Thursday, November 27, 2008

Understanding Cats

We rarely see our cat Rory. Sometimes the only proof she is still among us is that food disappears from her bowl. She is completely anti-social and will not come near any of us. We all imagine that she is so skitterish because she has many tales to tell about near-death experiences with coyotes that roam our neighborhood, but we'll never know for sure.
So imagine what a mystery, and almost an insult it is that whenever Lauren comes home from college we can find the cat curled up with her when she is in bed. The same Lauren who teases her relentlessly, never buys any of the cat food, doesn't pour it in the bowl, doesn't put the flea medication on her, or any of the other mundane chores of pet ownership. Go figure....

Monday, November 17, 2008

A Most Exciting Sabbath Day

Nothing like a bit of good old fashioned religious persecution to bring a feeling of peace and contentment to my heart. Where could this happen but in the Lord's true church? Our church had much of the credit heaped onto us for the success of Proposition 8, and I couldn't be prouder! So yesterday a temple protest was held on the corner next to the stake center and temple.








Like President Kimball said, Because this is the Lord's true church, the day we stop facing opposition is the day we need to start worrying!

Ward Camping Trip




















The singles ward went out to Joshua Tree National Park for some rock-climbing and camping. Over 50 people attended, and we all had so much fun that we are planning it again asap!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The Cradle of the Restoration

Jeff and I are just back from a vacation to beautiful Palmyra, New York to see the sites where the church was restored. It was so much fun!
Joseph Smith Cabin
This is my favorite--if you stand looking at the Joseph Smith Cabin, and then turn around, you can see the Palmyra Temple at the top of the hill where the trees are cleared. Could Joseph ever have imagined the day?
The path to the sacred grove.
Our sweet missionary guide, Sister Porter.
The Sacred Grove
The Peter Whitmer Farmhouse, where the restored church was organized with 6 members on April 6, 1830. Over 13,000,000 members today and growing fast!
The Palmyra Stake Center, where we went to church on Sunday.
Palmyra is about 90 miles from our airport in Buffalo. We spent the final night of our trip in Niagara Falls, which is just across the border in Canada from Buffalo. We had a spectacular view of both Horseshoe and American Falls from our room.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Future of the Church is in Good Hands

Remember the image of Noah standing there on the log with the ark half-built behind him, imploring the people to listen to the voice of the Lord? I feel like we have just come through a similar battle with the success of Proposition 8 in California, where the voice of the people declared that they would like marriage to be legal and recognized only between a man and a woman. It was hard fought, and the singles ward jumped faithfully into the trenches. Jeff and I were so proud.



“There are times and places in the life of every nation when great spiritual heights are reached, when courage becomes a living thing, when faith in God stands as the granite mountain wall, firm and immovable…..”

Heber J. Grant

What more can I say--I love the courage and faith displayed by our young singles during the battle to promote and pass Prop 8. Other people aren't so happy....





Saturday, November 1, 2008

Is there not a Cause?


This is a picture of a few of the great young adults from our ward, spending another day in the sun on a street corner to get the word out about Prop 8. There were probably about 50 kids there---we were so proud of them! Thousands of cars passed by honking and giving smiles and thumbs up. Later on we had a pizza and a phone-calling party at the Packer's house. What a great day.......