on the rim

Mañana, se celebra cincuenta años que la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Ultimos Dias ha estado en España. When I stop and think that I was a teeny tiny part of that work, (casi cero) my heart fills with joy for los españoles.  They have a temple in their midst, and very soon in next door Portugal there will be a House of the Lord dedicated for members to serve.  What a blessing. I am feeling somewhat down, but I am guessing that it is mostly to a very emotionally charged weekend, and it isn't even finished yet.  Let's see what I can recount. I graduated.  I have been working on a degree for decades, though it was mostly from 1985-1988, and I started back up in 2010.  Working full time made studies difficult.  In 1985 my thought was to get an Ed Degree, and to teach.  In 2010, my thought was Political Science, as it was and is something I am passionate about.  I was a federal manager, and a degree, particularly in something along the line of po...

Boy I sure hate to put the Mother's Day Talk on page two, but you can always scroll down to see it. "Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the priesthood of Aaron which holds the keys to the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness."   D&C 13 It was on this date in 1829, when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were praying in regards to baptism.  The verse counts the visit of the resurrected John the Baptist, who conferred upon Joseph and Oliver the keys of the Priesthood.  After millennia, the Priesthood of God was again on the earth.  Wow, 190 years.  And to think that next year, 2020 will be the bicentennial of the First Vision, when God the Father and His son Jesus Christ appeared to the boy Joseph Smith.  No date known for that...

I had the opportunity to speak in church today, and so I spoke on Mother's Day, and in particular, Eve, the mother of all of mortality.  Here it is. I would be a terrible son, if I did not start my talk on Mother’s day by paying a tribute to my mom. My mom set a tremendous example for me, to show how to serve both as the mother who was always there, and how to help others. She was the best at managing the home. She made clothing. We had a garden, and she canned everything that came out of it. She cooked, she cleaned, she was the best mom taxi ever. All the while, she served in many callings including Relief Society President, and I remember many times going shopping with her to buy food for those that needed it, as there was no storehouse. I don’t speak for my brothers, but I know that while at times I wavered, I never doubted. The footing she provided has kept me on solid ground, and the iron rod was and is always within grasp. Indeed, I would quote from Alma reg...

As a follow up to the previous post, and also to fulfill an assignment, I am writing this one. So, the class that I am taking is Personal Finance, in the Self Reliance class set.  These courses are provided to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to cover a wide variety of courses from Personal Finance which is what I am currently enrolled in, to starting a business, and other subjects.  They are designed to help members to be able to take care of themselves, and to help others. In this chapter we discussed the idea of prioritizing debt, and focusing on paying debt off.  It is unfortunate that these kind of  things are not being taught as part of a High School curriculum.  I had just finished reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.  I am fascinated by how many of the principles taught cross over.  From assessing your financial state, to setting up emergency funds, to paying off debt, they are nearly step by step.  On ...