A great Sunday

Yesterday I had the privilege of being part of a Relief Society Leadership meeting. I got to speak for about 5 minutes about the importance of keeping records for this wonderful women's organization.
After much thought, and more than a little prayer, this is what I came up with.

I read some favorite scriptures about the role that the Savior offers to play in our lives.
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chatisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Matthew 11:29 Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 18:11 ...the Son of man is come to save that which is lost
Luke 4:18 ...he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted...
2 Nephi 2:9 ...he shall make intercession for all the children of men
Revelation 1:5 ...him that loved us, and washed us from our sins with his own blood.
Isaiah 49:15-16 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands...

I then told about dad's heart attack and surgery. I explained how we joined as a family in fasting and prayer the night before the surgery, and then waited together the next morning as the by-pass surgery was performed. When he was back in the ICU, connected to all the tubes, wires, monitors, etc. we again prayed as a family, surrounding his bed, to end our fast, and to thank our Father for the peace we felt, the successful surgery, and to ask Him for continued blessings on our dad, that his recovery would be complete. We had trusted a man whom we did not know with the life of our father, knowing that his heart needed to be repaired, and that this man could do it.
Sometimes we find someone that we love, a friend, neighbor, family member, or even maybe ourselves, with a hard, broken, or doubting heart. Then we are invited to turn to the Master Surgeon, He who can heal, soften, touch, and even change our hearts.
The purpose of the Relief Society is to turn women and families to Christ. We keep records of who attends our meetings, who gets visited monthly by their visiting teachers, and who attends our sacrament meetings, so that we may more effectively point our sisters to Him. We know that He is the source of peace, happiness, cleanliness, forgiveness, and worthiness. If we are to find these things in their lives, we must turn to Him.
I closed with a relating a sweet experience I had earlier that day. On Saturday night I attended the annual General Relief Society broadcast from Salt Lake City, and was surprised to see a young woman, Martha, who I met years ago in McCall, give the opening prayer. I felt excited, knowing that this wonderful woman who I heard pour out her heart to the Lord in prayer in this meeting being broadcast worldwide, knows me. As I sat in Sacrament meeting yesterday, thinking of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and all it provides for me, and the cost to Him and to our Father that this gift might be offered, a sweet thought came into my mind. As thrilled as I was to see Martha the night before, and know that she knew me, I was struck with amazement that the God of the universe, Jesus Christ, knows me even better. I told the women in the leadership meeting that I had come to know that the Lord loves me, that he knows me, my heart, my joys and sorrows, as I have knelt by my bed in prayer.
I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of Jesus Christ, for my testimony of his redeeming and saving power. I am grateful that he was willing and able to rescue me, and make me clean, and worthy to return to my Father some day.

Economic security

This is a small excerpt from the speech by Ezra Taft Benson, the whole thing is wonderful, just what our country needs right now. He explains very clearly how to judge any proposed legislation, distinguishing that which preserves freedom from that which takes it away. I highly recommend reading or watching the whole thing, you will be glad you did. The links are on my last post.

Economic security for all is impossible without widespread abundance. Abundance is impossible without industrious and efficient production. Such production is impossible without energetic, willing and eager labor. This is not possible without incentive.

Of all forms of incentive - the freedom to attain a reward for one’s labors is the most sustaining for most people. Sometimes called THE PROFIT MOTIVE, it is simply the right to plan and to earn and to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

This profit motive DIMINISHES as government controls, regulations and taxes INCREASE to deny the fruits of success to those who produce. Therefore, any attempt THROUGH GOVERNMENTAL INTERVENTION to redistribute the material rewards of labor can only result in the eventual destruction of the productive base of society, without which real abundance and security for more than the ruling elite is quite impossible.

The proper role of government

I received a link to this speech a few days ago, and want to share it with you. It is quite long, but well worth watching. We share the opinions expressed here, and realize that the principles and ideas that made our country great are under attack today. We pray continually that the freedom and liberty that we have enjoyed all of our lives will be preserved; that our grandchildren, and their grandchildren, can live in a free land. We are so grateful for the privilege of living in America, and for the sacrifices which have been made to provide freedom, not only for our country, but for many others around the world. It is our conviction that our country will be free as long as we are good, and when we stop being good, we will no longer be free.

Viddler.com - The Proper Role of Government, by Ezra Taft Benson, Secretary of Agriculture ~ Eisenhower Administration - Uploaded by AwakeAndAriseOr video

The Proper Role of Government - Ezra Taft Benson This is a text version of the same speech

Happy Birthday Rick

Today is Rick's birthday.

Most of our children came easily, but it took many prayers to get Rick.
Some of the things we love about Rick are:
He has a fun sense of humor, always has a clever, quick come-back.
He knows how to work hard.
He gives great hugs.
He has a tender heart (but in true manly style, doesn't show it easily).
When he decides to do something he is totally dedicated, he is unstoppable.
He takes teasing like a champ.
He finally likes my cooking, now that he lives so far away.
He is just all around amazing.
We love you Rick, never forget how important you are to us!

I love this picture of my two oldest boys, they are SO cute!



Rick with the nasty tasting ducks his dad shot.
I only cooked duck once, it was pretty bad.



With Scotty during one of the summers he stayed with their family in McCall.



Rick made a trip through Idaho and stopped to give Rachel and her kids a ride.

Rick finally went to Alaska two years ago and had a great time fishing.

We have met Rick in Mesquite at the shooting range several times,
he and Dave have a great time trying to out shoot each other.

At the airport last spring on our visit. This is the helicopter he was flying then.

At the Hoover Dam, he knows more than he really wants to about this dam.
That's why he is the best pilot/tour guide ever!

Fun with Cache

We are having such a good time having Cache with us so often. Being grandparents is better than we ever dreamed.

Of course he likes the box best.

He smiles like this pretty much all day.

Sunday Crowd

This is a panoramic shot of the crowd in Dave's ward on Sunday. Class started again on Monday, so we are guessing that most, if not all, of the students were there. We found out that we have several Idahoans in the ward, what could be better?