Neiafu, Tonga
Installing stained-glass windows;
landscaping and interior work progressing;
construction estimated to be completed
in early to mid 2026.
Book of Mormon
Helaman 7:1-12
D&C
105:16-41
April General Conference
'Compensating Blessings'
Bishop Gerald Causse
A.S.K.
'Spiritual Treasures'
President Russell M. Nelson
Liahona
'I Want To Be Like You'
I was up by 2:40 this morning.
Happy Birthday Denise! I hope it's a great day for you!
I am determined to make two blogposts everyday. I have re-done my schedule so I work on my blog from 5:30-9:30 in the mornings. Of course that time is not without interruption, but it is better than waiting until later in the day when I am tired and there are more interruptions. I finished one post this morning and I'm determined to do another one this afternoon.
James and I left for church at 8:30, everyone else was still asleep or at least had not made an appearance. I wore my new teal dress. It's more of a summer dress. I'm glad the weather would still allow me to wear it.
I talked with Cindy Brown before the meeting started and arranged to visit sometime on Thursday. Later I invited Kathy Crane to go with me. She wanted to take her car thinking the roads might be bad and that my car wouldn't make it. I assured her it would.
Scott and Debra Jensen and their 9 year old son Caleb spoke in sacrament meeting today. Here are some notes that I took:
Caleb Jensen - Caleb is nine years old and did an excellent job. He told about his experience of being in the production of "Messiah in America" and how it increased his testimony of the Savior. He said it changed his life and prepared him for his upcoming baptism. At the end he said, "I love Jesus. Amen."
Debra Jensen - The theme for Debra's talk can be found in the first part of Jacob 4:11 - Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son,...
The Fallen world became alienated from God and was restored through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through our faith and trust in Christ we can become peacemakers and we can also experience a rebirth into a new way of life. God's nature transforms us. She then lost me because she started talking about the Jewish holidays celebrated this time of year. She did speak about the Resurrection of Christ and how He is the Rock of our salvation. She made this comment: "Do you want to shine like Moses, then cling to the Rock, the Rock of Jesus."
Although she took up most of the time she sang a song before her husband got up to speak. The song was "Rock of Ages." It was a bit high for me.
Scott Jensen - He spoke about Jonah and how his story is symbolic of the suffering Messiah and reconciling ourselves to God. Exodus 34:6-9. 13 divine attributes of God all signifying His mercy. There was a lot of symbolism in his talk which I found interesting but he ran out of time and had to end early.
Bishop Hunsaker and Alicia were not a church today. They went to visit Kate Hahn at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. Kate's dad says she hasn't eaten in two weeks and they don't expect her to make it through this. When she leaves the hospital she will be going home to live with her parents, along with her husband and their dog Apollo.
It is so sad.
Wes Smith taught Sunday School. Kerri Halcomb wasn't here today to hook up the microphones, she is home with a cough. As a result of no microphones I could hear very few of the comments that were made. I could hear Brother Smith fine. Brother Smith based the lesson on overcoming adversity and how to change our negative reactions to adversity. I made the comment that we needed to trust in the Lord. The lesson was okay but I was hoping he would focus on something a little more positive.
Our marriage class was a little sparse today. I guess a lot of people are out of town. We talked about triangulation and its adverse affects. Here is an example. A couple are having a disagreement and the wife talks the daughter into being on her side. That is triangulation. Nothing good can come from it.
Xander and Carter left before we got home but they took a selfie because Xander knows how much the photos mean to me.
I guess it's not a selfie.
Alex said he had to get back earlier than planned because of a test he didn't realize he had tomorrow in one of his classes.
I asked James what that "dead" thing was in the side yard so he went out to look. He came back and said it was a kangaroo rat which is indigenous to the Sonoran desert and that they are on the rare and endangered species list. He couldn't figure out how it got in our backyard. We figure one of the cats probably killed it. James and Joe got their heads together and decided that the rat may have been in one of the three cars that came up from the valley and escaped when they unloaded their suitcases the night they got here. I guess we will never know.
Soon everyone was ready to go. Sami left me the rest of her protein bars which was very nice of her.
Joe, Sami, Dallin, Namira, Michael
"The temple opens the way to the highest blessings our Father in Heaven has for each one of us."
- Ronald A. Rasband, AGC 2025
D&C 105:12
For behold, I have prepared a great endowment and blessing to be poured out upon them, inasmuch as they are faithful and continue in humility before me.
