Filled with Gratitude

This weekend our beloved prophet passed peacefully away at the age of 101! He was clear minded and skiing into his nineties!! What a wonderful man. It wasn't until his late nineties that he fell and hurt his back and exclaimed he had never had such pain in his life. WOW! I love our prophet, I know he was called of God. I did NOT agree with him over issues regarding COVID, but I thought to myself, is he a prophet only when I agree with him or is he a prophet? I struggled for a year over this and continued true and faithful and Heavenly Father rewarded me with a testimony that Russel M. Nelson IS a prophet of God. I look forward to our NEW prophet, Dallen H. Oakes, speaking to us this week end at our general conference and invite all to watch one of the sessions. Three on Saturday and two on Sunday. California time:SATURDAY 9am-11, 1pm-3pm, and 5-6pm, then on Sunday 9am-11, 1pm-3pm. below is the link to the Sunday Session If you've never heard a real prophet or apostle speak, you will love this.

This Week we have had a lot of fun as we have filmed, and spent hours editing several videos sent to us from small groups of missionaries called districts. Each group was assigned a book from the Book of Mormon and to do a little skit to highlight two or three events in each book.

We will be showing this creation of inspiration and giggles to the Young Sister Missionaries to help them learn and remember the highlights of the BIG PICTURE of the Book of Mormon. Elder Cullen plays Mormon at the end of the video. It's very fun and funny like a youth camp skit..hahah! BUT also enlightening... In other news.... A sister missionary here is very good at crocheting and made me this adorable little turtle! It reminded me of the turtles I have loved that were made by my friend Linda back at home

When Elder Cullen and I first got here we noticed a couple of signs on the outside of our historic jail property that were in our right of way. They are extremely shabby and not owned by the church but because of their proximity reflect on us. We talked to the heads of FM and they hummed and hawed and said hmmmm.

So I took a chance and looked up the "Looking for Lincoln" office for one of the signs. They were WONDERFUL. I sent them a picture of their sign and asked how I could help them make it worthy of their standards. Within 2 months it was replaced this week. I was driving the mowing tractor along the inside of the fence and glaced up and noticed the new sign going up. I stopped mowing and took a picture and CHEERED the men putting it up. They appreciated the applause and cheers with smiles.

I can't tell you how happy I am about this! Now I'm encouraged to address the OTHER sign owned by the state of Illinois but a different department. I think the two pictures really are an excellent example of RESTORATION. The first sign was so weathered and damaged by people touching it and from neglect that it literally could not be read or understood. It was replaced by the exact same thing only fresh and new and un altered by weather or humans. This is why we refer to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as the RESTORED church of Jesus Christ. It is exactly like the New Testament Church: Lead by Christ Himself through a prophet (like Peter) and 12 Apostles, 70's, baptism by emersion, gifts of the spirit, etc. It is not a protestant church because it was not formed from protesting any other Church. It was just restored by Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. I do hope you listen in to conference this week end and listen to our new prophet and apostles tell us what Christ would have us focus on for the next six months.

Here's a great quote from our late prophet Russel M. Nelson "Virtue will free you from anxious, troublesome thoughts. Brothers and sisters, as the world grows more wicked, we need to grow increasingly pure. Our thoughts, words, and actions need to be unfailingly virtuous and filled with the pure love of Jesus Christ towards all men. The great opportunity before us is to become the people God needs us to be." HAVE a GREAT WEEK!