The Way I See It

Healing the Blind Man

2011-04-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

As I study, pray and ponder the lesson about “I was blind and now I see”, I was impressed by the following quotes and I have added some of the thoughts that came to me.

In John 9:5 it says, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (“By this act of giving sight to a blind beggar Jesus in a dramatic and irrefutable manner, proclaimed himself as 1) the Light of the World, and 2) the very Son of God. 3) He also confirmed the disciples’ belief in pre-existence, 4) rejected the belief of some that physical handicaps result from ante-mortal sin, 5) taught that his own work was assigned him by the Father, 6) reaffirmed that he stands in judgment upon the world, and taught that rejection of light and truth bring condemnation.” DNTC, 1:479)

John 9:6 “When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,” (According to their traditions, he was breaking the law of the Sabbath by making the clay, and applying a healing remedy to an impaired person. His purpose seems to be to put the people in a position to choose between him as one sent of God to do the work of the Father, as one who can open blind eyes and to open their blind eyes about Sabbath observance. MM, 3:201)

I think Jesus continued to heal and do miracles on the Sabbath in an effort to teach the unbelieving that:
1. He is the Promised Messiah.
2. He gave Moses the Law to start with and he is about to fulfill the old law and give a new Law regarding the Sabbath..
3. He teaches that it is ok to heal on the Sabbath Day and in fact he is about to institute the sacrament, which will heal thousands, no millions, on every Sabbath Day, if they repent and partake of His emblems, the bread and wine or water.
4. It is ok to do a little work if necessary in order to bless and save people on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees and the scribes were so caught up in the letter of the Law of Moses that they could not see that the Law of Moses was given and designed to point to the future coming of the Mortal Messiah himself. Christ is the one who called and talked to Moses.

As we open our eyes and receive revelation through the Light of Christ and listen to the voice of the Good Shepherds, (Stake and ward leaders, home and visiting teachers), we will have life more abundantly.

The Good Samaritan

2011-04-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I studied my Sunday School lesson and here are a few things I learned.

1. Christ taught that unless we become as a little child we cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Have you ever met a child that is perfect? I know Hayley says Mikey is so perfect that he farts rainbows, but wait till he starts to crawl, walk and talk. This to me, this reveals one of the simple truths of the gospel. Children are not perfect but they are clean and pure. If we want to be with Heavenly Father in the Kingdom of Heaven we need to be like them. Not perfect, but clean. We become clean by repenting and partaking of the sacrament on Sundays. Like a child, we will be saved because we are clean, (repentant) not because we are perfect. Joseph Smith said we will not be perfect until long after we have left this life.

2. The parable of the unmerciful servant teaches us that Christ will for give us of all of our debts, or sins if we repent. The first lord (Christ) forgave his servant a debt of ten thousand talents. Then that same servant turned around and put his servant in prison because he would not pay him the 100 pence that was owned to the unmerciful servant. The average wage at that time was about one pence for a day’s work. At that rate the unmerciful servant would have to work for 150,000 years to repay his lord (Christ) the ten thousand talents. On the other hand, it would take a little over three months for the second servant to repay the 100 pence. How many times am I willing to forgive others who are not perfect? And how many times has the Lord, who is perfect forgiven me and suffered for my sins for me? The Lord, who is perfect, forgives all of us who are not perfect, and willing to repent. He takes those sins and suffers for them so that we won’t have to. He must love us a lot!

3. Christ was teaching the 70 and his disciples, who had eyes to see and ears to hear, like babes, about the plan of salvation, when a Lawyer, (a master of the Law of Moses), interrupted him and asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan. One level of understanding for this parable is that we need to be good neighbors to everyone we meet and share the gospel with them. Another level is that “A certain Man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho” symbolizes Adam, Eve and all of us, as we leave the presence of God and came down to earth where we are assaulted and wounded by sin and saved by Jesus the Christ, the Good Samaritan. As I studied and pondered, I think another level of the parable is because Christ was in the middle of teaching his disciples about the sacred ordinances when he was interrupted that he continued teaching the sacred ordinances as he gave the parable. Christ in the verses just before this parable says, “I saw Satan fall from Heaven like lightening”, and I think there are other things in the parable that can help us get a better understanding of the sacred temple ordinances.

That is the way I see it.

Home SWEET Home

2011-04-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Last Monday night DeAnne and I went to the Macaroni Grill restaurant again. That is the first time we have been back there since James took us there to celebrate our closing the loan on our new home and it reminded us of how well James took care of us while we were looking for our new home. We recommend James to everybody that mentions moving! Let me know if you want his phone number!

This time we went to the Macaroni Grill with a group of ten other people from our new ward. The group calls themselves the “Empty Nesters Group”. We meet together with them for dinner or Family Home Evening once a month. These people are special people to us. We are so grateful the new ward has accepted us and befriended us the way they have.

We love our new home and we still feel like we got a fantastic deal on the price of the home. We love the low interest rate and we are now enjoying the tax credit we received.

We love having the laundry upstairs for DeAnne. We love having a garage for the first time in our lives. We don’t have to remove snow and ice from our cars every morning in the winter time. We love that the garage is oversized so we can get both cars into it without running into anything. And there is still room in there for work tools and yard tools. We love the garage door openers!

We love how quite our home is. It is even quite during wind and rain storms, and no squeaky floors! We love the deck across the back of the home where we can sit and relax and enjoy the scenery. We love our view of the mountains we see on both sides of the valley. We love hearing the meadowlarks again, watching the hawks, deer, fox, coyotes and other wildlife.

We love the sink, bathroom and light fixtures. And, oh yes; we love the size of the master bedroom and master bath!

We love having an air conditioner for the first time in our lives. For the first time in our lives we also have timers on the outside lights, programmable controls for the furnace and air conditioner and on the sprinkling system for the yard. We love it!

We love having room to have all our family in our home at the same time. They can all visit with us; eat with us and even stay overnight with us. That is SO great!

We love the small yard we have to take care of and we love that was already landscaped so beautifully.

We love the people in our neighborhood and we especially love the people in our new ward. They were there to help us move in, which we appreciated so much, and they have been so friendly towards us ever since. DeAnne and I were made the gospel doctrine teachers for the ward about a month after we moved in. Last month they called DeAnne into the Relief Society Presidency.

So, with all that said, we want everyone to know we love our new home very much and we are so grateful to be there. thank you to all of you who helped us in our move! We closed our loan on April 8, almost one year ago.

Report Cards

2011-02-04T09:51:00.000-08:00

Report cards are a way of judging our progress. If we were to be judged today by the Lord what kind of grade would you have earned? Give yourself an honest grade for each year of your life.

Don’t judge yourself too harshly. You are generally your own worst judge.

For example let me take my life. I am almost 62 years old. I would give myself the following report card.

A – 3 years (My mission plus a little)
B – 20 years (The way I served and taught my family years)
C – 35 years (Just average)
D – 3 years (rebelling as a kid and teenager)
F – 1 years (Doing things I knew were wrong)

Now I will put some math to it.
A + 100
B = 80
C = 60
D = 30
F = 10 (for living)

My total score would be:
A – 100 X 3 = 300
B - 80 X 20 = 2,840
C – 60 X 35 = 2,100
D – 30 X 3 = 90
F – 10 X 1 = 10
Total score = 5,340/62 = 86.13 (That’s much better than I thought!)

That would give me just above a B for my life so far.

Wait there is more.

There are three degrees in the Celestial Kingdom. If you have been baptized and have a Celestial marriage, (note I didn’t say a temple marriage), that will get you into the Celestial Kingdom.
A = Celestial (Living with God and having an eternal family)
B = Celestial (Room for improvement)
C = Celestial (Able to serve and live with other Celestials)
D = Terrestrial
F = Telestial
No Glory = the sons of perdition

So I give myself a B, and that is with the help of the atonement. I would be in the Celestial Kingdon, but not able to have a posterity. But I want to be with my wife and family!

Here is the part we almost always forget. LIFE IS ETERNAL! How many years did we live in the preexistence with Heavenly Father? Well let’s take the worst case scenario. We were there in the in the preexistence with Adam and Eve. They came to earth 6011 years ago right? I came to earth 5,949 years after Adam. So for at least 5,949 years I was living with Adam, Heavenly Father and Christ = 5,949 years worth of A’s ! Because no unclean thing can abide His presence.

How does that change my over all grade?
A – 100X(5,949+3) = 595,200
B - 80 X 20 = 2,840
C – 60 X 35 = 2,100
D – 30 X 3 = 90
F – 10 X 1 = 10
Total score = 600,240/6,011 = 99.86% WOW!

No wonder the Lord called his plan, “The plan of Happiness!” We get to keep our families and be part of Heavenly Fathers eternal family! Once we return to his presence, he can continue to teach us and we will get more education and more “A’s.”

Now figure up what your grade is.

I think women get at least a thousand extra bonus points for every child they have and at least Ten thousand extra bonus points for putting up with their husbands!

Remembering Mom - 2011

2011-01-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

January 19, 2011 – Today is my mother’s birthday. I have been thinking about her a lot over the past few days. I marvel at how hard she worked in and out of the home. She was always cooking something for Dad or for us kids. She loved to make bread, cinnamon rolls, donuts, cookies and no bake cookies. She would make huge batches every time she made goodies. I loved hot home-made bread with butter and honey. My favorite goodie was cinnamon rolls with raisins.

She made blankets for everybody. Every one of her kids and grandkids have a blanket of one kind or another that she made for them. She helped dad in the garden and did all the bottling in the fall. She always bottled peaches, raspberries, apricots, and pears. She made all kinds of jam from her garden as well as grape juice from their grape vines. She would make huckleberry and raspberry jam and that was my favorite. She also made huckleberry topping for ice cream, one of my favorite things in this world! The huckleberry topping at Artic Circle doesn’t even come close.

Mom would always stop what she was doing when DeAnne and I brought our family over to visit. She would make dad turn off the TV so we could talk, even if he was in the middle of a ballgame.

Mom taught us a lot about the gospel by her example. She served in the Primary and the Relief Society and loved every minute of it. She was very nervous about her mission to the Utah State Prison, but when she was released she had a love for the people she met there.

One of the best things I remember about mom is that she was always with me whenever I had important events in my life. She was with me when I went to the doctor for my pre-school exam. She was at my baptism, and at all the church meetings. She helped me prepare talks for church. She was with me when I was set apart as missionary by Bruce R. McConkie. She was at school when I was inducted into the National Honor Society and she was there at the meeting when I was attending the Utah State Sterling Scholar Ceremony. Dad did not attend most of those things, I’m not sure why, but I could always count on Mom!

Mom and dad always opened their house for our friends and us to have parties and get-togethers. Mom would make treats and bring them to us and our friends while we were playing Rook and other games. We had a large, good group of friends in the Granger 13th Ward and Mom and Dad always made them feel welcome. Sometime there would be over 20 of us and sometimes, as we got older, we would stay up until midnight or latter. I don’t remember Mom complaining about us even one time.

Mom loved the great outdoors and did all the cooking for us when we went camping. She loved going back to Idaho to visit with her brothers and sisters. She loved to camp and picnic with them and to pick wild huckleberries with them in the forest. She also enjoyed going to our condo in the winter time at Island Park Village. She did a little snowmobiling with dad and sleigh riding with our kids. She enjoyed being with our kids inside the condo as well. I have some great memories with her. She was a great mother!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

#6 The Grandin Press

2010-12-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

After the Hill Cumorah, we went back to the town of Palmyra. We saw the corner with the four different churches on each corner. That corner is just a block and a half from the Grandin Press where the Book of Mormon was printed.

On March 26, 1998, the anniversary of the first printing of the Book of Mormon in 1830, the restored part of the building was dedicated. The building is now a Historic Site. We saw the building, the printing presses and observed the printing sequence in the room where the printing of the Book of Mormon actually took place. We saw the room where the contract to print the Book of Mormon was signed by Egbert B. Grandin, Joseph Smith Jr., Joseph Smith, Sr. and Martin Harris.

We were also able to walk through the bindery and into the store where the Book of Mormon was first sold. They had us fold a page so that we could see how much work it was to get the Book of Mormon ready for binding. Of course there is much more, but it was really interesting to me.

We then went to a book store next door and purchased a copy of the original Book of Mormon, a copy of the original Book of Commandments and several other items. Then we went across the street and had a quick dinner.

#5 The Hill Cumorah

2010-11-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Next we drove down the road a few miles to the Hill Cumorah. We stopped first at the visitor center and then drove up the Hill Cumorah, where they have the pageant. They have a monument there on top of the hill explaining that the Angle Moroni hid the plates somewhere in that hill and then delivered them to Joseph Smith four year after he first showed them to Joseph.

With four years to prepare for the event, I doubt the date on which Joseph Smith received the plates was a coincident. Joseph received the gold plates from Moroni on 22 September 1827, one of the high holy days of the ancient Israelite Calendar. Keep in mind that the Jews start their days at sundown. That day, 22 September 1827 was Rosh ha-Shanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, a day when God remembered His covenants the Israelites to “bring them back from exile.” I think that is why Moroni is depicted on top of the temples with his trumpet.

There is a pillar of stone on top of the Hill Cumorah with the Angle Moroni standing on top, (With his trumpet). There was a special feeling there as well. I connected with Moroni for a few short minutes while there.

Moroni has long been one of my hero’s for all that he did to take care of the plates. Moroni finish his father’s (Mormon) book, wrote his own book and then abridged the record of Ether and the brother of Jared. Moroni also tells us he wrote an interpretation of all that the Brother of Jared saw in his vision of the earth “from the beginning to the end thereof”. Moroni actually wrote about twice as many gold plates as his father Mormon had written. We have most of what Mormon wrote in the Book of Mormon, but most of what Moroni wrote is in the sealed portion of the plates that Joseph was told not to touch or translate.

#4 The Palmyra Temple

2010-11-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

The Palmyra Temple sits on a high ridge at the east end of the original 100 acres of the Joseph Smith, Sr. farm in Manchester Township, New York. The temple was announced by President Gordon B. Hinckley on the 21st of April, 1999. Ground was broken that May and the temple was dedicated by President Hinckley on the 6th of April, 2000, the 170th anniversary of the organization of the church. It became the 77th temple in operation around the world and has approximately 10,700 square feet of floor space.

The new Palmyra Temple can be seen from the sacred grove. It is on a hillside just east of the sacred grove. We spent two or three hours in the Sacred Grove and then walked back through the Smith farm and Smith homes. We then drove over to the Palmyra Temple. DeAnne stayed in the van this time so she could rest her knee.

got out and took pictures of the temple and walked around it. Notice the glass on the windows and doors. You can see the glass was made with images of the trees that in the Sacred Grove.

It was a peaceful feeling to stand in the temple courtyard and look out to the west and see the sacred grove.

The Church has a new stake center just a few blocks north of the Temple.

#3 The Sacred Grove

2010-11-16T18:27:00.000-08:00

The guides from the visitor center pointed out the trail to the Sacred Grove and then left us so we could walk the trail at our own pace. As we walked down the trail toward the Sacred Grove, the fall leaves were so beautiful. They were falling on the ground all the way down the path which followed the log fence. The fence separated the barn and farm from the apple orchard. The fall colors were so brilliant in the sacred grove itself. DeAnne and I felt a quite peaceful feeling all around us as we walked through the grove together. We took a loop trail and soaked in the peaceful spiritual feeling by walking slowly and stopping to sit at some the benches to rest and to ponder.

We tried to picture what had happened there in the grove when God the Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to answer Joseph's first vocal prayer. What an experience for Joseph and for us!

We were asked not to remove anything from the grove because it was such ground. DeAnne's knee was really sore, but she was a real trooper and we were grateful for the experience we had in the Sacred Grove together. I was glad we had an excuse to stop and let her rest so we could spend more time in the grove. It is truly sacred ground!

Also, we must remember, that somewhere on the Smith farm, "In a grove of trees where the Smith's often went in secret prayer", is where the Angle Moroni showed the gold plate's to the eight witnesses of the Book of Mormon and let them handle the plates.

Aren't the trees beautiful? We will never forget our time in the Sacred Gove or the feelings we had there.

#2 The Smith Frame Home

2010-11-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

Next we went to the Smith Frame Home, which is just down the road a bit and across the street. This is the home that Alvin started building for his parents. Alvin became ill and while on his death bed asked the family to finish building the home for his parents. This the family did. Joseph really loved Alvin. Alvin was a special person. Joseph was told to take Alvin with him to receive the gold plates. But because of the death of Alvin, Joseph was told to take his wife Emma to receive the gold plates.

While living in this home, Joseph had the gold plates and was busy translating them. Joseph hid them for a while under the brick stones in the hearth. There was a small room upstairs where the two young sisters shared the same bed. One night the plates were hidden from a mob by placing the plates in bed, in between the girls. The Smith family lived in the home for only three of fours years. Because of financial difficulties, they had to move back into the old log home.

Right across the street from the Smith frame home there is a nice barn where they put their animals and farm equipment. Joseph hid the plates up in the rafters of the barn one night and the mob couldn’t find them.

The main street to Palmyra used to be the street where the Smiths farm is. The log home was on one side of the busy street and the new Frame home was on the other side of the street. We learned from Newell, that when the Church purchased the Smith Farm Homes and the Sacred Grove, they asked the City of Palmyra if they would move the road to the east so that the old existing road could be used as a walking path by the visitors that would come to see the farm and the Sacred Grove.

An agreement was finally made with the city that they would move the road if the Church would give them their Stake Center. The City wanted it so they could use it as a City Hall. The Church agreed and we have pictures of the old Stake Center – New Palmyra City Hall. It is just to the northeast of the Smith farm. If you look a map of the Palmyra area you can see how the new bends out away from the Smith farm for short ways and then back again to bypass the Smith Farms.

#1 Our Trip to Palmyra, New York

2010-11-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start typing up the experiences that DeAnne and I had on our trip to Palmyra and Kirtland. These posts could take a while to get everyting written. I will divide them into smaller pieces and post them as I get them ready. We had such a great trip we just have to share what we felt, what we saw and what we learned. Most of our children have already been there before us. We would like to sit down with them and compare notes and their feelings of their trips. Anyway I am starting with this post.

October 15, 2010 – Friday – DeAnne and I got up early and drove to Jared’s house. He was good enough to take us to the Salt Lake airport, drop us off and take our car back to his house while we were gone.

We met DeAnne’s cousin Kimball Harward and his wife, Maxine at the airport. We flew on a Sky West commuter plane from SLC to Denver. From there we flew on a United 767 to Chicago and then got on a United Flight to Rochester, New York. That was the biggest airplane I have ever been on and it was packed. In Rochester we met Newell Harward, his wife Gloria, Thomas Axtel and his wife Joni. They took us to our hotel in Rochester where we stayed for two nights.

October 16, 2010 – Saturday – We went to breakfast in Palmyra. When we went to get back into the van, DeAnne re-extended her knee. Not a good way to start our trip! We went to the visitor center on the Smith Family Farm.

Hyrum purchased the ground just north of his father’s farm. The Smith’s log home was actually built on Hyrum’s land. Although Hyrum’s land bordered his father’s land, it was in a different county and the county doesn’t require two set of steps to the upper level (for exits) for public buildings like they do in the other homes in county where Joseph Smith Sr.’s farm was. So we were able to go to the second floor of the Smith’s log home but not the upper floor of the Smiths Frame home which is in the other county.

We went into the Smith Family log Cabin, which has been reconstructed on the original foundation.

The upper floor is where Moroni visited Joseph Smith in his bedroom area. There were other Smith children sleeping in the same room, but only Joseph was privileged to see and hear the message of Moroni. For DeAnne and me, it was a special feeling to be the room where the Angle Moroni appeared three times. We could feel the spirit there. It was there that the latter day gospel restoration really began.

Blessing Baby Michael

2010-11-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say how neat it was to have all of the family attend the blessing of Michael. It was great to see everyone together again and enjoying each others company. It was also nice to talk with and get to know Jones family a little better. Family is great!

We hope to see all of you at Tori and Garth's home this weekend for another good time!

Eating Purple Huckleberries - A Taste to Die for.

2010-09-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

The scriptures tell us that Michael, Adam, Eve and all of us lived a pre-mortal existence. The name Michael really caught my attention because Michael is the name Garrett and Hayley have chosen for their new baby, who will soon be born.

Anyway, the scriptures tell us that Adam and Eve were the first people on this earth. When the time was right, God placed them on earth in a Garden of Eden, which He had prepared for them. God made sure it was warm and clean. The beauty of the Garden surpassed anything we can imagine. It was full of friendly animals that didn’t fight with or eat other animals. The garden was supplied with all kinds of flowers, shrubs, fruits, vegetables and trees. The cupboards and freezers were full of food.

My thought was this: If Adam and Eve got to come to this earth and their first home was a Garden of Eden, would Garrett and Hayley’s little Michael also get to come to this earth and have his first home be a Garden of Eden? What about the rest of us? Could we consider ourselves as Adam or as Eve and be blessed as they were, to have a Garden of Eden waiting for us when we first got to this earth? That got my brain gears clicking.

I decided my answer was yes. Garrett and Hayley have prepared a garden or room just for Michael. DeAnne and I did the same thing for our children. Father’s and mother’s everywhere prepare a special place for their newborns to come. A place where they will be very comfortable and have all that they need to be safe and be able to enjoy this world.

Like Adam and Eve, when the time is right, we are placed by our parents into our very own Garden of Eden. It is full of friendly stuffed animals that don’t fight with other animals. Their Garden is also stocked well, with clothes, diapers, formula, and food. The garden may have all kinds of flowers, shrubs, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and all kinds of trees.

Just like Adam and Eve, we discover all the things we are enjoying have been given to us by our parents as gifts. We don’t have to pay for anything. We have ice cream every night with our Father and Mother. Our parents give us some rules. For example, they tell us we can enjoy ice cream for eternity, or as long as we eat it while they are with us and we stay in their garden. We, like Adam and Eve are told, “You can partake of all things in the garden, the house, the cupboard, and the freezer, and the ice cream, but of the fruit of the Huckleberry Bush, you shall not eat! Nevertheless, you may choose for yourself, but if you partake of it, you will turn purple and surely die.”

That gets our attention real fast! What do they mean, we will surely die? That sounds pretty serious. What do huckleberries do to us? What do they taste like anyway? Why did Father put huckleberry bushes in our garden and show us where He planted them if He didn’t want us to eat some of them? How do our parents know that huckleberries have a taste to die for? Have they tasted huckleberries before?

As we grow older we hear kids at school and advertisements on TV saying, “You should try huckleberries! They are delicious to the taste and very desirable. Yes, they are very expensive, but you’re worth it.”

One day we take a stroll down past the huckleberry patch and we catch our brother, Lucifer, picking some of the forbidden fruit. He eats them right in front of us and smacks his lips with pleasure. Caught in the act of disobeying Father and Mother, he offers us some huckleberries. We tell Lucifer we’re not going to eat any, because if we do, we will choke, turn purple and die. Lucifer says, “You’re not going to die!” He sounds pretty sure of himself and he doesn’t look like he is dieing. He tells us, “Look, if you don’t eat some huckleberries with me, when Father and Mother come home they will notice some of huckleberries are missing and I will tell them you ate the huckleberries.”

Now faced with two choices, who do we choose to please? A big brother who is holding the forbidden fruit right in front of our nose, or our Father who is not home at the time? We decide to have our first taste of the forbidden purple fruit. They taste so, so good! It is different than anything we have tasted before. They are almost immediately habit forming. We want more of that purple fruit so we continue picking huckleberries. They would taste great on ice cream. As we eat, we also realize we didn’t die!

Then we hear the voice of our Father. He’s coming home to our Garden of Eden! Lucifer says, “Quick, hide. Father will see your purple tongues and lips. We hide. Father calls out to us two or three times before we decide we better come out and speak to him. He asks, in a loving voice, “Where were you?” We tell him we hid ourselves because we have purple tongues and lips. He looks at our face and asks, “Who told you you have purple tongues and lips? Have you partaken of the forbidden purple fruit, that I told you not to eat? And of course we admit what we have done and tell our Father, “The Devil made me do it.”

Father explains the rules to us again. He looks at our hands and they have turned purple too. He explains that the fruit is good, but because we ate it when he asked us not to, we have broken an eternal law that was irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of the world. We have broken the law of our Forefathers and we will need to leave their presence. What we have done has made us unclean, and he has no choice. He is going to have to boot us out of our Garden of Eden. We can no longer live with him because he cannot look upon purple with the least degree of allowance and we are covered with purple everywhere. Will the purple infection spread to other part of our body and kill us?

We will suffer a spiritual death when we leave the presence of God. Then we realize we won’t be able to have any more ice cream either! Suddenly we realize without ice cream we will surely die! Satan, the kids at school and the TV lied to us!

A loving Father and Mother then give us some good news. All is not lost, but we are going to have to pay a price for our actions in ways we never understood before. But we can still talk to Father and Mother; we just won’t be able to see them and hug them. They will need to place a veil between us and them.

Father will send us messengers that will tell us how to return to His presence. We just need take a bath, (get baptized) and clean up our act, (sacrament). If we talk to Heavenly Father every day, read the books he gives to us every day, (scriptures), and listen to His messengers, (apostles, prophets and the Holy Ghost), we will find our way back into His presence.

We are given more good news. We are told our older Brother, Jesus, loves us so much he has agreed to pay the price of the purple fruit that we ate! How can he do that? We are saddened to hear the price Jesus must pay, but we are so grateful for his willingness to do that for us. He must love us as much as Father and Mother! We must learn more about Jesus and develop the same love for Him that he has shown to us.

Eating the huckleberries has actually given us a knowledge of something that tastes wonderful. Father tells us, if we are willing to search for and listen to his messengers, they will show us how to find and eat huckleberries that they don’t leave us with dirty purple hands, lips and tongues. He will show us secrete hidden patches of huckleberries and give us other sweet experiences that will give us knowledge, feed our souls and purify our hearts.

After we have taken our bath and done our washings, Mother will show us her secrete huckleberry recipes and show us how to make huckleberry pie, and huckleberry cheesecake.

Father promises us he will show us how to bottle huckleberries and seal them up so that we can latter put them on ice cream, and the two together will become an everlasting treat for us and our families. If we keep our hands, lips and tongues clean, our hearts will become pure and clean also. Then we will be worthy to again enter Father’s presence. There are no loopholes or shortcuts. We cannot partake of the new sealed fruit until Father permits us.

Father also lets us know that he has set a security system around the temple of sealed ice cream, the treat of eternal life. He tells us if we go near this fruit, before he recommends us, alarms will go off and angels with flaming swords will stop us from returning to the temple of ice cream. We need to repent, serve others, and be WILLING to keep all of Fathers commandments. Then He will recommend us to the angels and they will let us pass by their flaming swords. After all of that, we can partake of the new and everlasting treat, and return to Father’s presence. We will be able to open the bottle of sealed huckleberries with our Father and Mother, put them on top of their eternal treat of ice cream and enjoy the blessings of the sealed fruit. We will also be shown the secret of partaking of this sealed fruit with our children and grandchildren.

See what Michael brought to my attention? I love my family! I hope we have eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts to understand. (Isaiah 6:10)

Memories of Mom

2010-05-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

Mom loved a good joke!

I was thinking of Mom last night before I fell to sleep and I had another one of those dreams where things seemed so real. In my dream, I had a near-death experience that I’m sure will change me forever. I went horseback riding one day and everything was going fine until the horse started running and bucking out of control. I tried with all my might to hang on, but was thrown off. Just when I thought things could not possibly get any worse, I realized my foot had become caught in the stirrup. When this happened, I fell head first to the ground. My head continued to bounce over the bumps harder and harder, as the horse would not stop or even slow down. Just as I was giving up hope and felt I would surely die ... a thoughtful K-Mart manager came out and pulled the plug.

Seriously, I have had several thoughts and reflections about my mother since she passed away on the 8th of May 2010. I spoke about some of my memories of her at the funeral. Of course there are several others, but I have had a hard time deciding which ones I want to share with the world.

Mom was a very special person. She was a sweet daughter of God. I have a hard time talking about Mom because it brings back some tender memories and feelings. If I don't keep this a bit on the light side, I won't be able to see through the tears.

Mom was the one that taught me the gospel. She taught me how to pray. She taught me self worth, right and wrong and was always building me and my weak ego. She is the one that worked and saved up her money to take us on the only extended vacation that I can remember. We went by car, up through northern Idaho, Salmon, Coeur d'Alene, the Grand Coulee Dam, Flat Head Lake, Glacier and Waterton Parks, the Canadian border, and the Cardston, Alberta Temple. On the way home we visited with Dad’s sister Ruby and her family. Great memories!

Mom always expected me to go on a mission. She and I painted several homes and four-plexus, together to get enough money for my mission. We worked very hard together and had some great talks and experiences. I knew she loved me and I loved her.

Mom had a great sense of humor. She always loved a good clean joke and I loved to hear her little chuckle and her fabulous smile when she laughed. I think she would have enjoyed this one about the life after death.

Two men died and went to heaven. God greeted them, and said "I'm sorry, gentlemen, but your mansions aren't ready yet. Until they are, I can send you back to Earth as whatever you want to be."
"Great!" said the first guy, "I want to be an eagle soaring above beautiful scenery!"
"No problem," replied God, and POOF! The guy was gone.
"And what do you want to be," God asked the other guy.
"I'd like to be one cool stud!" was the reply.
"Easy," replied God, and the other guy was gone.
After a few months, their mansions were finished, and God sent an angel to fetch them back. "You'll find them easily," he says, "One of them is soaring above the Grand Canyon, and the other one is on a snow tire somewhere in Rexburg!"

I love you Mom and we will all miss you, but we are so blessed to know you on this earth and we know you are still alive, having new experiences every day and happy to be with your family that has gone before you.

Save a place for us!

We are Home Owners Again

2010-04-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't think we would ever own a home again, but yesterday we closed on the loan. Now we are in debt, to a bank, like most of the people in the world. (sigh.) We have enjoyed most of our time here in the condo, and have had some good neighbors and good experiences in our ward.

We want to thank Garrett and Hayley for putting up with us for the past year and a half. It was the place we were suppose to be so we could help my Mom and Dad with their yard and finances. But Mom and Dad have moved on and our neighbors, here in the condo have changed. We are excited to be out from under the smokers, drinkers and party goers in our condo.

We have taken advantage of a great opportunity, with real estate prices being down and the tax credit that is being offered. When we combined that with a 4.75 interest rate, we knew we would never have a better time to buy.

We will packing on April 16th and moving on the 17th. Garth is being good to us by bringing his toy hauler down to us to help us move. He said he is going to park it at our condo on Thursday, April 15th, so we can start hauling things out to it.

We really need as much help as we can get. The older we get, the slower we move and the shorter our endurance. So please come and help us move! We really can't do it without loads of help. Every single helper will help tons. (Literally)

DeAnne and I want to thank our family for all of your love, prayers and support. We can't tell you of all the small miracles that have happened along the way to getting this new home. We feel it is where the Lord is guiding us to live for the few years we have left.

James is amazing! If you even think about moving or know anyone who is, James will give you and your friends, all he has and it will be the best experience you have ever had in buying or selling real estate. He has done both for us! We have nothing but praise for James. I'm sure you and your friends will have the same great experience with James as we have had. Thank James!

We are under contract with a new house!

2010-03-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

Let me start out with a message to Garrett and Hayley. I have tried to call you guys, but no one answers your cell phone. All your cell phone will do is put me to your voice mail. I have left messages in an attempt to let you know before we announce this to the rest of the kids. We want to give you as much notice as we possibly can about the time frame when we expect to be moving, so you can make other arrangements for what you want to do with your condo at Oak Meadows. Maybe you will read this if you are not getting those phone messages. We hope you are enjoying your time in Chicago! Hopefully this post will not dampen your time there.

We got word last night that we are under contract for a new home. We are excited about it! We expect to have the closing in about 30 days from now. We have some painting to do and we want to replace some carpet before we move into the new house. We can’t do anything to the house until after the closing, so we hope to have all the repairs done to the new house and all the cleaning done at the Condo, and moved out by the end of April.

We will need lots of help to get everything moved, so we hope you won’t all start planning ways of being out of town! That is just a joke; we know you will all help us, just as you have always done in the past. We really appreciate all of you!

We are having an inspection done on the house this coming Friday.

If any of you are in town and want to see the house on Saturday, let us know. I’m not sure where we are holding FHE this Sunday. If FHE is here in town you could see the house on Sunday. If FHE is at Tiff and Mike’s, Saturday may work better.

We love all you all!

The wind has been taken from our sails

2010-02-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

We didn't get the house we were so wanting. Bummer!! We are getting too old for this kind of drama! But we won't give up. Thanks for all of your support!

We are looking for a new home!

2010-02-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

Tension is building as DeAnne and I are turning in an offer on a home in W. J. tonight. We really fell in love with this house.

Can we ask that you join with us and pray that our offer will be the one they accept? We will have their answer by tomorrow, Wednesday the 17th at 2 pm.

What should I Invest In?

2010-01-27T14:49:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I posted anything. Things have been very busy at work and by the time I get home, I just want to relax for awhile and go to bed. Every new customer we have wants to get their time clocks up and running for the new year.

I have been trying to figure out how to invest the money form Mom’s house to make it last longer. I thought it would be fun to get some feedback from anyone that is reading this blog. You tell me which one you would use. Just for fun let’ say I have $100,000 to invest. So here are my choices.

1. Put it in a bank Savings account and draw 1% interest. This would give us pretty much a guaranteed amount of about 1 grand per year.

2. Put it into a money market account at 2% and get 2 grand a year. No risk.

3, Put it into a CD at 2.5% and get $2,500 per year, but there will be a penalty for early withdrawal, if we need the money.

4. Put it into Bonds. There is risk here and you could loose the principle, but there is also a chance at earning two or three times as much as you can in a CD.

5. Stocks: Tremendous upside and also a risk of loosing some of the principle. You would also need to have help in selecting the stocks. (Newsletters cost from $150 per year to $1,500 per year, and who knows how good they are.) (See next option for return on investment estimates.)

6. Mutual Funds: Let the fund manager select the stocks and move them around for me. Tremendous upside but also a risk of loosing some of the principle. (Then I would just need a newsletter to tell me which sector of mutual funds to invest in. $150 to $450 per year.) I saw a list that shows the last 20 years with of the average stock gain/loss for each month of the year. Using this list as a guide, the average gain per year would be $12,931 per year.

7. I went to a meeting with Chris Krohn, who is the founder of REIC (Real Estate Investment Club). Real Estate is not liquid, but he says he can show you how to have a monthly income from Real Estate, without being a landlord. Has anyone heard about him or his company? I would be interested in anything you have heard, good or bad.

We are paying about $52,000 per year for the Care Center.

So, there are the choices. What would you invest in?

The Sacrament

2009-11-30T09:51:00.000-08:00

Pres. McKay – Talking about the sacrament in Gospel Ideals – "We must come to a “true sole acknowledgement of its Deep Spiritual Significance."

Christ took the twelve apostles into a special guest house and celebrated with them, for the last time the Feast of the Passover. Then, with the twelve still there, he instituted the sacrament.

Matt. 26:36-40
Christ took only the three members of the First Presidency, Peter James and John, with him to Gethsemane and asked them to stay and watch for him. He had something very special that he wanted to share with those three leaders of His Church only. He wanted them to witness one of the most important events in the history of the earth, something he had just explained to the twelve just minutes earlier. He was replacing the law of sacrifice with the sacrament. Christ wanted them see the reason for the change and the fulfillment of the old law of sacrifice. He wanted them to witness the atonement. But they fell asleep. When He found them sleeping he asked them, “Could you not watch with me one hour? How would that make you feel if you were one of them?

Apply that question to yourself. Could you not watch (stay awake) with me one hour? (15 minutes while the sacrament is administered so the atonement can take effect in your life?) This is a one on one “spiritual experience”.

We can see and hear Christ every Sunday. Our sins are remitted every Sunday, cleansed by the sacrament, if we have repented and come prepared. We come to know the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ and how much they love us and care for us.

Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was great. We went to Tiff and Mike's. Tiff had a yummy meal prepared for us. There were only eight of us there. Tiff, Mike, Carter, Mikes parents, McKay, DeAnne and I. We had a great meal, fabulous deserts, a chance to talk, watched a little football and played catch with Carter, with his football. He is getting pretty good!

Then some of them played Guitar Hero. I also had the chance to walk outside and listen to how quiet it is out there in Eagle Mountain. It is amazing. I love the sound of silence. I am thankful for being able to appreciate the way it energizes me. It let's me reflect and ponder the things that are important. I am so thankful for our family and for the chance to see how you all parent your children. You all have a special talent and understanding for how to teach your children. I am impressed will the way you all do it! Don't ever stop parenting.

Tiff also sent us home with leftovers, which we enjoyed all weekend. Thank you Tiff, Mike and Carter for a great Thanksgiving!

We stopped on our way home and visited Mom. She was quite confused and it was not a great visit, but it was time well spent.

We love you all!

Five Things (Tagged)

2009-11-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Emity tagged me and I'm not sure how to get the form, or even if there is one, but I will do what I can do.

Five Things I don't leave the House without

Keys
Eye glasses
Driver’s license
My black binder and my Mom’s Checkbook
Morning Prayer

Five Cartoons I watched when I was Younger

Woody Woodpecker. (He had lots of red hair.)
Chip & Dale (the Cute little chipmunks, just to clarify.)
The Huckleberry Hound carton show with Yogi Bear.
Mr. MaGoo (He was a blind as a bat, but everything worked out for him.)
The Road Runner (He always out foxed the fox)

Five Things That Terrify Me

Spiders
Snakes
The thought of something happening to DeAnne.
The thought of loosing my scriptures.
Male in-laws on my side of the family.

Five Things I hate/dislike that everyone else seems to like.

Brownies (I know. . ., but give me cheesecake or give me death)
Pasta without any meat
Cottage cheese in Jell-o
Gummy Bears or worms
Orchestra Music

Five Things I want to do before I Die

I would like to have seen Alaska.
Take DeAnne to upstate New York and Kirtland on a church history tour.
Be watching conference when the prophet announces the building of the Temple in Jackson County.
See Elder Bednar and Elder Holland called to Jerusalem to help the Jews build their Temple in Jerusalem, testify of Christ, and act as the two powerful prophets that John saw.
See McKay get married! (In the Temple of course.)

Five People I tag

The Cat
Jared
Shelby
Christ (Wouldn’t that be interesting?)
Sarah

Mom Update Oct 28th

2009-10-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

I visited Mom tonight and she is drastically better. She is much better than yesterday. She is alert, won't stop talking and asking questions and she is eating again. So the roller-coaster ride continues!

We are not sure what that means for her longevity, but she is back for now.

Update on Mom's Latest Adventure

2009-10-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hi family, I just need to bring those interested in Mom’s health, up to date. Last Friday night, Mom tried to get out of her wheel chair and took a spill. The concrete floor was not at all flexible or forgiving. Mom fell on her arm, head and face. She broke her right wrist; this is the opposite one she broke back in May.

She put a large, deep cut on top her nose bruised her cheek bone, got two black eyes and put a bump on her forehead about 4 inches wide, 4 inches long, and about 3 inches in height. We put cool packs on her forehead and got most of the swelling down. They glued and taped the cut on her nose. She has a splint for her wrist.

She looks like she ran face first into one of the Mammoth Elk we saw in Yellowstone.

She has a lot of color on her face; almost like a rainbow, her face has white, yellow, green, red, purple, blue and black. Be prepared for that if you go see her.

Yesterday, at about noon, she became totally unresponsive to everyone and everything. The doctor came in checked her out again and said she either has blood on her brain or had a stroke. I saw her at about 3 o’clock yesterday and she did start responding to people by about 4 P.M. But she would say just a few words and then fade back to sleep. All of her children and spouses visited her yesterday except Barry.

Mom has lost 14 pounds and doesn’t want anything to eat. She will only accept small sips of water. In her papers it is her desire not to use any feeding tubes.

Any way the doctor said her body was now in shut-down mode and in his professional opinion, she would be gone in 48 hours, unless something drastically changes in her condition.

I just want those who read this blog (Family) to be aware of her condition and make your plans accordingly. If you want to stop by and see her, keep your visit quite and short.

Pray for the angles to come quickly for her, that she may be released from the pains of her battered body and from the confines of her troubled mind.

Life is not about quantity, but quality.

Yellowstone with the Shipley's

2009-10-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Bear World with the Shipley’s

We met the Shipley's at Bear World and had a great time there. The feeding truck was half price that day so we splurged and we all got to go on the truck to feed the bears. I have included a couple picture we took from the truck. We also went to the petting zoo.

Shelby feeding the deer the shirt off her back - - - Sarah deciding how much to feed the goat

The Bear Cubs playing together The three bears + one from the feeding truck

Wolves from the feeding truck

The quote of the day came from Sarah when we were all done at Bear World. She said, "This is the best day of my life!" I agree Sarah. We sure had a good time with the Shipley's.

Now some pictures we took with the Shipley’s in Yellowstone Park

Bald Eagle in the very top of the tree Elk near Madison Junction

Emerald Hot Pool It looks like gold leaf to me.

Geysers Fire Hole Falls

Give me home where the Buffalo roam. Muskrat, fish and ducks at Big Springs

Shelby and Sarah and Elk at Mammoth Elk at Mammoth

Lions or Cougars? The Moose we saw before they got there.

The girls were so good to us and to each other. It was a great vacation. A great way to spend time with our children and grandchilden and share some of nature together.

2nd try at Yellowstone Pictures

2009-09-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

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Big Springs

We are having a great time at our Condo in Island Park. These are some of the pictures we took on
September.26-28th.
The gang at Big Springs

Jared and the kids at Big Springs.

Hang in there Bradley!

Elk near Madison Junction

Old Faithful

Deanne and the girls at Kepler Cascades

Fire between West Thumb and Fishing Bridge

Bison north of Canyon Village

DeAnne and the girls at Mammoth

Bull Elk at Mammoth

Elk at Mamoth – Jared and Liz’s car in the forground.

Shortly after Jared, Liz, Madeline, Rylie and Bradley left us to return to Salt Lake, McKay and I found a couple of Moose. The Bull Moose was so accommodating. He agreed to put on a show and do some imitations of other animals.

This is Mr. Moose as a Moose.

This is Mr. Moose as an Anteater.

This is the Moose Office with their Cubicles.

This is Mr. Moose sucking up to his boss.

This is Mr. Moose imitating a coyote

This is Mr. Moose as an Elk.

Mr. Moose is imitating a Bison.

This is Mr. Moose imitating a Wolf.

Marching the Fruit into the Storage Cellar

2009-09-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Marching the Fruit into the Storage Cellar
There was also a cellar under a portion of our kitchen. For many years the only way to get to it was through a trap door that had to be lifted up every time we needed to get into the cellar. The door to the cellar was on the floor, by the wall on the west side of the kitchen. The trap door was about three feet wide and six feet long. It had a strap so that you could grab it and lift up the door. You always had to be careful when you closed the door so the strap would be on top of the floor and stick out so you could grab the strap the next time you needed to get into the cellar. There was a set of wooden stairs that went down into the cellar where Mom stored the fruits and vegetables she had bottled from our garden. I remember “marching “the fruit and vegetable bottles down the wooden steps with Kyle.

Let me explain what I mean by “Marching” the fruit down to the cellar. After Mom had bottled the fruit or vegetables and they had cooled down so we could handle them. Kyle and I would be asked to take the fruit or veggies, down stairs to the cellar. This was great fun for us! We would get Mom to open the cellar door, then take three or four bottles over to the top stair and set them there. Then we would “March” those three of four bottles down to the second stair, get up, go over to the counter or table and get another three or four bottles and put them on the top stair. Now the fun would begin. We would go down to the fourth step, “March” the bottles that were on the second step, down to her third step, “March” the bottles that were on the first step down to the second step and then go to the counter and get the next three or four bottles and the process would continue. Can you see where this is going? By the time we got all 12 or so steps full, it was time to take the bottles off the bottom step and place them on the shelf in the cellar. This was when the fun really reached its’ climax. Then we would march all of the other bottles down one step at a time until we got to the top step and them go get the next three or four bottles. It was an all afternoon job! But we made it fun by “Marching” the bottles. It taught us patience, and tried the patience of Mother. Sometimes Mom would say, “No marching today. Just get it downstairs!" We hated it when that happened. That spoiled all of our fun! Looking back, I don’t know how she put up with it. Maybe she was glad just to keep us busy so she knew where we were.

It was quite a bit cooler down there in the cellar. I believe it had a dirt floor and even some of the walls were dirt. Later on, I remember Dad boarded up the trap door in the kitchen and built a cement stairway outside on the back of the house that went down to the cellar. It had a regular door with a regular door handle, but no lock.

The Cardboard Wall Bedroom

2009-09-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

The Cardboard Wall Bedroom

For a couple of winters we slept in a shanty that Dad had built on the back of the house. It had only one wooden screen door with a spring that would bang the door shut. At night we would put a blanket over the screen door to help keep it a little warmer inside. The bedroom was framed with 2X2 lumber, and the walls were made of cardboard. It had a dirt floor with straw covering the dirt. It was big enough that we could all sleep in it. We would sleep on the floor with a blanket under us and lots of blankets on top of us.

I remember when it got really cold in the winter Mom would put so many blankets on top of us that weight became so heavy we could not even roll over. I learned to get my head under the covers so my ears and nose wouldn’t freeze. I would snuggle down under the blankets and then form a small “blanket tunnel” from my mouth to the outside so I could breathe fresh air. Sometimes when we woke up in the morning there would be frost in that tunnel and on top of the blankets.

We would wake up in the mornings to sub-zero temperatures. Dad would almost always be the first to get up. He would go into the house and start a fire in the wood burning stove in the kitchen and then come to get us up. We would get up, jump out of bed, grab a blanket to throw over our shoulders, (it was so cold in there), put on our shoes, run for the screen door of the cardboard bedroom, open it to go outside, run up a step or two, (about 10 feet away) open the door to the house and run into the kitchen. We would sit on a chair next to the stove with a blanket over us until the house heated up enough to get us warm. We generally had a warm dish of oatmeal or pancakes for breakfast in the winter time. The cardboard bedroom stayed up until after the house was remodeled.

Quote of the week!

2009-09-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

We went down to Price this week to bless the newest grandchild. While there, DeAnne and I were talking to Carter. After running all over the church lawn for several minutes,he came running to our car DeAnne told Carter he was a really fast runner. Carter's reply was, "I like to run fast, but sometimes when I run fast it makes my tongue hurt!" Oh Carter, you are a funny boy and we love ya!

The Attic Bedroom and the Trains

2009-09-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

The Attic Bedroom and the Trains

There was an attic in our Rexburg house that could only be accessed by a ladder from outside the house. The door into the attic was only about three or four feet tall and two or three feet wide. The attic was usually filled with old relics and junk, but as we grew older it was cleared out enough to put a bed up in the attic so that at least Jay and I could sleep up there. We used it for sleeping only when the weather was cold or rainy and we were not able to sleep out under the stars. At night, we would put on our pajamas to get ready for bed, and then put on our shoes so we could go outside in the dirt and climb up the ladder to get to our bed. In the winter, we would also put on a coat to make the trip outside and up the ladder, because it was often well below zero in Rexburg.

I remember sleeping up in the attic one night with Jay in the fall. Jay woke me up at two or three in the morning. At any rate I know it was in the middle of the night and still dark. He had me come over to the attic door and look out. The railroad line ran on the back of our property about 500 feet or so to the west of our house. That night Jay woke me up to show me the first diesel powered train engine I had ever seen in my life. It was like one of the wonders of the world!
All the trains I had seen up to that time in my life, were those old steam engine type trains that made a lot more noise and filled air with smoke as they passed by our home. Our family was use to the rumbling and whistles of the trains at night, but any visitors at our house would be awakened by the rumbling of the trains. Many of our visitors would tell us the next morning that they were sure the train was going to come right through the middle of our house and kill us all. I thought, “How silly you people are, don’t you know trains have to stay on the tracks?”

Sleeping Out Under the Stars
We would sleep out under the stars for most of the summer. I loved looking up at the sky, filled with so many bright stars. The “Milky Way” was always visible, and it actually did look like milk. If I could just grab hold of the Big Dipper, I would be able to dip out a nice cold drink of fresh milk.

When there was no moon, the Milky Way was so wide it would fill almost a quarter of the sky. I also loved to fall asleep watching for falling or shooting stars. We were told if we saw a falling star, we could make a wish and the wish would come true. I remember wishing I had a hundred dollars to give to Mom and Dad so they wouldn’t have to work any more. Then we could spend all our time in the mountains and not just the weekends.

The Rexburg Homestead - Part one

2009-09-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

Our House

The first memories of life that I have are of the two-room log cabin we lived in. The outside walls of our house were made of actual logs with stucco inserted where the logs met to cover up the cracks. One room was the kitchen with a big wood burning stove and a sink with no running hot water. Dad had somehow hooked up the sink with a hand pump so that we could get cold water at the sink. The other room was the living room with a few pieces of furniture, which included the hide-a-way bed/couch. The bathroom was an “Outhouse” located about 150 feet in back of our house. We had no hot running water, just cold water that we could pump out into the sink. Mom had a teapot that she put on the stove to heat water for breakfast and other meals. All the cooking was done on the wood-burning stove. The woodpile was in the back yard by an old wooden shed. It was the boy’s job to go out and get wood from the woodpile and keep the wood box in the kitchen full of wood for Mom. I always felt quite comfortable and safe in our home.

Bath Nights

Saturday night was bath night. In the summer we would go swimming in the irrigation canal. The canal water was clear water that came from the Teton River. That served as out bath in the summertime. In the winter, we all had to have a bath once a week, whether we needed it or not…. Mom had a big metal, five-gallon milk bucket that she would fill with the cold water from the pump at the sink. She would then place it on the wood-burning stove and heat it up until it got close to boiling. Then she would dump it into the tub with a bucket or two of cold water so we could have our baths. We had a round, galvanized tub, about 3 feet in diameter and maybe 18 inches tall at most. Leesa was always first and then the three of us boys, one at a time, would take our turn in the same bath water. By the time the last boy took his bath, the water was pretty dirty and soapy, but at least it was still wet.

Latter on, I remember we got a big long galvanized tub. It must have been five or six feet long, about 18 inches wide and 2 feet deep. That was “Dads” tub and we were never allowed to use it because it took more time to heat the water and fill it up. We all had to be in bed before Dad took his bath. I never thought about it as a kid, but when did Mom take her bath? I’m sure it was “after” Dad….They would attach a garden hose to the bottom of the tub, and put the other end of the hose outside to drain the tub.

Tiff is back and cancer free!

2009-08-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

We were so thrilled with the news that Tiffanie is cancer free and everything is still functional. We couldn't have asked for any better news. Those prayers of her family, nieces and nephews, and having Shanna put her name in the temple produced the miracle we were hoping for. We visited Tiff last night and she is doing well. Quite sore, after all the surgery and moving things back to where they are supposed to be, but she is up moving a little bit. Take it easy for a while Tiff! We are ecstatic about the outcome and your good news.

Love ya,

Mom and Dad

More History, First Memories

2009-07-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

I was born in a Mid-wife’s Home with several other newly born babies, but I was the only boy and the nurses all thought I was the cutest. I know… weird right? Mom said I was covered with baby hair that looked like “fur”, all over my body.

First Memories

My Father tells the story of how I would stand up big and tall in his hand, before I learned to walk. This is actually not my memory, but a story my Dad tells to this day. (22 July 2008).

I remember bouncing in a “Baby Swing” at Grandma and Grandpa Muir’s. They had a small swing seat made of cloth with four long straps attached at the corners of the seat. All four straps would attach to one main spring, which in turn was attached to a hook that was screwed into the top of the doorway between their kitchen and living room. I remember loving to jump in that thing because it bounced me quite high. I would bounce and bounce until I wore myself out and fell asleep. Which I have now, in my old age and my greater wisdom determined, was the purpose of the swing for my parents and grandparents.

I also remember we had a rocker in the house that looked like a couple of white ducks. One duck on either side, nailed together with a seat in between, so you could sit in it and rock. The seat was wide enough that two young children could get in at the same time. Up front, it had a wooden handle to hold on to and another wooden bar that you put your feet on to help get it rocking. The handle went from one of the duck heads to the duck head on the other side. I think Mom said one of her brothers made it, either Elmo or Merlin. I loved getting in it and rocking as hard and fast I could. It was almost impossible to tip over, either frontward or backwards. But if it did it would just stop on the duck beaks in front, or on the ducks tail feathers in the back. It is still in Mom’s basement.

Just an Observation

2009-07-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

I think it is interesting that if someone trains dogs to fight, that trainer must be very secretive about what he is doing. If the law finds out, that person is subject to heavy fines and can be put into prison for several years.

On the other hand, if someone trains humans to fight, that trainer can advertise the fight on the radio, television and anywhere else he wants, and even sale tickets to the fights. He can make a fortune and continue training people to fight, without fearing the law.

Are we no better than dogs?

I’m just saying…

Isaiah 28:21 -- Strange?

2009-06-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 28:21
For the Lord (in the last days) shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he (the Lord) shall be wroth (angry) as in the valley of Gibeon, that he (the Lord) may do his work, his strange work; (Temple work) and bring to pass his act, his strange act. (The restoration of the gospel)

Isn’t Mormonism strange? Aren’t the restoration and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon strange? Isn’t it strange that God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ would show themselves to a 14 year old boy by the name of Joseph Smith, in the spring of 1820? He didn’t even belong to a church!

Isn’t it strange that that same boy would latter claim to have been visited by an Angel named Moroni, in Joseph’s own bedroom at the age of 17? The Angel Moroni told Joseph that in Moroni’s life, he was a prophet to a group of people who lived on the American Continent and that his people worshiped and saw Christ after Christ’s resurrection. Moroni told Joseph he had a record of some of God’s people, and that it covered more than 2,000 thousand years. Isn’t that strange?

Isn’t it strange that Moroni waited 4 years, until Joseph was 21, before he gave that record to Joseph? Isn’t it strange that Moroni’s record was written on gold plates, in a language that no one knew? Why would the angel Moroni give that record to Joseph, who had no formal education and tell him to translate it?

Isn’t it strange the way Joseph tells us how he translated this record, with a breastplate and something called the Urim and Thummim? That he read, translated and dictated it to someone who was required to stand on the other side of a curtain who wrote it all down as Joseph dictated it seems strange. Isn’t it strange that the Book of Mormon has sold more copies in this world than any other book except the Bible? Who would believe all that? I do!

Talk about strange acts, isn’t it strange that Joseph Smith says he saw John the Baptist on May 15th, 1829, and that John gave him keys and restored the Aaronic Priesthood to the world? Shortly thereafter, Joseph claims that Peter, James and John the Beloved, restored the Melchizedek Priesthood and gave him move keys, so Joseph could confer the priesthood on others. How strange is that?

Joseph also said the Lord commanded him to build a temple, which he and his believers did build in Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph says on April 3rd, 1836, while he and his friend, Oliver Cowdery, were in that temple they were visited by Jesus Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah, giving them more keys and the “Fullness of the Priesthood”. Isn’t that strange? Do you believe all that? I do.

Isn’t the one-piece garment strange, not to mention the long legged and long armed ones? Isn’t Temple work strange? People go into the temple to worship God and do ordinances for themselves and for their kindred dead. Isn’t that strange?

The world wonders what Mormons do in the temple. People going into the temple have their suitcases and you might think they are going to be staying overnight, but before long you see them come out of the temple with the same suitcase. Isn’t that strange? Some surmise that the suitcase is used to carry out their endowment! Isn’t Mormonism strange? Who believes all that? I do! And I testify to the world that it is all true!

Fathers Day and Family

2009-06-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

I talked to Jared and Liz on Thursday night, and of course, we talked about Mom. I told Jared how I struggle seeing Mom in such a sad and depressed state. I need to figure out the lesson I am suppose to learn from this experience with Mom right now. Jared is wise beyond his years. He said he thought the lesson might not have to do so much with what Mom need to learn, but with what we have to learn by to seeing Mom this way. There is some eternal principle we need to learn that will help us when become gods.

What am I learning from this stage of Mom’s life? Compassion, charity and love, just as the Savior died for us, He suffered not only for all our sins, but so that He could feel the anguish, sadness, helplessness and discouragement that we will all face in this life. Our Savior grew in experience and compassion by having felt those feelings that we all have while he was living and while he was in the garden. Now I need to share those experiences and feelings that Mom is going through. I hope to learn them now so I won’t need to experience them first hand latter in my life. Thank you Jared and Liz!

(Saturday, June 20th) Tomorrow is Father’s Day. My earthly Father passed away this year on February 24, so I won’t be able to see him for Father’s Day. That makes me sad. I do miss him! Even though I can’t see him, I decided to go to his grave site and talk to him today, because I will be going to Price on Fathers Day to see the love of my life, DeAnne. She has been gone since Wednesday night and I really miss talking to her, seeing her, touching her and holding her.

I took Dad some beautiful flowers from his own yard. His yard is looking very nice this year. I spent about a half hour talking to him and asking him for help. What does he want me to do for Mom? Am I doing the things he wants me to do with his finances? Is he pleased with the things we are doing to take care of Mom? I have often asked my Heavenly Father those same questions. I thought today, “Isn’t it great to be able to talk to both my Heavenly Father and my earthly Father? I know they both hear me.

I felt both of them there at the gravesite and something very special happen to me while I was there. I felt there love, I felt their arms around me and I felt warm inside. What a great feeling! I felt that they were happy with the things I was doing for Mom and the way I was handling Mom and Dad’s finances.

I was reminded that people are more important than money and earthly things, and that the finances were now done and I need to spend less time on finances transfer that time instead to visiting Mom.

Dad told me to go visit Mom and tell her that I had talked to him. So I went from the gravesite directly to visit Mom. She was asleep when I got there. As I entered her room she woke up and we had a good talk. I told her I had been to the gravesite and talked to Dad. Mom and I had a good talk about earthly things and heavenly things. I hope her spirits were lifted by my visit. I enjoyed it.

Lesson to be learned: Talk to your parents and children while you can see them. And while you have them enjoy them and the things they do. Do things together! I have found a new love all my family!

I am starting to write my History!

2009-06-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am starting to write my History! or Memoirs! Ok, I am now 60 years old, and I am going to try to write my history and few of my memories as best as I can recall them. I know I should have started sooner but I have several good excuses.

1.) There was no way I could write before I went to school.

2). I was way too active and loved being outside exploring and listening to nature.

3.) God, I’m sure, understands. After all, He was like me once. I got these traits from Him as part of my genetics! Besides that, God sent me to this world and gave me to an earthly Mother and Father who taught me to love nature and keep busy.

4.) After I learned to read and write, there was no way I was going to be caught wasting time, writing things down, that I had already done! I could be out making more things happen and enjoying them! My grandson, Carter Bradley Owens, will understand how I feel! (Notice the middle name…the genetic traits has been passed on to him, not only from me but from Tiffanie and Mike, especially Mike. Good luck Tiff and Mike.)

5.) The best excuse I can come up with is that I had to wait until the computer was invented so I could insert things in my history as I remembered them. No way was I going to start over every time I remembered something else, which is what I kept thinking I would have to do if I wrote with a pen or pencil or used a typewriter. I’m sure God let the computer be invented just so busy little boys wouldn’t need to write their history until they became slow old men. God has given me a great job, where I am locked up in an office with time on my hands. Because I am so smart and experienced, I get my job done faster than the younger inexperienced workers. (Please don’t believe that last sentence of my history!)

My employer won’t let me go home, but would rather pay me to stay in the office; just in case a customer needs to be trained on their software and I can’t afford to take the time off. So, I have some time to write my history as time allows and as memories pop into my head. God, being omnipotent, knew all this would happen. He being omnipotent, had the power to make it happen so I could get caught up on this history thing. I love God! He is my Dad! He understands me. And He loves me!

Seriously, it would really suck to be confined to a computer cubical, writing my history in the hereafter, while Christ is organizing His kingdom on earth during the Millennium. I want to be with Him and my family and help him do all that. I want us, as husband and wife and as a family, with vibrant new bodies, to be together discovering all the new places, planets, new scenery, new animals, visitor sites, new technology and new powers in the new Celestial world together. It would, literally be hell to be stuck in an office without windows typing up my history! I would rather do that now as an old man with a worn out body. Thank you Father for providing me a way to get it done now!

So Cool...

2009-06-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

We finally have some cool air coming into our Condo. Last Friday, Jared and his friend got a crane and put the new swamp cooler on the roof. Three stories up. Jared and Greg worked for over 6 hours getting it all setup. They had to do a lot of customization to make it fit. We found out there was no water line connection even available for us to connect to. I got to meet the young man on the third floor, (know by Garrett as, “The Rock Star”). I had to climb the stairs three times to ask him to turn the water line on and off so Jared and Greg could install a new water line connection to our new swamp cooler. Three times up to the third floor and this 60 year old man was worn out. Madeline, on the other hand wanted to keep climbing the stairs time and time again. I’m getting old!

Jared and Liz took a video of Jared and Greg tossing the old Swampy off the roof. It was so rusted out it hardly had a leg to stand on. At least two of the legs had been equipped with plastic cup “reinforcements”. Totally amazing!

Anyway, thanks to Jared and Greg we started getting cool air into our condo late on Friday night. I have slept better the last three nights than I have in a long time. I slept for 6 hours straight last night, (Sunday night) which breaks the record I set back in 1889. As an old timer, I remember it well! Thank you Jared!

DeAnne has started wearing her sweaters by day… and her flannel PJ’s and extra blankets by night. (Not really, just joking, but she’s not so convinced of the global warming thing any more!

Now tonight, when I get home, I will get the bill. That won’t feel so good! But we are happy for the cool air.

P.S. Thanks to you who have visited Mom!

P.P.S. We need to have a garage sale to empty out our storage unit sometime in June. Is anybody else interested?

Grandma Ward

2009-05-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

Just an update for our family.

For those of you who have not heard, Grandma Ward fell down in her kitchen last Saturday morning , May 23rd, and broke her wrist. DeAnne and I spent all day Saturday with here at the hospital. We appreciated Jared coming to her home and getting her swamp cooler up and running for the season, especially since he had his life flash before his eyes with an unexpected scare on the roof and ladder. Thanks Jared! We really, really appreciated you doing that for your Grandmother!

Mom spent all of Saturday in the Pioneer Valley Hospital and then she was moved to the Jordan Valley Hospital Saturday evening. She was thankful for those who visited her while she was there. Madeline, Jared, Liz and Bradley brought her some cheery yellow flowers while she was there. Mom said yellow was her favorite color.

Without the use of her left arm, she is not able to get up or down without assistance, and she cannot control the walker with one hand. We felt the best thing to do would be to send her to a rehab center where they could try to strengthen her arm and legs. We hope she will eat well, do her physical therapy on her arm and legs and get to a point where she can get up and down by herself and be able to walk again.

We moved her to Legacy Rehab center yesterday, (Tuesday). It was one of the hardest things I have had to do in my life! She is confused and not very happy right now.

We have tried to spend as much time with her as we possibly could. She really likes to have people visit her and keep her company. She will talk to you almost non-stop. Jared and Liz and family visited her on Tuesday night.

We, along with Mom, would appreciate it very much if any of you could find time to visit her as often as you can. She will be there until her arm heals, which we think will be two or three months. At any rate, she will be there until she can walk by herself and get up and down by herself. There is also the possibility that she may not live that long. So please visit her as often as you can. DeAnne and I will be going to Cedar City and Bryce Canyon for our Anniversary. We need to get away for a few days! We will have the cell phone with us.

We will need someone to check on the cat, just once while we are gone. Any volunteers?

Mom has a private room at Legacy Rehab Center, which is located on the north side of 90th south, less than a block west of the Bangerter Highway. It is straight west of the Jordan Valley Hospital.

We are relieved that Garrett is on the mend and that he no longer has the tube in his side.

We love you all and hope you and your families are all doing well!

Peace

2009-04-01T15:20:00.001-07:00

Last week at class, Brother Christiansen made a brief statement and then hurried on to other topics. His statement really struck me hard and made me think.

It reminded me of the episode of M.A.S.H., when Hawkeye said, “War isn’t Hell. War is War and Hell is Hell. War is worse than Hell because unlike war, all those who are in Hell made a choice to be there.” Most of those who find themselves in war had no choice.

But I digress. What Brother Christensen said was, “When the world speaks of peace they mean a world without war. When the Latter Day Saints speak of peace we mean a time and place where we can be with God.” I have pondered and thought a lot about that statement and wanted to write down my thoughts before I forget them. Where do I find peace and rest?

Peace is a time and place where I am protected from the devil, hsi angels and his worldly influences. There is an hour of peace and rest when I pray. (Reminds me of the song.) I find peace and rest when I go to church, partake of the sacrament and worship God. I find Peace and rest when I go to the Temple, and when I do enjoyable things with my family. When I visit a new born baby, the elderly, and the sick or take care of the poor.

I find peace and rest when I go to the mountains, ocean, lakes, streams, or places where I am not bombarded with the enticements of Satan. Where there are no magazine racks full of partially clothed people. Where there is love toward people instead of hate, envy or greed. Where Hollywood can't force their values upon me. Where sport figures are not promoting products that are bad for my body and spirit, and where corrupt politicians and corporate executives cannot control my thoughts and my time.

When God rested on the seventh day, I think His rest was being with his children and teaching us about "Things as the really are" in the eternities. I think He talked to us about who we really are. He gave us a Fathers's blessing before we came to this earth. He taught us about spiritual and eternal things. What a sacrament meeting that would have been!

I need to take more time to find and go to more places where I can find peace and rest! Places where I can be close to my Heavenly Father and get to know Him better.

That’s the way I see it.

Is today the Day for a new grandson?

2009-03-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up from an excited old grandpa. We got a call from Jared at about 3:30 this morning, March 18th, telling us they are on the way to the hospital to see about having a baby. DeAnne is staying with Madeline. I haven't heard anything new yet and it is about 8:30. I'm sure Jared will call everyone if something new pops out!

2009-03-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Gordon B. Hinckley, “To the Boys and to the Men,” Ensign, Nov 1998, 51
I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.

I wish to speak to you about temporal matters.

Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.

We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.

I repeat, I hope we will never again see such a depression. But I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people.

I urge you, brethren, to look to the condition of your finances. I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.

This is a part of the temporal gospel in which we believe. May the Lord bless you, my beloved brethren, to set your houses in order. If you have paid your debts, if you have a reserve, even though it be small, then should storms howl about your head, you will have shelter for your wives and children and peace in your hearts. That’s all I have to say about it, but I wish to say it with all the emphasis of which I am capable.

President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in the April 1938 general conference, said from this pulpit: “Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103).

President Faust would not tell you this himself. Perhaps I can tell it, and he can take it out on me afterward. He had a mortgage on his home drawing 4 percent interest. Many people would have told him he was foolish to pay off that mortgage when it carried so low a rate of interest. But the first opportunity he had to acquire some means, he and his wife determined they would pay off their mortgage. He has been free of debt since that day. That’s why he wears a smile on his face, and that’s why he whistles while he works.

Ezra Taft Benson, “Pay Thy Debt, and Live,” Ensign, Jun 1987, 3
Now, when personal incomes are generally high, is the time to pay off obligations. I doubt that there will soon be again a more favorable time for Latter-day Saints to get out of debt than now. Let us use the opportunity we have to speed up repayment of mortgages and to set aside provisions for education, possible periods of decreased earning power, and emergencies the future may hold.

“If the people known as Latter-day Saints had listened to the advice given from this stand by my predecessor, under the inspiration of the Lord, calling and urging upon the Latter-day Saints not to run in debt, this great depression would have hurt the Latter-day Saints very, very little. … To my mind, the main reason for the depression in the United States as a whole is the bondage of debt and the spirit of speculation among the people.”

May I add this to Amulek’s counsel: Pray to the Lord over your debts that they may be paid. Pray to him for faith to get out of debt, to live within your means, and to pay as you go. Yes, “Pay thy debt, and live!”

“The debt-habit is the twin brother of poverty.” (Theodore Thornton Munger.)

“Poverty is hard, but debt is horrible.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon.)

“Think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty.” (Benjamin Franklin.)

“I want all the people within the sound of my voice to benefit by my experience in buying theatre stock. [For] 32 years of my life, every dollar I made was lost before I made it. It is a great burden, figuratively speaking, to have a dead horse, and to have to carry the horse for 32 years before you can put it under the ground. It is a terrible condition, and all on account of debt. Since that time I have always lived within my means. (Heber J. Grant)

My Dad - Part 2

2009-03-04T14:56:00.000-08:00

Some of the most pleasant memories I have, as I look back on my life of nearly 60 years, involves my Mom and Dad, my children and the great outdoors. Dad enjoyed the outdoors, respected it, enjoyed its beauty and taught us to do the same. He knew everything about gardening, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, huckleberrying, and cooking in a campfire.

I remember the old two room log cabin that Dad and Grandpa built, and in which we lived in for my first 14 years of life in Rexburg, Idaho. I remember sleeping under the stars all summer long. We had an old wood burning stove to cook on and keep us warm. We had no running water inside. The bathroom was a small wooden shed out back away from the house.

Dad taught me to fish using a willow for a pole with about 8 feet of leader line tied to the end of the willow. When he taught me he didn’t just say, “There is the creek. Go see what you can do.” Everything he taught was in very specific detail. He would start with the hook. He told me not put the worm, minnow or grasshopper that was dead. He taught me to gently swing the line out under hand, so that the bait wouldn’t make a big splash when it hit the water that would scare the fish. He showed be where the fish would be; behind the big rocks, under the creek banks as it made a turn, near the creek banks with willows and trees and at the front or back of the big holes. He told me to put the bait in above these spots and let them float into the fish holes. He said the best time to fish was before the sun came up and just before sunset.

I remember countless fishing trips with Dad, but he always caught more fish than I did and I can remember only one time when my biggest fish was bigger than his biggest fish. He would often make his own roads through the trees to get to the fishing spot.

I remember one morning, Gary Pearson, Kyle, Dad and I caught 96 fish before breakfast.

I went hunting with Dad in Idaho and in Utah. We very seldom came home empty handed. We spent a lot of years hunting above Uncle Golden’s cabin in South and North Willow Canyons, just south of Grantsville. It was a very rough road to get to our "Hunting Spot". His was usually the only truck that made to the top of the mountain, that wasn't four wheel drive. One year every single person that went with us (about 8 of us) got their deer and we even shot one extra and gave it a Japanese hunter that was so grateful.

My most memorable hunting experience was up above Rexburg with Dad, Gwen’s husband, (I believe his name was Dean), and myself. We were driving down the road in the dry farms above Rexburg when we saw this deer come running over the hill. Dad had his new red, positive traction pickup. He gunned the pickup and we sped up the road, trying to cut it off before it got to the road in front of us. We nearly ran it over as it cross the road just in front of us and it headed down towards the grove of trees on the dry farms. Instead of getting out so we could shoot at it, Dad suddenly turned off the road, over the road bank and onto the snowy, frozen dry farms. He was going to run the deer down. Dad told Dean to get his gun loaded and told me to roll down my window. I was sitting at the door opposite Dad and Dean was in the middle.

Dad would pull up near the deer and head it off so it wouldn’t run into the trees. Dean would raise his gun, point it in my direction and I would lean back and try to plug my ears. Several times we got within ten feet of the deer which was running just outside my window. Just as I thought Dean was about to fire, we would come to a ditch and Dad would slow down as the pickup jumped the ditches with less Finesse and a lot slower than the deer did. Then we would speed up and catch up to the deer again.

I was really worried what would happen when Dean pulled the trigger. Would the recoil of the 30-06 hit the roof of the pickup or catch me under my chin? Would I ever be able to get the ringing out of my ears so I could hear again? Finally, we came to another ditch. Dad had to slow down and the deer cut right in front of us and ran into the trees. By this time we had probably chased the deer for two or three miles. The deer no longer hopped, it was just running with its tongue hanging out and frothing at the mouth. Dad stopped the pickup and said, “Well I guess he earned his freedom. After all the running the meat probably wouldn’t be any good anyway.”

I could go on and on about trips with my Dad. We would go to pick huckleberries, go to Yellowstone Park, Island Park, Grand Teton Park, and to Jackson Hole to see the Elk in the winter time. When we moved to Utah we took Mom and Dad, Bryan and Terrie Gae with us to see the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion’s National Park, which they really enjoyed and talked about all the time.

Dad was probably the strongest man I ever knew and a very fast runner and swimmer. Dad loved teaching the youth, leading the scouts and his ball teams. I could tell you tons of stories where I was with him on scout trips and on the ball teams that he coached. He loved to tell stories about the war on scout trips and the scouts loved to hear them.

I often thought he must have felt like Alma and Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. After they had fought the Lamanites for so many years, their sons went to preach the gospel to the Lamanites. So it was with Dad and I. He had fought the German’s. They had killed many of his friends and had tried to kill him. Then I, his son was called to Germany on my mission to preach the gospel to his enemies. I think it was a mixed blessing for him.

I remember so many things about our mini-farm in Idaho, helping him with the farm chores, the garden and the lawn. In Utah, I framed houses with him, shingled with him, and did finish work with him.

Dad loved people. He loved his wife, his family and grandchildren. I remember when he took us to the temple to be sealed and his first attempt at family home evening.

Dad was a doer, not a by-stander. Instead of just asking if there was anything he could do to help, he would ask people what they needed him to do, or just go do whatever he saw needed to be done without asking. He always kept busy, even if it was telling just stories.

Dad never gave up at anything he did. He had great ingenuity. He had a talent of figuring things out. If he didn’t have the right part, he would devise someway or something that would get things to work.

Was Dad perfect? No, but I’m sure he will never stop trying and that is close enough for me!

Till we meet again Dad

2009-03-03T08:19:00.000-08:00

It has been one week since my Dad passed away. Things have been so busy with all the funeral preparations that I have not had time to think, let alone blog. I still have so many things to check-up on and things to get done for Mom.

I have read some of the blogs from my kids and I am so impressed with their thoughts and tender memories. You can read them by clicking on the links on this blog. They are much better that anything I write at this time. I just need some quite time to and time to ponder and feel the loss. Thanks to my Kids and everyone else who have sent messages. They mean a lot to me.

I know Dad is in a much better place and has finally been relieved of his pain. I will miss him!

Banks want more money?

2009-02-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

Do banks want money or is it something else they want?

What does a bank get when it lends money?
1. Principle and Interest on the money they lend, plus they can lend 10 times the money they actually have.
2. They put chains of bondage on the people who owe them money. They become the master and the borrower becomes their slave.

We saw a movie where the banks want to lend money to a group that will cause a civil war. The group’s leader says his group has no way to repay the bank for the money it needs to arm his soldiers. The banker replies by saying something like this: The money isn’t what we want; it is the control and power that we will gain by the debt that the people and nation will incur when they come to us for money to purchase items to protect themselves. We will take away their freedoms and put them in bondage to us.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! (Not all Whoa’s are created equal!)

Consider this:

If banks are given money by their customers, the Federal Reserve allows them to lend out ten times what they are given. Example: You give a bank $1,000 by putting it in a savings account. The Fed allows the banks to lend $10,000. Where does the other $9,000 come from? It really doesn’t exist. It comes from the power of the Fed to allow the bank to lend out ten times what they actually have. It also comes from the faith of the people who are borrowing, that the money they borrow can actually be use to buy something. The borrower also knows the bank has the right to collect their money, repossess the item you used their money to buy, take you to court in order to get it, brand you as a bad risk, and/or to put you in jail.

So let’s say they are given $1,000 by a rich man. They will want to lend it out immediately. How much do they get back, if the charge 5% yearly interest? Remembering they can lend ten times what the rich man gave them.
10 X 1,000 = $10,000
.05 X 10,000 = $500
Where do they make the most money? Not from the interest!
Their return from the $1,000 dollars given to them by the rich man, if they lend it out to others is $10,500. That is, if everyone they lent the money to, pays them back in one year. They now have $10,500 to lend out. But now, we times that by 10 = $105,000 to lend out. And on it goes.
Are they hurt if one of the ten people fails to pay them back? A little bit. The bank takes the borrower to court, repossesses the item, marks the borrower as a bad credit risk, so that person can’t get any more loans from any bank. And the bank makes “Only” 9.5 % instead of 10.5% on their money. They claim in court they “Lost” $1,000. Did they really loose money? No, they just didn’t make as much as their greedy little minds wanted to or expected to.

If we want in on part of the action and we have some extra money we want to put into the bank to collect interest, what rate of return do they give us? .03% is the going rate today. How does that compare to what the banks are getting? (Banks get) 10.5 divide that by .03 (what they give us) = 350. In other words they get 350 times as much as they are willing to give us, who actually have the money. No wonder they come up with slogans such as, “We haven’t forgot who keeps us in business”!

This sounds like greed to me, or maybe even a conspiracy! And now they turn around and want us to bail them out? The bank had no mercy on the borrower that failed to pay them back. The bank wouldn’t bail the borrower out in any way, shape or form. It would seem anyone that is so stupid that they can’t make a living earning 350 times the rate they are willing to pay, doesn’t even deserve a bucket! If they won’t help themselves bail out of their mess, should we feel sorry for them or should we just start over with a new bank that has smarter people?

Just stop and think what they are asking the tax payers to do. They want $250,000,000,000, (250 Billion Dollars), from you and me. They turn around and lend out ten times that amount, (7 Trillion dollars). I’m sure they are laughing their heads off. Laughing “All the way to their Bank”!

Just take a minute and Google “bank bail out list”. Take note of the last name on the list. Not that the list stops there. The list is so long my finger got cramps scrolling down it!

Bank bailout: Who's getting the money
The Treasury Department is in the midst of doling out $250 billion to financial institutions nationwide as part of the $700 billion bailout plan. Here's a list of the banks that have received checks so far.

Date of Capital Injection
Financial Institution
City
State
Amount

10/28/2008
Wells Fargo & Co.
San Francisco
Calif.
$25,000,000,000

10/28/2008
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
New York
N.Y.
$25,000,000,000

10/28/2008
Citigroup Inc.
New York
N.Y.
$25,000,000,000

10/28/2008
Bank of America Corp.1
Charlotte
N.C.
$15,000,000,000

10/28/2008
Morgan Stanley
New York
N.Y.
$10,000,000,000

10/28/2008
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
New York
N.Y.
$10,000,000,000

10/28/2008
Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
New York
N.Y.
$3,000,000,000

10/28/2008
State Street Corp.
Boston
Mass.
$2,000,000,000

11/17/2008
U.S. Bancorp
Minneapolis
Minn.
$6,599,000,000

11/17/2008
Capital One Financial Corp.
McLean
Va.
$3,555,199,000

11/17/2008
Regions Financial Corp.
Birmingham
Ala.
$3,500,000,000

11/17/2008
SunTrust Banks Inc.
Atlanta
Ga.
$3,500,000,000

11/17/2008
BB&T Corp.
Winston-Salem
N.C.
$3,133,640,000

11/17/2008
KeyCorp
Cleveland
Ohio
$2,500,000,000

11/17/2008
Comerica Inc.
Dallas
Texas
$2,250,000,000

11/17/2008
Marshall & Ilsley Corp.
Milwaukee
Wis.
$1,715,000,000

11/17/2008
Northern Trust Corp.
Chicago
Ill.
$1,576,000,000

11/17/2008
Zions Bancorporation
Salt Lake City
Utah
$1,400,000,000

Follow-up on my LOST Post

2009-02-17T15:17:00.000-08:00

I hope you didn’t take my last post about LOST the wrong way. I love LOST. I just think the writers and producer of LOST want to keep us LOST enough so that we don’t figure out that the plot of LOST is to keep us LOST. Not so LOST that we quit watching LOST, but LOST enough to keep LOST a number one show. We are the ones they want to keep LOST. That is why they called the show LOST.

Have I LOST you? If so, read that again. We are right where the writers of LOST want us. Still LOST, but still watching LOST, because we love LOST. Maybe we just love being LOST? What would be the fun of not being LOST? We wouldn’t have anything to figure out!

Did you ever talk to someone that was reported on the news to be LOST? When we finally find them and they hear the news report for the first time saying, “The LOST” (hunters or whatever) have been found, the ones that were “Lost” will say, “LOST? LOST? We weren’t LOST! We knew where we were the whole time! We just couldn’t get home! We weren’t LOST!”

So it is with LOST. The characters can’t get home, but they know where they are the whole time. We that watch the show and try to figure out where they are, are the only ones that are LOST. Thank heaven, God knows where we are all the time!

LOST

2009-02-12T15:53:00.001-08:00

Are any of you addicted, like I am, to the TV show called Lost? What is the show all about anyway? I think I have it all figured out! It’s all in the name, Lost.

It started out as a story about 71 people who survived the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 onto a mysterious island somewhere in the South Pacific. At first hey didn’t know where they were. They were LOST. Then we find out none of their friends or loved ones can find them, . . . They are just plain LOST, they disappeared, gone, poof! LOST.

Then the show flashes back and shows us some of the character’s “pre-existant” lives and what they did before the plane crash. Jack was bringing his dad back from Australia because his dad had died. Jack and his dad were working in the same hospital, but didn’t know much about each other. They had, hummmm, LOST their connection to each another. For example Jack didn’t know his dad had had an affair with another woman and Jack had sister, which he never knew about.

What about Jack’s sister? Claire was pregnant, she went to a soothsayer to find out what to do with the baby she was about to give birth to. Who would do that? Why did she do it? To find herself because she was LOST!

Hurly won the lottery and everything he spent it on blew up or died. He ended up in a mental institution playing bored games, (yes I meant to spell it that way), with a ghost. Why? Yeah, he was LOST.

Kate lived in a home where her father abused her and Kate’s mother. In desperation to find herself, she robbed banks, killed people and then to top it all off, she blew up her mother,s house with her no good, abusing father still in it. Why did she do that? Ah ha, because she was LOST! Kate told her mother what she had done and her mother told the police. They locked her up for murder. Amazingly, she escaped and married a policeman. Did she live happily-ever-after? NO! She went from town to town because she was….let’s say it all together…she was LOST.

Sawyer certainly was a LOST soul.

John wandered around the country trying to find himself. Yes, he was LOST until.
John Locke’s dad squeezed a kidney out of him and pushed him out the window.

That brings us to Jin, Sun, Daniel, Walt, (and his dad, I cant remember his name) Sayid, Charlie, Aaron and Desmond. What about them? LOST, LOST, LOST!

The only character that knew where he was is Ben!

Then everything changes.

Ben, out of the goodness of his heart, (if there is such a place in his heart), meets all the survivors and helps them find themselves. Kate, Jack, Sayid, Sun, Aaron, Hurly, Walt and Desmond, all know they are back home in the good old USA. (And so does Ben, bless his bulging eyes!)

Jin, Sawyer, Juliet, John, Claire and newcomers, Daniel, Miles and Charlotte, all know they are still on the Island. (Oops, Charlotte died last week.)

Danielle, Alex, Charlie, Anna Lucia, Eko, Libby and several others are dead, but they know they are and they know where they are! They even appear to the people who are alive from time to time and tell them what they should do. They aren’t LOST!

John Locke is both Dead and Alive. It doesn’t bother him any more. He knows where he is either place. None of them are Lost anymore!

Now I need to wrap this all up. With all the flashbacks, flash forwards, and time shifts, all the characters figure out where they are. They are no longer LOST.

Do they need to change the name of the show to “LOST and FOUND”? Oh no, because WE, who have watched the show for 5 years now, WE, are sill L O S T!

Isaiah Insight #1

2009-01-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share an insight we learned from our Isaiah class a couple of weeks ago. This verse is one we are all familiar with. In fact as you read it you can even put it to music!

Isaiah 9:
6 For unto us a child (Jesus Christ) is born, unto us a son is given: and the government (the ruling power of God, the priesthood) shall be upon his shoulder: (The right shoulder, think of the temple) and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, (“Messenger of the Great Counsel”) The mighty God, (The Redeemer) The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew, translates wonderful counselor as, “Messenger of (the) Great Counsel”.

This is significant for us in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who believe in a pre-mortal life, where we were taught by Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother and Jesus Christ. We are taught that while we were in the Pre-existence, there was a "Great Counsel" held. We all attended. There, Christ was chosen and foreordained, by the Father, to come to earth and redeem all who would accept Christ and the message that He would bring from the Father. So Isaiah tell us in this verse that Christ is the "Messenger of (the) great Counsel".

Nephi quoted verse 6 word for word. - 2 Nephi 19:6

The Plan of Happiness, not Hopelessness

2009-01-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

While we were at the temple with Garrett and Hayley, the officiator made a statement, something to the effect that once a seal is place on a marriage, it will ensure that the children in that marriage will be saved. Latter outside, in front of the temple, my sister and brother-in-law remarked how neat it was that all of our children were able to be in the temple with Garrett and Hayley and wished they could see the same thing happen with all of their children or at least know that they would be saved from the torments of Hell.

I asked them if they have heard what the officiator, Bro. Day, had said about how once the seal had been place on the marriage, it saved the children. They said they had heard that, but didn’t think it would ever happen to them and some of their children. I assured them that it would.

What Brother Day said, reminded me of what Joseph Smith had said, “When a seal is put upon the father and mother, it secures their posterity, so that they cannot be lost, but will be saved by virtue of the covenant of their father and mother.” (History of Church, vol. 5, page 530.)

So, how does it work? How are children that have chosen not to abide by the standards of the church, and are rebellious to the teachings of their parents and the church, ever going to be saved?

My understanding is this:

The Kolob Years!

We lived with and were taught by our Heavenly Father and Mother.
We saw God Create at least one world. We saw how was it done. It was done by faith and the priesthood.

We all started our preparation for our return to Heavenly Father and Mother in the Pre-mortal life. We chose to accept the Father’s “Plan of Happiness” that was presented to us in the Pre-existence. There was a war in heaven. Imagine that! There was actually war in Heaven, and it continues on earth to this day. It was a war of words.

We and our children bore testimony to our friends in the Pre-existence, who were considering following Lucifer and his lies. We tried to save and convince everyone we could, that Heavenly Father’s plan was the only way to progress and become like Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. Our children didn’t just accept Heavenly Father’s plan, but they also accepted Christ as their savior and they were valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ!

How do we know that? Well if they hadn’t had done that, they wouldn’t have earned the blessings of their second estate. They wouldn’t be here on earth with a mortal body, if they had followed Lucifer and his lies.

We were taught more details of our Fathers’ plan after Satan had been defeated and kicked out of God’s presence. We know this because Satan did not know the mind of God when he tempted Eve. (Moses 4:6)

We saw God, pre-ordain and bless his children. I’m sure he blessed them that they would return safely back home to Heavenly Father and Mother. (We do the same thing when we send our kids off to college.)

We were all given a second estate. We were told what would happen while we were here on earth and what to expect! We made the choice to come to earth with our eyes open.

While here on earth, while we are away from Heavenly Father and Mother, we need to gain experience and learn knowledge. It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance. (D&C 131:6)

“There is a greater key—a key that each one of us earnestly seeks to obtain and that will open the locks to the treasure houses of knowledge we desire to acquire. That key is the key of faith. In this work, no lock will open without it.” (Thomas S. Monson, Pathways to Perfection 1976, page 49-49.

The Mortal Years:

“The veil makes us forget events, but that forgetfulness does not cover-up our attributes, our understanding, our talents, our knowledge or our spiritual gifts or spiritual understanding that have been developed in the pre-mortal life. We didn’t come to this earth to gain a testimony. We already had a testimony in the previous world. That is why we chose God’s plan instead of Lucifer’s.” Jack Marshall, BYU Education week. See also D&C 138:50-53. (Notice, there were “’Other Choice spirits’ who received their first lessons”. These spirits are you and me, our children, grandchildren, and on and on.)

We need to teach the gospel to our children every chance we get, especially when they are young. We need to bear our testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel and of Jesus Christ to our children every chance we get, if we want to save them.
“There are several reasons for bearing testimony. One is that when you declare the truth, it will bring an echo, a memory, even if it is an unconscious memory to the investigator, (and your children) that they have heard this truth before—and of course they have. A missionary’s (Parent’s) testimony invokes a great legacy of testimony dating back to the councils in heaven before this world was. There, in an earlier place, these same people heard this same plan outlined and heard there the role that Jesus Christ would play in their salvation.”
“So the fact of the matter is investigators (and our children) are not only hearing our testimony of Christ, but they are hearing echoes of other, earlier testimonies, including their own testimony of Him, for they were on the side of the faithful who kept their first estate and earned the privilege of a second estate. We must always remember that these investigators, every man, woman, and child, were among the valiant who once overcame Satan by the power of their testimony of Christ! So when they hear others bear that witness of Christ’s saving mission, it has a familiar feeling; it brings an echo of truth they themselves already know.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Missionary Work and the Atonement,” Ensign, Mar 2001, from a talk given at the Provo, Utah - Missionary Training Center on 20 June 2000.)

What is the purpose of us coming to the earth?

To gain knowledge and experience opposites.

Suffer the 2nd death for the first time = spiritual death.

Receive a physical Body. The spirit is pure, when it comes into the tabernacle, (body). The tabernacle is subject to sin, but the spirit is not…Satan can only contaminate the bodies. (President Brigham Young, February 17, 1856, JD, Vol. 3:206-207.)

Receive the Holy Ghost. (He will burn the “H” out of you!)

Get all of our earthly ordinances done.

The gate to the Celestial Kingdom is Celestial Marriage. Not necessarily Temple marriage.
D&C 131: 1-3
1 In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
2 And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];
3 And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.

We also need to look at our children and see them as God sees them.

D&C 76:94-95
94 They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace;
95 And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.

We should understand and teach our children that they were fore-ordained by God and He has great confidence in them and their power and strength. They are choice spirit children of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. As we teach our children, God blesses them and shows them that he has confidence in them.

President Henry B. Eyring, April 5, 2008, Conference Priesthood Session said, “First, the very fact that you have been offered the oath and covenant, (of the priesthood), (and Celestial marriage) is evidence that God has chosen you, knowing your power and capacity. He has known you since you were with Him in the spirit world. With His foreknowledge of your strength, He has allowed you to find the true Church of Jesus Christ and to be offered the priesthood. You can feel confidence because you have evidence of His confidence in you.”

Teach your children that!

The Millennial Years

Live your life so that you are eligible to come forth at the beginning of the Millennium, which is the morning of the first resurrection. You will get a lot more done if you start earlier in the morning!

What is the purpose of the millennium? What is the purpose of the Spirit World?
1. To save our forefathers by doing their temple work.
2. To save God’s Children and ours!
We will spend the millennium helping our kids get back to Father. We sometimes go through hell with our children in this life and if we need to, we will go to hell, (the spirit prison), to find them and bring them out. We will plead, along with Jesus Christ, to the Father for their salvation. We will help them pay the price.
This is not a second chance, but rather continuation of the plan Heavenly Father created to save his children.

Satan will be bound during the millennium and have no way to distract them, but we will be able continue to act as ambassadors for Christ. Unabated by the influence of Satan, there will be very few who will not recognize their mistakes and have desire to repent. Our testimonies will have “a familiar feeling; and bring an echo of truth they themselves already know.”
Alma, while he was bound, remembered the words of his father about one, Jesus Christ, who could save him. So will those who are in spirit prison. Our children will remember Christ because we taught them of Christ while they were on earth. They will remember Christ because God taught them in the pre-existence.

We will help Christ bring our children and grand children to the highest degree of salvation possible.

D&C 138: 57-59
57 I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, (you) when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead.
58 The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God,
59 And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation.

Some may not receive the hightest degree of the Celestial Kingdom, if they choose not to marry, but they will be servants of the gods.

D&C 132: 16-17
16 Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.
17 For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.

You will have great respect and love for those ministering angels and servants. Some of them will be your children, grand children or other posterity. They will help you in everything you do in your new kingdom. They will still be sealed to you and they will be saved.

If we can’t exalt them, we can still save them to some degree of glory.

D&C 76:
112 And they shall be servants of the Most High;

Congratulations to Garrett and Hayley!

2009-01-19T10:42:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Garrett and Hayley! They are finally married to each other and have created their very own eternal family. What a wonderful day Saturday was. It was great to meet all of Hayley’s family! I was amazed at how many people came to support Garrett and Hayley at the reception. There were tons of teachers that work with Hayley that came, and lots and lots of people that work with Garrett came to support him. They also had many friends and roommates from their college days that came. There were also friends from their wards and some friends of both sets of their parents and extended family that came. It just shows how many people love and respect them. It was great to meet them all.

The best part was in the temple where both Garrett and Hailey had their parents, grand parents, all of their siblings and all of their sibling’s spouses, along with their friends, to share that special moment with them. They were legally and lawfully married as husband and wife for all eternity, and then blessings were sealed upon them that will help them build their family and their relationship to one another throughout all the eternities.

Congrats you two! You are now one!

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-25T06:43:00.000-08:00

It is early Christmas Morning and I can't sleep. Santa is in the living room leaving gifts of love with his immeasurable service.

We had all our children (except for Garrett and Hayley - and they called from Washington State), over to our home last night for Christmas Eve, one of our families oldest Christmas Traditions. I just want to say "thank you" to my children for coming over to our house and giving of your time and sharing our Christmas tradition with De Anne and I. We want you to know how important this tradition is to us, and thank you for allowing us to keep this 35 year tradition going in our home. For De Anne it is a 57 year old tradition. It is one that we really want to keep because it means so much to us.

We had the traditional cheese soup for dinner and a few goodies afterwards.

Then came the traditional skit of the first Christmas Eve. The grand kids all did a great job with all of their parts. Most of them played multiple parts. It really helps to remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.

I listened to the First Presidency's Christmas message and was touched by their understanding and testimonies. If you didn't see it, and even if you did, I am going to repeat part of President Eyring's message with this blog. I was pleased that President Eyring told of the Christmas pageant he started with his family. The first year it was just he and his wife. He played the role of Joseph and she was Mary. The next year they added a baby Jesus. As their family grew, they decided to add the part of Samuel the Lamanite, standing boldly, as he prophesied of the birth of Christ. Latter, they added an angry crowd, armed with balls of tin foil to throw at Samuel as he stood above them and prophesied. As the angry crowd became older and stronger . . . and their aim more accurate. . .President Eyring had to give a stern reminder that Samuel could not be hit, because he was protected by God. Still it took great courage for someone to play the part of Samuel! As time went on their group is growing smaller, as their family moved away and they started their own Christmas play.

I know that might someday happen to us as well, but for now, I want you to know how much it means to us to have you all together for this great event. Especially, as we start our new life in our new, smaller surroundings!

We also did the presents. My family is awesome. There were some great gifts given. What amazed and impressed me most was the excitement of those giving the gifts, watched with anticipation, the reactions of those receiving their gifts. The giver was often more excited than the receiver. That grings great joy to our heats. DeAnne and I received some great gifts last night, and we thank you again for them. DeAnne also thanked everyone for their gift of time and energy for all the help our children gave us with our move to our new home. We could never have survived your help. Thank You!

The pajama's, nightgowns and robes, handmade by Nana, is always a highlight for us. DeAnne spends many hours getting them all ready and it is so rewarding to see the excitement of the grand kids as they open that present and then put their pajama's on and pose for pictures.

How thankful we are to all of our children, for bringing your young families and coming to our home, to share your families and their joy with us on this special night. We are so pleased that we are able to feel the spirit of Christmas and keep this simple tradition alive.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Where is it?

2008-12-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

Our most used phrase.

I’m sure anyone who has moved can relate to mine and DeAnne’s most used phrase these days, which is, “Have you seen the. . . Coming in as a close second is, “Do you know where we put the. . .

Let me share some examples. This is my top 10.

1. Sunday morning I couldn’t find my black shoes for church. I almost had to choose between my brown casual shoes or slippers. Status = found them just in time on Sunday Morning.
2. Has anyone seen the box with the primary stuff to give to the next Primary President? Status = found the day of the move.
3. Have you seen the box with the H.P. stuff to give to the next H.P. Group leader? Status = found Monday night. (It wasn’t supposed to have made the move.)
4. Have you seen a box cutter? We have a gazillion of them somewhere. Where are they when you need them? I think they have a hideout where they get together and laugh at us. That or they have been playing a mean game of hide-and –seek! Status = 3 have been found.
5. Have you seen the canister with the cat food? Status = Still hunting for it and cat is getting thinner! Where is her bloodhound nose? Maybe we do need a dog. I can’t believe I even thought that!
6. Do you know where I put my memory stick? Yes, I remember putting in a “special place” so it wouldn’t get damaged or lost. Now, if I could just remember where that “special place” was . . . Status = found it Tuesday morning.
7. Do you know where we put the unpaid bills? (That’s not good!) Status = found Monday night.
8. Have you seen my cordless drill? Status = still looking, but I haven’t dared look in the storage shed.
9. Have you seen the box with the medicines? We really needed the pain pills Saturday night, but didn’t find them until Sunday night. Status = we found the “Medies” box three time and lost it twice. Now we are feeling good. . .
10. Do you know what happened to my memory? Status = I have been loosing that for at least 10 years!

Giving Thanks

2008-12-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

DeAnne and I want to tell everyone who helped us with our move how thankful we are for all of your help. We were so tired by Saturday night, we could hardly move and I could see how tired all of you were also. We would have never survived without all of your help!

And thanks for letting us take a break at the movies with all of you. (This reminds me, we still need to pay Emity and Darren for our movie tickets.)

Thanks to Jared and Liz for storing so many of our things at their house and for having Thanksgiving dinner at their house. Thanks for everyone who brought all the yummy things for Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for letting us rest and enjoy the company of our entire family for Thanksgiving.

Thanks for your help in getting boxes, getting things boxed-up, (hours and hours of boxing), for the use of the moving van and your trucks this week and the week before. Thanks for helping us move things in and out. Thanks to Darren for putting the new pantry together. We are not sure who to thank for purchasing the new pantry, so we thank you all. We certainly needed the extra shelves.

We also want to thank Shelby for all her hard work with getting the water bottles emptied for us.

Thank you all for lifting all the heavy things and saving my back. Thanks for helping us clean our old house.

Thanks to Garrett for the great job he did in cleaning the Condo, giving us a great deal on the rent and for sacrificing his living space and giving it to us. I hope we haven’t taken over his living space completely. We probably have, please forgive us, but thanks for being so gracious and patient with us!

Thanks to those who helped us all four days of the holiday weekend plus many hours during the weeks before.

We are so grateful for the many hours that Jared and Madeline spent getting the gas and water line setup for the washer and dryer, working late into the night until it was ready to use. Jared and Liz did many things to help us when we were not even at home.

Thanks for getting the goodies for our moving crew on Friday morning. Thanks to Garrett and Hayley for the great food from Café Rio on Saturday night.

Thanks to Hayley for tending the grand children and keeping them happy and safe. It kept them out from under our feet and from getting run over by the movers.

I need to especially thank the two pregnant girls for all their hard work. We sincerely hope you didn’t over do it. Take some time to rest now!

We could go on and on about how many other things our children did for us, but there is not time right now. Just know how grateful we are for all you did for us. Some of you were able to give us more of your time than others, and your sacrifices for us did not go unnoticed. Please believe me when we say, “We are so grateful to every hour and everything all of you helped us with.” We will never be able to repay you!

I hope we were able to grow together as a family by working hard together. May we find greater peace, (not so much work) at Christmas time!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

Cruch Time!

2008-11-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

Boy it seems that our whole family is under stress. Where do I begin?

Stress! What Stress?

Stress about everything that comes with moving.
Stress about a recent operation and not over-doing.
Trying not to forget to take your pills
That are supposed to relieve all your ills.

Leaving friends of many years, some for thirty five.
That alone makes us wonder, “How will we ever survive?”
Sometimes we can’t see through our tears,
As we remember experiences back through those years.

A suit needs some fitting
So there is no time for sitting.
We can’ find a brown dress,
Oh, what a mess!

Then there is the Christmas shopping
And it keeps us both hopping.
Remember the Christmas sewing,
And the stress keeps on growing.

At least we have nothing to fear,
As a wonderful wedding draws ever near.
They love each other so much,
They smile whenever they touch.

As I go down the list and read some of your blogs, I realize every single person in our family is living with a high level of stress right now. We need to help one another deal with the stress we each face and be careful, whenever possible not to add to one another’s stress levels.

Let’s get together this Thanksgiving and give thanks for all our blessings and have some good clean fun together. Then we can all cope better with the rest of the ‘crap’. (Crap is a Hebrew word meaning something not so pleasant.)

We love you all and want to thank you all for your help with our move!

Stand Close Together and Lift Where You Stand

2008-10-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

“Stand Close Together and Lift Where You Stand” - Dieter F. Uchtdorf at the priesthood session of the General Conference on October 4th, 2008.

“Some years ago in our meetinghouse in Darmstadt, Germany, a group of brethren was asked to move a grand piano from the chapel to the adjoining cultural hall, where it was needed for a musical event. None were professional movers, and the task of getting that gravity-friendly instrument through the chapel and into the cultural hall seemed nearly impossible. Everybody knew that this task required not only physical strength but also careful coordination. There were plenty of ideas, but not one could keep the piano balanced correctly. They repositioned the brethren by strength, height, and age over and over again—nothing worked.

As they stood around the piano, uncertain of what to do next, a good friend of mine, Brother Hanno Luschin, spoke up. He said, ‘Brethren, stand close together and lift where you stand.’”

Besides this being one of my favorite talks of this October conference, it brought back some memories that I would like to share. Darmstadt was the first city that I served in on my mission. It was the only place on my entire mission that I served in, where we had a real meetinghouse that resembles what we have here in Utah. It was actually built by our church with all of the classrooms, chapel and cultural hall. We had a German ward and an American ward that both used the meetinghouse. There was an American Army Base in Darmstadt.

Any way, I remember Brother Hanno Luschin in Darmstadt. He was one of the prominent leaders of the church in that area. He even translated and made a couple of tapes that we could use as missionaries to use as we taught our German investigators. I don’t remember meeting Brother Uchtdorf, but I do I remember the large black grand piano. There was an Elder Call in our district, that could play any song you could hum. He played the best rendition of, “Born Free” that I have ever heard. I’m trying to think if we helped moved the piano with Brother Uchtdorf, but I don’t think so.

We once had a mission conference in that meetinghouse. There were two general authorities that came to our mission conference. One was a new seventy, named Hartman Rector Jr., who was a convert to the church. He was very fun to listen to. The other general authority, brought his wife with him. He was a relatively new Apostle by the name of Thomas S. Monson. Not only were we privileged to have them speak to us, but we were also able to have a one on one interview with them.

Ah, the memories of years long ago. What was your favorite conference talk?

What is the Testimony of Jesus?

2008-10-17T07:45:00.000-07:00

I hope you all paid attention to the priesthood and Relief Society lesson last week. It was on “Life Beyond the Veil”. The thing that made the biggest impression upon me was that when it talked about the three degrees of glory, as found in D&C 76. In the description of who will go to all three kingdoms, it mentioned, “The testimony of Jesus”. Those in the Celestial Kingdom will be faithful and even valiant in the testimony of Jesus, while on this earth. Those in the Terrestial Kingdom will not accept the testimony of Jesus in this world, but will accept it in the next. Those in the Telestial Kingdom will reject the testimony of Jesus, both in this world and the next.

So what is the testimony of Jesus? It must be one of the key factors in determining which kingdom you will inherit. John tells us, in Revelation 19:10 - “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Joseph Smith said the spirit of prophecy is revelation.

Now we put this to the “Temple Test”. Is the need for revelation taught in the temple? You bet it is! Just think of the veil ceremony. Isn’t that the culmination of what you are taught in the endowment, and what is the reason you go to the veil?

If you receive revelation, you receive it through the Holy Ghost, which cannot dwell in unclean tabernacles, thus you are forgiven of your sins and made clean or you could not receive revelation and testimony. At that very point in time, you are pure enough to be saved and exalted! Are we valiant in receiving revelation in this life?

Love you all!

Why Do They Sit on the Back Row?

2008-10-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

I learned a new truth a short while ago. The next time you go to church, take a good look at those who sit on the back row. The people who sit on the back row have got be be the most perfect and righteous people in the entire congragation. They are able to sit on the back row only because they were the first people to get to the meeting. So why do they choose to sit on the back row? It is because they don't want to disturb the rest of us in the meeting when they are translated and taken to Heaven to join the people of the City of Enoch!

Service and it's Sanctifing Effects

2008-09-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

We are not sanctified, or changed, until we change the reason we serve or until we have charity to those we serve.

I know God is in control. He gives His prophet insights to know who to call to leadership positions for His church; He gives that same insight to stake presidents, bishops and other ward leaders if they are in tune with the spirit. God knows which individuals He wants to serve in His church, and calls them to serve in a position, at the precise time, when it will help sanctify them and their family the most. God wants to bless us. He wants us to grow. But we still have our agency. The prophet Joseph Smith taught, we have all been foreordained by the laying on of hands in the pre-existence, to fulfill callings to serve one another, and to serve in His church.

I hope that when we are called to serve, whether it be to our family, to our neighbors or to the church, we may we eat our little book, as did John the Revelator, (Rev. 10:10-12) and that we may digest our calling, taking the bitter with the sweet. By doing so, we will move forward in our search for our own sanctification.

Garrett and Hayley

2008-09-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

Our second youngest son, Garrett, finally found the girl of his dreams. He has been looking for her for an eternity! We are so excited! They are a great match. I think Hayley will be able to keep him in line. The are soooo in love. You can see in the way they treat each other, in the short glances they throw at each other, the smile that comes to their face when they look at each other and way they talk about each other. They are getting ready to start another eternal family! Nothing can be cooler than that. DeAnne and I are both so happy for them. Everybody make plans for Jan 17th.

Jesus The Christ

2008-09-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

I went to class with DeAnne yesterday and thought I would share with you some things that impressed me. 1.) Jesus was the first born of Heavenly Father and Mother, in the spirit. 2.)Jesus was perfect in living all of the commandments of Heavenly Father in the Pre-Existance and became a God. He belonged to the league of Gods and became like them before he had a body of flesh and bones. 3.) Jesus Created this earth and many others, while he was yet a spirit. He showed his spirit body to Adam, Moses, Abraham, Ether and others before he came to earth. 4.) Jesus came to this earth to gain a body and earthly experiece, lived the law perfectly with no sin, suffered in Gethsemene and on the cross and became Jesus the Christ and the Savior for all His creations. 5.) Christ did not provide an atonement for all people. For example, he did not save Father Eloheim or Grandpa Eloheim or other Gods, or the people they provided an atonement for. They had some other Savior. 6.) He set the example for us to follow and said, "Come Follow Me", do as you have seen me do. 7.) You can't follow Him if you don't understand his history and his love for His Father and Mother and for His brother and sisters. (us). 8) Jesus provided the sacrifice for us and is willing to give His Father the glory. 9) Because he loves us so much, He suffered so we don't have to, if we will repent. He wants all of us to return to Heavenly Father and Mother with and live with Him and be like Him.

What are the Chances that YOU are going to be Exalted?

2008-08-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

What are the odds you and I will be exalted? This last chapter was very interesting to me because I want to know if there is a chance I will be able to return to Heavenly Father and Mother, live with them and also live eternally with my wife DeAnne, our children, grandchildren and the rest of our posterity and ancestors.

Here is the Answer.
You are pronounced clean up to the time of your baptism. When you are baptized you are still given the promise of the remission of your sins. Little children have not committed any sins up to that point in their life, but if you were baptized after you were over eight years old, your sins are remitted and you are pronounced clean from sin to that day of your life.

We also know, from the teachings of the prophets, that when we partake of the sacrament, we renew the covenants of baptism, meaning, if we repent, and partake of sacrament worthily, our sins are again washed away by the atonement of Jesus Christ. What is the covenant that we make with God? We don’t convent to be perfect from that time on. We can’t be! And God knows we can’t be. Read the sacrament prayer on the bread. It blesses those that are “willing” to take the name of Jesus Christ upon them and do what he taught us to do to the best of our physical abilities. The atonement and grace of God will make up the difference between “Willing” to follow Christ and being, “Perfect” in following Christ. If you are “willing” to follow Christ you are on the road to exaltation. But, if you are just sitting there on the road to exaltation, it is a lot easier for Satan to come along and pull you off. If you are constantly moving toward Christ, Satan has to hit a moving target.

So, we are clean from sin up to the day of our baptism and every time we partake of the sacrament worthily.

The same day we are baptized, or the Sunday after, you are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost. With the gift of the Holy Ghost, the odds of being exalted change tremendously for us. We are promised that if we will live worthy we can have the constant companionship of one of the members of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost to be with us.

The Holy Ghost cannot come and dwell in an unclean tabernacle. Meaning, and this is significant, whenever, you have felt the spirit of the Holy Ghost in your life, you have been pronounced clean of sin! Otherwise He couldn’t be with you!

Our good friend and neighbor, George Hicks, while he was the bishop of our ward, constantly asked and preached, “When was the last time you had a spiritual experience? If you are studying, praying, pondering, seeking for forgiveness, partaking of the sacrament, listening to good music or a talk, or have been warned or protected, or anything else where you feel that burning in your bosom, and feel that what you are receiving is from God, you, at that very instant have been pronounce clean of sin, and if, at that moment you were to die, you are going to be exalted! And if you live on after that, you have fewer and fewer things to repent of! So, the odds increase that you are going to be exalted.

So, in conclusion, we should do more good things in our life. More service to others, more service in the church, pray more, study more in the scriptures, ponder more about the meaning and purpose of life. Every time we have a spiritual experience, we are pronounced clean of sin. Our challenge is to put ourselves in situations were we can invite the spirit to be with us. The goal is have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Then the odds of being exalted are a constant 100%!

How Many People are Going to be Exalted?

2008-08-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

I finished reading chapter 2 of the “Odds Are You are Going to be Exalted”, book. In chapter two he is trying to make a point as to how many people have been and will be, exalted in the history of the earth. He listed and talked about several groups:
1. A third part of Heaven followed Satan. Note, it is not 1/3 or 33%, it is a third part. A third part of what number? A third part can be a third part of a certain group, a symbolic number meaning a fraction of people followed Satan, or an unknown number. So, in the end, there is an unknown number that will not be exalted, because they followed Satan.
2. The norm from the time of Enoch to, and including many in Noah’s day, was to translate those who became repentant, and started keeping the commandments, as best they could, and thus many of them were saved and exalted with the City of Enoch.
3. Our Church teaches all those who die before the age of accountability are exalted. According to historians, 51% of all people ever born on earth have died before the age of eight.
4. All people who are mentally handicapped are not accountable, so they are exalted.
5. Millions will live and die during the Millennium and they will be exalted.
6. Presidents Woodruff and Snow taught that most, if not all, will accept the gospel when it is taught to them in the spirit world. We are told to do their temple ordinances for them so they can be exalted. Why would Heavenly Father waste time and effort doing all those ordinances if the ordinance work won‘t be use to exalt his Children?
So that just leaves you and me, (we who are currently on earth) to be exalted. That is the next chapter!

The Plan of Happiness

2008-08-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

I finished the introduction and the first chapter of the book Tiff gave me, “Odds are you are going to be Exalted” for the second time, and thought I would write down some of things that stand out to me, and a brief synopses of the first chapter. It was about the need and role of works and grace. Why we cannot be saved without the atonement of Christ. No matter how good we are or try to be, none of us, excepting Christ will ever be perfect in living all of the commandments. But, this life is how we gain our experience. Just like God the Father did at sometime in his progression, while He was living and experiencing his earthly life. That is why God gave us commandments. To help us gain the most from our earthly experiences. Not to keep us out of His presence, but to bless our lives and get us back home with Him.

We all shouted for joy when God presented his plan, because it provided a way for us to not only return back to his presence, but also to become like Him. His plan was calculated to provide a way for a most of us to come back and live with Him and Mother Eloheim. We wouldn’t have shouted for joy if He had announced, “I have some good news and bad news. The good news is, I have a plan to satisfy justice, but most of you won’t make it back.” He called it the “Plan of Happiness”, not the “Plan of Elimination”.

Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Temple

2008-08-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the things that I gained during my studying the Priesthood and Relief Society manual:
Joseph Smith compares the parable of the muster seed to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, not just to faith. The seed, (Book of Mormon), was planted in a field by a man, (Moroni), who had faith that it would come forth out of the ground, (taken out of the ground by Joseph Smith), and sprout into a large tree, (temple), with many branches, (many Temples and Saints), where birds, (angles), could come to teach and bless all mankind. See JS priesthood manual, lesson #11 page 142.

Also Joseph Smith, in connection with the teaching above, said that the mountains, (Temples) will melt down, (be available to all people) and the valley be exalted. To me, meaning that people who are down, (in the valley – down in spirit and down in the eyes of the world) will have the temples melt down or come down from the mountains where God dwells, and be built in their own countries and cities, so that they will be given the chance to attend the temple and be lifted up to receive the same temple blessings God has promised to all his children.

I discussed the above teaching of Josephe Smith with DeAnne. She has wonderful spiritual insights and I love to talk to her about the gospel and the doctrine and get her input and listen to her thoughts on the topics I bring up with her. You are wonderfully, amazing DeAnne! I Love You!

What I Believe

2008-08-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

I want to create this blog as a means of interacting and sharing ideas about my religion with anyone who might be interested and as a way to teaching and testifying to my children and grandchildren. From time to time I will post new items that I feel are important and about which I have received some insights and understanding. I hope my family and friends and anyone else will find some value from my study and learning. It is my wish that anyone with questions or comments will feel free to post them so we can have an honest free exchange of ideas.

I am active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, often referred to as the “Mormon Church”. We believe the Bible to be the word of God, in addition we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. That it contains a record of Christ’s dealings with his people on the American Continent.

Just as most Christian churches, we believe the Bible to be a record of Gods dealings with his people, written by His prophets who lived in and near Jerusalem, from the time of Adam and Eve to the time of Christ and his Apostles. When Christ’s apostles were killed their writings ceased.

Mormons believe there were groups of people that left Jerusalem and came to the American continent. These groups were Christians, who believed the Bible. They had copies of it and brought it with them when they left Jerusalem. They also taught of Christ and looked forward to His coming to the earth in the flesh. Prophets led these groups, and kept records of the things God taught them. One of the last of these prophets, a man named Mormon, condensed many of the earlier records that were kept by his people, up to his day. He then added his history and testimony to the record. This record, he then passed on to his son, Moroni, who guarded it until he felt it would no longer be safe from his enemies. Having no one else to pass it on to Moroni, buried it before he died. Hundreds of years later, he appeared as a resurrected being to a young fourteen-year-old boy, by the name of Joseph Smith. This record came to be known as the Book of Mormon. It is a second witness of Jesus Christ.

I have a testimony that God does live. That Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son and through Christ’s sacrifice and atonement, we can be saved and return to their presence. I know they both love us and know our names. I also believe they know more about us than we know about ourselves.

I know the Bible and the Book of Mormon both testify of Christ and they are both the word of God given to us by holy prophets. I gained this testimony by reading, studying, pondering and praying about these things. My answers came not by logic to my mind, but by a feeling of peace and joy in my heart. I don’t ask you to take my word for any of the things I have said, but rather to find out for yourself, by asking God if these things are true. He will bring that same assurance to you if you sincerely ask Him.