Saturday, December 29, 2012

All together in the Temple!

Today is the day that Dan and I have anticipated since we were married in the temple on July 28, 1982. We were able to all be together in the St. George temple as a family. Our youngest son, Andrew Christian Flake, received his temple endowment tonight in preparation for his mission to El Salvador, San Salvador on February 20, 2013.

What a wonderful experience to have all four of our children and their spouses worthy and there with us in the temple. We were able to join together in prayer and then hug and celebrate in the celestial room together. Andrew was well prepared and enjoyed a nice evening with Dan as his escort.

It was a great treat to have so many of our ward family there to participate as well. It is Bishop Thompson's birthday tomorrow so Shanna Jones and the other Bishopric members came up with the idea that the best gift we could give our Bishop, would be for many of us to join together in a special temple night dedicated as a gift to him. The word was quietly spread as a surprise to attend in his honor and meet in the cafeteria after for cake, pie and ice cream. He began to wonder what was up when about 60 members or our ward family showed up for the 7:20 session on a Saturday night. We were pleased to have all of our children and spouses as well as our adopted family member, Brandy Iverson, and cousins Angie and Blake Jolley, who were visiting from up North. So we added 11 to that number.

Andrew was able to return to the temple the following week to be with his friend, Brian Angel, as he attended for his first time. We also have a trip planned next Saturday to attend the Mount Timpanogos temple with James and Tammy Flake as they are sealed.

Families are Forever!


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Sharing My Children with the World

Andrew Christian Flake received his mission call to serve in the El Salvador San Salvador mission in Central America. He will leave for the Guatemalan MTC on February 10. We are all so excited. Grateful for the announcement at General Conference by President Thomas S. Monson, that young men can begin serving missions at at 18, instead of 19 and young women can serve starting at age 19.

Today was fast Sunday. As I closed my fast with prayer, I had the distinct thought enter my mind that I am sharing a valuable gift with the world; it is my children. Although I hate having them away from home, I know what a great service that they are doing by living out in the mission field.

I know that Danielle and Steve would love to live in St. George or any Utah town; and I would love to have them close by. But I know what a great example they are for those that they come in contact with in Prescott,  AZ. Steve is the new Young Men's President and is really going to make a difference in the lives of the young men in his ward. If he lived in Utah, he could easily just be one of many able men sitting in his high priest class, not really being challenged or used to his potential. Same with Danielle. She has served as a ward missionary and is able to make friends and be an example to so many that she comes in contact with. She is a wonderful mommy to her children.

Lindsey and Carlton in Philadelphia are immersed in missionary work.  Another couple of baptisms this weekend. Carlton was even able to go help with the Hurricane Sandy clean up today and put on a Mormon Helping Hands  T-shirt. Every day they participate in some missionary service.

Dawson served so valiantly on his recent mission in San Jose missionary and now Andrew is off to bring the message of the gospel to the people in El Salvador! 

Monday, July 9, 2012

Blessings of Being Honost

I went by the Pine View Movie Theater the other day to try and find one of my graduating students so I could give her a yearbook. She wasn't there and as I left out the doors I spotted a $10. bill blowing along the sidewalk. I retrieved it and looked back to see if someone was paying who might have just lost it. I didn't see anyone at the window so I asked the attendant there and she said she didn't know who it might belong to.
I decided to go in and check with those people who were buying movie treats. One fellow said, "no it wasn't mine but it looks like you just got $10. richer." I decided to ask the young manager what the lost and found policy was for the Movie Theater. I was hoping he would take my name and call me if no one claimed it. He said there policy is that keep for a few weeks and if no one claims it, it just goes in to the profit of the company.
Now, I had a decision to make and I evaluated the possibilities quickly in my mind. I hated to add to the profit of the company when I can't afford to see many movies and maybe go to two a year because they are so expensive. Just then I noticed a young man behind the counter who is a youth in my ward. He was paying attention to my dilemma.What would I do?
Then I remembered the effort that my daughter, Lindsey had made to pay a subway token when I had visited her the week before. We had gone through the gated door with the baby stroller and didn't see a place to put her token in. She went to a great effort to go back and find a place to deposit the token to pay for her subway fare so she could be honest. That had made a great impression on me. In fact, I had made a goal shortly after that display of honesty, that I would try and be more honest. I am honest in most actions but when it comes to maybe getting a better deal on something or feeling like I deserve a break because I don't have a lot of money, I may not always be able to answer the question, "Is it really mine?"
So in that split second of contemplating my next action, I reluctantly gave the young manager the $10.00 and told him that I hope he could find the owner of the money. As I walked out the door, I felt good that I had made a good choice because the money did not belong to me. I appreciated Lindsey's great example for me.
On the way home, I stopped and picked up the mail at the box and in there was a note and a check for $40.00 for me. It was from someone that had borrowed some wedding decorations from me and a vase had broken and she wanted to pay for it. I had told her that it was no big deal because the vase had been given to me and so I wasn't out any money; but she sent the money anyway. What a marvel that the money arrived just moments after I had made a good choice to return the money that wasn't mine.
I have had similar instances like this before. I am aware that many tender mercies from the Lord are great teaching moments.

Talks on the Temple

Danielle and Steve gave talks in their new ward in Prescott, AZ on Sunday. Here are there talks:


Temple Talk (Danielle)

Introductions: Steve grew up in Orem, UT and served a mission to St. Louis MO. I grew up in St. George, UT and served in the Wash DC North mission in the temple Visitors Center. Met at BYU while living in the same ward. We met in May, first date in June and got engaged in June, Married in August. Four years of dental school in Portland, had Alexa who is 3 and expecting a baby boy at the end of August.

Temple blessings are our ultimate goal.

First of all, how lucky are we to have temples on the Earth at this time? I love the restored gospel.

Stories... How important is the temple to us? What sacrifices am I making to attend?

My grandma, who turns 80 this month, is a great example to me of how important temple blessings are. She had a goal when she was 16 to go to the temple. Here is her story in her words:

"When I was sixteen, I wanted to go to the temple to receive my own endowments. We lived in Kentucky at the time and the nearest temple was the Salt Lake Temple. I didn’t know anyone my age who had been, but I went to my Branch President and inquired. He wasn’t sure what age you could go, so he said he would check with the District President and let me know. The District President wasn’t sure either, so he checked with the Mission President in Louisville, Kentucky. The Mission President told him that President George Albert Smith was coming to the area in a few months, he would find out from him. About two months later, I received a call from the mission home, they told me that if I could be there on Sunday, President Smith would interview me. Aunt Ina drove me up and I met President Smith after conference. He took me in to an office and we talked. I was so nervous, I don't remember much about the interview, he began by asking me why I wanted to go to the temple. I told him that someday I wanted to be married in the temple, and that there were six girls my age in our little branch and only one boy. That four of the girls had already been married to non-member boys, one had been married and divorced already and that I felt that if I could get my own endowments, it would help me to stay strong and wait for someone who would take me to the temple. He must have asked me the usual questions they ask during a temple interview, but all I can remember is how kind and gentle he was. We talked over an hour and then he shook my hand and said “Sister Hatton, you may go to the temple!”

My grandma then made the long drive across the states with her family to SLC. They were all sealed together and my grandma received her endowment. She and my grandpa were later married in the temple and had 9 kids and now have close to 70 grand kids. Many temple marriages have resulted from her desire to receive the temple blessings.
When I think of sacrificing for the blessings of the temple I can't help but think of the early saints who gave so much to build such precious buildings.

From the book, Our Heritage, which is part of the missionary library:

Only 15 months after founding Nauvoo, the First Presidency, obedient to revelation, announced that the time had now come “to erect a house of prayer, a house of order, a house for the worship of our God, where the ordinances can be attended to agreeable to His divine will.” Though poor and struggling to provide for their own families, Latter-day Saints responded to their leaders’ call and began donating time and means toward constructing a temple. More than 1,000 men donated every tenth day in labor. Louisa Decker, a young girl, was impressed that her mother sold her china dishes and a fine bed quilt as her temple contribution. Other Latter-day Saints gave horses, wagons, cows, pork, and grain to aid in the temple’s construction. The women of Nauvoo were asked to contribute their dimes and pennies for the temple fund.

Caroline Butler had no pennies or dimes to contribute, but she wanted very much to give something. One day while going to the city in a wagon, she saw two dead buffalo. Suddenly she knew what her temple gift could be. She and her children pulled the long hair from the buffaloes’ manes and took it home with them. They washed and carded the hair and spun it into coarse yarn, then knitted eight pairs of heavy mittens that were given to the rock cutters working on the temple in the bitter winter cold.

Mary Fielding Smith, wife of Hyrum Smith, wrote to Latter-day Saint women in England, who within a year gathered 50,000 pennies, weighing 434 pounds, that were shipped to Nauvoo. Farmers donated teams and wagons; others sold some of their land and donated the money to the building committee. Many watches and guns were contributed. The Saints in Norway, Illinois, sent 100 sheep to Nauvoo to be used by the temple committee.

Brigham Young remembered: “We did much hard labor on the Nauvoo temple, during which time it was difficult to get bread and other provisions for the workmen to eat.” Still, President Young counseled those in charge of temple funds to give out all the flour they had, confident that the Lord would provide. Within a short time Joseph Toronto, a recent convert to the Church from Sicily, arrived in Nauvoo, bringing with him $2,500 in gold, which he laid at the feet of the Brethren. These life savings of Brother Toronto were used to replenish the flour and to purchase other much needed supplies.

JS Revelations:

Shortly after the Saints arrived in Nauvoo, the Lord revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith that baptisms could be performed for dead ancestors who had not heard the gospel (see D&C 124:29–39). Many Saints took great comfort in the promise that the dead might have the same blessings as those who accept the gospel here on earth.
The Prophet also received an important revelation concerning the teachings, covenants, and blessings that are now called the temple endowment. This sacred ordinance was to enable the Saints “to secure the fullness of those blessings” that would prepare them to “come up and abide in the presence of … Eloheim in the eternal worlds.” After receiving the endowment, husbands and wives could be sealed together by the power of the priesthood for time and all eternity...

Why would these Saints work so hard to complete a building they would soon leave behind? Almost 6,000 Latter-day Saints received their endowments before leaving Nauvoo. As they turned their eyes toward their western migration, they were bolstered in faith and secure in the knowledge that their families were eternally sealed together. Tear-stained faces, ready to move on after burying a child or spouse on America’s vast prairie, were resolute largely because of the assurances contained in the ordinances they had received in the temple.

Thankfully, people all over the world are being blessed by having temples built close to them. President Monson, in the April 2011 conference, shared examples of this blessing. President Monson said:
The goal President Joseph F. Smith hoped for in 1902 is becoming a reality. Our desire is to make the temple as accessible as possible to our members.

One of the temples currently under construction is in Manaus, Brazil. Many years ago I read of a group of over a hundred members who left Manaus, located in the heart of the Amazon rain forest, to travel to what was then the closest temple, located in São Paulo, Brazil—nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Manaus. Those faithful Saints journeyed by boat for four days on the Amazon River and its tributaries. After completing this journey by water, they boarded buses for another three days of travel—over bumpy roads, with very little to eat, and with nowhere comfortable to sleep. After seven days and nights, they arrived at the temple in São Paulo, where ordinances eternal in nature were performed. Of course their return journey was just as difficult. However, they had received the ordinances and blessings of the temple, and although their purses were empty, they themselves were filled with the spirit of the temple and with gratitude for the blessings they had received. Now, many years later, our members in Manaus are rejoicing as they watch their own temple take shape on the banks of the Rio Negro. Temples bring joy to our faithful members wherever they are built.

President Monson continues: Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort.

Today most of us do not have to suffer great hardships in order to attend the temple. Eighty-five percent of the membership of the Church now live within 200 miles (320 km) of a temple, and for a great many of us, that distance is much shorter.

If you have been to the temple for yourselves and if you live within relatively close proximity to a temple, your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly. There is much to be done in our temples in behalf of those who wait beyond the veil. As we do the work for them, we will know that we have accomplished what they cannot do for themselves...

If you have not yet been to the temple or if you have been but currently do not qualify for a recommend, there is no more important goal for you to work toward than being worthy to go to the temple. Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.

Until you have entered the house of the Lord and have received all the blessings which await you there, you have not obtained everything the Church has to offer. The all-important and crowning blessings of membership in the Church are those blessings which we receive in the temples of God.

I'm so grateful for a living prophet...

One of my favorite prophets from the Book of Mormon has also helped me realize the importance of the temple for my family. Nephi and his family were receiving guidance from the Lord about how to build a ship to get to the promised land. But as I read closely, I realize that we can use these instructions to help us "build" our families so we can make it back to live with our Heavenly Father together. As I read, please compare the timbers of the ship to our family members:

In 1 Nephi 18:1-4 Nephi says,
1 And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.
2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.
3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.
4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.

I know that the Lord will help us and our families...

Make the temple our ultimate goal.

Do our families know how important the temple is?

Testify...
 
Temple Blessings Talk 7/8/12 (Steve)

Based on Elder Richard G. Scott: Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need


1.      Go to temple to get blessings
·         D & C 130: 20-21 - All blessings based on obedience
·         Difficulty attending temple?-set a goal
ü  Elder Scott: Because I love you, I am going to speak to you heart to heart, without mincing words. I have seen that many times individuals have made great sacrifices to go to a distant temple. But when a temple is built close by, within a short time, many do not visit it regularly. I have a suggestion: When a temple is conveniently nearby, small things may interrupt your plans to go to the temple. Set specific goals, considering your circumstances, of when you can and will participate in temple ordinances. Then do not allow anything to interfere with that plan. This pattern will guarantee that those who live in the shadow of a temple will be as blessed as are those who plan far ahead and make a long trip to the temple.
ü  Things will get in your way-don't allow anything to get in the way
ü  Furthest I have ever been from a temple
·         Suggestions for more meaningful temple service  
            1. Understand the doctrine related to temple ordinances, especially the       significance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 1
         2.  Leave sufficient time to be unhurried within the temple walls.
3. Rotate activities so that you can participate in all of the ordinances of   the temple.
      4. Remove your watch when you enter a house of the Lord.
      5. Be mindful of the individual for whom you are performing the vicarious ordinance.  At times pray that he or she will recognize the vital importance of the ordinances and be worthy or prepare to be worthy to benefit from them.

2.  Temple blessings

         A. Hope and Faith in Jesus Christ:

         I would like to relate the experience of an ancestor of my wife.  Her name is Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich. Her commentary shows the impact that the temple can have in our lives. When she was 31 years old, she received a calling from Brigham Young to work in the Nauvoo Temple, where all the ordinances possible were performed before the Saints had to abandon that temple. This is what she wrote:
         “Many were the blessings we had received in the house of the Lord, which has caused us joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows and enabled us to have faith in God, knowing He would guide us and sustain us in the unknown journey that lay before us. For if it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was bestowed upon us in that temple by the influence and help of the Spirit of the Lord, our journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark. To start out on such a journey in the winter as it were and in our state of poverty, it would seem like walking into the jaws of death. But we had faith in our Heavenly Father, and we put our trust in Him feeling that we were His chosen people and had embraced His gospel, and instead of sorrow, we felt to rejoice that the day of our deliverance had come.”

         B. Peace
                    
                     a. Time away from the world
                     b. Reminder of better things
                     c. Elder Scott put it this way: What I am trying to teach is that when we keep the temple covenants we have made and when we live righteously in order to maintain the blessings promised by those ordinances, then come what may, we have no reason to worry or to feel despondent.
                     d. This "worry" he speaks of is not just spiritual worry, but the temporal worries we have as well.  Jesus Christ himself taught this principal in Matt. 6: 25-34

         C. Revelation

                     a. 1 Nephi 11:1
                     b. Brother of Jared gives of a little more insight into receiving revelation from the Lord during temple service: Ether 3: 1,2,4

         D. Eternal Families

                        a. A principal known by all, but only taught and authorized by the church.
                     D&C 132: 18-19 and D&C 131: 1-4
                       
                        b.  Fourteen years ago the Lord took my wife beyond the veil. I love her with all my heart, but I have never complained because I know it was His will. I have never asked why but rather what is it that He wants me to learn from this experience. I believe that is a good way to face the unpleasant things in our lives, not complaining but thanking the Lord for the trust He places in us when He gives us the opportunity to overcome difficulties.
We had the blessing of having children. A daughter, the first child, continues to be an enormous blessing in our lives. A couple of years later a son we named Richard was born. A few years later a daughter was born. She died after living only a few minutes.
Our son, Richard, was born with a heart defect. We were told that unless that could be cured, there was little probability that he would live more than two or three years. This was so long ago that techniques now used to repair such defects were unknown. We had the blessing of having a place where doctors agreed to attempt to perform the needed surgery. The surgery had to be done while his little heart was beating.
The surgery was performed just six weeks after the birth and death of our baby daughter. When the operation finished, the principal surgeon came in and said it was a success. And we thought, “How wonderful! Our son will have a strong body, be able to run and walk and grow!” We expressed deep gratitude to the Lord. Then about 10 minutes later, the same doctor came in with an ashen face and told us, “Your son has died.” Apparently the shock of the operation was more than his little body could endure.
Later, during the night, I embraced my wife and said to her, “We do not need to worry, because our children were born in the covenant. We have the assurance that we will have them with us in the future. Now we have a reason to live extremely well. We have a son and a daughter who have qualified to go to the celestial kingdom because they died before the age of eight.” That knowledge has given us great comfort. We rejoice in the knowledge that all seven of our children are sealed to us for time and all eternity.
            E. Story of Anthony Leggett if I need to fill more time- acted as escort for one of my converts
            F.  I leave you with the questions that Elder Scott posed in his talk: What is there that is more important than attending and participating in the ordinances of the temple? What activity could have a greater impact and provide more joy and profound happiness for a couple than worshipping together in the temple?





                    

           

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Andrew's talk at Stake Conference Priesthood Leadership Session

Andrew was asked to give a talk to the men at the Priesthood Leadership meeting:


I would like to share with you my perspective as a Youth how I have been taught how to serve from my Young mens leaders. I have been blessed to have had such good leaders that have taught me how and why they serve. Being in Young mens I have heard many lessons on service and charity: however, what speaks to me louder than their words is their examples. By their examples of showing genuine love to our quorum, it shows me what I want to strive to do in my own life.
            One example that stands out to me is when our teachers quorum went on our weeklong campout. Kevin Callahan and Mike Allred prepared for this outing months prior to it ordering throwing knives, grocery shopping, and making sure we were prepared camp. I was amazed to see how much effort they put into it even though they knew they were risking their lives taking me and a dozen other teachers up on Boulder Mountain with sharp objects in our possession.
My scout leaders had put in a lot of time and effort and it turned out to be a fun and successful scout camp.
President Uchtdorf told this story about when he was a young man in last conference.   ……………………………           
Like President Uchtdorf said, I think it is important to understand why we get called to do service.  Not only is service obeying the lords first commandment of loving out neighbors, but it makes you feel good while doing it. Some of the more meaningfull service projects I have done with my quorums are ones that weren’t necessarily planned, but ones that the boys saw someone in need and we all agreed that we should help out whoever was in need.
            As you look for opportunities for your quorums to do service, don’t be afraid to let us as young men get out of our comfort zones. During last fall’s general conference, President Eyring shared a story about this:……………………….

 (Being asked as a young teacher to go with the Bishop to fulfill an assignment)
 
I think that by showing the youth how to serve by example, allowing them to lead out on their own to find opportunities for service, and letting us get out of our comfort zones, you will get a unified quorum that wants to serve.
            On top of being an example of serving to your young men’s groups, I think it is very important that you are an example of service to your families and your sons. I hear my priest quorum leaders: brother Luekenga, brother Clark, and brother West telling about their sons playing sports and all the time they donate to help them and support them. They are an example of how I should serve my family. 
            My dad is also a great example of giving service. Last weekend me and my dad were helping the deacons and teachers quorums with their camp outs. We got back Saturday and decided to go boating at the lake. We loaded up and drove by our neighbor who was landscaping his front yard. I saw that he could use help but kept quiet because I wanted to go to the lake, but then my dad said "the lake can wait boys,  we better help!”  So  my dad turned the truck around and we stopped and helped dig holes for our neighbors plants he was putting in. I look back now and am grateful that we could help out our neighbor and still be able to go to the lake.