There are always changes in the mission as people come and go. The Bryans, who were responsible for the Young Missionaries, and the Vermillions, who were over the Church Service Missionaries, are completing their mission this month. They have served with their whole hearts and made a great contribution. They will be remembered for their willingness and good cheer.
This is a view from their windows of President Monson’s office. It is incredibly beautiful at this time of year with the blossoming trees and thousands of flowers.
The Administration Building is the most secure place on the Church campus. The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve have their offices here. The Church History Library is the next most secure because it houses irreplaceable church history treasures.
Monday, April 16, 2012. Elder Marlin K. Jensen spoke to us in the Monday Devotional—“The Things of my Soul—Living After the Manner of Happiness.” He was recently released as the Church Historian and will become an Emeritus Seventy this summer.
Study of II Nephi 5:
1. Be with family, believers –vs. 5 … When escaping for safety, the most important thing Nephi took was his family!
2. Observe commandments—vs. 10
3. Plant a garden (grow things)—vs. 11 …no matter size or type.
4. Have a loving relationship with animals—vs. 11 There are animals in heaven.
5. Know, understand, love scriptures—vs. 12 Prepare, provident living—vs.14
6. Work with hands, be industrious—vs. 15-
7. Temple worship—vs. 16
8. Church organization, callings, opportunities to serve—vs. 26
God can do His own work, but He lets us help.
Mormon 9:14—He that is happy will be happy still.
4 Nephi 15—No contention, envying…There could not be a happier place.
IF WE ARE HAPPY NOW, WE WILL BE HAPPY STILL.
We always have wonderful missionaries to teach. I trained a delightful gentleman from Canada who served under Pres. Peterson in the Nauvoo Temple. John had a fine young elder.
In the last few weeks I had an interesting experience finding an inspirational experience on Ancestry.com. It told of the grandma who lived to age 94 who was never sick in her life and just died quickly and peacefully. She drank raw milk and ate honey every day because she was promised that if she did that and kept the commandments, she would be blessed with health and a long life. The student was excited to find the story because he knew his grandmother well and could verify the fact that she did drink raw milk and eat honey every day, she was never ill, and that she died suddenly and peacefully because he lived near her. A problem arose when the account said that the grandmother crossed the Plains at age nine carrying her two year old sister. We had already found two censuses verifying that the grandmother had been born in Utah. Family stories usually have elements of truth but it is important to document the facts. The story is just as powerful without the embellishment that the grandmother walked across the Plains.
