A Week of Celebrating

Anyone who has lived in Utah knows that the Pioneer Day Celebration (July 24th) is big. It has been very fun to be here while all this celebrating is going on, in particular to be downtown. The Square is a very busy place this time of year with summer and celebrating. Families with children are everywhere. They are precocious and active.

One such little guy last week was having a lot of fun chasing the water in the creek down North Temple but took a bad spill and received a bloody nose for his reward. He was about 4 or 5 years old and the family around him was anxious and didn't have anything to take care of the problem. Ed came to the rescue by running for ice and a cloth from our apartment. I couldn't help but recall the many similar falls with our children and then I recalled a few of my own. Life is full of them, isn't it? But we get up, clean up, fix up and carry on.

Due to the holiday on Monday we had another short week, but no sleeping in. We met our August Missionary Social Group at about 6:30AM Monday to go together to the sunrise service held in the Tabernacle. There were cute men dressed as the long ago Mormon Battalion who posted the colors in the Tabernacle. It was so cute.

A choir formed from local choirs sang. Richard Hinckley, son of former Pres. Gordon Hinckley, spoke. He reminded us that this valley was desolate 164 years ago but now we enjoy the fruits from things we did not do. He reminded us that there were many who came before us, some who were unlike ourselves who cultivated harmonious relationships with each other, many who were not of our faith. There were many who came who were passing through because Utah was a stop on their way out of poverty. Many stayed. He spoke of his wife Jane and her paternal grandfather, Lester Freed, a jewish man from Bohemia. He decided to stay and opened a store that became the largest furniture and carpet store in the west for many years. He was very active in the community. He married Jasmine Young, one of Brigham Young's daughters. Elder Hinckley told of Lester saying that in their bathroom they had three towels, one marked Mormon, one marked Jew and the other marked Gentile. Lester would joke that he wasn't sure whether he was the Jew or the Gentile because he was not a member of any particular faith at the time. Elder Hinckley closed his remarks by quoting his father as saying, "It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation and strength for what lies ahead."

I am a lover of drums. The drum lines of bands just do something for me and of course there were bands as part of the parade which staged a block away from our apartment so after the Tabernacle devotional we changed our clothes and walked to So Temple to watch the floats and bands and horses and buggies stage for the start of the parade. We only got to hear some practice, but it was great. Because it wasn't part of the parade route the participants were relax and talkative and the crowds weren't there so they would wave at us and ask how long we have on our mission, etc. The lds.org float participants were particularly energetic as we waved at them from across the street.Did I also mention that I love the roman riders? I was told that these three riders are the third generation of roman riders in this group. Pretty cool.

Wednesday brought another temple devotional. Our new Mission President and his wife spoke together at the pulpit in the temple chapel. Following are a few points I have recalled this week:

• Temple are the closest place to heaven on earth. Elder McConkie in The Mortal Messiah said that temple are a house where a personal God personally comes.
  
• After the first day of the dedication of the SL Temple Wilford Woodruff had a vision. He shared with the brether the following day that apostles and elders of the Nephite nation and the nations of old had been at the dedication. He told them that they rejoiced more than we do because they know more.

They then shared 10 blessings that come from our Temple worship:

1. Keep alive our spiritual strength and see more clearly my place in the universe and separate myself from common things. (Widstoe)
   
2. Protective powers that bless our families. (Pat Holland)
   
3. Reap harmony in our lives. (Hinckley)
   
4. Feel a peaceful, hallowed influence. (McKay)
   
5. Personal revelation..
   
6. Receive pure intelligence of spiritual learning. (Packer)
   
7. We become Savior's on Mt. Zion. (Joseph Smith)
8. The Lord will bless us.
   
9. We will feel loved and touched in this place of kindness, love and light. We shall be able to bear every trial. We shall have a beacon pointing us toward celestial glory. (Monson)
10. Our opposition to truth will grow smaller and in unexpected moments will come revelation. (Widstoe)

President and Sister Peterson concluded with this:
If we establish an eternal celestial pattern in our lives by temple attendance then when the Savior comes it will be more what we have become than what we have done. It will be our lives based on what we have learned and applied from the temple.

I am so grateful to be able to walk across the street to the temple and feel the possibility of these blessings in my life.

I received a tender mercy from the Lord on Friday morning last week. I had been training two other missionaries how to load more Tongan records online using the little program TNG. It is a simple but detailed process and like all things computer, requires certain steps and precision. While loading the pdf files we noticed many of them, far too many, were bringing an error message, "This file already exists. Do you want to replace it?" Well I know they do not already exist in this program so I was puzzled and I struggled for a day and a half trying to find the answer to the problem but it wasn't coming. On Friday morning I was voice for our companion prayer and I asked Heavenly Father very specifically to help me know how to solve this problem so the work could move forward that day. At the office I sat and pondered the problem again. After about 30 minutes I realized that the only files that were not loading were the ones with a number sign at the beginning of the file name. The program just didn't like the sign....... It wasn't a bolt of lightning. It was just a logical thought that came to me, but there it was and I knew that my request had been heard and answered. I love those moments. I feel so loved.

We also felt loved on Thursday evening as we were honored quests at a Tongan feast to celebrate the publishing of the Sister Mapu's book, the first such book by any Tongan member of the Church. She and her family were most gracious to us. We ate a real Tongan feast including a pig, taro root, sweet potatoes, and many things I cannot pronounce. It was such a sweet time to see her loved by her family. It was a Martha Stuart moment for me.....a really good thing.Now it is on to another wonderful week!

The Grape of Wrath and the Agony of Defeet

In the Family and Church History Mission there is a definite rule: No falling! But unfortunately there are times that the planets align in the wrong way and falling is required. I experienced that last Monday leaving the elevator of the JSMB after work.

We were in a hurry because we had been in a meeting that ran us later than we had wanted to and my mother was waiting for us to pick her up to go workout. Ed and I were talking as the elevator doors opened and we quickly walked out. I took two steps and on the third step my shoe found the lone grape on the marble floor, probably dropped as part of a child's healthy snack but had no health benefits for me. I went down so fast!! The right foot shot out, I came down on my left knee then to my left side with my left arm stretched out in front of me with such force that part of my wedding rings flew off my finger! I heard a crack as I went down coming from my foot...."oh no", I thought, "not my right foot!" My first words out loud were, "Ed, get my rings!"

I stayed down for a few minutes waiting for the pain in my right foot to come. It didn't seem too bad! I wondered if I could walk but the more immediate question was, can I get up? Fortunately I had gone down right next to the down staircase so the railing was next to me. I was able to pull myself up and put weight on my foot......it was not too bad. Okay....the next question was, could I walk? As I stood up I could tell that there was something on the bottom of the shoe. I took it off and discovered the grape, greenish, clear stuff stuck in the bottom of my shoe. I asked Ed to clean it off before I walked anywhere and then I noticed the floor. There was greenish, clear stuff in several unnoticeable spots.

At this point I noticed that there were about a half dozen people standing around me. Some of them were cute teenage girls. I smiled and told them I was fine and, trying to make a joke, I asked the girls if I had gone down gracefully. They were saying yes as my dear husband came up with my shoe and just flatly told me, "No, it was not graceful!" The girls and their mother then moved on so I don't really know if I kept any dignity at all with this fall. I will have to wait for the "video in the sky" to see myself. That's okay, I can wait.

We decided that we should go into the host office and report the mess on the floor and let me sit down for a few minutes. It was at this point that the hostesses realized that I had fallen on their floor and that it was because there was something there and that it was still there. Just as that sunk in I turned around to tell them where the grape remains were and the elevator door opened with a sea of tourists getting off. I couldn't help myself and I yelled, "No, no, be careful!!" One of the hostesses headed out with tissues to clean it up before someone else fell and the other hostess must have called security because at that moment the first of three security men came through the door. It was magical! They came out of the woodwork! Where were these ninja-like men? They are invisible! I made the woodwork comment and they all smiled.....I made them very happy that day.

One of the security guys handed me a little ice pack. The other got out a little notebook and started asking me questions while he looked at my foot. As we looked down, we could see the swelling begin on the top of my foot. I was happy I wasn't feeling the pain I know goes with a badly sprained ankle. (I had experienced that on a family vacation one year with my left ankle. It was horrible pain.) But it was swelling none-the-less so we discussed what my options were for getting it looked at by medical personnel. The cute ninja man who seemed to be in charge (with the notebook) squatted down next to me and said calmly, "You have several options. You could go to the hospital on your own or we could call the paramedics and they could see you here right now." I asked if there was someone on the Square who would come and he looked at me with no change of expression and said, "No, when we call they bring the very large fire engine, the ambulance and all the other trucks with them." ^_^

I told him we would take care of it ourselves.

We were in and out of the emergency room quite quickly with an xray confirmation that the foot was not broken but that I should stay off of it for about a week and ice it every day for 20 min. an hour. (Yeah, that worked well into my schedule!)

Ed drove me each day to and from work. I iced my foot each night after returning home for the evening. I didn't get to do some of the things that we had planned for the week, but that was just fine. I believed then and believe now that I was given another blessing as a missionary in that my foot was not badly sprained or broken and that over the week it has healed rapidly.

On a happier note, we were able to go to the wonderful Pioneer Celebration put on by the Tabernacle Choir last Friday night. It was more about honoring our military past and present. It was very well done. We were surprised and touched to see our friend's daughter as one of the people who spoke about her service in the military in Afganistan. She spoke so well and told of her love for the people, especially the children there and how touched all the troops were when they left that little city and watched as the children waved goodbye and held up an American flag. After her taped interview was over she came out on stage in her dress blues and her mother came down from her choir seat and they embraced and stood for the applause of the crowd. What a grand moment for them both to hear the love, admiration and gratitude from 20,000 people in the Conference Center. It was very touching.

I have thought so much this week about sacrifice. I have been reading "Fire in the Bones" by Michael Wilcox. It is about William Tyndale, the "father of the English Bible". He was hunted and eventually tortured and killed for translating the Bible into English so the common man could read the words of the Savior. He is the one who said, "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the scripture than thou dost. (William Tyndale, to Gloucestershire Cleric)

Even as we celebrate the pioneers coming across the plains of this country 164 years ago, I know that there were many people throughout history who were moved upon by the Spirit to do things that were contrary to the times but crucial in the shaping of events to help bring the gospel of Jesus Christ into the lives of the people of the world. Many, many people gave their lives in ways that we are often oblivious to. These sacrifices are still going on today as the gospel is taken to the peoples of the world. I am so grateful for them all.

27 Years Together

Many of those who knew us from the beginning in Long Beach, Calif may not have believed it, but we have made it another year and we are still best friends! On Thursday we celebrated by going to work and serving in our zone, exercising together and then dinner. We went for big thick steaks since that's what we kind of miss from home. Although the steaks were good it didn't satisfy our taste buds. We will have to wait to get home. Ed gave me some beautiful red roses on Wednesday evening. We are happy to be here celebrating together while we serve the Lord. Friday morning we took our Temple and Research Day and went to the Jordan River Temple because Salt Lake is still closed. It sounds like we have been married a long time, but decided that it doesn't seem like very long because we were old enough when we got married that we remember what our lives were like before we were married. This is much better.

We continue to be busy and we feel like we are getting more accomplished each day. We had a new young Elder join us this week. He is very good and we like him a lot. He is from Baltimore but his parents are Nigerian so he can help us with the Nigerian records we have. He also speaks French and he loves languages so he will be helping on the Norway project. Additionally, the FH Library is very excited to be able to use him in the evenings on the international floor to help with French. The Lord gives us the help that is needed.

Our elevators have been out twice again this week so I guess the Lord figures we can use the exercise. I'm so happy to be living on the 8th floor but it is a long way to go when you have to do it coming home from work to change to go and workout at the gym and then again when you come home after working out..... oh my!! I guess that kind of help wasn't "needed" for me.

I did experienced a little tender mercy from the Lord myself this week. It may sound funny, but I was struggling to get some Malaysian records copied and ready to give to one of our missionaries who is ready for a new project. These typed sheets from the 70's were typed in Malaysia using the European sized paper so I need to reduce the original to make a copy and then create a pdf and jpeg files to put online. I couldn't get the machine to do it! The secretary who normally helps is gone to have a baby and there was no one who could help me. I left work that evening very frustrated that I couldn't figure out a copy machine! (I used to sell them a long time ago) But I prayed about the following morning and told Heavenly Father what I needed and what the problem was and that I needed His help because I was out of time. I went to work, organized the papers to copy and went down to the big copier. I prayed all the way there, it is at the other end of the building, and when I got there I knew exactly what I had been missing and how to find the correct command and it worked the first time. I still need to get it to work with the jpegs and pdfs, but I got what I needed for the missionary. I have since found out that many of these big machines that do all the emailing and scanning and different formats are giving others trouble too so I didn't feel too inadequate but I did feel blessed that my simple prayer was answered for what was needful.

Tuesday evening I had dinner with a friend and then we met Ed at a fireside given by Rick Turley, Asst. Church Historian. It was such a good fireside. He showed slides from recent trips to congregations in Africa and Asia. I was surprised to learn how fast the Church is growing in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. He reminded us of the statement from President Spencer W. Kimball in 1973 who said that when we have prepared ourselves to spread the gospel the Lord would make things possible. It is great to be part of helping to prepare and then watch how it happens.

As Bro. Turley showed the slides from Asia my heart leaped a little when he came to Thailand. All of a sudden there were friends of mine! Some who I had taught the gospel to 36 years ago and are now leaders in that country. One of the pictures was of a former companion of mine. What made this experience sweeter is that Friday evening we went to the home of another Thai woman who I had taught when she was 19 years old. She joined the Church, eventually made her way here, married a man from here and they have two boys, both of whom were called on missions to Thailand! She had some Thai friends to her house including another woman who was one of my Thai companions. It was great to be with them again.

After the fireside we walked home in the beautiful sunset light listening to the falcons crying for food. The birders are everywhere on the lawns watching them still. I took several pictures of the clouds and the light. It was great.


Our weekly devotional was the first time we have heard from our new mission president and his wife. They have come here after recently returning as the Temple President and Matron of the Nauvoo Temple. He told us great stories about the Nauvoo Temple and the importance of that temple to the Lord, to President Hinckley and to our history.

Sister Peterson also spoke briefly. She began by saying how she hoped we had enjoyed the morning sky with the light peeking through the soft clouds. She said it reminded her of a morning when their children were younger. The sky looked much the same with the sun coming from behind fluffy clouds and her child asked, "Is Jesus coming today?" She responded that she didn't know but that they should make sure they were prepared.

Picture is of the sky on Monday morning, July 11, 2011 at 6:15AM the day of the devotional.

Isn't that great? Every morning when we see the sun come up we should be thinking about how prepared we are in case this is the day. None of us knows when He will come. Maybe we won't be here on the earth when He does come. Maybe we will be called home before that. Either way, we must be prepared to meet Him. There are so many opportunities each day for us to review our standing in His eyes. How will I do today?

Fledge on a ledge

This big story this week is the famous Salt Lake Falcons. No, I'm not talking about a sports team, they are peregrine falcons the world has been watching via the video cams installed in the nest box built for them up high on the northeast corner of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Four eggs were laid in early January, they hatched the end of May and we watched with awe last week as they all fledged out of the box. The last and smallest of the bunch was not on purpose, literally falling out of the nest box but there are so many volunteers all around the Square that all is well. I thought I would share some pictures from volunteers who have posted on the internet. Their pictures are much better than mine.

Mom and her eggs.


Four hatched babies.


Three left in the nest box watching big sister go out on her own.


Big sister fledged and landed safely on a ledge of the Church Administration building. Volunteers got a ladder and picked her up so she could be checked out and banded. She didn't fight them at all.

That was some big news last week. Volunteers are still out watching for them. The biggest worry is to keep them out of the city streets until they have better control over flying. I don't think they are yet hunting for their food so they are still being fed by their parents.

We had a short week with the 4th of July off. It was fun to get to see family over the holiday. Edison is growing and changing his appearance each time we get to see him. He is starting to make deliberate sounds and cooing a little. I just love this grandparent thing!!

We have made some strides at work, moving ahead with more countries and finishing up with all the new format changes that were suggested. It seems the more we do the more we get noticed and the more changes are needed. Though it can be frustrating, it is also a good thing because it means the work is moving forward. We are very happy serving here and are excited to meet our goals before we have to go home.

Today at church our Branch choir sang a Sally Deford song: Lift Up Your Heart. It is such a beautiful song and we have been practicing it for a long time. They did a great job. We had 35 people singing today. After the meeting the Branch President asked me if there were people not from our ward singing in the choir today because we had so many in the choir but the chapel was quite full as well. We had a lot of visitors today. Summer is here and it lends itself to having family visit the missionaries. I was so proud of the choir. They always respond so well and express their love of the music. It is a real pleasure for me to be able to direct them.

I decided to record a story that was shared in our devotional last week. I was very touched by this story, perhaps it will touch someone else too. It supports my belief that there are no accidents in life...
The following event took place in a ward in Salt Lake City in 1974. It occurred during sacrament meeting and was told to me by a regional representative of the Twelve who was in the meeting.
A young man, just before leaving on his mission, stood in sacrament meeting and bore, in essence, the following testimony: "Brothers and sisters, as you know, during the past few weeks I have been awaiting my mission call. During the time I was waiting, I had a dream. I knew it was not an ordinary dream. I dreamed I was in the pre-existence and was awaiting my call to come to earth. I was filled with the same excitement and anticipation that I had before I received my mission call. In my dream, I was talking to a friend. He was a dear friend, and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I've never met him in this life. As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew it was my call to go to earth. In great excitement my friend and I opened the letter. I gave it to him to read it aloud to me. The letter said:
'You have been called to earth in a special time and to a special land. You will be born into the true church, and you will have the priesthood of God in your home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of plenty....a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America.'
My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call,and while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to earth. My friend gave me the letter to read out loud. The letter said:
'You have been called to go to earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be fraught with political and social difficulties which will hinder the work of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica.'
We wept, my friend and I as we read his call and my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, 'When we are down on earth, you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, please come and find me.'"
Then this young missionary, with tears in his own eyes said, "Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I am going to Costa Rica."

There is more to this story. About a year after this sacrament meeting, the Bishop of this ward received a letter from the missionary in Costa Rica. The letter had one sheet of paper in it, and on that sheet, written in inch-high letters were four words..."I found my friend"
(---from the journal of Floyd Hill)

There are many who would say this is just a nice story, but I know that these events happen. There are so many similar happenings all around the world as the gospel is taught, as family history work is done, as sacred ordinances are performed. I know that we are doing a great work and than there is a higher hand in it all. We are guided and directed and if we stay close enough we can have the promptings and confirmations that tell us that we are not alone in the work, that we made promises before we came to the earth that we must keep, that there are members of our family who will help us get through this life with our missions accomplished if we will stay close enough to the Savior. I love this work. I love being here and feeling the spirit of this place where miracles happen every day.

Here are pictures from today of the cabin vegetable and herb garden. My how it has grown. Tonight's sunset was also sweet. Enjoy!

Look at those carrots coming up!
I love the dill and the onions...
The corn has flopped over. I don't know what has happened to it but it is very green and healthy otherwise.

I just thought I would throw in a picture of the very tall hollyhocks. I don't remember seeing them this big before. They are taller than me!

Every night I get to see a beautiful painted sky. What a marvelous world we live in.

God Bless America

We live in a government raised up by the God of heaven. We have a constitution that was given by inspiration from God to man. I believe it is the best human form of government that was ever given to the human family. --Wilford Woodruff

We will stand by that constitution and uphold the flag of our country when everybody else forsakes it. We cannot shut our eyes to things transpiring around us. We have our reason, and God has revealed unto us many things but never had he revealed anything in opposition to those institutins and that constitution, no, never; and another, he never will. --John Taylor



As I sit here and write tonight there are fireworks going off all around the valley. I can hear and see them from our balcony windows. It is so fun. But I wonder if those setting off the fireworks which we have seen for the last couple of days now, are thinking about the reason for the celebration. I hope much is thought about the lives that have been given for us to have the freedoms we enjoy today.

I heard a woman speak today about her dismay concerning a recent law that was enforced allowing protesters to attend military funerals so they can make a statement regarding their feelings about the military and war and even the individual who is being buried. Can you imagine? So our laws allow people to shout obscenities to be heard by the families of those who died maintaining the freedom for them to be able to disrupt the grieving of the family. A low point.

A high point came from another story told of a couple visiting Rome a number of years ago. They tried to find an LDS church to attend on Sunday. There was a small group of about 11 members meeting in a small apartment. It was the 4th of July weekend, but the travelers didn't expect to hear any mention of that in Italy in a Fast & Testimony meeting. But a young Italian woman stood up and spoke in English. She told of how grateful she was for the freedoms enjoyed in the United States. She testified that she knew that without those freedoms, without the constitution The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would not have been organized, the priesthood would not have been restored and she would never have learned of the saving principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tonight my family got together and listened to my brother tell about his experiences on a recent trip to Israel. As he spoke I was struck by how confused things are about most of the historic events surrounding the life of the Savior. So many years have gone by and the land has changed and traditions and wars and bloodshed and anger and power have diluted the truth among so many religious organizations. But the same question remains for many that Joseph Smith asked years ago as he knelt in a grove of trees. Elder Maines says he, Joseph, was really the first investigator and when the Father and Son appeared to Joseph they were the first missionary companionship. In answering Joseph's question of where he could find truth, they taught him the same principles that missionaries today teach.

I am so grateful for the truths of eternal life which have come to me because of the freedom established here. I am grateful that I can exercise and share these truths because of that same freedom. What a great gift freedom is.

Friday night at the Concert in the Park the Utah National Guard 23rd Army Band performed. It was hot and they were all in their fatigues. It was a fun and stirring performance. I think one of the crowd favorites was when they played and sang the songs for each of the military service groups and asked anyone in the audience who had served or had family serve to stand. The Navy was first and I was so proud when Ed stood up. There were not many who were in the Navy. Air Force was next, then Marines, then Coast Guard and they ended with Army. Half of the audience stood at that point. It was very touching. The concert ended with a trumpet player coming out and singing America the Beautiful. His tenor voice was clear and strong and it made us all have goosebumps. That concert was the perfect kickoff for a weekend of celebrating our freedoms.

Earlier I had been contemplating my week. We met our new Presidency and their wives; I have done a lot of redo of the Pacific Island Orals because of changes; our son-in-law successfully argued his thesis and is now done with his Master's; I got to hold our Edison several times this week; we attended a very funny play; the elevators in our building broke down with our friends and their 3 grandchildren in it; I was asked to "say" the prayer in the signing class I attend once a week.

What a great week!