Smithfield, Utah
Laying grass sod;
installing stained-glass windows;
stone cladding nearing completion;
landscaping and interior work progressing;
construction estimated to be completed
in early to mid 2026.
Book of Mormon
Helaman 11:21-38
April General Conference
'Harden Not Your Heart'
Christopher H. Kim
A.S.K.
'Your Great Adventure'
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Up at 4:15 for prayer and morning devotional. We left for the valley at 7:07 going the Payson way as we heard about the flooding and damage in Globe.
We arrived at the Tumbleweed Park Road on south McQueen Road in Chandler at 10:27. The meetings start at 10:30. We met Kim & Brian outside and Kim said dad took Brian's parking spot. They had pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for the elder's quorum. I gave them their anniversary card.
We sat behind Marvin, Mary, Joshua and Alayna. Kim and Brian sit on the very back row in the overflow. Stacy and Paul came off the stand and gave us a hug.
"We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet" was the opening song in sacrament meeting. Bishop Campbell, Kim and Brian's former bishop gave a wonderful opening prayer.
After the sacrament Brother Butcher, a counselor in the bishopric, who is conducting the meeting said: "Are you guys ready for a treat? The Gonzales's are speaking."
Stacy spoke first and announced that she would be using Sister Amy Wright's conference talk, "Thou are the Christ" as the basis for her talk. Here are some notes:
Believe, Belong, Become
RMN: "Overcoming the World" 2022: "In the coming days the manifestations of Jesus Christ will be more powerful than we have ever seen."
Sermon on the Mount
Believe - His teachings and Follow Him. Peter: To whom shall we go, Thou has the teachings of eternal life.
How do we teach our children to believe and follow Jesus Christ.
Testify of Him in the home by what we do and say. She shared the time when Jared Ammon was four telling him the story of Jesus blessing the Nephite children. She said he looked up at her and said: "Mama, if I was there would he have blessed me?"
Belong - Through making covenants with Jesus Christ. Covenant keepers have the greatest access to God's power.
Become - like Christ. What does God prefer not what will he allow. (Elder Shumway). Our covenants, as we keep them, can transform us. Story of Paul fixing the tire on the car. Stacy prayed and the Lord answered. She had confidence to do this because of the service she had given for the Easter celebration.
Conversion is a process.
2 Nephi 25:26
Choose Him daily
Paul's talk: Elder Kearon "Gifts From Our Heavenly Father." Jesus Christ and His Atonement are the greatest gifts from Heavenly Father that we have received.
Paul chose to talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost. Paul talked about his love of hiking and the instruments he uses to keep him on the right path. The Holy Ghost does the same thing for us. He is our guide. Just as we need to charge a battery we need to recharge spiritually. Lines of communication will be opened as you remember the sacrament promise, 'that you may always have His Spirit to be with you.' Heavenly Father loves us and wants to bless us. We must always be worthy to have His Spirit to be with us.
I attended Relief Society with 23 other sisters. This is a small ward. James said there were about that many in elder's quorum. He was very proud of how Brian conducted elder's quorum and the things he said after the lesson, the challenges he gave to his quorum. Back to Relief Society. The lesson was on President Nelson's talk, 'Confidence in the Presence of God.' The teacher was young and had some great power point slides. I participated but honestly can't remember all that I said. Suffice it to say that there was lots of participation and I enjoyed the discussion.
After the meetings were over I was walking down the hall towards the foyer when someone called to me. I turned around and saw the sister who gave the opening prayer in Relief Society coming towards me. She asked me if I was Stacy Gonzales's mother. When I told her yes she said how much she loved and appreciated Stacy. She said Kim was wonderful too but she seems to know Stacy better. We spoke for awhile and found that she is a temple worker at the Gilbert temple. She has had to take a leave of absence because she hurt her foot. James came up and I introduced him. We talked a few more minutes and then said goodbye.
James and I found a shady place in the parking lot and ate our lunch before heading home, the Payson way again. Mary showed me pictures of some of the damage in Globe and a video of Paul Kempton in front of his physical therapy office which was totally flooded. She advised not going the Globe way.
It was a beautiful day. As we passed Pinedale I looked at the thermostat and it said 70 degrees. There are huge black clouds to the west towards Flagstaff.
We made it home without having to buy gas. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that we listened to "Follow Him" for D&C 109 and 110. Anthony Sweat was the guest and he did an amazing job discussing these two very important sections.
It was great to be home!
"Our faith must be centered in Christ and our hope in His blessings, as He chooses to send them."
- Elder Sandino Roman
D&C 108:7
Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings."
Baby Benson is so handsome!