On Sunday 6 September Ben attended branch council at 8:30 am to brief the council members about the stake food drive.  Eileen enjoyed "Music & the Spoken Word" and the Book of Mormon discussion on BYU-TV on her iPhone.  We enjoyed attending our Ellijay Branch.

This blog entry is without pictures which I will add later.

President Futral of the mission presidency visited us. 

Opening hymn was #52 "The Day Dawn Is Breaking" text by Joseph L. Townsend (1849-1942) and music by William Clayson (1840-1887).

Released Julie Cribb as Sunday School teacher and the Primary presidency consisting of Jennifer Boland and Cheryl Dawson.  Sustained Olga Knight as the new Primary president.

Sacrament hymn was #135 "My Redeemer Lives" text by Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) and music by G. Homer Durham (1911-1985).

Today was Fast Sunday and many branch members bore their testimonies.

Tony Stanley began with his testimony as he was conducting the meeting today.  He spoke of his grandson going on a mission to Zambia and the letter Tony wrote to him with his testimony.  He compared what he knew 25 years ago with what he knows today (he wasn't a member then).  

Sister Rumsey has a testimony of her Father in heaven and her Savior Jesus Christ, of the truthfulness of the Gospel.  Grateful for the Prophet.  

A visiting sister bore her testimony of the Gospel and the Prophet.  She was sitting with Ann Godwin.

Don Bivens is grateful for his testimony of the last 35 years.  He knows the Holy Ghost is real and can talk to us if we will listen.  He testified of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Priesthood of God.  He is grateful for the prophets that lead and guide us.

Elder Rumsey is so grateful to be here as a proselyting missionary which is what he was 45 years ago.  So fortunate to be lead by a living prophet.  Told of the good example of many members to non-members.  He has a testimony of the Savior.  He is thankful for the Atonement in his life.

Jay Hanks is grateful to be able to stand and bear his testimony.  He is thankful for the missionaries and the 21-Day Challenge that they issued.  He is thankful for prayer and know that it works.

Kathryn Parker spoke of temples and how far they were from them when they lived in Tallahassee.  She bore her testimony that the temple is the House of the Lord.  

Elder Seitz would be ungrateful if he didn't get up and bear his testimony of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

Debbi Young is thankful for the Gospel and for the missionaries who taught her parents.  So thankful for her many blessings.

Richard Callahan is thankful for the missionaries who knocked on his door in 1978.  

I bore my testimony and shared doing missionary work by referring to the church in our daily conversations, sometimes without success and sometimes with success.

Closing hymn was #143 "Let the Holy Spirit Guide" text by Penelope Moody Allen (b. 1939) and music by Martin Shaw (1875-1958).

We made an appointment to visit Terry and Judy Dorsey on the 13th to help him with family history.

Gospel Doctrine with Darlene Burgess was lesson #33, “Ye Are the Temple of God” using 1 Corinthians 1–6.

The purpose of the lesson was to inspire class members to seek the blessings that come from being unified in Christ, following the Spirit, and being morally clean.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: 

“While traveling along a mountainous road one evening through a driving rainstorm punctuated with frequent claps of thunder and flashes of lightning, Sister Wirthlin and I could barely see the road, either in front of us or to the right and the left. I watched the white lines on that road more intently than ever before. Staying within the lines kept us from going onto the shoulder and into the deep canyon on the one side and helped us avoid a head-on collision on the other. To wander over either line could have been very dangerous. Then I thought, ‘Would a right-thinking person deviate to the left or the right of a traffic lane if he knew the result would be fatal? If he valued his mortal life, certainly he would stay between these lines.’ 

“That experience traveling on this mountain road is so like life. If we stay within the lines that God has marked, he will protect us, and we can arrive safely at our destination” (in General Conference, Oct. 1990).

1. Avoid contention and be unified.

2. Rely on the Spirit rather than the wisdom of the world.

President Spencer W. Kimball taught: “There is opportunity to get both [secular and spiritual learning] simultaneously. … If we spend our mortal days in accumulating secular knowledge to the exclusion of the spiritual then we are in a dead-end street, for this is the time for man to prepare to meet God; this is the time for faith to be built, for baptism to be effected, for the Holy Ghost to be received, for the ordinances to be performed. Contemporary with this program can come the secular knowledge, for even in the spirit world after death our spirits can go on learning” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982]).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Pure religion is a thing of the Spirit and not of the intellect alone, and its truths must be carried into the hearts of hearers by the power of the Spirit, otherwise the human soul is not changed … and the seeker after salvation does not become alive in Christ” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1966–73]).

3. Be morally clean.

Elder Richard G. Scott said: “Any sexual intimacy outside of the bonds of marriage—I mean any intentional contact with the sacred, private parts of another’s body, with or without clothing—is a sin and is forbidden by God. It is also a transgression to intentionally stimulate these emotions within your own body” (in General Conference, Oct. 1994).

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught: “One of the most pervasive deceptions in recent years is the notion that immorality is normal and acceptable and has no negative consequences. In truth, immorality is the underlying cause of much suffering and many other problems that are prevalent today, including rampant disease, abortion, broken families, families without fathers, and mothers who themselves are children” (in General Conference, Oct. 1994).

Elder Boyd K. Packer taught: “[Satan] knows that this power of creation is not just an incident to the plan, but the key to it. He knows that if he can entice you to use this power prematurely, to use it too soon, or to misuse it in any way, you may well lose your opportunities for eternal progression” (in General Conference, Apr. 1972).

Elder Richard G. Scott said: “Satan tempts one to believe that there are allowable levels of physical contact between consenting individuals who seek the powerful stimulation of emotions they produce, and if kept within bounds, no harm will result. As a witness of Jesus Christ, I testify that is absolutely false. … Decide what you will and will not do. When temptation comes, do not change your standards” (in General Conference, Oct. 1994).

Like Paul, the apostles and prophets of our day continue to teach us what we should do to stay within the boundaries the Lord has set. 

The hymn in priesthood was #319 "Ye Elders of Israel" text by Cyrus H. Wheelock (1813-1894) and music by Thomas H. Bayly (1797-1839).

The priesthood lesson consisted of an article in the August Ensign "The Power of Home Teaching" by Jeff B. Marler.  And then the First Presidency Message by President Henry B. Eyring in the September Ensign entitled "Families and Prayer."

Eileen told me that Connie Reichert taught the lesson in Relief Society using Elder Lynn G. Robbins' talk from last October general conference entitled "Which Way Do You Face?"  Unfortunately she just read it which is the same type of non-lessons we get in priesthood :(  

Later at home I posted to FaceBook the following from our Sunday bulletin:

"A testimony is the sure knowledge or assurance from the Holy Ghost of the truth and divinity of the Lord's work in these latter days. A testimony is the 'abiding, living, and moving conviction of the truths revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ'." President Marion G. Romney, May 1976

We spent a good deal of time working on Ralph and Holly Hughes' family history, Eileen researching Ralph's and I doing Holly's.

After supper I finished reading the next section of Elder John A. Widtsoe's "Evidences and Reconciliations" which was "Freedom Versus Organization in the Church."

I finished reading the 28 June issue of the Church News.  I especially enjoyed the articles about the dedication of the Trujillo Peru Temple, the center section about 'Utah County A Treasure Trove for Tourists', and 'A row of Sunday shoes'.

I called and made home teaching appointments with Melanie Pardue, Peggy Espersen, and Bonnie and Randy Helton.

Eileen began making her father's sauce for Labor Day.

On Monday 7 September I read the emails from the Deseret News and New York Times and finished the text of my blog entry for 8/16 as Eileen slept.

We headed to our Walmart and then south to Jasper's Walmart, Ingles, and Kroger.  In Jasper Walmart said no, but the manager Rob said he'd be happy to give us food at the end of our food drive.  Ingles will call me and Kroger gave me the number to call there tomorrow morning.

We were excited to find lots of Walden Farms products in Kroger just as in Raleigh, although here they were logically in the Diet section.  Eileen called Jan Pardee and left her a message about the Walden Farms products in Kroger.

We drove to the Walmart in Blue Ridge and met Crystal, who had okayed our box there last year.  She said Walmart policies now prevented it, but like Rob in Jasper she'd be happy to donate food to our food drive next week.  I guess we're fortunate to have Jordan in our Walmart!

We shopped at Ingles in Blue Ridge and headed home.  We had a wonderful Labor Day supper with Eileen's father's tomato sauce on hot Italian sausage in a roll and delicious yellow squash, peppers, and onion as our veggie.  A wonderful tradition!

Later we worked on Ralph and Holly Hughes' family history.  Eileen had called Holly while in the car and told her of researches.  She was excited to hear how we were doing!

We had on the Braves - Phillies game which the Braves won, 7-2.

On Tuesday 8 September we dropped off our trash and recyclables at the dump and headed south to the temple.  We went on the 11 am endowment session.  On the way home we stopped in Canton.  Eileen got some Hallmark cards and I checked in Publix to learn that they had no Walden Farms products.

We drove to Walmart in Ellijay.  I met Tena and filled out the form enabling the youth from church to set up outside the store the next two Wednesdays for the stake food drive. She told that if Jordan hadn't okayed their participation in the food drive, she wouldn't have okayed it, repeating what I'd been told in Jasper and Blue Ridge.  We took another filled out form to Jennifer Boland and went over with her just where the youth could set up.

We dropped off the food we had collected from Walmart at church.  We got plastic bags and postcards about the stake food drive to give to our neighbors.

We went to Ruby Tuesday for an early supper as I had my free birthday burger and Eileen went to the salad bar.

We drove to Randall and Bonnie Helton's at 5 pm to home teach them.    We discussed her working on her family history and I will get her membership number so she can register on familysearch.org.  This will enable her to get onto FamilySearch's partner sites such as ancestry.com for free.

We went to Peggy Espersen's to home teach her at 7 pm but she did not show up.  She called later and we made a new appointment for Thursday.

At home Eileen worked on the veggie tray and dip for lunch at the pantry tomorrow.  Then we watched Duff Goldman's new show "Cake Masters: Fantastic Four" that I had recorded.  She also enjoyed "Cake Boss" on TLC.

On Wednesday 9 September we enjoyed volunteering at the food pantry.  It was the second Wednesday of the month and we assisted 102 families, Eileen doing the last one.  We all enjoyed the lunch provided by several people, especially Barbara Johnson.  Eileen's veggies and dip were popular, although we have lots for ourselves for supper.

I called Kroger and Ingles in Jasper about the food drive.  I called Kelly Johnson to set up a home teaching appointment.

We went to the Family History Center from 6-8 pm.  Roger Widmann came. Sister Boland and the youth went to set up outside Walmart as part of the food drive.

I dropped Eileen off at Lowe's where she looked for items with which to put up curtains in the green room in the basement.  I drove to Walmart for gas, getting 4.6 gallons at $2.139 and 10.5 at $2.169.

Our odometer reached 115000.  Almost time for our next service.

Eileen worked some more on Ralph Hughes' family history.  I have been entering lots of temple work into PAF now that I have my laptop back.  I ordered two kitchen items for Eileen on chefscatalog.com.

On Thursday 10 September Eileen had a mild atrial fib episode before we even got up in the morning.  She told me to go ahead and make my noon appointment to give blood at the Lions Club in Ellijay.  It went well and my BP was 114/71.

Before leaving home I called some of our neighbors and left messages about our food drive.  I also called Melissa Maxie and Tom Ballew for Dianne about the food drive.

I shopped at Walmart and Ingles and dropped off bags and postcards at the realty offices for Melissa Maxie and Dianne Ballew.

At home Eileen's atrial fib wasn't gone but it was better. I began helping her with the curtain rods that she wants in the basement's green room.

The store manager from Ingles in Jasper called and we discussed the food drive.  I'll call him next Thursday morning to see what he might have for us.

Then we drove to church to home teach Melanie Pardue with her son 17-month-old Aryan.  We then visited North Georgia Diamond where Eileen picked up the bracelet that needed some adjusting.  From there we visited Peggy Espersen and I gave her a blessing as she had fallen on her recently-operated-on right knee this morning.

I called some of our neighbors and they agreed to participate in our food drive.  Except Jerry Southern who we learned has stage 5 rhenal failure and will be going on dialysis.  I called the temple and put him on the prayer roll.

I began looking at our Maine Town Clerk task which will be our next CSM job.

I looked at all that Eileen had done for Ralph Hughes' genealogy.  She continued to work on it.

On Friday 11 September I took plastic bags and postcards to four neighbors for the food drive.  Then we picked up Ann Godwin and drove to see David and Caroline Echard in their new home in Sugar Hill.  We enjoyed our visit and were there from 12:30 - 4 pm.  Caroline had a nice salad with chicken for lunch.  We returned safe and sound, dropping Ann off at her home east of us.

After supper we both worked on Hughes family history.

On Saturday 12 September we were up and enjoyed a phone call from an old friend Lee (Llewelyn) Lewis.  She now lives in South Carolina and we have encouraged her to put in her papers for a mission.  She has been a temple worker at the Columbia Temple as well as teaching family history in her ward.  We had emailed her on 15 July, attaching the letter from the mission president in Salt Lake City.  She had resisted going on a mission as she felt that serving in the temple was a worthwhile endeavor but the Lord has been prompting her and she has listened to that.  She has submitted her application and requested the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission with an availability date of 1 December!

We headed south at 10:15 to help at the stake family history fair.  They didn't need our help so we attended the classes being presented.  Eileen went to "Piles to Files" with Sharon Morger Jones while I went to "Beginning Family Search" with Jonathan Rogers.  Then I attended "What is Indexing" with Phil Albritton and I indexed a batch.  Eileen went to "Beginning Photo Shop" with Matthew Day.  We both attended "Advanced Family Search" with Jonathan Rogers.  Then I attended "Sourcing Data" with Steve Ashton and Eileen attended "Advanced Photo Shop" with Matthew Day.  We finished together in "Record Detective" with Don Alsop.  I gave the benediction to conclude the day.

We had a late supper about 7 pm at Ruby Tuesday on Route 92 in Woodstock and stopped at Ingles in Ellijay for a couple of items.  We arrived home about 8:45.