Thoughts and stories, by Pal

This is a lovely article, and I can totally agree that the things mentioned here will bring great joy to your parents.  I love it when our children do these things. 4 Ways Adult Children Can Bring Happiness to Their Parents By Gary and Joy Lundberg  · January 12, 2016, in Meridian Magazine As parents, we spend countless hours, days, and years teaching, sacrificing, and loving our children. We kneel by their bedsides as we teach them to pray. We take them to church and hope with all our hearts they will feel the Spirit there and want to always go. We bear our testimonies to them at family home evenings and any time the opportunity arises. We read the scriptures with them, hoping they will cherish them as we do. In endless ways we do our best to help them love the Lord and live righteous lives. We wear out our knees in prayer in their behalf. We worry when they’re late coming home. We miss precious sleep in our effort to be there for them when they do wa...

Two delightful articles pertinent to Martin Luther King Day, which we celebrate as a national holiday are below.  We have many good friends of all races, and religions, and were taught to love all men.   My great grandfather, Haden Wells Church, an original pioneer of St. George brought a black friend back from his mission in Tennessee in the 1870's, and he lived in St. George a few years, and then went back to Tennessee when Haden went back on another mission.  They were lifelong friends!   Ruby Bridges’ Ordinary Answer to an Extraordinary Problem By Michael K. Erickson  · January 17, 2016, in Meridian Magazine Norman Rockwell had extraordinary talent for painting the ordinary moments of American life. Many of his best-loved works are currently on display at the  BYU Museum of Art through February 13th . As the exhibit’s title “American Chronicles” suggests, the collection is a window into America’s past, even more s...

Latter Day Light DAILY DEVOTIONAL January 16, 2016 Look After the Interests of Your Friends SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY Matthew  7:12 "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets . " QUOTE OF THE DAY Lorenzo Snow "Let your minds be expanded to comprehend and look after the interest of your friends that are around you, and where it is in your power to secure benefits to your friends do so, and in so doing you will find that those things which you need will come into your hands quicker than if you labor entirely to secure them to yourselves independent of regarding the interests of your friends. I know this is a good and important principle" ( Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow , p. 262). DAILY DEVOTIONAL January 14, 2016 Joy in the Gospel SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY Alma 14:4 "Looki...

It is after 10:30 p.m. on January 14th, and for some strange reason, I can't sleep.  My mind is thinking on so many of our dear family and friends that are having challenges in their lives. This is a beautiful embroidered wall hanging that was given to us when we left Sweden, on a Senior couple mission there in 1994-1996.  Our daughter Angela now has it. It has a special message: ----     All these days that came and went, I didn't know that it was life!  Isn't it true that we probably all expected life to be different than it actually is?  But "This is your life!" And we need to make the best of it!  I just wish I could be of help and comfort to others.  First of all, my dear husband, Wayne.  Today I had to puree everything he ate.  Thanks to the vita-mix my sister gave us, and a smaller blender our son gave us, they together are able to help blend up small or large items of food.  Today he ate dry cereal and...

BOOK OF MORMON Book of Mormon Extras—Lesson 4: Obtaining the Best Gifts from Heaven According to Our Desires By Scot Facer Proctor  · January 13, 2016 The Book of Mormon is loaded with powerful messages that are often skipped over or that remain in obscurity to the casual reader. This week’s lesson has one of those. A Pattern I absolutely love Nephi’s response to Lehi’s dream or vision of the Tree of Life. In telling us about his own personal feelings, Nephi gives each of us a pattern to follow to obtain our fondest dreams and receive the richest blessings of heaven. Let’s look closely. “And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come— I, Nephi, was desirous...