On Sunday 8 March Eileen enjoyed the Book of Mormon discussion in the book of Alma chapters 36-37 on BYU-TV and we enjoyed attending our Ellijay Branch.

Opening hymn was #65, "Come, All Ye Saints Who Dwell on Earth," text by William W. Phelps and music by William B. Bradbury.  This was included in the first LDS hymnbook in 1835.  According to Wikipedia, Brother Phelps  was an early leader of the Latter-day Saint movement. He was a printer, editor, song-writer, scribe to Joseph Smith, Jr., and assistant president of the church in Missouri.  Bradbury was a musician who composed the tune to Jesus Loves Me and many other popular hymns.  He was born in York, Maine, and died in Montclair, New Jersey. Wikipedia.

William W. Phelps (1792-1872)

William B. Bradbury (1816-1868)

Sister Lynn Edwards was sustained as assistant Activity Day leader in the Primary.

Sacrament hymn was #176, "'Tis Sweet to Sing the Matchless Love," text by George A. Manwaring and music by Frank W. Asper (1892-1973).  Born in Cheshire, England, Brother Manwaring emigrated with his family in 1871 after they joined the LDS Church.  He was a bass in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  He was imprisoned by the U.S. government due to his plural marriages and died of pneumonia less than a month after his release from the penitentiary.  Brother Asper was a Latter-day Saint composer and also Mormon Tabernacle organist beginning in 1925.  He came from a musically inclined family. Wikipedia.

George A. Manwaring (1854-1889)

Frank W. Asper (1892-1973)

The first speaker was Darlene Burgess.  Attributes of Jesus Christ.  Synonyms and antonyms.  Can we develop those?  Her attributes. Spoke of the two little branches that she served in on her mission in Columbia.  Fortune cookie. Don't lose your temper. No one else wants to find it. Were we just born with our attributes or can we change? Count our blessings. We choose what emotions we feel.  Our outlook and how we choose to look at things. Have patience with ourselves. It is an ongoing process. 

The second speaker was Dori LeVan. She spoke on perseverance.  How do we cope with our challenges? She spoke of Abraham and Job.  Jesus Christ.  Lehi.  Joseph Smith. LeVan's moved south in 1969. Iowa to Georgia with five children and a dog. Cat had to fly.  Many challenges. Late night calls about children. Accident involving daughter and the death of son David in a motorcycle accident. Jury duty and being sequestered.  Worried about husband when she had cancer. He suffered from dementia. Four surgeries and chemo. Fell out of bed and helped by husband until EMT arrived.  She recovered and was able to care for her husband until his passing.  Married 58 years. "Footprints in the Sand." She expects more challenges.  Bore her testimony.

Intermediate hymn was #124, "Be Still, My Soul,"  text by Katharina von Schlegel (b. 1697), translated by Jane Borthwick, and music by Jean Sibelius.  Borthwick was hymn writer, translator of German hymns and a noble supporter of home and foreign missions.  She is best known for the Hymns from the Land of Luther; her most famous translation today is Be still, my soul and her most known original text is Come, labor on. Wikipedia.

Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic period. His music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. The core of Sibelius' oeuvre is his set of seven symphonies. His works continue to be performed frequently in the concert hall and are often recorded. In addition to the symphonies, Sibelius' best-known compositions include Finlandia, the Karelia Suite, Valse triste, the Violin Concerto in D minor, Kullervo, and The Swan of Tuonela (one of the four movements of the Lemminkäinen Suite). Wikipedia.  The music of Be still, my soul is that of Finlandia.

Jane Borthwick (1813-1897)

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

The concluding speaker was Mark Ramick.  Spoke from Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk in October 2000 general conference "The Challenge to Become." Become like our Heavenly Father. That which I am you must obtain for yourself. Testimony of Simon Peter but later conversion.  Be converted and become as little children.  Jesus said to be even as I am.  Prepare to meet God.  Be a success as a husband or wife. Moroni 7. Become like Him. Adversities be for a small moment.  Jacob in the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Importance of charity. Parable of laborers in the vineyard. Never give up on loved ones making wrong choices. Gratitude for the Plan of Salvation.

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

Closing hymn was #157, "Thy Spirit, Lord, Has Stirred Our Souls," text by Frank I. Kooyman (1880-1963) and music by Alexander Schreiner (1901-1987).  Brother Kooyman was a hymn-writer who wrote several hymns used by the Church.  He was born in Terschelling, West Frisian Islands, Netherlands on November 12, 1880. He moved to Amsterdam in 1897 and was baptized into the Church in 1899. From 1902 to 1905 he served as an LDS missionary in the Netherlands. He spent most of his adult life living in Utah.

In 1929 he returned to the Netherlands as mission president and served in this capacity for four years, residing there with his wife and three children. He wrote many articles that were published in the local press while in this capacity.

While mission president, Kooyman translated at least fifty hymns into Dutch and published a Dutch hymnal. He later assisted in making new Dutch translations of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. He translated the temple ordinances into Dutch.

He worked in the office of the Church Historian on his return from the Netherlands. He was on the committee that compiled the 1948 English hymnal of the LDS Church.

In the current English edition of the hymnal are the following hymns for which Brother Kooyman wrote the text:

"In Memory of the Crucified" (Hymn # 190)

"How Beautiful Thy Temples Lord" (Hymn # 288)

"Thy Spirit, Lord, Has Stirred Our Souls" (Hymn # 157)

"Thy Will, O Lord, Be Done" (Hymn # 188).  Wikipedia.

Brother Schreiner was one of the most noted organists of the Salt Lake Tabernacle. He also wrote the music to several LDS hymns, several of which are in the current edition of the Church hymn book.  Wikipedia 

Alexander Schreiner (1901-1987)

Gospel Doctrine with Darlene Burgess was lesson #9, “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God” using Matthew 6–7.

The purpose of the lesson is to encourage class members to become more dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ. 

Elder William R. Bradford of the Seventy once spoke with the bishop of a ward whose youth had worked to earn money for an activity. The bishop asked Elder Bradford if he would help the youth get some recognition for what they had done. To the bishop’s surprise, Elder Bradford said he would not. He said that he was glad that the young people had worked hard, but that it was not important that they receive public recognition for that work.

When the youth decided to donate their money to the Church’s general missionary fund instead of using it for the activity, they wanted to have their picture taken with Elder Bradford as they made the donation, and they wanted to have the picture and an article put into the newspaper. Again Elder Bradford surprised them by saying “no.” He told the bishop: “You might consider helping your young people learn a higher law of recognition. Recognition from on high is silent. It is carefully and quietly recorded there. Let them feel the joy and gain the treasure in their heart and soul that come from silent, selfless service” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1987, 90–91; or Ensign, Nov. 1987, 75).

Elder William R. Bradford of the Seventy

1. True disciples do right things for right reasons.

What does it mean that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”? How can we determine what we treasure? (One way is to evaluate the amount of time, money, and thought we devote to something.)

I was reminded and made the comment about Henry Van Dyke's story "The Mansion."

2. True disciples follow the Savior’s example of prayer.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks commented on the kind of language we should use when we pray: “The special language of prayer follows different forms in different languages, but the principle is always the same. We should address prayers to our Heavenly Father in words which speakers of that language associate with love and respect and reverence and closeness. … Men and women who wish to show respect will take the time to learn the special language of prayer” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1993)

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

3. True disciples treat others kindly and fairly.

The Joseph Smith Translation amends Matthew 7:1 to read, “Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment."

The teaching in Matthew 7:12 is often called the Golden Rule. How does following the Golden Rule make us better disciples of Jesus Christ? 

Elder Marvin J. Ashton described a meeting in which a group of Church members considered the question “How can you tell if someone is converted to Jesus Christ?”: 

“For forty-five minutes those in attendance made numerous suggestions in response to this question, and the leader carefully wrote down each answer on a large chalkboard. All of the comments were thoughtful and appropriate. But after a time, this great teacher erased everything he had written. Then, acknowledging that all of the comments had been worthwhile and appreciated, he taught a vital principle: ‘The best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people.’” 

Elder Ashton added: “The way we treat the members of our families, our friends, those with whom we work each day is as important as are some of the more noticeable gospel principles we sometimes emphasize” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1992)

Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1915-1994)

4. True disciples serve God and do his will.

The hymn in priesthood was #5, "High on the Mountain Top," text by Joel H. Johnson (1802-1882) and music by Ebenezer Beesley (1840-1906).  See the 8 February 2015 blog entry.

Brother Curtis Bond gave the lesson from "Choose Wisely" by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the October 2014 general conference.

I read "This was one of many fly balls Lucy dropped through the years, and she had a new excuse each time. While always humorous, Lucy’s excuses were rationalizations; they were untrue reasons for her failure to catch the ball. 

"During the ministry of President Thomas S. Monson, he has often taught that decisions determine destiny. In that spirit my counsel tonight is to rise above any rationalizations that prevent us from making righteous decisions, especially with respect to serving Jesus Christ. In Isaiah we are taught we must “refuse the evil, and choose the good.” 

"I believe it is of particular importance in our day, when Satan is raging in the hearts of men in so many new and subtle ways, that our choices and decisions be made carefully, consistent with the goals and objectives by which we profess to live. We need unequivocal commitment to the commandments and strict adherence to sacred covenants. When we allow rationalizations to prevent us from temple endowments, worthy missions, and temple marriage, they are particularly harmful. It is heartbreaking when we profess belief in these goals yet neglect the everyday conduct required to achieve them."

As is normal in priesthood we just took turns reading from Elder Cook's talk.

Elder Cook said, "I believe Elder Dallin H. Oaks’s inspired message distinguishing between “good, better, best” provides an effective way to evaluate choices and priorities. Many choices are not inherently evil, but if they absorb all of our time and keep us from the best choices, then they become insidious."

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

After church I made several appointments with branch members throughout the week to help them with their family history.

Eileen took a picture of our new elder Pepper Eames from Kaysville, Utah, to put in the Pickens Progress newspaper.

Elder Eames

When we were home (we reached 97479 on the way) I put the “Thought for the Week” in our Sunday bulletin on Facebook:

"I recommend you come to know your Father in Heaven. Come to love Him. Always remember that He loves you and will give you guidance and support if you will but give Him the chance. Include Him in your decision making. Include Him in your heartaches and heartbreaks. Include Him when you take inventory of your personal worth. 'For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men [and women] to perform their labors' (Alma 34:32)."  Elder Marvin J. Ashton.

As I do almost everyday of the week, I sent birthday greetings using the Jacquie Lawson website to several friends.  We enjoyed supper and watched "Flip or Flop" and "Rehab Addict."  Later I finished and published my 1 February blog entry.

Tarek and Christina El Moussa

Nicole Curtis of "Rehab Addict"

Eileen worked on Family Tree on familysearch.org for her great-great-great grandmother Mary Slee and her daughter Keziah's family.  We decided to go to the temple on Tuesday, the only time we can go before the youth temple trip on the 21st.

On Monday 9 March we went to Bryant Physical Therapy for our workout.  We went by Walmart and Ingles for a few things (I found the "Who's Who in Baseball" that I've been getting every year for probably 60 years), then went to North Georgia Eye Clinic for Eileen's new lenses.  We had mailed St. Patrick's Day cards to Colleen's three boys.  Back home we called Colleen via Facetime on Eileen's laptop and sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

We enjoyed knockwurst (Ben) and frankfurters (Eileen) for supper and my usual yummy salad.  The knockwurst and frankfurters had natural casing, that is, not skinless, and came from Ingles deli.

Ingles deli

Ingles deli

We had sauerkraut and Eileen sautéed onions. The salad consists of romaine lettuce, cherry or grape tomatoes, English cucumbers, and baby carrots with toppings of dilly beans, pickled asparagus, baby pickled beets, Spanish olives, jalapeño stuffed olives, garlic stuffed olives, kalamata olives, sliced jalapeños, California hot mix or Italian gardiniera and capers.  Sugar-free Walden Farms salad dressing goes on top.  

In the evening Eileen worked on her great-great grandfather John Slee's sister Keziah and her family, including her husband's siblings and parents.  We both printed our latest Family Ordinance List (FOR) to take to the temple tomorrow.  We will have about 80 ancestors for the youth of our branch to do the baptisms and confirmations for on the 21st.

On Tuesday 10 March we drove to the Atlanta Temple and went on the 11am endowment session.  There were 20 sisters and five brethren. Afterwards we had the family file cards printed from our two FORs.  Sister Kay McKenna thanked me for the article that I had sent her from FamilySearch about what to do when, in my case, a loved one has passed away and they have a temple ordinance list in Family Tree.

Atlanta Temple Celestial Room

We visited d'Lites Emporium and enjoyed their vanilla and turtle cheesecake lite ice cream.

Back in Ellijay we visited Walmart and then came home.  We enjoyed watching the season premiere of "Who Do You Think You Are?" that we recorded Sunday evening. It featured Julie Chen whom we hadn't heard of before but it was quite interesting as she researched her maternal grandfather and great-grandfather in Singapore and China.

Julie Chen

I finished reading the Albert Campion novel "Look to the Lady" by Margery Allingham which I began 11 days ago.  I enjoy the Albert Campion and Lord Peter Wimsey stories but unlike the Hercule Poirot stories I can put them down.

Margery Allingham (1904-1966)

I took a nap and we enjoyed knockwurst (Ben) and frankfurters (Eileen) for supper and my usual yummy salad again.  We had sauerkraut and Eileen sautéed onions and green pepper.

In the evening we both worked on various different aspects of our family history.  We now have 79 family file cards for the youth temple trip on the 21st.

I indexed 15 World War I draft registration cards from Washington County, Colorado.

Eileen watched "19 Kids and Counting" on the TLC channel as she worked.

The Duggar Clan

On Wednesday 11 March we went to the food pantry without picking up the sister missionaries who did not make it as they had an early appointment. Our odometer reached 97679.  Pictured are the area where I work with plastic bags for the shoppers to collect food from the shelves in their shopping carts and cardboard boxes to be collapsed for recycling.

Since Dr. Raisig admonished us on March 2nd and we have started being very careful with our diet, my blood sugar has averaged 120.4 with the last six days averaging 116.8. My average for February was 137.8 and November through February was 144.5.

Back home we looked at the Times-Courier we had gotten at R&A Orchards and our picture was in it from Key West.  We both took a nap.

Ben and Eileen

During supper we enjoyed watching "How It's Made" on the Science Channel.

Then we hustled to church to cover the Family History Center this evening.  Eileen helped Diana Stephens and I helped Gailand Green while Ron Fisher watched Gailand and me.

As we did our bedtime reading we finished the February issue of the Ensign.  

We enjoyed the entire issue and only skipped two articles. I won't list all the good articles but it was nice to read two articles about family history, the First Presidency message by President Henry B. Eyring, 

President Henry B. Eyring

the article "'My Days' of Temples and Technology" by Elder Niel L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 

and "True Love" by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

On Thursday 12 March we drove to Jasper to help Terry Dorsey with his family history.  His wife Judy was there, so interacting with her was nice.  She is not LDS. 

Back in Ellijay we went to the Lion's Club and I donated blood. We met Mike who is a member of the Lion's Club and volunteers with us at the food pantry.

In the early evening we went to El Rey Mexican restaurant for the baby shower for Cassie Kelly from our branch.  I sat elsewhere from all the ladies and enjoyed the house salad with grilled steak.  Eileen and I brought our own sugar-free thousand island salad dressing.

We had on our transmitter and receiver so I could hear what was going on near Eileen.

My meal was very good and I read Lord Peter Wimsey on my iPhone while I listened to the baby shower.  It went very well and there was a very nice turnout of sisters from the branch as well as Cassie's mom, who is not a member, and her mother-in-law from the West who is.

Eileen at El Rey

Inside El Rey

I gave the paperwork for the bishops' storehouse from Judy Farmer at the food pantry to Caroline Echard at the baby shower for her husband David.

Back at home I finished reading "Busman's Honeymoon A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery" by Dorothy L. Sayers which I had begun on 15 January.

Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957)

On Friday 13 March we went to Bryant Physical Therapy for our workout.  Jan Pardee came by from 1-4:30 pm for help with her family history.  Then we called Jane Colmenares and we had a meeting on my iPhone and laptop about our next CSM assignment in England.

Eileen's new red Breville oven came and we packed up her old silver one to send to Colleen.

I posted the following on Facebook:

Just as recorded in the scriptures when the Apostle Thomas asked the Lord the question many young people still ask today—“How can we know the way?”—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke of the eternally applicable answer Jesus gave when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. … And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do. … If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
“What an absolutely breathtaking promise from Almighty God!” Elder Holland said. “He is saying, live my way, live my truth, live my life—live in this manner that I am showing you and teaching you—and whatsoever you ask will be given, whatsoever you seek you will find, including happiness. Parts of the blessing may come soon, parts may come later, and parts may not come until heaven, but they will come—all of them.“ BYU-Idaho devotional.

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

I finished reading "George Washington, Vol. 2" by Henry Cabot Lodge which I began on 6 January.  I had also read volume 1, of course, and the biography of Daniel Webster by the author.

Henry Cabot Lodge  (1850-1924)

On Saturday 14 March we went to Dollar General and got six light green balloons and six white balloons blown up for the Kids Ferst car in the St. Petrick's Day parade (Pet due to all the pets in the parade).  While Eileen got the balloons blown up, I drove to the dump and deposited our trash and recyclables.

We went to the UPS Store and mailed Eileen's old Breville oven to Colleen now that we have Eileen's new cranberry red one.

Happy Pi Day!

We met other Kids Ferst people in the parking lot downtown for the elementary school. Emil Harvey and Eileen Below were there and soon Jacqueline Poole, Stan Ashworth, Kerrie Gilbert, Jennifer Fontenot, Betsy Shepherd, and Susan Lapp and her husband with the Kids Ferst car.  The balloons were attached to the car and the magnetic signs for Kids Ferst were slapped on the sides of the car. Jacqueline had her daughter and dog and Kerrie had her dog, both nice shaggy good-sized animals.

The weather was overcast and sprinkling on and off, so we didn't stay to watch the parade.  The others had their Kids Ferst shirts on and were walking in the parade.

Jacqueline Poole, Eileen, Emil Harvey, and Eileen Below

Sue Lapp, Emil, Jacqueline, Stan Ashworth, Kerrie Gilbert, and Eileen Below

Jacqueline, Sue, Eileen, Eileen, Stan, and Betsy Sheppard

We came home and enjoyed nice warm Amy's mushroom bisque soup.

Our odometer reached a palindrome of 97879 as we drove south to Jasper to meet Mark Usry to help him with his family history but he wasn't home.  We then visited Hallmark,  Dress Barn, and  Walmart.

We Facetimed with William and Weston at home.  Eileen enjoyed "Fixer Upper" with Chip and Joanna Gaines.