Week 30 - November 17-25

Christmas is coming to temple square.  This week early in the morning as we walked to the Family History Library we saw the grounds crew putting up lanterns around the little log home we pass.

 

My brother-in-law's sister made 

this wooden children's Christmas puzzle.

The puzzle is fun in two ways:  

1. as a puzzle and 2.  to setup as a manger.

We took our four day holiday to return to California to spend Thanksgiving with two sons and their families and do doctor appointments.  When we arrive in Oakland on Wednesday morning the sun was just rising.  It was beautiful.

Elder Koberstein treated me to a beautiful Thanksgiving bouquet of flowers for our Thanksgiving table.  I have enjoyed them all weekend.

Friday we hiked in Black Diamond Mines and stayed dry most of the hike.  This picture is looking down Markley Canyon at the San Joaquin River.  California has not yet had enough rain to make the hills green.

This is Rose Hill Cemetery used for burial when Black Diamond coal mine was open.  The area was a bustling community between 1850-1910.  It was part of the town of Sommersville where coal and then white sand were mined.  Many of the Atlas canning jars were made from the sand mined here.  Today this graveyard is one of the few reminders of another time.

Hiking up to one of the mine openings.

An opening to one of the sand mines.  The tracks 

were used to carry the sand out of the mine in carts.

Saturday Weston and Myra treated us to a breakfast from Golden Bakery in Pittsburg.  These buns are:  l to r barbecue beef, curry and pineapple.  They pineapple buns do not have pineapple in them.  They are called pineapple because of the look of the topping which make them look like the outside of a pineapple.  Myra says they are the least expensive in China and her family had then often.  They are very much like some of the buns we found in Japan.

 

 Saturday the family went to "The Musical Scrooge" based on Dickens' well-known "A Christmas Carol" on Temple Hill.  We were able to attend the matinee and watch Lynn dance.  He was in many scenes but listed as a phantom dancer in the program.

The Oakland Temple Hill is ready for Christmas.  

The manger is up in its usual place.

One of the two fountains was running. 

 

Another shot at the new look of the fountain

 as we left the Interstake Center.

The rain cleared up the smoke from the Paradise fire.
The city of San Francisco was visible from Temple Hill.

THOUGHT FOR YOU

Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.

For that which ye do sent out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all.  Alma 41: 14-15

Week 29 - November 12-17

Monday evening was our branches "Hail and Farewell" dinner.  It is a Monday evening when all the full time missionaries in our City Creek Branch have a pot luck dinner and welcome new full time missionaries who have arrived in the mission the past two months and say goodbye to those who will be going home in the next two months.  One of the highlights of the evening is when the young Elders in the branch sing "Called to Serve" to the senior missionaries.  This is a picture of them singing.

Elder Koberstein and I had the opportunity to walk from the Family History Library to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Friday with a couple from Russia that are interested in serving a mission.  They have been members of the church for twenty years in Sochie, Russia.  Fun to share a few minutes with them.  On the walk back to the Family History Library the sunlight was beautiful on the Salt Lake Temple. 

Saturday we drive to Logan and attend two of our grand children's piano recital at The Red Balloon Toy Store.  I took this picture of the Brigham City Temple as we drove through Brigham City.

Our five year old grand daughter played "Old MacDonald" and Dancing Drums".  She has been playing since September.

Our eight year old Grandson played "My Best Friend" as a duet with his mother and then "Tarantula's Twist" alone.  He has played for about a year.  After the recital we were invited out to "The Pizza Place".  It was fun to sit, visit and eat together at a favorite place for the grand kids.

Sunday I was given the opportunity to cook dinner for my sister and her husband.  I chose to cook Honey-Mustard Chicken with roasted winter vegetables.  I generally do not like Brussels sprouts but his recipe has made me a believer that sometimes they are meant to be eaten.

Look what we found on the way to sacrament meeting this afternoon.  Temple square is getting ready for Christmas.  This manger scene looks like it could be from Japan using Kokeshi dolls.  Wikipedia defines "Kokeshi (こけし, 小芥子 kokeshi), are Japanese dolls, originally from northeastern region (Tōhoku-chihō) of Japan. They are handmade from wood, have a simple trunk and head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face."

A THOUGHT FOR YOU

And it came to pass that I (Nephi) said unto them (Laman & Lemuel) that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they shall be lifted up at the last day; Wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.

And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that  ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of truth, and say:  Thou speakest hard things against us.  -1 Nephi 16 2-3

Week 28 - November 5-11 More thoughts

As I looked at the stain glass window in the Cedar City temple, it reminded me of two other temples I had visited.

What does the Provo City Center, Cedar City and Star Valley Wyoming temples have in common?

These three temple share restored antique stain glass windows from the First Presbyterian Church of Astoria in New York.

These beautiful windows were commissioned by local member for their new church building in the early 1900's and put in the historic 1920 property.  The church had six windows portrayed Christ in different Biblical scenes.  The First Presbyterian Church of Astoria in New York had to sell their historic 1920 property in 2008 because of stacking debt and low attendance.

Tom Holdman of Holdman Studios in Orem, Utah writes "Many years ago I was approached by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an art donor with the possibly of healing and resurrecting antique art glass windows of the depictions of Christ.  

The three  panels were rescued by Anthony's Antiques from a Presbyterian Church in New York that has since been demolished.  

As we studied them carefully, we found that there was incredible wear, poor restoration attempts and hundreds of broken pieces and damage from the removal of the windows.  The art donor, LDS church, and Holdman Studios, along with a bit of trepidation, agreed to move forward with hope.  We felt we could honor the original artists and make the windows testify even greater of a higher power.  We accepted the monumental challenge.

The openings that had been set aside for such pieces in various temples were drastically different from the window sizes.  Each window was also in three sections and needed to be merged into one.  We knew this meant changing many pieces that were not broken in order to lace the seams.  We even rescued glass from the Provo Tabernacle fire for replacement pieces."  -The Story of the Stained Glass Windows in three temples-posted November 14, 2017 in Temple Facts

Provo City Center Temple announced 

1 October 2011 received the window of

 Christ as a shepherd.

It is in the temple's entry 

behind the recommend desk.

The Star Valley Temple announced 

1 October 2011, received the second window.

It depicts Christ knocking at the door.

It is housed in the entryway of the 

Star Valley Wyoming temple.

The Cedar City temple was announced 6 April 2013. 

It is the home of the third glass window.

This is a beautiful depiction of 

Christ in a field of lilies.

The window is also behind the recommend desk.

This past week as Elder Koberstein and I entered this temple.  It reminded me of the two other temple's windows.  I then did research to find out if this window was also from the same collections.  I am grateful for a church that appreciates beautiful antique art.  I love these windows and the temples they are in.

Week 28 - November 5-11

This week was our, once a month, opportunity to spend a half day doing research and half a day doing temple work.  As a result we decided to drive to St George.  We saw these beautiful snow covered peaks as we drove down.  We were surprised at how high the mountain tops were.

The St. George FamilySearch center is within eye sight of the St. George Temple.  Elder Koberstein and I are looking forward to the day that we have a FamilySearch center near our home in California.

 I spent the day writing a life sketch about Olive Boynton Hale.  I learned that "when Olive was a girl she became acquainted with Jonathan Harriman Hale, a young man from her home town...While living at Dover, New Hampshire, there came into the neighborhood some missionaries telling of a strange new book, translated from golden plates.  This book they were  permitted to read.  Their hearts were touched and they soon became converted, and Olive and her husband Jonathan were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Elder Gladden Bishop, the branch President of the Church at Westerfield, New York.  They were baptized on 13 June 1834." These quotes were taken from the history written by Louie Ann Hale Call, a granddaughter.  It was a fun afternoon to summarize the life of this Great Great Grandmother.

We then had the opportunity to take my nephew Michael's sweet little family out to dinner.  We went to Red Fort Cuisine of India.  They have nan bread and curry much like we enjoyed in Japan.  It was fun to visit for a few minutes with them. 

Elder Koberstein and I then enjoyed an evening endowment session at the Saint George temple.  I have been to the temple site a few times but never able to go inside (young children or the temple was closed for cleaning).  It was fun to be able to go inside.  The Saint George temple was the first dedicated temple after the saints moved from Nauvoo.  It was dedicated January 1, 1877 by Brigham Young.  It was build on swampy and unstable soil but "Brigham Young insisted on the site, saying it had been dedicated by the Nephites.  Pioneers used a cannon, now displayed at the temple Visitor's Center, to pack volcanic rock to firm up the ground for the foundation.

A year after its dedication, lightning destroyed the temple's original tower.  Interestingly, Brigham Young was never pleased with the tower, calling it "Squatty."  The taller more splendid tower seen today was rebuilt several years later." -quote from "The Utah Temples Passport Tour Guide"

Elder Koberstein and I spent the night in Hurricane, Utah were we watched the BYU/University of Massachusetts football game Saturday morning before we headed to the Cedar City temple.

The Cedar City temple was dedicated December 10, 2017.  In many ways it looks like the Saint George temple but sports an Angle Moroni on its tower.  It is so new that it has not had time for trees to have grown around it.

 This temple can be seen from the freeway as you drive toward Cedar City.

"Early settlers dreamed of having a House of the Lord.  The popular 1850's LDS Hymn, "High on the Mountain Top", was written by Joel Hill Johnson, a nearby resident of Cedar City.  More than 170 years later, Johnson's dream is reality.  This sacred structure now crests the top of Cedar City's Leigh Hill." -quote from The Utah Temples Passport Tour Guide/picture of Joel Hill Johnson from Wikipedia

A THOUGHT FOR YOU

For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.

For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore the course of the Lord is one eternal round.  1 Nephi 10: 18-19

Week 27 - October 29- November 4

Monday morning, as Elder Koberstein and I walked in the dark over to the Joseph Smith Memorial building for our morning mission devotional we trudged through piles of fallen leaves.  It was fun to kick them as you walked.  After the devotional I wanted a picture but the grounds crew was already busy cleaning them up.  Notice the tree with light stings on its trunk.  The ground crew is preparing for Christmas all ready.

When my sister and her husband invited us to live with them after we received our mission call, I was excited because I would once again have the opportunity to play this antique Hale family piano.  It was in my childhood home and I was given piano lessons but never willing to practice enough to learn to play simple church hymns.  It was purchased by my grandparents in the early 1900's so their children could learn to play.  My father used to entertain my siblings and I by playing church hymns we knew.

Elder Koberstein and I decided that Saturday, maybe one of the last good days, to bike City Creek Canyon.  The canyon offers more than 1450 vertical feet of climbing in 6.8 miles from Memory Grove in Salt Lake City to the head of City Creek.

We biked six miles up the canyon and then turned around because it was getting late and cold.  We were not sure how much farther it was to the springs head.  Maybe someday we will make it all the way.

The ride was beautiful with City Creek often right at the roads edge.

 This is the station at the end of the road cars can drive on.

It is a beautiful ride up to the evergreen pine trees from the valley floor.

This is the City Creek water plant in the canyon.

Elder Koberstein taking a break on the constant gradual ride up the canyon.

The road gets narrower but is paved and without cars was plenty wide.  It was a fun ride, just wish we had a little more time.  The coasting six miles down to the car was very cold.  As I returned to the car Bonneville Blvd gate was closed, the smaller pedestrian gate to the right and left were open.  I miscalculated my speed and hit the ramp wrong and took a spill.

Thankful it was not worse, though I am sore with a large bruise on my chin and a sore, not but broken left arm. The heater in the car was welcome on the ride back to Bountiful.

THOUGHT FOR YOU

"If you think the Church has been fully restored, you are just seeing the beginning.  There is much more to come." -President Russel M Nelson