Difficult news

We have been on a small family vacation and returned last night to some sad news. Mark’s first grade teacher, Mrs Alice Crankshaw, passed away early in July.

Mark is not upset, but has wondered aloud, “Where do you think she put the present we made for her?”

I am very sad that she is gone; we had hoped that she would be Mark’s second grade teacher. I respect her so much for the way she worked to meet Mark’s needs at school. She called us four or five times throughout the year to talk to me about things she had observed about Mark. This meant a lot to me. She welcomed me to her classroom to teach art and read with her students. I observed that she loved her students; I observed that she was very dedicated and generous.

I will remember her as a blessing in our lives because she made the transition to a new state and public school much easier to bear.

Cousins on the 4th

We stopped by my sister Susan’s house on the way home from the big family party at Spring Lake. We didn’t get any photos of that big family party, but it was a great July 4th celebration on the mountain. Susan and Richard’s kids were doing fireworks in their front yard and they were gracious enough to let us join them.

Tank wars with Richard J. are always fun.

The cousins had fun with sparklers. They played soccer and “bird, bird, PIG!” (Duck, duck, goose, with Angry Birds labels)

When we got home around 10:00, we discovered that our neighbors REALLY like fireworks. We were entertained by aerial fireworks for a good half hour. We pulled out a blanket and sat on our front lawn to watch. Mark went inside and got into an army costume and was immersed in his play, dodging “missiles” until bedtime.

Things I need to face

My paint project: I’m whitening up the the basement doors and trim with semi-gloss enamel paint. It’s a bigger project than I expected, but I am loving the results so far.

My quilt project: the squares are complete. I *just* need to assemble them, do a border, select a backing, sew the backing, quilt and bind it. Quilters, do you really find this enjoyable? My mom says that it helps to have a good machine, which I don’t have, and I’m not asking for one. I am not sure I want to be a seamstress. Maybe I will change my mind when I fall in love with my completed Strawberry Shortcake quilt.

Someone said that it’s a good exercise to find out the activities that you can “get lost” doing. You lose track of the time and other thoughts when you are busy doing your special thing. For me, it’s writing and reading, but I also love to develop new skills. I want to be capable and well-read. This is how I will accomplish this today: I get up from the computer, walk downstairs and keep painting. Later, when my arm is tired, I will wash up and maybe sew a row of squares. If I do these things, I will reward myself with a little theology reading. Wish me luck.

Youth Conference 2013

Our youth at Heber Valley Camp (photo by D. Brockbank)

Paige and I went to youth conference with our Stake in June. We spent a day doing yard work and painting in an older neighborhood in SLC. The next two days we spent at Heber Valley Camp doing ropes courses, canoeing, going to classes, and hiking. The first four rows of kids in this photo belong to our ward.

I love being a youth leader.

Home Celebration

A year ago we made an offer on this house. What a wonderful house it is.

The kitchen is bright in the mornings and I love the shelves in the kitchen.

I love it when sweet neighbors stop by.

The basement is the perfect place to find a quiet corner or to build a fort that your mom won’t make you take down right away.

The boys got some new bed coverings from Grandma. Such happy, patriotic colors.

We continue with our home improvement projects:

A water softener,…paint, electrical work…

… and a paint re-think. I don’t like this parchment color as much as I thought I would.

The flowers out front are taking off. I love my snapdragons. The petunias thrive in their sunny spot. Our garden is coming along nicely. Richard’s irrigation project and sprinkler repairs have made the yard just beautiful.

Timothy takes special care of our garden and brings us ripe raspberries each day.

I’m thankful that we found this neighborhood and this house. I knew that this was the house I wanted the minute I walked inside.

In June we had a neighborhood party and the previous owners came by. The children who lived here asked if they could come back inside. We had the mother join us. It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be. I wanted them to know that their old place is still loved and cared for. I think they saw that.

They shared some of the home’s secrets and the children’s delightful name for the grove of trees with the stone pathway through the periwinkle in our front yard.

The boys hang hammocks from the trees in the backyard and the little boys have found their climbing tree. I look outside and see feet dangling from limbs all of the time.

Trees, grass, flowers, sweet neighbors, a mountain view, four seasons, proximity to extended family and temples are a blessing. The silent air of winter, the mountains clothed in all of their variety, and the familiar honeysuckle summer evenings of my childhood seem to call out to me, “You’re home.”

Happy Independence Day weekend to you!

How I Know

This is #14 (and the last) in a series of posts in which I share some of the things I have experienced because I am a Mormon. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will also try to explain principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.

When I first set out on this project, I listed many experiences, but chose only a few to write online. I have only written experiences that I would feel comfortable sharing in Sunday school. I have many sacred experiences that would be trivialized by sharing them on the internet with inadequate words and without my voice and person to help convey my message. I have not been able to come up with a post that adequately expresses what I feel about the Savior. The experiences that have led me to know him best are deeply personal.

I hope that you have not found my posts about Mormonism “cocky” or “self-righteous.” It’s been a difficult project, more difficult than you know. What I have shared has been a big deal…for me.

How I Know

There are hundreds of experiences that have confirmed to me that my religion is true, but my experiences won’t sustain faith in another person. So in this last post I will just tell you the things that help me to maintain my position that this Church is true.

I read the book (present tense): I read the Book of Mormon. I read the Bible. I personally love the Bible best. Thousands of times I have felt that these are the words of God.

I live it. In true experimental fashion, I live what my religion teaches and see if I’m happy. The more closely I align my life to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the happier I am. ALWAYS.

I pray and I receive answers in the Lord’s time. I can tell you that the mode and timing to the answers to my prayers are always meaningful and memorable.

That’s it. I read, I live, I pray. Then I wait upon the Lord, who is so, so generous.

Angels in the attitude of singing

This is #13 in a series of posts in which I share some of the things I have experienced because I am a Mormon. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will also try to explain principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.

Angels, in the attitude of singing

I was probably four years old sitting in the old chapel with peachy colored pews without cushions. The windows were full of light and I looked around, studying the things a child studies during church, such as the shape of the light fixtures, the tall ceiling, and the curtains on the windows. I know we always attended church, but childhood memories of church meetings are few; this one became very important.

The white-haired chorister, a widow named Lera Whittle, sister of Ezra Taft Benson, stood up with her baton to lead the hymn, Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel. The congregation stood up to sing. Sister Whittle’s baton moved with the music and her emphatic face and hand movements inspired the congregation to sing out. The novelty of discovering the power of music made my little chest swell as I joined in with fervor, “Put your shoulder to the wheel, push along; Do your duty with a heart full of song, We all have work; let no one shirk; Put your shoulder to the wheel!” I was in raptures by the end of that song.

This was the beginning of my love of the hymns of the Church, which have comforted, inspired, and helped me through the years.

When I think of a difficult time in my life, I can usually associate a hymn that helped me through it.

Lonely days: The Lord is my Shepherd
Feeling lost after a big transition in my life: How Gentle God’s Commands
Saying goodbye: Come, Let us Anew
Times of mourning: Abide with Me; ’tis Eventide
Times of repentance: Lead, Kindly Light

One of my favorite things is to hear my little Mark singing the hymns at church. I’ll put my arm around him and lean in. The purity and sweetness usually brings tears to my eyes. I’ve decided that heaven has got to sound like that.

Yea, methought I saw…God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there. (Alma 36:22)

If you have a few minutes, here’s one of my favorites: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Wait–and buy this.

This is #12 in a series of posts in which I share some of the things I have experienced because I am a Mormon. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will also try to explain principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.

One of the young men in our ward was in the hospital. A seizure had brought him to the sudden reality of a brain tumor. Within hours, his life and his family’s lives had changed completely.

Many rushed to the hospital that first evening to visit. Someone told me that there were 36 visitors that first night.

I prayed to know what to do. I felt inspired to wait a day before visiting, gather notes from the mother’s friends, and pick up some personal care items from the store. A the checkout stand I saw a display of prepaid phone cards. It was an unexpected choice, but I felt inspired to buy one.

I sat with the mother at the hospital during her son’s first surgery. The hospital room was quiet. The crowd had left many gifts of food and well wishes the night before. As we sat and waited, I showed her the notes we had collected for her, along with the gifts. The notes meant a great deal to her; but she was restless and feeling like she needed to do more than sit around and wait for news.

The phone card turned out to be the thing she needed most at that moment. With it, she could make long distance calls from the hospital to Houston where they would seek further cancer treatment. (This was in the day before cell phones were in everyone’s pockets.) She expressed real gratitude for this card which would allow her to DO something, rather than just sit, feeling useless at the hospital.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is powerful. After baptism, we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. The companionship of the Holy Ghost is so helpful in our decisions and our capacity to serve. Alone, I probably wouldn’t have waited to visit and I would have just come and given a hug; with the Spirit, I felt inspired not only to Wait, but to purchase something I didn’t set out to buy.

A Soldier, a Mother, and a Quilt

This is #11 in a series of posts in which I share some of the things I have experienced because I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. I will also try to explain principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.

A Soldier, a Mother, and a Quilt

I was at a viewing for a young soldier. It was the first time I had ever seen this young man, but it shouldn’t have been.

Four or five years before his death, this young man was on the list of kids who were seminary age, but I had never contacted him to invite him to my class. His family had not been to church for years, and I didn’t reach out to him.

When the young man was killed in the war, the family called a friend from the Church, and many members ran to the family to help in their own way.

My feelings were poignant, and the words that formed in my mind that evening at the viewing were full of regret. I deeply regretted that I had not known him. It was a terrible to face a missed opportunity for friendship in such a way.

It took courage to introduce myself to his mother, surrounded by women of another religion at the viewing. “I’m Angie Ross and I’m your Relief Society President,” was all that I can remember saying.

With a flash of recognition at the title, but not my face, she looked at me and paused. The moment was quickly gone, but she knew that she was not forgotten by the Church in which she was still a member, but no longer attended.

My individual failings aside, I knew that she had never been forgotten by the members of the Church. Her visiting teachers, two women assigned to visit her monthly were faithful. These sisters had continued to maintain a friendship with her for many years. These women were marvelous.

We made a quilt for this grieving mother with squares made by individual members. Some squares were made by her visiting teachers; some were made by her friends; one was made by a child, and one was made by a set of missionaries about the age of her son. However, the majority of the quilt was made by women she had never met, who had covenanted at baptism to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.

The Church is made of individuals full of faults and personal failings. Individually, we are inadequate in our efforts, but together, we can help compensate where there are failings. I had failed to reach out to the son, but others had maintained a friendship with his mother, and she was able to feel the strength of the Church when her son was killed. As members of the Church, we have a network of people in place to support each family. The organization of the members watching out for one another is one testament to me that this is Christ’s Church on the earth today.

For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. 2 Corinthians 13:9

Sick, and Ye Visited Me

This is #10 in a series of posts in which I share some of the things I have experienced because I am a Mormon. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will also try to explain principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.

Sick, and Ye Visited Me

She taught Relief Society lessons on Sundays with wisdom and candor. She was funny. She was real and without pretense. The lesson I remember best is when she taught us from Matthew 25. We read,

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. (Matthew 25:33-36, KJV)

“Do you realize what this means?” she said. “Have you BEEN to a prison? Have you seen how ‘yucky’ a sick room can be? We need to be in THOSE PLACES.”

Perhaps I remember her words because one afternoon in May (and it happened to be her birthday), this Relief Society teacher walked into my hospital room to visit me. She was my only visitor during that hospital stay and I will never forget that pure Christian act.

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40)

Mine is a religion of action and personal development. Understanding that we are lacking, we depend on the Savior for salvation, daily support, and direction. This does not diminish the role our actions play in expanding our capacity to experience heaven someday. We believe that as followers of Jesus Christ, we spend our time visiting, lending, comforting, and helping, not as items to check off a list, but as a means of expanding Christ’s influence in the world and in our hearts.