Tender Mercy

I was reading the most read chapter in the Book of Mormon last night, 1 Nephi 1. Vs. 20 says that "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith...."

I woke up this morning thinking of the tender mercies the Lord has given me. I am sure that because I had been reading chapter one of 1 Nephi that my first thoughts were of my parents. I, like Nephi, was born of goodly parents. I am so grateful for the lessons they taught me at a young age. But most of all, I am grateful that they taught me about God and His love for me.

My parents are both gone now but I still feel their influence in my life. It is a tender mercy for me to know that even though their mission is different right now, they still care about their loved ones on Earth. When we are seeing great afflictions in our lives, there are loved ones on the other side that are praying for us.

The Perfect A

Arturo Toscanini, the late, famous conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, received a brief, crumpled letter from a lonely sheepherder in the remote mountain area of Wyoming:

“Mr. Conductor: I have only two possessions—a radio and an old violin. The batteries in my radio are getting low and will soon die. My violin is so out of tune I can’t use it. Please help me. Next Sunday when you begin your concert, sound a loud ‘A’ so I can tune my ‘A’ string; then I can tune the other strings. When my radio batteries are dead, I’ll have my violin.”

At the beginning of his next nationwide radio concert from Carnegie Hall, Toscanini announced: “For a dear friend and listener back in the mountains of Wyoming the orchestra will now sound an ‘A.’ ” The musicians all joined together in a perfect “A.”

The lonely sheepherder only needed one note, just a little help to get back in tune; he could go on from there. He needed someone who cared to assist him with one string; the others would be easy. Then, with all strings in tune—in harmony—the lonely sheepherder would have a source of companionship and joy and could play uplifting strains.
(David B. Haight, “People to People,” Ensign, Nov 1981, 54)

Where do we find our perfect A to tune our lives?

The scriptures tell us where we can find our perfect A. The scriptures tell us who to turn to and why we need to turn to Him.

Helaman 5:12
And now, my sons, (daughters, mothers, fathers), remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

All we have to do is find the time to read and study the scriptures. In all honesty we don't have the time not to read them. We can gain a testimony from the scriptures and we can in turn help our children learn to love the scriptures and gain their own testimony of Jesus Christ. Nothing else in life matters. Our testimony will be the thing that will pull us through the trials that face us.

Conference Story

I am not sure which conference talk yesterday was my favorite so I thought I would take time over the next few blogs to share thoughts about some of the talks that I enjoyed.

I have always loved President Packer's talks.  I thought his story about Gideon and how he chose his army to be particularly good.  Those that drank from the stream by putting their mouth to the water were not ready for an enemy attack.  Those that brought the water to their mouth were on the lookout for an attack.  We need to be on the lookout.  We need to bring the water of the gospel to our mouths and be prepared.  We need to be ready to fight the last great battle.  There will be a time when the only thing between us and the adversary is the Father with his Priesthood.

I loved how so many of the talks told us how to awaken the power of the Priesthood in the home and strengthen our homes.   I feel as if the talks given yesterday have awaken something within me.  I want to become stronger.  I want to be a beacon for my family.  I often think of what a great beacon my mother was for me.  I hope I can become as strong as she was.   As a young mother I realized that my mother had been praying for me all through the years.  I learned that her prayers were strong and often helped me.  I often felt the comfort of her prayers.  I knew that her prayers held great power.  Now that she is gone, I know that she is still praying for me, my brothers and sister, our children and their children.  She will never stop praying for us.  As I look to the beacon that my mother set up for me, I realize that her mother set a light up for her.  When things get dark we just need to remember to head toward the light.  

Life's Lesson in Death

I have learned something about death that I didn't know before.  My Mother passed away on Sunday, December 20, 2009.  My sister and I were at her bedside when she passed away.  We had been taking turns spending the night with her.  We knew that it was just a matter of days until she passed away.  My daughter Melanie and I stayed with her on Friday night.  There was a very strong spirit in the room.  I really felt that my Grandmother Fanny and my Father were near waiting for my Mother to pass through the veil.  On Saturday my sister stayed with my Mother.  Then on Sunday morning my sister called to tell me I needed to come.  She felt that it was only a matter of minutes until Mom was to leave this earth life.  I got dressed for church because I knew one thing.  Mom would want me to go to church and give the Relief Society lesson that I was to give that day.  My sister and I watched my Mother take her last breaths.  So here is the lesson I learned.  

Death is a holy and sacred experience.  It is every bit as sacred as when you watch the birth of a baby.  There is something special about watching a spirit pass through the veil and feeling our Heavenly Father's presence.  I knew that God was near.  I knew that my Father, a brother, grandparents, and a long list of relatives that we had been doing genealogy work for were near.  While my sister and I were feeling a lose for the Mother we love, we knew that Mother was joyfully meeting with her family on the other side of the veil.  I will always be grateful for this holy time that I had with my Mother.

Gratitude

Last year I posted a gratitude for every day in November.  I would be very ungrateful if I did not make at least one post.

I am grateful for:

• The beauty of nature.  I took my mother for a ride.  We saw a large herd of antelope grazing in a field. The buck began moving his herd through the field and I thought he was nervous about us watching him when I saw another buck trying to find a way through the fence.   Ah ha.  Just protecting his herd from another male. 
  
• My Family.  How I enjoy seeing my children and knowing that they are doing those things that will bring them eternal happiness.  
  
• My Grandchildren.  How precious each of them are.  My mother lived so far from her grandparents that she only remembers seeing her grandfather once.  She was too scared to even talk to him. She never had the chance to talk to him on a phone.   How sad is that?  I can see or talk my grandchildren every day through the use of telephone, blogs, skype, and Facebook.  How cool is it to be a couple of hundred miles apart and still be able to talk to each other?  
• My membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I love learning about my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.  To know that they love me.  That they answer prayers.  Which reminds me of another gratitude.
• I am thankful that God answers prayers.  We had one answered this past week.  We started our day with family prayer and prayed that we would be protected and return home to our family safe that evening.  Our school went by bus to a nearby high school to watch the Wizard of Oz.  The bus I was on pulled up the the stop sign that enters the main highway from our small town.  The driver hesitated and then pulled on to the highway in front of a large water truck.  The driver of the truck had to slam on his brakes to keep from hitting us.  He came within a couple of feet of our bus.  While our driver seem unconcerned the rest of the adults on the bus were terrified!  Worst part was that on the way home from the play our bus driver pulled out in front of another large truck when she reached the highway.  I am thankful for answered prayers.

Family

Grandma & Grandpa Richens

At the Richens' Homestead

I have been thinking a lot about my family the past few days. The older I get the more important family becomes to me. I so enjoy getting on the internet and reading the blogs different family members have written. We may have miles between us but we are close in heart. I thank you for that!

Grandma & Grandpa Cope

I met a lady the other day that is married to my cousin. I have never met this cousin. His father sort of chose to stay away from his family. My cousin has now passed away. His wife and two of her sons came to meet Grandma Richens. I went up to meet them. As we visited we thought of how sad it was that all of these years have gone by and we have not even known each other. My Mom took them to see where Grandma and Grandpa Cope are buried in Roosevelt. Then she took them up Ioka Lane to point out places that they had lived when Grandpa Cope taught school. They also went down into Arcadia to see where the old Cope homestead had once stood. There is nothing left of the old homestead. Grandpa Cope sold it back to the Ute Tribe sometime after he left the Uintah Basin. I went to the old homestead years ago and the only thing left was a row of trees. That is even gone now after a fire along the Lake Fork River burnt everything down.

Grandma Cope on the Cope Homestead

I love to listen to Mom talk about the past. I know when she is gone I will think of a million things I wish I had asked her.

"The Cousins"