This blog entry is without pictures which I will add later.
Today was the branch Primary presentation.
I gave Brother Miller the manila envelope with the printouts for him of his family history.
Opening hymn was #301, "I Am a Child of God" text by Naomi W. Randall (1908-2001) and music by Mildred T. Pettit (1895-1977).
Sustained Taylor Cribb as a Primary worker. Terry Dorsey received his Melchizedek Priesthood certificate for his ordination as an elder.
Sister Courtney Ezell was confirmed a member of the Church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. She was baptized last Sunday.
Sacrament hymn was #187, "God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son" text by Edward P. Kimball (1882-1937) and music by Alexander Schreiner (1901-1987).
Primary theme for the year: "I Know My Savior Lives"
Sister Michelle Ramick teaches the combined class of Sunbeams, CTR4, and CTR 5.
Sister Dori LeVan teaches the combined class of CTR7, Valiant 8 through 11.
Closing hymn was #116, "Come, Follow Me" text by John Nicholson (1839-1909) and music by Samuel McBurney (b. 1847).
I gave Brother and Sister Bond the manila envelope with the printouts for them of their family history.
Gospel Doctrine with Craig Chester filling in was lesson #39, “For the Perfecting of the Saints” using Ephesians.
The purpose of the lesson was to help class members understand that the process of “perfecting … the saints” (Ephesians 4:12) requires us to increase our faith in Christ, follow the teachings of the apostles and prophets, and protect ourselves from the wickedness of the world.
1. The dispensation of the fulness of times
President Gordon B. Hinckley taught: “You and I are experiencing the profound and wonderful blessings of the dispensation of the fulness of times. In this day and time there have been restored to the earth all of the principles, powers, blessings, and keys of all previous dispensations” (in General Conference, Apr. 1992).
2. Jesus Christ as our cornerstone
President Boyd K. Packer taught: “The ministry of the prophets and apostles leads them ever and always to the home and the family. … The ultimate purpose of all we teach is to unite parents and children in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, linked to their generations, and assured of exaltation in the presence of our Heavenly Father” (in General Conference, Apr. 1995).
3. Unity between husband and wife and between parents and children
President Spencer W. Kimball taught: “Can you find in all the holy scriptures where the Lord Jesus Christ ever failed his church? … Was he faithful? Was he true? Is there anything good and worthy that he did not give? Then that is what we ask—what he asks of a husband. …
“… Can you think of how he loved the Church? Its every breath was important to him. Its every growth, its every individual, was precious to him. He gave to those people all his energy, all his power, all his interest. He gave his life—what more could one give?” (Men of Example [address delivered to religious educators, 12 Sept. 1975]).
In “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that “happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities” (Ensign, Nov. 1995).
4. Putting on “the new man” and “the whole armour of God”
The Lord established his Church, with apostles and prophets, to help us become like him and return to live with him. Class members are encouraged to strive together for the “perfecting of the Saints” by following Paul’s teachings in Ephesians.
The hymn in priesthood was #92, "For the Beauty of the Earth" text by Folliott S. Pierpoint (1835-1917) and music by Conrad Kocher (1786-1872).
The priesthood lesson was the "Teachings For Our Time" talk from the April 2015 Sunday morning session of general conference entitled "Seeking the Lord" by Elder Jose A. Teixeira.
I read the following paragraphs:
"I know by personal experience that the joy of living in righteousness and abiding in Christ can continue despite the tribulations characteristic of mortality. Ultimately, these tribulations often enrich, refine, and guide us to a deeper understanding of the purpose of our existence here in mortality and of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Indeed, the fulness of joy can only be achieved through Jesus Christ.
"He said, 'I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.'
"I believe that as we deepen our understanding of the Savior, we will have an increased desire to live joyfully and a conviction that joy is possible. Consequently, we will have a greater ability to go about each day with more enthusiasm for life and for keeping the commandments of God, even in challenging circumstances.
"Let us not leave for tomorrow what we can do today. It is now that we must come unto Christ because 'if [we] believe [Him], [we] will labor while it is called today.'"
It was taught by Brother Jay Hanks. Eileen said that Debby Young did a good job teaching the same lesson in Relief Society.
We met with Teri Grace after church to help her with her family history from about 1:15 - 3 pm.
I called Brother Miller and made an appointment on Wednesday to go over the printouts that I had given him.
I had gotten phone calls and a voice mail during church from someone named Bernice. Someone had given her my name and phone number as someone that could help them with some food! We arranged to meet them in Ellijay with some food for them, but we stopped at the police department in town to speak to some police officers about it. An officer from Ellijay and one from East Ellijay went to where we were supposed to meet them to check it out for us. We drove past and waited in the church parking lot nearby. When we returned past where they had been, they were gone.
I called Brother Usry and made an appointment for next Saturday to work some more on his family history at the Pickens County Public Library.
I researched the Bond ancestors on Family Tree to see what temple work had been done.
On Monday 26 October I was awake early as we'd gone to sleep early. Eileen slept longer as usual. I've gained three pounds since my low of 180.0 on Tuesday. We finished our leftovers from the Fall Festival.
The fellows from C-Scapes Lawn Service came by this morning. They come by every two weeks in the spring, summer, and fall.
We deposited Colleen's check at the bank and mailed birthday cards to Heather (one for her and a musical one to her for Liam to open).
We worked out at Bryant Physical Therapy and shopped at Ingles. We ran into Louise Sweat and her friend Ann as we shopped. Louise had missed the last Kids Ferst meeting and we learned why. She had fallen going up some steps and banged up her face, especially the right side which was quite black and blue.
We stopped by Ace Hardware to check on Yeti coolers and dropped off our two bags of Halloween candy we didn't use at our Fall Festival at Moo Bears Ice Cream and Treatery in downtown Ellijay. Downtown has hordes of trick or treaters on Halloween.
I called Cuna Mutual Insurance about instituting their Contingent Benefit Upon Lapse part of Eileen's long-term care policy. If she qualifies, she will have over $38,000 as her maximum benefit if she ever needs long-term care. The quarterly premiums have gone up from $1202.22 to $1922.11 starting on 1 December.
Eileen said recently that she was hearing noises during the night that could be critters in the attic or walls. I went up in the attic this afternoon but it all looked okay.
We drove to nearby Dollar General to get disposable aluminum pans for the meal we're taking to Melanie Pardue, her husband, and little boy tomorrow as they get help moving to Alabama.
I set up an LDS account for Brother Miller and entered a number of his ancestors. He appears to have two relatives who are LDS as they have requested some of the temple work and a lot of work has been done for his ancestors. I requested temple work in behalf of Brother Miller when it involved ancestors whom I had researched for him. If anyone needed their work done but I haven't researched them, I didn't request the work. I listed the temple work status for many close relatives.
I printed out the results of our assistance last March for Brother Usry as we'd be getting together again this week.
On Tuesday 27 October we were up early (for us) as Eileen began preparing the chicken and rice casserole that we're taking to Melanie Pardue when we go after lunch to help her family load up the truck for their move.
Teri Grace called and shared her emails with her Uncle Edward. He wanted to know why only Constance needed permission. I explained to Teri that Donald, the third sibling, did not because she is Donald's daughter, whereas Constance is a closer relative to Edward as his sister. I also reviewed what she ought to tell him about sealings and eternal families.
I started doing some research on Ann Godwin's family. She had some questions on some ancestors of hers.
I made the tossed salad for Melanie and then we went to their apartment in Ellijay with the food and to help load the U-Haul truck. We got there about 12:10 and left about 2:30. Autumn Pierce, a countryman of her husband, Shawn Holcomb, Elders Dyer and Twitchell, and Ron Fisher got there in time to do some help, but most of the heavy stuff was done by Melanie and her husband. President Stanley and one of the Cornell boys and Elder and Sister Rumsey came about 2:30, too late to help. Melanie's husband is a vegetarian (he's from India), so as we left we invited everyone to partake of the casserole that Eileen made. He enjoyed the salad.
We got a phone call from Sister Sherry Thomas about our church service mission and we explained that we'd be doing it until the end of February. At that time we hoped to be heading for our fulltime mission very soon.
We shopped a little at Walmart and filled the car with gas for $2.019.
We then visited Bonnie and Randall Helton. I helped Bonnie with her family history by helping her create an LDS account and looking into her family in Family Tree.
Sister Rumsey called to thank us for the casserole that we had provided Melanie and all those that came to help today. She said that it was delicious! She asked us to come to the Gospel Principles class on Sunday to talk about family history.
After supper I worked on Bonnie's family tree. Then I began working on our next CSM project involving the English Poor Law Unions. Eileen selected Devon and I selected Hampshire. She did 22 parishes and I did 12 of 15 as three did not have infoboxes.
I began and finished reading "The Blood-Stained Pavement A Miss Marple Short Story" by Agatha Christie.
On Wednesday 28 October we volunteered at the food pantry. It was slow today as it was the fourth Wednesday of the month. We helped about 80 patrons.
We drove to Jasper to visit Claude Miller and review the printouts that I had given him last Sunday.
We visited Ingles in Jasper on the way to Claude's and later in Ellijay, too.
After supper we covered the family history center at church from 6 - 8:30 pm as we visited with folks who came to see President Stanley, worked on Bonnie Helton's family history (Ben), and the wiki project in Devon (Eileen). The Rumsey's came by and gave us some suggestions about our presentation next Sunday in the Gospel Principles class. At home Eileen finished 62 B's with the exception of Bradworthy.
We watched the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets, 7-1.
On Thursday 29 October we slept late, called Bonnie Helton, went to the dump, and then worked out at Bryant Physical Therapy. I encouraged Kelly there to pray about the Book of Mormon as she is undecided about learning more about it. We visited the North Georgia Eye Clinic and Eileen had her glasses adjusted.
At home I worked on Bonnie Helton's paternal grandfather, finding proof of his birth and parents and his marriage, both in West Virginia. Acting as Bonnie I reserved the sealing of her paternal grandfather to his parents.
Eileen has decided to rearrange items in the front bedroom and office so that her parents' bed can come upstairs into the front bedroom. We moved the antique desk from the front bedroom into the office after making room in there and put her sewing machine table and floor lamp where the desk was.
During supper Eileen enjoyed "Barefoot Contessa," Giada De Laurentiis, "Pioneer Woman," and "Trisha's Southern Kitchen."
After supper I did the 43 B's in Hampshire. Earlier Eileen did Bradworthy after we heard from Jane. In the evening Eileen did the 55 C's in Devon.
I began and finished reading "The Ambassador's Boots A Tommy & Tuppence Short Story" by Agatha Christie.
We watched "Flip or Flop" and then an episode of "Georgia Traveler" that I had recorded.
On Friday 30 October we were up early and headed for the Atlanta Temple. We went on the 11 am endowment session with 17 sisters and 11 brethren. We got family file cards for two of my FORs, one of Eileen's, and one of Teri Grace's. I had a nice chat with Brother Scott.
On the way home Eileen called Holly Hughes and chatted with her. We'll meet her and Ralph for lunch on Monday at the Mesquite Grill in Blue Ridge.
Back in Ellijay we stopped at Ingles for several items.
After supper we went to see "The Canterville Ghost" at the Gilmer County Playhouse in Ellijay. Arriving a few minutes after us and sitting right behind us were Roger and Wendy Widmann! The play was fun!
I got six gallons of gas at the Citgo station on South Main for $2.059.
At home we were both working in Family Tree when it began to go haywire, so we quit until tomorrow!
I printed out about 20 pages of documents for Mark Usry whom I am meeting tomorrow .
On Saturday 31 October we drove to Jasper so I could meet Mark Usry at the public library. I dropped Eileen off at the Quilt Store where she had a quilt project to work on. He was running late but made it about 11:50. We worked together for an hour and I picked up Eileen about 1:40. She had a good time and got a lot done.
We shopped at Walmart, Ingles, and Food Lion in Ellijay. We ran into Barbara Rittenberry at Walmart and Bob Morrow at Ingles. We have over 400 points shopping at Ingles which are good until the end of November. That will give us 10 cents a gallon off gas each of the next four visits to Ingles in Blue Ridge.
We got more apples at R&A Orchards, including Yates and Arkansas Black which we've never tried before. The Yates are little and very tasty. We each ate one on the way home.
At home I used our leaf blower to clear off our front porch and the driveway before the rains come.
I finished going over all the family file cards that our friends the Farr's have and notated the ones that have had their initiatories and endowments done, which has enabled several more to be sealed to their spouses.
After supper I finished reading "Monticello A Guidebook" that I bought when we visited Monticello on 28 September. I began reading it shortly after we got home on 1 October.
We enjoyed "America's Test Kitchen," "Cook's Country," and "Sara's Weeknight Meals" that I had recorded for Eileen.
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