On Sunday 30 November we watched "Music and the Spoken Word" on BYU-TV. Eileen enjoyed the Book of Mormon panel discussion that followed.
Opening hymn was #66, "Rejoice, the Lord is King!" by Charles Wesley.
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| Charles Wesley (1707-1788) |
Sacrament hymn was #170, "God, Our Father, Hear Us Pray," by Anne Pinnock Malin (1863-1935), LDS hymn writer born in London, England.
Sister Burge was the first speaker. She spoke of our life here on earth and our divine potential. Our time here is a gift from God to prepare for eternity. She quoted President Uchtdorf about the trials we encounter. She read the poem "The Touch of the Master's Hand" by Myra Brooks Welch. As we rely on the Lord we can be changed and blessed.
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| Sister Burge |
Intermediate hymn was #141, "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee," by Bernard of Clairvaux.
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| Bernard of Clairvaux (1091-1153) |
Elder Johnson was the second speaker. He also spoke the gift we have from God. We need to return to the true meaning of Christmas. That gift is the gift of our Savior Jesus Christ. Moses 7:32. Along with mortality came the gift of agency. Moses 1:39. We are all faced with physical death and spiritual death. John 3:16-17. The Savior's birth was so very important. It is possible for us to live with Him and God the Father again. 2 Nephi 9:21-23. He performed many wonderful miracles through His priesthood power. 2 Nephi 31:5-7. Matthew 26:39-42. Prepared for the Atonement. Matthew 27:1-50. Without this would there be no hope for redemption. He loves us dearly. We have taken upon ourselves the name of Christ. He bore his testimony.
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| Elder Johnson |
Elder Kuoha was the concluding speaker. He quoted James 1:5 and the Prophet Joseph Smith's reaction to this scripture. Joseph Smith-History 1:11-12. He reviewed what brought Joseph to heed the course of James. And then the First Vision. Joseph Smith-History 1:17. This was the dawn of the glorious restoration. Joseph was called to be the prophet of the Almighty. He spoke of Moroni's visits to Joseph. Joseph translated the Book of Mormon. Ancient prophets restored powers and keys to Joseph. The fulness of the everlasting gospel was restored. He bore his testimony. The Spirit had witnessed to him many times that these things are true. D&C 76:22.
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| Elder Kuoha |
Closing hymn was #89, "The Lord Is My Light," by James Nicholson (1828-1876), an American Methodist minister.
Gospel Doctrine with Darlene Burgess was lesson #44, “Every Thing Shall Live Whither the River Cometh” using Ezekiel 43–44; 47.
The purpose of the lesson is to encourage class members to partake of the life-giving, healing powers that are available in the temple.
Eileen gave the opening prayer.
1. Ezekiel is shown a vision of the temple in Jerusalem.
What can we learn about the temple from this?
a. The glory of the Lord fills the temple (Ezekiel 43:2, 4–5).
b. The temple is “the place of [the Lord’s] throne” on earth (Ezekiel 43:7).
c. The Lord walks in the temple, calling it “the place of the soles of my feet” (Ezekiel 43:7).
d. The temple is a place where the Lord may “dwell in the midst” of his people (Ezekiel 43:7).
e. We learn about the laws of the Lord in the temple (Ezekiel 43:11).
f. There are ordinances that the Lord wants us to perform in the temple (Ezekiel 43:11).
g. Even the grounds that surround the temple “shall be most holy” (Ezekiel 43:12).
h. Only those who are worthy should enter the temple (Ezekiel 44:6–9).
i. In the temple we learn the difference between holy and profane and between clean and unclean (Ezekiel 44:23).
2. Ezekiel sees a river flowing from the temple that gives life to the desert and heals the Dead Sea.
In a vision similar to Ezekiel’s vision of the temple, John the Beloved was shown the throne of God (Revelation 22:1–3; in Ezekiel 43:7, the Lord calls the temple “the place of my throne”). What flowed from the throne of God in John’s vision? (See Revelation 22:1.) What is the “water of life”? (The doctrines of the gospel.). How are we like the Judean wilderness and the Dead Sea if we do not partake of the water of life?
How does the water of life that is available in the temple heal and give life to marriages? families? our ancestors? the Church? What else flows from the temple that gives spiritual life and healing? (Answers may include truth, wisdom, revelation, and covenants.)
3. Ezekiel measures the river’s depth.
How deep was the river the first time Ezekiel waded across it? (See Ezekiel 47:2–3.) How deep was it the second, third, and fourth times he waded across? (See Ezekiel 47:4–5.) What truth do these verses suggest about the temple? (The power of the temple increases in our lives the more often we attend.)
Wonderful truths are taught in the temple, many through symbols. If at first our understanding of these truths or of temple ordinances is only “ankle deep,” what should we do? (See Ezekiel 47:2–5. We should wade into the “river” again and again--or, in other words, attend the temple as often as possible.)
Additional Teaching Ideas
1. “I have loved the habitation of thy house” (Psalm 26:8)
Many of the psalms mention blessings we receive from temple attendance and express beautiful feelings of love and thanksgiving for the temple.
2. “The Great Symbol of [Our] Membership”
President Howard W. Hunter said: “I invite the Latter-day Saints to look to the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of your membership. It is the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church worthy to enter the temple. It would please the Lord if every adult member would be worthy of--and carry--a current temple recommend. The things that we must do and not do to be worthy of a temple recommend are the very things that ensure we will be happy as individuals and as families” (in General Conference, Oct. 1994.)
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| President Howard W. Hunter (1907-1995) |
I gave the closing prayer.
Today was the fifth Sunday of the month, so we had a combined priesthood/Relief Society lesson. We sang hymn #218, "We Give Thee But Thine Own," by William Walsham How, English bishop.
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| William Walsham How (1823-1897) |
Brother Tony Stanley asked us to ponder someone who has really offended us and then to ponder someone whom we love and care for. Our appearance is quite a contrast on those two thoughts. The Savior loves both groups equally. Elder Nelson in conference said we will not reach perfection here in mortality. But we can work toward it and achieve it in immortality. What is necessary for us in this life? To do our best. Do we know our potential? No, but God knows. Can we know if we are doing our best? Yes, the Spirit can tell us. Life was intended to be hard. We all have obstacles and are tested. We must be diligent and do our best. Families are so important. Could all of the spirit children have come to earth without families? Probably but it would not have been the way it needed to be done. Heavenly Father loves the individual whom you despise even more than you love your favorite person. We must continue to repent. We need to be anxiously engaged about repentance. What can we do to become more like the Savior? We need constant application of the Atonement. Let's focus on ourselves and be less critical of others. Say "I need you to..." Instead of "You need to...".
Brother Craig Chester spoke on Isaiah 58:1-7. Are we not all beggars? (King Benjamin). Mosiah 4:19. Quoted from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on that subject. Contribute to fast offerings. Mosiah 4:26. Isaiah 58:8. Spoke of "Captains Courageous" and Manuel's father and the Lord. Spoke of tithing and Malachi. We rob God of eternal life with one of His children, that is, us.
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| I had read this finishing it on 17 January 2014. |
I visited with Brother Fisher about cleaning the building while we're away. He will be there on 12 December and I will contact the rest of my "team." I spoke to Brother Widmann right after sacrament meeting about it.
After our meetings we met with President Boland for tithing settlement. Tithing settlement is the name of a formalized series of meetings held at local congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During Tithing Settlement, each member of the church is individually interviewed by the bishop or branch president of his or her congregation and asked to declare whether he or she has paid a full tithe to the church, which is defined as ten per cent of the member's income. Wikipedia
On the way home we saw the palindrome 88288 on our odometer.
With my colonoscopy tomorrow I cannot have any solid food today. I'm enjoying some chicken broth.
At 4 pm I began the 32 ounces of awful liquid called MoviPrep, 8 ounces every 15 minutes. Eileen made some lime jello for me.
We visited Sabrina Bayless at 7 pm and enjoyed seeing some of her Christmas decorations. She had just put up her real tree and she will add 500 lights to it! I shared a message from the Ensign magazine and she followed along in her copy.
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| Gerald and Sabrina Bayless' home |
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| Some of Sabrina's Christmas decorations |
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| November Ensign |
I enjoyed the lime jello and began the MoviPrep again. Ugh!
At bedtime I finished reading "Choose Wisely" by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to Eileen.
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| Elder Quentin L. Cook |
On Monday 1 December we started packing the car and then drove to Jasper for my colonoscopy. I was a bit annoyed that after having only chicken broth and sugar-free lime jello yesterday I only lost 0.6 pounds and I barely squeaked under a blood glucose reading of 130 with a 129.
The colonoscopy went well. As I texted our kids, "Colonoscopy today! Passed with flying colors! No cancer or potential cancer. Just have to determine what is causing the rectal discharge! 😘" Hopefully the pathologist can determine that. Doctor Lopez had me pick up some Align, a probiotic to improve my health in that area.
Those who assisted me at Lopez' office were Lisa, Brandi, Brian, Lindsay who actually helped with the procedure, Ramon the anesthesiologist who was in the Army 21 years including a stint with Special Forces, and Julie in Recovery.
Eileen was my driver after the procedure as they think one will be a bit loopy and drowsy after the anesthesia. I wasn't but having Eileen drive was fun.
Back in Ellijay we got the Align at Rite-Aid; picked up my suit at the dry cleaners; mailed several items at the post office (the Book of Mormon to the gal in Franklin, NC; the advent calendar to our granddaughter Megan in Florida; and the front page picture from the Times-Courier with Levi Boland (he is a youngster in our branch)); and deposited two checks at the bank, one of which was our RMD check from Athene, also withdrawing money from the ATM for our trip starting tomorrow.
After no solid food for me since Saturday we went to Pizza King in Ellijay for lunch. We got the medium Pizza King Special to eat there and the medium House Special to go, all for the price of the Pizza King Special! The House Special is for lunch tomorrow. Pretty good pizza!
The rest of the day at home was involved with packing and miscellaneous phone calls, e-mails, working on Herefordshire, etc.
We enjoyed watching a Hercule Poirot mystery that I had recorded some time ago, entitled "The Affair at the Victory Ball."
On Tuesday 2 December we finished packing and enjoyed the House Special pizza for breakfast. On the way along Big Creek Rd. our odometer reached 88388. We enjoyed the Christmas decorations in downtown Ellijay and got gas for $2.499.
We stopped in Canton at Cracker Barrel and got some cute University of Georgia items for Weston and then we visited Hallmark.
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| Inside Cracker Barrel |
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| University of Georgia items |
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| Inside Cracker Barrel |
Further south we stopped at Cracker Barrel in Kennesaw to return what we had bought in Canton as Eileen wasn't happy with them. She later ordered what she wanted online.
Our next palindrome was 88588 and we got gas for $2.499 east of Birmingham, Alabama.
We hit terrible backed up traffic for eight miles heading east on I-20 from mile 80 to 72!! It appeared to be from road work.
We saw some interesting cloud formations.
We enjoyed stopping at Mississippi Welcome Center where they are gearing up for the Christmas season.
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| Mississippi Welcome Center |
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31st Infantry Division Memorial Highway
"Dixie Division" |
We got gas for $2.339 in Meridian, Mississippi, and our palindrome was 88788 west of Meridian. When we passed 88610, the car had covered exactly 60,000 miles in almost two years of ownership.
It was interesting to see signs for Chunky population 344 and cross the Chunky River.
We reached the Comfort Inn in Jackson about 5:10, having gained an hour as we crossed into the Central Time Zone in Alabama.
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| An interesting cloud formation |
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| Comfort Inn in Jackson |
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| Breakfast area at Comfort Inn in Jackson |
We had dinner at the Aladdin Mediterranean Grill which was very good. We both had a small bowl of tangy red lentil soup with pita chips. We shared the appetizer Aladdin's Special (for two), which consisted of three types of hummus, baba ganuj, Lebna, grape leaves, tabouli, falafel, and kibby. Eileen enjoyed the whitefish plate with sautéed mixed veggies, basmati rice, and hummus. I had the Shawarma plate with tangy beef and onions, green salad, basmati rice, and hummus. We had lots of pita bread triangles of several types to enjoy with the meal.
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| Inside the Aladdin Mediterranean Grill |
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| Tangy red lentil soup and part of Aladdin's Special appetizer |
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| My shawarma plate with tangy beef and onions, green salad, basmati rice, and hummus |
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| Eileen's whitefish plate with sautéed mixed veggies, basmati rice, and hummus |
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| More of Aladdin's Special appetizer |
Back at the hotel we had to call their tech support to get our Mac laptops working on their Internet connection.
Eileen enjoyed chatting with her sister Jane who had shoulder surgery recently.
On Wednesday 3 December we had breakfast and headed out about 9:15.
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| Entrance to Mississippi fairgrounds |
Our odometer reached 88888 as we approached Vicksburg and we crossed the Mississippi River.
We filled up the gas tank for $2.499 near Monroe LA. We called our friends Ralph and Holly back in Georgia to let them know how my colonoscopy went.
Our odometer reached 88988 and 89098 on the way to Dallas, Texas. We saw a sign for the town of Gilmer, which is the name of the county in which we live in Georgia. We got gas for $2.369.
We went to the Dallas Temple and did numerous sealings. We did nine couples, eight daughters, and 16 sons. The temple was very beautiful and different, as each temple is. It was our first time there.
We had supper at the Afrah Mediterranean Grill in Richardson, Texas. We both had a good-sized bowl of lentil soup with bread somewhat like large pita pockets. Then we shared the Afrah Sampler with baba ghannouj, hummus, fried kibbe, falafel, and grape leaves. We got a box of sweets, one of each in the display case.
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| More yummy Mediterranean food |
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| Afrah menu |
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| Lots of sweets |
On Thursday 4 December we enjoyed breakfast and headed out about 9:30.
Our odometer reached 89298 west of Dallas. We saw lots of mistletoe on the trees at a rest area nearing Abilene.
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| Plaque for Judge Walter Raleigh Ely |
There were lots of cotton fields and wind turbines in the vicinity of Sweetwater and beyond.
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| One of many cotton fields |
We filled up for $2.499 in Big Springs. Prices have ranged from $2.299 (once) to $2.699 (several with many in the $2.30s to $2.50s).
The traffic was bumper to bumper in Midland with one lane closed. 89598 was the reading on the odometer.
The speed limit of 75 mph became 80 mph near Monahans.
Our odometer reached 89698 as we approached Fort Stockton, Texas. We arrived at the Quality Inn in Fort Stockton about 5:10.
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| Quality Inn Breakfast Area |
We enjoyed supper at the BienVenidos Mexican Food Restaurant and Eileen had a swirl vanilla ice cream in a cup across the street at Dairy Queen for dessert.
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| Our Avalon parked in front |
At bedtime I finished reading "I Know These Things of Myself" by Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy to Eileen.
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| Elder Craig C. Christensen |
On Friday 5 December we enjoyed breakfast and headed out about 8:40. Along I-10 near Plateau our odometer hit 89798 and in Plateau the gas was $3.259! Of course, I didn't need any yet. However we did notice that the diesel price was very low at $3.399. Usually it is about a dollar higher than regular gas. We got gas in Van Horn for $2.659.
All across Texas through New Mexico into Arizona we saw many freight trains criss-crossing the landscape.
We sent a text message to the Allen and Lynda White:
We're thinking of you today! We made a pit stop in Ft. Hancock, TX, and we got some Blue Bunny ice cream just as we did in Illinois on the way to the Nauvoo Temple. Ben even got the Big Mississippi Mud ice cream sandwich! Love you guys!
Just outside of Ft. Hancock we reached 89898.
We are now in Mountain Standard Time. As soon as we entered El Paso County we saw gas prices of $2.399, $2.299, and $2.339!! An accident on I-10 in El Paso slowed traffic down. Just west of Las Cruces we reached 89998 and 90009.
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| Western scenery |
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| Western scenery |
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| Western scenery |
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| At a rest stop after entering New Mexico |
We stopped in Deming to visit Walmart and had lunch at Taco Bell.
Our odometer reached 90109. We saw the old body of an Army helicopter on a truck.
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| Western scenery |
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| Western scenery |
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| Western scenery |
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| Western scenery |
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| Western scenery |
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| Pecan trees |
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| Pecan trees |
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| Creative overpasses |
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| Creative overpasses |
We arrived at the Quality Inn in Willcox about 4:15. The two nights at the Quality Inn illustrate why I say Quality Inn means lack-of-quality, especially here in Willcox. I should pay the extra if we needed to stay elsewhere.
Gas is outrageous here! $2.899. I should have thought to fill up in NM for $2.339! I may have to put in a few gallons to reach Tucson where it is $2.499.
She replied:
Ouch! Yes. I guess Wilcox is what keeping our state's average $2.66 high. I was disappointed that Tucson is the same price as here in the valley. Tucson is always much lower (given their own pipeline)! But we are 2.499 here too.
I replied:
Benson is in the $2.70s and 35 miles away. I have 64 miles left in the tank. A couple of gallons in Benson will get me to Tucson where I can fill up.
She replied:
Yup!! Love gas buddy app!!
Eileen and I watched the new LDS Church video “He is the Gift” which tells of the first Christmas gift from our Heavenly Father to us of His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. It can be seen at www.mormon.org/christmas?cid=HPFR112814529. I posted the invitation to watch the video on Facebook.
I worked 40 minutes on the Herefordshire parishes.
On Saturday 6 December we enjoyed breakfast in the Hopi Grill and Lounge. Our eggs were made to order! Departed at 8:25.
We traveled through Texas Canyon which has many strange rock formations.
Our odometer was at 90209 in Benson. I got three gallons at $2.799! Then I filled up at $2.399 at Pilot in Tucson!
We arrived at Colleen's at 11:45. After relaxing a little we all piled into Colleen's car to go see a Christmas parade (Sean was at the parade route helping with it via walkie talkie). It was thought to start at 2 but didn't begin until 3. Over at 4 we all had fun in the carnival environment, e.g., bounce house, riding the Desert Express Train, petting zoo (the boys, that is), etc.
I began reading book five of the five Eileen got me for my birthday in September, "Written in My Own Heart's Blood" by Diana Gabaldon.
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| Diana Gabaldon |
I indexed eight marriage records from the state of Virginia in June 1975 on FamilySearch and worked on my blog for the week of 9 November.
At bedtime I finished reading "The Law of the Fast: A Personal Responsibility to Care for the Poor and Needy" by Bishop Dean M. Davies, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, to Eileen.
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| Bishop Dean M. Davies |
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