Thoughts and stories, by Pal

I read this story below on facebook just a few minutes ago.  In 1997 for a time we had an extra bedroom.  We met Brian Sewell, a college student, and when he need a new apartment, he came to live with us for about 9 months.  We became lifelong friends, and he comes and stays with us now and then.  He has since married, and lives in California, and has a lovely family.  He is a wonderful musician, and has composed many beautiful songs, and also is an entrepreneur, and has worked in several successful businesses.   This story below he wrote, I suppose today, and left it available to "share", so Brian, in case you read this, I hope you don't mind my sharing it here, as a touching story which hopefully will help us all feel more gratitude for our own lives and blessings.  America is truly a "choice land".  We often don't realize that many many people in the world simply have to find food and shelter each day, and don't have time or money to do ...

To begin this new post, I want to refer anyone interested to the newly published statement by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints of "Race and the Priesthood".  I have read it, and really enjoyed it.  You may find it here:    http://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng     (copy) I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but I want to offer free Christmas music to anyone who is interested.    I realize it is a bit late, only 2 weeks until Christmas Eve.  But if you are interested, perhaps you can get copies and save them for next year.  I have a lot of music I have arranged, and composed on an internet site:   www.musichousepublications.com   (copy and paste)  I have the copyrights, and I really love to give them free to anyone interested who asks me.   All of the music available on that site, I also have on my home computer in PDF files -- so if you have Adobe Reader, (whi...

   ( by Pal --Tonight, I'm going to write about some things that are very special and sacred to me.  So you may read them if you will think of them in the same way.  My mother was an elementary teacher 40 years, and very influential in many student's lives.) The first part of today's story is a dream my mother, Ruth had.  She was a very spiritual woman, and had several very significant dreams.  My father, Pratt, was quite ill for 2 or 3 years before he passed away.  Mother had a dream of him. This must have been in late February, or March of 1977.  He had passed away on Dec. 14, 1975, ----  and on Dec. 14th in just 5 days I will write more about him.   This is how she wrote her memory of it:  (The rest of this is in her words. -- pages 277, 278, and 283 in the book about my ancestors.) " It took a long time after Pratt died for me to remember him any way besides the way he was the last 2  or 3 years -- miserable ...

Today has really been a lovely day!  It has been different, because here in St. George, Utah, we don't get snow even once a year, and then only about one inch.  In the last two days, we have had about six inches of snow.   We don't even have snow plows, as they are usually not needed.  Today Church was cancelled --   During the morning we had a grandson and his wife, and three children,    (our great grand children)  under five who were on their way to California.  They had to wait three hours for the mountain pass south of here to open up.  It had snowed a lot, and large trucks had slid off the roads, etc. We really enjoyed the time with them, and it made me think back on my life, and how I have known only one grandma, and she died when I was twelve.  After they left, we enjoyed the Christmas Devotional, and then the movie "Silent Night", both of which brought our thoughts deeply back to our Savior Jesus Christ and the true reason ...

Christmas  Quote by Pres. Thomas S. Monson "May you have a wonderful Christmas. May there be love and kindness and peace within your hearts and homes. May even those whose hearts are heavy rise with the healing which comes alone from Him who comforts and assures. With the Spirit of Christ in our lives, we will have goodwill and love toward all mankind, not only during this season, but throughout the year as well."                                           ------------------ If you cannot get the Christmas Devotional on your own TV at 6:00 p.m. Sunday Dec. 8th (tomorrow) it will be live on www.lds.org,or you can watch it on the internet address below.       LET'S WATCH IT ! ! http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/christmas-devotional/2013/12?cid=HPFR120613187&lang=eng Today we had some interesting experiences.  I went to the funeral of my first...

I decided to start a blog, just over 3 weeks ago.  In our recent Stake Conference, we were encouraged to do anything we could to enhance missionary work, and as my husband and I are what many call “elderly”, (though we don’t FEEL elderly) we are at home a lot.  I don’t get out among various groups of people often.  So - - -      I really hope that something I write will lift someone’s day, and also help keep family history stories alive! .  That is my “mission statement”!   I guess what I write would be called an “LDS Blog”!  I have sent notes about my blog to people on my e mail list, and posted each entry on Facebook, and did something which recommended it on Google.  And yet I have had from one to many readers from many places: The toll I think indicates how many different times one of my posts is viewed by someone – Today the count is: The United States, 1444, Sweden, 16, Germany, 17, South Korea, 5, Malasia, 1, The United Arab...

Dear folks,  It has been really touching today to read about the life and mission of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.  It brings quite a few thoughts to my mind.  These are from the histories of Pratt and Ruth Miles book. My great-great grandfather, on my mother's side, John Lowe Butler, whose journal is included in our book of my ancestors, was married in Tennessee in 1831, and given 2 slaves as a wedding present from his wife's family.  They became converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and were baptized in 1835.  This is in their history: (On Page 119)      "At the wedding celebration held in their home, parents of bride Caroline Skeen, surprised her with three special gifts.  According to family tradition, Jesse and Keziah Skeen, gave  her an expensive sidesaddle so she could ride horseback in style, like a Southern woman of breeding should.  They also presented to her and new son-in-law John Lowe But...