Time flies

My last post was in April and so much has been going on.  Here is a quick recap:

My sweet friend Marcy. 
We were roommates in college and we've been friends every since.

Morning walks through the orange and avacado groves

Her beautiful home and grounds

My sweet mom in her chair
watching her favorite show - Jeporday!

• I went to visit my friend Marcy in southern California for four days
• I visited my mom in Logan - April - stayed with Lee and Mike
• Many more visits to the ENT to get on top of my Meniere's disease and ALL the annoying symptoms
• A visit to the Jordan River temple open house with all the local grandkids
• Rick's family came to our home for our by-monthly game night and dinner
• Claire and I attended HAMILTON! Wow!
• Rick went to St. George for his annual training and I was unable to go because of...
• our trip to Israel.  Jordan and I left on our two week trip - More on that later
• Lots of yard work, cleaning up our yard and planting flowers and our "crops"
• Mother's day dinner at Claire's
• My ladies group May meeting on a beautiful spring day
• Visiting the 10 Relief Society groups in our stake
• Grandkid sleep overs
• My annual check up with my oncologist - my 5 year anniversary since completing treatment.  So far so good!
• Going to plays, final projects with the grandchildren; Lauren's graduation and Hope of America award event.
• Rick gave me a message board and he leaves me messages, every day.  I love it!
• Visiting my mom in Logan - May - stayed with Carol
• Memorial day - taking flowers to 8 different graves in six different cemeteries: Vern, Gramps and Gram P, Jon, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma G, Grandma and Grandpa F, Jim, and Jake
• Spring cleaning - this year I hired cleaning ladies to help me
• Attending the temple
• Going to North Carolina to visit Dave, Courtney and their family
• Getting our assignments for our ministering families and individuals and making plans
• Father's day dinner at Claire's

Living water talk

*A geography lesson*

*A scripture lesson*

*Some life lessons*

The Snake River is over 1000 miles long.  It is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, and the largest North American River that empties into the Pacific Ocean.  It rises in western Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park and travels through six US states before reaching the Pacific.

The snake river flowing past the Grand Tetons

 

The Snake River flows from east to west
 across the entire state of Idaho

Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, ID

Minidoka Dam and lake Walcott

I grew up approximately seven miles from this great river.  In 1904 engineers got the idea that if they harnessed the Snake River and built a dam (the first dam to be built on the Snake River, called Minidoka Dam located just outside Acequia, Idaho) that they could turn what was once an uninhabited sagebrush desert into bountiful farmland.  Some years later the same dam provided electrical power that currently powers the huge pumps that turn the wheel lines that water the crops.  Maybe the potatoes you will eat tonight for dinner were watered by the Snake River.

In my era, the water was delivered to the farms through a series of flumes, larger canals and finally smaller canals. Water from the mighty Snake River arrived at our forty-acre farm in Rupert once a week during the summer months.  When my dad, Earl G, got his water turn it was cause for much excitement for us children.  As our canals filled with water each week at a depth of 3-4 feet, we had wonderful fun on the bridge that divided our acreage.  We played water games on our acre home and garden lot as the six inches of water poured out of the canal on to our grass and garden.  Playing baseball, badminton, and kickball was a lot more fun in swimsuits in the irrigation water and we especially loved it when our mom and dad joined in the fun! While the farm was not our main source of income, my parents bought the farm to teach their seven children how to work and it ultimately paid for the seven of us to attend college.

I learned early that water is a powerful force.  If not used correctly, it can escape its bounds and cause expensive damage to neighboring crops, homes and equipment.  It needed to be banked, watched carefully and directed to the place where it would do the most good.  If used wisely, the irrigation water from the Snake River would turn our little farm into a green oasis where pinto beans, alfalfa and wheat grew in abundance.  My dad was careful each spring to go out into the fields and level the ground so that the water would flow to all parts of the fields. He would then attach the plow, the cultivator, the seed planter and then the harrow to prepare the fields so that the water could get to the end of each row.  He would use machinery to destroy the weeds in the fields so that the crops could flourish.  He also fertilized the crops to achieve maximum productivity. If the irrigation water couldn’t reach where it was intended to go, nothing grew.  Nothing flourished, the ground was wasted for that season and that would mean less return on the investment of time, labor and supplies at harvest time.  He was very careful to do his best to see that the water got to the end of each row.

Each of us could be likened to our 40-acre farm in Idaho.  We have been given an allotment in this life of years, circumstances, opportunities, challenges and tests.  We have come to this earth to see how we will perform and how we will grow, within our allotted acreage.  Some have been given all equipment they need to prepare their ground, others use older, less modern equipment and sometimes that equipment breaks down.  Some ground is rich and fertile and some ground takes more work. Severe weather sometimes put our crops at risk and destroys what we have worked hard to produce.  Bad years happen in farming. But we all have one thing in common.  We all get our weekly water turn when the waters from the mighty Snake River come rolling into our lives to nourish our testimonies, our faith and our commitment to Christ.  We may be distracted and go on vacation and give our water turn to another for a time.  We may let our canals fall into disrepair so that the life-giving waters won’t flow where they are intended.  How do we stay on the covenant path and make sure that our fields yield that highest possible result? 

We become true followers of Jesus Christ and we help others become true followers as well.

Living water, just like Snake River water, heals parched land.  It nourishes and sustains.  It brings peace and joy.  It grows things.  It produces beauty and life sustaining food for the soul.

Sister Kathleen Hughes gave a talk in the April 2003 General Conference called Blessed by Living Water.  I share some of her thoughts:

“We all know the story of Jesus as he was traveling from Jerusalem to his boyhood home of Nazareth.  He passed through Samaria and stopped to rest at Jacob’s ancient well.  As he was resting, a Samaritan woman approached the well.  You know the story.  When Jesus asked for a drink, she was surprised that Jew would make such a request of her.  For centuries Jews and Samaritans had considered themselves enemies.  But Christ told her that if she understood whom it was she was talking to, she would ask HIM for water, living water, water that would satisfy her thirst forever.  She didn’t understand of course, so He explained:

“Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be a well of water springing up into everlasting life” John 4: 13-14.

The Samaritan woman liked the idea of never having to drink again.  Certainly, she wouldn’t miss the daily labor of carrying the heavy water jars from the well to her home.  But when Christ testified to her that He was the Messiah and when the spirit confirmed to her that it was true, she began to comprehend that Jesus was speaking of greater truths.  She left the well water behind and hurried away to seek others who might come and listen.  I doubt at least at that point, that she fully understood, or whether we fully understand – what it means to have a wellspring of living water within us.”

The living water is the gospel of Jesus Christ; its communicator is the Holy Ghost.  A wellspring of goodness, of strength and confidence is within us, and when we listen with a feeling of trust, we are raised up.  We are healed.  We go forward with faith as we follow the Savior and his teachings.  The living water also nourishes and sustains us when we are weary, if we drink of it deeply.  Those who drink deeply not only become whole themselves, but they become a fountain to others, as one spirit nourishes and feeds another.  It may take a lifetime and longer to refine our spirits fully, but the living water is available to all.

The Samaritan woman looked into the face of Christ, listened to his voice, and recognized him at a time when most others rejected all he taught.  We know him too, or we can, if we allow His healing power, his nourishing strength, his peace and joy to flow through us like “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

In our last stake conference President Chris Killpack, the Orem, Ut mission president gave us some good reminders of how this is to be accomplished.  He related a few ideas of how we drink deeply of the living water and become true followers of Christ.  These simple tasks will help the living water get to the end of the row in our own personal acreage.

Eight lessons learned from Elder Thomas S. Monson (in a letter Elder Monson wrote to a young boy Chris, an elementary school student:)

·      Honor God – keep his commandments

·      Say yes when asked to serve

·      Do your best

·      Work well with others

·      Others will judge the church by your actions

·      Pray to Heavenly Father for help and express thanks

·      Make the most of each day

·      Always honor your father and mother

And our good stake President in that same conference reminded us:

·      It may look like everyone is winning but you.  Keep playing!

·      In order to get to a higher place, we have to walk uphill.

·      Be a finisher.

·      One day you and I will give an accounting to the Master for how we served.

In closing – Some invitations to consider - Prepare your ground.  Help the living water get to the end of each row.  Get rid of the bad stuff. Get the right tools.  Talk to your neighbor and ask her what she is doing to get such good results on her farm. What fertilizer is she using? Share ideas. Take your water turn on schedule.  Let the living water flood your acreage and sink in deeply to your soil. Expect bad years and work hard to overcome them.  Don't get discouraged. Work hard. Pull out the weeds.  Play and have fun.  Pray for good weather.  Enjoy the harvest.  Share the bounty.  Help your neighbor.  We follow Christ by letting His living water permeate and sink deep into our lives.

At last!

Last month, I finally got to meet Mitt Romney!  I supported his run for President and wish that he had been elected.  I now support him in his bid for Senator from Utah, replacing Orrin Hatch.  I like just about everything about Mitt.  I like his politics, I like his values, I like his judgement, I like his family values, I like his name, I like his wife, I like what he is trying to do at the Senate on issues affecting Utah.  I had about a two minutes conversation with him before he gave his speech.  It was a highlight for me as we talked about some things we have in common.  Romney for Utah!

Canning chicken

Jordan started buying raw meat wholesale when she lived in AZ.  When she moved to UT, she found that the company, Zaycon, also delivered here locally.  We started buying fresh bone-less, skinless chicken and low fat hamburger from them in bulk.  Like 40-50 pounds at a time.  Sometimes we split an order. She has taught me how to can meat!  Who knew?  I canned a bunch of meat, and also cooked and shredded some and froze it in single serving bags.  I also bagged chicken breasts for BBQ and other recipes.  I now have meat ready to go for at least the next six months.  I love it!  

This is a great shortcut.  Cook the chicken buy boiling it
or baking it and then put it in the Bosch mixer with the
 cookie paddle and it shreds it like a champ!
 Love this quick way to shred chicken! 

And to finish off the day, a nice pot of
chicken noodle soup was a hit.
 Here is a great recipe my sister Mary Ann shared:

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

6 frozen chicken breasts (or two bags of my pre-cooked chicken) to make 4 cups cooked chicken
3 cups water
3 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrots (sometimes I used the pre-shredded carrots found in the produce section at the grocery store and they work great in this recipe)
1 chopped onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup of milk
1/2 package cooked egg noodles

Put frozen chicken breast in a pan with 1/2 cube of butter and 1 to 2 cups of water.  Cover and cook on medium heat until the chicken is done (about 20-30 minutes if chicken is frozen, less time if chicken is thawed.)  Drain chicken.  Boil together the next 5 ingredients until vegetables are tender.  Add 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and 1 cup of milk, add in four cups of cubed or shredded cooked chicken.  Cook noodles according to package.  Add to soup.  Serves about 4-6.

They shall deceive the very elect

I've had this post bouncing around in my head for several years now.  It's a tough one.  I want to put it down in words so that I can process it better. I also hope that anyone reading this who has a desire to talk about it with me will do so.  I really do want to understand better those people with a different point of view from mine.  I don't have a large readership according to Google Analytics and I'm not sure who reads this blog any more anyway.  So here goes.  I'm not setting out to offend anyone or change their opinion.  I'm just stating my opinion based on my experiences and observations and to hopefully get a better perspective.

I cannot, for the life of me, understand why active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apostatize and leave the church.  I just don't get it.  I don't understand how people I know and love who were baptized as eight-year-old children, who grew up attending church with their families, often serving LDS missions and teaching and testifying to other people about the truths of the gospel, and then marrying in the temple and making sacred covenants, can leave.  Just like that.  Gone.  The End. Or so it seems.

They may struggle with the decision and hesitate telling people of their decision, but in the end, they do announce their exit and then walk away and often expect those around them not to react in a way that will make THEM feel uncomfortable.  In fact, their leaving generally makes everyone around them feel uncomfortable, distressed and terribly sad.  Make no mistake, it is the biggest of deals.  I wonder if in our desire to be so accommodating and not offend, we who remain with the faith give the impression that we are either neutral about their action in leaving or that we don't want to get involved because of the possible unpleasant consequences that could harm family relationships.  I think that parents have every right to say how they feel in a loving way, but to say what they feel about this major shift in belief. We may feel limited in expressing our true feelings because finding the right words at the right time can be difficult.  People have agency and they can use that agency however they want.  But they can't choose the consequences of their choices. Why should family dynamics change to accommodate the one who left?  My thought is that traditions and religious observations should go on as usual since most family members remain true to the faith.  The one who leaves can decide if they will participate.

Often promises are made to the parents when a young man asks for a young lady's hand in marriage.  Are those expectations to be disregarded now?  What if one spouse leaves and one spouse stays?  What happens to the children and their future religious prospects?  These and many more are very challenging problems that I have seen play out more than I would have imagined.

There may be other church members who are relatively new to the gospel as converts who haven't had decades of church membership in their family lines.  There may be some who only attended infrequently, and who never gained for themselves a strong conviction of the truths of the restored gospel.  Those situations I understand a little better.

It makes me feel so incredibly sad.  Sad for them.  Sad for their spouses (if one leaves and the other one doesn't.)  Sad for their children, parents, extended family and friends.  Sad that they are forgetting (as I see it) their birthright.  I'm trying to figure out if they have truly stopped to weigh and measure the consequences, eternal consequences, by walking away.  What of the covenants they made in the temple and at baptism? Are those of no consequence now?  Did they not really mean it when they made them?

I've always liked the thought of being a strong link in the chain of family members over generations.  I remember hearing this talk given by Elder David B. Haight in 2000.  It created in my mind and heart a desire to ALWAYS be a strong link in the chain binding my past family relations to my future ones.  I never wanted to be the one who broke the chain.  I'm fortunate to be the 5th generation of a chain of believers who accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ in their home lands in Europe.  I've now passed that belief on to two more generations.  President Hinckley spoke to the students at BYU years ago.  He made the statement that life is a great chain of generations, link following link, until the end of time.  In talking to the students, he encouraged them not to be a weak link but to be a strong link in their family generations.

I realize that there are as many different circumstances for people leaving as there are people.  In my experience, here is what I've noticed from some of those who have left. Some have been offended by other members or a church leader, others don't like church policies or the way the church leadership has handled certain aspects of church history.  Some can't reconcile inconsistencies in early church history.  Some may lack faith or don't actively maintain their faith and it slips away. Others get hung up on polygamy that was practiced in the church over 100 years ago. Some don't like the burden of keeping the commandments.  Some just don't want to try anymore.  Others think that Joseph Smith was a fraud and a liar. Some may believe that grace is sufficient to be saved and that works don't matter.  Some don't like the church stance on the family, particularly the definition that marriage is between a man and a woman.  Some want a 10% raise by not paying tithing and a full two-day weekend by not having to attend church.  Some are lazy and don't want to make much effort. Some have made mistakes that are of such a serious nature that they have determined that they are outside of the healing power of the atonement.  They excommunicate themselves. They don't want to confess their sins and forsake them, so they just quit coming.  Some become atheists or agnostics. Some women have issues with priesthood authority only being given to men and their supposed hierarchal leadership over women in the church. Some don't understand the doctrine as taught by the Savior in all its fullness.  Some never really had testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the first place.  They may feel like they were deceived and that all a person needs to do is Come to Jesus.  Maybe they don't believe in God anymore because they have suffered a terribly hard experience and think that He wasn't there for them.  Others become too smart for their own good.  They pursue higher education in very liberal institutions and let those institutions and professors and other influences change their ways of thinking about religious things.  They are made to look odd or weak for having faith, because faith is old school and can't be proven. These and many more are all possible, and understandable, reasons to struggle. I get it.  We all have doubts of various things along the way.  It's what we do with those doubts and questions that matters.  Do we feed them or do we push them out with action to build and maintain our faith? I love what Elder Uchtdorf said some years ago: Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.

But there are so many more reasons to stay.  Where do I even start?  Gospel living will make our lives go better.  Not problem free, but better because we will have the tools to deal with challenges when they come.  We have a clear view and understanding of the plan of salvation - where we came from, why we are here struggling along, and where we can go if we prove faithful.  The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us something to shoot for, something better than our "natural man/woman tendencies."  We will have fewer addictions and health problems because of our health code and living practices.  Our children will turn out better (not problem free, but more grounded in morals and values.)  They will be successful in life because they have an anchor and a guide to live by that brings them and us greater happiness and perspective.  We will have opportunities to serve others on a regular basis, have teaching and training for our children, and enjoy youth opportunities in a safe, caring environment, friendship and watch care of other adults.  We have LDS temples dotting the world where we can go to do saving ordinances for our kindred dead and thereby strengthen the chain of generations.  We can be sealed to our spouses for time and all eternity by one having authority to do so.  We care for the poor and needy in meaningful ways on a very large scale.  We learn of the value of education and self-reliance and we take care of our own needs. We strive to improve ourselves and be better people of good judgement, with high moral standards.  And we strive to share the good news of the gospel wherever and whenever we can.  With all these blessings (and more) that come through gospel living, why wouldn't we want to share it?  After all, what else has any lasting value in the world?  If we were to leave, where else would we go that offers what this church offers?

Another questions is WHERE do people turn when they have questions or doubts.  Do they turn to trusted family members, friends of faith, leaders, and those with whom they have had significant spiritual experiences over their lives, or, do they turn to strangers with the end goal of turning their faith into ashes.  Some podcasts, books, live chats, newspapers with liberal agendas, and of course the internet which is the font of all the is true and correct (wrong!)  People will find what they are looking for.  Maybe it will be an essay written by a former institute teacher, a disavowed leader, a blogger with an anti-Mormon agenda, or members of some standing in the community, or the incitements of other churches that play catchy music and dance in the isles.  There are many carrots dangling from what appears to be better and more interesting ways of being religions.  But do they have the authority and power to bind on earth what will be bound in heaven?  I believe that the key is to look UP not around.  Seek personal revelation directly from our Heavenly Father.  Seek for His confirmation, not from worldly sources.

I don't intend to judge people when they leave, but I would like to understand more about why they leave.  I want to understand, primarily because their leaving changes the dynamics within family, friendships and neighborhoods, especially if those relationships have been long-standing over decades.  What was once a shared commonality now becomes an awkward adjustment in trying to find new common ground.  What can be discussed, what must be avoided?  What will offend?  What were once joyful shared experiences, now become taboo or greatly altered in trying to ensure that  no one feels uncomfortable.   This is very hard to manage. How is this best navigated?

Of course I know it is through love that all things can be accomplished  Love is the great common ground.  It is the great equalizer.  It opens doors and it opens hearts.  It heals and it comforts.  But there also needs to be honest communication.  Talking openly with trust with loved ones helps to bridge the gap.  Setting up new ground rules and new ways of doing things so that no one steps on a land mine would be so helpful.  It takes maturity and careful maneuvering to pull this off, but it can be done.  What other ideas could be suggested?

We are living in the last dispensation of the fullness of times.  Satan is abroad in the land.  He is trying with all his might to trip up, stop, discourage, lie to, deceive and plant seeds of doubt into the hearts and mind of the believers in Christ.  He is waging full out battle.  He stops at nothing.  He is going to find a little crack in the armor of long-time members of the church and he is going to chip away, chip away, here a little, there a little, until he succeeds in pulling down the faith and belief of a follower of Christ as a member of this church.  This was prophesied in the scriptures:

Matthew 24:24 - For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

To my dear loved ones, family members and friends, don't be deceived!  Hold on to your faith!  Do the daily practices that build faith including the basics like prayer, church attendance, service, going to the temple and staying within the bounds the Lord has set.  The best thing I know of to keep a testimony of this restored gospel is to read the Book of Mormon daily.  I doubt that someone who is actually reading the Book of Mormon daily is going to walk away.  The power and pure gospel teachings of that book are too strong.  It cannot be denied.  Our past beloved President Monson, with his last general address to the church, pleaded with the membership of the church to read the Book of Mormon daily.  It is one sure way to keep the faith.  He said:  This morning I speak about the power of the Book of Mormon and the critical need we have as members of this Church to study, ponder, and apply its teaching in our lives.  The importance of having a firm and sure testimony of the Book of Mormon cannot be overstated.

Yesterday we attended the temple sealing of our dear family friends (Tyler and Kenna) in the Provo City Temple.  As I sat there, I could feel the spirit confirm to me once again that this is Christ's church.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the power, authority, teachings and blessings we need to enjoy life now and in the life to come.  We have a living prophet and  twelve apostles who receive inspiration and follow our Savior and our Heavenly Father. Through sealing ordinances in the temple, what is bound on earth will be bound in heaven. I have felt that spiritual confirmation again and again and I can never deny it.  This is where I plant my flag and I will not be moved.  Andy attended the wedding with me and Rick and as we walked out he said in essence: "This is where we stand.  This is what we believe.  This is who we are."