baby that has not been born that will have downs syndrome. They could never have children of their own and they said they would take any race with any physical issues. What a great couple, but how could they not be, related to someone like Ruth Gale.

Ruth told me about one of Janis's daughters who went to NAU and decided she wanted to be a boy. She is taking hormones to lower her voice, etc. and she gets them at the school. I hate the direction that education is taking in our country right now. It is so scary. 

Ruth has family coming up for the 24th of July Pioneer Celebration in Snowflake. She said they would be watching the parade and if any of our family wanted to come over she would save us a place. I told her we would be in the temple working and Kim and Brian were coming up but they would be leaving for home on Saturday morning.

When I got home I had a piece of ham and sat down in the bedroom to watch a Christmas movie. James was in the kitchen frying ham and making some pot pies in the microwave for him and Rowan. 

It was a lazy evening for me since I already had all of my steps. 

 

Monday, July 18th, 2022: Work at Thompson's in the 90's, scattered showers, gospel study King Cyrus, Charlie, Steps, Case Lueck, Aurora's bday,

Arequipa, Peru

167th operating temple

Dedicated: 15 Dec 2019

By: Ulisses Soares

Jesus Christ, Second Coming

D&C 1:12

Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;

Book of Mormon

Alma 34:17-41

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

"Come Follow Me"

Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-6; 8 I am doing a great work. Ezra 1, 3

AprGenCon

"Our Relationship With God"

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Our repentance and obedience, our sacrifices, and our good works do matter. We want to be among those described by Ether as "always abounding in good works." But it is not so much because of some tally kept in celestial account books. These things matter because they engage us in God's work and are the means by which we collaborate with Him in our own transformation from natural man to saint. What our Heavenly Father offers us is Himself and His Son, a close and enduring relationship with Them through the grace and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

James brings me a shake for breakfast, we have family prayer, and he leaves for the Thompson's. I read scriptures alone and I also read from my book, "The Redemption of the Bride."

My computer is so slow when I try to post pictures. It makes blogging a chore rather than the joy it should be. I do my 20 minutes increments this morning: 20 minutes of scripture study, 20 minutes blogging and walking in between while watching a Christmas movie. I ended up getting 15,020 steps today. It's a good way to start the week. 

James said it was hot working at the Thompson's, around 90 degrees. We had some scattered showers. 

I was disappointed that "Come Follow Me Made Easier" did not have a podcast this week. I looked back over their history and it looks pretty random. It looks like they already have one posted for next week's lesson on Esther. I watched Tyler and Taylor on "Book of Mormon Central" instead. 

It was after 5 pm when James got home. I fixed him some dinner while he showered, shrimp, peas, and rolls. He does his sales taxes for the month of July and then he comes into the bedroom and we watch a movie together. We watched "My Christmas Family Tree" starring Aimee Teegarden and Andrew Walker. It is about a girl who registers her DNA and finds a father and his family that she never knew she had. It was sooo good and we enjoyed watching it even though we had seen it before.

We listened to two chapters of "A Faithful Proposal" so we could walk before going to bed.

Charlie waiting for her Daddy

Case Lueck leaving for his mission in Brazil

Replica of Cyrus's Cylinder at the U.N. 

in New York

James left his frozen water jug on the table.

This was what was left behind.

 

 

Sunday, July 17th, 2022: Sacrament meeting Stefani Hunsaker, Steve Whiting, What is my Rabshekah?, Croissant sandwiches, Indexing, blogging

 

Lisbon, Portugal

166th operating temple

Dedicated: 15 Sept 2019

By: Neil L. Andersen

Jesus Christ, Second Coming

3 Nephi 27:16

And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

Book of Mormon

Alma 34:1-16

15And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

"Come Follow Me"

Sunday School "He Trusteth in the Lord God of Israel."

AprGenCon

"Your Divine Nature And Eternal Destiny"

Elder Dale G. Renlund

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Speculation will not lead to greater spiritual knowledge, but it can lead us to deception or divert our focus from what has been revealed. For example, the Savior taught HIs disciples, "Always pray unto the Father in my name." We follow this pattern and direct our worship to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ and do not pray to Heavenly Mother.

I met Doug Brown's sister in sacrament meeting today. Doug is like 6'5" and is Cyndi Brown's husband. Cyndi was just called as our ward organist. I guess the Brown's are having a family reunion because we had more Brown's in Sunday School. When Sue Hubble came in James and I went over and sat with her. 

Lorraine Vaught gave us an article about how corn silk can get rid of cancer. It's from a magazine called Mother Nature.

Stefani Hunsaker was one of our speakers today. She is a member of our ward but today she was representing the stake Relief Society presidency.

Stefani - The theme for the meeting today is missionary work based on the recent talk given by Elder Gary E. Stevenson, "Love, Share and Invite". Stefani talked about overcoming our fear of rejection. She talked about becoming friends with the Howards, Tom, Jean, and Deana and eventually seeing them baptized. She told about Holly and Haley inviting their teacher to the Primary Program and her eventually getting baptized. She was in the ward when we first moved here, Roma Trout. "The gospel is the only enduring solution for peace."

Steve Whiting from the high council - He is a Minnestora Whiting and lives in the Lakeside ward. First time speaking in Vernon. He was the only member of the church in his high school class. He told some missionary experiences including ones from his mission in El Salvador. "Christ's love for all of us is the same." Love others despite our differences is the key. 

My main takeaway from Sunday School was the question "What are you Rabshekahs?"

When we got home James fixed lunch. He made me a ham, cheese, cranberry celebration croissant and warmed up some baked beans and part of a baked potato. After lunch we took naps, me in the family room and James in the bedroom.

James got up and had on a white shirt and tie because he wanted to go do ministering visits. The Snyder's were not home and Anthony said it was too muddy at his place. He and his partner, Dave Westbrook, did visit Pam Wood. He said Dave and Pam did lots of reminiscing and he just listened. I told him it was nice just to listen sometimes.

 

Saturday, July 16th, 2022: Lola's baptism and family party, Dan Taylor's memorial service, rain in Globe, Home again!

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

165th operating temple

Dedicated: 1 Sept 2019

By: David A. Bednar

Jesus Christ, Second Coming

Revelations 8:1

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Book of Mormon

Alma 33:12-23

15 For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these things, but Zenock also spake of these things -

16 For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son.

"Come Follow Me"

2 Kings 24-25  "He Trusted in the Lord God of Israel"

AprGenCon

"Covenants With God Strengthen, Protect, And Prepare Us For Eternal Glory"

Jean B. Bingham

Relief Society General President

With Jesus Christ as our anchor and perfect partner, we are assured of His loving strength in trial and of eventual deliverance through Him. As President M. Russell Ballard taught: "Faith in God and in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the . . . anchor we must have in our lives to hold us fast during times of social turbulence and wickedness. . . . Our faith . . . must be centered in Jesus Christ, his life and his atonement, and in the restoration of his gospel."

We left before 5:30 this morning for the valley to attend Lola's baptism. James made ham, egg, and cheese croissants. I didn't want one so he ate the filling for mine, along with his, in one croissant. We went in James's truck because he needs to pick up some rebar for the Thompson job. 

We stopped in Globe at Speedway where I used the little girls room and got some gum and a drink. As I was getting back into the truck I realized I did not have my phone with me. I immediately went back into the store and asked the clerks if they had seen a phone. They both said no and then asked if I wanted one of them to call my number. Before I had time to answer, I saw my phone laying on the counter by the drink machine. My prayers were answered. 

James had to stop at the Peeler's for awhile to pick something up while I waited in the truck. Afterwards we drove on to Darrel and Trina's, arriving a little after 8:30. We knocked on the door but no one answered. We realized they were not home and were already at the church less than a mile away. When we got to the church we took pictures with Lola:

There were lots of baptisms today, probably around 10. There was one other baptism for the Point Twenty-Two ward, a little boy named Benson. All wards were together in the chapel, and the chapel was full, for the talks on baptism and the Holy Ghost. After the talks the first ward was called back to the baptismal font while the rest of us stayed in the chapel and watched a video about Jesus. The actor playing Jesus is my favorite, the one who was in "The Witness." It's a touching video and most people were engaged. Trina's sister from Oklahoma is spending the month out here with family and two of her children sat by us. Addy had the 8 month old baby Zed, and Remmy, the three year old girl sat next to her. Remmy is very talkative and kept turning around asking Lola, "Lola, you be baptized?" She was quite entertaining and she kept going over to where her mom was sitting and then coming back. There was a "party" wherever she went. 

The Point Twenty-Two ward was finally called back to the baptismal font. Lola was baptized first. When she came out of the water she turned and smiled at the crowd. She looked like she expected us to cheer. I cheered, quietly in my head and I think other family members did too. 

 

Family who attended Lola's baptism:

Lambsons' - Her parents and sisters and brother, James and I, Sheri and Joshua, Kim and Brian, Sheri, Ben, and Evan.

Cases' - Suzy, Bob, Westley, Lacey and their four girls, Tristyn and her four children.

We all went back to Darrel & Trina's house for food and fun. The most popular activity for the kids was swimming. One of Trina's former young women who has her own online baking business made lots of chocolate chip cookies that were some of the best I have ever had. There was also lots of fruit and pastries and muffins, etc. from Costco. James loved the almond pastries. 

James left around 12:30 to go to Dan Taylor's memorial service. I stayed behind. James said there was tons of food after the service. He also said he was the only one in a suit. Armando had picked up the rebar James needs for the Thompson's and he loaded it in the back of the truck. 

It was somewhere between 3-5 when James returned and we left for home. It was raining in Globe, James said the first time he's seen rain there. We stopped and shared a medium tuna sub at Subway and then we were on our way home. 

At home I watched the newest Hallmark movie, "Campfire Christmas" starring Tori Andersen and Corbin Bleu. A quote from the movie: "Don't ever give up on your dreams."

After the movie I looked down and realized I only had 2,500 steps. I walked until I had 10,000, after James went to bed.

Friday, July 15th, 2022: New CFM study, Rain, Expensive trip to town, Ravens, Demer's glass, Book Barn, Wlmrt, Nature's Realm, Tractor Supply,

 

Fortaleza, Brazil

164th operating temple

Dedicated: 2 June 2019

By: Ulisses Soares

Jesus Christ, Second Coming

Revelations 6:17

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Book of Mormon

Alma 33:1-11

2 And Alma said unto them: Behold, ye have said that ye could not worship your God because ye are cast out of your synagogues. But behold, I say unto you, if ye suppose that ye cannot worship God, ye do greatly err, and ye ought to search the scriptures; if ye suppose that they have taught you this, ye do not understand them.

"Come Follow Me"

FSS & FHE 2 Kings 19:14-19; 2 Kings 22:3-7; 2 Kings 22:8-11, 19; 23:1-3 2 Kings 23:25, 2 Kings 22-23

AprGenCon

Do What Mattereth Most

Rebecca L. Craven

Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency

President Russell M. Nelson teaches:

"With the Holy Ghost as your companion, you can see right through the celebrity culture that has smitten our society. You can be smarter than previous generations have ever been....

"Set a standard for the rest of the wT!"

It takes effort to stay focused on what is truly essential for lasting joy. Satan would love nothing more than for us to misplace our eternal values, leading us to waste precious time, talents, or spiritual strength on thing that matter not. I invite each of us to prayerfully consider those things that distract us from doing what mattereth most.

This morning when James got up he looked out the blinds as he normally does and he began talking about something he saw outside. I couldn't understand what he was saying so I went over to the window to look for myself. I saw several black birds walking around on the ground looking for bugs. He explained to me that the older birds were teaching the younger ones how to look for bugs. It was then that I noticed that there were some birds bigger than the others. I asked him if they were ravens or crows. He said they were ravens. 

I listened to a new "Come Follow Me" podcast today that I really liked. It's called "Come Follow Me Made Easier." The co-hosts are Sam Castor and Lynda Cherry. Here are some notes that I took:

Ancient feast days are important, even today. The Passover testifies of Christ's first coming, His mortal mission and is held in the spring.

The Feast of the Tabernacles testifies of his Second Coming and is held in the Fall. Sister Cherry compared these feast days where covenants were renewed and testimonies born to General Conference in our day which are held in the spring and fall. Hezekiah reinstated the Passover and Josiah after him also observed it. Josiah was the last ray of light for Judah. One person can make a difference. Josiah makes a personal covenant with the Lord and then he makes it in front of all the people. We will keep the Passover and the Feast of the Tabernacle in the Millennium. We must stand as a pillar in our covenants. (2 Kings 23:3). Christ wants to bring us a feast. 

Hezekiah sent messenger to the Northern and Southern Kingdoms to come together for a Passover and the Levites aid, we are not worthy, we have been defiled. Hezekiah prays to the Lord in their behalf and says something like this: Lord, cleanse them even though they're not technically cleansed. Their hearts are sorry and full of repentance. Allow them to be part of our celebration. They came and there was so much healing taking place during the Passover that they celebrated it for two weeks instead of one. 

Josiah read the scriptures that were found during the renovation of the temple and had them read to all of the people. Many of the people, including Hilkiah, the priest, were affected by the word and recommitted themselves to the Lord. The power of the word.

There is a promise in Jeremiah 3:14 which says: 

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

We need to "stand as a pillar" in our covenants just as Josiah stood in front of the pillar of the temple when he had the scriptures read to the people. (2 Kings 23:3 - And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

There is a scripture found in the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants which says: 

"Awake and arise and put on thy beautiful garments" 

At the feast of the Lord, or the Second Coming, He invites all to partake. As we come dressed in our priestly robes, He knows that we are ready for His Second Coming. This gives me chills as I realize that as we go to the temple and wear our priestly robes, the Savior sees and knows we are preparing for His Second Coming. We are gathering for the feast of the Master. We are adorning ourselves with the "vestments" of God, while the world or Babylon encourages us to take off our clothes.  ( This is all from this podcast I listened to).

We left as it started to rain, around 1:45, for town. As we went through the town of Vernon there were puddles everywhere and in a few places we saw what looked like snow. I am sure it was hail but they must have really got hit, more than we did out at our place. It rained most of the way to Walmart but was not raining right at Walmart which means I didn't get wet when James dropped me off. He went to Circle K to get gas and to wash my car. He also went to Demer's Glass to take back the fireplace door. 

After talking with someone at Demer's and showing them the glass and the template he had drawn for them and showing them that the glass was made too big on one side, they agreed to remake it for free. Yay! Way to go honey!

After Walmart I stopped at the Book Barn to get a baptism card for Lola. I picked out two, one being the card that talks about the three white dresses. I can never resist this card. The other was one of a little girl on the front. When I asked James which card I should give Lola he picked the one with the little girl. Donna Lungren, a friend of ours whose husband is from Vernon waited on us. It was good to see her. I found a book I bought by the sister I listened to today in the new podcast, Lynda Cherry. The title of the book is, "The Redemption of the Bride." She has a new book coming out in August about ancient feasts and festivals and I will probably buy that book also. 

While I was in the Book Barn James went over to the health food store just down from Book Barn, Nature's Realm and spent $75 on a supplement called Reds that he uses to fight his cancer. I can't complain too much but I knew we had gone over our budget at this point. We also bought some horse feed at Tractor Supply and spent $42, and another $20 for dinner at Aliberto's. This along with what I spent at Walmart and what James spent at Circle K put us way over budget. Slim pick'ins for the rest of the month.

Here are some Christmas movies I watched today while walking:

1. "A Royally Wrapped Christmas" Jen Lilley & Brendan Fehr

Tradition from the movie: Give people two gifts, one to keep and one to give away so everyone can experience the joy of giving.

2. "Christmas Time Is Here" Rukiya Bernard & Dewshane Williams

3. "Christmas Land" Nikki DeLoach & Luke MacFarlane

I think I need a dog!