Week 40

An interesting ending to an otherwise routine week. It's not often that we have riots in downtown Salt Lake and curfews that keep us in and isolated. We're fine and safe! No worries, but still a little unsettling. 

My friend sent a sweet reminder this morning in a talk given by Elder Ronald A. Rasband "Be Not Troubled" (October 2018). He said, "Remember, 'they that be with us' on both sides of the veil, those who love the Lord with all their heart, might, mind, and strength, 'are more than they that be with them.' If we actively trust in the Lord and His ways, if we are engaged in His work, we will not fear the trends of the world or be troubled by them. I plead with you to set aside worldly influences and pressures and seek spirituality in your daily life. Love what the Lord loves - which includes His commandments, His holy houses, our sacred covenants with Him, the sacrament each Sabbath day, our communication through prayer - and you will not be troubled." This helped me a lot!

Another sweet message this week was from Elder Bednar. Every day there is a short video message to the Family History Department. I watched the one from Elder Bednar where he left an apostolic blessing at the end. Since it extends to family, I thought you might like to read what he said: "Before I invoke this blessing -  in a situation where we cannot gather, when those of us who hold apostolic keys invoke a blessing, in every way except the literal laying on of hands it is exactly the same as if hands were being placed upon your head. So though I can’t one by one place my hands upon your heads, the Lord will, by the power of His Spirit. I invoke the blessing that you will have eyes to see the lessons you need to see, and that you will have ears to hear the lessons that you need to hear. And I invoke the blessing that as you take those lessons and learn from the past but look forward, you will be magnified, you will be blessed, you will be strengthened in miraculous ways. This blessing will apply to your individual life, in your family, and in the work that you perform. And I declare my witness - I invoke this blessing upon you, and I again express my love to you and for you in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."

Remember that we are surrounded by angels - some we cannot see - and there are more for us than those against us. I'm grateful for the angels in my life - most of them I call family!

Week 39

What a wonderful experience this week to witness the removal of Angel Moroni and the capstone of the Salt Lake Temple. We knew it was going to come down because of the damage from the earthquake, but they didn’t tell anyone the day. On Monday morning I just saw a KSL news flash on my phone that it was going to start as soon as the wind died down a bit. So I hurried and walked to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with a friend. We went to the 10th floor, but there were too many people up there. We went down to the 9th and found a window to watch from.

I couldn’t help thinking of the special memories I have of the Salt Lake Temple. I remember being sealed to my parents when I was 9 years old. I have vivid memories of that day. I remember being baptized for the dead when I was a Beehive - probably only twice. Again, vivid memories. Both my sisters were sealed there. On June 18, 1969, I received my endowment, and on June 19 Doug and I were sealed and began our eternal family. Each of my children were sealed there as well. I’m so grateful for the choice you have all made to be sealed in the temple. Every temple Is special! 

It’s Memorial Day this weekend and a sweet opportunity to remember our loved ones who have passed away. I met Marian and Nolan at Geralee’s grave and we were able to see the Garff family there as well. 

I visited the graves of Grandma and Grandpa Christensen and the Cahoons in Salt Lake.  

Then Coray and Mindy and I went to the Orem Cemetery. There were beautiful flowers everywhere. My mother used to take me to Moroni every year to decorate her family’s graves. I hope someone is still doing it. It’s a sweet tradition.

Whether or not we’re  able to decorate graves, we can still remember and be grateful for our eternal families. 

Week 38

I'm grateful for connections and the ability to learn and be strengthened even in this isolating circumstance. It continues for me in my mission because almost every one is in the high risk category. We're still in the RED zone and are supposed to stay isolated from the world and each other. And keep wearing the lovely masks - thanks to Caryn for providing some cute ones for me.

I'm grateful for Sundays because it provides a little broader connection for me. I'm looking forward to the family Zoom call later on, and I just enjoyed a Sunday School which is led by our Training Zone leader Elder Parker.

  

I loved the chapters from Come Follow Me study this week - Mosiah 18-24 - where we wrapped up the stories of the people of King Limhi and the story of Alma and the people at the waters of Mormon. We talked about some similarities to our time now with the various burdens we're feeling. He referenced the scripture in Ether which reminds us that the blessings come "after the trial of our faith." Who knows when that will be, but the Lord. A sister pointed out Mosiah 21:16 - "And it came to pass that they began to prosper by degrees. . ." I guess that's what we're all doing to some extent right now, especially as we are gradually able to do more and get out more, even though we still need to be careful. I love the reminder about when the burdens of Alma's people were eased. They were not taken away, but they were made light so that they couldn't feel them. The Lord strengthened them so that they could bear their burdens with ease, and they submitted "cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." This is in Mosiah 24:13-15. And we're reminded "and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." I know we have been blessed and "visited" by the protection of Alyssa and Chad this week. We all know that they had angels with them and we can all be witnesses of that blessing.

Thank you for your examples to me. I know you all have challenges you're working through, and I know that you're living your lives righteously so that you'll be blessed, and your burdens will be made light. We all can acknowledge the blessings coming to us because we certainly are "prospering by degrees."

PS - Some may not have seen - I got the red car I've wanted for 35 years. 🥰

Week 37

It has been a lovely Mother's Day today. I have loved visiting on the phone today including all the fun Zoom-ing! I appreciate so much the love we have in our family, and for the great examples of motherhood I'm blessed with. 

My mother was an amazingly strong, independent woman. A widow at the age of 45, she raised her three daughters to have strong testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Education was so very important to her, and she made sure that we graduated from college. Even though her last years were painful and difficult, she kept going and endured faithfully and cheerfully to the end. 

My sisters are 11 and 15 years older than me, and sometimes I felt like I had three mothers. However, we became the best of friends as I finally grew up. I'm grateful for their examples of endurance as well, and for the wonderful examples of motherhood they have always been.

I was blessed with such a wonderful mother-in-law! She was the ultimate example of kindness and compassion. She loved beautiful things, and was so very generous in sharing her creations.

Of course, I wouldn't be a mother without my wonderful children! There is no way that I will ever deserve the blessing they are in my life. My children are my greatest joy, and I'm so very grateful for their love and support, for their supreme examples of testimony and goodness. 

And what a blessing are the mothers of my fifteen beautiful grandchildren! I'm so grateful for the mothers they are and for the things I learn from them every time we talk. They are wise beyond their years, and their children are pretty nearly perfect.

Thank you all for your enduring love and patience with me! I'll never feel like I deserve the blessing you all are to me. As I've said before - you've either forgotten or forgiven me for all my mistakes. Whichever it is, I don't care. I'm just so very grateful!

Week 36

I hope you all have been happy and well this week. I continue to carry on carrying on as I'm sure you all are trying to do too! 

I came across a wonderful family as I was doing the Church census indexing this week. See the picture I attached of the record. Most of you will be too young to remember Elder Hugh B. Brown, but I do! I grew up loving his messages in General Conference. 

You may remember this retelling by Elder Christopherson of his experience. There's a wonderful little video in the Gospel Media called "The Will of God" if you want to search for it. Here's the story which I think applies to our day where the world is being chastened a little bit. ❤

God uses another form of chastening or correction to guide us to a future we do not or cannot now envision but which He knows is the better way for us. President Hugh B. Brown, formerly a member of the Twelve and a counselor in the First Presidency, provided a personal experience. He told of purchasing a rundown farm in Canada many years ago. As he went about cleaning up and repairing his property, he came across a currant bush that had grown over six feet high and was yielding no berries, so he pruned it back drastically, leaving only small stumps. Then he saw a drop like a tear on the top of each of these little stumps, as if the currant bush were crying, and thought he heard it say: “How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. … And now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me. … How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.”

President Brown replied, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and someday, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down.’”

Years later, President Brown was a field officer in the Canadian Army serving in England. When a superior officer became a battle casualty, President Brown was in line to be promoted to general, and he was summoned to London. But even though he was fully qualified for the promotion, it was denied him because he was a Mormon. The commanding general said in essence, “You deserve the appointment, but I cannot give it to you.” What President Brown had spent 10 years hoping, praying, and preparing for slipped through his fingers in that moment because of blatant discrimination. Continuing his story, President Brown remembered:

“I got on the train and started back … with a broken heart, with bitterness in my soul. … When I got to my tent, … I threw my cap on the cot. I clenched my fists, and I shook them at heaven. I said, ‘How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done—that I should have done—that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?’ I was as bitter as gall.

“And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, ‘I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.’ The bitterness went out of my soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness. …

“… And now, almost 50 years later, I look up to [God] and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.’”

God knew what Hugh B. Brown was to become and what was needed for that to happen, and He redirected his course to prepare him for the holy apostleship. If we sincerely desire and strive to measure up to the high expectations of our Heavenly Father, He will ensure that we receive all the help we need, whether it be comforting, strengthening, or chastening.

A global pandemic is certainly a way for the Lord to chasten His people! I'm grateful as I see the small and sometimes wonderful blessings in this whole experience. I believe the world - and our family - has become more connected as we experience new and wonderful ways to remain connected. I believe we're having to call upon and rely upon Heavenly Father much more to get us through these days of quarantine and social distancing. 

Thanks for all your calls and texts and messages which continue to strengthen me. I'm grateful that Lori came to visit with Annabelle - it lifted my spirits and brightened my day! I'm grateful for Zoom - which I didn't even know was a thing just a few weeks ago - because it helps me stay connected with my mission and my family. You're all such a blessing to me!