Journal Entry from the Past 20 Mar 2002

Yesterday, March 19, which is Michael's birthday, I decided to make a road trip to Burlington to take him his birthday gift – a new flag for his grave. I try to replace it yearly. He would have been 29.

I prefer to remember his birthday, as it was one of the three happiest days of my life. The day he was called Home, was not a happy day for me, but perhaps for him, as he was released from the trial of life as we know it.

The six hour drive included light rain all the way. I kept praying that it would subside so that when I got to the cemetery it would be dry. But, it continued.

So, I replaced his flag and attached a small angel that was left from another who loved him also many moons ago. We don't know who, but it doesn't matter. It is good to see that others have come to say "hello" and "I remember".

As I stood in the drizzle, talking out loud to him, tears of a humble mother fell freely. This was the hardest time I have had while visiting him. Perhaps this year was the hardest, as I am also going through the empty nest syndrome.

Not knowing what I am suppose to do next, has really set my mind into a state of confusion.

Well meaning friends and family give me advice, but the end decision has to come from me, through the answer I receive from my Father in Heaven. I find if I make decisions from his counsel, then life seems to flow a lot easier, without as many stumbling blocks.

He has always promised it won't necessarily be easy, but it will be worth it. He has never let me down, so I proceed on knowing that He has a plan for me. One that I can and will live with.

Right now, the plan is not clear, but it will come, with time, patience and prayer.

On my way home, I made a quick stop to say hi to Ceci in her cute, new shop and then on through Nauvoo to catch a glimpse of the temple. All I can say is, "wow!" It is gorgeous and so white. White as purity; as He ask us to live our lives. 

Nauvoo is full of hustle and bustle and I thought of the times past when the temple was being built and how it must have looked all a flurry. Exciting times in which we are blessed to live. Should I or would I move back there? If He says I should, then I would.

Then it was on the Keokuk to say hi to Mom and leave her a new flag. Cemeteries have a neat spirit of serenity and are so clean and peaceful. The birds are singing as spring is in the air.

The three hundred mile/six hour drive home gives me more time to ponder the day and life in general. No decisions are made, but I know they will come.

Nauvoo Illinois Temple

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

My Love for the Relief Society

By Lavona Richardson

As we celebrate the birthday of Relief Society today, March 17, 2010, I am thinking about Relief Society and the influence of being a member of this great women’s organization has been in my life.  I first became a member of Relief Society as a student at BYU and now have been a member of that great organization for almost 60 years.

I remember the two years we were in Nauvoo and the opportunity I had to be in the Red Brick Store and reenact the organization of this great organization where it actually happened.  One year we all dressed in our period clothes and reenacted exactly as it happened from the minutes of the meeting.  I felt that I was there in 1842 when the Prophet Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society.  Another year in Nauvoo as we met at the Red Brick Store I was invited to share with my Nauvoo missionary sisters some of my Relief Society experiences through the years. 

I enjoyed serving as a site missionary in the Sarah Granger Kimball home located on the banks of the Mississippi River.  It was here where the idea of a women’s organization to help make clothes for the workers at the Nauvoo Temple first began.  They planned to organize like other women groups of the day but Joseph Smith said it needed to be organized after the same pattern as the priesthood.

Today as I reflect back on the influence the Relief Society has had on my life I think of my mother, Irene Stratton Flake, who served in Relief Society most of her life and always expressed joy at being able to serve.  Her birthday is on March 18^th so at our home we celebrated both the Relief Society’s birthday and my mother’s birthday at the same time.  As a young missionary in Mexico I was privileged to help organize the Relief Society in Aguascalientes and Monterrey.  I remember being the translator for my mission mother and going with her to the new areas opened up in the mission to organize Relief Society in the new branches.  I also helped write an article about Relief Society in our mission paper each month.

When I was a young mother with three small children, my husband Jay graduated from dental school and we moved into a new ward in Tempe where we knew no one.  We were there less than a week when Marlene, our 2- year-old daughter, became seriously ill with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Puerperal.  She required a bone marrow test and lots of extra care.  Sister Mills, my Relief Society visiting teacher learned of our needs and was there to help me with care of our baby and our 3- year- old making it possible for me to spend many hours in the hospital.  She also brought in meals and was so Christ-like in her service.

A few years later Jay was seriously burned.  He required dressing the burns several times each day for several weeks.  Again a sweet Relief Society visiting teacher came to our rescue.  Sister Wiehrdt, a registered nurse, appeared at our door shortly after the incident to help care for the burn.  She came back to our home many more times to dress the burn and care for it.

One time I was assigned as a visiting teacher to a less active sister.  I faithfully went by her home at least once a month but never was allowed in.  Often I would leave a note or a loaf of bread at her door, with no response from her.  After three years of faithfully visiting her each month, one day when I stopped to see her she came to the door and said, “I was praying that you would come.”  Her husband had abused her and she needed to get out of her home.  We were able to get ward members to help her with her special needs.  Shortly after we were able to start giving her the missionary lessons and she started occasionally coming to our church meetings.

While Jay and I  were on our mission in Indonesia I saw Relief Society and its motto “Charity Never Faileth” put into action as I witnesses a sweet Relief Society President of the Bogor Branch, Lily Lee administer to her little group of women and care for their needs.  I was assigned as her shadow leader but instead she taught me about caring for the one.  She planned lessons around the needs of the new members who needed so much and gave comfort and love as she taught and watched over her little flock.  Lily became friends with Hartika as she was investigating the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was at her baptism and encouraged others to fellowship her in the church, recognizing her special needs in a Muslim nation.  Another member of Relief Society was Esther, who with seven small children never had enough of the material things in life to care for them Lily was always making some special treat to take over to the family for Home Evening and giving them encouragement as they struggled.   I indeed saw love administered in the way I know Christ administed to those He was with.  Lily taught me so much about caring for the one and being an instrument in the hands of God in doing his work in a little branch in a very remote area in Bogor, Indonesia.  One of the things that I enjoyed doing in Indonesia was making “temple cakes” for the 8-year- old members of the branch as they were baptized and birthday cakes for the other members in my little “easy bake oven”.  Most of them had never tasted cake as we have it and no one had ovens.

I memorized the theme of Relief Society and like to repeat it to myself when I am walking or have time to meditate.  It says, “We are beloved spirit daughters of God and our lives have meaning, purpose and direction.  As a worldwide sisterhood we are united in our devotion to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar.  We are women of faith, virtue, vision and charity who increase our testimonies of Jesus Christ though prayer and scripture study, seek spiritual strength by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost, dedicate ourselves to strengthening marriage, families and homes, find nobility in motherhood and joy in womanhood, delight in service and good works, love life and learning, stand for truth and righteousness, sustain the priesthood as the authority of God on earth and rejoice in the blessings of the temple, understand our divine destiny and strive for exaltation.’

I am grateful to be a member of this great Relief Society organization and join with the other members of the church in wishing it a happy birthday.  Relief Society has made me a better person.   Lavona Flake Richardson

What I Believe...

I believe that anyone who has a testimony of the Living Savior needs to share it and do so often.

Sometimes it is hard to sum up one's personality and belief system in a paragraph or two. I just wanted to share with anyone who's interested about the things I hold sacred and believe and know to be true. I am using some quotes because they pretty much sum up what I do believe and have chosen to follow. I am not stating that I am perfect, but I am striving towards perfection everyday; be it through my deeds, works, thoughts or actions or a combination of any and all of the above. This is not meant to debate, argue about or discuss in depth. This is only me, Paula, sharing my value and belief system...

"Love one another as you would have them love you". This is my first and foremost rule of thumb. This not mean I don't make mistakes and that I don't have to pick myself up when I fall. But, I have learned by the things I have been taught, whether they be in the schools I have attended, the good parents who raised me or the religion in which I am now fully engrossed. I know what it means to live in a negative light, to walk the wrong path or to the point of beating my head up against the wall for an unknown reason or cause. I have since learned there is a better life and I can and do desire to be a part of it. I desire to treat others with respect and ask they do the same with me. I am not a bad person if I do wrong; I am not yet refined.

The following is a long post, because after looking it over, I felt there was no way I could chop it up without doing it injustice. Please read it with the positive light in which it has been written.

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The Family: A Proclamation to the World

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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Many of us here have developed a good and positive relationship with many others. Sometimes we don't always have the same belief system or set of values. That does not mean we are bad people or that we think the other is evil. It means that I respect you and your beliefs and I hope and would wish that you would respect mine.

But, if you write something that I feel goes against the testimony that I have of the Divine Nature of God and His plan and purpose, then I may interject with my two cents. It does not mean I think you are a bad person, it just means I know there is a better way that I believe you and others should investigate, with an open mind and positive attitude.

My reason on being here is not to force my religious beliefs on you. My reason is two-fold; to share my writing skills and techniques with those who are interested and to get to know you as my brothers and sisters in Christ, because that is what we are. No matter if you believe or accept it or not; it is true. We are the children of a Father in Heaven and He loves us - unconditionally. And I, will try to do the same with you. Only I need more patience and tolerance, as I haven't quite mastered all the skills yet that make that happen. But, I am working on it. He knows that. He accepts that. And, He still loves me when I fall. Because that's what He does - unconditionally.

Your Sister in Christ -

Paula

One Drop of Oil...

Paula A. Tomey-Allen

One drop of oil,

Upon my head,

With Priesthood blessings,

While tears I shed.

Strength that comes,

From Words from Thee,

Through anothers voice,

I listen and plea.

For a better time,

Or a better plan,

One drop of oil,

To help me stand.

Thou Abounding Love,

Comforting my soul,

While warming my heart,

And filling my bowl.

One drop of Blood,

How it touches my life,

And will help me to,

Live though the strife.

So fill my lamp,

Full to the top,

And I will prepare,

For Your next stop.

One drop of oil,

Upon my head,

A daughter of God,

And now I am fed.