Thoughts and stories, by Pal

I think it is time I get a "smart phone"!  I haven't had a phone with the internet, but that is the way family history is going! I haven't written much lately because I've had a slight case of shingles.  Hopefully it is on the way out with wonderful potent modern medicines! My Favorite Family History Apps By Carissa Rasmussen  · May 12, 2016, from Meridian Magazine Like many of you, I had a grandpa who seemed to be always doing family history. He would spend hours digging through old records and driving around to places where our ancestors used to live. He even traveled from Utah all the way to New York to travel to a cemetery just to try to find out more information on a particular family. With this as my example, I thought for sure I would never have enough time to do family history until I was at least a grandma. However, he slowly got sicker and sicker from a degenerative lung disease, and we knew he wasn’t long for this earth...

The Unsung Daughters of Helaman By Maurin e Proctor, in Meridian Magazine, May 5, 2016 The stripling warriors of Helaman turned the tide for the Nephite nation in a dire time, thanks to their mothers who knew God. Now, we live in an equally dire time when both stripling sons and daughters must arise because they understand God and who they are to Him. They know that the battle is real. These are some of the toughest, darkest times in our earth’s history when earthquakes of immorality are rocking our media, when souls are being lost, when wars and rumors of wars are blasted across the airwaves, when people who should know better, have turned from religion, when violence is celebrated, when rivers of pornography need to be turned aside from our homes. The Lord needs His entire army activated in all its power—both men and women who clearly know who they are and what power they can call upon for potency. These warriors must function with power, authori...

This is a wonderful article on how to have a successful marriage, where you both show unselfishness in your relationship.  From Meridian Magazine. Finding Joy in Godly Sacrifice By Wallace Goddard  · May 8, 2016 The following is part 6 of a series from the book,  Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage .  To see the previous sections,  click here . Heavenly sacrifice Sacrifice is a heaven-anointed principle. Brigham Young challenged us to think differently about the sacrifices that God requires. I have heard a great many tell about what they have suffered for Christ’s sake. I am happy to say I never had occasion to. I have enjoyed a great deal, but  so far as suffering goes I have compared it a great many times . . . to a man wearing an old, worn‑out, tattered and dirty coat, and somebody comes along and gives him one that is new, whole and beautiful . This is the comparison I draw when I think of what I have suffered for t...