Morningside

 Parley’s 7^th Ward  Campout

How fortunate we have been to mingle together in God’s great outdoors.  I hope you have been renewed and refreshed as you have left the cares of the city behind and beheld the handiworks of God.

To commemorate Easter, our family memorized the Living Christ.  One brief sentence from that document comes to my mind often - “Under the direction of His Father, He was the Creator of the Earth.”  

How grateful I am for the beauties of this earth – the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars, the mountains, oceans, rivers and lakes -

trees and flowers.  I hope you have had at least a few moments alone to contemplate your place in our Creator's perfect plan. Hopefully your distractions, worries and noise have been left behind in the city.

  Many prophets have gone to the mountains to draw closer to God.  It seems we are nearer to Him here.  Mountains are a symbols of strength.  They represent a firm foundation and steadfastness.  BYU President Kevin Worthen said, “Mountains are places of instruction – places to learn new things.  They are places of spiritual communication and revelation, and places of transfiguration.  Mountains are locations where people can be enlightened, uplifted and changed. “

I’m grateful to live in this beautiful place where our mountains are prominent landmarks.    Life is good.  Life is sweet as we recognize that we are part of God’s grand design and His finest creations.  He wants us to be happy and have peace. 

Isaiah 52:7

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” 

Someone recently recommended we to do three things each day which give peace.  At the top of my list is to go outside and breathe deeply. I find great peace and purpose working in my garden and looking up at our beautiful mountains.  I would challenge you to think about that advice.  For one week, do three things which bring you peace and write them down.  Please consider going to temple, The Mountain of the Lord.  

I love this quote from Anton Chekhov:

“We shall find peace.  We shall hear angels.  We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds.”

We have loved spending time with you.  We love serving with you and ask the Lord’s choicest blessings be upon each one.    

My People

We visited our sweet William Eric Boren. Oh how we love him. Recently Dad said, "what would we have done without our little Billy?"  He was a light and blessing to us all. His example of perseverance and smiling through sorrow inspires me every day. 

Oh how I love my Grandpa and Grandma Nuttall. I have so many happy memories of sleepovers, Beep, sourdough waffles, sausage imported from Chicago, crumpets, skiing, boating, fishing, The Scout Travelall, Jackson Lake Lodge, Yellowstone, Grandpa's hats, khakis, Sea Breeze, color television, basement shop - Grandma's beautiful white, wavy hair, sweet temperament and love of reading. Most of all I remember how much they loved me. 

Please Forgive

Probably fifteen years ago or so, Virginia Pearce spoke in our Relief Society. She gave a marvelous talk and included a story of a time her father, President Gordon B. Hinckley called and asked if she would accompany him to St. George for a little get away. Before returning home, President Hinckley wanted to visit the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, where a new monument had been erected. It was raining and the skies were dark. Sister Pearce displayed a large photo of President  Hinckley walking together with his security guard who was holding a large umbrella to cover the two of them. The image has stayed in my mind as has Sister Pearce's sweet retelling of the incident. She said her father, slowly walked through the rain to the site, knelt and prayed and pleaded with God, saying, "we have done all that we can and know to do to put this grievous incident behind us. Please forgive."(Paraphrased from my memory). My words do not do justice to the spirit I felt. I love this great prophet of God, his faith and humility. 

Saturday I visited the site for the first time with our sweet Brinton Family.  We also felt great sorrow and with all my heart I too ask The Lord to "Please forgive." 

Family Book Club

Anne and David launched our family book club this month. David chose the C. S. Lewis classic, The Screwtape Letters. 

Discussion and lunch were at Wild Zucchini. We agreed it is a fast, fun and thought-provoking read. Camille shared her thoughts from Chapter VIII. We seem to especially relate to troughs at the moment and especially liked this quote:

"Now it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else....

Merely to override a human will would be for him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo. The  creatures are to be one with Him, but yet themselves. He will set them off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, and easy conquest over  temptation. But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own two legs--to carry out from will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during those trough periods that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in a state of dryness are those which please Him best. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

Next up is the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner, All the Light We Cannot See. Happy reading and then my favorite - discussing!

Imperfect

In the Church News today is an interview with a new Seventy, Elder Vern P. Stanfill. I'm grateful The Lord loves me despite weaknesses and I'm grateful for my own imperfect family. 

"The hand of the Lord is present in our lives despite our weaknesses. My wife and I are not perfect people. We don't have a perfect family. We are just ordinary people who have tried to live our lives day by day and allow The Lord to be part of it."