Wed, Apr 20th, 2022: Fresno California Temple, Tire fiasco, phone calls for desserts, Moses and the Ten Commandments, Memory of Ruby and Lola

Fresno, California

78th operating temple

Dedicated: 9 Apr 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Savior

Acts 7:35

This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 12:1-16

"Come Follow Me"

Exodus 19:3-6 The Lord's covenant people are a treasure to Him.

Exodus 19:1-17

AprGenCon

"Love, Share, Invite"

Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

As we love, share, and invite, we take part in that great and glorious work that prepares the earth for the return of its Messiah.

Liahona

"Prepare for the Sacrament All Week Long"

Up at 5:06. We studied the ten commandments in our "Come Follow Me" lesson. They are in Exodus 20. Then in our Book of Mormon study we happened to be in Mosiah 13 where Abinadi recites and teaches the ten commandments to King Noah and his people. I just thought it was serendipitous that we had the ten commandments two times in one day.

 James took his tire into town to be fixed. He had to come back because he forgot something. He then went back into town and took the tire to Robert's Tire. Last time they fixed his tire for free. He leaves and tells them he wants the tire fixed and mounted. When he gets back the tire was not fixed or mounted. They told him the tire was too old and that he needed to buy a new one. He was so upset that he just left and came home. Now he has to go back tomorrow to get the tire fixed. 

James told me that the Peeler's got scammed recently. They are the sweetest couple and it makes me so sad that people take advantage of old people. 

BTW, ham sandwiches with avocado are wonderful. I had one today. 

Tamara sent out this email today:

Help! I've got too much on my plate today and rest of the week. I have the sign up sheet for desserts for Skit Night. We thought we should have 12 sisters sign up but I only have 9. Do you think that will be enough? Pat is bringing a Texas sheet cake that will feed more than the 12. I also need someone to call and remind the sisters who did sign up. Anyone available to help with this? 

I knew Kerri was probably teaching school and Maxine has phone issues so I volunteered. I called all nine sisters on the list and at least one had forgotten so I am glad I called. I also told Tamara that I would make a dessert. Wendy DeWitt is very excited because they are bringing some of their neighbors, a non-member family.

I finished listening to Elder Hafen's book, "A Broken Heart" and started the book, "God will Prevail" by Brother Kerri Muhlstein. 

I also finished listening to Elder Halverson's "Unshaken" and started Book of Mormon Central. James and I read The Gents Book Two: Lily of the Valley. You can do lots of reading or listening when you walk as much as I do. I also watched a Hallmark movie, "The Royal Roadtrip." 

Both vacuums are down. I ordered a belt for the Oreck and hope it will come soon. Sandra Wilhelm says she can hardly get Lanel to take off her Little Mermaid costume. 

Joshua's "We Will Rock You" performance.

 

 

Tue, Apr 19th, 2022: Palmyra New York Temple, Temple session with James and Ruth Gale, steps, polish floors, ministering interview w Jennifer Golly,

 

Palmyra, New York

77th operating temple

Dedicated: 6 April 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Savior

Acts 5:31

Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 11:16-29

"Come Follow Me"

Exodus 18:13-27 I can help "bear the burden" of doing the Lord's work.

AprGenCon

"Christ Heals That Which Is Broken"

Amy A. Wright

Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency

He can heal broken relationships with God, broken relationships with others, and broken parts of ourselves.

Liahona

"Leadership Lessons from Moses"

In some of my studies today I ran across this quote which I love:

We enter into the holiest through the blood of Christ.

This statement went along with an experience I had in the temple today with Ruth Gale and James. I noticed in the closed caption dialogue before going through the veil that the Lord on the other side is Elohim. I had always thought it was Jehovah. We discussed this in the Celestial room. Ruth and James both thought it was Jehovah and James still did. He had not noticed the dialogue notes like Ruth and I had. I remembered something Elder Halverson had said last week in his "Come Follow Me" podcast that the veil of the temple represents the body of Christ. I said, If Heavenly Father receives us before we go into the Celestial kingdom, where is Christ? Then I told Ruth and James that I thought He was represented in the veil. It was a learning experience for all of us. Ruth wondered what the law of the Lord was that is mentioned in conjunction with the law of sacrifice. I said I thought it was the law of obedience but I wasn't sure. I would go home and research it and let her know that I found. This is what I found in Brother Anthony Sweat's book, "The Holy Covenants."

"Obeying the law of God, or the law of the Lord as it is sometimes called, means that we learn the directives of God, submit to them, and strive to follow them. Those divine directives are found in scriptures and in the words of living prophets." - Page 59

This is the chapter in Brother Sweat's book called The Law of Obedience.

As I was reading in Brother James Ferrel's book "The Hidden Christ" I found this statement:

"The temple is revealed to be the means of escape from the bondage of the world, a space set apart for the sanctification of man so that, once purified, we can again stand in the presence of God." This is the beauty of the temple.

Going to the temple is the most important thing we did today. Here are a few other things that happened. This actually happened last week but James told me about it today. The Peeler's got $3,800 worth of appliances for $450 because they were returned items. They are pretty happy about this. I got 16,000 steps before leaving for the temple at 2:20 and accomplished most of my goals this morning. I ironed James a shirt for the temple, did some indexing, had personal and family scripture study and prayer, finished polishing the kitchen floor and the wood floor. Had a ministering interview with Jennifer Golly. I texted Catherine Halcomb, Tanna, and the missionaries. 

We drove into the temple parking lot right behind Ruth. I brought names to do. I gave James one from his line and I had two names of Anthony's that I have had for awhile. I gave one to Ruth and I took the other one. James dropped me off at the front door because the wind was blowing so hard. Ruth and I rode the elevator up together. Our session was small, 8 sisters and 4 brothers. All three of us were in the prayer circle. 

After our session we went to "Streets" for dinner. Our friend Shaelyn Smith doesn't work there anymore. Ruth said the girl that waited on us is the owner. She is very cheerful and always has a smile on her face. James got the Reuben sandwich and I got the Chinese chicken salad and Ruth got the special which was a chicken wrap. All of the food was delicious. After dinner we said goodbye to Ruth. I told her I was grateful that she had called us and asked us to attend the temple with her once a month. It is something that we look forward to all month. She is such a dear friend. I think she would be perfect for Pierce but I need to wait longer because Pierce needs more time. It hasn't even been six months since Barbara died. Who knows if either of them is interested in getting remarried. We shall see.

Prom dress shopping for Addy 

turned into shopping for Lola.

To special sisters in our ward had their

birthday yesterday. They are two of the

nicest people you will ever meet.

Mon, Apr 18th, 2022: Louisville Kentucky Temple,

  

Louisville, Kentucky

76th operating temple

Dedicated: 19 Mar 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Savior

Moses 6:52

And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 11:1-15

"Come Follow Me"

Exodus 18-20 "All That the Lord Hath Spoken We Will Do"

AprGenCon

"Our Relationship with God"

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

No matter what our mortal experience may entail, we can trust God and find joy in Him.

Inklings

"In the end, it is the blessing of a close and abiding relationship with the Father and the Son that we seek. 

-Elder D. Todd Christofferson

"Our Relationship with God"

Job 1&42

These tings 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.

I got up at 5:00 this morning. I walked 2,000 steps every hour until 3:00 when I had 20,000 steps. This is my new schedule. At 3:00 I take a shower and dig in to whatever work I have for the day. Up until 3:00 I do things that I can do at my desk sitting down. So far it's a great plan.

Pierce and Owen came over and helped James lift the Cat up so he could get the tire off and put it back on when it was fixed. The little Cat looks so sad and neglected sitting by the side of the road with it's front end in the road.

James went to town to take the tire to town. On the way he stopped at the Wilhelm's to take Lanel her birthday present. After she opened it he asked her to put it on and then he told her how beautiful she looked.

The gloves were huge. 

Lanel's mom says she is 

having a hard time 

getting Lanel to take the

costume off.

The youngest of 10 children.

A great family!

While James was gone I worked on the kitchen floor. I'm using a new product and I love how the floor shines. Hopefully it will stay that way for awhile.

I got a phone call from Stacy today. She said Kristy Thomas called her the other night before she called us. Stacy says she was drunk. Kristy told James she had been smoking and drinking again. James asked her if she wanted to be with Kendall in the next life. She said yes. He said, well if you do, you need to try and live the gospel the best that you can. Kristy told him he was the second person to tell her that today.

Stacy also wanted to talk about Paul's sister, Trish, who was murdured. She has two children and the youngest one needs to have a home. It is such a sad story. They won't have the memorial service until Tara gets here from Wales. The service will probably be in Snowflake because that's where they grew up.

I steamed some cauliflower for dinner and James was as happy as a clam. Afterwards while I was working on my blog I watched "A Walton Easter." I forgot how much I like this show. James and I finished our book, "Where Her Heart Lies." 

I have decided I am going to go off of sugar. I am out of control and I don't like how that makes me feel.

Look at the size of that mango...it

looks so delicious!

 

Sun, Apr 17th, 2022: Tuxtla Gutierrez Mexico Temple, Happy Easter! StkConf notes, Easter Dinner, Paul's sister, Lois out of hospital, My message, J&K family, Messages of Easter

 

Tuxtla, Gutierrez, Mexico

75th operating temple

Dedicated: 12 Mar 2000

By: James E. Faust

Jesus Christ, Savior

D&C 18:23

Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved;

Book of Mormon

Mosiah 10:1-22

Easter

Jesus Christ-Rejoice!-Matthew 20:1-16,Luke 15:11-32, and Isaiah 14

Jesus Christ through His sacrifice

became our Redeemer, the

Holy One of Israel,

our Savior. 

On this day,

rejoice in Him!

 

AprGenCon

"Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny"

Elder Dale G. Renlund

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I invite you to center your life on Jesus Christ

and remember the foundational truths

in the Young Women theme.

After saying my prayers I went in to the kitchen to begin preparing our Easter dinner. While I was preparing the cheesy potatoes I listened to an Easter program by the Tabernacle choir. They sang "In the Garden" which Nannie taught me when I was young. I got out two crockpots, one for the potatoes and one for the ham. I thought we would be going to stake conference and it would be nice to come home and have the ham and potatoes already ready to eat. As I was thinking this I remembered we had a Zoom connection for this meeting and how I had used it last year and enjoyed it because I could see the speaker and there was no background noise.

I watched stake conference on my phone while sitting at my desk in the bedroom. James watched it in the dining room on his computer. He thought my phone was too small.  Here are my notes:

I saw Tamara and Pierce in the choir: The choir did a pre-conference program and then the opening song for this session was "He is Risen."

Pierce is in the back row, 2nd from right

Tamara is in the green dress behind 

President Beeler at the pulpit. Tamara and then Sister Toronto is

right behind her.

 President Beeler conducted the meeting. Tamara gave the opening prayer and then after the sustainings, the choir sang "Behold the Wounds in His Hands."

President Beeler - He talked about going on visits and identifying with people and their challenges. Sometimes the weight is almost unbearable. Jesus Christ will make everything right. The gospel of Jesus Christ can overcome all things. "I find time everyday to take a walk with Jesus." Daily cleansings -repentance. Weekly - the sacrament. We must teach daily repentance! In the Doctrine and Covenants it says confess and forsake. Repentance is joyful! 

Have you seen miracles in your life. Record them. Begin to note the hand of God in your life. Do we hear President Nelson? Spiritual Momentum.

Becky Adams - When I draw near unto Christ he meets me where I am and takes me to a higher place. D&C 88:63 Come unto Christ is the most important decision of this life. The invitation is to all.

John 3:8-11 Woman taken in adultery. Go and sin no more. The woman glorified God from that time forth. Church video - The Lord kneels to her level and writes something on the ground. He stood and raised her up. Invitation to all of God's children. Believing Him. Overcome and Become through His Grace.

Jeff Robinson - Teacher at Blue Ridge. Is going to be baptized next Saturday. 

Sister Smith of the Scottsdale Mission - D&C 76 Gospel glad tidings. Preach the gospel to every nation and creature. Restoration Proclamation.

President Smith - Invite. The missionaries will teach you the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

"Christ the Lord is Risen Today"

Pres. Alder - Today is his birthday, Happy Birthday!

For his 13th birthday he got a poem from his grandparents, "The Man in the Glass." Pres. Nelson, Strengthen your spiritual foundation. Quoted Elder Haynie from 2015. What will we do to bring us closer to Christ? End conflicts, seek forgiveness and forgive others. It is hard to feel the Holy Ghost when you are grumpy. 

Elder Haynie - Samuel anointing a new king - thou shalt be turned into another man. Change of heart. Sustain you stake presidency, they are good men. The week before Easter Elder Haynie reads all the accounts in the scriptures of Jesus's last week. Passover - gather in room with apostles - one shall betray me. Elder Haynie's young daughter once prayed, "Please bless Jesus because sometimes He seems so sad." Jesus introduced the sacrament, blessed bread, brake, et of my body which I make as a ransom for you. Strife among the apostles, arguing about who is the most important. Jesus is introducing the sacrament and it's importance and his apostles are arguing. I wonder how Jesus felt. Intercessory prayer, hymn, Gethsemane. Peter, James, and John wonder if He is the Christ. People who are His friends are drifting. If possible remove the cup. Apostles sleeping, an angel comes. Judas's betrayal and Jesus is ridiculed and tortured. He felt completely alone in the 9th hour. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsake me." Because He walked the path alone. We do not have to. Example of marvelous women. He is Risen. Mary Magdalene is the First Witness of the Resurrected Christ. When Mary saw the risen Lord the reality of a risen Lord is established. Advocate - ability to claim rights. Listen to Him who is the Advocate with the Father. "I bear witness that He lives and He never loses hope for us."

For lunch/Easter dinner, we had ham, scalloped potatoes, croissants, asparagus, and baked apples. James made the baked apples and they were delicious!

We had some good news today and some heartbreaking news. James's mother was released from the hospital. James wrote this: 

Mom's release papers are being prepared with oxygen so she can be released. Easter is a great time to be released from confinement!"

Paul shared this message in a family group text:

I wanted to share what is happening in our family right now. I share not for sympathy, only so we can enlist your faith and prayers. Yesterday we were visited by two DPS detectives who informed us that my baby sister Patricia was found murdered on the 14th. They have two suspects in custody. I do not have any further details. Patricia had battled substance abuse all her adult life and I'm certain that it had a role in her death. Please keep her two children in your prayers as well as our family as we cope with this loss and try to put her to rest. I know there are no right words to say in tragic circumstances so please don't feel you have to respond. Your prayers will be enough.

How grateful I am for a Savior who has overcome sin and death for us. I wanted to send an Easter message but wasn't sure what to send. Here is what I sent:

Hello Family. I just wanted to share with you some thoughts about Easter. A year ago we spent Easter in Texas with Jared, Kacey, and Charlie, Tanner, and Summer and her boyfriend. I had spent two days in bed but was able to get up out of bed thanks to a priesthood blessing given to me by Dad and Jared. It was my own little miracle. 

This year we are alone at Easter except for Adam, Kyle, Chris, and Kaitlin who came to visit. They are excellent house guests and we enjoyed having them here.

This is the book we used to celebrate Easter this year:

Let me tell you about the red egg on the front. After World War II came to an end, many people in Eastern Europe countries were no allowed to attend church services. The Communist party taught the children that there was not a God. However, not wanting their grandchildren to grow up without a knowledge of the Savior, the grandmothers would teach the children about Jesus within the wall of their own homes. Then, every year at Easter, the families would attend a midnight service. When they returned home, they would stay up all night long talking about Jesus and decorating red Easter eggs. For the people of Serbia, eggs symbolized the eternal life of Jesus. According to some legends, the white eggs Mary left at her son's tomb as a sacrifice turned red after His resurrection. These red eggs hold deep meaning for the people of Serbia.

After the midnight service, as soon as the sun has risen, the people would have a huge breakfast. Then they would go from door to door and visit each of their neighbors. As each door was opened, they would say, "Christ has risen," and the person at the door would answer, "indeed He has risen." Then the person would give the guests at the door a red egg. The red egg meant good luck. Although Christians in Serbia are now allowed to worship publicly, much of this tradition still stands. It is not uncommon to see a red egg displayed in a Serbian house long after Easter has passed. This egg is called the "housekeeper," and it is supposed to guard the house until the next Easter.  I love the imagery in the tradition - the grandmother's teaching, the white eggs that turned to red in memory of the sacrifice, the decorating of eggs every single year as a reminder.

I want my grandchildren to know that Jesus Christ lives. In 2 Nephi 9:6-12 Jacob said if there were no resurrection, our flesh would crumble and return to mother earth no more to rise again. We would be angels to the devil with no hope for eternal joy. He goes on to say how grateful we should be that Jesus Christ overcame the two monsters, death and sin.

Easter should be celebrated every day of our lives with gratitude. Because He lives we too shall live!

I love you all!

I did some indexing and blogging today. I also ate 6 Peeps. That is too many.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!