It's a Matter of.....Life and The Plan of Happiness

Image courtesy of Mormonnewsroom.org

As a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am grateful to have a Living Prophet and Apostles on the earth.  Yesterday, one of our dear Apostles finished his earthly mission.  Here is the official news release:

SALT LAKE CITY —
Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints died today at about 3:00 p.m. at his home. He was 92 years old. 

Elder Perry was ordained an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April 1974, after serving as an assistant to the Twelve since 1972. Elder Perry’s commanding physical presence combined with his enthusiasm and optimistic style made him a forceful as well as a popular figure among Church members across the world.

I realize there is more than these two-paragraph in the news release does that tells more about about this beloved man.  There are many stories with more information about him all over the news.  These stories are easy to find. However, today I wanted to share my encounter with him....when he was newly called and I was quite a bit younger.

Although I currently live along the Wasatch Front, that has not always been the case. During my teenage years, I lived in the Midwest.  At that time, my local ward/congregation was young and small. Everyone on our ward had one or more callings (assignments) including me.  

Once a month, our Stake (larger congregation of several wards) would hold "Super Saturdays" for the youth 14 years and older. These were Saturdays filled with all kinds of things from gospel instruction, sports, meals, and always a dance to cumulate the end of the action-packed day.  On one particular "Super-Saturday", a new face came into our Seminary group. I'll be honest, I had no idea who this was, but the adults were certainly very polite and welcoming to him.

He was introduced as our new Apostle, "Elder L Tom Perry".  We were invited to shake his hand as we left the class and went on to the next 'event'.  I did take the opportunity to shake his hand. He looked at me and was very genuine. He asked me how I was doing and told me that it was a pleasure to meet me.  I remember thinking at the time "a pleasure to meet me?", what on earth for? I was just an awkward teenager trying to push my 'cool quotient' just like everyone else.  

Since that time, Elder Perry has had a soft spot in my heart. I have heard him at General Conference (Semi-annual meeting world wide) and also when I was a student at Brigham Young University.  He has always struck me as being as genuine as he was when I shook his hand those many years ago.

His death is sad, but also an opportunity for him and his family to celebrate.  We believe that there is a life after death and that if you live as the Savior has taught, you can be reunited with those who has passed away.  Elder Perry's first wife and his daughter finished their earthly missions before he did.  I am sure there is a huge homecoming occurring right now with the Perry family.

I also have lost another loved one this week.  He was an uncle who was a genuine as Elder Perry and certainly very fun.  Yesterday at his funeral, my cousins, my sister, and I reminisced about many things.  Events as children, events with our Grandparents and certainly events with my Aunt and Uncle. As I looked at my cousins, whose parents both had passed away at this point, I felt a pain of sadness for them...and for me.  Although we understand that there is a plan and that all the Savior has he is offering to us, it still hurts to lose loved ones.  I will miss having a reason to go to that small western town that is not on the way to anything.  No one who I am related to lives there any longer, it is just a serious of robust memories for me there.

So as we say goodbye to this beloved family member and Apostle, we rejoice in the knowledge that this life is but a short time in the eternal scheme of things.  I am grateful to know that we have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who have made the way know and possible for us to return to live with them...and to live with our loved ones.  Life is all about choices. May we all choose to learn, live, and love as the Savior has taught.

I want to leave you with one of my favorite talks by Elder Perry.  It's message to me is that no matter what your circumstances are, there is always an opportunity to do as the Savior would.

It's A Matter Of.....Illness

Okay, no lovely pictures or catchy titles.  In all honesty, I haven't felt up to it for while.  Why you ask.....because I have been sick.

"So what?" you may say.  Actually, if the shoe were on the other foot, I would say the same thing.  However, I rarely get sick and if I do, it is very short-lived.

Enter my recent bout with a cold/flu/something bad.  I have had no energy, little sleep, and other fun symptoms I chose not to list.  My days were filled with trying to muster enough energy to get up and get on with my long list of things that were waiting for my attention. This worked for a while.

Then it happened, my body said 'enough'!  I had to stay home and stay in bed. This was not only for a few hours, but for days!  This never has been something I traditionally deal with.  Yes, I actually had to use some of my vacation days to recover. Well, I should say recover to the point of having enough stamina to get out of bed and claw my way through a day of work and then come home and hit my pillow.

Finally, I feel like my old self.  I even did yard work yesterday!  It was with a lovely cough, but I actually put my hands in dirt, planted, weeded, and worked in my compost bin.  I came back in the house and crashed for a couple of hours.

So, what does this have to do with anything?  It has made me think of what I might do if I or other loved ones were really sick and could not function as they normally would if we were in a time of challenge or crisis.  I decided to make a mental inventory of things I need.....with most of them in my storage room.

Medications:

I used up many OTC medications to help me function.  I went through quite a few and I didn't have to trudge to the store and purchase any (or expose anyone).  I was glad that I had them on hand and only had to trudge to my kitchen for most of them.  

Hygiene:

Yes, I really mean Hygiene.  I had enough laundry detergent, fabric softener, cleaners, toilet paper etc to address this aspect of being sick.  Again, I only had to trudge to my Laundry room etc to address these needs.

Food:

I had enough of everything on hand to make meals for myself or our little family. We were wanting for anything.  Having my Food Storage and the knowledge and skills to use it proved to be a great blessing. 

Entertainment:

Okay, this may sound petty, but I was bored!  My body may have been under-the-weather but my mind would not shut off.  I read, watched, etc to keep feeding my racing mind.  I had plenty of 'stuff' to fill that need, maybe too much.  I will have to think about this aspect.  However, I was glad I could feed my need for input and information.

Patience:

This is something I have had to work on quite a bit over the past two years. Life throws you curve balls out-of-the-blue and learning to catch or dodge requires a measure of patience.  I was bored....really bored.  I wanted my recovery to hurry-up, but in the end I had to be patient.  I could have done some significant complaining, but to what end?  I could have fussed on social media, on the phone, etc....but again to what end?  I did tell Rooster Senior that I did not feel well a few times. He offered to help, but really didn't know what to do for me....and neither did I.  I wasn't sick enough to go the Doctor, but I felt drained of energy, ached, coughed, etc.  It just didn't seem appropriate to complain....because I was being forced to rest.  I decided to see it for what it was, a time to rest and recuperate....something I don't do that often.   

Spiritual:

I took time to think about 'things'.  I read, listened and sometimes watched Spiritually themed information. (Remember that need to feed my racing mind!)  I had time to actually listen to what my Heavenly Father may have been trying to tell me for a while.  I need to ensure that I allow myself to have quiet time on a daily basis to listen.

Gratitude:

Although I feel like I really haven't accomplished much in the areas I usually address, I am grateful to be feeling better. I am grateful to have had the things I needed on hand and I am grateful my spouse showed care and concern for me.  I am grateful to have the opportunity to do things I may not have always take the opportunity to do...like rest and research.

Take Home Points....

• Preparing isn't just for big emergencies and catastrophic events. 
• I was grateful and felt peace that I had medication, etc on hand to address my needs.
• I am grateful for paid vacation!  Even though I was sick for weeks, my family did not suffer financial loss.
• I had things to feed my mind...which is a huge mental boost when you are sick.
• Taking those small steps to prepare your family are worthy of your time and financial investment.

I promise, I will be back at it soon......my energy levels are increasing each day!

It's a Matter of Spiritual Preparedness.....The Payson Temple

Last Friday Morning, Rooster Senior and I snuck away from our hectic lives and went to tour....the new Payson Temple located in Payson Utah.  This temple is currently open to the public for tours. After this open house, the Temple will be dedicated. To those who are unfamiliar with Temples, please watch the following video.

Temples are very sacred to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints.  It is where sacred ordinances take place and where we can feel closer to the Lord without the distractions of the outside world. Believe me, that is priceless!

The Temple is a peaceful place and the grounds are beautiful. All are welcome to come to the grounds of any Temple.  (Please just remember that these are sacred places, so conduct yourself accordingly).

There are themes associated with many Temples.  I noted the following:

Stars. They were everywhere, and they are an 8 point star as well.

There are vines and leaves that flow downward on all the stained glass in the temple.  However, in specific ordinance rooms, the ceilings have images like this one from ldsliving.com

I noticed the round circle of beautiful pink flower with the vines meandering away from the circle.

When the Mt. Timpanogos Temple was being built, our family was able to tour the building while it was under construction.  One of the folks taking us on the tour explained the stained glass in temple.

See the circle in the center of the round window on this view of the Temple. As it was explained to us, the center round piece of glass represented the Lord's pure gospel and it is 'running down' the clear center section of the other windows down the the bottom floor (or in other words...to the earth and its inhabitants). However, on the sides of the window are 'stair-like' etching representing the opportunity that we have to return to upward to the Lord and his pure gospel.

I wonder if the vine-leaf-floral design is similar as if the Gospel and the Lord's pure love is flowing to all of us.

The opportunity to tour a Temple is a rare privilege for anyone. If you are fortunate to live in an area where a Temple has either been recently built or otherwise been updated, then a Temple Open House is an opportunity you should seriously consider. Go to this link to see when the next opportunity may be available and to also get tickets.

"For the Temple is a Holy Place Where We Can be Sealed Together Forever...."