Category: Church

from Anne

Each member of my Primary presidency brings something unique and strong to the team. Susan brought enthusiasm, humor, and great quotes. Shelby brings warmth and resolute testimony. Anne brings evidence of her deep thinking and a faith that has been tried and fortified. I could list many more things for each person, and Anne also consistently brings music to our meetings. This week, as we met without Susan, and with the shock of her sudden passing still with us, Anne played this song. ♥️

my friend

This is my friend Susan who passed away today. She served as my second counselor in the stake Primary presidency until the end of her life. Today I just keep thinking of the hundreds of children she taught over a 32-year career at our neighborhood elementary school, mostly as a kindergarten teacher, then as a third grade teacher. Walking into a room with her was like being with a rock star. Children would light up and run to her. One day a teenage boy, her former student, saw her visiting a Primary and ran into the room to hug her.

I keep thinking of her family. I keep thinking of the things she taught me. What a giant spirit in such a tiny person. Her influence is everywhere. Well done, darling Susan! I will miss you until we meet again.

Walking and Talking

We’ve reached a moment of decision in the Old Testament curriculum this year. Before now, we studied every chapter, but recently, we began to move ahead more rapidly, with only selected chapters to read. I had to ask myself, “Will I read all, or just the assigned chapters?” I have decided to read ’em all, because I can.

So, today I studied Leviticus 26, even though it wasn’t on the list. If you have a minute, Leviticus 26:3-13 is really worth reading. It’s basically a list of promises to covenant Israel.

Take a look at the Hebrew footnote “a” in verse 9. It says the Lord will “turn unto” his covenant keeping people. This image is beautiful. All of these verses teach me that he is attentive, protective, and wants to walk among us.

I love that the Lord promises he will “walk among” us! To me, this indicates the need to be with other covenant people. If I surround myself with people of faith, this also increases the Lord’s influence on my life. For if he is inspiring me, he is inspiring others of faith. This is one reason I attend church. The most important reason, though, is to maintain my personal covenant relationship with God.

When I think of the Lord walking with me personally, I think of the steep roads I must climb. He is there. I think of the times I get hurt. He is there. I think of the confusion I feel sometimes. He is there, teaching me. After all, what is a walk without conversation?

My hope is to be able to hear him and notice him better among those of faith, and in my own private reaching. It’s not a question of him being there or not. It is whether I will recognize him. He keeps his covenants.

Wednesday study

This morning, I have been studying this document about the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. I assigned colors to the following topics and began marking:

  • God the Father (bold yellow)
  • His Son, Jesus Christ (narrow yellow)
  • Joseph Smith (blue)
  • Invitations, i.e.what are we to DO with this information? (orange dots)
  • Truths about who we are as God’s children and how He relates to us (green)
  • Things restored that were lost (red dots), and by whom they were restored (pink)

I will mark more another time:

  • Purposes the Book of Mormon–Another Testament of Jesus Christ
  • Prophecies about the future of the Church of Jesus Christ
  • Blessings the Church offers

Joseph Smith’s name is mentioned only 3 times, but you can see how often God the Father and Jesus Christ are mentioned. (See yellow markings). It shines out to me that we are taught that God loves all of His Children and the heavens are open to us.

I recommend this practice of using color and symbols during scripture or gospel study. You could make a photocopy of a page of scripture and really go for it, not worrying about permanent markings in your scriptures.

Restoration Proclamation here:

Later…

I just realized that as of today, I have been writing this blog for 13 years. Happy birthday, old bloggy.

Dinner party before the women’s session of conference

So much of my heart went into this night that it feels strange to write about it here. I’ll fill some pages in my journal about it.

Please enjoy the pretty pictures of my family and homemade petit fours. (Mark helped me with the fondant glaze and Paige made the rosettes.)

Missionary update

Tim is stretching as a Tagalog language missionary in North Shore Vancouver. His companion is fluent in Tagalog, as he was born in the Philippines, but moved to Canada many years ago. Tim is using his piano and organ skills in choir, sacrament meeting, and Primary. He lives in a basement apartment in the stake president’s home. I try to keep track of those who take good care of the missionaries, and in this area, the Oro family really stands out. I am thankful for them! He goes into the city often because that is where they can find Filipinos, and there is a lot of driving involved. Also, they are trying to get to know the members, as both elders are new in the area. They teach a weekly English class which they are trying to get more people to attend. On Preparation Days, he visits gorgeous places, plays volleyball, does laundry, and calls home.

There is a missionary mom on Tim’s mission Facebook page who sends out a reminder message every Monday, “Mamas, charge up your phones!” because that is the day we get to talk. Lately, we talk for a long time.

Some things that I admire about Elder Ross as a missionary:

  • He speaks positively about his companions.
  • He shows his humor superpowers when things don’t go as planned.
  • He seems to find things to like in everyone he meets.
  • He uses exclamation points in his emails to us, and this just lifts my day!
  • He took up social media even though that is not his jam.
  • He freely expresses gratitude.

Making Progress

These are screenshots that illustrate some of my personal goals. The above screenshot is from the Gospel Library app. I am working to electronically mark my favorite quotes from church leaders at the last general conference, tagging quotes so can search them by topic. I began by reading a talk each day, starting sometime in January and ending last week. I marked favorite passages as I read. Now, each day I go back through the marked passages and add some topic tags. It is a drop by drop kind of project.

The next image is a screenshot from the Family Tree app, showing that my short, set appointments each Thursday to work on family history are yielding results. In two months, I have been able to contribute more than any year recorded here.

It is not my intention to brag, but to illustrate how tiny daily and weekly efforts are making a difference in my life!