Tuesday, July 30th, 2024: JA's new car is a Mustang, Roofers start @ Hipps's, Armando's dad, BYU Medical School, Steak for JA, Chelsea, Scotlyn, Ernie

 

St. George, Utah

1st operating temple

Dedicated: 6-8 Apr 1877

By: D.H. Wells

Rededicated: 10 Dec 2023

By: Jeffrey R. Holland

Book of Mormon

Alma 36:21-30

Come Follow Me

Alma 36:12-24; 38:8-9

Jesus Christ replaces sorrow with joy.

Elder Matthew S. Holland, GC 10/20, "The Exquisite Gift of the Son"

"Joy and Repentance", Craig C. Christensen

April General Conference

"It Is Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Have the Book of Mormon" Brother Mark L. Pace

D&C 109:57

That all the ends of the earth may know that we, thy servants, have heard thy voice, and that thou hast sent us;

I was up at 5 this morning. Yay! The only problem is that I still need a morning nap. 

I listened to Jack Welch on "Follow Him." He was the one that discovered Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon. Alma 36 is a near perfect piece of chiasmus.

Jared Ammon is here. I like his new car. It's a 2022 Mustang convertible. I hope he has insurance.

I love Mustangs

When Jared got off his mission he got a Royal blue Mustang. It was beautiful.

I paid our mortgage today. Daryl Johnson still owes us $2,200 and it doesn't look like he's going to pay us back anytime soon. I think we made a big mistake trying to help him.

Today is voting day for the county and state senate elections. I wonder if Mark Lamb has a chance against Kari Lake.

There was also a blood drive at the church but neither James nor I can participate.

We left Tom with Jared Ammon this afternoon while we went in to town. They are friends. 

We went to Walmart and Tractor Supply, Taco Bell and Culver's. It seems like we are in a rut. I bought a couple of steak at Walmart and Jared Ammon fixed himself one for dinner. 

On the way to town we passed Scotlyn and Chelsea and we stopped to talk to them. Scotlyn is going to be in kindergarten this year. School starts on August 7th. She seemed pretty excited. Their dog Ernie was with them too. He loves to chase cars so I worry about him getting run over.

James and Jared Ammon rode the horses this evening. Jared saddles both horses and holds Apollo while James gets on. 

After riding horses Jared went on a run. I know because I was outside on the deck walking. Tom was with me. I walked 10,000 steps and James walked 9,000 more with my phone while listening to his story. 

Notes & Quotes

"Reading the Savior's teachings in the scriptures helps us transform our homes into sanctuaries of faith and centers of gospel learning. It invites the Spirit into our homes. They Holy Ghost fills our souls with joy and converts us into lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ."

- President Mark L. Pace

'It Is Wisdom In The Lord That We Should Have The Book Of Mormon'

Chiasmus in Alma 36

I grew up with them and so did my kids

Love this. Our fires are so hot we would

probably catch those trees on fire.

One lonely sunflower

I loved Rick Nelson and had all

of his records.

My dad worked here, James worked at one

in college. We shopped here when I was growing

up and when James and I first moved to Chandler.

Monday, July 29, 2024: Awake from 2:30 am to 5 am, Yikes! James worried about rain, Bro Ellsworth is sick so he won't be working on the Hipps's roof

Layton, Utah

195th operating temple

Dedicated: 16 June 2024

By: David A. Bednar

Book of Mormon

Alma 3611-20

Come Follow Me

July 29-Aug 4: "Look to God and Live"

Alma 36-38 Introduction & Alma 36: 38:5-6 "I can be born of God."

April General Conference 

"Temples, Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth" Elder Neil L. Andersen

Walk with Him

"God's Intent is To Bring You Home" Elder Patrick Kearon

I woke up at 2:30 this morning and could not go back to sleep.  I was hungry so I went into the kitchen and made pancakes. They were very good. I was careful to clean up my mess.

When it was time to get up, I was ready to go back to bed. It's going to be a long day.

 Brother Ellsworth was supposed to come and put on the roofing today, but he is sick. Later this afternoon when it looked like it was going to rain, James called him and said he was going to start today.

Brother Ellsworth promised he would be there in the morning so James said he would hold off. Thank goodness it didn't rain.

James and I made a trip to town today for supplies for the job. Of course we ended up going to Taco Bell and Culver's. I like the burrito supreme at Taco Bell and James likes the cod fillet sandwich at Culver's. We are so predictable and full of fast food.

Jared Ammon is coming up tonight or early in the morning so James and I went downstairs to put clean sheets on the bed and to vacuum the rugs. Tom didn't help this time so we were done a lot quicker than last time.

Mason

Sleeping Tom

Last night's Vernon Sunset

I remember this so well. As a kid I always 

wanted to stop here.

Sunday, July 28, 2024: Cows & a coyote, Mel, Ruth, Zemira speak in church, around 35 sisters in RS, lesson goes well, Talk to Tamara, Barbara T., Kathy Crane, Armando's dad welding accident, DGR-BYU speech on covenants, plan temple trip on Tuesday w/ J & Virgil

 

Salta, Argentina

194th operating temple

Dedicated: 16 June 2024

By: D. Todd Christofferson

Book of Mormon

Alma 36:1-10

Come Follow Me

Review

April General Conference

"Temples, Houses of the Lord Dotting the Earth" Elder Neil L. Andersen

D&C 109:57-60

57 That all the ends of the earth may know that we, thy servants, have heard thy voice, and that thou hast sent us;

58 That from among all these, thy servants, the sons of Jacob, may gather out the righteous to build a holy city to thy name, as thou hast commanded them.

59 We ask thee to appoint unto Zion other stakes besides this one which thou hast appointed, that the gathering of thy people may roll on in great power and majesty, that thy work may be cut short in righteousness.

60 Now these words, O Lord, we have spoken before thee, concerning the revelations and commandments which thou hast given unto us, who are identified with the Gentiles.

We had cows come for water this morning and a coyote heading straight for our house. We yelled at the coyote but instead of turning around and leaving he made a slight right and headed for the Crane's home. He was probably headed for their chicken coop.  Thank goodness their dogs scared him away.

Mel, Ruth, Johnny, and Zemira Wilhelm spoke in sacrament meeting today. Johnny's talk was less than a minute long but Zemira made up for it by taking about 12-15 minutes to tell the conversion story of King Lamoni. I thought he did a great job. It was good practice for his mission. He leaves in September for the Newport Beach, California mission.

We had right around 35 sisters in Relief Society today. Kerri said everyone who wanted one, got a handout. I explained the handout and how it contains scriptural accounts of God's promises to Israel. I think most of the sisters were excited to get it.

There is one other statement I read that I want to share here. I think I got this from my book, "Your Endowments" by Mark Shields.

I may have shared this before but it won't hurt to share it again:

The Abrahamic Covenant, the Temple, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ

The Lord commanded Abraham specifically to take Isaac to Mount Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice. (Genesis 22:2). This is the same place where the temple of Solomon was later built (2 Chronicles 3:1). This is no coincidence. This is a clear and marvelous lesson on the Abrahamic covenant and the sanctuary of the covenant, the temple. Mr. Moriah was not just where the blessings of the covenant were promised; it was where the blessings were unconditionally sealed.

The altar on Mt. Moriah was the most sacred of all sanctuaries of the covenant. Here, Abraham not only offered the greatest and most moving sacrifice he could offer, but he received the greatest and most moving promise he could receive; the promise of eternal life, eternal families, eternal priesthood, and eternal inheritance.

And the connection does not stop there. Mount Moriah was also the site of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God. Golgotha is actually a part of this same holy mountain. The Atonement is the foundation of every temple ordinance. It is only fitting that the temple would be built not just on the spot where the sacrifice of the Savior was so perfectly prefigured but where the great and last sacrifice was wrought.

On Mount Moriah, the Abrahamic covenant, the temple, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ all reach their zenith. The three are inseparably and beautifully connected. The temple exists to bestow the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant, and those blessings represent the full power, majesty, and beauty of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They are the Atonement of Jesus Christ made alive in the lives of those who receive and honor every covenant and ordinance of the temple. 

There were several people who came up after the lesson and said how much she enjoyed it. Tamara was especially anxious to get home to show Jimmie the document I handed out. 

Cheryl's daughter-in-law, India, was in Relief Society and participated in the lesson. Cheryl's son, Justin, India's husband, also participated in Elders Quorum.

This afternoon we kept waiting for rain, but none came. The sunset was a fiery orange tonight, I think because of the fire.

Armando's dad had a horrible welding accident tonight, catching his pants on fire. He is in the hospital and will probably have to have surgery. Armando doesn't understand how it happened.

We had a relaxing afternoon and evening. We even planned a temple trip with Virgil on Wednesday.

Yummy recipe

 

Beauty of Scotland

Sweet Charlotte on the Sabbath

The sunflowers are starting to bloom

Saturday, July 27, 2024: Woke up to lightning & thunder, J offers to fix me eggs but I ate a cinnamon twist from Dominoes instead, nice day working @ home on my lesson doing handouts, etc. I broke the handled on one of the bedroom recliners

 

Coban, Guatemala

193rd operating temple

Dedicated: 9 June 2024

By: Dale G. Renlund

Book of Mormon

Alma 35

Come Follow Me

Alma 34:30-41

"Now is the time and the day of your salvation."

April General Conference

"Opposition in All Things" Elder Mathias Held

D&C 109:56

That their hearts may be softened when thy servants shall go out from thy house, O Jehovah, to bear testimony of thy name; that their prejudices may give way before the truth and thy people may obtain favor in the sight of all;

 We woke up to lightning and thunder this morning. Tom definitely wanted to come in. 

James offered to fix me eggs for breakfast but I had a cinnamon twist from Dominoes instead.

It was a nice day spent completely at home working on my lesson.

I made 35 copies of the Covenant Israel Manuscript and also an explanation page of it's symbols.

James was worried about it raining today and ruining the lumber on the roof at Hipps's before they could get the final roofing on. Brother Ellsworth is scheduled to come on Monday but James was afraid that would be too late if it rained today. Thank goodness it did not rain.

I got to bed at a decent hour with the plan to get up at 4:30 for final lesson prep of about three hours. 

I did my walking for the day and listened to "For Elise." I also broke the handle on one of the recliner chairs in the bedroom. The one on my favorite side. 

For dinner this evening we had onion, tomato, cucumber salad and James's delicious egg salad sandwiches. He makes the best egg salad!

Dale G. Renlund

My friends Pam Giles and Jennifer Long went to

Yuma to visit our friend Nita Holtz who is in an

assisted living home where she is dying of cancer.

I love all three of these women so much!

Friday, July 26, 2024: Almost 7 before I get up, Lunch w/ Catherine Halcomb @ Pitalian, RNC & Olympics, J's pizza, "Highcliffe House", J washes my car,

 

Taylorsville, Utah

192nd operating temple

Dedicated: 2 June 2024

By: Gerrit W. Gong

Book of Mormon

Alma 34:18-41

Come Follow Me

Alma 34:9-16

I need Jesus Christ and His Atonement

April General Conference

"Bridging the Two Great Commandments" Elder Gary E. Stevenson

D&C 109:55

Remember the kings, the princes, the nobles, and the great ones of the earth, and all people, and the churches, all the poor, the needy, and afflicted ones of the earth;

It was almost 7 before I crawled out of bed this morning. My get up and go has got up and went.

My friend Kerri Halcomb had a kidney transplant a few years ago. Once or twice a year she goes to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale and has tests done that take up most of the day. Today is one of those days. Her mom Catherine called me earlier in the week and asked me if I would like to go to lunch with her on Friday. Of course I said yes.

I picked Catherine up around 11:20 and we were on our way. 

I asked Catherine where she wanted to go and she said, "no, you pick." Then she said, "I just want a salad." 

I suggested Persnikkity's and when she didn't seemed too excited I said, "How about Denny's." She thought that sounded okay. 

We were coming upon the stop light by the two big motels when Catherine pointed out the new little restaurant called Pitalians and said that it was a really good restaurant. She said it in time for me to make the turn. 

The place is very casual and they focus on pizza. The menu is up on a board and you stand in line and order what you want. Catherine ordered the lentil bean soup and the house salad and I ordered the same except I asked for a different dressing, a balsamic vinaigrette. 

I was getting us some water when the waitress delivered our food. She gave Catherine my salad and Catherine had already taken a bite before I could tell her of that was my salad. I just let it go.

The food and the salad was delicious and we even had food to take home for dinner.

Catherine Halcomb at Pitalian's

After we finished our lunch we stopped by Dominoes to pick up a think crust veggie pizza for James. Traffic was very busy today and it would have been difficult for me to turn out towards Vernon, so I turned right towards the middle of town. I made a left at the light in the middle of town and went up a block passed the church on the hill where I attended as a teenager. I went down to the corner and was going to turn left on White Mountain Blvd. but the sign said, no left turn. I had to turn right and make a left into the Splash & Dash carwash and gas station, go back out on White Mtn. Blvd. and make a right on Deuce of Clubs Avenue to head out of town towards Vernon. Whew! We are finally on our way home!

 Catherine wondered why I didn't get a pizza at Pitalian's instead of Dominoes. I told her I knew that James loves the thin crust veggie at Dominoes and I wasn't sure about the ones at Pitalian's. Maybe next time.

Catherine likes looking at the clouds and seeing pictures in them. There were lots of white fluffy clouds to look at on the way home. She talked about how much traffic there is now and how it has increased the few years she has lived here. She loves watching the Olympics and she watched all of the Republican National Convention. She is a big Trump supporter. When he got shot she ask me to put his name on the temple prayer roll, which I did.

She said she has listened to or watched the Olympics since they first started. Before television she listened to them on the radio. She is ninety years old. 

After dropping off Catherine at home I headed for home for some R&R. James was grateful for his pizza. 

I finished my book, "Highcliffe House". James walks while I work on my lesson. This afternoon he took my car to town, washed it, and filled it up with gas. Thank you Honey!

We got no rain until early in the morning when the lightning and thunder started. Tom was outside all night. He came inside at 4 am when the noise started.

Notes & Quotes

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." This I can do. I can love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, which then leads to prayer, scripture study, and temple worship. We love the Father and the Son through the payment of tithes, keeping the Sabbath day holy, living a virtuous and chaste life, and being obedient.

'Bridging the Two Great Commandments'

Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Tim & Becca's family

Sleeping Tom

We should have named him Whiskers

I love his white little 'bunny' feet

Our first sunflower

Cozy!

Memory Lane

I loved Annette & Connie Francis

Looks like Tom's going to chase the cows away

Sunset