No One is Perfect

Brigham City Temple

 Last weekend, in Sunday School, we had an amazing lesson out of Alma 14.  I have always been intrigued by this chapter as this is where Alma and Amulek were forced to watch righteous women and children, along with their scriptures be destroyed by fire.

Amulek asks Alma why they can’t stretch forth their hands and save them from the flames?  Alma responds by saying this is the only way the fate of the wicked can be sealed.

This scripture has given me peace and comfort in today’s world where women and children are allowed to be defiled and abused, along with a better understanding of why bad things happen to good people.

Our Gospel Doctrine instructor recounted an experience from his mission.  He and four other missionaries were given the privilege of meeting with the president of the temple located within their mission.  The temple president gave each of them the opportunity to ask him anything they wanted.  One Elder, who was scheduled to return home the following week asked, “What advice would you give me as I return home from serving my mission?”

The temple president thought for a minute and then replied, “Remember you are a Child of God.  You were saved for thousands of years to be sent to the most wicked place, at the most wicked time, to even things out.”

Our instructor went on to say, how surprised he was at this answer.  He was expecting the usual, “Go home, get in school, and get married in the temple as soon as possible.    As members of the Church, it’s in our character to be good; this is what makes us a peculiar people.  When we have truly repented of our sins, we look upon the sin we previously committed, with abhorrence.

When people feel guilty, they do one of two things.  They either change who they are, or they try to get rid of those who made them feel that way.  They try to be lifted up by destroying those around them making others look bad.

I love Alma 14!  Particularly verse 11.  May we all remember that we are children of God and have been sent here at this specific time to even things out.  None of us are perfect, but it’s not a bad thing to be peculiar.

Until next time,
Les

Father's Day Tribute

I Love My Dad! That pretty much says it all. Growing up, I was the boy he never had, and that didn’t bother me at all.  Dad raised and bred Arabian Horses, and so we had a big barn.  I loved helping him paint it every year.  My mom would be all worried and say “JACK!  DON’T YOU LET HER FALL OFF THAT ROOF!”  And dad would say, “OK, I got her, she’s fine.”  I think I had more paint in my hair than I put on the barn, but those were the best of times.  I built huts and forts in the orchard, and decorated them with anything I could drag up there. They had curtains and everything. 

I loved getting sports equipment for my birthday and Christmas, the football was one of the highlights and I could throw a spiral pass better than most boys.  I still have that ball today.  When I close my eyes, and smell the leather, I’m that little girl again with pig tails playing catch with dad.  Dad was my sports pal and I was his.  We lived for Saturdays.  We would wake up early, be the first ones on the lake for water skiing on nothing but glass, or the last ones off the mountain at Alta, Snowbird, Snow Basin, Park City, or Deer Valley. No one does hot chocolate like Deer Valley, and a Watson Burger at Alta is on the all time best burger list! If we weren’t skiing, we were off looking at boats or guns, right after we went to visit Grandma. We would leave with a bag of her frozen chocolate chip cookies, that were so nasty, we would pick the chocolate chips out of them and throw the cookie part away . . . sorry Grandma.

Dad never missed a swim meet, and I swam competitively for 12 years.  He would take me to practice every morning at 5:00 AM – sit and watch in the balcony until 7:00, then drop me off back home to hurry and get ready for the bus to take me to school.  My aunt or my mom would pick me up from school at 3:00 drop me off at the pool and I would swim from 4:00 to 6:00.  If dad was off work soon enough, he would pick me up and take me home.  We spent many weekends at swim meets and dad was the only one I could hear cheering me on above the crowd. I swam to the beat of his cheering – and quite often that was pretty fast.

Some of my most favorite memories are of our Lake Powell trips. If there is a Heaven on Earth, it’s up the San Juan River Arm, or Escalante on Lake Powell.  We lived on the boat and dad put extra gas tanks on, so that we could get farther than most other boats for the most pristine camping spots you can imagine.  The boat didn’t move on Sunday.  We found our camping spot Saturday afternoon and it didn’t move until Monday.  Sunday was spent reading your scriptures on any one of the blow up flotation devices we had acquired.

Even in High School I preferred spending my Saturday’s with dad.  In college I helped him train for an Iron Man Triathlon. He was amazing. He ran the St. George Marathon numerous times, the Deseret News Marathon and many 50 milers.  Just as he was there for me, I stood at the finish line for him or rode my bike along the way. 

I always felt safe when I was with my dad, and that included when he traveled with me to Romania to adopt our middle child. My husband stayed home to hold the fort down and dad went with me.  I wouldn’t have made it without him.  Every good childhood memory I have has my dad in it.

So Dad I want you to know how much I Love You, and am grateful for all the life lessons you taught me, many while on the slopes or in the water. 

Happy Father’s Day Dad, I Love You,
Your Pal Les 

Home Dedication

Symbols of Zion Home Dedication Plaque

It’s funny how quickly life can change. It seems like just yesterday that I was a young mom with three small children. Now I’m a grandma with three adult children and two grandchildren! My husband and I don’t look as young as we did 29 years ago, but we’ve earned every gray/white hair on our heads! 

Our youngest daughter got married on May 30th. In the 35 years that I’ve been doing weddings, I made my first wedding dress for pay when I was 14, this is the first wedding that came off without a glitch.

Watching the last four months of work all come together in one magical day for her was the best pay off I could have asked for. The weather was perfect, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were great, the ceremony was wonderful and it’s nice to know that you are loved by so many people as they file through the reception line. The line finally ended at 9:30, and the food came out almost down to the plate. There were enough leftovers for a few chicken salad croissants the next couple of days, along with a few veggies and dip.  We did have quite a few chocolate éclairs left over, but they made the perfect treats for our Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching families.  We were glad to get rid of them and they were glad to receive them. 

I am so grateful for wonderful family, friends and neighbors.  May we all dedicate our homes as a place where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell, where we can learn to love God and serve others, and where family and friends may feel welcome.

Until next time,

Les

Reflections on a Daughter of God

Today’s blog is one of reflection. Have you ever heard the quote, “If you want to hear the Lord laugh, tell Him what your plans are?” My daughter is getting married next week, and I’ve had a lot of time to reflect during my four months worth of late night sewing sessions. 21 years ago on May 28th we received a phone call telling us there was a blonde, blue-eyed, baby girl available for adoption in Romania.  They asked how soon we could get there. We were on a plane the next day at noon for one of the two weekly flights into Romania.  Our paperwork had to be submitted to the Romanian courts by June 1st as adoptions were shutting down permanently after that.

I had discovered two weeks before, that I was miraculously pregnant. We had been working for the previous nine months on our paperwork to adopt two children from Romania. Our oldest daughter was five at the time, and we had been trying to have more children with no hope of success. Interesting how so often when you focus on something else and choose to adopt, suddenly you discover you are pregnant! The next three weeks were full of miracle after miracle as we worked our way through and around the corrupt Romanian government adoption rules and regulations. I understand more fully why people kiss the ground of American soil when they return from foreign countries.  I knew what I was doing would be dangerous, but really had no idea how much danger it would truly be.  This was a time where the only thing I had to rely on was my Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his will for me, my unborn child, my new adopted child and my entire family.  I literally placed my life in His hands and prayed that I would be able to return home to be with my husband and daughter again in this life.  We were welcomed by a tank with the gun pointed at our plane and escorted off the plane by Romanian soldiers with machine guns in our backs.  That was just the beginning of a very interesting three week adventure, I am grateful to know I will never have to do again.  Each day we ran into major glitches that if not solved, would prevent the adoption.  As I think back, I believe there were legions of very busy angels softening hearts, and preparing the way for this tiny little strong spirited girl to have a chance to live.

We were there for a week before I was able to see her.  She was six weeks old and was the tiniest baby I’d held since being a candy stripe at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Jr. High.  I remember the skin just hanging off her bottom, as there was no fat on her little body at all.  She had the biggest blue eyes, with the longest dark eyelashes I’ve ever seen.  We call them “cow eyelashes” – that’s how long and beautiful they are.  When we got her home, the Dr.’s figured that she only weighed about two pounds at birth.  The past 21 years have been filled with the hardest challenges, as well as some of the greatest joys I’ve ever experienced.

In the past seven years it seems that life has turned into hyper-speed! Trials, tribulations and struggles seem to be coming faster than we can handle at times. No one is immune.  I read an article the other day on how some people view Mormon moms.  It stereotyped us as “Happy women, with handsome husbands, kids that look like they came from GAP commercials; women who are stay-at-home moms to cook, clean, scrapbook, blog and appear to have the perfect life.”  Isn’t it funny how things appear on the surface, and people as a group are perceived?  Little do they know we struggle with everyday life just like everyone else.  Our marriages aren’t perfect, but we work on them daily and make it work.  It is sometimes difficult to LIKE the person that we LOVE, and vice versa.  Our kids don’t always grow up to fit the typical LDS mold of serving a full-time mission or even marrying in the temple.  Sometimes our stay-at-home world is rocked by an unstable economy and in order to keep things afloat, we have no choice but to go back to work in order to assist our husband in keeping a roof over the heads of our children. Just when you think you can’t do one more thing, you find out you have skin cancer . . . again (darn those baby oil, sizzling in the sun like bacon days of the 70’s), or need surgery to fix a medical issue you’ve been mysteriously plagued with for the past 19 years.  The medical bills have been part of the family budget for the past 21 years.  Your parents are getting older and you worry that you will be able to be there for them when the time comes.  You yearn to do all the things your heart desires.  Serve others daily, lighten someone’s heavy load, work and serve in the temple, do genealogy work, teach and enjoy your grand children, care and serve the ladies you Visit Teach, do the best job you can in your church calling, learn to do something new, finish old projects, go back to school and get your masters degree, the list goes on and on . . .

Mormon women are so hard on themselves. The quest to be perfect can be crippling at times. A wise friend once told me, “You can’t do all those things at the same time, it’s just not possible. You will have different seasons in your life to accomplish all that the Lord has in mind for you.  Just do the best you can with what you have today and the rest will all work out.”  The wonderful thing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is that you are NEVER alone.  He is with you ALWAYS.  Each trial that comes along has a way of refining us and making us stronger, if we are willing to accept the gift of the atonement of Jesus Christ to get us through these hard times.  When we come to the realization that WE are not the ones in charge of our lives, that our loving Father in Heaven is carefully guiding us along the narrow pathway back to Him, because he loves us and wants us to live with Him once again as we did before we came to this earth to be tried and tested.  When we accept and act upon these things, those lights at the end of the tunnel that turn out to be just another train are easier to handle. He knows we are not perfect and are not capable of achieving perfection on our own.  Through the sacrifice and atonement of our elder brother Jesus Christ, He made it possible for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again someday.

As members of the Church, we have high expectations of ourselves. It is important to realize that we can only do so much, and as long as we’re doing the best we can do, the atonement will make up the difference in the end. By putting on the Armor of God every day we will be armed and ready for the hidden battles that will come our way each and every day.

Until next time,

Les

Missionary Treats

Do you ever see the missionaries walking along the street or buying macaroni and cheese at the grocery store? Each time I see them I wonder about their mother’s, and how they are doing with their sons or daughters so far away from home with only weekly letters, if they’re lucky. A few years ago I wanted to teach my children to serve others, and so each time we saw the missionaries, I would pull over and have my kids give them each a $5 bill to buy a little treat. If we were at the store, sometimes I would buy their groceries if they were in line behind me, or just give them a little cash to buy a treat. I always hoped that some day when my own son was serving a mission that someone would do the same for him. 

Since I started working here at Symbols of Zion, I’ve started carrying some coins in my purse to hand out to any missionaries I see, especially since cash is not something that I carry a lot of anymore.  I love giving the missionaries one of our Armor of God coins, a Captain Moroni – Title of Liberty coin, or the missionary specific “Called to Serve” coin.  I encourage them to carry it with them, and that each time they look at it to be encouraged in the work they are doing and to remember to LDS Mission Gifts write home weekly.  I talk to so many wonderful Christian people on the phone each week as they order Armor of God coins, sometimes by the 100’s!  I have come to the realization that there are some incredibly amazing people in this world, and they are all out there doing good things to lift and brighten someone’s day.  So take the challenge each day to do something nice for someone – and if it happens to be a missionary, tell them to write home and thank their family for all the love and support they are giving them!

Until next time,
Leslie 

Stop It!

Out of all the talks from General Conference, President Uchtdorf’s definitely stands out as one of my favorites.  I know that as he asked the questions in his talk, I found myself guilty of at least a couple of them.  As a daily reminder for us to just be nice, be sure to get one of our new “STOP IT” key chains.  The quote from the bumper sticker is a classic, “Don’t judge me because I sin different than you.” 

About a year ago, we had a high councilor speak in Sacrament Meeting.  I know what you’re thinking . . . boring!  Actually it was one of the best talks I’ve ever heard.  He’s since been called as a Bishop.  He talked about how he had given himself a challenge to go one week without saying anything negative about anyone.  He said it had taken him six months to accomplish his goal.  Each time he caught himself being negative in any way, he told himself he would just “start over” and try again, until he actually accomplished his goal.  This included self-criticizing as well . . . wow, that’s a hard one! 

So here’s today’s challenge - just “STOP IT”!  Feel free to start over as many times as needed.  See if you can do this for a week.  I’d love to hear back from you on how you did.  I’m still starting over . . . maybe before six months is up I’ll be able to accomplish my goal too.

Take the challenge today and just “STOP IT”. 

Until next time,

Les

Trek Preparation

Trek Keepsakes are an important part of trek. And it’s not too late to order yours today! Whether it’s a key chain, scripture pull, dog tag, pendant or coin, trek participants will treasure and cherish it each time they look at it and “Remember” the life changing experiences they felt on trek. I traveled with the Mormon Trail Wagon Train as a licensed vendor back in 1997. At a planning meeting, I remember President Hinckley talking to the licensed vendors regarding things for participants and visitors to purchase. He said, “Let them buy a little trinket to remind them of the things they experienced. It will be something they will always cherish.”

Symbols of Zion is the LDS retail division of SymbolArts. We have produced many things for Church Distribution for years. Symbols of Zion can help you with custom made keepsakes, or you can receive quantity discounts on stock items. We can help you design a logo that can be used on your custom trek keepsake as well as all your trek handouts, flags, posters, etc. Give me a call and I’d be happy to meet with you if you’d like to talk about custom or stock keepsakes, they are more affordable than you think.

Make sure you’re walking every day, getting plenty of rest, and are beginning to increase your daily intake of water!

Good luck with your trek preparations!

Until next time,

Les J