Bailey's Blog

On Sunday 26 April Eileen enjoyed "Music & the Spoken Word" and the Book of Mormon discussion in the book of 3 Nephi, John, and the Savior's I Am statement on BYU-TV and we enjoyed attending our Ellijay Branch.

Opening hymn was #62 "All Creatures of Our God and King" text by St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) translated by William H. Draper (1855-1933) and music set to the tune of "Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr", a German Easter hymn written by Friedrich Spee, published in 1623 in his book Auserlesene, Catholische, Geistliche Kirchengesäng.

Sacrament hymn was #169 "As Now We Take the Sacrament" text by Lee Tom Perry (b. 1951) and music by Daniel Lyman Carter (b. 1955).

The first speaker was Daniel Vicznesky of the Allatoona Ward. He returned two months ago from a mission to the Navajo Nation. He is one of 10 children, a middle child, and the first to serve a mission. His parents are converts. He spoke of being stalwart and strong in the storm. CPR stands for church, pray, and read. Keep things simple. He read D&C 10:5. His favorite scripture. He read 2 Nephi 31:20 and 32:3-4. Pray and read together. He read Helaman 5:12. He spoke of Elder Neil A. Anderson's talk in April 2014 general conference about the strength of trees. Attending church and following our church leaders. He spoke of Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk in general conference about staying in the boat. Also referenced Brigham Young about the same topic. Stay strong in the gospel. His mission blessed his life. Tires on the roofs of trailers to hold the roof in place in case of a sandstorm.

Intermediate hymn was #98 "I Need Thee Every Hour" text by Annie S. Hawks (1835-1918) and music by Robert Lowry (1826-1899).

The concluding speaker was Dean Bergman of the stake high council. He visited Asia recently and enjoyed the beauties of the earth. He was in Australia and Thailand. He also saw the works of men. Genesis 3:22. He spoke of Adam and Eve, knowing good and evil. Many messages about that in general conference. Ephesians 4:14. Lying in wait to deceive. President N. Eldon Tanner in April 1975 general conference. Good character. Master ourselves toward good ends. William Lloyd Garrison. Matthew. "Enter ye in at the straight gate." Stay on the straight and narrow path. Elder Holland in April 2014 general conference. Spoke to the youth to remain steadfast. Defend your faith against abuse. Hebrews. "Stop the mouth of lions ..." The Savior spoke about "your house is left unto you desolate." Christ was grieved at the rejection of Himself. Foretold the desolation of Jerusalem. Loss of 10 tribes and two tribes under the thumb of Rome. Turbulence around us today. The world no longer observes His holy day, etc. Religious freedom is trampled under foot. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Freedom requires responsibility. Love sinners, but do not condone sin. Mosiah 13:4 about Abinadi. Elder Holland and "picking marigolds." Christ kept love as His first principle. Righteousness must accompany it. Path of discipleship is a straight and narrow path. Forge unshakable faith. Bore his testimony of the Lord's love.

Closing hymn was #6 "Redeemer of Israel" text by William W. Phelps (1792-1872) adapted from Joseph Swain (1761-1796) and music by Freeman Lewis (1780-1859). It was included in the first LDS hymnbook in 1835.

Terry Dorsey came over and we made an appointment for Friday morning to help him with his family history.

Teri Grace gave us an FOR that we can take to the temple and have the family file cards printed for her.

Gospel Doctrine with Darlene Burgess was lesson #15, “I Am the Light of the World” using John 7-8.

The purpose of the lesson is to strengthen class members’ testimonies that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that by following him we can gain true freedom.

1. Jesus attends the Feast of Tabernacles and teaches in the temple.

Elder John K. Carmack of the Seventy said: “Jesus explained, ‘If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself’ (John 7:17). In other words, as you try it you can know it is true. This requires the faith to try, but it yields spiritual evidence. To the disciple who tries the experiment will come conviction, knowledge, and light” (in General Conference, Oct. 1988)

Elder John K. Carmack

2. A woman taken in adultery is brought to Jesus.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained: “The scribes and Pharisees brought before the Savior a woman taken in adultery. Their purpose was not to show love for either the woman or the Savior, but to embarrass and trick Jesus. … Jesus did not condone adultery; there is no doubt about His attitude toward proper moral conduct. [But] He chose to teach with love—to show the scribes and Pharisees the need of serving the individual for her best good and to show the destructive forces of trickery and embarrassment” (in General Conference, Apr. 1981)

Elder Marvin J. Ashton (1915-1994)

3. Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world.”

The hymn in priesthood was #27 "Praise to the Man" text by William W. Phelps (1792-1872) and music from a Scottish folk song.

The priesthood lesson was "Teachings For Our Time" with the talk "Which Way Do You Face?" by Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy. Don Bivens taught the lesson. Eileen enjoyed the same lesson taught by Robin Hanks.

"Trying to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first and second great commandments."

Elder Lynn G. Robbins

Elders Cleverly and Ross would like to get together with us about learning family history.

We had a quiet remainder of the day, reading and working on the computer. Eileen printed out some materials for visiting teaching. I read church materials, Hercule Poirot, and read some church materials to Eileen as we relaxed on the back porch. It was lovely and peaceful except for the barking of a neighbor's dog.

I began and finished "Evil Under the Sun" by Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

On Monday 27 April we were up expecting to cover the Kids Ferst registration at the county health center from 10-12 when Rena Ashworth called to say that they were closed for Confederate Memorial Day!

So we went to Bryant Physical Therapy earlier than planned.

We visited North Georgia Diamond and met Amanda, Amber, and Holly. We purchased Vidalia onions for the Rotary Club fundraiser. They'll be available later on.

We have outrageous gas prices that are higher than Raleigh and close to those on Long Island! And their gas taxes are much higher than ours!

We visited Kohl's in Canton. We chatted with Darlene Burgess about reimbursement from VA for mileage to the VA Medical Center in Decatur and back.

We returned to Ellijay and visited Walmart and Ingles, discovering Walden Farms ketchup at the latter!

Eileen enjoyed the Travel Channel even though it's not HD. She had watched it in Gatlinburg since the resort did not have the Food Network or HGTV.

I published the 1 March week of my blog.

After reading to Eileen I began and finished reading "Triangle at Rhodes A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

On Tuesday 28 April we deposited our loan check at the bank and headed for Blue Ridge. We filled up a at Ingles for $2.179 with the 10 cent discount. Eileen called Ralph and Holly and discovered that they were halfway to Ellijay, having forgotten that we were coming to Blue Ridge. So they turned around and met us at Ingles in Blue Ridge.

We rode with them and enjoyed lunch at Mike's Seafood Market & Grill in Blairsville. We had been there with them nearly a year-and-a-half ago. The way they operate is very annoying (especially to Ralph) with a single line out the door like a fast-food place and then they bring your order to you at your table. You get your own drinks, too.

Back at home we enjoyed homemade cheeseburgers from ground beef on the grill and they were yummy, and much more manageable using lettuce leaves to hold the burgers.

I finished reading "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie that I began yesterday. It is an expanded version of "The Mystery of the Baghdad Chest" which I read recently.

I checked the USPS tracking number and found that Eileen's Kabana necklace reached its destination in Albuquerque yesterday.

Eileen had the Braves - Nationals baseball game on the TV. Sadly the Braves blew a 10-2 lead and lost 13-12!

I worked on my 8 March blog entry and backed up the nine blog entries for 2015 in my Dropbox folder.

On Wednesday 29 April we volunteered at the food pantry. It was slow with more than 90 families being helped, but that was 20 more than last week, a bit surprising for a fifth Wednesday. It was nice having Elder Rumsey and others helping me with the plastic bags again.

We dropped off our usual two bags of recyclables and one bag of kitchen trash at the dump and then headed for home, stopping at R&A Orchards for the Times-Courier and some fresh strawberries.

I finished the 16 November issue of the Church News. I especially liked "The Philippines, land of smiles amid trials,"

Bishop Gerald Causse and his wife, Sister Jan Causse, in the Philippines

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks to
young Latter-day Saints who presented a cultural program during his visit to the Philippines.

"Interview yourself and ask 'How am I doing?'" with Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,

Elder M. Russell Ballard greets members attending the November 9th
Young Single Adult conference in the BYU Marriott Center.

the center section about "FamilySearch replaces documents wiped out by storm,"

Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints return records,
destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan, in Guiam, Eastern Samar, Philippines.

"BYU commemorates 'The Great War',"

Perhaps the Church's most prominent World War I veteran is Hugh B. Brown,
an officer in the Canadian Army who would go on to serve in the First Presidency.

"Apostle Peter and the priesthood"

Steven C. Harper delivers Sperry Symposium lecture on
"Peter and the Restored Priesthood".

and "Second Peter and the doctrine of becoming like God (Theosis)" (see 2 Peter 1:4) from the Sidney B. Sperry Symposium,

Andrew C. Skinner, professor of ancient history at BYU, delivers Sperry Symposium
lecture on the doctrine of becoming like God.

and "'It's just something I felt'" by Sister Carole M. Stephens of the Relief Society General Presidency.

Sister Carole M. Stephens

I also liked the Viewpoint article 'My Ebenezer' and

“The stone Samuel raised and called Ebenezer, more than just a monument of gratitude, was a visual symbol of the goodness of God to the Israelites, their total reliance on Him, their repentance and their determination to serve Jehovah, thus forsaking the false gods they had worshipped.”

the Missionary Moment "Sacred Charge."

President Monson has stressed the importance of missionary work and
the "sacred charge" each member has to share the gospel.

After supper we drove to church to staff the branch Family History Center from 6-8:45pm. We helped Bo Kelly, Gailand Green, and Debbie Young. I gave Brother Green the printout of President Eyring's general conference talk about fasting. Our odometer reached 101000.

At home I did research for Bo Kelly and emailed him.

I finished reading to Eileen "Why Marriage, Why Family" by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson

On Thursday 30 April we were up early and went into town as I dropped Eileen off at Barbara's and I went to the barber shop. Then I swung by the dry cleaners.

Back at home I finished the input for the June Kids Ferst newsletter for Gilmer County and sent it off to Ferst Foundation.

I finished reading "Murder in the Mews" by Agatha Christie that I began yesterday.

I worked in the office for a while. Then I began and finished "Promotion in the Highest A Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

I finished researching the last of our various investments, that of our shares in Walmart. I checked my last two or three bank statements to see if our rebates from our purchases in Cozumel in January had been deposited in my checking account. They were not. But then I looked at my account online for a totally different reason and there was the deposit made yesterday!

After supper I began and finished "The Case of the Discontented Husband A Parker Pyne Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

I took Eileen to Gilmer Arts for her second meeting of the second art class that she is taking from Judy Harvey. I went to Walmart for a few things and then to church to read.

Like last week Eileen enjoyed herself and her newest painting also looked very nice.

On Friday 1 May we were up early and went to Jasper to help Terry Dorsey with his family history. His wife Judy came in for lunch just as we were leaving.

On the way back to Ellijay our odometer reached the palindrome 101101. We went to our Kids Ferst PR meeting at the Country Corner Kitchen at noon.

We shopped at Walmart, went to Bryant Physical Therapy for an hour, Ingles, and R&A Orchards.

In the evening I finished "The Underdog" a Hercule Poirot story by Agatha Christie which I had begun earlier in the day.

Eileen enjoyed working on her laptop and on our daughter Sue's sudoku book. She watched "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Curvy Brides."

"Say Yes to the Dress"

"Curvy Brides"

After we hit the hay I began and finished "Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

At 12:10 am I heard our generator start up and got up to see if the power had gone off. It had not and I surmised that the generator repairman had set the time each Friday for the generator to run a test but was off by 12 hours. He had told me that it would run a test each Friday at 12:10 pm.

On Saturday 2 May we were up early and headed for the Atlanta Temple.

We enjoyed lunch at Outback Steakhouse in Johns Creek with Joyce Witten. We knew her in Annapolis, Maryland, and she is on a six-month mission here in the George North Atlanta Mission. Her husband Chuck was the bishop of the Annapolis Ward and fought cancer for many years before passing away.