Thoughts and stories, by Pal

Wasn't General Conference wonderful today, Saturday, April 4, 2015!   One Phrase Church Leaders Never Say Anymore + Why JANNALEE ROSNER - March 25, 2015 from LDS Living There are plenty of phrases that Latter-day Saints have heard repeated over and over again like scripture, though in reality they are only  based on scripture . “Free agency” is one of them. Most of us are probably familiar with the term "free agency" from Sunday School classes or children trying to assert their independence. But is agency really free? There are several scriptures that may have influenced Latter-day Saints to start adding the word  free  onto  agency.   2 Nephi 2:27 ;  10:23 ,  D&C  58:27 , and  Helaman 14:30  all mention some variation of each of us being free to choose or act for ourselves. However,  D&C 101:78  describes this principle in a different way that has recently become more widely used by Church le...

Today I am re-posting # 123, and #238 which are about preparing spiritually for General Conference.  I t was originally posted on April 3, 2014. -------------------------------------------------------- Posted originally: 03 Apr 2014 06:11 AM PDT -- the following: This morning I read a blog I follow called "The Small Seed", and it has great ideas for preparing for our General Conference. General Conference: Take 2     (Her title)       (I feel like this means we should take time out of our busy schedules to refill our "spiritual cups".  I plan to watch all of it, including -- as a woman -- the Priesthood Conference here at home. -- Pal's comment!)                  What a blessing to look forward to in the next few days ! ! ! Over the past few weeks I've heard from some of you regarding a post I wrote about my church's semi-annual General Conference. Well believe it or not, 6...

From LDS Living, very interesting little-known facts about the  Prophet Joseph Smith. 15 Fascinating Facts About Joseph Smith ADAPTED FROM WAYNE J LEWIS, JANA LEE COX & LEE NELSON IN  500 LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT JOSEPH SMITH  - Did you know Joseph Smith's famous leg surgery was the fourth in a series of surgeries? Here's a list of 15 other interesting facts about Joseph Smith. 1. Joseph Smith’s famous leg surgery was actually the fourth in a series of surgeries. The first surgery doctors had to lance his shoulder to drain it of infected material, the second and third times they tried to drain his leg, and the fourth time they removed the bone. 2. Emma wouldn’t let Joseph into the garden because people would gather just to be around him and would trample the plants. 3. The Prophet once taught that “complainers cannot be exalted.” 4. During the translation of the Book of Mormon, Joseph and Oliver Cowdery translated about...

I'm working on this -- but I still have moments when I allow a situation to really frustrate me, which could be construed as anger.  I need to repent! “Never Let Anger Arise In Your Heart” By JeaNette Goates Smith  · March 30, 2015  from Meridian Magazine After reading  my last column about the dangers of anger , a reader astutely referred to a quote by Brigham Young, “Now I charge you again, and I charge myself not to get angry. Never let anger arise in your hearts. No, Brigham, never let anger arise in your heart, never, never!” The quote can be found in the Discourses of Brigham Young 14:156. The claim that anger can be entirely avoided, never to enter into our hearts in the first place, may seem audacious. Nevertheless, it is entirely possible, if we incorporate some new thinking. Identify Underlying Emotions Anger is what psychologists refer to as a “secondary” emotion. It is not necessarily the first emotion that we experience, but...

This article from Meridian Magazine has some sound doctrine, and is encouraging to read when times are tough! An update!  My husband, Wayne, is out of the hospital, (March 30, 2015) and into a rehab again!  But hopefully this time he will heal and be able to do the things he loves, and we love to do together. LINE UPON LINE Broken Down on the Road to Zion By H. Wallace Goddard and Barbara Keil  · March 15, 2015 from  Meridian Magazine. There’s a lot of rumbling among the saints today. Buzzing about the role of women. Concern about polygamy. Fretting about various historical issues. Disquiet about the boundary between inclusion and exclusion. These are unsettled times. Yet there is nothing quite like a little historical excursion to put today’s challenges in perspective. Sylvester Smith battled Joseph all along the journey of Zion’s Camp. And the whole enterprise of marching out to claim Zion appeared ill-conceived when nothing came of it. Many...

This lovely article came from LDS Living, posted February 11, 2015, just before Valentine's Day.  I saved it for a day such as this.  My dear husband, Wayne, is in intensive care again, with many health problems.  I have been there all day, and helped feed him his lunch and dinner.  September 24, 2015, will mark our 60th Wedding Anniversary.  I hope he survives until then.  I'll update this blog now and then. Love Lessons from the Prophets & Their Wives DANIELLE BECKSTROM - FEBRUARY 11, 2015 We have been given some of the best examples of how to build devoted,uplifting, and eternal marriages through the lives and examples of the apostles. Because Latter-day Saints believe marriage is an essential step to exaltation, we strive to create marriages that strengthen and uplift us every moment, not only here but through eternity, something that’s much easier said than done. As with all things worthwhile, marriage and love are hard, stressful, an...