Thoughts and stories, by Pal

2 Things Elder Cook Said  Will  Bring "Much Joy" Into the Lives of Young Adults Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles encouraging young adults to set goals, use social media wisely, and face the future fearlessly in a worldwide devotion Sunday.  Originating from a stake center adjacent to the Washington D.C. Temple, the broadcast occurred on the 15th anniversary of  the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 . by Katharine Lyon  | Sep. 12, 2016 From the Church Makes You Think Mormon Life Speaking briefly of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Elder Cook recalled the experience of his oldest son and his young family watching the hijacked plane crash into the second tower from the roof of their Manhatten apartment, and then making their way to the Manhattan Stake Center for refuge. "My purpose this evening is not to have you dwell on terrible events from the past," Elder Cook said. Instead, he e...

Every Sunday we have any family in town we have dinner together and play games after.  We have done it for many years, and I used to worry that we may not be keeping the Sabbath Day holy, as we laugh and talk in the games.  But this article gives me peace, and helps me feel good about it.  I'm sure that the younger people of the family -- mostly teenagers would not have stayed with us all if we hadn't had the games.  It has kept us close as a family, and we miss it on Sundays that we can't get together. We have even had grandchildren who go to college about an hour away, come down to dinner just to play the games.  We all miss my dear husband, Wayne, as he was the "life of the party" when we had those family times.  Everyone wanted to play with him because he would announce "I feel lucky today"!  I may not post for a few days, as I'm going up to Bountiful to our granddaughter Skye's wedding on Saturday, August 27th, 2016!  Quentin L....

I love this article I read yesterday!  And as soon as I post it, I'll be doing "Italian Indexing"!  Our stake was given the challenge to learn to do Italian Indexing a couple of years ago.  We were then Stake Indexing Coordinators, and I put together several pages with instructions on how to learn to do it.  I don't speak Italian, but I have learned just enough to do indexing (such as names of months, numbers up to 31 for months, etc. )and love to do indexing, helping to get names ready when the Rome Temple is completed.   An internet site with an Italian phone book is especially helpful to check surnames.  Please e mail me if you want the instruction pages sent to you.  Anyone can do it! New post on  Brian Mickelson.... Why “I’ll Do Family History When I’m Retired” Doesn’t Cut It Anymore… by  BJM For years I've heard people say "No, I haven't really done any family history. I always figured ...

I very recently read a comment from a woman in Dear Abby, in our local paper.  She wrote: You said in your Nov. 14 column on bullying that you hadn't received a single letter from anyone who had bullied others.  Well I was a bully.   As a young girl I'd tease and taunt, and when I was older, I used sarcasm as a way to bully.   I was involved in an abusive relationship in my 20s.  With support and counseling, I was able to stop being abused and being abusive. I learned the feelings I had repressed -- shame, fear and low self-worth from a childhood of abuse, were misdirected at the people around me instead of at my abuser, as they should have been. I read an article in the Ensign Magazine, in August, 2013, which really impressed me.  I have occasionally used sarcasm, and also had it used on me, and I've seen it do a lot of damage to other's self confidence.  Below are excerpts from this article called "No Corrupt Communication", by Jennif...