On Sunday 7 September we were up early, had breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and went to the stake center, arriving there bright and early at 8:15 am.

Marietta East stake center

I finished reading "Caius Julius Caesar the Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Volume 1" by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus which I had begun on 14 April.

Suetonius (70-130 A.D.)

President Nichols came by about 9:30 and thanked Eileen and me for our Church Service missions.

I read "The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks which was the first talk in the priesthood session of the April General Conference.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 

President David Stallings conducted this session of conference.

Our opening hymn was #254, "True to the Faith" by Evan Stephens (1854-1930).  The chorus is as follows: "True to the faith that our parents have cherished, true to the truth for which martyrs have perished, to God's command, soul, heart, and hand, faithful and true we will ever stand."

President Marcom conducted the stake business, beginning with ordinations to the Melchizedek priesthood.  Then releases and callings to stake callings were presented.  We sustained the church leaders beginning with the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Then the stake presidency, the stake high council, and the remaining stake officers including the auxiliary leaders.  Full-time missionaries from our stake number 42.

The Big Shanty Branch choir sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing."  This is a Christian hymn written by the 18th century pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson. Robert Robinson penned the words at age 22 in the year 1757.  The lyrics, which dwell on the theme of divine grace, are based on 1 Samuel 7:12, in which the prophet Samuel raises a stone as a monument, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us". The English transliteration of the name Samuel gives to the stone is Ebenezer, meaning Stone of Help. The unusual word Ebenezer commonly appears in hymnal presentations of the lyrics. Wikipedia

Sister Wortham began her talk with a favorite account from the Old Testament, that of the obedience of Abraham in being ready to sacrifice Isaac.  She spoke on what are covenants and why we keep them.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke about "a binding spiritual covenant."  Essential to our happiness.  We need to keep progressing.  D&C 14:7.  We are a covenant-making people.  Her first covenant is at baptism.  She was baptized in 1978 at the font in the Tabernacle on Temple Square.  She went to the temple after receiving this assignment to speak.  Why do we make and keep covenants?  Feel a sense of protection in our life.  Heavenly Father promises to bless us.  Covenant making and keeping is insurance for us.  "Keeping Covenants" by Elder Holland.  They keep us safe if we keep them.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Grateful for the pure life of Relief Society.  Help others come to the Lord.  Strengthens and empowers us.  Demonstrates our love for the Savior and Heavenly Father.  Fortified her many times.  Lifelong desire to serve.  Personal revelation for wayward children.  Christ-centered home.  Once covenants were made in the Salt Lake Temple they were able to have children.  Service of the Bonner family in Washington state.  Abraham did not question God.  He was blessed and so are we through the Abrahamic covenant.  Salvation and exaltation.  Follow the example of our brother Jesus Christ.  We can be perfect in making and keeping covenants.  She bore her testimony of the Savior and His Atonement, of the Restored Church and the prophet Thomas S. Monson. 

Brother Donald Mason spoke of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.  Sweet and powerful outpouring yesterday and today.  Sisters have spoken with power and authority.  We have authority to act for God the Father when we are called by one holding priesthood keys.  Philippians. "In the form of God."  The works of the Father is evident in you and I.  We are the examples of covenant makers and keepers.  Hastening the work is increasing.  People who come to our congregations now by the hundreds will someday be as a flood.  President Boyd K. Packer.  We are saved in and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Mere statement of belief not followed by actions will avail us nothing.  President David O. McKay.  Who am I to be a light to today?  How the smile of a church leader benefited a brother at the end of his rope.  D&C 107.  "Out of the wilderness."  "Thy glory shall fill the earth."  Come and make covenants, be cleansed.  Cleansed and renewed by the gift of the Holy Ghost.  We will be blessed and edified.

President Boyd K. Packer,
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 

President David O. McKay (1873-1970)

Sister Cordner spoke on the power that comes from making and keeping covenants.  When she was almost eight, her father discussed her upcoming baptism.  Mosiah 18.  Tried to understand as an eight-year-old.  Stand as a witness of the Savior in all things.  Baptism has been taught in all dispensations.  Each covenant we make binds us to Him.  I was determined to do Heavenly Father's will.  Partaking of the sacrament renews us.  We remember the covenants made at baptism.  Develop and nurture Christ-like qualities.  Our will becomes His will.  Nephi taught of baptism by water etc.  Covenants made at baptism and in the temple.  

Our intermediate hymn was #2, "The Spirit of God."  This is an inspiring hymn composed by William W. Phelps and included in the first LDS hymnbook.  It was sung at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in 1836.

William W. Phelps (1792-1872)

Kirtland Temple, Ohio

President Stallings told how blessed we are for the restoration of the priesthood in these latter days.  Through the priesthood ordinances that we receive the power of God in our lives.  We gather together from the four corners of the earth.  Participate in the sacred ordinances of the temple.  Rescue those who have strayed.  Return to the temple to do ordinances for our ancestors.  Families are the basic unit of Heaven.  Sealed in eternal marriage. Lifetime covenants of salvation.  D&C 109:22-23.  Part of the hastening of the work is family history.  Missionaries help converts to do their family history.  Spoke of his family doing temple work for their immediate family who had passed away in the St. George Temple.  We become saviors to our ancestors.  Nephi's vision of the tree of life and the iron rod.  People getting on and off the train as he ride to the end.  Elder Richard G. Scott in April 2009.  Loss of his wife.  Feel her influence through the veil.  More able to bear every trial and overcome every temptation as we remember covenants of the temple.  Life is a homeward journey for all of us.  President Boyd K. Packer.  Remember my testimony of Jesus Christ and temple covenants.

Elder Richard G. Scottof the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

President Marcom remembered the first stake conference four years ago for this stake presidency.  He looked out at so many strangers and now he knows almost all of us.  Concern about sacrament meetings in our stake.  Less than half of members attend.  Reverence.  Savior instituted the sacrament in the Americas.  D&C 59.  The Lord's day.  Elder Dallin H. Oaks said that the sacred sacrament makes sacrament meeting the most important in the church.  President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke of his experience as a young missionary with an investigator family.  Noisy socializing is not appropriate.  "Crying babies are like good intentions.  They should be carried out immediately." President Brigham Young.  Nothing invites the spirit like song.  A song is a prayer.  Sing your testimony.  Speak of the Savior in your talks.  We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that we are Christians.  Our church bears His name.  Spoke of a recent sacrament meeting.  The actions of those on the stand.  And of some of the congregation.  One brother he noticed in the back sincerely affected by the sacrament unlike some others.  Elder Oaks spoke of the solemnity of this ordinance.  Discuss this in your Family Home Evenings and in your classes.  We will all be blessed and edified.  Safety in making and keeping sacred covenants.

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008)

President Brigham Young (1801-1877)

President Nichols asked if we have changed anything in the last six months.  What am I going to do to be better?  Spoke of young Southern couple.  Cut off the bottom part of the ham.  Example and mentoring your children.  Spoke of a dad and his boys.  Always at their football games, but only sometimes at general priesthood meeting and at Scout camp.  What was he teaching?  Doctor James Mason retired to Farmington, Utah.  Went on mission with his wife to Africa.  Called to First Quorum of Seventy.  Example to African saints.  Training.  Wives sitting on stand.  Stake choir like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Husbands, watch the kids and let your wife go to the temple.  Brother-in-law struck down by brain cancer in the prime of life.  Five sons.  Oldest came home from mission for funeral and gathered his brothers together, teaching them to be an example of their fine father.  God loves us and desires to bless us.  We become sanctified through serving.

Our closing hymn was #152, "God Be with You Till We Meet Again."

We were home by 1:30 safe and sound.  On the way our odometer hit the palindrome 81918.

I scanned the Church Service missionary forms for Eileen and me and e-mailed them to Alicia in Salt Lake City.

I worked some more on organizing what we have researched so far for Sabrina Bayless' family history.

Eileen enjoyed an episode from season three of "Lark Rise to Candleford," the first one she had watched since March.

On Monday 8 September we were up early for our 9:30 appointment with Dr. Raisig.  I put out our bird feeders and harvested one banana pepper, one green bell pepper, two tomatoes, and 21 cherry tomatoes from our garden.

We visited Dr. Raisig to hear about our bloodwork that was done on 26 August.  My A1C went up from 6.7 to 6.9 and Eileen's went down from 7.4 to 7.3.  Eileen's triglycerides were up and we need to work on getting them down.  After drinking almost a half gallon of water every day since 25 June, my creatinine level had dropped from 1.27 to 1.19.  The range should be from 0.7 to 1.18 (although a medical website states 0.6 to 1.2).  I told Dr. Raisig that I was going back to a quart a day as I spent an awful lot of time in the men's room when I was drinking  almost a half gallon of water every day!  He said that some people recommend a half to a whole gallon a day, which to me is absolutely absurd.

A young Dr. Raisig

Dr. Raisig's office

We checked the stores for our food drove.  Piggly Wiggly has no box yet, so forget them.  Food Lion's box was empty.  Walmart had collected a lot in their two boxes and a lot was in a large box in their produce back room!  We stopped at North Georgia Diamond and Alison said they had food for us that they would bring in.  One of their employees, Brittany, now knows about it and she will bring in some, too.

We took the car through the Squiggles car wash and vacuumed the floors of the car.

We noticed that Walmart (Murphy) had reduced the discount at the gas pumps for the Walmart gift card from 10 cents back to three cents, so we went to the Citgo gas station on South Main where it is still $3.159.

I worked some more on Sabrina Bayless' family history.

We had reviewed our prescriptions at Dr. Raisig's, so when we were home I showed Eileen how to check them on the Express Scripts website (they handle our prescriptions for TRICARE).  I also showed her the Jacquie Lawson e-mail sympathy card from David and Goria Powell as well as the pictures that I have saved from their mission blog.

Goria and David Powell in Germany

After a delicious supper to which I contributed by making the salad, we went to church and enjoyed our group study of the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25-27.  There were 11 of us and David Echard was the teacher.

After the class Ron Fisher and Eileen helped me bring all the food from the car into the cultural hall that I had earlier loaded into the car in our garage.  It is all we have collected from individuals and stores so far.

We stopped at Ingles for some lemons for Eileen and saw that one of the food drive boxes had some donations in it.  I waved to T. J. and thanked her for the boxes.  On the way out I saw and thanked the store manager Richard Hudgins.

Richard Hudgins

T. J. Calvert

At home Eileen enjoyed Sue's sudoku book and the TV shows "19 Kids and Counting" on The Learning Channel and "How It's Made" on the Science channel.  I finished and published my 17 August  blog!

On Tuesday 9 September we got up late which is always nice on occasion, although I am usually awake a couple of hours before Eileen and read my e-mails from the New York Times and Deseret News and perhaps check out CNN, the Washington Post, and BBC, all on my iPhone.

I shared three items from Deseret News with Eileen, the primary one being the news that speakers in our upcoming LDS General Conference whose native language is other than English may speak in their native tongue with English subtitles.  With 15 million members of the Church worldwide, it is truly an international church.

I read her the "Wright Words" article by Jason F. Wright about how then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball used a bad meal to teach gratitude to Elder Wayne Millward in 1959 in the Brazil mission and 33 years later President Millward, the president of the Brazil Belo Horizonte Mission, taught then-Elder Wright the same lesson after a bad meal.

I shared with Eileen an article about marital advice that I thought was way off base.  The columnist did not agree with the several bits of advice.  Number 1 was never go to bed angry with your spouse which I think is excellent advice that I think I heard from President Kimball.  Number 2 was happy wife, happy life which is so true.  Because then you will have a very happy husband.

I called Kohler as Tom Ballew had recommended when he called during our class at church last night.  He could not find the flush valve assembly anywhere for our toilet tank.  The Kohler representative was very nice and I ordered the assembly with 2-day shipping.

We left home at 1:57 for North Georgia Eye Clinic in Gainesville, arriving at 3:20.  The back roads of Georgia are very nice as long as one does not get behind a slow poke.  We took GA 52, 183, and 53 through Dawsonville to Gainesville.  On the way there our odometer registered the palindrome 82028.  Eileen's eye exam went well and Dr. John Thomas said her eyes looked fine.  We made an appointment for next September.

North Georgia Eye Clinic Offices

Eileen checking in

Attractive wall painting

Crossing an arm of Lake Lanier en route to Gainesville

Crossing an arm of Lake Lanier en route to Gainesville

We got an e-mail from Alicia Smith about our calling letter being sent to President Nichols.  Almost ready to begin again as Church Service missionaries!

On the way back to Ellijay our odometer registered 82082 which was fun to see.

We reached church by 6:30 and were there until after 9.  No food was dropped off.  We showed President Boland how much was in the cultural hall already.  We made an appointment with Ron Fisher to help him with his family history when we return from Raleigh.  Later we chatted with President Boland and learned that Scott Pierce has a brain tumor.  He will be in our prayers.  We discussed branch members that we may want to get with about their family history.  We told President Boland about our calling letter being sent to President Nichols and that he, President Boland, would be setting us apart as church service missionaries.

On Wednesday 10 September we did not have to pick up the sister missionaries, so we stated in bed a little longer.

We were busy at the food pantry as 144 families came for food.  One of the volunteers is going to London on 3 October.  She does not have a computer or e-mail, so she may look up our travels to England on our blog on her daughter's computer.  I will print out a list that I put together of places to visit and give it to her next Wednesday.  We enjoyed some lunch and relaxed at home.

Gilmer Community Food Pantry

Pantry Waiting Room

Eileen enjoyed watching Tim Cook online having his first Steve Jobs moment, introducing the new iPhone 6 line, Apple Pay and Apple Watch.  She enjoyed his keynote address very much and was quite impressed.  I took a nap while reading.

After supper we went to church and I met with Don Bivens and Charmet Chester as they and the youth prepared to go to set up outside Walmart for the stake food drive.  Then I met with Carol Messina in the Family History Center to learn enough about it so that I can cover for her some Wednesdays.

We went to Walmart to take photos of the youth and we checked the food donations here and at Ingles.  The youth collected food and money, which they then used to buy food in Walmart.

Ellijay Branch youth at Walmart

We relaxed at home and watched two episodes of "Georgia Outdoors," saving one of them to show to the White's when they visit.

I finished reading the 27 April edition of the Church News.

I downloaded Skype on my laptop for future use.

On Thursday 11 September we were up early and I selected the family file cards to mail to Bud and Jan Farr in Arizona.  We have exchanged e-mails and they have four male and two female cards remaining to take to the temple.

We visited our periodontist Dr. Gregg Codelli at 10 am in Blue Ridge.  We both had our teeth cleaned.  After that we had breakfast (me) / lunch (Eileen) at the BumbleBee's Cafe.

Mountain Periodontics in Blue Ridge

Eileen at BumbleBee's Cafe

Then we went by Walmart and Ingles to pick up any food donations.  On to the supermarkets in Ellijay where there was a little at Ingles and a pretty good bit at Walmart.

I filled up at Citgo for $3.139 and we went to the Lions Club to donate blood.  Eileen just had four vials drawn as she was being reevaluated after many years of not giving blood.  I gave the usual bag of whole blood.

Giving blood inside the Lions Club

In the evening we went to our local Ellijay cinema to see "The Hundred-Foot Journey."  I knew Eileen wanted to see it and she enjoyed it.  I had to leave during the movie and tell the employee up front to crank up the A/C which he did.

Eileen walking to the Ellijay cinema
at a cooler time of the year

I had called our neighbors DJ and Greg earlier about our food drive and DJ left a message that she had put some cans of food in our mailbox.  We got them after returning home from the movie.

On Friday 12 September we enjoyed getting up late.  Tom Ballew came by about 10:30 am and installed the Kohler flush valve assembly that had arrived a day or two before.  It'll be nice to use our master bath toilet again as it is much higher than the one in the guest bathroom.

I realized that besides my e-mail groups LDS Friends and LDS in Maryland, I also had B2 Consultants, Family History Mission, Family History Mission II, and Family History Mission III.  So I sent out my e-mail about Sue's passing to all of them besides LDS Friends and LDS in Maryland, which I had already done.

Eileen made the supper to take to Eric and Jessica Burgess in Jasper.  She is 30 weeks along in her pregnancy and has been bedridden for a month.

I continued to work on organizing our research for Sabrina Bayless' family history.

We took the supper to Burgess's after stopping at Kroger for a frozen veggie and vanilla ice cream, which would go with the brownies.

We stopped at Ingles in Ellijay and we each got a 6" sub for supper (Italian for Eileen and Elmer's BLT for me).

On Friday 12 September we dropped off trash and recyclables at the dump and went to church to give the food to the pantry representatives.

Our local dump site

Richard Callahan and George Greene were already there to clean the building.  Then President Ryan Boland arrived.  Bob Morrow in behalf of the Gilmer food pantry arrived about 10:50 with his pickup truck.  I showed him around the building and we loaded his truck with half of the food that we had bagged last night.  As our branch public affairs specialist, Eileen took several pictures.

President Boland and Bob Morrow

Bob Morrow and Ben by Bob's truck
loaded with food

After Bob left, we chatted with President Boland for a while.  After he left, we used the roll-around cart from the kitchen to move the remaining food to the foyer.  Then Eileen vacuumed that area in the cultural hall where the food had been.

Linda Mahan and Sheila Stone in behalf of the Fannin food pantry arrived about 1:45 (we had said 1 pm via e-mails and she said she had gotten lost) after I had called on my iPhone and given her directions.  Oddly the back of her car was full of stuff that she had to take out and put in the back seat.  I shows them around the building.  We got it all into the back of her car.  Eileen took a picture.

Sheila Stone, Linda Mahan, and Ben

Then we went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch because they had e-mailed me a coupon for a free burger for my birthday.  Yummy!

Ruby Tuesday in Ellijay

We shopped at Walmart and then got a box of food from North Georgia Diamond.  We will take that to the Gilmer food pantry on Wednesday.  We got more groceries from Ingles.  We don't get produce at Walmart as the quality is poor and their display of jams and jellies has gotten pretty bad!  Half of it is some local brand of grape jelly, leaving little room for Polaner and Smuckers 

North Georgia Diamond

Today is my 72nd birthday, which is very hard to fathom, and so far Heather and Colleen called.  I Facetimed with Colleen and Sean and the three grandsons Spencer, Ashton, and Tanner sang to me.  Later Heather and grandson Liam Facetimed with me before Liam hit the hay.  I've gotten lots of birthday wishes via Facebook.  I got a card from Eileen's Aunt Esther and I just opened Eileen's card.  Eileen got me three books from the list I put on my iPhone which, of course, is then also on her iPhone.

The first was a Western "Johnny Nelson (Bar-20)" by Clarence E. Mulford.

Next was a genealogical mystery "Lineages and Lies: A Nick Herald Genealogical Mystery" by Jimmy Fox.

And third was a baseball book "They Called Me God" by Doug Harvey and Peter Golenbock.

Then I went into our bedroom to plug in my iPhone and what should I see?  Another present on my pillow!! It was another baseball book from my list, "Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball" by John Feinstein!

I finished and published my 24 August blog.  Yea!

Eileen enjoyed watching "America's Test Kitchen" and "Cook's Country" that I had recorded for her today.

Cast of the two show

I ordered the new Mitford book by Jan Karon entitled "Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good."

I went into our bedroom closet to hang up my shirts and jeans from the load of wash that Eileen had done and what should I find but another present!!  It was another book from my list, "Written in My Own Heart's Blood" by Diana Gabaldon!  What a wife!!

Late in the evening when we were in bed (Eileen asleep and me reading), our son William texted me "happy birthday."  We exchanged several texts and we said good night.