Bridal Veil Falls

Rebecca and her kids drove from Calgary to Salt Lake last week.  They arrived late Wednesday night.  Thursday morning we went to Bridal Veil Falls and took a walk along the trail below the falls.  It was fun to visit.  I can't believe how tall her kids have grown, especially Evan!  Ella was at Oakcrest Camp, so she didn't participate in any of these activities.

Then we went to Suzy's for lunch.  After Suzy's we went to BYU's paleontology museum and then BYU's Museum of People and Cultures. 

Then we went back to Suzy's where we played some games and visited.  Michelle and Suzy spent some time playing the piano together, which made my heart happy.

Temple

In a wonderful talk by President Nelson (The Spirit of Elijah),  he said, "Service in the temple together is a sublime activity for a family.  It provides its own sustaining motivation and verification of the truth of this unique work." How I love the temple!  I'm so grateful that I have been able to attend the temple regularly this summer with my girls.  This past week I attended 4 times in 9 days...once with my sisters, daughters and niece at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, once with my dear friend Sara at the Jordan River Temple, once with my girls, Kate, and the Smiths at the Ogden Temple, and once with the young women at the Jordan River Temple. 

Ogden Temple

What a great blessing it was to be in the temple four times in just over a week...and in 3 different temples!   When I was at the temple with the young women, a temple worker commented on what a great spirit the young women have about them.  And they do!  They are such great girls.  At the Ogden Temple, a worker asked about our group and so I explained how my family and the Smiths are attending temples together and they said what great moms to organize that.  It's been such a blessing for me...and I think/hope for the Smiths and my girls as well.  I've gained some insights and as I'm sure the temple is similar in feeling to the Celestial Kingdom, it fills me with a greater desire to draw close to the Savior, repent and be worthy to return to His presence.  Sometimes in the busy, hectic pace of life, it's easy to forget what really matters most or to always keep our priorities completely straight.  So I am grateful for the opportunities we have to be reminded as we attend the temple, study the scriptures, attend church and partake of the sacrament.  How very, very, very blessed we are!   I hope I never take these things for granted!!  I wish I could somehow help every person I know to understand these truths and to care about them as much as I do!

Our sweet, amazing young women in front of the Jordan River Temple!

He Hears Me

Yesterday, Ella spoke in sacrament meeting.  She spoke about how Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers.  Here is her talk:

He Hears Me

By Ella

Last week I went to Oakcrest and the theme was He Hears me. I loved this theme so much and I learned so much from it.   Our theme was based around this verse, 1 Nephi 18:3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did prayoft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.”

The theme song that we had for this year was called He hears your heart. This song touched my heart and it is a great reminder that he listens to our prayers. The chorus is my favorite it says “He knows each of his children. He is never too far. Whatever the words, wherever you are. He hears, hears your heart.” I just loved that. I love knowing that He knows me personally…and He knows you.

President Nelson said, “Through prayer, we can show our love for God. And He has made it so easy. We may pray to Him any time.”  In Alma 34, Amulek teaches the people when to pray and what to pray for.  He says, “Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.”  He tells them to pray for mercy, to pray over their flocks and fields, to pray to have strength to withstand their enemies, to pray for power against the devil and to pour out their hearts to God.  Nephi also taught about prayer.  In 2 Nephi 33:3 it says, “Nephi exclaimed, “I pray continually for [my people] by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, … and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.” 

Clearly, we can pray to Him at any time and for anything we need. 

President Nelson also said, “We should pray in accord with the will of our Heavenly Father.³² He wants to test us, to strengthen us, and to help us achieve our full potential. When the Prophet Joseph Smith was held in Liberty Jail, he pled for relief. His prayers were answered with an explanation: “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”  Sometimes when we pray, we don’t get the answer we are hoping for or we may have to wait and search for awhile before receiving an answer to our prayers.  When that happens it is because Heavenly Father knows better than us what will be for our best good in the eternal perspective.    He wants us to develop faith and spiritual strength and wants us to be prepared to return and live with Him.

When I was 4 months old, my parents found out that I had a hole in my heart in the ventricle.  The cardiologist said it was possible that the hole would close on its own, so my parents took me to Primary Children’s Hospital every 3 months to have chest x-rays and echocardiograms and see the cardiologist.  When I was 18 months old, the doctor recommended surgery.  So I was scheduled to have open heart surgery a week before Christmas.  The doctors said I would probably be in the hospital for close to a week.  Before the surgery, my parents and other family members prayed sincerely that the surgery would go well.  I received a priesthood blessing and was promised that the surgeon would be guided and that I would be healed.  The surgery was on a Thursday, and everything went well.  In fact, they found that there was a second, smaller hole in my atrial valve and they were able to repair both holes.  By Saturday, I was up and running through the halls of the hospital (scaring my mom and dad!)   I came home from the hospital on Sunday, much earlier than the doctors had predicted.  My heart was completely healed and after a few more follow up visits, I was told I didn’t need to see the cardiologist any more.  Heavenly Father heard those prayers and answered them.

Jamie Glenn said, “Heavenly Father is aware of us, our every feeling and our every need even when we feel far away.  He cannot love us any more, know us any better, or be more aware of us as if we are His only child.” 

The last verse of the theme song says “oh, in every single moment no matter what it is, we can always turn to him.” I testify that he will always be here. We may feel at times, like we are alone but I promise you are not. Heavenly father is always looking over you. He is just waiting until you take that one step to cry unto him. He suffered for us and he felt our pains way before any of us did. He may not answer immediately but he knows exactly what you are going through. He always hears you. 

Activity Days Camp

This summer in June I got to help chaperone the activity days girls when they went to Camp Tracy.  Gabby and all of the other cute girls had a lot of fun doing the activities.  They played tug of war and went on a nature walk, did a challenge course, tried archery, tried shooting at targets, carved soap, and a variety of other activities.