A New First Presidency

Today came the announcement of the new First Presidency of the Church. Right before the news conference was to start, Carol Mikita on Channel 5, said she had seen Sis. Monson, Sis. Eyring, and Sis. Uchtdorf in the room; so there went the suspense of wondering who the new counselors would be. We kind of suspected one would be Elder Eyring, but we didn't know who the other counselor would be until Carol Mikita spilled the beans. After mentioning the wives, she said, "I don't know if that means anything." Right.

Anyway, it was wonderful to see them walk in and to know that a new First Presidency is now in place. I liked what Pres. Uchtdorf said about Pres. Monson in that he is one who "focuses on the individual but is also able to bridge continents." When asked by a reporter if it would be hard to follow Pres. Hinckley, Pres. Monson answered, "Actually, it won't be hard to follow Pres. Hinckley because he blazed the way." I'm grateful for the new First Presidency and for Pres. Monson. He has been prepared by the Lord and will be a wonderful prophet. We, of course, love Pres. Eyring and Pres. Uchtdorf. Steven and I have had several opportunities to hear Elder Uchtdorf at the MTC. We saw him and Sis. Uchtdorf one evening when we were taking a stroll around the MTC before the devotional. They were out strolling, as well. I used a quote about "remembering" from Pres. Eyring's talk last conference here on my blog.

For FHE tonight we didn't have a lesson (Richard will give it next week), but we did our planning and reading. We also talked about the happenings of the day and the new First Presidency. Also, we're hoping for a "Miracle for Mitt" tomorrow on Super Tuesday. Here's hoping that enough right-thinking people will vote for him and put him out in front of McCain. When I talked to Tiff tonight, she said they were having some wild weather in Charleston, with heavy storms expected tonight and tomorrow. We're hoping that things won't be too bad and will settle down soon.

Snowy Sunday

We woke up this morning to--you guessed it--more snow! Steven left at about 6:00 for the MTC and I could hear him out in the driveway doing some shovelling. When it came time for Richard and me to leave for church, I thought I better go make a path for us to get out of the driveway. As I started shovelling, along came Bro. Abbott with his snow blower; he proceeded to clear off the whole driveway and the sidewalk. That was nice of him. So Rich and I headed over to church for fast meeting. It's good to be in the ward on fast Sunday, then I don't feel quite so removed from everyone and everything. Lisa Arrington Radulovich bore her testimony and told about practicing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir last Thursday evening when someone came in and told them to get their things together because they had been invited by Pres. Hinckley's family to a private viewing in the conference center. So they gathered their things and went over to the conference center where they were ushered in to the Hall of the Prophets where Pres. Hinckley lay in state. She said it was very quiet and solemn and there was the most wonderful feeling and spirit in the room. She said she was standing close enough to Pres. Hinckley that she could have reached over and touched his cheek. She said the thing she felt the most as she stood there in the room was the feeling of how much impact one person can have on the lives of so many. And how one person can make such a difference in the world. She said Pres. Hinckley's son (she didn't say which one) shared some thoughts with them and told them how much Pres. Hinckley loved the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Then he invited them to sing some hymns, which they did. They sang "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet" and "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again." I can't remember for sure what the third hymn was, but I think it was "My Redeemer Lives," the hymn with words written by Pres. Hinckley.

After ward fast meeting, I went to the MTC to attend fast meeting with Steven's branch there. Eighteen missionaries bore their testimonies, and District F sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth" for their departure song as well as the closing song. The 10 missionaries leaving are: Elders Rodee, Hodson, Richardson, Darrington, Pearson, Castilla, Silcox, Christensen, Gooch and Despain. They've been a good district. They're all leaving for Chile tomorrow except for Elder Castilla who has been detoured to Las Vegas while he waits for his passport to come through. Elders Christensen and Despain have been the zone leaders. Elders Lamb and Wilson were called to replace them.

I phoned the Barretts this morning to see how they were doing and Nate answered. He said poor little Camden had been throwing up all night and that she and Lindy were quarantined in the "sick room." He and Riley and Sidney were trying to have as little contact with them as possible so that, hopefully, they won't get the germs. When I talked to Lindy later in the day she said Camden had finally stopped throwing up and her diarreha was subsiding. Poor little thing. She said she hoped she and Camden won't get each other's germs and that Nate and the other girls can avoid their sickness. We hope for that, too.

Steven, Richard and I had our Super Bowl Snacks dinner without the Barretts. Boo hoo. Richard had been looking forward to having them come over because they usually go to Grampa and Gramma Barretts on Super Bowl Sunday for Uncle Mark's birthday. But they were planning to come here this year until all the sickness interfered. So we had our snacks without them. We had: bean dip and chips, little quiches, shrimp, li'l smokies, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and buffalo wings. Richard had ordered those special, so I picked some up at Macey's. Steven ate only one buffalo wing and he said it about made him throw up. It was everything he can't stand about chicken. Maybe we'll forgo the buffalo wings next time, although Richard thought they were pretty good. As far as the Super Bowl goes, we were happy to see the Giants pull it off with the miracle fourth quarter. (Do you think perhaps a miracle could happen with another Super Something as in Super Tuesday? We'll see.)

Pres. Hinckley's Funeral

Today was Pres. Hinckley's funeral, and it was a beautiful, sunny winter day. It was cold, but not as cold as it's been. So, I think Heavenly Father was honoring Pres. Hinckley with such a beautiful day and a welcome break from the constant cold, snowy, gray winter weather we've been having. Richard went to work at the temple today even though it was Pres. Hinckley's funeral. I guess they had to keep the temple open for all the weddings that were going on plus other things scheduled there for today. But I told Richard that if he had to be any place else today other than watching the funeral, the temple was a great place to be. I don't think Pres. Hinckley would have wanted all temple work to stop for his funeral; so, it was actually a way for Richard to honor him by being there during the funeral.

I just loved the funeral. Even without being there in person we could feel the spirit of the occasion as we watched on TV. The talks were wonderful as was all the music. The speakers were Pres. Hinckley's daughter, Virginia H. Pearce; Bishop H. David Burton; Elder Earl C. Tingey; Pres. Boyd K. Packer; Pres. Henry B. Eyring; and Pres. Thomas S. Monson. Sis. Pearce said, "My father was adorable, a marvel to watch." She also said, "These past four years (after Sis. Hinckley's death) have been the capstone years of his life." She told how he was very sad after Sis. Hinckley passed away; but, for two years, he went back to work in every sense of the word. Then, for another two years after that, he was granted a "miraculous two-year extension of his life" after being diagnosed with cancer. He kept on working until the end.

Bishop Burton said that Pres. Hinckley was considered by the young people of the Church to be "awesome," that he connected with the young people and encouraged them to "stand a little taller, do your best, and raise the bar," and he gave them (and us) the "six B's" to follow: Be Humble, Be Grateful, Be Smart, Be Clean, Be Prayerful, Be True. He told how several years ago when there were 47 temples, of which Pres. Hinckley had part in dedicating 30 of them, Pres. Hinckley said, "My, I would love to be alive when we have 100 temples." The Rexburg Temple, which was scheduled to be dedicated before he died, is #125. He told how Pres. Hinckley had wanted "Little Cottonwood Granite" to be used in the construction of the Conference Center, but that there was much outside opposition to the use of the granite. When Bishop Burton and others suggested using another material, Pres. Hinckley said, "Don't worry. A way will be provided." He will always be remembered for encouraging us to do and be the best we can and to stand a little taller.

Elder Tingey spoke of the "footprints" left in the sands of time by Pres. Hinckley: as the great communicator; his influence on missionary work--400,000 missionaries were called by him which comprise 40 percent of all the missionaries who have ever served; as a temple builder--there have been 75 new temples since he became president; his sense of humor--he once told a group of missionaries, "You all look like a bunch of penguins;" being a "renaissance man" with the building of the Conference Center, etc.;" his promotion of education with the establishment of the Perpetual Education Fund; the expansion of the quorums of the 70 under his direction; and his love of all people, to name a few. He concluded by thanking Pres. Hinckley for his valiant service; integrity; wisdom; judgement; talks; testimony of Joseph Smith, of our Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ; and "Thanks you for letting us know that you loved us."

Pres. Boyd K. Packer told how when Pres. Hinckley was first hired by the Church to work in the newly-organized public informtion department he set up a broken desk and brought his own typewriter from home. He requested a ream of paper (500 sheets) and was asked, "What will you do with all that paper?" He responded by saying, "I'll write on it," which he did and "he never stopped writing." He also told of how, as a new apostle, Pres. Hinckley had visited the mission where his son, Richard, was serving. After visiting with his son, Pres. Hinckley watched him walk away with his companion into the cold, dark night and said that was "one of the hardest things I've ever had to do." Pres. Packer said that one of the things Pres. Hinckley understood best was the "family," and that Pres. and Sis. Hinckley's family could be described as "ideal."

Pres. Henry B. Eyring said that Pres. Hinckley's motto was: "Things will work out." He then listed things that Pres. Hinckley had accomplished: He saw the way to build temples across the earth; He saw the way for young people across the world to walk out of poverty; He conceived the Conference Center. His accomplishments always blessed individuals with opportunity. He knew that a loving Heavenly Father had prepared a way for families to be together forever. He learned from his father and encouraged each of us to "forget yourself and go to work." As a young man, he promised the Lord that he would do his best and he has been doing that ever sense. He taught that all that the Lord requires of us is that we do our best, our very best. Pres. Eyring concluded by saying, "We are better because of his influence and his example; and the best is yet to come as we take the Gospel down into our hearts."

Pres. Monson quoted a line which says, "God makes a giant among men" and Pres. Hinckley was such a giant among men. He said that Pres. Hinckley has truly been a prophet for our time. He went about doing good. He reminded us that Pres. Hinckley still lives, he's on a heavenly mission. He concluded on a personal note saying, "Gordon, God be with you 'til we meet again."

As a closing hymn the choir sang, "My Shepherd Will Supply My Needs" over a montage of scenes of Pres. Hinckley going about doing his work as prophet. He never stopped working and loving the people. I thought the whole funeral was a wonderful tribute to him.

After the funeral we got to see the cortege leaving the Conference Center and going to the cemetery. All along the way, people were waving white handkerchiefs and canes. At the cemetery, after everyone was assembled, a bagpiper came from somewhere in the cemetery playing "Danny Boy" and "Praise to the Man." I thought Tiffany would have especially loved hearing the bagpipe playing "Praise to the Man" since that is what she used for the accompaniment to her slideshow tribute to Pres. Hinckley. Everything about the funeral and the day was wonderful. I loved it! We'll miss Pres. Hinckley so much. It's hard to imagine that he has gone, but we can always be grateful for his teachings and his example which he left for us to always remember and try to follow.

Lindy called this afternoon to say they probably wouldn't be coming over for dinner tomorrow evening because her cold was getting worse and Camden had started throwing up. So things don't sound like they're going too well at their house. They've got a lot of bugs flying around: strep, superbug cold, and now the flu! We're hoping and praying that they can get better soon.

For dinner tonight we had steaks and baked potatoes from Macey's. Steven and I went to pick Richard up from the temple, and on our way we stopped by Macy's for some groceries. They were having their annual Super Bowl tailgating party, so it was pretty wild. We were there just as they were getting ready to do the drawing for the big screen TV and the winner had to be present in order to win; so as you can imagine, there were lots of people. Outside they were grilling up some New York steaks; and you could get a steak, potato and drink for $3.00. So we got three and took them home for dinner. Yum!

Finding the Strep Culprit and Remembering Pres. Hinckley

Today I went over to the Barretts to stay with napping Sidney while Lindy took Camden and Riley to the doctor to see which of them was the strep culprit--the carrier of the strep bug that has been making them all sick (Lindy, Nate and Sidney). The nurse thought Lindy was crazy (I guess she's never heard of a "carrier"), but she went ahead and tested the girls; and, sure enough, Miss Camden showed positive for strep even though she's not sick. So Lindy got a prescription for her; and, hopefully, it will help her get rid of the bug that's been causing the strep throats in their family.

This evening Steven came home for dinner so that we could drive in to the MTC together in the snow and only have one car in there instead of two. (Also we could go over to AF together afterward to pick Richard up.) After dinner we headed in to the MTC for tonight's devotional. The speaker was Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Seventy. He said he had prepared a talk for tonight about "Finding;" but with the passing of Pres. Hinckley, he decided he wanted to share some of his thoughts about Pres. Hinckley instead. He said, "This is a week to reflect and honor Pres. Hinckley in every way we can."

He told several experiences he had with Pres. Hinckley as he served as a mission president in New York City. One day Pres. Hinckley called Pres. Rasband at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time (7:30 a.m. Mountain time) to discuss something with him. After their conversation, Pres. Rasband told Pres. Hinckley that he was on his way to meet with the missionaries. Pres. Hinckley said, "Tell them what time it is in Salt Lake City." Elder Rasband said he did tell the missionaries and also told them to "always remember what Pres. Hinckley was doing at 7:30 in the morning."

Then he related some things Pres. Hinckley told the missionaries at a conference which was held in Madison Square Garden. He told them: "If you're not up to 100 per cent, you get there." Also, "Don't worry about the hard work--just do it!" "Don't be a deadbeat and don't be a dropout." "This, elders and sisters, is your great opportunity." And, "May you have more tears for your departure from your mission that you did when you came from home."

He also told about the day he was called to be a General Authority and Pres. Hinckley asked him, "Does the testimony of Jesus Christ still burn in your bosom as it did when you were a young missionary?" Elder Rasband asked the missionaries, "Is the testimony of Jesus burning in your bosom?" Then he said, "Go forward on your mission with excitement and with a testimony burning in your bosom. Go forward now and do it." He closed by saying that he was thankful for being on this earth during the days of Gordon B. Hinckley.

It was a wonderful devotional with a strong spirit there. The music added to the spirit, as well. For the opening hymn we sang the hymn written by Pres. Hinckley, "My Redeemer Lives," instead of the usual "Called to Serve." For the closing hymn, we sang "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet" with a picture of Pres. Hinckley on the big screen. I thought the singing was especially good--almost like there were other voices joining in. Of course, 2000 missionaries singing all at once sounds quite powerful. But it sounded extra powerful for some reason.

After the devotional we met with the new district that came in last Wednesday--eight elders and four sisters. They appreciated Elder Rasband's remarks about Pres. Hinckley and expressed their own thoughts and feelings about Pres. Hinckley along with their love and appreciation for him and that it was he who had called them on their missions. One of the elders in the group is Elder Warren Grant Gagon, who happens to be Aunt Kathy and Uncle Fred's nephew (John Gagon's son). It was a nice evening.

Reminiscing During FHE

Today was a snowy, windy day--a good day to stay inside. Since it's Monday, Richard had the day off, so we didn't even need to go outside for anything. Steven went to work, but Rich and I just stayed here. I didn't even take the car out of the garage.

Tonight for FHE, I gave the lesson and we reminisced about Pres. Hinckley. I read from Vol. 2 of Pres. Hinckley's discourses about his first trip to Thailand in 1966 when he and Elder Marion D. Hanks met with the minister of education who had responsibility for religious work in Thailand. Pres. Hinckley said the minister was unfriendly to them and told them they didn't need our church there. It was during that trip that Pres. Hinckley offered a dedicatory prayer on the work in the nation of Thailand. They made applications for visas and the missionaries were granted visas for three months. The understanding was that the missionaries would have to leave the country every three months and have their visas renewed. It was an "expensive and costly and difficult and discouraging practice that interfered greatly with the work." This continued over the years. And then there was the unfortunate incident where a missionary climbed on a buddha, which caused big problems for the Church and brought about further restrictions on the work. Then Pres. Hinckley told how the current governor of Bangkok (in 2000 when he gave this talk), had become a friend of the Church. When he was a young man, the governor was causing his father great concern with his long hair and dabbling in drugs. His father asked one of his Rotary International friends, Elder Richard L. Evans, if there was a school in America where he could send his son that would be a good environment for him. Elder Evans told him to "try BYU." So that's where his son went and got his masters and doctorate in microbiology. He ended up marrying a friend of his from Thailand who had also come to attend BYU. They stayed for seven years and their first daughter was born while they were at BYU. When he went back to Thailand he got into politics and was elected governor of Bangkok. His father was the prime minister. They were both very influential men. "Between the two they were able to secure, through their government, authorization under which we are allowed 150 missionaries who don't have to renew their visas every three months. They can go forward with their work." Pres. Hinckley went on to say, "Now, to me, that is an absolute miracle. That is the unseen consequenc of that which was begun in 1966 and has come to pass in a miraculous way."

As a family we like that story because we had the opportunity to become acquainted with the governor and his wife and two daughters when he was awarded the College of Biology and Agriculture's Distinguished Alumni Award a few years ago. At the time Steven first started contacting him, Lindy was on her mission in Thailand. The governor was very interested to know that she was there and tried to set up a lunch appointment with her, but she had been transferred out of Bangkok, so she was unable to have lunch with him. Since that time, however, we have had the privilege of hosting his wife and daughters at BYU (he was unable to come); and then later, Steven and I had lunch with him and his wife in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building along with Pres. Packer. He and his wife also invited us to have dinner with them at the Thai Restaurant in Provo. It was a fun and interesting time for us and for Lindy after she had returned home from her mission. We're grateful she had the opportunity to serve in Thailand and for Pres. Hinckley's involvement in getting missionary work started there. Our becoming acquainted with the governor and his family was an added bonus for us. It was fun during FHE to remember the experiences we had with the governor of Bangkok and to read about him in Pres. Hinckley's book.

Goodbye, Pres. Hinckley

Tonight we got the news that Pres. Hinckley passed away earlier this evening. It was kind of a shock and surprise (even though he's 97 years old) because I think we all just assumed that he would go on forever being the prophet and president of the Church. Many of his talks in the not-so-recent past kind of referred to the fact that thought he might be going soon, because he felt like he was ready and had accomplished what he needed to; but then recently, when he's spoken, it hasn't been so much like he's telling everyone goodbye but more like how he's planning to be around for however long the Lord wants him to be. At his last birthday celebration he even talked about maybe being around for a 100th birthday party. Steven and I are glad we were able to hear his son, Elder Richard G. Hinckley, speak last Tuesday night and the reference he made to Pres. Hinckley's recent remarks when he sealed his last grandchild in the temple and said of sealing all of his children and grandchildren in the temple: "I consider this to be the finest thing I've ever done." In talking to Tiff tonight, we decided that that must have been the last thing he needed to accomplish before he died--to have sealed all of his children and grandchildren in the temple. When he dedicated the Nauvoo temple, he thought, perhaps, that that was the last thing he was to accomplish. But he went on to give several more years of dedicated service and then to seal the last of his grandchildren in the temple before finally being able to join Sis. Hinckley on the other side of the veil. Tiffany and I thought that would surely have been a great reunion, plus being able to meet and greet Joseph Smith (and Brigham Young and all the other prophets). The next few days will be a nice time for reflection as we think about Pres. Hinckley's love and service and how he has blessed not only millions of people worldwide, but each of us individually. And we can look forward to Pres. Monson becoming the next president of the Church. Tiffany and I thought he must spend all of his time going to visit and bless people who are sick or discouraged because we hear so many stories of when he has done that. Just last Tuesday, Elder Hinckley told how Pres. Monson had gone to visit Elder Hinckley's father-in-law and had been there with him when he died. It was Pres. Monson who called the Hinckleys to tell them that Sis. Hinckley's father had passed away.

Tonight for Sunday dinner we had hamburger and rice casserole, corn and rolls. It was quite a hit with the girls. Sidney liked eating the corn off her mom's plate as opposed to eating the corn right in front of her. For a treat we had valentine sugar cookies from Allen's and peppermint ice cream. Camden and Riley were glad it wasn't cherry ice cream.

I went to cousin Brianna's mission report this morning. She was feeling much better this week than she was last week. Her subject was "Reverence," and she did a good job of speaking on reverence and also telling about her mission. She talked about how much she loved the English people and how glad she was to have served the Lord in England. She told about cleaning the house of an inactive sister who was discouraged and sad. She said the house was pretty bad. The living room was bad enough, but then it just got worse through the rest of the house. As she was cleaning, Brianna said she thought to herself, "What am I doing here? Why am I doing this?" Then she thought, "Because I love the Lord and I love this woman. I want to help her have a better life." After the meeting we all went over to Clark and Barbara's for a tasty meal of Cafe Rio style food. I must find out from Barbara how to fix it like that. It was a nice gathering of family and friends there. Grandma Cathy was there to represent Grandpa T. who wasn't able to come.

After lunch at the Roberts, I went to the MTC for sacrament meeting. I got to meet the 12 new missionaries that came in last Wednesday--eight elders and four sisters. Bro. and Sis. Ahlander spoke about temples. Sis. Ahlander said that the temple is where heaven and earth intersect. Also, the Lord is able to bless His children through temple service. Bro. Ahlander said that as the gospel is inexhaustible, so is the temple endowment--we should learn something new each time we participate. The missionary speakers were Elder Thompson and Elder Darrington. Before the meeting, Elder Gooch asked me if I knew whether or not he was going to have to speak. I told him that when a missionary asks me that, then he or she usually ends up being called on to speak; so that worried him. But he wasn't called on, much to his relief.

Elder Hinckley Spoke Tonight

We had dinner tonight in the cafeteria at the MTC before going to the devotional where Elder Richard G. Hinckley was the speaker. His wife was in North Carolina visiting some of their children, so she wasn't with him. In his talk he spoke about a lot of things--about his father-in-law's conversion and baptism at age 89 and, ultimately, his sealing to his wife and family after his death (It's never too late. Don't give up on someone. The ultimate goal is to get people to the temple). He told about Pres. Hinckley recently performing the sealing of his granddaughter to her husband in the Salt Lake Temple. As part of his remarks at that time, Pres. Hinckley said, "I've sealed all five of my children and 24 of my grandchildren in this temple, and I consider that to be the finest thing I've ever done." Elder Hinckley said that is quite a statement from a man who has done so many remarkable things during his life. Then Elder Hinckley talked about missionary work. He said he had just seen Elder Perry and that Elder Perry's message to the missionaries is: "We need to do better. Your goal is to double baptisms worldwide this year." And the message from Pres. Hinckley to the missionaries is to: "retain the members you baptize." Next, Elder Hinckley told about his cousin, Terri Wadsworth Blake from Panaca, who is serving with her husband in the Majureau Islands, where he is the mission president. We have heard Elder Hinckley tell the story of their mission call three different times. I like the story--of how the Church had just created a new mission in the Majureau Islands and they were needing a mission president who could be called and attend the new mission president's training seminar in just three weeks. So they looked at a list of senior couple missionaries who had been called to serve missions in the near future (i.e., ready to go some place) to see if there was a possible mission president among the names. Elder Hinckley saw the names of his cousin and her husband on the list and knew they were the ones who should be called. Terri and her husband had been called on a mission to Canada Montreal; but their call was changed to that of mission president in the Majureau Islands. After Pres. Hinckley extended the call and the Blakes accepted, Elder Hinckley talked to Terri who asked, "Where's Majureau?" Elder Hinckley said, "I don't know." Then he proceeded to read an excerpt from one of her letters to their children. He has read part of a letter each time we've heard him speak, and the letters are beautiful. In the letter he read last night she said, "We've found that we can do more, even when we are sure we cannot breathe or move another moment." She went on to say more but I didn't get it in my notes.

[Terri is a neat lady. I knew her and her family in Panaca. Her mother is Pres. Hinckley's sister, Sylvia Hinckley Wadsworth, who was married to Don Wadsworth. They had 10 children. Sylvia died of cancer when she was just 49 years old, and Don died a couple of years later at age 53 leaving the children with no parents. Pres. Hinckley has always had a special interest in each one of them. Besides Terri, another of the children is John Wadsworth, who is one of the founders of Tahitian Noni and is currently a mission president in Las Vegas. When Pres. Hinckley went to Panaca for Sylvia's funeral in 1970, he said (in his biography) that as he went to the cemetery before the funeral and stood by her open grave, "It was too much for me. I cried in that lonely, quiet place...Here was to be the burial place of my youngest sister...Now as I walked quietly about the little cemetery a certain bitterness struck me--that she of such great promise should come to so dismal an end. I cried, and then a peace came into my heart...I thought of her ten children who had grown from the soil of this community. This is where she had been most loved, and one ought to lie where one is loved. I felt at peace." So I liked being reminded of Sylvia and Don and their children who have gone on to accomplish good things and render great service to the Church. I was able to drive Grandma Adair from Provo to Panaca for Sylvia's funeral, and I've never forgotten it. Pres. (Elder) Hinckley was there along with Elder Spencer W. Kimball and Elder Marion G. Romney, and they all three spoke. Elder Hinckley's talk last night reminded me of all this.]

After his remarks, Elder Hinckley opened it up for a few questions. An Elder asked, "What is our best tool for finding?" Elder Hinckley replied, "Be bold. Have faith. Be fearless, but don't be offensive or stupid. Have goals, and think outside the box." I always like it when the missionaries are charged to "be bold" that they are also reminded to not be "offensive or stupid."

After the devotional we met with District F and heard what they had to say about the devotional. They were all glad to have heard from Elder Hinckley. I think Elder Hinckley's relationship to Pres. Hinckley makes him especially interesting to the missionaries.

Earlier today I went down to the Sunset Heights 5th ward for Margaret Olsen's funeral. I was just thinking about her the other day, wondering about her and how she was doing. She died Jan. 17, and I think that's the day I was thinking about her. I was her visiting teacher, along with Cheryl Henrichsen, for quite a few years. She was a very lovely, special lady. Her children paid great tribute to her at her funeral. At the funeral I saw some of our old friends: Trudy Van Cott, Carolyn Mock, Marilyn Hellewell, Pam Rowbotham, Aldine Benson, Donna Paulson, Edel Erickson, and the Marcovs. It was nice to be down there and to remember old times. They have a great missionary board up with pictures of all the missionaries from the 5th ward who have served over the years. There are a lot of missionaries, with Richard and Lindy being among them.

When I talked to Tiff tonight, she said she had talked to Greg and they had decided that it would be a good idea to postpone their June 7 wedding date and wait to get married until after her internship. She said that an internship in Springfield might not happen, and she wants to be able to explore other options. I told her I thought that sounded like a good plan. We still have our plane tickets and our hotel reservations in Nauvoo; but Steven had said at the time we got the tickets that if the wedding didn't take place on that date, we could still take a nice family trip to Nauvoo.

Happy Birthday, Grampa!

Today was Grampa's actual birthday, but we did all our celebrating last night. It was still a nice day, however; just more low-key. Steven went to work and Richard and I did things around here. Richard's been having a problem with one part of his mouth. He had Dr. Wiest check it three weeks ago because it was "stinking" back there when he flossed. Dr. Wiest said he needed to floss better and use mouth wash, which Richard's been doing. He said it's still been kind of stinky. Then today he felt something wierd sticking out by his teeth. I looked at it and couldn't figure out what it was. It looked like a piece of tooth in his gum. So we called and made an appointment to see Dr. Wiest tomorrow to see what's going on. Then, this evening as Richard was flossing his teeth, that piece of tooth or whatever it was came out! Hmmmmmm. I wonder what's up. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of it tomorrow.

Also today we had a little Animal Control excitement. I guess it's exciting when you can call Animal Control and they come and see the problem for themselves. The Sueldo's dogs were barking this afternoon, so Richard came up to see what was going on. All three of their dogs were out on the street barking at the kids coming home from school. Richard's been wanting to call Animal Control to report that the Sueldos have three dogs instead of the allowable two dogs. So I told him now would be the time to call. So the Animal Control officer came and all three dogs were out on the street. When he got out of the truck, they all barked at him and nipped at his heels as he walked up to the house. Hopefully, the Sueldos will get the hint and do something about having too many dogs and letting them run loose and poop in everyone's yards. Richard has called two times before about the dogs running loose, so today was the third time. In the city ordinances it says if an owner of any dog is "convicted "of violations of the Animal Control chapter (of the ordinances) on three or more different occasions during any twelve month period, the City may deny the right of the owner to have a dog in the City for one year. I don't know what "convicted" means in that context. It just seems to me that the Sueldos need to get the hint and be more responsible dog owners. It's kind of annoying.

Tonight for FHE Richard gave the lesson from Pres. Hinkley's article in the December issue of the Ensign titled, "These, Our Little Ones." Pres. Hinckley quoted E.T. Sullivan who wrote: "When God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. He doesn't stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home and of some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother's heart, and she puts it into the baby's mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in the world are babies." Then Pres. Hinckley added: "...those babies...will become forces for good or ill, depending in large measure on how they are reared. The Lord, without equivocation, has declared, 'I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth' (D&C 93:40)." He then goes on to encourage parents to bring up their children in light and truth and to be good examples. It's a good article for all parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles. Thanks to Richard for bringing it to our attention. With all the festivities going on in December I hadn't taken time to read it.