On Sunday 19 January we attended our Ellijay branch. Sister Debby Van Gelder and Brother Brian Blattner from the stake high council spoke in sacrament meeting. Debby spoke of the meekness of the Savior. Brother Blattner covered a number of subjects but what stood out was the story of a prisoner in a German detention camp at the end of World War II. That prisoner had all the reasons to hate the Germans but he had understood that the effect that hatred had on a person was so detrimental that he would not allow it to be part of him. Brother Blattner also spoke of the capabilities of the Savior. He quoted William G. T. Shedd who wrote "A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for."
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| William G. T. Shedd (1820-1894) |
Gospel Doctrine (the adult Sunday School class), as I have said previously, is on the Old Testament this year and so we are currently studying the Books of Moses, Abraham, and Genesis.
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| Class member study guide |
The Books of Moses and Abraham were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. “The book of Moses is the first of several documents in the collection of sacred writings published as the Pearl of Great Price. A quick look at its origin, development, and content can help us more fully appreciate what the book of Moses is, how it came to be, and why it is a unique witness for Jesus Christ. The material constituting the eight chapters of the book of Moses is an extract from Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible. More precisely, chapter one of Moses is an account of a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph just prior to, or at the commencement of, the translation, while Moses chapters two through eight constitute his translation of Genesis from chapter one through chapter six, verse thirteen. The Joseph Smith translation of the Bible began with Genesis and continued through the entire Bible to the book of Revelation. The initial draft of his Bible translation was made between June 1830 and July 1833. However, the short excerpt that we recognize as the book of Moses, being the early part of Genesis, was completed in its first draft by February 1831.” (How We Got the Book of Moses by Robert J. Matthews in the January 1986 Ensign magazine).
“Among the invaluable records the Lord promised would be restored in the latter days, the book of Abraham, given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, is a unique and priceless gem in our treasury of revealed scripture. Truly, it is a most remarkable book—an authentic ancient record that immediately plunges us back into a specific time and place in the Near East, and yet, at the same time, opens to us the wide expanse of the physical universe. It is so dynamic that it can reveal the historical and cultural origins of ancient Egyptian civilization, and yet, in the turn of a phrase, teach us profound truths about eternity. The great power of the book is sometimes overlooked precisely because its five chapters offer tantalizing tidbits about subjects that may seem mysterious or forbidding—Egypt and the universe. But the book of Abraham is a powerful, Christ-centered text that has as its main themes the eternal nature of the Abrahamic covenant, the preeminence of Jesus Christ as represented even in the vast scheme of planets and stars, and the role of Jesus Christ in the three great events of the plan of salvation—the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement.” (The Book of Abraham: A Most Remarkable Book by Andrew Skinner in the March 1997 Ensign magazine).
Priesthood and Relief Society today discussed the teachings of President Joseph Fielding Smith about the Savior Jesus Christ. President Smith was the prophet from 1970-1972.
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| Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) |
One of the questions raised had the comment "Consider what you can do to increase your love for the Savior." I felt at that time that I needed to read again the Books of John in the Bible
and 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, the latter book containing the visit of Jesus Christ to America.
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At home after church Eileen was on her iPad watching videos downloaded from www.lds.org,
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| lds.org home page |
some from Primary and some from the LDS Church's Bible videos at biblevideos.lds.org. I decided that it would be very beneficial for me to watch the Bible videos. Doing that has been on my to-do list for quite some time.
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| Introductory video |
Nap time in the afternoon for Eileen while I worked on the Niagara Falls blog. Delicious salmon for supper! Afterwards we enjoyed two episodes of Father Brown.
On Monday 20 January I worked some more on the Niagara Falls blog. I have reached the LDS Church sites in Ohio. Then I worked more on the Stubbs' genealogy using familysearch.org and ancestry.com.
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| familysearch.org home page |
Eileen was enjoying the Food Network and got some Chinese recipes from a show called "Kelsey's Essentials." Kelsey is LDS and was born in North Ogden, Utah, graduating from BYU in 2007.
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| Kelsey Nixon |
It was time for a break and I began reading the Book of John, reading chapter 1.
After a delicious steak for me and yummy tuna salad with yellow peppers for Eileen for supper, we watched the talk from October General Conference by Elder Timothy J. Dyches of the Seventy.
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| Timothy J. Dyches |
We received a nice e-mail from Bob and Judy Bertagna. They served in our mission in Salt Lake City and now are on a mission to Chile.
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| Judy and Bob Bertagna in Chile |
In the evening I watched the introductory video to the Bible videos followed by the video "A Gift to the World". "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. You may watch "A Gift to the World" at the link:
I am not much for poetry but this evening I began reading "An Orkney Maid" by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr. Near the beginning of the book is the heading "Motto" followed by a poem.
“You can glad your child, or grieve it,
You can help it, or deceive it,
When all is done,
Beneath God’s sun,
You can only love, and leave it.”
How very true!
On Tuesday 21 January we had another quiet day. I published our Niagara Falls vacation on our blog. Whew! Next is our U.K. vacation.
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| Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr (1831-1919) |
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| An Orkney Maid |
I read the Book of John chapter 2 and I worked more on the Stubbs' genealogy, researching back into the 18th century using familysearch.org.
In the evening we watched the end of season 2 of Sherlock Holmes with "The Reichenbach Fall" followed by the premiere of season 3 with "The Empty Hearse." Quite good but the Brits are hard to understand. They don't produce their shows with the viewers in mind when it comes to the audio :( We probably won't watch it again.
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| The latest Watson and Holmes |
We got a phone call from Sister Childs that her missionary companion Sister Wilcox had an accident on her bicycle. She had a concussion! So they did not make it to the pantry the next day. She has been in our prayers.
On Wednesday 22 January we went to the food pantry to help out. Several people asked where the sister missionaries were. Eileen suggested a new route for the "shoppers" in the aisles of the pantry and it was implemented.
It was 12 degrees this morning and the number of those we helped at the food pantry was lower than normal. Cars probably wouldn't start!
We wondered last week how long the police car would be across from the pantry with his lights going. Well, he wasn't there today.
In the afternoon I watched the video "The Nativity." It was very similar to "A Gift to the World." Then I watched "Mary, the Mother of Jesus." You may watch "The Nativity" at the link:
and "Mary, the Mother of Jesus" at the link:
I read the Book of John chapter 3, highlighting especially the words of Jesus in chapters 1-3.
We did Facetime on Eileen's iPhone with Colleen and Tanner in Arizona for his 6th birthday, which included singing "happy birthday" to him.
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| Tanner age 6 |
We enjoyed watching Rick Steve's tips to traveling in Europe "European Travel Skills" part 2 and an episode of Father Brown.
On Thursday 23 January we headed south about 10 am. We stopped at Hallmark in Canton to return the Jim Shore Christmas item that was missing a piece. Hallmark couldn't find another, so I ordered one for Eileen on the Internet.
Then it was on to the Atlanta Temple where we sealed seven couples and nine sons to their parents. Latter-day Saints believe that one of the temple ordinances is the sealing ordinance, in which husbands and wives are sealed to each other and children are sealed to their parents in eternal families. This means that if we are faithful to our covenants, our family relationships will continue for eternity. People sometimes also refer to this ordinance as “temple marriage” or “eternal marriage.” In addition to receiving these ordinances for ourselves, we can receive them for our deceased ancestors. In this way, people who died without receiving essential ordinances such as baptism and confirmation, the endowment, and sealing have the opportunity to accept these ordinances after they have heard the Gospel preached to them in the hereafter. Another of the ordinances we receive in the temple is the endowment. The word endowment means “gift” or “bestowal.” As part of this ordinance, we are taught about the purpose of life, the mission and Atonement of Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father’s plan for His children. We gain a glimpse of what it will be like to live in His presence as we feel the peaceful atmosphere of the temple.
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| Atlanta Georgia Temple |
While we were away, the fellow from A1Roofman came by our house to clean all the gutters, downspouts, etc.
From there we went to the antique mall in Marietta to drop off two of our living room clocks that have not worked for a while, one that belonged to Ben's mom and the very first one we bought in Bavaria in 1969.
We then met the fellow Marion from Atlanta Photo Restoration, also in Marietta. We have a picture of one of Eileen's paternal great-grandmothers that needs restoration.
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| Sophie Sorensen (before) |
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| Sophie Sorensen (after) |
While we enjoyed Eileen's potstickers
and some kimchi for supper, we watched part 3 of Rick Steve's "European Travel Skills" and an episode of Father Brown.
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| Potstickers |
“Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean side dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. It is often described as "spicy" or "sour". In traditional preparation kimchi was often allowed to ferment underground in jars for months at a time. It is Korea's national dish, and there are hundreds of varieties made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, scallion, or cucumber.” Wikipedia
A while back on Facebook during the presidential campaign I made some remarks about the good voters of Georgia because they had voted for Newt Gingrich in the Republican Primary. Now in this week's Times-Courier newspaper were the results of a poll in which 299 local readers responded. The question was "Should students or adults with a weapons permit be allowed to carry them on campus or in a place of worship?" I'm sure the newspaper meant carrying weapons and not just the permit. 273 or 91% voted "yes"! Can you believe that?
Eileen got her Superstone La Cloche bread maker from Williams-Sonoma.
In the evening I watched "Mary and Elizabeth Rejoice Together." You may watch it at the link:
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| La Cloche bread maker |
I read the Book of John chapter 4. And I worked more on the Stubbs' genealogy.
On Friday 24 January I went to the post office, bank, Food Lion, and Ingles while Eileen made bread with her new bread maker and shrimp lo mein for supper.
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| Quick peek under the cover of the bread maker |
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| The finished product |
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| Shrimp Lo Mein |
I watched "Secrets of the Dead" “Deadliest Battle” on PBS about the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 in WWII, Hitler versus Stalin. The numbers of military and civilian dead dwarfed the total losses of the American Civil War.
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| English Luxury Clotted Cream |
I watched "Good Tidings of Great Joy: The Birth of Jesus Christ." You may watch it at the link:
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-10-043-good-tidings-of-great-joy-the-birth-of-jesus-christ?category=bible-videos-the-life-of-jesus-christ&&lang=eng
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-10-043-good-tidings-of-great-joy-the-birth-of-jesus-christ?category=bible-videos-the-life-of-jesus-christ&&lang=eng
I read the Book of John chapter 5.
On Saturday 25 January we awoke to no water! None anywhere in the house so apparently the well mechanism is frozen. The temperature was down to about 16 degrees last night.
By noon still no water so I applied hot air from Eileen's blow dryer to the pipe underneath the well cover and that did the trick almost immediately!
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| Well cover |
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| Well cover tipped over revealing the pipe |
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| This is what I heated. |
We left home and headed south at 2:45 pm. Got gas at Walmart for $3.099.
We checked into the Comfort Inn in Kennesaw and went for dinner at the nearby Penang Malaysian/Thai restaurant. We shared crispy golden fried squid (calamari). Eileen got the Pad Thai which is stir-fried noodles with tofu, shrimp, and bean sprouts in spicy Thai chili sauce sprinkled with ground peanuts. I had the General Tao's chicken which is crispy golden chicken topped with sesame seeds. Different than a Chinese restaurant but very good!
After changing into our Sunday best we drove to the Marietta East Stake center for the Saturday evening session of stake conference.
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| Comfort Inn in Kennesaw |
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| Penang Malaysian/Thai restaurant |
“A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in the Latter-day Saint Church. A stake is approximately comparable to a diocese in some Christian denominations. The name ‘stake’ derives from the verse ‘enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes’ (Isaiah 54:2).
“Each stake will hold a stake conference twice a year under the direction of the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The stake president is usually instructed to preside in the absence of a general authority or to organize the conference under the direction of the general authority that will preside. The conferences are used to conduct stake business (primarily the appointment and sustaining of stake officers) and to disseminate counsel and guidance from the stake presidency. Speakers at stake conferences generally include the three members of the stake presidency and other stake members, called upon by the stake presidency, to speak on assigned topics. When a general authority of the church presides, he is the featured speaker.
“The general session (for all members of the stake) is usually held on Sunday and is held in the stake center. A session for all adult members is generally held on the preceding Saturday evening. A priesthood leadership session is also held in on Saturday prior to the adult session.
“A general authority is a member of the highest levels of leadership in the church who has administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church. A general authority's jurisdiction is church-wide, in contrast to the responsibilities of a local authority or an area authority, which relate to a particular area, unit, or department of the church. As a group, the general authorities are often referred to as ‘the Brethren.’” Wikipedia
Following the opening hymn #96 "Dearest Children, God is Near You," prayer, and stake business, a combined missionary choir of elders and sisters sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth" (Army of Helaman) by Janet Kapp Perry whom we met while on our mission.
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| Janet Kapp Perry |
President David Stallings, 2nd counselor in the stake presidency, shared with us his conversion story. Thanks to a girl, her family, and the Holy Ghost, he joined the Church. He served a mission in San Diego before marrying that girl 35 years ago. And their son has served a mission in the Philippines.
He was followed by Greg Shoham of the Woodstock Ward. He said he was Jewish, a Christian, and a member of the Kingdom of God on earth. He also told us his conversion story. At age 17 he saw "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and that made a strong impression on him, which he did not share with his Jewish parents. He told of his contact with Mormons over the years while in the Navy. He was impressed when he read the New Testament and later received a Book of Mormon from a 13-year-old. He was an ornery Jew but kept being "home taught." He was touched by the Spirit even though he resisted. This was all in the Kirtland, Ohio, area. He attended a wonderful fireside and President Spencer W. Kimball spoke. (President Kimball was the twelfth president of the LDS Church.) He began to live as a Latter-day Saint and gained a testimony. He read "A Marvelous Work and a Wonder," the Standard Works (The volumes of scripture officially accepted by the Church, including the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price), and "Jesus the Christ." He knew the Church was true!
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| Spencer W. Kimball (1895 – 1985) |
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| A Marvelous Work and a Wonder |
Sister Wendy Gagnon, the Young Women president of the Shallowford Ward, spoke next. "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." Ralph Waldo Emerson. Spoke about missionary work. 1) "remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" D&C 18:10 2) "the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls." Alma 37:7 3) "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." Matthew 22:37-38 4) the Savior told Andrew, "come and see." 5) Everybody's doing it! "Ask the missionaries! They can help." She, her daughter Chloe, and the elders attended a midweek Bible study. She quoted Brigham Young and Pres. Monson, and bore her testimony.
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| Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) |
We stood and sang #250 "We Are All Enlisted."
President Jared Marcom, 1st counselor in the stake presidency, spoke. "Come, Follow Me" youth curriculum. "Hastening the work." Invite all to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. Spoke on reaching out to our less-active members. "Tigger and Eeyore." 1) Be a friend. Stay present in their lives. "Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them." (3 Nephi 18:32) 2) Pray for them. Told of Philip and Nathaniel meeting Christ. 3) Come and serve. When one person is lost or is found, this trickles down for generations. (D&C 18:15-16). Act on promptings by the Holy Ghost.
Our closing speaker was President Watson Nichols, our stake president. God loves His children and desperately wants them to be happy. Theme for today given by President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We are involved in a great work (Nehemiah 6:3). "Behold, I will hasten my work in its time." (D&C 88:73). What is truly the desire of your heart re missionary work? 1) Pray for missionary opportunities. Pray that you'll know who to approach. 2) Pray for the missionaries serving in our [branch] that they can teach 20 lessons a week. Pray for the investigators by name. 3) Be prepared to act. Showed us his "man purse," his European briefcase, and its contents. Church Handbook, Book of Mormon, New Testament, Mormon.org cards. Miracles didn't cease in Biblical times. Today's technologies are to further the work of the Lord. Pres. Nichols knows that God loves His children. "Book of Mormon" musical coming to Atlanta. "Have you seen it? No, but I've read the book! And it's better than the play." "Why are you the way you are? I made a promise to my mother, to my God, and to my wife. And I keep my covenants." Closed with his testimony.
Hymn #219 "Because I Have Been Given Much"
After that wonderful meeting I ran into Elders Cleverly and Jensen and Sisters Childs and Wilcox from our branch and asked them each for a list of their investigators next Sunday 2 February. We would be praying for these investigators.
We returned to the Comfort Inn and prepared to hit the hay. The fellow at the front desk, whom we had met on previous visits here, asked about the Union Jack pin on my suit jacket. We told him about our mission on the British floor of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
I read selections from the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, the Book of Moses (for our Sunday School lesson), and the Mitford book "In This Mountain" to Eileen.
Lastly, after she went to sleep, I looked at USA Today and did its crossword puzzle. (Sometime in the last year or two Comfort Inn switched from USA Today to the Wall Street Journal. I complained and a lot of others must have complained, too. They switched back fairly quickly.) Then I read the Book of John chapter 6.
