We’ve ventured to Lake Powell! Driving down Friday the colors of fall were on full display going over Highway 20 between I-15 and Highway 89. And Long Valley was brilliant too. All evidence of the Creator’s majestic art work giving variety and beauty to the earth.
Hoping for a temple run on the Harley October 11-13 “stand by for news” as world famous Paul Harvey used to say!
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Sunday, September 23, 2018
We're home again but what a trip we just had!
We left last Thursday on the Harley to visit family in Blackfoot and Pocatello, Idaho. A fun and uneventful ride. Everyone was well. My sister works for Marriott so they give us a wonderful deal on rooms! And, they are always beautiful facilities, well maintained, clean, and comfortable! Thanks to them!!!
Friday we rode to Idaho Falls to visit that beautiful temple passing farm fields and rolling hills. Hopefully the harvests have been plentiful! The temple has just opened again after being closed for remodeling. Beautiful enormous murals fill the temple from the baptismal font through to the Celestial Room. We felt so at home visiting that House of the Lord. I hadn't been there since I was a teenager going to the temple for baptisms from my hometown. It was a long, tiring bus ride to get there then. Now, it's a wonderful ride to be there again.
A quick bite of lunch and off again. More rolling hills with grand mountains in the background. Farm land is so beautiful but it's a hard way to make a living. The hazards are many and the payoff can be non-existent! We pray for the farmers and ranchers who indirectly feed us all!
After a short ride to Rexburg we spotted the temple sitting high on a bluff overlooking the valley. Next time you eat a delicious potato you can wonder if it grew in the ground around here, the land of "Famous Potatoes". Another beauty filled temple. After baptisms, confirmations, initiatories, and endowments we were relaxing and basking in the quiet peace of the Celestial Room. One of the sealers walked directly up to us and asked us if we'd like to participate in sealings an offer too good to decline! He recruited some others and off we all went. During the sealing session we all learned that he is the father of a member of our bishopric back home! Fun!!!
A nice dinner at Fresco Kitchen & Grill recommended by the staff at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Rexburg. wonderful meal! The Salmon was delicious and plentiful too!
After spending a quiet and well rested night at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott we were off again. This time southeast into the grand mountains seen from a distance yesterday, and around Palisades Reservoir. Stef noticed planes landing on the water. We wondered if they were bringing in fishermen but just then they lifted off without stopping. Maybe they were seaplane pilots getting their water landing endorsement. Nope, just then we could see the planes more clearly, they were firefighter pilots getting a fresh load of water to help extinguish a nearby fire. The mountain that we could see was on fire with the green, gold and orange colors of fall. But over the ridge and out of view the dry tinder was on another kind of fire. Hope they can extinguish it without the loss of too much life and property!
Just as we arrived at the Star Valley temple a firefighting helicopter was lifting off across the street to head out to another fire! The west is very dry this year and the least little provocation results in another fire.
Inside the temple was peaceful and calm. We enjoyed the ordinances of the temple and our time there serving our family and a few others as requested.
Our route home took us out of Wyoming to Monticello and then to Preston and Franklin before leaving Idaho to head back into Utah. Another gorgeous ride through rolling hills and into beautiful canyon country, alive with the dying colors of fall. It was about 9:00 p.m. by the time two exhausted temple travelers arrived home and pretty much headed straight to bed! With plans of our next adventure fomenting in our minds!
We left last Thursday on the Harley to visit family in Blackfoot and Pocatello, Idaho. A fun and uneventful ride. Everyone was well. My sister works for Marriott so they give us a wonderful deal on rooms! And, they are always beautiful facilities, well maintained, clean, and comfortable! Thanks to them!!!
Friday we rode to Idaho Falls to visit that beautiful temple passing farm fields and rolling hills. Hopefully the harvests have been plentiful! The temple has just opened again after being closed for remodeling. Beautiful enormous murals fill the temple from the baptismal font through to the Celestial Room. We felt so at home visiting that House of the Lord. I hadn't been there since I was a teenager going to the temple for baptisms from my hometown. It was a long, tiring bus ride to get there then. Now, it's a wonderful ride to be there again.
A quick bite of lunch and off again. More rolling hills with grand mountains in the background. Farm land is so beautiful but it's a hard way to make a living. The hazards are many and the payoff can be non-existent! We pray for the farmers and ranchers who indirectly feed us all!
After a short ride to Rexburg we spotted the temple sitting high on a bluff overlooking the valley. Next time you eat a delicious potato you can wonder if it grew in the ground around here, the land of "Famous Potatoes". Another beauty filled temple. After baptisms, confirmations, initiatories, and endowments we were relaxing and basking in the quiet peace of the Celestial Room. One of the sealers walked directly up to us and asked us if we'd like to participate in sealings an offer too good to decline! He recruited some others and off we all went. During the sealing session we all learned that he is the father of a member of our bishopric back home! Fun!!!
A nice dinner at Fresco Kitchen & Grill recommended by the staff at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Rexburg. wonderful meal! The Salmon was delicious and plentiful too!
After spending a quiet and well rested night at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott we were off again. This time southeast into the grand mountains seen from a distance yesterday, and around Palisades Reservoir. Stef noticed planes landing on the water. We wondered if they were bringing in fishermen but just then they lifted off without stopping. Maybe they were seaplane pilots getting their water landing endorsement. Nope, just then we could see the planes more clearly, they were firefighter pilots getting a fresh load of water to help extinguish a nearby fire. The mountain that we could see was on fire with the green, gold and orange colors of fall. But over the ridge and out of view the dry tinder was on another kind of fire. Hope they can extinguish it without the loss of too much life and property!
Just as we arrived at the Star Valley temple a firefighting helicopter was lifting off across the street to head out to another fire! The west is very dry this year and the least little provocation results in another fire.
Inside the temple was peaceful and calm. We enjoyed the ordinances of the temple and our time there serving our family and a few others as requested.
Our route home took us out of Wyoming to Monticello and then to Preston and Franklin before leaving Idaho to head back into Utah. Another gorgeous ride through rolling hills and into beautiful canyon country, alive with the dying colors of fall. It was about 9:00 p.m. by the time two exhausted temple travelers arrived home and pretty much headed straight to bed! With plans of our next adventure fomenting in our minds!
Thursday, September 20, 2018
My wife is pretty. No one would argue otherwise, at least not to our faces! She works hard to maintain her teenage figure and uses all kinds of great products to keep her skin youthful. Her family DNA helps her remain pretty as she ages, and that's the best any of us can hope for: death being the alternative to aging!
But as pretty as she is, and she is very pretty, her beauty is not on the outside! You won't see it with your eyes. Her beauty springs outward from deep in her soul and is illuminating to the Celestial senses. Never is she more beautiful than she is when she's in the House of the Lord dressed in the robes of the Holy Priesthood, worn only there during mortality. That beauty transcends her physical appearance and soares above anything to be understood with the 5 mortal senses! She is a beautiful soul!
Today we'll hit the freeway traveling to Pocatello and Blackfoot, Idaho to visit some family. Then Friday we'll be off to Idaho Falls and Rexburg to visit the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temples there. Saturday we'll visit the Star Valley Wyoming temple and then be homeward bound. Excited for the trip on our Harley.
But as pretty as she is, and she is very pretty, her beauty is not on the outside! You won't see it with your eyes. Her beauty springs outward from deep in her soul and is illuminating to the Celestial senses. Never is she more beautiful than she is when she's in the House of the Lord dressed in the robes of the Holy Priesthood, worn only there during mortality. That beauty transcends her physical appearance and soares above anything to be understood with the 5 mortal senses! She is a beautiful soul!
Today we'll hit the freeway traveling to Pocatello and Blackfoot, Idaho to visit some family. Then Friday we'll be off to Idaho Falls and Rexburg to visit the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temples there. Saturday we'll visit the Star Valley Wyoming temple and then be homeward bound. Excited for the trip on our Harley.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
Proverbs 31:
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
There is nothing more beautify than a daughter of God worthily clothed in the attire of the priesthood!
The Temple Garment:
By Elder Carlos E. Asay
Emeritus Member of the First Quorum of the Seventy
Armor of God
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
There is nothing more beautify than a daughter of God worthily clothed in the attire of the priesthood!
The Temple Garment:
By Elder Carlos E. Asay
Emeritus Member of the First Quorum of the Seventy
Armor of God
We are at war! Our enemy is not an invading army from a bordering nation or a navy of some overseas power. Bullets are not whizzing above our heads, nor are bombs exploding in and around our homes. Nevertheless, we are engaged in a life-and-death struggle with forces capable of thrashing us inside out and sending us down into the depths of spiritual defeat if we are not vigilant.
I refer, of course, to the “wrestle” against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places spoken of by the Apostle Paul (see Eph. 6:12). I refer to the onslaught of immorality, crime, substance abuse, and other insidious influences threatening our society. Such threatening influences, along with other imminent dangers, constitute “the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11) against which we must stand in these “perilous times” (2 Tim. 3:1).
Paul counseled: “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph. 6:13). With his prophetic powers, Paul could foresee the wicked conditions that would exist on the earth in our modern day. Therefore, he urged all Saints to have their “loins girt about with truth” (Eph. 6:14), to put on “the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14), to have their feet shod “with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15), to grasp “the shield of faith” (Eph. 6:16), to place on their heads “the helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17), to take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17), and to pray always (see Eph. 6:18) so that they might be preserved. He knew that armor made of truth, righteousness, faith, spirit, and prayer would protect people from the “fiery darts” (Eph. 6:16) crafted and thrown by Satan and his henchmen.
There is, however, another piece of armor worthy of our consideration. It is the special underclothing known as the temple garment, or garment of the holy priesthood, worn by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have received their temple endowment. This garment, worn day and night, serves three important purposes: it is a reminder of the sacred covenants made with the Lord in His holy house, a protective covering for the body, and a symbol of the modesty of dress and living that should characterize the lives of all the humble followers of Christ.
It is written that “the white garment symbolizes purity and helps assure modesty, respect for the attributes of God, and, to the degree it is honored, a token of what Paul regarded as taking upon one the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:13; cf. D&C 27:15). … Garments bear several simple marks of orientation toward the gospel principles of obedience, truth, life, and discipleship in Christ.”2
Much, much more could be said about the war for the souls of men and the whole armor of God. The war on the earth began in the days of Adam, continued down through the years with Moses and the children of Israel, and still rages in a dispensation known as the fulness of times—a dispensation ushered in by the revelations received through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Hence, the issue of protective coverings enabling us to withstand the fiery darts of Satan will continue to be of great significance.
We must put on the armor of God spoken of by the Apostle Paul and reiterated in a modern revelation (see D&C 27:15–18). We must also “put on the armor of righteousness” (2 Ne. 1:23) symbolized by the temple garment. Otherwise, we may lose the war and perish.
The heavy armor worn by soldiers of a former day, including helmets, shields, and breastplates, determined the outcome of some battles. However, the real battles of life in our modern day will be won by those who are clad in a spiritual armor—an armor consisting of faith in God, faith in self, faith in one’s cause, and faith in one’s leaders. The piece of armor called the temple garment not only provides the comfort and warmth of a cloth covering, it also strengthens the wearer to resist temptation, fend off evil influences, and stand firmly for the right.
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