Week 20 - Too FAST!!!
Dearest Children, Grandchildren, Family and Friends!!
I can’t believe how fast time is going!! It is already September and school has been in session for most of you for a week or so!! This week has been a really good week at the temple. I have received so many witnesses of the Spirit that this is indeed the work of the Lord and that He directs that work. The veil has been thin many times. Today, on the way home from our branch meetings, we were reading through the Sunday School lesson for our class next week so that we could ponder it before we get together later in the week to work on it. Two of the scriptures really sums up my thoughts this week. D&C 42:61 – “If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things – that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” And 2 Nephi 28:30 – “For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.” I am convinced that the Lord will not force knowledge down our throats. We need to be seeking knowledge then as we are in tune with Holy Ghost, He will send us precious nuggets of knowledge…not more that we can handle but those sweet things that we can ponder and learn from and make connections to other things we have learned.
Monday was one of those days for me. It began during our preparation meeting as two sisters shared some of their thoughts and experiences. I was deeply touched by the Spirit as I listened to them teach us. Then we were witnesses during an endowment session and my mind was opened to the love our Father has for us. I was overwhelmed with those feelings of love. Then, my next assignment was in Initiatory. We did the work for two sisters and were going to stop so that we could get to our next assignment but we noticed that there was one more sister. We decided to do her work as well before we quit. As I began the words of the ordinance, I was overcome with the thought came into my mind: “Oh, thank you, thank you!” The Spirit was so strong that all of us, proxy and worker alike, were weeping as we finished. I then went to serve as Veil Coordinator. It was a large session with a sister receiving her own endowment and several other special considerations. The Brother Veil Coordinator and I just seemed to work so smoothly together, we just seemed to know what the other was thinking, that I know without a doubt that the Lord was orchestrating things so that they would be perfect for His precious sons and daughters. I am so humbled to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord!!!
The rest of the week in the temple was sweet but largely uneventful. On Saturday, one of the matrons asked if we ever got bored being in the temple 5 days a week and I truthfully told her that never in my service there had I been bored. It is an honor, a privilege, a joy and a blessing to serve in the temple. I pray that, while I have the strength, I will always be found in the temple serving the Lord and His children on both sides of the veil.
I love this picture that another Elder took in the Sacred Grove. I love how the sun is shining through the trees and almost wonder if it was similar when the Father and the Son came to the boy Joseph.
This week we took two trips. One impromptu one was on Tuesday to the Stoney Brook State Park. It is a smallish stream through layers of shale. Grandad has lots of pictures of that so I won't include any here. The other one was on Thursday to the Genesee Country Village. This is a collections of over 60 buildings that have been bought and MOVED to their current locations in the "Village" to preserve their history. It is divided into areas and eras: Pioneer Settlement (1780s - 1830s), Antebellum Village (1830s - 1860s) - the largest area, and Turn of the Century (1870s - 1920s). It was fascinating!! There were a bunch of live demonstrations by people dressed in era costumes and showing how life was lived during that era, as well as displays. The homes were decorated, some using pictures of the homes themselves, with actual furnishings from the era. Below is a small sampling of the buildings. Both trips required a lot of hiking/walking so I was a bit physically tired. It was fun, though.
Victorian House - Hyde House
Octagon House
The rest of these are from the Antebellum section
Well, dear ones, this week is now history and we look forward to next week which is the last week at the temple for two weeks. They have a break for cleaning and we will only be working one day during the second week of cleaning. On Sunday after church we will be on our way to Vermont, Connecticut, Long Island and finally Greensboro!! We will probably send out our blog on Saturday evening.
Love you and miss you!!!
Mom/Grandma/Sandy oxoxoxox
I can’t believe how fast time is going!! It is already September and school has been in session for most of you for a week or so!! This week has been a really good week at the temple. I have received so many witnesses of the Spirit that this is indeed the work of the Lord and that He directs that work. The veil has been thin many times. Today, on the way home from our branch meetings, we were reading through the Sunday School lesson for our class next week so that we could ponder it before we get together later in the week to work on it. Two of the scriptures really sums up my thoughts this week. D&C 42:61 – “If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things – that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” And 2 Nephi 28:30 – “For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.” I am convinced that the Lord will not force knowledge down our throats. We need to be seeking knowledge then as we are in tune with Holy Ghost, He will send us precious nuggets of knowledge…not more that we can handle but those sweet things that we can ponder and learn from and make connections to other things we have learned.
Monday was one of those days for me. It began during our preparation meeting as two sisters shared some of their thoughts and experiences. I was deeply touched by the Spirit as I listened to them teach us. Then we were witnesses during an endowment session and my mind was opened to the love our Father has for us. I was overwhelmed with those feelings of love. Then, my next assignment was in Initiatory. We did the work for two sisters and were going to stop so that we could get to our next assignment but we noticed that there was one more sister. We decided to do her work as well before we quit. As I began the words of the ordinance, I was overcome with the thought came into my mind: “Oh, thank you, thank you!” The Spirit was so strong that all of us, proxy and worker alike, were weeping as we finished. I then went to serve as Veil Coordinator. It was a large session with a sister receiving her own endowment and several other special considerations. The Brother Veil Coordinator and I just seemed to work so smoothly together, we just seemed to know what the other was thinking, that I know without a doubt that the Lord was orchestrating things so that they would be perfect for His precious sons and daughters. I am so humbled to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord!!!
The rest of the week in the temple was sweet but largely uneventful. On Saturday, one of the matrons asked if we ever got bored being in the temple 5 days a week and I truthfully told her that never in my service there had I been bored. It is an honor, a privilege, a joy and a blessing to serve in the temple. I pray that, while I have the strength, I will always be found in the temple serving the Lord and His children on both sides of the veil.
I love this picture that another Elder took in the Sacred Grove. I love how the sun is shining through the trees and almost wonder if it was similar when the Father and the Son came to the boy Joseph.
This week we took two trips. One impromptu one was on Tuesday to the Stoney Brook State Park. It is a smallish stream through layers of shale. Grandad has lots of pictures of that so I won't include any here. The other one was on Thursday to the Genesee Country Village. This is a collections of over 60 buildings that have been bought and MOVED to their current locations in the "Village" to preserve their history. It is divided into areas and eras: Pioneer Settlement (1780s - 1830s), Antebellum Village (1830s - 1860s) - the largest area, and Turn of the Century (1870s - 1920s). It was fascinating!! There were a bunch of live demonstrations by people dressed in era costumes and showing how life was lived during that era, as well as displays. The homes were decorated, some using pictures of the homes themselves, with actual furnishings from the era. Below is a small sampling of the buildings. Both trips required a lot of hiking/walking so I was a bit physically tired. It was fun, though.
Well, dear ones, this week is now history and we look forward to next week which is the last week at the temple for two weeks. They have a break for cleaning and we will only be working one day during the second week of cleaning. On Sunday after church we will be on our way to Vermont, Connecticut, Long Island and finally Greensboro!! We will probably send out our blog on Saturday evening.
Love you and miss you!!!
Mom/Grandma/Sandy oxoxoxox
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