Stake Conference - adult session

As I was walking to the church to attend the adult session of our Stake Conference, I visited with a friend and her sweetheart while they were working on their boat. They jokingly asked me to "tell us what we missed." ... I'm grateful for that suggestion because I took better notes and am able to share the info with my family and theirs... if they wanna read it :) 

 The Layton Utah Temple open-house has begun. All of us are invited to go see it. The youth in our area will be going next week with their youth leaders. I'll be going another day and hope to have someone to go with me... I'm excited! 

 Brother T.'s talk 

     Anthony Ray Hinton was on death row for almost 30 years. He was innocent. He was strengthened by him momma and the truths she'd taught him. Ray chose to focus on others problems, not his own. He'd try to help em laugh. He got released just shy of his 59th birthday.  We need to hold onto joy amid the turmoils of life. 

     To be a disciple of Christ, we will carry burdens... ours and others. Seek after joy. Not the joy of material, worldly things like Satan teaches, but eternal joy from keeping the commandments of God. Look to Jesus and give thanks daily.

      My dad was a Fish and Game warden. He now has dementia. I knew for sure that my dad had dementia when we went on a fishing trip. We stopped to get our licenses and when I got out of the car, my dad didn't budge. I said, "Dad, let's go get our licenses." My dad said, "Nah, I don't need one." What?... He was a Fish and Game Warden...I'd seen him take poachers fishing equipment. I know he will be made whole again! Focus on the joy that will come to us and others as we befriend and lift others and share Jesus' love. 

 Sister B.'s talk

     Live our life daily to prepare for the next covenant... baptism?, the sacrament?, or in the temple. What kind of life do you wanna live forever? Prepare now. How do you define and label yourself?... a child of God, child of the covenant, and disciple of Christ. God loves you more than anyone else. Help your testimony grow. Work for it. Nurture it. What truths do you know? What do you doubt? 

 Brother R's talk 

     This is my family's journey over the last 10 years... 10 years ago, we were active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We learned some history and made a choice to step away from the church. It was a hard decision to leave. We continued to study the Bible, love others and teach out kids the values we believed. We searched for other churches but nothing felt right. Five years ago, we were living in Texas and decided to move closer to grandma and grandpa. We moved back to Utah.          About 1 year go, our daughter was invited to take the missionary discussions. She was hesitant because she'd lost friends because she wasn't a member of The Church. She had an amazing missionary that told her, "God loves you. God knows you personally." She found peace and knowledge. Later, my wife and I decided to talk to the missionaries. One day, while driving home, I stopped by the bishop's house. He was working in his yard, and I asked if he could come by sometime to talk... as the bishop. He was surprised. Grandpa baptized my daughter and it was beautiful! The next day, my son said he was ready to be baptized as soon as tomorrow... that would have been nice to know a couple days earlier when the whole family was already together :). We are all baptized now. 

        How can we help others? Be genuine and kind. 

     There was a lady who asked her friend if she wanted to come to church with her. The friend said no. The lady asked her friend if she could go to her church with her. The friend was surprised and said yes. They ended up studying the Bible and discussing it and growing spiritually together. 

     Something that helped our family was my mother-in-law told us, "Whether you go to church or not, We love you. We want you with us." 

     A neighbor invited us to have the missionaries share a message with us. I told em No :) Thanks for thinking of us, but we're ok... He stayed my friend. 

     See everyone as a child of God. Laugh with them. Cry with them. Be a friend. Love 'em. Do you have questions about the gospel? Good! Stretch your soul. Learn about the Savior. Is there a God? Is Christ real? The last ten years have been a faith journey. Jesus put people in our path to help us! Do you wanna be with your family forever? Moses 1:39 tells us God's purpose. (For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.) This is what our life is all about. 

     Song - I Wonder When He Comes Again 

Sister O's talk

    My Cancer Journey. was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in 2019. I had 3 kids, my youngest was 5 months old. I had many physical and emotional struggles. I knew Jesus could heal me but wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask for His healing.  I was inspired to prepare a book to help the living relatives after my death. It had important documents, passwords, and more.  Let me tell you, shopping for a headstone is not a fun date night.   

    I felt like I can and should pray for healing, yet prepare for the worst.  Put my trust in God, not just in the situation.  When I had a brain surgery, I was grateful for the book in case I had memory loss.  It helped my husband and I.  Attending the temple helps me focus on the big picture. God's angels will have charge over us to help us.

    My 5-month old baby needed to take a bottle cause of radiation I'd be having.   We tried every type of bottle and had others try to feed her without me around and at 21 days, she would take nothing. I prayed in the dark and finally, that night she took to the bottle like she'd always had it.   We had to find more breast milk cause she had an allergic reaction to the formula.  We were blessed by many others and she had plenty of milk because of others generosity. She drank her last bottle when she was 15 months old.     Many folks blessed our family with everything from meals, to helping our kids with homework.  Doctrine and Covenants 25:10 says, "lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better."  Joseph Smith taught, "If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates."  As of January, I am cancer free!  This trial has blessed me with spiritual growth. Focus on Jesus. Focus on keeping covenants.

Pres. R's Talk

    Read, watch, or listen to President Nelson's last conference talk each Sunday until the Layton Temple is dedicated on June 16th. 

    My wife and I gave some tours of the Layton Temple.  

...We see all the white clothing which reminds us that we all want to be unified and pure.  I'm not someone who goes to art museums, but the paintings are amazing!   There's a stain glass window which shows the Savior. It was in a Presbyterian Church which was being dismantled. It is now in our temple!       By the celestial room, there is a painting of the Savior's ascension and it's beautiful.  In the chapel, a painting of "all will be gathered to Him" includes a lady running to the savior and tossing away her worldly things.  In the east sealing room with a really high ceiling, my wife reminded us that what we DO in the temple is more beautiful than what we SEE in the temple.       We heard the song, "Nearer my God to Thee."   

Go to "The House of the Lord"   Brother Walter Spate made a painting which included an image of the  the Pearl and the Box, a vase of calla lilies, and the Sao Palo Brazil Temple.  Someone mentioned that it needed pearls... Brother Spate painted people at the temple.  He said we are the pearls, the beauty of the temple.  Jesus is the Pearl of Great Price. 

Me...  I feel so blessed to know about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that I'll live in a way that God can use me as a tool to bring joy to this world.  It sure is beautiful!   Hugs and prayers for y'all to have a blessed day.