Stake Conference, a Birthday and Dishes

Stake Conference

For us, stake conference always falls the second Sunday after the New Year. Dad always has his own preparations, but for Mom, this means a serious house cleaning in preparation for a general authority house guest. Mom washes windows, scrubs floors and woodwork, cleans light fixtures, rubs polish on the furniture, and vacuums places that have not experienced a suction hose since January last year. If conference came more often, we would have the cleanest house in Howard county. This year our guest was Elder Clayton Christensen and his wife Christine. Elder Christensen is 6' 8" tall and had to duck for his head to clear our foyer light fixture. This fine man with such intimidating credentials (a Harvard Business School professor and former Rhodes scholar) and his lovely wife were the most charming, humble, and delightful guests you can imagine. Our stake conference was truly a spiritual feast -- memorable both for Dad giving one of his most touching talks ever and for the great warmth and gentle power that Elder Christensen conveyed with his inspiring words. Mom received more than ample compensation for all her scrubbing.

Another Birthday

January is also birthday month for Mom. In honor of the occasion, Mom and Dad, Wendy, Holly, and Sadie enjoyed lunch together at the Cheesecake Factory.
And this is what Dad and I saw across the table, two wonderful daughters. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say Mom, Dad, Wendy, and Holly enjoyed lunch but Sadie was not pleased with the menu. Each selection on the child's menu was a la carte -- Sadie wanted milk and chicken fingers and she insisted on noodles. When her order came, she turned up her nose at the chicken and was distressed that her noodles were in the shape of bow-ties. Finally, Holly ordered strawberries and whipped cream which pleased her. Of course, when Sadie comes anywhere with us, she is also the entertainment. Hopefully, others in the Olsen family enjoyed the boxes of leftovers that came home.



New Dishes!

We are retiring the dishes that have served our family well for more than thirty-five years. Back in the mid seventies, on one of our trips to visit Aunt Robin and Uncle Dick in New York we stopped at the Syracuse China outlet. Huge bins of restaurant china filled the floor of this authentic factory outlet. Workers would come and replenish the bins by literally dumping china (you would jump at hearing the crashing china) and none of it broke! And the prices were incredible! We bought twelve plain white dinner plates at 50 cents each and twelve matching salad plates at five cents each and brought them home to Michigan. These practical dishes have graced our table while surviving hard, everyday use as Wendy, Brett, Holly, Lisa, Sara, and Nicole have grown up.

Now that it's just Mom and Dad at our table, Mom has wanted to feather our nest with something a little prettier, a little nicer, but still casual. Thanks to her shameless specificity when family members asked what she would like for a birthday present, Mom has directed them to the Wedgwood website that sells the pattern she has chosen. We now have a starter set of "Queen's Plain" that we are enjoying each day.

The Clarksville Chapel

For years the hope of a church meetinghouse in Clarksville has been a frustrating process made difficult by finding a satisfactory property, changes in architects, and securing county approval after many delays. Finally in December, workers manning heavy equipment broke ground and began clearing the twelve acre site at Brighton Dam and Ten Oaks roads. Now that the scrub trees and brush have been cleared away and the elevation prepared for footings, we see what a beautiful site we will have for our new chapel. Best of all, we will be able to get to church in half the time and half the miles it now takes us.

Sleepovers

We love having Michael, Reed, and Sadie spend the night. The sleeping place of choice is a nest of comforters, quilts, and pillow on the family room floor. The assembly of a beanie baby parade and construction of some fine block structures provided entertainment for the most recent visit.

Br-r-r!

It's been a cold, icy winter! Although Mom and Dad like to start each morning by circling around the pond a few times, when the temperatures have dipped into the teens and the wind is howling, we want to retreat under the covers instead. We have had some lovely mornings after a fresh snowfall when the first human footprints on the path were our own and we had the pleasure of following the tracks made by the deer, rabbits, and fox.

A word from Dad

I am so grateful for our family. I love each and every one. I am also grateful for the Gospel. It is such a wonderful experience to read the scriptures and obtain the peace and wisdom of God. It is such a great privilege to know that God is literally our Father and to pray and speak to Him.

Since it's been a while since we've updated our posts, this post doubles as as family history as well as family news.

A Visit to Grandma Morris

After trick or treating on Halloween night, we brought Michael home with us to spend the night in order to facilitate an early morning get-away to visit Grandma Morris in New York. Although we have been on other trips with Michael, this was the first time we have had him all to ourselves. Michael proved to be an entertaining and congenial travel companion. We were happy that Grandma -- who is doing very well after her pacemaker surgery -- could have a nice visit with this engaging grandson.

As is our custom, we departed from I-81 at Great Bend for a side trip to along the Susquehanna river to pay our respects at the historical marker that commemorates the restoration of the priesthood in Harmony, PA. We also made our usual stops to drive by the farm and through the village in Fabius. It saddens us to see many of the once fertile dairy farms with their cultivated fields and well kept pastures abandoned and the lands returning to wilderness.

We enjoyed our Sunday visit to the Fayetteville ward in their new chapel and were happy to recognize a few long time members -- David Richards (now in the stake presidency), the Marquarts, Wayne Wolsey and his family, the Chamberlains. The chapel is barely a five minute drive from Grandma's house in Manlius and in that short time, Michael had managed to wrestle himself out of his Sunday clothes and into his comfortable travel clothes.

Thanksgiving

Our usual Thanksgiving holiday was brightened with Ashley's presence and by having Brother Barron from Columbia 2nd ward as our dinner guest. The best thing about this holiday is that it changes so little from year to year -- having achieved perfection with the menu many years ago, we simply enjoy our traditional feast and the warm feelings of family and gratitude that permeate this day.

Ashley

Sister Marsh and Sister Suhaka took advantage of Ashley being home to host a lovely bridal shower for her. Each invitation contained a tag printed with an hour of the day and the guests were invited to bring a gift appropriate to that time. Many thoughtful gifts that Ashley received had obvious application but one that was puzzling was the box tagged for 7 am containing a tupperware container and a blanket. The giver explained her clever gift: the tupperware was to pack Ryan's lunch in and the blanket was for Ashley to go back to bed with. With a demanding school schedule of two to three semesters before graduation ahead of these newlyweds, this scenario will not likely be realized for some time.

Grandma Johnson's Passing
When Dad called Grandma Johnson to wish her a happy thanksgving, he was concerned that Grandma did not seem her normal alert self. Not long afterward, Uncle Harvey called to say that he expected the end was near for Grandma. We were all very aware that the next day, November 30, marked the 27th anniversary of Grandpa Johnson's death. Grandma passed away on the morning of the first of December 2008.

It was good to all be together to honor Grandma and make our goodbye to her for her funeral. We are especially grateful to Holly's in-laws, Dan and Nadine Olsen, who took us in and were so very hospitable to us while we were in Utah.

I think what we miss most of all is the way Grandma always expressed her love and appreciation so freely and generously to each of us. To use one of her own oft-used expressions, she was "a great lady."

Family picture at the funeral with the addition of Jeff, the first on the left and Ryan who is not a member of the family, next to the end on the right.

Dad and Lisa at the funeral with the cemetery in the back.

What a Wonderful Christmas!

The only thing that could have made our Christmas any better would have been to have Brett and Sara with us. Somehow, the whole season seemed pure joy. Maybe it was because we were together more than usual. Nicole and Ashley were home from BYU. We were anticipating Lisa coming from Oklahoma (and hoping against hope she would tuck Maggie into her bag). We were excited about Ashley's temple endowment the day after Christmas, and then her wedding the next day. Every day seemed a perfect day.

The Wedding

The wedding party -- Ryan's parents, Paul and Eva Smith, and younger siblings, his grandparents, aunts and uncles, (nineteen of them in all), arrived in Baltimore on the afternoon of Christmas Day. The next day, they invited the Johnson/Johnston family to a pre-wedding lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in White Flint. We ll enjoyed a wonderful lunch but especially enjoyed getting to know this very nice family. Ashley is very blessed to be marrying into such a kind family.

At a little past noon on Saturday, we began gathering at the temple for the wedding. What a perfect day it was for a wedding, especially on December 27. The ceremony was sweet nd sacred, performed by President Abernathy. The temperatures were in the comfortable sixty degree range and so our beautiful bride and handsome groom could linger for pictures very comfortably. Holly, Lisa, and Mom had the privilege of joining Wendy and Ashley in the bride's room of the temple after the ceremony to "help" Ashley arrange her dress and veil, but mostly just to admire our bride and bask in the moment.

Soon it was on to the reception at the Johnston's home. We will remember the loveliness of the evening -- the vases of tall calla lilies, the swags of cedar and trailing ribbons, the candle light, the jazz pianist, the attraction of the table filled with the syrups for the Italian ices, the warm hors d'ouvres, and especially the many friends and family who filled the house. After the guests departed, both families squeezed into Christopher's bedroom for some special last moments together to watch Ryan and Ashley open their gifts. Then it was some some quick hugs and kisses goodbye, and the bridal couple were off to start their life together. Wendy and Steve would see them in California for their open house at the Smith's home in Merced, but for the rest of us, we were saying our farewells with hopes we'll have many frequent visits back and forth.

Ryan, welcome to the family.

At the temple.

The Sequel to Our New York Trip with Michael

At our Relief Society Christmas party early in December, Mom remarked to Holly that she had noticed Michael had been wearing his dad's shoes (sized a little on the large side) to church for the past three weeks now. Had he found his lost Sunday shoes yet? No, Holly responded, she kept forgetting to do a serious search for his shoes during the week. In fact, she hadn't seen his shoes since he came back from New York. Aha! The mental light bulb came on -- tucked and hidden well under the Honda's car seats Grandpa found Michael's shoes. Now the epilogue: the next Sunday, Michael walked into sacrament meeting again wearing his dad's oversized shoes. In the intervening weeks, his Sunday shoes had become too small.

What's Ahead

Mom and Dad put Nicole on the plane back to BYU on Saturday, January 3rd. Now Mom shifts into overdrive to ready the house for our presiding authority for stake conference next week, Elder Clayton Christensen. Elder Christensen is a Harvard professor and former Rhodes scholar and although his credentials are imposing, we expect he will be as charming and kind as have been our former conference visitors.

Just a few weeks from now, we will gather in Puerto Rico for Sara's wedding. Then, two weeks later, we will be off to Utah for Nicole's senior recital at BYU.

We have just four months ahead to prepare for Nicole's wedding on May 6th and we expect that labor of love will consume up our time in the coming months..

Thanks Holly for the pictures.

Weddings, Birthdays, Baptisms and Oklahoma

It's Official -- Nicole is engaged.  

After Conference sessi ons on Sunday, Jeff and Nicole made it official. They are looking to a wedding date in May.We think Jeff and Nicole are ideally matched and we thank Brother and Sister Bullock for raising such a fine young man for Nicole.

More Wedding Bells
Ashley now has her engagement ring on her finger, her wedding dress (chosen in August) hangs ready in her room on Spring House Court, the engagement pictures were taken on Saturday, and Wendy has found a caterer. All is on schedule for December 27.

Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Sara and Ian are proceeding with their plans for a February 24 wedding in San  Juan, Puerto Rico. Sara has chosen the site for the reception and gotten the invitations printed.

Reed's Baptism
What a wonderful day! Reed celebrated his birthday by entering the waters of baptism. Reed's 

dad performed the baptism, his grandmother Olsen offered the prayer for the service, with his mom giving the talk on baptism, and Nana giving the talk on the Holy Ghost. Reed was then confirmed by his dad with both his Grandpa Olsen and Grandpa Johnson in the circle laying their hands on his head. The presence of both Grandpa and Grandma Olsen as well as many dear teachers, leaders, and friends added to the happiness of the evening.

More Birthday Celebrations
We have enjoyed a happy birthday season with Sadie's, Hannah's, Michael's, and Reed's birthdays bunched together these past two weeks. On Monday we gathered at the Olsen house for a family party to celebrate with dinner, cake, and presents. Holly topped off the chicken lasagna and Caesar salad with choices of chocolate birthday cake and cheesecake. Yum! Nana is pleased to have Reed as another chocolate lover in the 

family.

Another Triathlon and a Big Bike Ride for Brett
Brett has been busy in September with another triathlon and then a bike ride starting in Camarillo, CA to raise money for multiple sclerosis. We applaud his discipline in preparing for and completing these strenuous and worthy accomplishments.

We leave for Oklahoma
On Wednesday, October 15, Dad and Mom leave for Oklahoma to visit Lisa, Brian, Lindsay, Hannah, Ava, Sam, and Maggie. Dad is pretty excited to see the Gladwell family. We plan to drive from Lawton to Dallas on Thursday to see the BYU-TCU football game (and hope the Cougars don't let us down). Dad would enjoy seeing the buffalo in the preserve in Oklahoma and the artillery at Fort Sill but he will be totally content just to be with the five Gladwell grandchildren.

Fall in the Air
Barely a month has passed since our Labor Day picnic at Holly's house when the kids (including Christopher who made some great belly flops) were playing in the sprinkler and the wading pool. This morning, our outside temperature registered at 39 degrees and the mornings and evenings are crisp. The yellow finches are absent from our bird feeder and we choose to believe that they have migrated south rather deserting us for a more attractive or generous feeder elsewhere. Mom made a trip to Baugher's in Westminster for apples and pumpkins and has pulled up the summer annuals to make room for pansies and johnny-jump-ups.

Feeding the missionaries
Last April, Dad made an offer to President Moody to feed the missionaries between sessions of General Conference when October came around. Accordingly, Mom slow roasted ten pounds of beef barbecue, bought rolls and chips, made a big Tex-Mex salad, assembled an oversize fruit tray, and baked brownies. Additionally, Dad (who thought Mom had overdone it on the quantity of food prepared) brought home a box of some of Brother Blasco's cookies to add to the menu. On Saturday, two of our sweet senior sister missionaries offered to contribute to the meal. Mom assured them that we had plenty but these good women went back to their apartment and made two big pots of chicken chili. How much food was left after feeding 14 missionaries, three visitors, President Moody, Mom, and Dad? Not a crumb! What a great priviledge it is to be in the presence of these missionaries.

The Last Word From Dad/Grandpa
Happiness is highly prized and desirable but sometimes elusive. Here I mean more than mere momentary and fleeting pleasure, I mean deep and lasting happiness and joy. There is a big difference between pleasure and happiness.

Many people find momentary pleasure by doing such things a playing a video game, watching a TV program or taking a thrill ride. Happiness is not found in the movie theater or in the gym although pleasure my be found there. True happiness and joy will not, no it cannot be found in these kinds of activities.

For many years I have known a person who often expressed unhappiness with life and was treated for deep depression was an unrelenting part of life. This person seemed to walk around under a cloud of gloom and doom. Nothing went well. Everything and everyone else stood in the way of happiness.

Then one day, this person came to see me and I quickly noticed a new joy I had never seen before. I remarked about how happy the person seemed to be and was told something profound. This person said, "I came to really believe the words of Jesus when he said, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light' and I finally decided to live the Gospel and now for the first time in over 20 years I am very happy and life is just wonderful." Once a decision was made to turn to the Gospel, the doom and gloom lifted and instead of a countenance of sadness, there is now a glow of joy and look of sheer happiness. For several years a life which once been miserable, had been transformed into one of unimaginable happiness.

A Book of Mormon prophet said, "Men are, that they might have joy". On the other hand, another said, "Wickedness never was happiness." Joseph Smith said, "Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it, and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, and holiness and keeping all the commandments of God."

Real happiness and joy comes in and through living the Gospel, and in forgetting oneself and by serving our fellowmen and women. I have observed many times that when we really turn to Christ and do these things, our lives are filled with joy. We become truly happy.

In Utah

Visiting Grandma Johnson in St. George

Following graduation, on Saturday morning, after assuring Nicole that we would not take the Cove Fort tour again (she asserts she has memorized the script), we headed south on I-15 toward St. George. We were pleased to see Grandma feeling perky and in good spirits. On Sunday we attended the branch sacrament meeting at her residence facility (an easy commute -- down the hall and around the corner) and enjoyed a home-cooked Sunday dinner prepared in Uncle Don's and RoseMery's kitchen and transported to the private dining room at the residence.

Grandma does not let her 92 years or her infirmities stop her from sharing the gospel. When she learned that another resident was from Santa Rosa, California (where Grandma served as a senior missionary) and was a member of the Church but not attending meetings, she invited her to come to sacrament meeting. When Grandma saw the lady was not present five minutes before the meeting started, she wheeled her chair down the hall, knocked on the lady's door, and persuaded her to come. Would that we all will endure as faithfully as Grandma!

Wedding Bells

It's official! Ashley has accepted Ryan Smith's proposal of marriage and they have set the date for 27 December 2008 in the Washington, D.C. temple. When Ashley arrived with her parents at the Salt Lake City airport thinking that she would meet Ryan in Provo, she heard her name paged with a request to go to the Southwest ticket counter. There Ryan appeared and spirited her off to a romantic dinner, a drive to the foothills, and a traditional bended-knee proposal. An eight-dollar WalMart ring (soon to be replaced) sealed the engagement.

Sara and her fiance Ian are also firming up their plans. They are looking to a destination wedding in Puerto Rico on February 24, 2009.

Education Week -- Our August Tradition

Along with Wendy, Steve, and Ashley, Mom, Dad, and Nicole had another stimulating vacation at BYU Education Week. After learning that a two-bedroom suite at the Residence Inn costs only a few dollars more than a one bedroom, we had the pleasure of being together more while lowering our vacation costs.

Happily, we found Aunt Jane and Uncle Jay among the 20,000 or so in attendance and were pleased to share some classes with them and to enjoy enchiladas together with them at Los Hermanos.

After Education Week, Wendy and Steve returned to Maryland. We checked out of the Residence Inn and moved up to the Spring Hill Suites at Thanksgiving Point where Ashley and Nicole were thrilled to share a real bed rather than share the living room sofabed. On Saturday, while Nicole was at her former roommate Janelle's wedding reception in Bountiful, Mom and Dad paid their respects at Grandpa Johnson's and Aunt Marilyn's gravesites in the cemetery there. We drove to South Jordan to visit Aunt Maurine, walked through Temple Square, and had a inspiring hour watching the Joseph Smith film.

On Sunday we went to Church with Dan and Nadine Olsen who are Holly's in-laws. We were delighted to see them and even more pleased to see how well Dan is doing. Then we had a nice dinner and visit with Maurine and her family.

Home Sweet Home Again

Holly (who seems to have become our official airport transporter) picked us at BWI on Monday evening. Ken Bowler, our stake patriarch, was also on the flight and accepted our offer of a ride home. We had the sweet surprise to find Sadie snoozing in car seat in the back. Our tired little girl managed a sleepy smile before drifting off again.

Except for the wild party that the deer had in our yard and garden reveling in the green beans, peppers, and hosta, we found all well at home and are happy to be back refreshed and assuming our familiar routines.

A Story of Love and Service

Levi Savage possessed great love. When the Willie and Martin handcart companies were discussing whether to leave for the Salt Lake Valley late in the year of 1856 or wait until the next year, Elder Savage tried to persuade these anxious saints to wait because he feared that bad weather would be encountered. He said, "What I have said I know to be true; but seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you; will help all I can; will work with you, will rest with you, will suffer with you and if necessary will die with you.

May God in his mercy bless and preserve us."

The Graduate

Nana is now a BYU graduate.

She was interviewed as a part of the graduation and then we participated in a luncheon. Nana had several still pictures taken and then was interviewed for about 15 minutes in a video shoot. The results will be used for spotlights to advertise the BGS program on BYU-TV and for BYU magazine. The Bachelor of General Studies program is still young and has a small enough number of graduates (about 70 or so for August graduation) that they can put on a celebration for graduates and family. We enjoyed a nice lunch, souvenir photographs, and lots of congratulations. Later that afternoon Nana joined the other graduates in the academic procession and the commencement exercise in the Marriott Center and heard a fine address by Elder Richard G. Scott.

Uncle Don's son Brad was also graduating and we celebrated that evening at Macaroni Grill with Brad and his wife Kim along with Don and RoseMery.

The next day we met and received congratulations from President and Sister Samuelson. Later than afternoon, Nana had the thrill of having her name called as she received her diploma in the College of Humanities convocation. Frederick G. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Luso-Brazilian Studies and a descendant of the original Frederick G. Williams (a counselor to Joseph Smith) delivered an excellent address on the family and the things of real importance in life.

Congratulations to Dana for her hard work and diligence. Her dedication was a joy to see and her hard work has been rewarded. We are very proud of her.

We were glad to have Brett join us and we really appreciate his sacrifice of rising at 3:30 am to make his plane in LA so he could be here with us.

Grandpa's Testimony

Children and grandchildren, I want you to know that I have had many wonderful experiences in life and as a member of the Church. I have come to know, not merely believe, that God lives and he is literally our Father, he is the Father of our spirits. I know that Jesus is his Only Begotten Son in the flesh and is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that he restored his Church through Joseph Smith, the prophet.

Regarding these truths, I know them to be true and can say that these words of Alma are also my words when he speaks of what he knows to be true saying, "Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit..."

I also know these things to be true because "the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit."

Off to Utah

A New Visitor at the Pond

There is a park with pond across the street. We go there often to exercise in the mornings. We often see a few kinds of wild life there such as deer, this week we saw two fawns just lying down in the area. There are numerous turtles some of which are enormous, probably measuring 18 or 20 inches across. There are lots of birds, mostly doves, red wing black birds, Canadian geese, wild ducks and an occasional blue heron. This last week we a new visitor, a white heron.

Utah Here We Come

We leave in Wednesday, August 13 to go to Utah. We will accompany Nicole back to school, participate in Dana's graduation festivities, visit with Grandma Johnson, and other relatives and attend Campus Education Week at BYU. It will be a whirlwind of activity.

Each year when we do this, we leave just as the garden is producing at its peak. We hope that Holly will enjoy the produce while we are gone.

Other Family Doings

Mom and Nicole are happy to see Dad so enthusiastic about his birdfeeders. We know it will keep him out of trouble until the BYU football season engages his full attention.

Yum-yum, cheesecake! And sweet friends Mary Finnigan, Ninon McGinn, and Ann Bowler. Mary Finnigan arranged a celebration lunch for Mom at the close of her BYU classwork at the Cheesecake Factory. Even more honorifics came as the wait staff sang "Happy Birthday" (not having "Happy Graduation" in their repetoire) and presented a sweet morsel of fudge sundae. The whole afternoon was a wonderful treat. Two weeks later, BYU posted an "A" for Mom's final grade for her last course -- a very satisfactory closure for her academic career.

Our Michael noted that Nana's graduation will yield him some personal benefits. A request for a Friday night sleepover had to be denied because of the pressure to complete a research paper. He said, "Now that Nana is graduating, we can come over for sleepovers more." Then he added, "And when Grandpa gets released from stake president, we can come over even more."

Nicole had her last day of work on Friday. Steve Koncurat in our ward has been so kind as to give her employment at his office for the past two summers also gave her a generous gift card. Thanks to Nicole's earnings, she now has a healthy bank account to get her through this last year of school. On Saturday, she dragged the suitcases up from the basement, spread them out in the spare bedroom, and started sorting and packing. On Monday, we will take a quick trip to the outlets in Leesburg to pick up wardrobe essentials. Another summer has flown by all too quickly.

Nearly every Saturday Dad has been helping Steve finish their basement. Putting up sheetrock has been especially grueling but they have felt pressured to complete the work in time for Wendy to teach early morning seminary there by the last week in August. Last week Wendy called a sheetrock professional just to finish up the ceiling but he offered such a reasonable price to complete the whole job and worked so fast that he has put Dad and Steve out of business. Dad will miss his Saturdays working with Steve but we are sure we can find plenty of Saturday activities to keep him occupied.

Our blackberry vines are full of big juicy berries and Mom gathers a couple quarts every other day or so. Last summer a garden snake poked his his little green head out of the vines to say hello as she was reaching for a nice cluster of berries. Snakes must like berries, too, or perhaps they like the shade and the stalks to slither around in. Fortunately, Mr. Snake has not been seen this summer. Having all these fresh-picked berries inspired Mom to bake a blackberry pie that turned out heavenly and disappeared within hours.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie's Last Testimony

Elder McConkie had been suffering from cancer and as the end approached, so did General Conference. He was determined to speak one last time. Thirteen days before he did he spoke at conference about the life and atonement of Christ and he closed with this powerful testimony. "And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God-I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.
I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.”

Success at Last

Finally the birds have come to to bird feeder.

I was nearly convinced that my bird feeder effort was futile. Finally, after 17 days of nothing, birds began to come and feed and they have been coming in bunches. It is nice to watch them.

One of the other things I did was to change the bird food. I started out with a mixture of wild bird food consisting of various seeds. Then, I put sunflower pieces in the feeder. It is clear that the finches prefer the sunflower pieces to the wild bird food mixture. The finches also love thistle seed.

I am convinced that, first, it takes time for the birds to develop an interest or awareness of the bird feeder and second, the change of food was also important in attracting them.

So far we have had house finches, yellow finches (the middle photo) and cardinals come to eat at the bird feeder. The the male house finch (the top photo) has a little red around his head and neck. The female is entirely gray. The male cardinal (the bottom photo) is a bright red and the female is more the color of the wings of the male, much more gray in color.

Here is what each of our visitors look like.