How NOT to gain sympathy

Yesterday, at church, I stood up to bear my testimony. As I was walking to the front of the church, I realized that John [ed. note--surname was left off on purpose] was walking up the other aisle. He deferred to me and I went first. There he was sitting behind me. I noted that Brad Johnson seemed quite uncomfortable, also. (Dad had stayed home with a really bad cold.) I have no idea why, but I went back down and sat where I had been sitting. I should have just walked out but I was too dumb to do that. At any rate, he was his usual rambling self but did bring up my name, the newspaper letter and than moved on Joe [surname removed to protect the innocent] (I muttered, "If he mentions certain person, I will get up and sock him." I was by Sister White, and so I had to apologize. She hadn't really heard what I said, however.) but he did not go into detail except to say that he was being prosecuted and was having a very difficult time. He didn't mention any young people by name but he did say how there was a dark side to the church in this town and that he would not sustain Don Eyre. He said that Jared Eldridge and the attorney's office were persecuting him. He said that he usually sat in the back of the church near Annette and his step-son would come and sit with him. He said his daughter had convinced him to come back to church and he was trying to do so. He started rambling about his troubles and the bishop told him, quietly, that it was time for the meeting to end so he ended and left. Brad told me afterward that he was about to get up and call the police but decided to stay put. The bishop asked me, afterward, what he was talking about concerning me, the letter, the tape recorder, Joe and a cover-up. John had not made any of the connections clear. Only that while he was at my house working on the letter he had taken out his tape recorder to turn over the tape. Jenny, Brad's wife, said she thought we were taking it all too seriously. "I think, confused as he is, he forgot to set his clock and was in the wrong ward," she said. His stepson and former wife live in the 8th ward. Apparently he goes to that ward and sits at the back somewhere in the neighborhood of Annette. At any rate, Brad said that he is not to be in the same building with Brad because John has a restraining order and he told the bishop that as well. He said the bishop's face went pale when John was walking up the aisle and that he seemed really uncomfortable. I was OK with Jenny's explanation until my RS first councilor called me last night. (She was Ams RS president when they were at university.) She asked me about it. Then she said that her friend told her that he also showed up at the 6th ward and did the same thing. He is trying, I guess, to get sympathy.

From Grammy and Gramps

I think that I am finally happy that I live among cowboys. It has taken some time for me to feel that way but, over the years, I have been in great meetings where humble and spiritual cowboys have taught great lessons. 

For example, at sacrament meeting one week ago, Bro. Davis, first counselor in the bishopric, told of his experience with his cell phone. He is the new church cattle ranch manager for the cattle ranch in our stake. He replaced Bro. Don Berezay when he died. At any rate, our ward is having, at the St. George Mission President’s request, a bring-a-friend-to-church-day on November 11. There is an assignment that goes with the request--we are to pray each day for inspiration, we are to read certain scriptures, we are to seek the spirit--then we are to approach the person with love and respect and ask them if they would like to attend church with us on that day. 

Paul Sutorius, our retired seminary principal and gospel doctrine instructor, said that, if they refuse, we should continue to be friends but that when we approach them we should teach them how to recognize the spirit when it inspires them. There is a list of scriptures we should use: 1 Cor. 2: 11-14; Moroni 10: 4-5; John 14: 26; Alma 32: 28; Alma 5: 45-46; and 3 Nephi 18: 18-20. 

At any rate, Bro. Davis was out rounding up cattle with Mitch Durban, Berezay’s son-in-law, when one of the calves decided to take off away from the rest of the cattle and make a run for it. Davis said that he knows from experience that the only thing to do is to chase the cow and work to cut it back to the rest but that it often leads through rough ground and tall brush. It cuts at the flesh of the cowboy and tears at his clothes. He did get the calf back to the herd but, at that time, he realized that the cell phone he had in his pocket was gone. He knew that it might seem a trivial and unimportant thing but to him it was vital. It had the contacts he needed for the church and for the other church business activities involved with his job. Those could be replaced but it would take time that he could ill-afford. So still in his saddle, he prayed and reminded Heavenly Father that the cell phone, in the eternal scheme of things, was not very important but that to him, Bro. Davis, it was. He asked him to help find it. Then he yelled to Mitch and told him to mind the cows while he looked for his phone. The problem was that he had been all through the brush in a zigzag manner and one stand of brush looks much like another. Still he looked as best he could for 45-minutes. Then it occurred to him that since he wanted help for this project, he should ask in a more formal way. So he got off his horse and knelt and offered a formal prayer. He got back on the horse and rode a short distance and there the phone was shining in the sun. He got off his horse, picked it up and then knelt again to thank Heavenly Father.

Bro. Davis said he wanted us all to know that we were important to Heavenly Father. He took time for each of His children and, if they wanted His help, He was there. “If He would help me find something so unimportant to anyone but me, He will help each of us with any of our problems. All we need to do it ask.”

He then said that the people we wanted to come to church with us were so important that He would help us reactivate them or convert them if we asked for His help and if those people were then ready. However, He was going to send us to the people who were ready. They would be the ones who would be inspired to accept our offer just as we had been inspired to seek them out. Gramps and I enjoy your missionary letters. 

We feel your great spirit in each of your letters and we are so happy that you are serving our Father in Heaven. The only way that any of us can ever truly feel the peace of the gospel is by living it. "Living the gospel does not mean the storms of life will pass us by, but we will be better prepared to face them with serenity and peace." Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, May 2000.

We love you. We hope that you got your Halloween card in time. Grammy doesn't yet know how long it takes to get things to you.

Lots of love, Grammy and Gramps

Juice in place of sugar

Just remember that in baking, sugar is considered a wet, liquid ingredient, not a dry ingredient. So you can substitute an equal measure of concentrated apple, pear or grape juice for the sugar in a recipe, just like it's done in health-food baked goods. Do a trial run and see how it goes, then adjust up or down. Or write the manufacturer of the concentrated juices and ask for recipes.