On Sunday 1 March Eileen enjoyed the Book of Mormon discussion in the book of Alma chapters 31-32 on BYU-TV and we again enjoyed attending our Ellijay Branch.

Opening hymn was #46 "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" by John Newton and included in the first LDS hymnbook with music by Franz Joseph Haydn.  Newton was an English sailor, in the Royal Navy for a period, and later a captain of slave ships. He became ordained as an evangelical Anglican cleric, served Olney, Buckinghamshire for two decades, and also wrote hymns, known for "Amazing Grace" and "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken." Wikipedia.  Haydn was a prominent and prolific composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet".  Wikipedia.

John Newton (1725-1807)

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Brother Scott Pierce was sustained as second counselor in the YM presidency.

Sacrament hymn was #192 "He Died! The Great Redeemer Died" by Isaac Watts and included in the first LDS hymnbook with music by George Careless.  Watts was an English Christian hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymn writer, his work was part of evangelization. He was recognized as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns. Many of his hymns remain in use today and have been translated into numerous languages. Wikipedia.  Brother Careless was a prominent Latter-day Saint composer and conductor.  Wikipedia.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

George Careless (1839-1932)

Tony Stanley conducted the meeting, so he began the testimonies.  He spoke of what a testimony is in the gospel context.  Of the personal love of our Heavenly Father.  Of our savior Jesus Christ, of the restoration of the gospel, and of our current prophet Thomas S. Monson.  About decisions we make that may be righteous or unrighteous.  A better man now thanks to joining the Church 25 years ago.  

John Cribb told how he and his wife were sealed in the temple yesterday.  How the kindness of a neighbor helped them to get their truck out of their snowy cul-de-sac.

Caroline Echard spoke of her conversion 57 years ago at the age of 15.  Grandson returning home from a mission to Brazil.

Kathy Green bore her testimony and said that she joined the Church 32 years ago.  Of a recording that a friend of hers had made years ago of a talk by her deceased husband George, of his testimony.

David Echard bore his testimony of Jesus Christ being the Son of God, of Joseph Smith being a prophet of God, of the restoration of the gospel.

Don Bivens bore his testimony and among other things that the priesthood of God is real, grateful to the Prophet Joseph Smith and his sacrifices.

Debby Young spoke of God's love for us.  Jennifer Boland with baby in her arms bore her testimony and her gratefulness for the gospel.  Barbara King bore her testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Naomi Boland bore her testimony for the first time in sacrament meeting.  Taylor Cribb bore her testimony. She was sealed to her parents yesterday.

Diana Stephens spoke of her love for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.  The gospel is great and we should share it. She was baptized 35 years ago in April.  She was at the sealing of the Cribb's yesterday. 

Tiana Cornell bore her testimony. Charmet Chester, a convert of only 3 1/2 years, enjoyed doing initiatories and being at the sealing of the Cribb's yesterday. Bailey Hanks bore her testimony. Marisa Boland bore her testimony. 

Rod Clark spoke of being touched by the testimonies of the young people. Jay Hanks bore his testimony and is grateful for the Savior's atoning sacrifice. Enjoying his calling with the young men, trying to be fun. The Gospel is true.

Curtis Bond thanked all those that bore their testimonies today. We need to stand up and let people know what we believe. Let our light shine. The Church is true.

Steve Riancho appreciates what we do for one another.  Family preparedness is dear to his heart. The time is now to prepare. He spoke of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training, meeting people in the community. 

Deb Fisher spoke of a granddaughter challenging a teacher's erroneous statements.

Closing hymn was #134 "I Believe in Christ" by Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (see 25 January blog entry).  I have sung this hymn many times before but today it affected me differently.   It has not been one of my favorite hymns.  The words just did not have the same beauty to me of many other hymns.  When I sang it today I for some reason was more focused on the words and the doctrine.  It was precious to me and I felt the spirit of the hymn.

Gospel Doctrine with Claire Bowen was lesson #8, The Sermon on the Mount: “A More Excellent Way” using Matthew 5.

The purpose of the lesson is to encourage class members to come unto Christ by applying the principles he taught in the Sermon on the Mount. 

The lesson focuses on the Sermon on the Mount, which contains many invitations from the Savior. The class members were encouraged to look for invitations during the lesson and to write them on the piece of paper. 

1. Jesus teaches the Beatitudes to his disciples.

2. Jesus declares that his disciples are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.”

3. Jesus teaches a higher law than the law of Moses.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: “Under the Mosaic law the taking of oaths was so common and covered such a variety of circumstances that, in practice, little verity attended statements that were not made with an oath. … Under the perfect law of Christ every man’s word is his bond, and all spoken statements are as true as though an oath attended each spoken word”.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1915-1985)

President Joseph Fielding Smith said: 

“I believe the Lord meant just what he said: that we should be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect. That will not come all at once, but line upon line, and precept upon precept, example upon example, and even then not as long as we live in this mortal life, for we will have to go even beyond the grave before we reach that perfection and shall be like God. 

“But here we lay the foundation. Here is where we are taught these simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in this probationary state, to prepare us for that perfection. It is our duty to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. … If we are keeping the commandments of the Lord, we are on that road to perfection”.

President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972)

The teachings in the Sermon on the Mount help us “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him”.

Following Gospel Doctrine Terry Dorsey came over to me and we made an appointment to help him with his family history.

The hymn in priesthood was #264 "Hark, All Ye Nations!" based on German text by Louis F. Moench (1847-1916) with music by George F. Root.  Brother Moench was the founder of Weber Stake Academy and the father of education in Northern Utah, on the same level of importance as John R Park and Karl G. Maeser to the development of education in Utah. He also served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Switzerland and Germany. While on this mission he published many materials in German. The most notable of these was the hymn "Hark, All Ye Nations" set to music by George F. Root. This hymn became the most loved hymn of the German-speaking Latter-day Saints and was translated into English and published as part of the 1985 version of the LDS hymnbook.  Wikipedia.  Root was an American songwriter, who found particular fame during the American Civil War.  Wikipedia.

Statue of Louis F. Moench at Weber State University 

George F. Root (1820-1895)

The lesson was the leadership lesson about "Perfecting the Saints," continuing what Brother David Echard taught on 8 February. Hebrews 4:14-15. D&C 93:11-14,19-20. Mosiah 3:19. D&C 84:33.

At home I prepared a Book of Mormon for the front desk clerk at the Comfort Inn in Franklin, NC.  Eileen prepared the birthday cards for Colleen (she found two she liked so the envelope has two of them in it).

We enjoyed a simple supper.  Eileen worked on a long reply to an Ancestry e-mail from Tony Slee about their Slee ancestors.  I made some home teaching appointments, and phone calls and e-mails about helping branch members with their family history.

We watched "Who Do You Think You Are?" with Lisa Kudrow and "Georgia Outdoors," both of which I had recorded.  The latter was all about alligators.

Lisa Kudrow (b. 1963)

I finished reading "The A.B.C. Murders" by Agatha Christie that I started two days ago.  Another excellent Hercule Poirot mystery!

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

Brother Mark Usry called me back and we made an appointment for Saturday to work on his family history.  We'd have to go to the Pickens County Library to access the Internet.

On Monday 2 March we got up late which was delightful.  Eileen slept and I read the news and novels on my iPhone.

We enjoyed breakfast and watched "Long Lost Family" that I had recorded on TLC.

Then we were off to see our doctor and the results from our recent bloodwork.  He cautioned us about our A1C going up, so we will forgo any bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, root vegetables, and such until our next bloodwork in mid-May and see how we do.  He actually warned me specifically that in the way I was going I could be on dialysis in two or three years!  That gets one's attention!

Dr. Raisig's office

Inside Dr. Raisig's office

We went by Bryant Physical Therapy in Ellijay where we had been going in October and November to see about returning there to work out.  Heading home our odometer reached 97179.

Ben and Eileen working out

We finished our last two tortillas by having my steak I had taken out for fajitas for supper.  Delicious!

I published the 25 January issue of my blog.

We went to church for our empty-nester FHE with David Echard teaching about the First Vision.  We enjoyed watching two videos about the First Vision which were conducted by Glenn Rawson who was one of our guides and our lecturer on our LDS cruise around the U. K. in August 2013.

Ellijay Branch meetinghouse

Ellijay Branch meetinghouse foyer

Glenn Rawson

On Tuesday 3 March we got up early and drove to Jasper to help Terry Dorsey with his family history.  Then we went by the Pickens County Public Library to reconnoiter for our visit with Mark Usry on Saturday.

Terry and Judy Dorsey's home

Pickens County Public Library 

 

Back in Ellijay we filled up at Walmart for $2.199.  Earlier I put five gallons in for $2.229 to get to Jasper.  My Walmart gift card was empty :(

We visited Sabrina Bayless as her home and visiting teachers.  

Sabrina Bayless' home

Then we drove to Blue Ridge.  The Taste of Amish store opens at its new location tomorrow.  We visited Darlene Burgess as her home and visiting teachers.  I gave her a priesthood blessing while there.

Darlene Burgess' home

We had a relaxing evening as Eileen had on "Wheel of Fortune," "Jeopardy," and "19 and Counting."

Jeopardy with Alex Trebek

The Duggars Family

On Wednesday 4 March we picked up the sisters at Ingles and volunteered at the food pantry.  Eileen made barbecue meatballs in her crockpot and they were a big hit at the pantry for lunch!  We had about 115 families come for food.

Gilmer Community Food Pantry

We stopped at R&A Orchards on the way home and got more baby pickled beets and the Times-Courier.

Eileen and I both took a nap for about an hour and a half. I worked on my talk during the day and sent an e-mail to the Ensign magazine about the footnote in Elder Nelson's article in the January issue.  Here is what I sent and what their replies were:

"I was reading the talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson in the January Ensign and saw the footnote about agency. I have often wondered why the Church leaders dropped the term "free agency". For most of Church history the prophets and apostles used that term as well as just the word "agency". The footnote really annoyed me by casually saying that some people use the term "free agency" but it is not scriptural. "Some people" were prophets and apostles! There may be some obscure reason why the term "free agency" was modified but to treat it as being incorrect and only stated by "some people" whom the footnote implied don't know any better is almost blasphemous as "some people" are prophets and apostles! A better footnote would have explained why we now use "agency" instead of "free agency".  President John Taylor stated "But Lucifer wanted ... to go contrary to the will of his Father, and presumptuously sought to deprive man of his free agency, thus making him a serf, and placing him in a position in which it was impossible for him to obtain that exaltation which God designed should be man's, through obedience to the law which He had suggested." "The Father ... made a decree ... that both the inhabitants of heaven and the inhabitants of earth should have their free agency. It was against this that Lucifer rebelled and he could not have rebelled against a plan or commandment that had not been given for rebellion signifies a violation of law, command, or authority and he was cast out of heaven because of this rebellion. This rebellion could not have existed without a free agency for without a free agency they would all have been compelled to do the will of the Father. But having the free agency, they used it and Lucifer and a third part of the angels were cast out because they rebelled and used this agency in opposition to their heavenly Father." I could cite many more examples by President Joseph F. Smith, Elder John A. Widtsoe, President George Albert Smith, President David O. McKay, President Joseph Fielding Smith, President Harold B. Lee, President Spencer W. Kimball, President N. Eldon Tanner, Elder L. Tom Perry, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, and President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Br. Bailey: Thank you for your comments.  I think you had a good idea when you said... "A better footnote would have explained why we now use "agency" instead of "free agency"."    I think you already know that the footnote was technically correct.  'Some' only means "at least one, but not all" and the editors never meant to imply or say that church leaders (prophets and apostles) never used the term in the past.  However, the scriptures NEVER use the term "free agency" - in the Bible and Book of Mormon there are scriptures that state God has made us 'free', and in the D&C there are references to 'agency', but never are the two terms used together.  I think today's leaders are only trying to be more precise - we recognize that different phrasing and terminology are subject to change over time - it is the eternal truths that never change.  No criticism of past church leaders was intended. But your comments have been sent along to the teams and staffs who are responsible for the magazines for their consideration.  Thank you again!

I replied as follows: Thank you.  I am well aware that the term "free agency" is not found in the scriptures.  I just thought the footnote seemed to imply that "some people" don't know any better when past prophets and apostles and even current ones such as examples I found of Elder Perry and Elder Oaks have used the term.  Could you perhaps tell me more than that they "are only trying to be more precise"?

Br. Bailey - No... I can't tell you more than that, because I wasn't in on the editorial discussions at the Ensign.  And I wouldn't be surprised if we hear some General Authorities continue to use the term "free agency" in the future!  I just feel bad that the footnote was worded so as to leave people the wrong impression that we were "chiding" previous leaders for not knowing what they were talking about!   Sorry!

On Thursday 5 March we were up early and went to Bryant Physical Therapy to work out.  Sonya had us work out on all 10 machines followed by the two cardiovascular machines, showing us how to adjust each one for us individually.  She recorded all the settings for our future visits.

Inside Bryant Physical Therapy

Eileen and Sonja

Ben working out

We mailed Heather and Tom's anniversary card and a musical St. Patrick's Day to Liam and visited Ingles and Walmart.

Our son-in-law David in Florida caught a nice size fish and sent some to us, part of it being smoked.  We enjoyed the smoked piece for lunch today.

Megan and David

Their catch!

The weather forecast was for a wintry mix but that changed to just rain.

We enjoyed watching "Caribbean Life" on HGTV.  Two episodes were in the Turks & Caicos Islands, although in Providenciales, not Grand Turk.

Eileen and I worked on our church talks.  I finished my talk and will check on how long it is later.

We enjoyed "Wheel of Fortune," "Jeopardy," "Fixer Upper," and "Rehab Addict," the latter two on HGTV.

Chip and Joanna Gaines

Nicole Curtis

On Friday 6 March we attended the Kids Ferst Public Relations meeting at the Corner Country Kitchen.  Our odometer reached the palindrome of 97379. 

Kids Ferst Public Relations meeting

Kids Ferst Public Relations meeting

Then we went to Bryant Physical Therapy to work out, now that we know what to do there.

We shopped at Walmart and relaxed at home.  We watched "Beat Bobby Flay" on the Food Network. 

Later during supper we watched "How It's Made" on the Science Channel.

I finished reading the 21 September issue of the Church News.  I enjoyed reading the articles "Mormon Pavilion in 1964 was technology forerunner," 

Statue of Joseph Smith, first president of the LDS Church,
inside the Mormon Pavilion

Statue of Adam and Eve inside the Mormon Pavilion

President Hugh B. Brown, First Counselor in the First Presidency
views a model of the Mormon Pavilion

Mormon Pavilion at the 1964-65 World's Fair in New York City

Statue of the Christus inside the Mormon Pavilion

"Saving your life" about the CES devotional with Elder D. Todd Christofferson, 

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"Face to face for youth" with David Archuleta, 

David Archuleta sings during a "Face to Face" event with youth worldwide

David Archuleta meets "Face to Face" with youth worldwide

"Planting seeds in California," 

The Carpenteria communal garden located behind the LDS meetinghouse

"Creating spiritual stability" about the BYU campus devotional with Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Seventy, 

and "Youth share goodness through social media channels." 

I put the four ways to build spiritual stability on Facebook.  They are:

1. Observe God's commandments. The commandments are not intended to restrict us.  Rather, obedience leads to increased spiritual stability and long-term happiness.

2. Pay attention and give heed to counsel we receive from trusted sources and commit ourselves to becoming life-long, determined learners.

3. Caring about and serving others.

4. Making Jesus Christ our foundation.

I got an e-mail from FamilySearch that all was squared away in regards to Sue's temple ordinance list.  All the names in her list were now available on Family Tree to be requested by anyone, so I got on Family Tree right away and reserved most of them.  One thing odd was that that included the names that Bishop Penrod has in Florida.  I e-mailed him to make sure which names he has.  Then I will finish reserving the rest of them.  In addition Sue's own temple work is now shown properly on her own page in Family Tree.

Lynda White called Eileen from Fremont, California, and they had a nice chat.

While doing this Heather and Tom called us using Facetime on my laptop and we then had fun chatting with them and Liam.

We watched a show we'd never seen before called "Texas Flip N Move" on the DIY Channel.

On Saturday 7 March we went by the dump and drove to Jasper to meet Mark Usry to help him with his family history.  We spent almost two hours at the Pickens County Public Library with great success. 

Pickens County Public Library

"Learning Is Fun"

Back in Ellijay we bought some sales items at Ingles and Food Lion and stopped at R&A Orchards. 

At home we enjoyed salmon and shrimp with our salad for supper.  Eileen had read me some of her talk in the car as we waited for Mark Usry and she finished reading it to me at home.  I had read my talk to her and later added to it in case I had more time.

We watched several programs that had been recorded by us. As daylight saving time begins tonight we hit the hay early.  I finished reading "Murder in Mesopotamia," a Hercule Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie, which I had begun two days before.  They are very hard to put down!