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.
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!
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