A Great Place to Learn

I thought it looked like black balloons but our senior missionary dept. group called it the bowling ball tree. There were many elegant, tall, lovely Christmas trees all over the buildings but this one wasn't quite the same and we're not sure who chose it for the cafeteria.

 I mentioned in the last post that we (mostly I) finally got to go to training. It included a short devotional every morning, many classes/presentations on various aspects of computer use and family history, and breaks for inspirational talks from mission presidency.  One devotional I wish was recorded so I could regain details - the speaker mentioned many great men born ahead of wars, troubles,  "God sends babies, not battles"

President Parker and his wife from the mission presidency spoke, about the time people were feeling like the training was a lot to take in -  titled "You've Got This!".  (It seems not too long ago this training was twice as long and included frequent tests! One on one asked questions! We are all glad that changed.)  Some notes: "scriptures define scriptures" (often the best place to learn more about understanding a particular scripture is through other scripture).     Doctrine and Covenants 13 - what is the offering? see Numbers 18:7    Lord took the Levites unto himself - they were temple workers, no longer one of the 12 tribes, see Doctrine and Covenants 84:5,31-34 "acceptable offering" - Section 84 preparing for temple covenants; magnifying calling = magnifying covenants , ordain=obtain   DC128:24, 138:31-33  Heb 10- gate=veil. Doctrine and Covenants 121:26-27 describes Family Search.   "Let God prevail and you will have miracles to triumph"

Since devotionals are in the JSMB, I can slip in photos from the chapel when I learned the screened area below the organ pipes has the little organ pipes! You can only see them when the lights are on back there

Mission Devotional - once a month instead of early on Monday morning (which we zoom while answering phones and dealing with things that came in over the weekend) we have an evening devotional with a special speaker. One time it was Elder Clark C Gilbert "When God asks us to give up something, He always is going to give us something better" He quoted Elder Rasband: "I ask you today to align your desires, efforts, activities and personal prayers with the direction given by Pres. Nelson, the prophet of God on the earth today"

"Choose to follow our living prophet and you will never be distanced from the Savior Jesus Christ"

Following the Savior is a pattern you establish in your life

Stop increasing your doubts by repeating them to other doubters

The next month we had a very interesting one, the author of several books, Keith Erekson, speaking about Mormon Myths and how not to be gullible. He used three great examples, from "Elvis's Book of Mormon" (that always did seem fishy to me but apparently for 30 years no one had really looked closely at it - nope, it wasn't his, sorry) to a quote wrongly attributed in literally millions of places online to Sister Hinckley (Which took a huge amount of work to track down, which I can relate to as I have tried finding authoritative attributions for some quotes to calligraph without much success).  He strongly advises that if you want to share a quote but find yourself saying "I can't remember who exactly said this but..." then don't share. Only if you have four things: author, exact words, original setting, source.  He gave an example of stopping himself and going back to find the four things and how that not only taught him more but made it possible to use the quote later in another setting much more important. He told of a youth conference or girls camp where they used a wonderful-sounding line from scripture as their theme and some of the young women found that in the scriptures it was actually said by Satan and not used in the manner the theme meant.

Belle Spafford, left, Leone Layton, right, circa 1960

Another blessing  of the training week was getting reminded about things we can access or request access to from the church history library. I mentioned something to my sister who said papers from our grandmother Leone Layton were in there (she worked closely with Belle Spafford on the Relief Society General Board for many years) and so I looked them up and requested digital access to some. It was pretty interesting to skim through. Much of it was material she wrote for Relief Society "conventions," often about teacher training and including at least two extensive pieces about reading and books in the home. A few choice bits:

in 1947 there was something about using the full true name of the church :)

1949 quote from a Dr. Dewey "One might as well say that someone has sold when no one has bought and to say that someone has taught when no one has learned"

Plans (and reasons) for a three-year course of study on the US Constitution (She helped with writing RS lesson manuals)

Much about helping children learn to read lots of good books - "not to dictate but to cultivate" taste. Great novels have substance and meaning.  Avoiding bad/poor books: keeping them from "sitting down with persons in a book they wouldn't invite into their home"- protect children from bad associates.

A quote she used that seems even more relevant today: "One of the surest ways I know to help your children climb over false political, racial, economic and religious barriers, and move forward into a world where people of high courage and bounteous good will live, is to give them good books and more and more good books" Katherine F. Lenroot (Children's Bureau)

 (some of you might not know there was a time the church published a literature course for the sisters to help them be more educated- "Out of the Best Books", which my mother had on her shelves. Five volumes of literary anthology and the only one I ever took off the shelf was the one with fiction. Near as I can tell they were put together in the early 1960's which is a little later than I had thought.)  "better to have a little dust on the furniture than to have it on her brain" These books went out to the Relief Society sisters and were discussed in lessons. It may help to remember that Relief Society was on a weekday at the time.

Other interesting bits:

among notes for a convention -- "Sept 24,1914  unanimous vote of General Board to issue a Relief Society Magazine at a cost of $1.00 per year, illustrated with 48 pages. It would include information about genealogy, clothing, healthy cooking, books, art in the home, "notes from the field", stories and poems. The first year paid its own way plus surplus and credit was given to stake presidents who had encouraged subscribing."

notes from welfare conf: McConkie (Bruce R) "the fields of compassionate service have not all been plowed"

HB Brown quoting an "aged Relief Society worker": "There is a lot of room in Heaven but there is no place to sit down"

Over the years the Relief Society did sericulture (silk production), nursing classes, built a hospital and other buildings, gathered wheat to store and built the storage facilities for it.  Lessons included Literature of the Bible, efforts were made promoting registering to vote and getting vaccinated. (if you haven't read "Daughters in My Kingdom" you ought to :) And I love the way they even give the description and source for items used in chapter heading photos.).

RS Magazine vol 2 p 21 speaking of Joseph F Smith: "He then read scripture to show that an elect lady is one elected to preside"

Meanwhile in the office we still have a few people there in person and they have great stories...

More stories about the Marshall Islands; the mission leaders used a small fishing boat to visit other islands, it was slow going and they would fish along the way and bring the fish to feed the island. In turn the islanders would kill a pig which the mission president's wife was not in favor of - they would have to go to the other side so she heard less screaming and she didn't like pork anyway. The mission rule was to sail so you always saw land - if you could see the two trees on the island you were headed to you could go out of sight of the previous island, otherwise back up and try heading out again. For the longer trip they chartered a boat (nine hours in good weather, up to fifteen) and used the expertise of the natives who could read the oceans and knew all the currents, etc. They had maps of the ocean currents made of sticks.

We had an interesting zone devotional (short zoom meetings Tues and Thurs. first thing, we don't always make it due to getting things started in the office and the tricky links they send)  by a descendant of William H Folsom who was major temple architect early in the church days. He was self-taught  but willing and obedient . Uchtdorf "God will take your talents and abilities and magnify them like loaves and fishes" maybe paraphrased :) Maxwell:  God does not begin by asking our ability, only our availability, and if we prove our dependability, He will increase our capability. 

Our own experience notes: having a Monday holiday did not make the work week seem shorter! it seemed like two weeks at least. Many complicated questions and tasks that are not easy to do since almost no one is in the office to ask questions of and there is always something new. Covid continues to make things extra complicated, for instance a mission office called to find out why they got itineraries for two elders to arrive there in Canada and then got a form saying those two were going to Ohio, so (after the usual hold) we talked to Travel who did some asking and checking and didn't know and finally after visiting our friends in the prefield department around the corner, I got directed to the right person to ask and found that those two had tested positive at the MTC and couldn't travel internationally yet so they were going to a US mission until the next transfer date for the Canada one. It took a lot of time on hold and at least four different people to get the straight scoop so the mission president could know whether to take them off his transfer plan. At least having more missionaries going to an actual in-person MTC cuts down on some of the things that stake presidents have to deal with (though the unvaccinated still have to do it all remotely). So basically we had a lot of rather tedious times and the days seemed very long, but on the other hand the months fly. We learned that when the general authorities get their new assignments after conference they often move secretaries around, one who is often in the office not far from us is moving to work for the First Presidency.

We do  get to have a special mission conference with Elder Renlund and his wife and two other general authorities and wives this Friday.  Unfortunately because of the continued rise in Covid cases they changed it to all virtual. We will end up zooming from the office which will definitely not be like in-person meeting. At least I think we can set our phones to "do not disturb." We were invited to send questions for Elder Renlund.

Just for kicks,  I'm sure we haven't changed a bit -

Our first Christmas, 1976, that's my youngest brother Bill in the background

Christmas 2021, do you like the sheep heading to Bethlehem?