Sunday, January 15, 2023: Lemon water, Prayers, James takes truck I take car to church, Stake speakers, J leaves, SS - Development of Gospel Tradition, New Temple dedicated

 

Quito, Ecuador

175th operating temple

Dedicated: 20 Nov 2022

By: Quinton L. Cook

Jesus Christ, taking the name of

D&C 18:24

Wherefore, all men must take upon them the name which is given of the Father, for in that name shall they be called at the last day; 

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 12:11-13:9

Come Follow Me

Review Matthew 2, Luke 2 "We Have Come to Worship Him"

Jesus's Name

FIRSTBORN 

OctGenCon

Wholehearted

Sister Michelle D. Craig

First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency

When your faith, your family, or your future are challenged - when you wonder why life is so hard when you are doing the best to live the gospel - remember that the Lord told us to expect troubles. Troubles are part of the plan and do not mean you've been abandoned; they are part of what it means to be His. He was, after all, "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."

100 Favorite Verses      Stand In Holy Places

Isaiah 4:5-6

5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.

6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

I started my morning as I have been trying to do for awhile, with a glass of warm lemon water. It's a cleanser but I have to be careful I don't rot my teeth so I drink it with a straw.

James didn't get up until 7:30 and then he went into the kitchen to fix himself from breakfast. I was concerned that maybe he wasn't going to sacrament meeting, but he did. He pulled it together and got ready in record time. He said he didn't feel like staying the second hour and would I take him home. It was snowing like crazy outside and I said I didn't want to take him home and then have to turn around and drive back because I don't like driving in the snow and I didn't want to miss half of Sunday School. That's when he said he would take the truck. 

Here are some notes from sacrament meeting:

 Beverly Wilcock, the stake Relief Society president was the first speaker:

She told a story about her daughter getting her car stuck in their driveway after they go 20 inches of snow a couple of weeks ago. Wow! That's a lot of snow considering we only got 4 inches. Sister Wilcock lives in Lakeside. The point of the story was that her daughter could not get her car out without some help.  We are like that. We cannot return and live with our Heavenly Father without some help from our Savior Jesus Christ. He strengthens and enables us to move forward. 

Most of Sister Wilcock's talk was geared toward the Book of Mormon and the importance of us reading it and gaining a testimony of it. She quoted several promises made by Prophets regarding the Book of Mormon. Here is one from the Prophet Joseph Smith:

"I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

Ezra Taft Benson:

"It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. the scriptures are called 'the words of life' (DC 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance."

President Russell M. Nelson:

"My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions - every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions."

This is how we bring our families to Christ, by reading the Book of Mormon.

David Skousen - a high councilman and a brother to Chris Skousen in our ward. "Are You Still Willing" by Elder Pearson. The Book of Mormon is a sacred thing. Don't take it lightly. D&C 84 - the Church is under condemnation for taking the Book of Mormon lightly. The Book of Mormon is part of the Everlasting Covenant. More than half of it speaks of Jesus Christ.

Sunday School as taught by Jimmie Applegate. We started out by talking about what influences were in Israel at the time of Christ's birth. I said that there was a great influence by the Greeks. I knew this because I have been studying at home about the 430 year period between the Old and New Testament. Brother Applegate said we should remember the following people from the Old Testament as we study the New Testament. Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and Solomon's temple. He wants us to remember the scattering of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians and the destruction of the Southern Kingdom by the Babylonians. 

When I returned home I made lunch for both of us and then we had our rest time. I read a book instead of napping. James was still in a lot of pain so he took a nap. I finished reading "The Redemption of the Bride." The last part of the book is about part of the book of Revelation in the New Testament. Now I am looking forward to studying the book of Revelation in Sunday School. 

I worked on my blog and then went on to Family Search to do some family history work. I started with my mother's mother's line, my Nannie. I learned that Nannie's mom, Artie Elizabeth Walker was married three times. Nannie's father was John Thomas Rutledge. The second husband was a Huddleston and the third a Reynolds. I found a Marcia Huddleston who was listed as Artie and Brother Huddleston's daughter. I went on to Ancestry and found a document with a Lucy as Marcia's mother. I have a mystery to solve before I do Marcia's temple work. 

Before going to bed this evening I studied Seeking Jesus and listened to Dave and Emily on "Don't Miss This." 

I talked with Sue Hubble today. Brother Ellsworth built a ramp for Sue's daughter who has a brain tumor and is in a wheelchair. It looks really nice. Sue sent me a video. They are so grateful. Thank you Brother Ellsworth!

I emailed Joe, Alex, Ben, Max, and Evan about reading the Book of Mormon. I also asked Anna in her birthday card if she would read it. 

It was a good Sabbath day today.

Happy Sabbath from

Charlie and Lovie!

Such a cutie!

Saturday, January 14, 2023: D's fmly goes snowboarding, a beautiful day, James still miserable, Tina & Steve clean church, J works @ BB, DG bread, milk, Veil movie

 

Belem, Brazil

174th operating temple

Dedicated: 20 Nov 2022

By: Dale G. Renlund

Jesus Christ, Taking the name of

D&C 18:21

Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness.

Book of Mormon

1Nephi 11:31-12:10

Come Follow Me

What is the Joseph Smith Translation?

Jesus's Name

DELIVERER - 2 Timothy 4:18

OctGenCon

Our Earthly Stewardship

Bishop Gerald Causse

Presiding Bishop

First principle: The entire earth, including all life thereon, belongs to God.

The Creator has entrusted the earth's resources and all forms of life to our care, but He retains full ownership. He said, "I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine." All that is on the earth belongs to God, including our families, our physical bodies, and even our very lives.

100 Favorite Verses

3 Nephi 9:15

Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father, and the Father in me, and in me hath the Father glorified his name.

James and I both slept in this morning. By the time we got up Darrel and his family were gone. They are going snowboarding at Sunrise, going back home tonight and then taking Addy to Flagstaff tomorrow. I showed them how they could spend the night here and then take Addy to Flagstaff from here and save three hours travel time. Darrel said it wouldn't work because Addy has so much stuff to take back they couldn't get it in the car with all of their stuff.

James's knee is making him miserable and depressed. Today was the day we were going to clean the church and he didn't know how he was going to be able to do anything. Now we don't have to because our friends the Allen's cleaned it for us yesterday. We are so grateful. The Thompson's were supposed to help clean too. They are a couple of years older than we are and Maxine said they wanted to be taken off the cleaning list because they felt like the younger people should do it. 

James did manage to work at Barbara's a little today. While he was out working Barbara's ministering brother, Brother Hipps who lives nearby came over to help. He and James had a nice visit. I guess his first wife died when she was 49 and he was heartbroken. He also had a bout with cancer. He wouldn't do chemo or radiation so they did surgery and took away a good part of his stomach and he has not been back to the doctors since. 

I took a long nap this afternoon. For some reason I am exhausted. I did manage to get my 12,000 steps and I also made a trip to Dollar General for bread and milk. There was a long line at the store. The guy in front of me said he was buying snacks so he could hunker down and wait out the storm that was coming. 

Trina texted and said they had a good day until the electricity went off. She also said that Lola took one run down the bunny hill and that was it for her. She stayed in the lodge and ate while each one of them took turns staying with her.

I remember that bunny hill.

It's brutal.

Addy & Trina

Sweet Ruby

Trina & Lola

I made baked potatoes for dinner because James said the other day he would like one. They were quite tasty although I only ate half of mine.

This evening I watched the new wedding veil movie, round two, movie two with Emma and Paulo. Emma is played by Autumn Reeser and she is my favorite.

Friday, January 13, 2023: D&T& kids coming today, J's bldwrk he feels terrible, post office Anna's card, lttrs to Ev & Ro, D's fmly here, Scattergories, fire for warmth

 

Praia, Cape Verde

173rd operating temple

Dedicated: 19 June 2022

By: Neil L. Andersen

Jesus Christ, taking his name

D&C 20:37

And again, by way of commandment to the church concerning the manner of baptism - All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 11:12-30

Come Follow Me

Luke 2:40-52 Even as a youth, Jesus was focused on doing His Father's will. Matthew 2:13-23

Jesus's Name

King of Israel - John 1:49

OctGenCon

The Doctrine Of Belonging

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"The Savior invites us to come unto Him - no matter our circumstances. We come to church to renew our covenants, to increase our faith, to find peace, and to do as He did perfectly in His life - minister to others who feel like they don't belong."

Darrel, Trina and their kids are coming today and I have lots to do. Trina said they would be late and I did not fix dinner, so I put my chicken tacos on the back burner, so to speak.

James left early this morning for town to get his bloodwork done. He felt so bad that he came straight home, took a Tramadol, and went straight to bed. His knee is hurting and he says he hurts inside. He tried to go to work at Barbara's but didn't last long. He did go to the post office for me to mail Anna's birthday card and a letter to Evan and Rowan about tithing.

I spent the day cleaning. I vacuumed, dusted, swept, mopped,  and changed sheets. We still have our Christmas tree up along with the two wreaths, the one on the door, and the one on the beam in front of the fireplace. Otherwise, Christmas is put away until next year. Oh yes, there are a couple of blankets in the blanket basket. 

Darrel and Trina left their house around 5:30 and arrived here at 8:45. They stopped at Wendy's in Payson for dinner. Lola was the first to come in to throw away a Wendy's sack in the trash. She said she had a baconator hamburger, that's two hamburger patties with bacon. I asked her if it was good and she said, "NO! And my Mom thought I was going to have a heart attack. She said that Rowan ate his.

Of course the first thing Lola wanted to do was play a game. Addy had left a huge deck of Uno cards here and she and Trina played a game.

We all played Scattergories. James helped Lola and they did pretty well. Darrel won and Trina came in second. I probably came in last. I'm not very sharp when it comes to thinking of things under pressure. We had the letter P once and the first question was: A boys name. Rowan put, Parley P. Pratt for a triple. I guess Darrel had done this once. It was a lot of fun.

After our game everyone except James went and sat by the fire.

Trina was especially appreciative of the fire. She does not like the cold. As I was sitting and visiting I realized it was 11:00 and I needed to go to bed. I said good night and left. 

James was in the bedroom walking. When I told him what time it was he agreed that it was time to go to bed.

One other item of news this day... Charlie got a dog!

Landscaping ideas

In our house it's help grandpa

Love Bug or Lovie

 

Thursday, January 12, 2022: To bed late, up late, Trey Basha Mission President, James's knee swollen, All Christmas dwnstrs except tree, Nice day, out of propane, Inklings, DDD except tree,

 

Yigo, Guam

172nd operating temple

Dedicated: 22 May 2022

By: David A. Bednar

Jesus Christ, taking name of

Moroni 4:3

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 10:11-11:11

Come Follow Me

Matthew 2:13-23 Parents can receive revelation to protect their families.

Jesus's Name

The Carpenter - Mark 6:3

OctGenCon

And They Sought To See Jesus Who He Was

Elder James W. McConkie III

Of the Seventy

We often felt like the "short of stature" Zacchaeus running to climb a sycamore tree as Jesus passed through Jericho because, as Luke described it, we "sought to see Jesus who he was." It was not Jesus as we wanted or wished Him to be, but rather Jesus as He really was and is. Just as Elder Wirthlin had promised, we learned in a very real way that "the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities."

Building A Life Resistant To The Adversary

Elder Jorge F. Zeballos

Of the Seventy

How blessed we are to count on a knowledge of the plan of salvation created by our Heavenly Father, to have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and to rely on the inspired direction of living prophets! All the former constitute the divinely designed "plans" and the "technical specifications" that teach us clearly how to construct happy lives - lives that are resistant to sin, resistant to temptation, resistant to attacks from Satan, who is desperately seeking to frustrate our eternal destiny to be together with our Heavenly Father and with our beloved families.

Up at 5:15 - To be late, arise late. Must do better.

Jared made the announcement that he saw that Trey Bashas was called as a mission president. He will be serving in the Roseville, California mission. Not bad for someone who was raised Catholic.

James's knee is still swollen and giving him grief.  He went over to Barbara's and did some Cat work so that the mobile home company can come in and set the home on the lot. 

I watched "Drop Dead Diva" because Hallmark has made the entire series available. I think it was filmed in 2010. Guest appearances by Paula Abdul, Rosie O'Donnell, Cybil Shepherd, and Brook Burns, so far. 

I put away Christmas today except, of course, the tree. There are still a few blankets in the blanket basket that I need to carry downstairs. Kim and Brian are coming for James's birthday and they will take down the tree. I also did some cleaning in one of the Christmas closets and got a big load to take to Goodwill. 

It was a nice day, weather wise, but we still haven't heard from Dr. Powell regarding James's procedure last Friday. I guess St. Joseph's is way behind in their lab work and they are way over-crowded. It is still frustrating.

I asked James to check our propane level. When he came back in he said: "The last time I checked it, it was at 30%, today it is at 0%. Yikes! We have Darrel's family coming tomorrow and I don't want to be out of propane! James said he would order it first thing in the morning as it was too late today.

Listened to Inklings today. We talked about Sister Craig's talk, "Wholehearted." Emily is friends with Sister Craig and she told us that she is an Inkling and listens in every week.

Even though James's knee hurts he is still insisting on getting his 10,000 steps. This is very frustrating to me!

Janna in Tennessee