Sunday, 23 November 2014
We have been thinking of you all day, Colton. Glad you are having a fun 3rd birthday. We miss you and are so thankful you remember us in your personal prayers. Thanks.
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We are also thankful
for our #1 grandson, Elder Heflin.
Isn’t it a great feeling to work so hard – to have miracles combine –
and to have been able to bring a Mom and her 5 children into the waters of
baptism. How blessed you are!
At this week of Thanksgiving,
we wish to thank especially Brother (Bishop) Mitchell for all his work to care
for our home – and for three sweet neighbors, Martha, Alma Rosa and Nichole – who
keep an eye for us. We are thankful for
our children, grandchildren all, brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces and
nephews, Hermana Finlinson, Hermana Stringfellow, Sister Stringfellow and Elder
Heflin, and Dad. We are thankful for all
those friends far and wide; and our new friends, Ken and Colleen Smith, who
love and help us in the work here.
We are thankful for the
Chilean people who are a very polite and industrious people. We see it in the bus rides every day and are amazed
at how well they handle life – especially watching all those setting up their
blanket of wares on the sidewalk. There
is a handicap man who sometimes steps on our bus to sell mints at the stop
before we get off, so we keep a coin for him.
On Friday coming home, the bus stopped to pick up a passenger – and
right there on the sidewalk was an 8-foot alligator with swirling long tail and
all. It was all of sand – and so well
done. We had left our Iphone/camera at
home so there we were just to appreciate and not record…. In front of the alligator was a small place
to toss coins if you appreciated his work.
At the next stop, a young man with a guitar came in the front of the bus
and immediately began singing (as he went to the back of the bus) a song about
a forlorn lover who was just trying to survive.
He had a beautiful voice and at completion of his song and as we were
coming to a stop, he announced that any donations would be appreciated; and he
walked back up the aisle and left again at the front after having received a
coin here and there. Oftentimes, a young
man during a stop light will step out into the street and begin juggling and
hope to receive a token or two. They
work so hard, care for each other and are doing their best to provide for their
families.
The most memorable book
to capture this week was the one with a chunk eaten out by a rat. As we completed the 1124 pages, we noted that
on every document, there was still enough of the valuable information left to
provide at least a name and burial date on each record. What a blessing that that rat was not any
more hungry!!
We are thankful for the
Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration and for the coming forth of the Book of
Mormon. We are full of gratitude for our Savior and the opportunity we have to
be here to serve Him. We are so glad that our loving Heavenly Father had a
Plan!!
Here is a fun FHE
which we did at the MTC: Using Lesson 2
of Preach My Gospel, take one part of
the Plan of Salvation and condense the doctrine down to two sentences. Choose 1 scripture for each. It is fun to do in teams and then get back
with your family after 20 minutes. Have
one team member read the two sentences to your family; and the other read and
explain why that scripture is important to you (example below – but don’t show
them to your family before they study and come up with their own two sentences).
Moses 1:8
And
it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was
created;
and Moses beheld the world and the
ends thereof, and all the children of men which are,
and which were created; of
the same he greatly marveled and wondered.
Preach My Gospel
Lesson 2 “The Plan of Salvation”
1. Pre-Earth Life
2. The Creation
3. Agency/Fall of Adam
and Eve
4. Our Life on Earth
5. Atonement
6. The Spirit World
7. The Resurrection,
Judgment and Immortality
8. Kingdoms of Glory
1. Pre-Earth Life:
God is the Father of
our spirits. We lived with Him in a
pre-earth life as His spirits before we were born.
2. The Creation:
Under the direction of
the Father, Jesus Christ created the Earth as a place to live and gain
experience.
3. Agency/ Fall of Adam and Eve:
In the Garden of Eden,
God gave Adam and Eve their agency.
Satan tempted them and they CHOSE to eat the forbidden fruit. They were cast out of God’s presence.
4. Our Life on Earth:
We come to earth for
two main purposes: (1) to gain a
physical body and (2) to prove ourselves.
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| This little flower grew in a crack on a path where we work fulfilling the measure of her creation. |
5. The Atonement is:
The
triumph of Jesus Christ over (1) spiritual death – by his suffering to pay the
penalty for our sins,
and
over (2) physical death – by his Resurrection.
Only
through the gift of the Atonement can we return to live with God.
6. The Spirit World:
At
death, our spirits go to the Spirit World where our personality and our desires
for good or evil
do
not change. We remain in the Spirit
World until we are resurrected.
7. The Resurrection, Judgment and Immortality:
When
our bodies and spirits are reunited through the resurrection, we will be brought
into God’s
presence
to be judged. We will be rewarded
according to our works and our desires.
ALL
= immortal THOSE WHO
OBEY = eternal life
8. Kingdoms of Glory:
Celestial
– those who have repented and received ordinances and kept covenants will be
cleansed
by
the Atonement of Christ and receive exaltation in the highest.
Terrestrial
– those who do not accept fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ but live
honorable lives.
Telestial
– those who continue in their sins.
Vision
of the Brother of Jared
By
Betty Reynolds: “…Betty Reynolds was a convert
to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
[The
painting] was presented to the church by Reynolds – for many years it hung in
the 32nd Ward Chapel in
Las
Vegas. When paintings were generally
removed from LDS Chapels – Earl Brunner, former director
of
the [Las Vegas] Family History Center, requested that it be brought here.
There
are few artistic interpretations of the brother of Jared. It is appropriate that it be displayed at the
[FamilySearch] Library.”
In
the vision, the brother of Jared was shown “…all the inhabitants of the earth
which
had been and also all that would be…”
Ether 3:25
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