On Sunday 25 January we attended the Plantation Ward and David joined us for sacrament meeting.
Opening hymn was #84, "Faith of Our Fathers," by Frederick W. Faber. He was a noted English hymn writer and theologian, who converted from Anglicanism to the Catholic priesthood. His best-known work is Faith of Our Fathers. Though he was a Roman Catholic writing for fellow Catholics at that point, many of his hymns today are sung by Protestant congregations. Wikipedia
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| Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863) |
Sacrament hymn was #179, "Again, Our Dear Redeeming Lord," text by Theodore E. Curtis (1872-1957) and music by Alfred M. Durham (1872-1957).
The first speaker was a young man Stephen Smith spoke of sheep and shepherds in Morocco. The shepherd knows them each by name. And the sheep know his voice. We need to be true shepherds in these latter days.
The second speaker was Patricia Khurshid who told us about herself. She talked of Christ speaking in allegories. She researched sheep online. We need to hold to the iron rod and follow the right voice. What would lead you to let go of the rod? 2 Nephi 9:19-24. How did Lucifer entice one-third of the hosts of heaven to follow him? She spoke of Jonah. She quoted President Monson to follow the Savior. She went on and on and on. I only picked up on about 30% of her talk.
Intermediate hymn was #97, "Lead, Kindly Light," text by John Henry Newman and music by John Bacchus Dykes.
Newman was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. He was known nationally by the mid-1830s. Originally an evangelical Oxford academic and priest in the Church of England, Newman was a leader in the Oxford Movement. This influential grouping of Anglicans wished to return the Church of England to many Catholic beliefs and forms of worship traditional in the medieval times to restore ritual expression. In 1845 Newman left the Church of England and was received into the Catholic Church. In 1879, he was created cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his services to the cause of religion in England. Hitherto, in modern times, no simple priest, without duties in the Roman Curia, had been raised to the Sacred College. Newman’s elevation was hailed by the English nation and by Catholics everywhere with unexampled enthusiasm. It broke down the wall of partition between the See of Rome and England. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland, which evolved into University College, Dublin, today the largest university in Ireland. Wikipedia
Newman was an important figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. He was known nationally by the mid-1830s. Originally an evangelical Oxford academic and priest in the Church of England, Newman was a leader in the Oxford Movement. This influential grouping of Anglicans wished to return the Church of England to many Catholic beliefs and forms of worship traditional in the medieval times to restore ritual expression. In 1845 Newman left the Church of England and was received into the Catholic Church. In 1879, he was created cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in recognition of his services to the cause of religion in England. Hitherto, in modern times, no simple priest, without duties in the Roman Curia, had been raised to the Sacred College. Newman’s elevation was hailed by the English nation and by Catholics everywhere with unexampled enthusiasm. It broke down the wall of partition between the See of Rome and England. He was instrumental in the founding of the Catholic University of Ireland, which evolved into University College, Dublin, today the largest university in Ireland. Wikipedia
Dykes published numerous sermons and articles on religion; however, he is best known for over 300 hymn tunes he composed. Among those still in wide use are: Nicaea, commonly sung to the words "Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!" and Lux Benigna, sung to Newman's poem Lead, Kindly Light. Wikipedia
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| John Henry Newman (1801-1890) |
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| John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876) |
The concluding speaker was Craig Smith who spoke of good shepherds and being such. He is in the hotel business and spoke of when they were at a hotel in Brazil. Prime Minister Tony Blair visited. Trousers that he had on he wanted pressed. We are all here to be shepherds and keep an eye on our sheep, not on the prime minister's boxer shorts. Luke 5:9-14. Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in 1999. One guide was responsible for the clients and another for the porters. One guide adhered to his responsibilities and another did not like his role. Equated this with shepherds. Serve in our callings. He didn't have enough time left but seemed to go ahead and give his whole talk as he didn't finish until 10:16. Fortunately the closing hymn was only one verse.
Closing hymn was #128, "When Faith Endures," text by Naomi W. Randall (1908-2001) and music by Stephen M. Jones (1960- ).
Sister Randall was an LDS songwriter and author and a leader in the Primary of the Church. See blog entry for 18 January.
Brother Jones is an American professor of music composition at BYU and currently Dean of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications. Wikipedia
Sister Randall was an LDS songwriter and author and a leader in the Primary of the Church. See blog entry for 18 January.
Brother Jones is an American professor of music composition at BYU and currently Dean of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications. Wikipedia
This was a sacrament meeting where the sacrament itself was easily the highlight of the meeting. The two adult talks were not very good at all.
Gospel Doctrine was taught by Brother Hales and was lesson #4, "“Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord” using Matthew 3–4; John 1:35–51.
The purpose of the lesson is to inspire class members to draw near to the Savior by repenting of their sins, keeping their baptismal covenants, and withstanding temptation.
Brother Hales had me confused until I realized that he was finishing lesson 3 which was "Guided by the Father, Jesus prepares in his youth for his ministry."
1. John the Baptist prepares the way of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist.
3. Jesus withstands Satan’s temptations in the wilderness.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said: “The Lord is well aware of our mortality. He knows our weaknesses. He understands the challenges of our everyday lives. He has great empathy for the temptations of earthly appetites and passions” (in General Conference, Apr. 1996).
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| Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008) |
4. Some of John the Baptist’s disciples decide to follow Jesus.
The opening hymn in priesthood meeting was #134, "I Believe in Christ," text by Elder Bruce R. McConkie and music by John Longhurst.
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| Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915-1985) |
Elder McConkie was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church from 1972 until his death. He was a member of the First Council of the Seventy of the LDS Church from 1946 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
During his service as a general authority, McConkie published several doctrinal books and articles and wrote the chapter headings of the LDS Church's 1979–81 editions of the standard works (Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price).
He wrote several poems, a few of which he read in various general conference addresses. He wrote the poem "I Believe in Christ", which he delivered in a 1972 general conference address, "The Testimony of Jesus". It was later set to music and published in the LDS Hymnal as hymn number 134. He also wrote the fourth verse to the LDS Church hymnal's number 21, "Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice". Wikipedia
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| John Longhurst (1940- ) |
The lesson should have been "Teachings For Our Time" and should have used the talk "Are We Not All Beggars?" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from October 2014 General Conference.
However for some reason the high priests used lesson #3 from "Teachings of the Presidents of the Church Ezra Taft Benson" entitled "Freedom of Choice, an Eternal Principle" which should not be until 8 February!
“Agency has been given to all of us to make important decisions that will have bearing on our salvation. Those decisions affect our happiness in eternity.”
1. Agency--freedom of choice--is a God-given, eternal principle.
2. This life is a time of testing in which we are free to choose between good and evil.
3. We use our agency to make decisions that determine our happiness now and throughout eternity.
4. Decisions of crucial importance require our prayerful effort.
5. We are agents unto ourselves, and the Lord expects us to do good things of our own free will.
It is amazing how often the high priests are out of sync with the sisters in Relief Society! Eileen enjoyed the lesson about the talk "Are We Not All Beggars?" by Elder Holland.
As we left church our odometer reached 94249.
Back at David's we got comfortable and began packing. We left my two broken suitcases for David to dispose of and got some from him that he didn't need. Ron and Melanie, old friends of David and Sue, came by for a visit.
We watched "Genealogy Roadshow" from last Tuesday that David had recorded for us.
Then we went to visit Russ and Gail. We enjoyed dinner there and David, Megan, and Kristen and her family were there, too. Lamb chops from the grill and homemade chili were delicious!
Then we went to visit Russ and Gail. We enjoyed dinner there and David, Megan, and Kristen and her family were there, too. Lamb chops from the grill and homemade chili were delicious!
On Monday 26 January we left about 10:30 just as the rain began. It poured for a while and then became lovely as we headed north on the Florida Turnpike.
Our odometer reached 94349 as we approached Ft. Pierce.
We arrived at Dee Andrade's in Melbourne at 1:30. We served with Dee on the British floor of the Family History Library on our mission. Ann Donald, who finished her service on the British floor before we arrived on our mission, was there and we visited both of their apartments. Dee is in 230 and Ann in 241 in two different buildings labeled A and B.
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| Eileen and Dee in Dee's apartment |
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| Eileen and Dee in Dee's apartment |
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| Eileen, Dee, and Ann in Dee's apartment |
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| Noah's Ark in Ann's apartment |
We followed them to the northern Cracker Barrel in Melbourne where we enjoyed lunch with them. We very tentatively made arrangements with them to visit us in May. A friend of theirs in their apartment complex has a place in Blue Ridge, GA!
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| Eileen, Ann, and Dee at Cracker Barrel |
We got gas immediately for $2.049. Then as soon as we headed north on I-95 we saw a Pilot gas station for $1.979!
As we headed west on FL 528 toward Orlando the odometer reached 94449 and then when we got on I-75 we hit 94549.
When we reached Gainesville about 7:30 we went to the d'Lites Emporium for a treat where we had been once before. Eileen had rocky road and vanilla. I had rocky road and chocolate amaretto. Delish! Back in the car we left a voice message on Sean's iPhone singing "happy birthday" to him.
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| Inside d'Lites Emporium |
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| Inside d'Lites Emporium |
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| There's nothing wrong with the world a little ice cream won't fix. |
We got to Russ's place in Brooker about 8:30 and hit the hay a couple of hours later.
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| Spanish moss overhanging the road leaving Brooker |
Heading north on I-75 we reached 94649. In Valdosta we got gas at Sam's Club for $1.879. After Eileen had a nap we stopped at KFC in Perry for lunch. Then we filled up again for $1.819! As she napped we reached 94949.
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| KFC in Perry |
We got through Atlanta before traffic got heavy and we were back in Ellijay, stopping at Ingles by 3:45. We were home by 4:30 and unpacked the car which is a long process. I called my sister Lib on Long Island to see how much snow she got with the blizzard. She got a foot of snow, about half of what was predicted.
We finished unpacking and I began working on nearly a month's worth of mail. It was nice to get late Christmas cards from several dear friends.
We enjoyed watching "Genealogy Roadshow" at 8 pm. It was well after 9 when I finished going through the box of mail. We have some "real" mail to look at now that most of the mail is in the recyclables and we got all of our prescriptions that we were expecting.
Afterwards I downloaded the pictures from Eileen's camera onto my laptop and organized all of those pictures as well as those from our iPhones in iPhoto for our Carnival cruise.
On Wednesday 28 January I enjoyed checking out the results of my sleep last night. I am also wearing a wristband that David got me that monitors my activities! It was very interesting. Eileen gets far more deep sleep than I do. Much of my sleep is light.
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| UP bracelet by Jawbone |
We went to our doctor's appointment to follow up on our bloodwork that was done on 18 November. Both of our results were very good!
From there we went by the post office and dry cleaners. We stopped at church to use the facilities, checked the new listing for cleaning the building (my team is scheduled for the week ending 7 February), picked up a copy of last Sunday's bulletin in the chapel, and picked up some tithing envelopes and forms. As we left the sister missionaries Sisters Burge and Nettleton had pulled up. They told us how many patrons were at the food pantry last week and today. We arranged to pick them up at Ingles next week. We also learned of the new elder, Elder Lowman, who replaced Elder Kuoha. Sister Nettleton had gotten copies of the newspapers from Gilmer and Fannin Counties that had her picture in them.
We drove to the city park along the Coosawattee River and walked for about 25 minutes. We went as far as the Veterans Memorial Bridge and returned to the car.
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| Ben at the bridge |
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| Coosawattee River |
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| Eileen at the bridge |
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| Along the path |
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| Along the path |
We shopped at Ingles as we needed more fruit-2-O among other things. Then we went to the North Georgia Eye Clinic to fix the nose piece on Eileen's glasses and make an appointment to get her eyes checked for a new prescription.
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| Patricia Smith inside the North Georgia Eye Clinic |
After that we went by the Times-Courier office to get the three issues of January that missed.
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| Times-Courier office |
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| Inside the Times-Courier office |
It was on to North Georgia Diamond to get my new ring repaired. Eileen got it for me for Christmas and last Saturday at her brother Russ's I saw that the black onyx stone had disappeared! We had to leave it with them.
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| North Georgia Diamond |
While there we met Amanda, a new employee, and we discussed cruising with her. She isn't too much younger than us and when we left, I asked Eileen if she reminded her of Dolly Parton or Paula Deen. She said, "Yes."
Our last stop was at R&A Orchards which is on the way home. We got this week's Times-Courier, Gold Rush and Pink Lady apples, and a sugar-free fried apple pie for supper.
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| All the apples! |
Heading up Big Creek Road our odometer reached 95059. At home I went through the mail and then looked through the four issues of the Times-Courier. Two of our pictures were in the 8 January issue.
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| Ben and Eileen in front of the Phoenix Temple |
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| Ben and Eileen in front of Bodacious Bar B Que in Tyler, Texas |
We enjoyed watching episodes of "America's Test Kitchen" that I had recorded. I called Cherokee County Toyota for an appointment tomorrow afternoon.
We enjoyed watching episodes of "Cook's Country" as we ate steelhead trout for supper.
I worked on sending and replying to e-mails, arranging home teaching visits, and working on my 28 December blog. Eileen chatted with Holly Hughes and we'll visit them on Friday.
We had fun watching "MythBusters," one of Eileen's favorite programs.
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| Cast of "MythBusters" |
On Thursday 29 January we were up early as Eileen had her appointment at Barbara's Hair Designers and I got my haircut at the City Barber Shop.
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| Barbara's Hair Designers |
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| City Barber Shop |
We stopped at Walmart for gas which is back to being the lowest in the county at $1.909. Usually someone else is cheaper.
We arrived at our dentist Free Home Dental at 11:10 am, about 30 minutes early. We visited with Sharon McMillan, the receptionist, to whom I sent a Book of Mormon last year, and learned she's been contending with a non-malignant brain tumor! She underwent radiation last year and when we got home I called and put her name on the Nashville Temple prayer roll. The Atlanta Temple is closed for cleaning. It was bizarre when I first called Atlanta because the message for the prayer roll recommended calling the Orlando Temple!
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| Free Home Dental in Canton |
The dental assistant was Kim whom we hadn't met before. She called me soon after we got there. Also new to us was Dr. Stevens. We knew that Dr. Shim took over Dr. Shorr's practice as the latter had retired to Florida. Dr. Stevens has had a practice in Duluth, GA, for 30 years. He lives near Free Home so is now there two days a week. I like this a lot because I have a hard time understanding Dr. Shim.
I was there to do the work necessary to getting a permanent crown to replace the temporary one on my implant from Dr. Codelli.
When we left we still had two hours before my 2:40 appointment at Cherokee Toyota. Eileen said how about lunch? We ate at Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint in Canton. The salads were very good and the pizzas looked good. There are 200 locations in the country!
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| Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint |
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| Inside Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint |
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| Leaving Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint |
We got to the Toyota dealer about 1:45, an hour early. We had the 90,000-mile service done. We had gotten the oil change last month in Arizona but we were now over 95,000 miles so the car was due for another oil change!
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| The customer waiting room |
Back in Ellijay we stopped at Walmart for a pit stop. I found two 9V rechargeable batteries which they haven't had in quite a while. I had misplaced two of mine sometime in our travels in the last few months. We ran into Cindy Ford, who was a volunteer at the food pantry, and had a nice chat.
Then we drove to the city park and walked for 25 minutes before heading home.
I prepared two Book of Mormons for mailing, went through all of our loose change to take to the bank tomorrow, took care of some e-mails, and took the survey online for Carnival Cruise Lines which they probably won't be happy with.
Eileen and I researched a Danish ancestor related to her Aunt Esther. She had gotten an e-mail via Ancestry.com about the fellow, so we checked him out and she replied as best she could.
On Friday 30 January we slept late and enjoyed lunch with Ralph and Holly Hughes at Peking Garden in Jasper.
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| Eilee, Holly, and Ralph |
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| Inside Peking Garden |
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| Eilee, Holly, and Ralph in Peking Garden |
Back in Ellijay we turned in all of our loose quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies at the bank which yielded $101.96.
At home Eileen worked a half hour on Yorkshire A-I adding "Genealogy" to each parish title, doing some of the B's until FamilySearch froze up.
I worked on filing some of the paperwork in the office. Afterwards I downloaded the pictures from Eileen's camera onto her laptop and organized all of those pictures as well as those from our iPhones in iPhoto for our Carnival cruise.
I worked on e-mails, read a lot of the latest on the Church News online for January, and worked on my 28 December blog entry.
I finished reading "Tom Swift and His Electronic Hydrolung" by Victor Appleton II (Tom Swift Jr.) which I began on 5 January. That is the last Tom Swift book in the public domain.
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On Saturday 1 February we slept late as we have nothing scheduled until this evening. I worked on a number of e-mails to friends including pictures to Judy Lawrie of our visit to Grand Turk. Eileen caught up on her reading of two Consumer Reports and watched “Treehouse Masters” on the Animal Planet channel which I recorded for her last night as the fellow was doing a treehouse in Germany.
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| Pete Nelson |
I finished the 17 August issue of the Church News. I enjoyed reading the articles "I see its fulfillment" about the growth of the Church in the Philippines to 700,000
and 'This is a woman's church.’ The latter was an address given by Sister Sharon Eubank who is the director of LDS Charities, the humanitarian organization of the Church. Sister Eubank took her theme, “This Is a Woman’s Church,” from a story she heard related by her friend Lillian DeLong. Sister DeLong and her husband were doing some Church leadership training in a rural part of Ghana. A woman came up to her after the training to shake her hand and emotionally said, “This is a woman’s church.”
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| Elder Augusto A. Lim stands in front of the Manila Philippines Temple |
and 'This is a woman's church.’ The latter was an address given by Sister Sharon Eubank who is the director of LDS Charities, the humanitarian organization of the Church. Sister Eubank took her theme, “This Is a Woman’s Church,” from a story she heard related by her friend Lillian DeLong. Sister DeLong and her husband were doing some Church leadership training in a rural part of Ghana. A woman came up to her after the training to shake her hand and emotionally said, “This is a woman’s church.”
Sister Delong asked what she meant, and the woman replied, in essence, “We have the glorious Relief Society that teaches us about spiritual things and everyday things that bless us and our families. At the same time your husband is in the next room teaching our husbands that they must not beat wives or children, that this is not in the gospel of Christ. And we have the temple so my children who are dead will be mine forever, and nothing can take them from me. Everything I want, I find in this church. This is a woman’s church.”
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| Sister Sharon Eubank |
The centerfold was entitled “Church’s Blue Creek Welfare Farm” which is the Church’s flagship wheat farm in Utah’s Box Elder County.
I enjoyed “Invitation to act” with tips on how to organize and involve youth in family history events and “Details and focus” that are important for writing a great family history.
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| The rolling 'amber waves of grain' on the Church's Blue Creek Grain Farm in northern Utah |
I enjoyed “Invitation to act” with tips on how to organize and involve youth in family history events and “Details and focus” that are important for writing a great family history.
Eileen worked 3 hours and Ben worked 2 hours on the Yorkshire parishes A-I.
I had hoped to home teach Peggy Espersen and the Kazy’s these last couple of days but it didn’t work out. Bill called to cancel today and we talked about 30 minutes.
Before, during, and after supper, we watched several programs that I had recorded: "Duff Till Dawn," "America's Test Kitchen," "Cook's Country," and Rick Steves' "England's Bath and York."
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| Duff Goldman |
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| Christopher Kimball and Bridget Lancaster |
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| Yorkshire Museum in York, opened in 1830 |
I began and finished "The Case of the Missing Will A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.
We watched another recorded program called "Ultimate Restorations". This episode was about restoring two famous carousels, the Looff in San Francisco and the Illions Supreme in Los Angeles.
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| the Looff in San Francisco |
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| the Illions Supreme in Los Angeles |
I found a Family Ordinance Request form (FOR) that I had prepared for Sue last July. I checked the names in Family Tree and found that baptisms and confirmations have been done for five male names (of 13) and baptism was done for one female name (of 5), all in the Ft. Lauderdale Temple on 31 July. I don't have any of the cards and I vaguely remembered giving them to someone for her ward members to do the work. I e-mailed Eric Penrod about it. He confirmed that he had them for the ward members to do for Sue and David.
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