Thoughts and stories, by Pal

Getting a copy of your own Patriarchal Blessing or one of a direct ancestor can now be done on line.  The shorter explanation version is first, and a longer version below.  I plan to get blessings of my ancestors.  I found my great grandfather Samuel Miles was of the tribe of Benjamin!  The rest of us are from Ephraim!  That is so interesting!  I used to type blessings for a Patriarch when I was in college, and it was a wonderful inspirational experience for a couple of years! LDS patriarchal blessings now available online Published: Thursday, Jan. 21 2016 6:05 p.m. MST Recommended by  Lindsey Williams ,  Deseret News The patriarchal blessings landing page allows members to request digital versions of their patriarchal blessings as well as request copies of the blessings of their direct-line ancestors. Lds.org screenshot Enlarge photo» Summary Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can...

This gives us new thoughts as to what we allow our eyes to see.  Good thoughts! I Made a Covenant with Mine Eyes By Ted Gibbons  · January 5, 2016 No Wicked Thing “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes . . . it shall not cleave to me” (Psalms 101:3). I found this verse one day as I read and pondered the book of Psalms. I read it again and again while I reflected on the young men and women I work with in my church calling who are struggling with the curse of pornography. David wrote Psalm 101, almost certainly in the years after his encounter with Bathsheba, when a walk on the roof and an inadvertent glance allowed his eyes to rest and remain where they ought not to have rested. David’s Eyes and Job’s Eyes David knew as well as anyone the consuming calamity that can come when we settle our eyes in places that can nurture wickedness. He wrote of his resolve as he looked back through the magnifying lens of experience, “I will set no wicke...

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...