Following the pattern that Christ established in His church when He was on the earth, Joseph Smith was instructed to ordain twelve men to serve as Apostles. They were actually called by the three Witnesses: Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris and David Whitmer, and then ordained by Joseph Smith. The first men were ordained on February 14, 1835, then on February 15th and on February 21st. April 1835 was the month that the last one was ordained. They were ordained in the following order: Lyman E. Johnson, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, David W. Patten, Luke S. Johnson, William E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, William Smith, Parley P. Pratt, Thomas B. Marsh, and Orson Pratt.
This painting is entitled, "Joseph Smith ordaining Parley P. Pratt as an Apostle."
This painting doesn't show all 12 Apostles, of course, but it does show Parley.
I have tried to find pictures of them as young men, though I was always able to, and I have put them in order of seniority.
Thomas B. Marsh David W. Patten, Brigham Young
Heber C. Kimball Orson Hyde William E. McLellin
Parley P. Pratt Luke S. Johnson William B. Smith
Orson Pratt John F. Boynton Lyman E. Johnson
We are so used to our Apostles being above reproach and having firm, valiant testimonies, serving the Lord and the Church to their dying day, that it is uncomfortable to us to know that so many of these chosen men left the church and renounced their testimonies. It's not surprising, actually, that many of them wavered. They were very young and untaught and the times were incredibly hard. We certainly can't judge them against today's Apostles with 200 years of Church stability, a lifetime of service and commitment and valiant predecessors behind them. These men had none of that.
Thomas B. Marsh (1800-1866) who was nearly 36 when he was ordained, was excommunicated. He was one of the group of men who disavowed Joseph Smith as a prophet after the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society and took physical control of the Kirtland Temple, as the major financial asset of the church and called Joseph a "fallen prophet."
David W. Patten (1799-1838) who may have been older, but couldn't prove it, was killed in the Battle of Crooked River. He served faithfully until he died. It was he who baptized our grandmother Mary Ann Frost Pratt.
Brigham Young (1801-1877) was also 35 when he was ordained. He served faithfully, becoming the 2nd president of the church. He died when he was 76 years old after serving as the leader of the church for over 33 years. He was known as the great colonizer of the west.
Heber C. Kimball (1801-1868) was 34 when he was ordained. He served faithfully as an Apostle and missionary until he was called as a counselor in the First Presidency, where he served faithfully.
Orson Hyde (1805-878) was 30 when he was ordained. He was removed from the 12 by a vote of the Church after being disfellowshipped for misrepresenting the church, along with Thomas Marsh and others, and leaving church activity. He later apologized and was reinstated as an Apostle.
William E. Mclellin (1806-1883) was also 34 when he was ordained. He lost confidence in the presidency of the church and worked actively against the Church. He was excommunicated.
Parley P. Pratt (1807-1857) He was 28 when he was ordained. He was one of the most prolific writers in the church and his writings became significant proselytizing tools. He is known to have written 31 published works, not including his autobiography. He served as a missionary Apostle in England, Hawaii, South America, Canada, California and the Eastern United States until he was murdered. He converted our great great great grandmother, Mary Polly Taylor Hiatt, who was the first member in North Carolina.
Luke S. Johnson (1807-1861) He was 28 when he was ordained. He was the son of John Johnson, who furnished Joseph Smith with a home while he translated a portion of the Bible. He was a doctor and the brother-in-law of Orson Hyde. His younger brother, Lyman Johnson was also a member of the quorum. He and his brother resigned, with others, from the church following disenchantment after the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society.
William B. Smith (1811-1893) He was 24 when he was ordained. Brother of Joseph, he was accepted, into the Quorum in place of Phineas Young, the younger brother of Brigham, who was originally designated by the three witnesses. He served until he was excommunicated by Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve for apostasy.
Orson Pratt (1811-1881) Also 24, Orson was Parley's younger brother. He worked as Church Historian and Recorder until his death. He helped divide editions of the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants into verses and provided footnoted cross references.
John f. Boynton (1811-1893) He was 24 when he was ordained. He was excommunicated as one of the group, including Warren Parrish, Martin Harris, the Johnson brothers, and Thomas Marsh who took control of the Kirtland Temple.
Lyman E. Johnson ((1811-1859) Also only 24. He was the younger brother of Luke Johnson and together, they joined with John Boynton, Martin Harris and Warren Parrish to take over the Kirtland Temple, disavowing Joseph Smith. He also was excommunicated.
~BIRTHDAYS~
I always love doing February birthdays because there are so many and they are doubles. And this year is extra special because it is a leap year and we have two leaplings!
Marlie turned 18 on the 4th Brianna turned 15 on the 4th
Lindsay turned 12 on the 12th. Her golden birthday! Alta's birthday was also the 12th.
Brock and Syrina and Parker get their own birthdays unless you count St. Valentine on the 14th for Brock, Charles Barkley on the 20th for Syrina's 12th birthday and George Washington on the 22nd for Parker's 25th birthday.
Daynen, on the 28th, shares his birthday, most years, with our two leaplings, Hannah and Parley. This year, however, Hannah and Parley get to have a real birthday! Parley has his first birthday, turning 4 on the 29th, and Hannah has her 6th birthday, turning 24 on the 29th.
Our February family is the Joel and Stephanie family
February 2nd, 2020, was a banner year. It is the first palindrome year in over 900 years. The next one will be March 3, 3030!!
And true to Puxatony Phil's prediction, spring has definitely come early...to Arizona at least.
In fact, everything started blooming the last week in January.
I love to see the African daisies blooming in people's yards this time of year.
Then the second week, while we were in Gilbert, we had a cold, rainy day. We even got hail at Joel's house. Then toward the end of the month we had another lovely, rainy day. But most of the time the temperatures were in the 70's during the daytime.
The warmer weather means that snakes are going to be coming out of hibernation in the next month or so. I'm putting this here because I don't want you to miss it. I read about a man who had been bitten by a rattlesnake and after rushing him to the hospital, he was immediately given Benadryl. It began to help immediately, giving the hospital valuable time to prepare the antivenom serum. Keep Benadryl with you if you are working or hiking in rattlesnake territory...Rachel, Mary...maybe even Daniel. Keep children's chewable. They don't lose their effectiveness over time and adults can take as many as needed for their weight. That should be your first resort after a snakebite, probably on the way to the hospital.
~OUR FEBRUARY~
On Sunday, the 2nd, Groundhog Day, we had Thomas and Jenn's family to dinner. Thomas said he even set his alarm to wake him up at 6:30 with "I Got You Babe." He's a diehard Groundhog Day fan
And then the Richins joined them for a Sunday afternoon visit.
On Brianna's 15th birthday, the 4th (Marlie's birthday too) we ate dinner at their house. Brianna and Lindsay were dressed as trolls for their play Frozen. They had a dress rehearsal that night.
We watched the State of the Union address and I admit I was touched and impressed in spite of all President Trump's bragging. He's done a good job and I actually hope he gets reelected.
On Wednesday the 5th, we went to see Brianna and Lindsay be trolls in Frozen. They were the prettiest trolls you can imagine.
On Friday, Esther, Bridger, Soren and Brody came to visit. They wanted to do baptisms at our temple, so we got the teenagers together and did a baptism session. It was wonderful. I loved every minute of seeing our kids do work for their deceased relatives. Luke and Bridger were baptizers as well as being baptized by each other, and Brynlie and Brianna were witnesses. The rest did 5 names each, I think. It was a wonderful afternoon.
That evening, we ordered El Charro takeout and had a great visit with everyone. Isabel and Logan brought Steele so Esther could see and hold him. It was love at first sight.
The next day we had a cleanup party :-] Everyone pitched in and got our back yard weeded, cut, trimmed and swept. I don't know if I got pictures of everyone who helped, but I tried to.
Ethan wanted to do everything! Notice how he is sweeping leaves into the dustpan with his hand :-)
Then afterward, we had "Grandpa Beans" and French bread, then took tractor rides. All the kids...and Grandpa...got to have a turn driving the tractor.
When I was out under the pine tree, watching the kids ride the tractor, I saw this interesting thing in the tree. Thomas climbed up a little and looked at it and confirmed that it was some sort of bird house, so I took a picture of it. It looks Ewok-ish to me. Mary said that she found it and brought it here and put it in our tree. I hope some bird uses it. It's nesting season, so I'll keep an eye on it.
We went to Lydia the next day, Sunday after church, and took Soren back home with us. He stayed the night at the Alders' and then went to church with us, going in Hyrum's classes. It was fun to have him. When we took him home, Esther fed us Navajo Tacos. I haven't had those in a long time. They were delicious. Joel and Stephanie and Levi and Crew and Polly all came over so we had a good Sunday visit. Joel had just had his wisdom teeth pulled, so he wasn't very smiley.
The next day, Dad and I decided to try the Mongolian Barbecue for lunch. We had actually eaten at one in Taiwan in 1985, and loved it, so we were really looking forward to it. It didn't disappoint. They did it just like they did in Taiwan. It was delicious. To top it off, Jeremy came over and visited with us while we ate. It was so good to see him.
That night we ate at Joel and Stephanie's. Polly came with us. They had Olive Garden delivered. It was so good. I tried to take a panoramic shot, and poor Joel got distorted. Sorry Joel. He was pretty miserable from his tooth, anyway.
On Tuesday, Dad had an appointment with the eye doctor to schedule cataract surgery. The first one will be the end of March, during our Temple's maintenance closure, and the 2nd one will probably be the first week in May.
We went by Joel's office to take him a medicinal milkshake. He really needed it, and I think it absolutely helped him to feel better. 😉
Then that night we ate at Red Lobster, courtesy of Allison and Taylor. They sent us a gift card as a "Thank you" for the Grand Canyon trip. It was all so delicious and we appreciated their thoughtfulness.
We were home on Wednesday, in time to celebrate Lindsay's 12th birthday with dinner at her house. Notice the bread stick tower Carson built :-D
💝Valentine's Day💝
I have included any pictures of Valentine's Day that you sent or that you posted. If you're not on here, you know why :-}
*From my valentine*
We ate at El Charro to celebrate the day.
We even received valentines from some of the kids.
Goodies from Rachel and Jenn
I loved seeing this valentine that Joshua sent to himself. Good for you, Josh. And he is a total catch, for sure!
Jovie enjoying the warm Valentine's Day in Glendale
Joel sent these darling pictures of Junie enjoying the day. I think she liked the balloon the best.
Devynne and Brock's family celebrates Valentine's Day with a birthday cake...pie. February 14 is his birthday.
Parley in his red Valentine shirt and bowtie
Sweethearts Daynen and Jori
Rachel's family
Esther's family
Valentine's Day is also the 108th birthday of Arizona. I am proud to be an Arizona girl 👍
The day after Valentine's Day, I hit the after-valentine's-day sale of stuffed animals for grandchildren gifts.
That day, Saturday, Mary and Tyson went to Tucson to see Brianna in the high school choir Regionals, so we kept the other kids. It was an easy job because Thomas came over and invited us to go to the duck ponds for a picnic. The kids all had a great time and I just relaxed and took pictures :-)
The next day we had a good Sunday visit from Rachel and the twins, and Thomas, Mary and their families.
Another day, Mary's little boys came over to play and enjoyed the beautiful weather and Grandpa's playground.
On the 17th, Dad and I went in for hearing tests. His hearing hasn't changed in the last 5 years, so he will keep the hearing aids he has. Mine, however, has gotten worse, and besides that, I have lost my hearing aids because I didn't wear them regularly. So I have to get new ones. The audiologist said that Dad's hearing loss looked like a common age-related loss, but mine was weird. Oh well, just another evidence of my all-around weirdness ;-} Last day note: Dad found my hearing aids! We just saved $1000 dollars!!
On the 19th, Hyrum participated in the county spelling bee. He represented the Ruth Powell School. There were students from all around the county. He did very well, although he didn't win. But we were so proud of him.
On Saturday the 22nd, we learned of the tragedy that happened the night before. Some high school vocational GIFT students were returning from an automotive activity in Gilbert (?) and just as they were approaching Pima, on their way home, the driver of their van fell asleep and the van rolled, killing three of the students...one from Thatcher (Mike Nelson's grandson), one from Pima and one from Duncan. I just can't even imagine the sorrow of their families. That afternoon, our Relief Society President came by to tell me that the driver of the van was a man in our ward, Cory Thatcher, and that we needed to take dinner to them to let them know we are supportive and want to help. Dad and I took dinner over to them and had a good visit with his wife. She said he is devastated, of course, as anyone would be. I think I feel worse for him than anyone.
On Sunday, Thomas and Jenn invited us to dinner. Yummy lasagna and a good visit.
That evening we had visits from Rachel's, Thomas' and Mary's families. Dad wanted to make s'mores for a treat, so he bought graham crackers. We had candy bars from another time and marshmallows that had gone rock hard. We managed to make them work, however and the kids enjoyed the treat.
The next day, Dad insisted that I go with him to get a shingles shot. I resisted, but gave in eventually. So now, we are protected from that horrible disease...I hope.
On Tuesday, Joel had EAC Board meetings so we met him for lunch at El Charro. My panoramic shot didn't distort any of the boys, except for the busboy in the background. He looks hilarious😆
On the way into El Charro, I took a picture of the street sign wrapped in ribbons commemorating the three high school kids who were killed in the accident...green for Thatcher, red for Duncan and blue for Pima. In fact, all the poles across the Gila Valley are similarly decorated. Notice the ones in the background.
We went by Rebecca's after lunch to sample her home made coconut pie. She's quite a baker. Joel suggested that she open a bakery and call it "Bec's Bakery."
On Wednesday night, some of the mutual girls in our ward came to "do service" for us. I had them roll up the carpet and vacuum underneath it. How embarrassing! The foam from the back of the carpet covered the floor. It looked horrible. Pictured are Laura David, their leader, Ella Peterson, Marcie Mortenson, Andra Lines, Isabel Baldwin.
*NEWS FROM AROUND THE FAMILY*
~NATHAN AND SHAUNA~
Palmer passed dental boards and will officially graduate from dental school in May. Congratulations, Palmer, we are so proud of you. He will begin practicing with his dad in Omaha and he is so well prepared for that experience. He will be a great asset to their practice, I am sure.
Nathan and Joshua were able to get together in Indianapolis this month.
One weekend in February, Dallin, Sara and Parley went to visit Josh in Indianapolis. It is about a 4-hour drive from Wheeling WV, so they drove over and stayed at his house. I think they had a good time, both Dallin and Joshua being "architecture nerds," as they phrased it themselves. They drove around and looked at old buildings. Fun, huh? I just loved seeing them together.
Screenshot from a video Dallin sent his mom. Joshua chillin' at his place.
The many faces of Jovie 💖
Hannah celebrated her 6th birthday on the 29th. Her family, Seth and his family, and their friends all had special parties in her honor.
~JOEL AND STEPHANIE~
At Esther's when we visited there. Poor Joel was recovering from wisdom tooth extraction.
We went to their house while we were in Gilbert and ate dinner with them...
and saw their beautiful new pool...completely redone.
Junie feels like she's on top of the world!
On the 29th, Joel had tickets to a Leap Year Luau. I really don't know what occasion they were celebrating, but it was on Leap Year Day. He gave tickets to Jeremy and Erika and Esther and Shad. Esther sent me a video and I made some blurry screenshots. They had an Elvis impersonator, who was actually pretty good, then Joel, Jeremy and Shad were called to the stage where they had to dance with some hula dancers. Esther's video only included Shad and Joel with the hula dancers, but I'm sure Jeremy didn't get away with not having to dance as well. I would like to have seen them😂 I put it on Joel's section because he was the one who had the tickets.
~DANIEL AND CONNIE~
Shannyn posted these pictures of the College Acceptance Board at her high school. I wonder where she will choose to go.
Shannyn and Syrina singing along to the radio 🎶
Evidently, music is important to Syrina, as Connie incorporated it in her Amazing Connie Cake for Syrina's 12th birthday on the 20th. Absolutely gorgeous! Both the cake and the girl.
They have a new dog named Zona.
I love Parker's Amazing Connie Cake too. He is still a guide at Glenwood Caverns, but is taking VetTech classes. His birthday was the 22nd.
Devynne and Brock took their family on a vacation to Hawaii 😄 Brock will also go through graduation in May, although he won't officially graduate with his doctorate until he defends his doctoral thesis in August. We are all so proud of him too.
Shannyn won an award for 100% math scores! Fortunately she inherited her parents' math abilities. I was always amazed that he was so good at math when it was like a foreign language to me. In fact, all the boys were pretty good at math. I think my girls were more interested in "social" studies.
~REBECCA AND SCOTT~
DeWitt and Rachel Rose, hiking with friends...or are those her parents?
Sara and baby girl Evans
Parley singing Primary songs with friends.
Rebecca at the cleanup day
She had the opportunity to go to WA to visit Allison and her family. See Taylor and Harvey in the back, as well as Lucy, of course, getting a ride.
Rebecca asked me to make a purse for Lucy and a satchel for Harvey.
Their roller coaster slide is in the house until it warms up outside.
Lillian and Kelin loving the winter
I don't know the back story of the next 3 pictures, except they look happy and are eating good food.
Maybe Parley is at his dad's work?
DeWitt and Polly got a job at Sky Harbor as baggage handlers. They get free flights anywhere American Airlines flies!! Of course, they have to be outside in all kinds of weather, including rainy days, the last one of which gave Polly a really bad cold.😝 The other guy in the picture is their friend Patrick Eady.
Dallin and Sara and Parley went to Indianapolis and stayed with Joshua for the weekend.
These are screenshots from a video Dallin sent to Rebecca of them at Joshua's apartment.
Polly celebrated her 21st birthday on the 26th with Bridger, who shares her birthday. They had a party at Esther's, with steak and all the trimmings, and she even brought along her current boyfriend, Kaden Leavitt.
Tribute from DeWitt...I wonder if that is at work at the airport.
Parley celebrated his first birthday on Leap Year Day. He turned 4.
~JEREMY AND ERIKA~
Daynen making a movie...with Tayte's help it looks like.
Jeremy and Erika are redoing a bathroom in their house that had scary mold.
Finished bathroom
Daynen and Jori (and Victoria) celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary this month.
And they enjoyed anniversary cupcakes. I love how oblivious Victoria is at her parents' clowning around behind her. She just cares about the cupcake for goodness sake😋
I can't believe they're already indoctrinating her to like sushi!
Every day, Jori posts Victoria's waking up in such a happy mood. I look forward to seeing it.
~RACHEL AND TONY~
Rachel always does an amazing spread for Superbowl Sunday.
Brynlie and Camille in their Sunday finery. I just had to take a picture of these beautiful girls.
Tony and Luke and their workers had to do some nighttime maintenance on their car wash, cleaning the "crud" out of the gutters.
Brynlie and Camille helping on cleanup day.
I got to help on cleanup day too. I had the best job of all...holding Steele. Actually, I only held him for a little while because Esther held him most of the time.
Brynlie and Camille driving the tractor.
Rylie's new house in Pima.
Tony and Jake...a Grandpa and a Daddy.
Steele at the first of February
Already growing up at the end of February.
His Grandma Rachel loves to take pictures of him...just like she did with her own babies.
For some inexplicable reason, one night their Ward youth hiked from the church down by the fairgrounds all the way to Denny's. I never heard what the overall Gospel application was for this trek, unless just to endure to the end, but I think they all had a fun time. Rachel is a YW leader and went with them.
Logan posted this picture. It touched my heart to see what he wrote: "Homies for life."
Isabel, Logan and Steele at the lantern show in Pima for Leap Year Day.
~ESTHER AND SHAD~
Marlie's birthday was on the 4th. She turned 18.
She was feted by her family and friends with balloons and signs and a decorated car. The best part, though, was the beautiful, soft afghan that her mom made for her.
She and Esther and Polly went out on the town that day to take advantage of all the freebies offered to people who are having a birthday.
This day date for MORP was at least a week before the dance.
No sooner was the dance over than they already started asking for the prom in April!
A bunch of Senior friends
Bridger and Soren driving the tractor. They had to leave before Brody got to drive. They were trying to get home before Marlie's MORP date.
Delicious Navajo Tacos at Esther's house on Sunday night. The balloons were decorations from the MORP dinner.
We went by their house on our way home on Wednesday and got some grapefruit that they had picked for us. So delicious. We also got some from Joel. I love grapefruit; I can't ever have too many. Thank you both.
Brody at a little league basketball game
Soren and his friends go to the Gilbert Temple on Saturday mornings at 5:30 AM!! So proud of them for their dedication, and even prouder of the moms who get up and drive them there.
Bridger's birthday on the 26th. He wanted some tools for his birthday, so Esther got on FaceTime with Dad and they shopped together for good tools. On his lap is the tool bag they chose.
I remember that after we were married, Dad and I took the coffee cups from our expensive china back to Stapely's for store credit. With the credit we bought Dad a whole set of expensive tools and a tool box. We also got other things we needed like an ironing board, broom, mop,wastebaskets, garbage can, and other housekeeping items. Stapley's was an all purpose kind of store. It was the only place in Mesa, at the time, where you could register for wedding gifts. We just looked at a catalog and picked out what we wanted and they ordered it as gift orders came in.
Marlie's afghan and the one Esther made for Bridger's birthday. She's really getting good at this. :-)
Bridger and Polly's birthday cake. Esther had a birthday party, with steak and all the trimmings, for her son and her niece. They had such a good time. Polly said her friend (boy) loved being there and that he thought they were such a fun family.
~THOMAS AND JENN~
Thomas has been hired to be the coach of the girls' tennis team at Safford High School. He says the pay isn't much, but that's ok because he is coaching Kirtlyn. He did it last year for free :-] Rachel is the assistant tennis coach for the girls' team.
Kirtlyn is learning to drive...or I mean Maya?
Kirtlyn came with her YW class to see Frozen, so we got a picture of her with her cousins.
Jenn and Kirtlyn introduced a "get-to-know-you" game at a pre camp meeting. Jenn is the assistant stake came director. Busy times ahead, for sure.
Kirtlyn, Thomas, Hyrum, Maya driving the tractor.
Jenn and Henry advanced to orange belt in their karate class.
They installed a new basketball standard on their driveway.
Kirtlyn designed a new shirt, combining a black one with a gray one. She got a sewing machine for Christmas and is putting it to good use.
At the picnic at the duck ponds with Mary's kids.
At the spelling bee
At Brooklyn Farar's wedding reception
I don't know what this is all about, but the man with Thomas in the picture posted it as some kind of advertisement for his business.
Kirtlyn went to a Leap Year lantern party in Pima on the 29th. They also honored the three boys who had died in the crash.
~MARY AND TYSON~
Mary making her girls into beautiful trolls for Frozen
Brianna's 15th birthday on the 4th. A cupcake cake.
They were totally the cutest trolls.
With Kirtlyn after the play
Lindsay's golden 12th birthday on the 12th.
At Lindsay's birthday dinner.
The pot of gold was right in their back yard...if they could have found it
Alex with his homemade bow and arrows...and quiver.
Ethan, helping to clean the garage
Brianna, Carson, Lindsay, Jared, Alex and Ethan driving the tractor
Brianna was the only freshman girl at Thatcher High School to make regionals.
At the duck ponds when we went with Thomas' family
Alex called me one day and told me that he had a "wiggly" tooth. So I asked him what picture he would like on his tooth pillow. He said "a Lego guy." I Googled "Lego guy" and found a picture that I thought I could do without too much trouble, and texted it to Mary, but in the meantime, Alex picked the one he wants...
Anything for Alex...I guess.
Brianna tried out for Gila Valley Idol and Mary brought along Brianna's sister and cousins to be her cheering section. They were so nice and loud. Even the judges commented on her fan club. She is one of the "call back" performers and gets to audition again before the finals.
~MISSIONARIES~
From Docker in Massachussets. Notice the add behind him in the 2nd pic. It's like he posed for it. He wrote that he is avoiding the Corona virus. He is teaching Chinese people, so I'm glad he's being careful. American Chinese are not the problem, it's their visiting-from-China relatives.
From Albert in California. He probably comes in contact with almost as many Asians as Docker does, so I hope he, too, is being careful.
From Harrison at the Lauren's School in Gilbert. It is Lauren's Institute for education, or L.I.F.E.
~SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT~
I love seeing the babies in the blankets I make for them. This is Baby Steele
Henry playing in the costume box
This little boy totally enjoyed the clean up day and participated in every facet of it, culminating with the ultimate joy of falling in the leaf pile.
Deja vu for sure...for all of us.
Then...and now...
See Alex's bow and arrow in Mary's section!
Jovie is all prepared for a water-splashing tea party on TV.
This is me!!!
One of my favorite quotes from the prophet
~LAST WORDS~
In the middle of this beautiful, love-and-joy-filled month, the Gila Valley experienced a terrible tragedy. Some high school GIFT students, coming home from a vocational automotive activity down in the valley were killed when their van rolled over just as they were approaching Pima on their way home. Their driver had fallen asleep. I know I mentioned this earlier in the blog, but I want to reflect on it now because it reminds me of how transitory life is. How fragile. We can't afford to hold grudges or postpone our preparations to meet God. As the scriptures tell us, "Now is the time to prepare to meet God!" Tell and show your loved ones how much you love them. We need to forgive others, forgive ourselves, and we need to repent and reach out to God so that when the time comes, whenever it is, we are ready to meet Him. As President Nelson said in the above quote, our focus needs to be on God and on serving Him and others, especially our families and loved ones. Dad and I pray that you will find joy as you focus on eternal things.
Post script: This is March 1st, but I obviously haven't published the blog yet. I am waiting for pictures from Hannah's 6th birthday to finish it off. But I want to mention, in my journal, the very emotional fast and testimony meeting we had in our ward today. Tim Taylor bore his testimony and was very emotional. Without mentioning his son's name, he shared how much the Lord loves us in spite of our weaknesses. He told "someone I love very much, someone I feel very close to" that the Lord is not interested in how many times we fall, but only in how many times we get up. Then Karrie Thatcher, the wife of the driver of the GIFT van, bore her testimony about how the Lord knows each one of us and is there to help us in our trials and sorrows. Then, surprisingly, her husband stood and said, "I wasn't even going to come today, much less bear my testimony, but felt that I should." He shared how much the Lord has been helping him and his family. I was so proud of all of them and hope they can feel the love and support from their ward family.
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