On Sunday 12 July we both reached new lows on our diet.  Even though our blood readings were up due to our late supper last night, our weights this morning were lows for us.  Eileen has now lost 22 lbs and I've lost 35 libs.  I am just under 190!

Eileen as we entered the side entrance of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for church

Eileen in the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

 

Looking down at the lobby from the mezzanine

We enjoyed attending the 18th Ward of the Ensign Stake with the 


Moulder's, beginning with priesthood and Relief Society.




The hymn in priesthood was #280, "Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath 


Morning," text by Robert B. Baird (1855-1916) and music by 


Ebenezer Beesley (1840-1906).

I introduced myself as a visitor.  Bishop Englund was in our branch 


presidency on our mission.  Attending the meeting was Elder 


Joseph W. Sitati of the Seventy.

Priesthood in the Presidents' Room with Bishop Englund on the left


The priesthood lesson was #12 from "Teachings of Presidents of 


the Church: Ezra Taft Benson" entitled "Seek the Spirit in All You 


Do." 


“We must remain open and sensitive to the promptings of the Holy 


Ghost in all aspects of our lives.”


We had this lesson three weeks ago in Colleen's ward.  The teacher 


digressed by talking about the Prophet Joseph Smith's Liberty Jail 


experiences and some of a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland about 


these experiences. There was lots of participation by the brethren.  


It was a very good lesson.

Gospel Doctrine was lesson #25 “Not My Will, But Thine, Be 


Done" using Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46.  


We met friends from our mission, Dennis and Ila Winn and Diane 


McCracken.


The purpose of the lesson is to strengthen class members’ 


testimonies that they can receive forgiveness, peace, and eternal life 


because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Several years before Elder Orson F. Whitney was ordained an 


Apostle, he received a vision of the Savior in the Garden of 


Gethsemane. The following quotation is Elder Whitney’s 


description of his vision:

“I seemed to be in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the 


Savior’s agony. I saw Him as plainly as ever I have seen anyone. 


Standing behind a tree in the foreground, I beheld Jesus, with Peter, 


James and John, as they came through a little … gate at my right. 


Leaving the three Apostles there, after telling them to kneel and 


pray, the Son of God passed over to the other side, where He also 


knelt and prayed. It was the same prayer with which all Bible 


readers are familiar: ‘Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup 


pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ 





“As He prayed the tears streamed down his face, which was toward 


me. I was so moved at the sight that I also wept, out of pure 


sympathy. My whole heart went out to him; I loved him with all my 


soul, and longed to be with him as I longed for nothing else. 





“Presently He arose and walked to where those Apostles were 


kneeling—fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a 


tone of tender reproach, untinctured by the least show of anger or 


impatience, asked them plaintively if they could not watch with 


him one hour. There He was, with the awful weight of the world’s 


sin upon his shoulders, with the pangs of every man, woman and 


child shooting through his sensitive soul—and they could not watch 


with him one poor hour! 





“Returning to his place, He offered up the same prayer as before; 


then went back and again found them sleeping. Again he awoke 


them, readmonished them, and once more returned and prayed. 


Three times this occurred” (Through Memory’s Halls [1930]).

Elder Orson F. Whitney of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1855-1931)


President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “In Gethsemane and on Calvary, 


He worked out the infinite and eternal atonement. It was the 


greatest single act of love in recorded history. Thus He became our 


Redeemer—redeeming all of us from physical death, and 


redeeming those of us from spiritual death who will obey the laws 


and ordinances of the gospel” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson 


[1988]).




President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)

1. The Savior takes upon himself our sins and infirmities.


Elder James E. Talmage taught: “Christ’s agony in the garden is 


unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. … 


He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being 


who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible. It was not 


physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused him to suffer 


such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; 


but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of 


experiencing. … In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame 


all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world,’ could inflict. … 


In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man 


incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the 


sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world” (Jesus the 


Christ, 3rd ed. [1916]).




Elder James E. Talmage (1862-1933)

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: “As part of His infinite atonement, 


Jesus knows ‘according to the flesh’ all that through which we pass. 


(Alma 7:11–12). He has borne the sins, griefs, sorrows, and … 


pains of every man, woman, and child (see 2 Nephi 9:21)” (in 


General Conference, Apr. 1987).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926-2004)


2. We need the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Elder Marion G. Romney explained that through the Atonement, all 


people are saved from physical death and the repentant and 


obedient are also saved from sin: 




“It took the atonement of Jesus Christ to reunite the bodies and 


spirits of men in the resurrection. And so all the world, believers 


and non-believers, are indebted to the Redeemer for their certain 


resurrection, because the resurrection will be as wide as was the 


fall, which brought death to every man. 




“There is another phase of the atonement which makes me love the 


Savior even more, and fills my soul with gratitude beyond 


expression. It is that in addition to atoning for Adam’s 


transgression, thereby bringing about the resurrection, the Savior 


by his suffering paid the debt for my personal sins. He paid the debt 


for your personal sins and for the personal sins of every living soul 


that ever dwelt upon the earth or that ever will dwell in mortality 


upon the earth. But this he did conditionally. The benefits of this 


suffering for our individual transgressions will not come to us 


unconditionally in the same sense that the resurrection will come 


regardless of what we do. If we partake of the blessings of the 


atonement as far as our individual transgressions are concerned, we 


must obey the law. 




“… When we commit sin, we are estranged from God and rendered 


unfit to enter into his presence. No unclean thing can enter into his 


presence. We cannot of ourselves, no matter how we may try, rid 


ourselves of the stain which is upon us as a result of our own 


transgressions. That stain must be washed away by the blood of the 


Redeemer, and he has set up the way by which that stain may be 


removed. That way is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel 


requires us to believe in the Redeemer, accept his atonement, repent 


of our sins, be baptized by immersion for the remission of our sins, 


receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and 


continue faithfully to observe, or do the best we can to observe, the 


principles of the gospel all the days of our lives” (in General 


Conference, Oct. 1953).

Elder Marion G. Romney (1897-1988)


The teacher had a handout for the class which included quotes from 

Church leaders that weren't in the manual.

“The Mediator” 

Elder Boyd K. Packer used a parable to teach about how the 


Atonement of Jesus Christ frees us from sin as we repent and obey 


the commandments. (in General Conference, Apr. 1977).

Elder Boyd K. Packer (1924-2015)

In the chapel of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Opening hymn was #259 "Hope of Israel" text by Joseph L. Townsend (1849-1942) and music by William Clayson (1840-1887).

Sacrament hymn was #196 "Jesus, Once of Humble Birth" text by Parley P. Pratt (1807-1857) and music by Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864).

The first speaker was Marcia Hynes.  Members of the ward for about a year.  Converts.  Corporate gypsies with 21 moves.  Wed 42 years.  Met and married in Florida.  Retired three years ago.  Prayed about mission and got an email about their call "out of the blue."  Even their bishop and stake president didn't know about it!  Farmland Reserve.  She then spoke about keeping the Sabbath day holy, quoting Genesis and Exodus.  Also Elder Russell M. Nelson.  Elder W. Mack Lawrence.  Primary song about being still in the chapel.  Attitude of reverence and thankfulness.  Elder Nelson again.  Prepare spiritually for the sacrament. D&C 59:9-10, 12-13.  Elder Dallin H. Oaks.  Celebration of the Passover in Matthew 26:26.  Elder James J. Hamula in October 2014 general conference.  Follow the Savior and keep His commandments.  President Joseph Fielding Smith.  Covenants we make.  Not a routine thing each week.  Thoughts on every word in the sacramental prayers.  Always remember Him and keep His commandments.  That they may have His spirit with them always.  Training video to keep the Sabbath with Elder M. Russell Ballard.  He bore his testimony here last week.  John 14:15.  The most important event in time and eternity is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  

Intermediate hymn was #241 "Count Your Blessings" text by Johnson Oatman Jr. (1856-1922) and music by Edwin O. Excell (1851-1921).

The concluding speaker was Dick Hynes.  Spoke on their mission. Large farms under the Presiding Bishopric.  40 missionary couples.  In North and South America.  Humanitarian efforts where they live.  Lot are rural.  Quoted Brigham Young.  Acronym "seeds."  D is spiritual development.  Unusual zone conferences.  Using "Preach My Gospel."  Chapter 6 on the attributes of Christ.  Hope.  Elder Steven Snow on hope.  Talk of Elder Ballard 23 years ago.  Hope for the future.  Eternal growth and development.  Stress management about the little daily things that grind on you.  Elder Neil A. Maxwell.  President Uchtdorf.  Hope upholds our faith.  Faith, hope, and charity.  Bend our will to His.  Everyone has 86 problems.  Faith fosters hope for the future.  Loss of hope sends selfishness surging.  Spoke of visit to U. K. farms.  Reach out to a loving Father. 

Closing hymn was #86 "How Great Thou Art" which is a Christian hymn based on a Swedish traditional melody and a poem written by Carl Gustav Boberg (1859–1940) in Sweden in 1885. It was translated into German and then into Russian and became a hymn. It was translated into English from the Russian by British missionary Stuart K. Hine (1899-1989), who also added two original verses of his own. The composition was set to a Russian melody. 

After sacrament meeting we chatted with Dennis and Ila Winn who live two floors below the Moulder's.  Then we bumped into Diane McCracken as we walked to the Moulder's and chatted with her.

We enjoyed lunch at the Moulder's.  Along with chicken salad Nora prepared a very attractive colorful dish of raspberries, blackberries, whole apricots, blueberries, and pieces of mango.  We had a very nice visit.  We left a little after 4 pm with several apricots and returned to the Marriott by about 5.

 

Views from the Moulder's

Views from the Moulder's

I worked on the Henry and Rebecca Shipton family on Family Tree, Ancestry, and FreeBMD.  Henry is my 2nd great grandmother Mary Ann's brother.

I called Dick Smart in the evening and we made plans for lunch on Tuesday after our appointment at the Joseph Smith Building that morning with Ed Moulder.  Dick and Saundra were on our U. K. Cruise in August 2013.

At bedtime after reading to Eileen I began and finished "The Golden Ball A Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

On Monday 13 July we enjoyed our CSM training with Sandra Pond on my iPhone and Eileen's laptop.  Then we called Kurt Weiland back and chatted with him, setting up dinner with them on Wednesday after filling him in on our dietary restrictions.

We headed for the FHL. Our next palindrome was 107701.  We met CSMs Gail Koch, Fawn Hennessy, Elders Montgomery, Marlowe, and Johnson, Sister Ruby Conlin, consultants Alan Mann, Marci Despain, and Karen Baggs, and the current zone leaders Elder and Sister Harvey who are from New Zealand.

We both did lots of family history research.  Ruby Conlin came down from the main floor to visit and we planned on lunch at the COB on Wednesday with her and Bart.

We drove back to Park City, had supper, and took the free trolley around town, finally getting off at the top of Main Street.  We walked down, taking some pictures, buying some sugar-free chocolates at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and visiting with Elder and Sister Miller at the LDS Church's Family Tree Center, built for the XIX Winter Olympics in 2002.

Egyptian Theater

Eileen entering the Rocky Mountain
Chocolate Factory

Historic Car

Eileen entering the LDS Family Tree Center

Eileen and Elder Miller in the LDS Family Tree Center

The Free Trolley

Marriott Vacation Club Summit Watch

Ben and the horses

Our suite was in this building.

On Tuesday 14 July we drove to the FHL and visited with CSMs Diane Brewer, Mary McKay, and Jon and Lindsey Bayless, Ron Twitchell, and consultants Craig Foster, Mark Gardner, and Todd Knowles. We met Kent Jaffa who was a CSM during our mission. Then we met Walt and Margaret Barrus with Margaret's father on B2 just as we saw them on our mission doing research together.  Walt and Margaret were on a full-time mission as part of our missionary group.

We met Ed Moulder in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and he took us to see Elder Terry Carlson, mission executive secretary, about our next mission.  We went into the Tabernacle on Temple Square and had our picture taken with the Times-Courier by one of the sister missionaries.

Ben and Eileen in the Tabernacle 

We did research on B2 and met consultant Barbara Baker whom we worked directly with on B2 on our mission.

We drove to see Dick and Saundra Smart at their awesome home in South Jordan.  He is a retired dentist.  We visited for a while and then followed them to Archibald's in West Jordan.  After they departed we drove around Gardner Village where Archibald's is located and got sugar-free chocolates at the Chocolate Covered Wagon.  Our odometer read 107856.

Saundra and Eileen

Saundra, Dick, and Eileen

Smart's Backyard

Dick, Saundra, and Eileen

Saundra and Eileen

Smart's Backyard

Eileen and their dogs

Dick and Saundra

Eileen and Saundra

Ben, Eileen, Saundra, and Dick

Eileen and Saundra

Eileen and Saundra

Inside the Chocolate Covered Wagon

Inside the Chocolate Covered Wagon

Inside the Chocolate Covered Wagon

Then we went shopping at a nearby Dillard's for blouses that Eileen wanted but she didn't find any that she wanted as the store is clearing the merchandise out as they are relocating to a new Dillard's in the same mall.

In the evening we watched the baseball all-star game, won by the American League, 6-3.

On Wednesday 15 July we slept in a bit and got to the FHL about 10:45.  We visited with CSMs Jerry and Janie McDonald, Debbi Radack, Karen Cox, Walter Neville, and Kathy Wright.

We met the Conlin's at the COB for lunch in the dining area there and met Elder Thomas whom we knew from our mission.  The Thomas's were part of the missionary group that the Hale's were in.  He said that the Hale's are returning here soon!

The COB cafeteria

As we were leaving the dining area, we ran into Monica Ardaya!!  She and her family lived near us in Arnold, MD.  Her dad was our bishop in the Severna Park Ward when we moved to Georgia.  She works for the Church here.

Eileen, Monica, and Ben

After lunch Eileen did research on the International floor (B1) and I worked on e-mails.  I said "hi" to consultant David Oswald who is a member of the Tabernacle Choir.  We chatted with Wayne and Eileen Moore who are back on a mission on B2 and then saw CSM Kathy Allred as we were getting on the elevator.

We left about 4 pm and drove to Bountiful to visit the Weiland's.  We enjoyed our time with Kurt, Kathy, and Andy and had supper with them at Sizzler, returning "home" by 9 pm.  Eileen called Nora Moulder to thank them for all that they did for us.

Weiland's home

Kurt, Kathy, Andy, and Eileen

Eileen, Kurt, and Kathy

On Thursday 16 July I called Littlefields and made a 3:45 appointment to check out my hearing aids that I had bought from them 4-5 years ago while on our mission.  Then I called Denise London and we'll meet her and her husband Guy at the COB for lunch at 11:30.  We got three gallons at Smith's for $2.999 (and Eileen ran in for Diet Mt. Dew that was on sale and some Crystal Lite powders) before getting on I-80 and drove into Salt Lake City 

and spent some time on B2 before walking to the COB.  We met Brent Milne who was a CSM during our mission and CSM Alan Allred. We chatted with Elder and Sister Wilson, who are six month on and six month off missionaries from Mesa, Arizona.

We enjoyed lunch with the London's. Denise was a CSM on B2 during our mission.  We all walked back to the Joseph Smith Building through the underground parking garage and tunnels and thence to B2 in the FHL.  Eileen did more research on the Pucker line.  I made our reservation at the Milford, Nebraska, Comfort Inn for Saturday and printed out my next FOR.

I worked for just 15 minutes to make sure I remembered our CSM training.  I corrected the categorization of the Irish parishes of Creagh and Creeve in County Roscommon.  We saw and visited with former CSM Janne Sparrow, and then up to the 3rd floor to visit Kristina Westbye, a Church employee.

We left the Library and got our picture taken with the T-C in front of the entrance.

We walked to the parking garage at the Moulder's for the last time.  We filled up at a Smith's Express on the way south for $2.799 with our 10 cent discount.  We arrived at Littlefields, which is now Connect Hearing, about 3:20.

I was thoroughly evaluated by Dr. Mark Blau and I got a new top-of-the-line set of hearing aids to try for two weeks.  We were impressed by him and the new hearing aids are marvelous!  They will cost $5200!

Then we drove further south to another Dillard's where Eileen found four blouses that she liked.

While she made supper I loaded the bar in the car's back seat with all of our clothes.

On Friday 17 July we finished packing and left the resort at 8:30 am.  We stopped at the Bitter Creek rest area on I-80 at mile marker 144 near Rock Springs, Wyoming.  I put in three gallons for $2.899 in Wamsutter, WY.  Later in Laramie I filled up the car for $2.619.

 

On the Wyoming-Nebraska border we stopped at the Pine Bluffs rest area on I-80 about 3:15. Our odometer read 108500.

We reached Ogallala at 6:10 pm.  We stopped at Walmart and right next door checked into the tiniest Comfort Inn ever, with our room on the second floor and no elevator!  We thought we lost an hour going from MDT to CDT but we noticed that the clocks at the hotel were still on MDT so we asked and found that even though our iPhones had changed to CDT it was not for another 10 miles east. 

Then we had supper at the Front Street Steakhouse. 

Eileen and Ben enjoying supper

Afterwards we returned to Walmart and filled up for $2.469.

On Saturday 18 July we had breakfast at the Comfort Inn and  I went sprawling with Eileen's suitcase and the heavy cooler in the parking lot on one of the trips to the car.  I didn't draw blood or break anything.  We headed east at 8:45.  Then we lost an hour going from MDT to CDT shortly thereafter.  We stopped at the occasional rest area and reached the palindrome 108801 near Alda, Nebraska.  Eileen called Bethany Thompson to let her know about what time we'd be in Milford.

We had a very nice visit with the Thompson's from about 2 to 3:30.  They bought a foreclosure after finally selling their Ellijay home after about a year.  Aaron is doing a lot of work on the house and they have five bedrooms and three bathrooms for the family of eight.  The two oldest, Naomi and Rachel were away, Naomi at the Winter Quarters Temple and Rachel in Utah at EFY.

Aaron, Bethany, and four of the kids

Thompson's on their front porch

We filled up again in Milford for $2.559 and then drove into Lincoln to the Comfort Inn, arriving about 4 pm.  After getting settled we drove to a Texas Roadhouse about 12 miles away in Lincoln.

Eileen looking down as I park the car.

Texas Roadhouse

Texas Roadhouse

Later back at the Comfort Inn the front desk clerk said "yes" to my two Book of Mormon questions!

After reading to Eileen and finishing a chapter of "Les Miserables," it took me a long time to fall asleep as it also did for Eileen.