His Three Day Gift~

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the greatest gift of Hope and Healing. As we are serving a full time mission; we daily invite others to come unto Christ. We experience great moments of joy when they recognize how the Atonement can bless their lives. 
Our living prophet for our day, President Thomas S. Monson stated; "Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer lives. May the whole world know it and live by that knowledge I humbly pray." I too know that my Redeemer lives.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus Christ took upon himself the Sins of the World. No one can understand what he went through but our Savior did this for each and every one of us. 
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles made this profound statement: "The Savior has suffered not just for our iniquities but also for the inequality, the unfairness, the pain, the anguish, and the emotional distresses that so frequently beset us. There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, "No one understands, No one knows." No human being, perhaps knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life. He can reach out, touch, succor-literally run to us-and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying upon only our own power."
Take a moment and watch this very tender heart felt video of the song Gethsemane music and words written by Roger and Melanie Hoffman and sang by Claire Ryann and video produced by her father.This sweet little 3 year old will melt your heart. I was once the Achievement Day Leader of this precious child's mother many years ago. Her parents and grandparents are cherished friends of ours. 
Wishing you all a very Joyful Easter Celebration! 


Here are more Easter videos to watch~
#Halleujah
#Becauseofhim

Shout Praises To Our Lord and King~

I do know that my Redeemer Lives and this does provide great comfort in my life. I can testify that I know I have a loving Heavenly Father who loves all of His children. I know that He sent His Son our brother, Jesus Christ  to complete the Atonement for each of us. Our Savior lives; I believe this with all my heart and soul.
  I can testify that The Book of Mormon is true and was written for our day. My favorite section of the Book of Mormon is 3 Nephi chapters 8 thru 28.  Here is where the Savior visited with the inhabitants of this continent after his resurrection and taught them. My very favorite chapter is 3 Nephi 17. I love this chapter because of the great love Jesus showed by healing the sick and afflicted and caring for the children.  I know that if you read the Book of Mormon and pray with real intent; the spirit of the Holy Ghost will testify to your heart that it is true.
 I know that we have a true and living prophet today, President Thomas S. Monson that leads this church under the direction of our Savior; it is His church. I know that we have 12 living Apostles today. These men are liken unto the Prophet and Apostles of Jesus's time. I know that they receive revelation for our day and time. On April 2nd and 3rd they will speak at our World Wide Conference. They are Prophets and Apostles for the whole world. Their words are true. I have felt the spirit of the Holy Ghost testify to my heart many times that this church is true. The only true and living church on the earth today. I know that if we follow our Prophet he will never lead us astray. This testimony is a gift that I treasure. This gift blesses my life during my earthly trials and during wonderful moments of joy. 

I do shout Praises to my Lord and King~

Here are two very special Easter videos. Enjoy the rendition from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Joyful Moments~ February 2016

Joy moment One~ We celebrated my husband's Birthday on January 29th together and then on January 31st; we were able to celebrate his birthday with our son and some of his family. We had fun with them all! It was my husband's 70th birthday; so that is a milestone for him. We are now the same age; yeah! He had a great day and enjoyed  talking on the phone with his other children and grandchildren.

Joy moment two~ One of our joys is our sweet dog Sammy. He is so fun and we love him so much. Sammy is very smart and has us wrapped around his little paw. He really loves my husband and is always so happy when "Daddy" comes home. They love playing with Sammy's toys. He likes to mainly play tug of war and he seldom lets go of his toy. He is a great stress reliever. Sammy likes to get on a chair in our study and look out the window. He especially likes watching the ducks that are across the street. Sammy loves to sit by us and he loves being cuddled. He is our precious little fur baby. 

Joy moment three ~We had two other couples join us on our MLS mission in January; Elder and Sister Foutz and Elder and Sister Goodrich. Each of the couples serve in two other buildings in our Stake; each building has three wards in it. This is one of our planning meetings with our full time Elders; Elder Araujo and Elder Dutton.  We always enjoy these young men and women that serve so faithfully. We are excited to serve with these two couples. We are very intent on hastening the work of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

To all you treasured friends and family out there! We are very busy with our mission endeavors. I will be slowing down a bit on social media moments. I am struggling with not being able to read your blog and Facebook posts as often as I would like. Just know that I am thinking about you and will visit as often as I can. 
Sending love and hugs your way!

Cultivate Faith, Hope & Love ~

I have discovered throughout my life that being happy was a choice. My husband and I have had a life time filled with many adventures. We have had many good times and many difficult moments. We have lived in different areas and have had to move our family several times. Uprooting our family with those various moves was hard. I decided early on that I would be happy no matter where we lived. I often used the mantra that I would "bloom where I was planted." 

When we have had struggles financially, physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally; I have walked by faith. I would move forward with one foot in front of the other with hope in our future. I have always had faith and hope in our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness for us.

As I have grown through the years so has my love for others. I do love people and care deeply for Heavenly Father's children; my spirit brothers and sisters. 
I have tried to develop and cultivate faith, hope and love into my everyday life. 

Like everyone else, I do have my down moments; when life seems too hard; but I trust in the Lord and try not to let discouragement enter into my heart. I know where that source of discouragement and discontent comes from. 
My favorite scripture is found in Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths".


Here is one of my favorite stories that have increased my faith, hope and love. Enjoy~

A Summer With Great Aunt Rose~

by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

The story is about a girl named Eva. There are two important things you should know about Eva. One is that she was 11 years old in this story. And the other is that she absolutely, positively did not want to go and live with her great-aunt Rose. Not at all. No way.

 Here is the link to the story . 

May We Feel The Love Of Our Savior In Our Heart~

I have great love for all of you and a particularly profound love for the members of my family. Each child, grandchild, and great grandchild has blessed my life in countless ways. I have a deep love for the friends I have made over the years within the various wards and stakes where we have lived. I have gained many beloved friends while serving in Temples.  I'm grateful for those amazing friends from school years who have blessed my life over and over again. Then there are the wonderful new friends that I have made through social media; you are greatly loved as well. 

My heart has love for our Heavenly Father's children. Since beginning our full time mission in November; I have had the privilege to meet with, serve, teach and love so many new friends. Because Valentine's Day is a time for remembering and celebrating Love; I thought I should share my deepest hopes and even desires for myself and each one of you. 

I find joy in reading in the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi chapters 11 and 15. These chapters explain the vision given to the Prophet Lehi. In that vision, Lehi beheld a beautiful tree and the "fruit thereof" was most precious. He partook of the fruit and wanted his family to partake as well. He saw his family moving on the path towards the tree; but only his wife and part of his family found their way to him. Two sons would not follow on the path. His greatest desire was for his entire family to come and partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life. He knew that this fruit was the most precious of all; that it represented the love of God.
He saw that the only way to make it to the tree was to follow the path and hold on to the Iron Rod. The Iron Rod was the word of God and would guide those on the path to the tree. He beheld the things of the world that would cause them to depart from the path and let go of the Rod of Iron. He was deeply saddened by those who would not follow the path or who started, but strayed from it.  

My hope for each of us is to feel His love as we come unto Him, who can lift, heal and guide. May we feel the arms of the Savior of the World around us, and experience the enduring love that comes through His Atoning Sacrifice. May we also reach upward to our Loving Heavenly Father in thought and prayer, and feel the Spirit touch our souls to know that They love us more than we can possibly imagine. 
May each of you to feel love from friends and family, and most of all, from our Heavenly and divine parents. 
Hugs for you all!

Why The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints Build Temples ~

The Kirtland Temple was the first temple built in the Early Days of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  A short history of this temple can be found here. 

 Due to persecution the Saints left Ohio and moved to Missouri and short time later they were again fleeing from Missouri where they settled in Nauvoo, Illinois. There they build the Nauvoo Temple. They were again expelled from the state and a short time later they started west where they hope to worship their God in peace.  

The Nauvoo Illinois Temple was rebuilt and dedicated in 2002 and you can read about the history of this temple here.

This is the temple where my husband and I were married and sealed for Eternity~

The First Temple to be started after the Saints came west following their expulsion from Nauvoo, Illinois was the Salt Lake Temple. It took the Saints 40 years to build this beautiful temple. You can learn about the History of the Salt Lake Temple Here and Here.
Why does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Build Temples? I have had this question asked of me many times through the years. 

The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints have built beautiful temples throughout the world to do sacred ordinances for the living and the dead. We will soon be dedicating our 150th temple at the Provo City Center Temple in March. 

Here are a few thoughts on why we build these lovely temples.
"Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where the Lord may visit. Only the home can compare with temples in sacredness. 
Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. Here are pictures of two of these ancient temples.

Here you can read about Ancient Temples ~

Today the Church is heeding the Lord's call to build temples all over the world, making temple blessings more available for a great number of our Heavenly Father's children. 
The principal purpose of temples is to provide the ordinances necessary for our exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Temple ordinances lead to the greatest blessings available through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. All we do in the Church - our meetings and activities, our missionary efforts, the lessons we teach and the hymns we sing-should point us to the Savior and the work we do in Holy Temples.  
When we first go to the temple we receive the temple endowment. We receive instructions and we make covenants to live righteously. 
Another temple ordinance is Celestial Marriage. We believe that in the temple we can be sealed as husband and wife forever if we are faithful to the covenants that we make. 
The children that come into our families are born under that covenant or if adopted a can be sealed to their parents in the temple. 
People who have died without essential gospel ordinances may receive those ordinances through the work done in temples." ( True To The Faith; A Gospel Reference; pg.170-171). 
"Temple work is the evidence that God has extended to every individual who has ever lived upon the earth, and who will ever be born into this mortal experience, the blessings and opportunities of salvation , immortality, and eternal life. The Lord's holy house is a place of peace, safety, and love. It is a place where the Spirit resides. It is a place of instruction in the ways of the Lord. It is a place of sacred covenants that open the gateway to the presence of the Father and the Son in the everlasting eternities." ( Essential Gospel Teachings by Richard J. Allen;  pg. 355.).
.....There is no greater work than helping people come unto Christ. This is our work and our glory ; to help Heavenly Father in bringing to pass His eternal plan of happiness - the immortality and eternal life of His children. Family history and temple work is the culmination of His plan. For the Lord has said: "This is eternal lives - to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am He. Receive ye, therefore, My law" (D&C 132:24.). ( Essentials Gospel Teachings by Richard J. Allen; pg. 356.). 

My eternal companion and I have served in two temples as temple ordinance workers for a total of 13 years.  This has been one of the sweetest and most sacred experiences we have had as a couple.  Here are the photos of those two temples; the Spokane Washington Temple and The Jordan River Temple. 

Here is a short article on how the church pays for the building of  temples.

All of the Temples that we worship in and the Chapels that we meet in through out the world are paid from Tithing funds. Tithing funds also pay for other things. There are no paid clergy in our church. All assignments and callings are non paid positions of service. 

Hope you all enjoyed learning a little bit more about why we build temples. 

Happy 70th Birthday To My Amazing Husband, Roger~

     Wishing my awesome husband Roger a very Happy Birthday Celebration. He turns 70 today and I consider that a milestone; a big one. I have been waiting patiently for my dear husband to be my same age. He is a baby boomer, I missed this popular age by 2 months. Since we are both 70 years old now; we are considered Elderly. I like the term older people better. I seriously can't figure out how we became old. We think and act pretty much the same as when we were young; but just a bit slower. Well, perhaps quite a bit slower. 
     I feel so blessed to be this very good man's wife for eternity. We met in High School and dated. He left on a mission for our church to Northern California and I waited for him while I finished Nursing School. He came home, we got engaged; 2 weeks later and married within 2 months. He graduated from Pharmacy School. We have lived in the following states, Utah, California, Nevada, Washington and now back to our roots in Utah. We have had 6 children, three boys and then three girls. We now have 32 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. It doesn't get better than that.
I am married to an extremely wonderful man. Roger is kind, considerate, very intelligent, wise, a hard worker, the best of fathers, my best friend and most of all a devoted disciple of Christ. He has had some life threatening illnesses through the years but has always gone through them with grace and with great  faith. We have had our ups and downs as we all do; but together we have weathered the storms of life and will continue to do so. 
We are committed to our faith. We love our Savior Jesus Christ with all our heart. We know we have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us and all of His Children. We have loved serving in the our church through the years in various assignments. We have especially loved serving in the temple. We are now fulfilling a dream of serving our Heavenly Father and Savior on a full time mission for The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are serving in the Utah Salt Lake South Mission as Member Leadership Support Missionaries. 

 

Since starting our mission three months ago, we have grown even closer than ever. We are enjoying studying the scriptures and other assigned reading together. We are having a sweet time visiting with various individuals and families that are less active in our church but have some interest in returning  and or do not know anything about our church. We have had many very spiritual moments thus far on our mission.  Our missionary purpose is to invite others unto Christ. I am so grateful to stand by this loving man of mine in doing this work. 
Today is a very special day because my King was born on this day and I am so thankful to be his Queen forever. 

Happy Birthday To My Wondrous Husband Roger ~

I love you so much and you are and will always be at the center of my Eternity!