On Sunday 1 June we enjoyed listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in "Music & the Spoken Word."  Church is not until noon here so our morning ablutions are more leisurely.

As Eileen enjoyed the Book of Mormon study program that followed the Tabernacle Choir, as she does every Sunday until we have to leave for church, I read the first two talks of the recent general conference.  They were "Welcome to Conference" by our prophet President Thomas S. Monson and "The Cost - and Blessings - of Discipleship" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

President Thomas S. Monson

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Then I read from "The Miracle of Forgiveness" by President Spencer W. Kimball and "Gospel Doctrine" by President Joseph F. Smith.  All of these readings were done on my iPhone in the Deseret Bookshelf app.

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985)

President Joseph F. Smith(1838-1918)

I published the 25 May entry on my blog and we headed to the Plantation Ward.

We arrived a few minutes late due to having to go back and get my earphones.  As we walked from the car I could hear over my earphones of a ward temple trip on Wednesday.

The opening hymn was #3, "Now Let Us Rejoice."  This hymn was written by William W. Phelps and was included in the first LDS hymnbook in 1835.  I have noticed that the music for many of those early hymns is different now than when they were first included in the hymnbook.

William W. Phelps (1792-1872)

Today is Fast Sunday so we attended Fast and Testimony meeting.  Bishop Penrod was conducting the meeting, so he began with his testimony following the administration of the sacrament. He spoke about some trials during a recent youth camping experience and used them to teach gospel principles.

One brother spoke about the temple.  Sister Enriquez introduced herself as a recent move-in.  Brother Leon, another recent move-in, spoke about his background having lived all over the country, including Houston, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Cranberry, New Jersey, etc.  He was inactive for 40 years.  He spoke about the purchase of the land in New Brunswick, New Jersey, for the Church.  He spoke of his dear very active mother Dorothy.  A missionary gave him a copy of "The Miracle of Forgiveness" and he is active again!

Another brother spoke of his gratefulness for the temple.  A pregnant sister who is moving with her family at the end of the month expressed her thanks for the years that she has been a member if this ward.  She has enjoyed working with the young women.  A sister bore her testimony of the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  She was in a car accident recently when a truck hit her on the driver's side of her car.  The Spirit kept her calm during the accident.  

One of the young men who passed the sacrament bore his testimony.  His mother was the one in the accident and he is the teacher's quorum president.  A brother spoke of his admiration for the testimonies of the youth these days.  He also spoke of the blessing of having a temple in their midst.  He and his family are recent move-ins from someplace where temples were nearby.

I spoke with Bishop Penrod after the meeting.  He said to be sure that I let him know if he can help at all with Sue and David.

Plantation Ward meetinghouse

Plantation Ward meetinghouse

We attended Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School.  They were on Lesson 18: “Be Strong and of a Good Courage” using Joshua 1–6; 23–24.  The purpose of the lesson was to encourage each class member to be strong and courageous in living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Lord told Joshua, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:9)

In speaking of the faith required by the priests as they entered the waters of the Jordan River carrying the ark of the covenant, Elder Boyd K. Packer said:

“Shortly after I was called as a General Authority, I went to Elder Harold B. Lee for counsel. He listened very carefully to my problem and suggested that I see President David O. McKay. President McKay counseled me as to the direction I should go. I was very willing to be obedient but saw no way possible for me to do as he counseled me to do.

“I returned to Elder Lee and told him that I saw no way to move in the direction I was counseled to go. He said, ‘The trouble with you is you want to see the end from the beginning.’ I replied that I would like to see at least a step or two ahead. Then came the lesson of a lifetime: ‘You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you’” (“The Edge of the Light,” BYU Today, Mar. 1991, 22–23).

President Boyd K. Packer

President Harold B. Lee (1899-1973)

President David O. McKay (1873-1970)

Elder Marvin J. Ashton said, “Joshua reminds us of the importance of making decisions promptly: ‘Choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’ (Joshua 24:15). Not tomorrow, not when we get ready, not when it is convenient--but ‘this day,’ straightway, choose whom you will serve. He who invites us to follow will always be out in front of us with His Spirit and influence setting the pace. He has charted and marked the course, opened the gates, and shown the way. He has invited us to come unto Him, and the best time to enjoy His companionship is straightway. We can best get on the course and stay on the course by doing as Jesus did--make a total commitment to do the will of His Father.” (April 1983 General Conference)

Elder Marvin J. Ashton (1915-1994)

At the close of the lesson the teacher read that Elder Ezra Taft Benson said that two principles are essential for security and peace: “First, trust in God; and second, a determination to keep the commandments, to serve the Lord, to do that which is right. … The Lord has made it very clear in the revelations that even though times become perilous, even though we be surrounded by temptation and sin, even though there be a feeling of insecurity, even though men’s hearts may fail them and anxiety fill their souls, if we only trust in God and keep his commandments we need have no fear.” (Oct. 1950 General Conference)

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)

We enjoyed priesthood and Relief Society.

A cute sign by the Relief Society room

In the high priests group Elder Garry Simmons, who is serving a Church Service mission with his wife Bonnie for LDS Family Services (Addiction Recovery), taught lesson 10 from "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith" entitled "Our Search for Truth."  The lesson stated, “It is a requirement that is made of us, as members of this Church, to make ourselves familiar with that which the Lord has revealed, that we may not be led astray. … How are we going to walk in the truth if we do not know it?”

Elder Simmons stressed this quote, "But we think this pursuit of worldly learning should be tempered with a like pursuit of spiritual understanding. It is more important, a thousand times over, to have a knowledge of God and his laws, so that we can do the things which bring salvation, than it is to have all the worldly knowledge that can be obtained."

Furthermore "The most important knowledge in the world is gospel knowledge. It is a knowledge of God and his laws, of those things that men must do to work out their salvation with fear and trembling before The Lord."

And "The greatest truth, or the greatest truths, we find in the fundamentals of the gospel of Jesus Christ. First of all, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world, who came into this world to die that men might live. That truth we should know. It is far more important to know that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, that he has given unto us the principles of eternal life, than it is to know all that can be obtained in secular education."

An excellent lesson!

When we broke our fast, we enjoyed corn on the cob and baked salmon.  I had some sugar-free butter pecan ice cream and sugar-free brownie for dessert.

I did some family history research on Ancestry, MyHeritage, and FamilySearch for Darlene Burgess whom we home and visit teach. 

David cleaned out a lot of stuff in the room by the back door and set up the treadmill in the living room.  Hopefully Sue will be able to use it and watch TV.

I did some family history research on the Leander Taylor family.

On Monday 2 June we took Sue in the early afternoon to her appointment at Signet Diagnostic Imaging Services for her various tests, which are an MRI, sonagram, and chest x-ray. It is not far from Sue's house.

Signet Diagnostic Imaging Services

We got done about 4:30 and went across the street to d'Lites Emporium for soft-serve ice cream.  I got a small (as this was my first time there) key lime and Eileen got a large yellow cake batter which she shared with me.  It is her favorite and it was better than mine.  Sue got a large vanilla with a hard chocolate topping.

Inside the store

On the front window

List of flavors

Offerings and prices

We enjoyed the shrimp and feta stew that David had made for supper.  He gave Eileen the recipe.

Later we watched the last two innings of the Kansas City Royals - St. Louis Cardinals baseball game which the Royals won, 6-0.

On Tuesday 3 June we were woken by David at 4 am as Sue had gone to the bathroom and fallen, splitting her lip.  David and Eileen took her to the Broward Health Imperial Point ER while I followed in our car.

Front of Broward Health Imperial Point

Looking out the window at the helipad

The doctor stitched up her split lip.  They admitted her and moved her from the ER to a room on the 4th floor (425) about 9 am.

About noon Eileen and I went back to Sue's, stopping at Papa John's on the way to pick up their new Greek pizza for lunch.  Delicious!  Then we returned later with some of Sue's stuff.

Dr. Belette came by for a visit and told us the results of her tests done yesterday.  He took Eileen and I aside to talk with us :(

David returned to the hospital from work and we returned to their home, stopping to fill up for $3.519!  We enjoyed finishing the pizza for supper.  Seen near the hospital was the eye-catching St. Coleman Catholic Church and an interesting CitiBank.

St. Coleman Catholic Church

CitiBank

When David got home we told him about our meeting with Dr. Belette.  He called Dr. Belette and we are to meet with him tomorrow afternoon.

On Wednesday 4 June we got to the hospital about 10:15.  

We had lunch in Sue's room from the cafeteria.  Nothing looked good but I got some meat and potatoes so Eileen wouldn't be disappointed.  She enjoyed some salad.  It was a nice little cafeteria.  

After lunch David arrived and then the dietician/nutritionist visited. David returned to work at UPS and later Megan joined us.  I went for a walk and bought four Nero Wolfe paperbacks in the gift shop for a dollar.

A common scene in Florida

At 4:30 Eileen, Megan, and I walked to Dr. Belette's office and met David on the way.  At 5:30 we were still waiting for him, so Eileen and I went back to Sue's room.

Sometime after 6 David and Megan returned from seeing him.  Then Dr. Belette came and talked to Sue and all of us.  Sue's liver is no longer functioning as it should due to being overwhelmed by the cancer.  So her time remaining is limited, from some weeks up to a few months.  It was an emotional scene!

She came home from the hospital and we're all here now.

I texted our son Geoff about Sue's situation.  His birthday is the same as hers though he is three years younger.

On Thursday 5 June I e-mailed Findmypast about the subscriptions that Eileen and I got through FamilySearch.  I heard back that the Premium subscription, which we got through FamilySearch, does not provide as much as the World subscription.  So I asked how I can keep my World subscription rather than the free Premium subscription when my World one would expire in August.

Eileen's brother Russ stopped by and Megan came, too.  They watched several episodes of the TV show called "Bones," followed by "Castle," which we would ordinarily not watch as they are rated the TV equivalent of R.  One can tell that we are not watchers of such things when I never would have heard of these shows if we had not visited our daughter.

Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz

Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion

I was at the kitchen table working on a collateral ancestor named Henry Lawry and his family in England.

Megan and Eileen worked with Sue on writing down all the information for the paying of bills, e.g., websites, user names, passwords, etc.

About 8 pm the lady June, who is originally from London, came from the hospice organization, Hospice by the Sea, to visit with us and review what they can provide.  Sue signed up for the service.

On Friday 6 June we responded to the e-mail from Jane Colmenares about getting started working on the English parishes on the Wiki.  We both registered on the AnyMeeting website.

Megan came by and they watched a lot of "House Hunters" on HGTV while I worked on the Lawry family history. Later "Bones" and "Castle" were back on.

I checked out the Quality Inn nearby for Sean, Colleen, and the boys to stay at while they're here.  They're heading east tomorrow.  Then I went by Publix for a few things.

In the evening Bishop Penrod and Brother Steve Frahm, Sue and David's home teacher, came by for a visit.  They gave her a priesthood blessing.

I worked some more on the Lawry family history.

I read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) 

On Saturday 7 June I took Sue in the morning to the Broward Health Urgent Care facility nearby to have her stitches out.  Kathy Selby, MSN, ARNP, removed them nicely and she thought she knew the doctor at the ER by the excellent stitching.  The acronyms mean Master's of Science in Nursing and Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner.  We were home by 10 am.

Sue's acupuncturist came by to do Sue and Megan.  She brought a nice little birthday cake for Sue.

Late in the afternoon we drove to  Fort Lauderdale and enjoyed dinner at  Sea Watch on the ocean.  Classy, good, and expensive.

David, Sue, Megan, and Eileen

Eileen with her lobster bib

Eileen with her lobster bib and broiled lobster

My broiled combination

Sea Watch by the ocean

Sea Watch by the ocean

Sea Watch sign

Inside Sea Watch by the ocean

Walking out back by the ocean

David, Megan, Sue, and Eileen

Meanwhile our youngest William was flying east to visit Sue.  Our niece Kristen picked him up at the airport and brought him to Sue's.  He visited  for a while and we took him back to Kristen's.

Eileen, Erin, and William during a visit to Arizona

With his wife Erin flying for Southwest he can often fly standby.  But this time his buddy Tom Brown, whom he has known from elementary school on and who is married to Erin's sister Katie, got his ticket for him.  Tom also works for Southwest and got a full-fledged ticket for William from his boss.