Glory of God - When He Comes Again

Moroni 3:4 And after this manner did they ordain priests and teachers, according to the gifts and callings of God unto men; and they ordained them by the power of the Holy Ghost, which was in them. As I read Moroni 3:4, I asked myself what these "gifts" are. I love the ease with which we can search these things: • Spirit of God (HG) • Wisdom • Understanding • Knowledge • All manner of workmanship (What is that? Just about any creative process man can conceive, I would think. Prior to the Holy Ghost becoming a part of my life, creating was not in my life in any form I can remember.) Exodus 31:3 • Wisdom to be able to run the affairs of the kingdom - Ex. 36:1 - • Spirit of prophecy - Numbers 11:25 - • Cast out devils; speak with new tongues - Mark 16:17 • Power to heal - Acts 10:38 • Power to be a witness - Acts 1:8 • But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God - Acts 7:55 Moses 1: 55 - (Also Acts 7:55, Moses sees God’s work and glory) This last one hits a spiritual nerve with me. Yesterday as I was studying/memorizing paragraph 9 of The Living Christ, I had a little epiphany. The apostles said: “We testify that He will someday return to earth and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together (Isaiah 40:5). What is the glory of the Lord? Moses 1:39 - “Behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Will we be transfigured when we see it, as was Moses? Or - Will we be dead when we see the glory of the Lord? No, that doesn’t make sense to me. When Moses saw Satan (after he’d seen the Lord’s glory, which is the world, worlds without number and ends thereof - EVERYTHING - afterward, when he was conversing with Satan, he couldn’t see anything! When we see the glory of the Lord, we will see all the works that were shown unto Moses. (Moses 1) One more thought: From D&C 93:29- 37 - Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. 30 All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. 31 Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. 32 And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation. 33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; 34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy. 35 The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple. 36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. 37 Light and truth forsake that evil one. So this brings me another question. When all flesh shall see it together, will the Holy Ghost be upon them? Clyde says, no, because at that point they know - they can see it. D&C 93 makes that one quite clear.

Scriptures vs. Savior's Presence

In Luke 18 Jesus tells the disciples not to keep the little children from him, “. . . for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Then I read in 3 Nephi 17 where he stands in the middle of the little children and there is a miraculous encircling of fire around them. Jesus prays to the Father for them. The multitude is witnessing this and tears fill their eyes. It isn’t recorded what Jesus said because “. . . no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.” What is it that makes this particular prayer different? Is it this prayer that gives these children the faith they need to pass the blessings of this day onto four generations before it is weakened? If I heard the Savior pray for me, would I be more faithful? Would I serve Him all the days of my life? Would I be His disciple to the end? They had this amazing, miraculous experience, but I have the scriptures. I can read them daily and be blessed one drop at a time that my testimony will grow and endure the trials of this generation, which are great. Is being encircled in the Savior’s love physically in a group of other children any different than being encircled by His love when I read the scriptures? I can make it just as miraculous; I believe it to be so. Reading the scriptures helps me know my Savior loves me, and that He prays for me as well. My task is to behave in such a way as to be worthy of these blessings in my life. That is where my faith is tested.

Sunday School Answers to All Our Problems

Alma 16

There is peace in the land of Zarahemla for a time and then those pesky Lamanites had to come down on them again. The people of Zarahemla were caught off guard a little and were unprepared for battle. First the Lamanites totally destroyed all the inhabitants of Ammonihah – not one was left standing alive. The Nephites wanted to recover those who had been taken prisoner and carried away into the wilderness. Zoram and his sons, Lehi and Aha were the appointed ones. I'm so impressed at their valor. Where did they go for guidance? To a prophet of the Lord. They knew Alma could inquire of the Lord and find where they should go to find their people. What a beautiful thing! What kind of success did this humility produce? Not one of their people was lost. They were taken immediately to the place where they were and they were able to recover every one of them and they returned to their homes. Is there not an amazing lesson taught in this chapter? Oh how blessed we would be if the leaders of the nation would go to President Monson in humility and ask him to inquire of the Lord the solution to the nation's ills. Wouldn't that be something?

I do have one other thought. As the Lord's people, although it would be nice to go to the prophet of the Lord and get a quick answer, we are entitled to approach the Lord on our own for answers to questions we have. I'm impressed at the push the Relief Society General Board is making for the sisters of the church to become comfortable with this amazing tool – personal revelation. How blessed we are to know we can receive revelation on our own if we will follow the pattern of revelation, i.e. fasting and prayer, scripture study, temple attendance. Sunday school answers to all our problems! What a deal.

Jefferson took his first bath in Grandma’s sink. That was not pleasing to Jacob at all. He wanted a bath. So as soon as Jefferson was through, Jacob took off his clothes and into the sink he went. He’s such a cute little guy, that’s it’s hard to say no to him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blm1CdLi5iY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZriu30QVWM


After dinner, the kids wanted dessert. Oh, I never think about such things. Dessert just isn’t part of my real life. How about a Clementine? Nope. They wanted sugar. So I made ice cream with my blender. It was sweet enough to knock you over, but the kids liked it. Well, Tyler liked it most. We sprinkled chocolate chips on top of the strawberry ice cream. Chocolate chips will make anything delicious.

Jefferson was getting cranky and Camber decided he needed to get ready for bed. Since a bath is part of his nightly routine, it was decided he would bathe in the kitchen sink. All the kids have had numerous times bathing in the kitchen sink. Jacob didn’t think it was such a good idea for it to be someone other than him though.

It was no time at all after Jefferson got out and Jacob was sitting – triumphantly in Grandma’s sink.

Before I wrapped up Micah’s birthday present, Tanner and Jacob had to read the books I’d made for her. Tanner read the entire book without much help at all. Jake just enjoyed the pictures.



It’s hard to get a full-on smile out of Jefferson. For some reason, as soon as he sees the camera, this is about all we can get. He is a pretty smiley kid though.

Happy New Year, colds, flu, UofU game

Well, we are two days into the New Year. It was a delightful Christmas Season, even if there was always at least someone who was sick. Camber's family has been passing the flu bug from one and then the other. I battled a cold through from Sunday through Christmas. It wasn't terrible, but a cold nonetheless. I really tried not to share it, but Clyde was convinced he'd already had it and refused my efforts to spare him. Consequently, he is hacking his lungs out now. Since any cold settles deep into his lungs, I really try to keep him healthy. He isn't quite as convinced that it's necessary.

Mostly what I'm doing with this post is test driving my new laptop computer Clyde gave me for Christmas. It's nice to be able to sit on the couch and type. I can also have webcam visits with Cymony that work so much better with this computer. The bad news is that the speakers create a lot of noise after we've been talking a while. Danny says the fix is to use the headsets. Oh well. It was fun watching Micah be Micah while we talked.

I was able to baby sit the Lybbert grandkids while Camber and Tyson celebrated New Years' a day late. Tyson had to work and Tanner was sick, so it just worked out better for them to postpone. They went to dinner and a show and I got to play with the kids - or watch them. They were totally wrapped up in Wizards of Waverly and so we watched that until bedtime. Jefferson was a joy. He just sat on the love sack with me until he was ready to go to bed. Then I laid him down and never heard so much as a peep from him. What a good, little guy.

When it was time to get ready for bed, now that was a Grandma challenge. Two of Camber's kids have the same phobia to tooth brushing that Cymony has had all her life. What contortions you go through to get Tyler and Jake to apply a toothbrush to their teeth. Tyler actually didn't do too bad, but I was shocked to see that Jake took over where she use to be. That little guy was not about to give in. We finally got his teeth brushed and his licorice was placed at his place at the kitchen table for after breakfast. What joy!

Jake was dry when I went to change his diaper so I asked him if he wanted to use the toilet. He was quick to hop up on the seat - and proceed to do his business - shooting straight over the pee guard onto wall and floor. Yikes! I jumped out of the way. He is definitely using the bathroom to his advantage. I've told Camber the less fuss she makes the sooner he'll find something else that works for him.

Mom went to Tremonton to pack up some things to bring down here and to get things ready to have a garage sale before putting the house up for sale. For some reason, we all woke up this morning feeling like it's time to sell the house. What we would gain in rental income would probably be lost in bringing the house back into condition to sell. The amount of time Paul puts into making it so mom can come and go as she has today, is huge and we just think it's time to move on. Dad is fine with it. I guess this is the next phase. Shauna, Cristan, Shaylee and Mom have been busy all day packing and sorting. I feel like I should be there too, but I'm here taking care of dad. Well, somebody has to do it. :) I've enjoyed my time with him. We went for a walk this morning before breakfast. We visited this afternoon for about 40 minutes before he went to dinner. I took a piece of buttered, whole wheat bread to him because I knew he was having soup. He was visibly touched by this. He was a happy camper when I left him with his chowder and bread at dinner time.

Well, it looks like Utah is doing well, but the game isn't over yet. It's been worth watching. Well, it's sitting next to Clyde that's made it worthwhile. The game's been okay though.

Carli fixed dinner for her and Ryan. Chase came as they were about to sit down, so she heated some hamburger for him to make tacos of his own. I was talked into giving them the "gift" I bought when I was shopping the other day. Carli said, "No way!" Clyde said it wasn't smart. Ryan caught wind that I had a gift, and he was unrelenting. So I gave them the book I bought "300 Question to Ask Before Getting Married". They aren't even engaged, which is why Carli said "no way!". Well, Carli is the type who wants to know the beginning to the end, but she won't ask questions. This will at least get the ball rolling. Ryan didn't seem to be bothered at all by it. In fact, he says he has photographic memory and looked at the first few pages and they've already discussed them. Fun!

Did I mention that We had Santa at our very own party at the place where Dad is living? We were spoiled. Here is Jake with Santa. The only way he'd get this close was if Grandma or someone was going to be right there with him.

Happy New Year! I think 2009 will be fine!

Christmas Day 2008

We had a beautiful Christmas day. It's so amazing to reach the end of Christmas day - the one day that has been the focus for weeks, and realize that it's behind us for another year. I vow every year to do things differently, to take some of the stress off, and every year it is pretty much the same. I handle it better than I use to (I think), but it does get crazy.


Clyde kicks off the gift opening by opening his traditional calendar. This year it is a KSL special.




Carli loves her sweater from Cymony and Danny.










Clyde loves his new St. Patricks Day tie.













I love my key holder from Steph and Tom and family. They also sent pictures of the girls that are adorable.









I can't wait to get Clyde started on the LOST series. He and Chase are busy watch The Marx Brothers for now. Grrrr.








Carli is happy with her fluffy robe.





Carli is always on the lookout for the perfect gift. I actually broke my exerciser a few months ago. She sure got me on this one.




Carli's not so sure she's going to like this. I thought it looks like something she'd wear. We shall see.









Chase with his new guitar. By the time he spent his bonus from his employment he had the guitar he really wants. He's pretty good, actually.








Of course, Christmas Day Tradition is a breakfast where everyone has something they are making to bring it to pass. You guessed it: Hash browns, scrambled eggs, toast and fresh OJ. Yum!

Lybbert's came later in the day and opened their presents. Camber gave tons of shirts to Tyson from the kids in order not to break the rules that they would not exchange gifts. Well, the kids gave Camber towels.






Tyler opening her gift from Carli.







Tanner is thrilled with the art project Carli gave him.









Do I need to say the Table Top Foos Ball game Massaro's gave the kids was a real hit?





Tanner was just as excited about his Webkins dog as his mom said he would be. He is really into stuffed animals and thrilled to have one to keep alive via the computer.






It's not often I get a real ringer, but I got a couple with mom this year. Here she is with the coat I found her. She was thrilled and you can tell she feels good in it by the way she carries herself. My Christmas miracle included this and the boots I pulled right off the shelf that fit her perfectly. She couldn't have been happier.





Jefferson was just as excited with the second toy as he was the first. Apparently, Lybbert's gave him the same little toy.





Little Jake had been awake since 2:30 in the morning and by the time he reached Alpine, he was sound asleep and slept through most of the afternoon. This was about all the evidence we have of his presence and he wasn't all that excited about the Elmo Barn that he got. I suspect he'll be happier tomorrow.

Christmas Eve

This isn't my normal blog page, but it appears the one that is so cute is not available to me to add a post. So here goes. I may have to switch to this again, which isn't all that bad because it has the birth of Gage on it. I'm not certain how I came up with two blogs. It could have something to do with two daughters who are techno savvy and have created blogs for me. :)

Christmas Eve was a calm day until about 4:00 p.m at which time the race was on to get to the church for a quick "community" celebration. This is something my family enjoys a lot more than I do. I could enjoy it if it weren't for the fact I had dinner at home needing attention. I have vowed this year that next year our menu will be changed so that I too might enjoy the festivities and not make everyone miserable because I'm so dang stressed.

The pictures are from Chase's camera, since our camera was stolen on Dad's last trip to Brazil. This first picture is of our nativity. Tyler is Mary, Tyson is Joseph and Jake is an angel. He started out as a sheep, but decided he wanted to be the angel.


This is Jake holding his star in the air. It looks more like a spear, but it is a star at the top. He was quite proud of this little star and we all felt like our lives were in danger as he walked around with it. It wasn't a soft star, but rather a Christmas decoration off the tree.










This is Tyson and Tyler as Joseph and Mary. I hope Child Protective Services doesn't try and make anything of this.








This is yours truly watching my crazy family. Chase is enjoying his new camera and I guess he decided to see if he could catch me enjoying my family. It worked.



Tanner and Tyler are "signing" to Silent Night. Carli suggested we sing before we started our festivities to get us in the right mood. Go Carli! There is nothing like music to bring a sweet spirit into a gathering.

Jake is all about Elmo and he was quite pleased with his Elmos pajamas and slippers that he was allowed to open on Christmas Eve. This is a tradition that has passed down three generations now. It's a good one, too.

This is Jake with his slippers. You can tell he is pleased as punch.






This is the three kids in their Christmas PJs. They are NOT camera shy.