Week 31

Another week in the record books. How many times can we keep saying that? I hope you're all keeping some sort of journal. I know I am! I've never been a journal keeper, but I've been grateful to be able to grab my journal and write things that have come to my mind or record the crazy happenings during this global experience we're all having. I've never been more grateful for a living prophet and his inspired leadership, as well as the other 14 apostles who serve with him. I'm so grateful that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and that I'm blessed to be part of this great work.

My work at the office has been busier than ever. I have been going in because I don't have access to the databases and files I need to be able to work from home. We're safe though. Very few are ever there, and we're practicing the six-foot rule - most of the time! And sanitizing every five minutes! So far I've begun the exit process for 57 missionaries - a few couples but most of them single sisters. I'm so far behind! But hopefully the first wave was the biggest and now I can catch up on those. Also, all the missionaries that were coming in April are now delayed to August. It might be difficult to fill some of the positions of those leaving, but that thankfully is the worry of the mission presidency!

And it snowed this week! Just had to share the picture of my car after I scraped it off. 😒

And this picture of the grounds in front of the Church Office Building. Notice the snow on Joseph and Emma. Too bad you can't also see the pansies and daffodils! They're there!

I have come to love some of the "young elders" who serve in the mission. Elder S. has become one of my favorites - he went home on Friday. Not long after I got here he spoke at one of our mission devotionals. It was a nice message and he bore a firm testimony. I noticed how slow and measured his words were. And then he shared the tragedy that so greatly impacted his life. An unimaginable tragedy that took his father from the family. He was about 10 and the oldest of five boys in the family. He spoke without emotion, but a lot of us were in tears when he finished. After that I watched Elder S. with interest and compassion. He rarely looked up or spoke. He's a very handsome young man. Gradually over time he started to look up and say hello. Still shy he became more friendly and even started smiling. He was sad to be going home - only a few days early - but his brother was also going home from Brazil and his mother wanted them to come home together. The farewells to young elders have changed significantly since the virus changed the way things are done. They used to be picked up by family and cheered as they walked down the grand staircase of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building lobby. Now the parents come to the reception area of the third floor outside the office. The elder waits in the office till all is ready and then they walk out to their cheering parents and a few missionaries. Elder S's mother didn't come to get him. He was flying home later in the day, so we took pictures and wished him good luck and thumbs up and cheered and waved as he walked out the door. Then the surprising thing happened. He turned at the door, held it open and with raised arm he shouted, "Hoorah for Israel! Hoorah for Israel! Hoorah for Israel!" Just as Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball did to their families as they left Nauvoo to go to England. I will miss Elder S. 😥

I've done a lot more reading and studying this week. Here are a few of my favorites:

The excerpt from the Salt Lake Temple Dedication - so profound and perfect for our time (attached)

Salt Lake Temple Dedication (Excerpt)

President Wilford Woodruff, April 1893

Heavenly Father, when thy people shall not have the opportunity of entering this holy house to offer their supplications unto Thee, and they are oppressed and in trouble, surrounded by difficulties or assailed by temptation and shall turn their faces towards this Thy holy house and ask Thee for deliverance, for help, for Thy power to be extended in their behalf, we beseech Thee, to look down from Thy holy habitation in mercy and tender compassion upon them, and listen to their cries. Or when the children of Thy people, in years to come, shall be separated, through any cause, from this place, and their hearts shall turn in remembrance of Thy promises to this holy Temple, and they shall cry unto Thee from the depths of their affliction and sorrow to extend relief and deliverance to them, we humbly entreat Thee to Turn Thine ear in mercy to them; hearken to their cries, and grant unto them the blessings for which they ask. Almighty Father, increase within us the powers of that faith delivered to and possessed by Thy Saints. Strengthen us by the memories of the glorious deliverances of the past, by the remembrance of the sacred covenants that Thou hast made with us, so that, when evil overshadows us, when trouble encompasses us, when we pass through the valley of humiliation, we may not falter, may not doubt, but in the strength of Thy Holy name may accomplish all Thy righteous purposes with regard to us, fill the measure of our creation, and triumph gloriously, by Thy grace, over every besetting sin, be redeemed from every evil, and be numbered in the kingdom of heaven amongst those who shall dwell in Thy presence forever.

The Coming Tests and Trials and Glory - Bruce R. McConkie - April 6, 1980

Raised in Hope - Cheiko Okazaki - October 1996

Plow in Hope - Neal A. Maxwell - April 2001 - one of my all-time favorites

And I finished the puzzle I started in January! It was a hard one! I'll start another this week. 😀

It was a sweet Sabbath Day. I have joined the world in a fast for those affected by COVID-19, and to pray for a slowing of its effects. This morning I was invited to join with the Training Zone in their Come Follow Me discussion via Zoom. I have become so very grateful for modern technology! I also loved being part of the Ashton Family Google Hangout, which included Madeline in Portugal. We shared testimonies and insights of the Restoration.

Also today I was blessed to receive the sacrament in my apartment. The young elders brought it to each of the single sisters by floor. They knocked on our doors and the four of us sisters stood in our doorways while they prepared the sacrament - with hand sanitizer and wipes for the trays, they placed the broken bread in individual cups, knelt and blessed it. They repeated it with the water using bottled water. Then we kept the cups to throw away. The emotion in their voices reflected the emotion I was feeling. The Spirit was so strong in a way that I never expected. 

I'm fasting and praying today for my cousins who have the virus. Their daughter seems to be recovering well, and I believe my cousin is improving. I haven't heard today. I just learned that her husband passed away today. He was in the hospital on a ventilator. It's such a terrible and lonely disease. They can't be together, and no one can visit them to offer comfort. Please remember them in your prayers.

Please stay healthy and careful! I love you all SO much!

Week 30

Happy Sunday. As we worship alone and together in our homes, aren't we blessed and comforted to know that our prophet has foreseen this day when we would need to know how to do it? As I thought this morning how I could spend my Sabbath worship, I decided that probably the simplest thing I could do is put on a skirt! And my missionary nametag! And my new shoes. 😊 I'm listening to myself sing along with Alexa as she plays my iTunes library of Tabernacle Choir recordings where somewhere in the mix I'm singing. My branch here hasn't received the instruction for taking the sacrament to the sisters, but the thought came to me that I can at least read through the prayers and renew that covenant in my heart, which I will do. Later today I'll join in the Google Hang-ing Out with the Ashtons. What a blessing technology is through all of this! Here I am in Salt Lake looking at my iPad, the Ashtons in Eagle, the Brockbanks and Petersons in Provo, and Madeline all the way around the world in Portugal! Another miracle of inspired prophets and apostles allowing more frequent contact with our missionaries.

I had to stop and listen as one of my favorite hymns played: "It Is Well With My Soul." I'm sure you've heard the story of the writer Horatio Spafford who lost everything and most of his family when he wrote it.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul. 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

I was in Idaho this week on a leave from my mission. I had planned the trip for a couple of months and had permission to leave to get my taxes done and visit some doctors. I stayed with Caryn, Jon & Tyler. It was nice to be with them.

All is good there - Jon has been able to talk to his patients without being face to face, which is a blessing for him and them too. I don't owe any taxes, and all my doctors told me I'm healthy. And yes I was very careful not to touch anything and used half a bottle of hand sanitizer in and out of my car! I must say how grateful I was to have missed the 5.7 earthquake in Salt Lake!!! Nothing fell off my walls - only a couple of things off shelves and nothing broke. And I didn't have to suffer the nerves or the power outages. I was very grateful to Sister Gordon for doing my job for me. It was VERY busy in the mission office as things changed almost hourly. Several missionaries decided to go home early either because of health or because they were already close to going home and had nothing to do with all of Temple Square closed. I'll keep working as long as the mission office stays open or, as Sister Gordon said, "until the government tells us we can't." 

I got a text from my bishop at home this morning just checking in and asking how I'm doing. Then a little later he sent an email to the ward members. I loved this message from him from an experience he had while on trek last summer. He said, "At one of the campsites, there was a lookout where you could literally see beautiful mountains for miles.  There was a time when I was able to be alone and enjoy the view.  It was a partly cloudy day and as I looked over the mountains it came to my attention that about half of the landscape was bathed in sunshine and many other areas were dark because of the cloud cover.  For some reason, the thought came clearly to my mind 'The sun is always shining somewhere.' While this may be a somewhat dark and overcast time for many of us, my testimony is that the sun is always shining somewhere.  That just as those clouds moved over the mountains that day and allowed the light to come to places that were previously dark, the clouds of our current situation will move on and allow the light to shine brightly once again.  In the meantime, we should rely on the other Son, the Son of God, to provide us with the strength, resolve, and hope we need to face the current challenges.  I testify that He is real and has the power to provide us with the light we need even in dark times."

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday! If you run out of ideas, may I suggest a little family history? Go to FamilySearch and read the stories of your ancestors four generations back. Look at the pictures and get to know them. Or do a little indexing. My miesident urged us to write in our journals. This is a time like no other in our recent history, and we should be writing about it! 

Please stay healthy! And be smart about what you do and where you go! 

Week 29

It has been quite the week, hasn't it? Certainly General Conference will be like no other, as President Nelson promised. I just listened to the sweetest message that President Nelson recorded and sent out through social media. I hope you all get a chance to hear it. He said, "I promise you that joy is always within the reach of everyone who will hear Him and obey His laws." It is so comforting to know that we have a prophet who is inspired and leads us through all of life's challenges, including the ones that affect the whole world. It's also comforting to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are in charge and "No Unhallowed Hand" will stop the work from going forward. We'll get through this temporary challenge, and I pray that it's nothing more than an inconvenient experience for each of you. PLEASE STAY HEALTHY and do all that is recommended to do so!

My work has been very busy again this week as we are welcoming more missionaries from Asia and those who can't get to their assignments. We're even getting a senior sister who was called to serve in England Leeds ABBY! I'm not really sure what assignments these missionaries will get. They have closed the Family History and Church History libraries. The Joseph Smith Memorial Building, where I work, is still open; so for now the mission is still operating here, but there will be quite a few missionaries having to find things to do from their apartments. 

I'm driving to Idaho tomorrow for a week at home - I'll stay with the Ashtons since I have no food or WiFi at my house! This trip was planned and approved months ago - it's just a strange and happy timing. Senior missionaries as you know have a lot of flexibility, and when I saw how many people asked for leaves to go to family events or temple trips, I decided it was probably OK to go home to get my taxes done and take care of a few routine medical things rather than have to do them in Salt Lake. 

I'm including a few fun pictures from the week: 

On Tuesday I went with my branch Relief Society to tour the big Humanitarian Center and do some quilting. The bales of clothing in the picture each weigh 1000 pounds - there are 15 bales here. The clothes are sent from DIs after 6 weeks on the racks. Then they're sorted and sent around the world. The center employs 180 people from 38 countries (immigrants and refugees). They are paid for 8 hours and are fed lunch. They work 4 hours and are trained for professions 4 hours. After a year (or before) they're helped to find jobs in the community. There are so many amazing things for good that the Church does!

On Thursday I went to dinner at Brick Oven with my Christensen siblings. Ann & Larry are at the MTC (the last group to enter for a while) heading to the Houston South Mission. Also on Thursday: For some reason it was "red" day at the mission office. We couldn't resist taking a picture!

The picture of the temple shows them digging the trench at the base of the temple. It will go down 40 feet! Makes me nervous to just see that. I'm sure the engineers must know what they're doing!

On Saturday afternoon I went to Orem for a birthday celebration for my sister Marian. She turned 83 this week and is such a miracle and blessing in my life. She has overcome so many health challenges and continues to rally and remain cheerful and faithful. It was fun to be with my nieces too!

Please stay healthy! I pray for us all to avoid this virus. Do everything you can to be obedient and follow the advice we're given. We can use this time to study and use the wonderful resources available from the Church! 

Jacob 6:12 "O Be Wise, What Can I Say More?"

Week 28 - Carry On

It has been a crazy busy week! I was still working on tasks Friday that I had saved from Monday. We have been getting couples from missions in different areas of Asia (and soon one from Italy). Those coming back from missions have been isolated for at least two weeks. Some find out in the MTC that they can't go to their assignment; others get a little more advance notice. I'm making files and adding to the spreadsheets and databases. The one who is really struggling is the housing coordinator who is working with the missionary department to find housing for them all. So far we're all healthy here and taking extra precautions to stay that way! 

Pictures for the week: 

Some pretty cool ones of the construction zone - The bare place where the south visitor's center used to be. You can see the doors to some tunnel under the sidewalk.

The door of the temple being removed by about eight workers.

And the beginnings of the 40-foot-deep trench being dug around the temple.

The other pictures are of the swap meet that is held in the parking lot once a month. It's where departing missionaries can get rid of all the stuff they don't want to take home, and the new missionaries can pick up treasures they didn't bring with them. It's pretty fun, but mostly a miniature version of DI. I picked up a new puzzle. 😊

I've mentioned my mission president before. He's an amazing man, and I don't want to sound unkind or ungrateful, but he really is mostly focused on the young elders. Rightly so, I guess. They really need him to be. Every week there is a newsletter for the missionaries with an article from one of the presidency or their wives, plus other inspirational messages from missionaries and other news. I just have to share these paragraphs from the president. They are good for us all. He wrote:

"I shared with our young elders the final words my father-in-law [Bruce R. McConkie] ever spoke in mortality.  As he was dying of liver cancer, the last thing he ever said was the simple direction to his family 'Carry On.'   The older I get, the more I think I understand what he meant.  We must never, ever weary by the way.  In one of Joseph Smith’s great inspired contributions to the Bible, we read: 'And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Wherefore, settle this in your hearts that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you' (JST Luke 14:27 additions in italics).  We should have settled it in our minds and hearts that we will carry on and do the things the Lord expects. 

"We do the best we can, and somehow, sometime, the Lord will make up for all that is unfair, all that is difficult, all that is painful, all that beats upon us and tears us down.  The adversities and trials of a mortal existence will in due course give us powerful perspective in our eternal journey and our sorrows will be swallowed up in the joy of Christ.  All that the fall of Adam makes wrong, the Atonement of Jesus Christ will make right.  The doctrine of compensation will be invoked, and the Lord in a coming day will make recompense for all.  As long as we can carry on, strive to continue true and faithful, do our duty, serve the Lord and endure to the end, we can be at peace, and put our confidence and hope in the Lord that all will be well in the end."

The Lord will know that we are doing our best if we truly do our best. That's all He expects - One Day at a Time - Carry on. ❤

Week 27

March came in like a lion today! It was 60 degrees yesterday and we woke up to snow today. The picture attached shows Elder Agren (who we decided looks like a Ninja and not a terrorist:) and Elder Cline cleaning off my car after church at the branch today. I had already cleaned it off once before going to church. I MISS MY GARAGE! 

This week was busy in the office. We're getting several sets of missionaries either being delayed or sent home from missions in Asia because of the coronavirus. Most couples are coming from Hong Kong; others are from Thailand; one couple can't get to Taiwan because they are going to serve a temple mission and the temple is closed. I'm sure we aren't the only mission receiving these missionaries. So far it's just senior couples being sent out of these missions because they are the most susceptible to the virus. Stay healthy out there! ❣

I saw three general authorities this week! On Wednesday I almost ran in to Elder Soares as I was leaving the little elevator that leads to the parking garage - he was coming around the corner to the elevator. He said "Hello." 😊Those of you who have visited me can picture it. 😉 Then on Thursday I rode that elevator with Elder Peter Johnson of the Seventy. You'll remember his talk from General Conference - "Every Day. Every Day. Every Day." I loved that talk! We chatted a bit because he was wearing his name tag from RootsTech - It's a big family history conference they hold every year at the Salt Palace. I asked him if he had spoken and he told me that he had just been there to listen to a friend speak. They as we were walking to the garage "we" ran in to Elder Terence Vinson. He's from Australia.

Speaking of RootsTech, I have been watching the video archive and there have been some wonderful sessions. You can watch them too! There have been some very interesting speakers. One day the keynote was Leigh Ann Touhy who was the mom from the movie "The Blind Side." On Friday David Hume Kennerly gave a really interesting talk. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer and has been the White House photographer for several presidents. Yesterday Emmit Smith of football fame spoke. That was really interesting. Also, it was Family Discovery Day and Elder Stevenson and his wife spoke. They told stories about their family, including how they met. They encouraged us to share these stories with our families - so here you go! 😍

Doug and I met on a Seminary field trip to Fort Bridger, Wyoming, in September of 1964. I was interested in his friend, Doug Black. We got permission for me to change buses and ride the bus home with him; and since there was no extra seat on the bus, I rode the entire trip sitting on their laps (I was sixteen, OK?). Doug (C) was pining for his girlfriend, Pat Packer, so we were trying to console him about that. Well, turns out that I was quite fickle. I thought Doug

(C) was cuter than Doug (B). I'm not sure at what point Doug (C) thought I was cuter than Pat P. Anyway, our first date was to the Donkey Basketball game in November. We dated quite steadily through our junior and senior years of high school. Doug went on his mission the September (1966) after we graduated while I started at BYU. We wrote letters faithfully while he was gone until about three months before his release. Then I wrote him a "Dear John" of sorts. At least it was the "I'm not sure I feel the same about you" letter. So we didn't write for those last three months. When he got home, he came over to exchange our pictures and things and he invited me to his homecoming. Well, I was smitten all over again. He gave the most amazing talk - I still have never heard such a talk from a returning missionary. He asked me out to the State Fair, which was our new first date. We were engaged on October 25, 1968. My ring was in my corsage for the BYU Homecoming Dance. We were married on June 19, 1969, in the Salt Lake Temple, and lived happily ever after!