THANKSGIVING TIME

We had a blizzard on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Reed was driving a school bus near the Utah-Idaho border when it hit. Visibility was poor and roads were treacherous. I was thankful and relieved when he got home safely. Schools and businesses all over the area closed early. There were many road closures. Several inches of snow blew sidewards and were sculpted into drifts. The blast of winter affected travel plans for many. We've heard that the worst roads are here in Cache Valley.

Robin, Andrew and girls came the day before Thanksgiving for dentist appointments and stayed with us. Candace, Jory and family arrived the night before Thanksgiving and got to stay two nights at Spring Hill Suites at half off the usual cheap associate's rate. The breakfasts and swimming pool are a hit with the kids.

The VanWagenens and Burkhardts contributed some really good food and tasty treats to what we prepared. Everything was delicious. But what a lot of work to get it all ready and then be done in a matter of minutes!

We had a few disasters. Before filling a graham cracker crust for banana cream pie, I attempted to brush off some loose crumbs over the waste can. The whole thing slipped and broke into several pieces. Luckily, I had another crust in the pantry.

Two dozen rolls did not rise properly. I baked them anyway but had to hurry to get more ready. Instead of throwing the rejects away, I put them on the counter and every one of them were snitched and eaten prior to the meal.

Marshmallows were put on top of the sweet potatoes and placed under the broiler to brown. I said we'd better watch them carefully. Then I drained and mashed the potatoes and Reed started carving the turkey. Andrew saw flames filling the oven. He removed the sweet potatoes, placed a lid over the fire, and ran outside where he scraped off the blackened marshmallows. (We ate them anyway and they were fine) The smoke alarm went off and we had to air the house out even though it had been a chilly 14 degrees below zero earlier that morning.

Later, Candace went out to her van and returned saying that the neighbors across the street were also having a smoke detector incident. I knew they were out of town so I was concerned. I walked around their house, looked in windows, found all the doors locked, but couldn't smell smoke. I asked another neighbor if she had any cell phone numbers so we could call and see if they had a hidden key so we could check things out. She didn't. I called emergency services. I told them our neighbor works for Logan City so they could probably find a cell phone number. They eventually made contact with him. There was no extra key so they had to break a door. A full crew of firemen spent about two hours in the home. Several of our grandsons stood out in the frigid temperatures and watched. The rest of us watched through the window while Bryan monitored the event on his scanner and gave us updates. It ended up being a dirty sensor on a smoke detector. Since all of their detectors are inter-wired, they were all sounding off. Even though it was a false alarm, I think it is better to be safe than sorry. I would have a hard time forgiving myself if their house had burned down and I had done nothing.

Kim, Bryan and family had arrived later in the afternoon while I was checking out our neighbor's house. They were able to spend time with the rest of us and join us for a supper of leftovers, pies and other treats. Ashlyn and Katelyn went swimming at the motel with their cousins.

I was able to catch up on some of the comings and goings of family members, hear about health issues, school, work, awards received, races run, activities, lessons etc. We had impromptu dance, singing and gymnastic performances. The dress-ups were well used. The noise level was pretty high. Poor Aubrey, at 18 months and being in the stage of getting into everything, constantly heard us yell "No, no, NO!" Mason is our "Thanksgiving Grandchild," his mother having gone into labor with him after Thanksgiving dinner 12 years ago. He is a big kid. His men's shoe size has matched his age...men's size 10 at age 10, size 11 at age 11 etc. He recently announced the Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting in his newly acquired deep man's voice. It brought a chuckle to the congregation. Landon's favorite activity at our house is smashing aluminum cans. I had to dig some out of the recycling bin for him to do the honors.

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. We have been having leftover turkey nearly every meal. We have much to be thankful for. Well, down with the fall and Thanksgiving decorations and up with the winter and Christmas ones. I think I will do it gradually over the next week or so.

Happy 16th Anniversary Kim & Bryan

I don't know how to scan and re-size pictures. Anyway, here is one of my favorite pictures of our five daughters taken outside the Logan Temple on Kim's wedding day, Nov. 19, 1994. Click to see it better. The high resolution picture of Kim and Bryan wouldn't upload. Kim got married a week before Thanksgiving and Jill got married 4 weeks later, one week before Christmas! In the picture are Jodi (14), Robin (18), Kim (22), Candace (17) and Jill (20). Such pretty, curly strawberry tresses!

My Reflections on the Logan Temple

I’m not sure why I wrote this other than I love the Logan Temple. This is not really a talk, testimony or lesson about sacred ceremonies, ordinances and covenants. It contains bits of temple history along with some of my personal thoughts, experiences and pieces of my life story. Although it is a rather lengthy epistle, I hope you enjoy it.

So far, seven generations of my family have been blessed with being able to participate in ordinance work in the Logan Temple. All of my siblings and all of my children were married in the Logan Temple, excepting one sister and one daughter, both of whom married in the Salt Lake Temple. Our oldest four grandchildren have been able to do baptisms for those who have passed on.

My great grandfather, James Milligan, assisted in the building of the Logan Temple. When he left his native England, he brought a diamond glass cutter with him. He cut the glass and put the original panes of window in the bottom section of the temple. He also did some of the interior painting. The family members of my great-great grandparents, James and Rachel Hancey, contributed money to the temple building fund. From May 1877 to February 1885 they kept a family ledger where they listed the name of each donor and the amount contributed. I have a copy of one of the pages. The smallest donation shown was 5 cents, the largest was $66.95 (by Horace W.), and half of all contributions were under a dollar. The total amount of family donations amounted to $6,563.77. These donations came at a time that most valley saints were already paying .50 per month into the Salt Lake Temple building fund and were also helping to finance the Logan Tabernacle.

I was born in the Logan LDS Hospital kitty-corner to the northeast of the Logan Temple. The site of the hospital is now a temple parking lot. My parents and two older sisters had moved into a new home at 321 East Center Street about two months prior to my birth. Our home was located just beneath the temple. The back of our home had many large patio-type windows which gave us a clear shot of the temple.

I remember my mother opening the living room draperies each morning and having the temple come into view. Some days when Mother opened the drapes there would be a thick fog that hid the temple from our sight. She would say, “I guess the temple has gone to heaven today.” I never questioned her; I figured she was stating a fact. Mother must have said that several times because it made quite an impression on me. In my mind, Heavenly Father used fog to cover the temple so it could be lifted to heaven to do His work. After the needed work was done, He’d lower the temple and take the fog away. I suppose I believed that all things were possible with God. When I was older and knew the temple really didn’t ascend to heaven when it was foggy, I still thought it was plausible. After all, the City of Enoch was taken to heaven.

Whenever we went out of the valley and were coming back home through the canyon, Dad would say something like, “Who is going to be first to see the temple?” We always looked for the beacon on the hill and knew we weren’t far from home.

When I was in kindergarten I needed braces on my teeth to correct a cross-bite. There was not an orthodontist in Logan at the time so we drove to one in Brigham City. I remember ‘bragging’ that I knew my way from our house to my appointment in Brigham and home again. I said that I’d never be lost if I could see the temple because if I could find my way to the temple, I could find my way home. That statement had a deeper meaning and truth than I knew of at the age of six. In a larger sense, if we can find our way to one of God’s holy temples, receive the ordinances thereof and honor the covenants we’ve made, we can find our way back to our heavenly home.

During the daytime we used to see lots of pigeons flying around the temple. At night when the temple was illuminated we could often see bats flying around the spires. The temple used to be lit only until 11 p.m. I slept in a bedroom under windows on the north wall of our home. In my early years before the trees in the backyard got really large, the lights of the temple somewhat brightened my room. I could tell when the lights went out. I used to say that I couldn’t go to sleep until the temple went to sleep.

I remember playing on the temple grounds as a little kid. The temple was surrounded by a short, black, wrought-iron, picket-type fence. It certainly wasn’t a security fence. It was fun to roll down the grassy slopes west of the temple. On the south side of the temple there were lots of trees and grassy areas instead of the parking lot. There was a circular fishpond which was stocked with goldfish during the summer. I recall walking around and around the edging of the pond. One time I tripped and one of my legs got scraped on the concrete sidewall when I accidentally stepped into the water. There was a greenhouse at the temple. The grounds were pretty and park-like.

I recall coming home from school and finding Mother at the ironing board. Obviously it was before the day of permanent press fabric but it seemed Mother used to spend many hours painstakingly ironing temple clothing.

We were a one-car family. After Mother finally got her drivers license, there were times she’d drop Dad off at the temple and he’d walk home when he was finished. I am a little confused about this, because I didn’t think Mother had a driver’s license when I was so young, but one time I hurried home from Kindergarten or 1st grade as fast as I could because I needed to go to the bathroom. The front door was locked! I rang the doorbell banged on the door. Marsha was inside. I hollered for her to let me in. Through the door she said Mother just went to the temple to pick Dad up and she’d be back in a few minutes. I begged her to open up but she said Mother told her she wasn’t supposed to open the door for anyone. I danced around and ended up wetting my pants. I was furious with Marsha and embarrassed by my accident.

There was a woman in our ward who stood up in Fast and Testimony Meeting and related an experience she had in the temple when her deceased father appeared to her. That bothered me. I told my parents that I didn’t want them to come back to ‘haunt’ me after they died.

When I was a child, after we had our 8th birthday and had been baptized, we were able to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. We were either in the Co-pilot or Top-pilot class in Primary and our teacher, Lela Bindrup, would take a carload of us to the temple after school. After being in school from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., it was hard to sit still. It seemed like we waited forever for our turn. When we would get a little squirmy, Sister Bindrup whispered to us that the persons for which we were being baptized might have been born in the 16, 17, or 1800’s. They had possibly been waiting for hundreds of years for the opportunity to be baptized. She told us that if they had waited that long, surely we could wait a couple of hours. That put things in perspective for us and for a while we quieted down. Back then, in rapid succession, we would be baptized for a person, then pulled up onto a seat at the edge of the font and confirmed, then practically pushed back into the water, being baptized and confirmed over and over again. There was not a chance to get the water from our eyes or take a deep breath. I felt like a drowned rat.

As a youth I enjoyed hearing the stories about the temple. Timbers and granite for the temple came from the local canyons and rock quarries. Many of the places up Logan Canyon were named in relation to the temple…Brown’s Roll-off Campground, Wood Camp, and Temple Fork. The road through the canyon was mostly a horse trail until road missionaries were called to build a road and bridges to assist in the retrieval of building supplies. The ‘long dug way’ that goes from Canyon Road at 600 East up the hill to about 300 East, was constructed to get the timbers and rock to the temple site. Sand came from the area that Kloepfer Sand and Gravel later occupied.

The first talk I gave in church that I remember preparing myself was taken from a book I read by the title of “Temples of the Most High.” I gave the story about Satan and his followers arriving on the temple grounds and asking the 1st temple president, Marriner W. Merrill to stop the work that goes on in the temple. When President Merrill said the work would continue, Satan said he and his people would whisper into the ears of those in the valley and discourage them from attending the temple. The story went on to say that for many years temple attendance declined dramatically. Another book I enjoyed reading at a later time was “Logan Temple – The First 100 Years.” It is very interesting reading.

In preparation for another talk I was assigned to give on temple work, I read many conference talks and books. One thing I read is that most children look forward to being baptized at the age of eight. Parents in the church recognize the importance of baptism and make every effort to have their children participate in this ordinance. When it comes to temple marriage, many look at it as ‘optional’ or something they might do someday. They don’t realize the importance of this necessary ordinance. I don’t know who made the statement, but it was said that civil marriage is no more the way of the Lord and His church any more than baptism by sprinkling is.

I received my endowments in the Logan Temple on January 22, 1971. Three days later, on the 25th, Reed and I were married. On my wedding day, the above-mentioned teacher, Lela Bindrup, and another ward member, Edna Crockett, were at the temple for an endowment session. When Mother saw them in the waiting room, she asked if it would be okay to invite them to see us get married. I consented. Besides Lela and Edna, those in attendance at the sealing ceremony were: my parents, Reed’s parents, my sister Jean, my sister Marilyn, brother-in-law Gary and one of Reed’s friends, Fred Hayes. I wore Marilyn’s wedding dress. It was so tight I could hardly breathe. It seemed the sealer, President Elvie Heaton, talked on and on and on. My mouth was so dry that when I tried to answer “yes” at the appropriate time, it came out as a squeak. Our long kiss over the altar brought laughter from those in the room. When we came out of the temple we were greeted by many other family members.

On May 26, 1968, when I was 17 ½ years old, I received my patriarchal blessing from our Stake Patriarch, Sylvannus J. Postma. There were many special blessings, promises and words of counsel pronounced upon my head. I have often reflected on the parts that made references to the temple…”You shall be privileged, dear sister, to go into the House of the Lord to be sealed to a good companion, who will become the father of your children, and they shall bring honor to your name.” Also, “The Lord has a mission for you to perform in His temples, performing vicarious labors. Avail yourself of this opportunity.” When our children were small, I was often frustrated that I was not able to attend the temple as often as I wished. I had to keep reminding myself that there was a time and season for all things.

Occasionally wards and stakes were assigned to clean the temple. Those who went to do the work were asked to take cleaning cloths. I always wanted to sign up but was never able to do it because of the scheduled times and with having small children. One time when Mother went to clean, she was assigned to dust and polish all the handrails and banisters. She said it was interesting to go anywhere and everywhere in the temple and see areas she had not been in before as she did the work.

The temple was closed in October of 1976 for a major remodeling job. Work was done on the grounds as well as the temple interior, which was totally gutted and rebuilt. We took Kimberly and Jill with us when we attended the temple open house in February of 1979. I was fortunate to get tickets for the re-dedication on March 14, 1979. I still have my ticket somewhere. I was able to be in the large assembly hall on the 4th floor when President Spencer W. Kimball offered the dedicatory prayer. I was surprised by President Kimball’s short stature. I remember looking at President Kimball and thinking that his whole being seemed to glow. It was nice to be in the presence of a Prophet of God. The dedication was my first experience with doing the ‘Hosanna Shout.’ I have a notation on my 1979 calendar that says the temple re-opened on April 3rd.

The logo or seal of Logan City used to have pictures of two Logan landmarks, one being the Logan Temple and the other of ‘Old Main’ on the campus of Utah State. Really, what else stands out or represents Logan than these two prominent icons? There were complaints that the city shouldn’t display an LDS building when it doesn’t represent everyone. There was also issue with separation of church and government. Now the City of Logan has a simple design with a sun coming up over the mountains. What is ironic to me is that the local newspaper, ‘The Herald Journal,’ which often seems to have an ‘anti-Mormon’ sentiment, has both the temple spires and the ‘A’ on old main in their heading.

Reed and I were called as temple ordinance workers in October 2005 and served for two years prior to serving as missionaries at Heber Valley Camp. I began my second experience as a temple worker in July 2010 and enjoy serving in that capacity. I feel that is where I am supposed to be. I like the association with other ordinance workers and the patrons who come and go each day. I witness a lot of sacrifice of time and effort by so many good and dedicated persons. I marvel at the willingness of so many who travel up to 2 ½ hours each way to work their shift. I can usually drive to the temple, park the car, and walk to the temple doors in 15 minutes. We are blessed to have a temple nearby. I hope we never take it for granted. Work for the Lord…the pay isn’t much, but the retirement plan is out of this world!

When I was born there were only eight temples. The Logan Temple was the second one dedicated when the saints came west. Now there are 134 operating temples with 23 more either announced or under construction. There are some decades in the history of the restored church in which there have been no new temples constructed. When Gordon B. Hinckley was President, he strived to take the temples to the people. There was a huge thrust of construction. There were 34 new temples dedicated in just two years (1999 & 2000). I don’t know the exact figure but something like 90% of all church members now live within 200 miles of a temple.

I have had the opportunity to have seen or have been inside 40 temples. I attended an Italian session in the Swiss (Bern) Temple and a Samoan session in the Hamilton New Zealand Temple. I have visited the Kona and Laie Hawaii temples, the Cardston Alberta Canada Temple and those in Papette, Tahiti and Frankfurt, Germany. The rest have been in each of the regions of the continental United States. There are some places we traveled through but did not stop and look for the temple. I could still kick myself for missing the San Jose, Costa Rica Temple when we were there.

I have served under three temple presidents: Vaughn J. Featherstone, Dennis Simmons and Rolfe Kerr. President Featherstone was released not long after we were set apart. I have framed a quote from him. It is as follows:

“I promise you that all who faithfully attend to temple work will be blessed beyond measure. Your families will draw closer to the Lord, unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when satanic forces tempt them, the veil will be thin, and great spiritual experiences will be distilled upon this people.” That is quite a promise!

More November Stuff

Veterans Day: I am thankful for all the men and women who have served, or who currently serve, in the military of this great country. I honor them for their sacrifices in the name of freedom. This is a picture of Andrew when he was in Iraq.

Andrew had another surgery near the end of last month and is doing well. Athough he is very tired, he has been able to go back to work. He has endured much over the past year and a half. Andrew will probably have scans every few months to make sure things are still looking good. We are thankful for modern medicine and blessings from a loving Father in Heaven.

Ashley is a teenager! Her birthday was on November 15th. Her day was full of school and dance. Congratulations to her dad, Bryan, who graduated from the Corrections Academy on the 17th. I think he will be working at the prison. I don't know how this will affect their busy lives and where they live. I don't believe they have that figured out yet. Kim and Bryan are also celebrating their 16th anniversary on the 19th. Congratulations! Ashley and Riley have now riden on a school bus driven by Grandpa.

This is a picture of the Wellsville mountains from our church parking lot. We have had cold temperatures, rain, wind and cloudy skies. I have to admit, though, there have been some really pretty sunrises and sunsets.

Reed's annual fruitcake baking day resulted in 14 loaves. Since I don't share his love for fruitcake, he is hoping they last him through the month of March.

We are on waiting lists at the Hyrum Library for five books...the latest from Vince Flynn and Ken Follet, "To the Rescue," a biography of Thomas S. Monson, "Promise Me" by Richard Paul Evans, and "Decision Points" by George W. Bush. We just finished John Grisham's "The Confession."

My sister, Marilyn, and her husband, Gary, have just completed an 18 month mission at the Family History Library in Salt Lake. Well done, thou good and faithful servants! They have returned to their home in Idaho Falls to a household with seven extra occupants. Way to go Natalie! She is finishing up requirements for a degree and will be having baby #6 soon.

Last outings of fall...

I know this is a long shot, but there is a bald eagle in the center of the picture. We took the boat out fishing one last time this season and enjoyed a couple of hours on the water and relatively warm temperatures. We were taking a break from some of our morning chores like cleaning out the front garage. When we returned home we cleaned out the back garage and fertilized the lawn. We caught our limits and Reed smoked the fish today. We went for a ride to Avon and a little way into South Canyon. We checked out the Ruby Pipeline to see where it went over the mountain from the Porcupine Dam area to the Mantua area. We are quite facinated with the project. We wish we had some of the statistics and information about it. Each day there is a steady stream of big trucks coming out of Wellsville Canyon hauling pipe to the site. The 42" diameter pipe comes in lengths we estimate to be 40' long. We think the project has probably come to a screeching halt in this area due to wet, cold weather. Yup, we've had rain and snow.

Another 'last chance' ride we enjoyed was meandering all around the backroads in southern Idaho. We went to Preston, Cleveland, Soda Springs, Bancroft, Montpelier, Strawberry Canyon etc. We passed the birthplace of our departed dog, Katie. We stopped at Chesterfield Reservoir and drove by the many buildings of yesteryear which have been restored in the old Chesterfield settlement.

DUP was held here on Monday. I fixed sour cream enchiladas, chicken/shoestring potato salad and fixed apple dumplings with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

I got a roster for the temple group I'm in. I am so amazed at the dedication of those who travel so far twice a week to work in the temple. On my shift there are three couples from Cokeville, Wyoming! There are a couple of women from Swan Lake, Idaho, a man and wife from Paris, Idaho, another couple from Ovid, Idaho, some from Malad, Dingle, Laketown etc. It makes me appreciate how close we live to the Logan Temple. I should never complain.

Many of the bus runs Reed makes are for special needs students. He has empathy for the handicapped children who live with difficulties and limitations. He can only imagine the hardships some families must endure. He is really grateful and feels especially blessed for the good physical and mental health of each member of our family.

Having gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it!

Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law Ross (2nd), sister-in-law Jodie (5th), my brother Kent (11th), sister Jean (11th) and also to my granddaughter, Ashley, who will officially be a teenager on the 15th! And don't forget niece and nephew, Jamie and Eric...and the list goes on!

All is safely gathered in, Ere the winter storms begin

November? The grass is still green and growing and we're still mowing it. Temperatures have been above normal. I'm loving it though I know come Monday, colder temps and storms are coming. We bought some fleece sheets in preparation for chilly nights. Some of our trees have lost most of their leaves while others haven't even changed colors yet. We have a couple of rose bushes blooming and there are fresh-picked radishes in the fridge. Reed bottled the last batch of tomato juice of the season while I was at the temple the other day. Our garden has been cleared off and freshly tilled. The flower beds have been put to sleep for the winter. Now if those pesky voles would skedaddle!

We took Jayse to Sam's Club and had him pick out a cake for his 10th birthday.

Andrew had surgery on Oct. 26th and was released from the hospital on Oct. 30th. Robin reports that he did well and the surgery was able to be done by laproscope. Andrew's dad was able to come from Arizona to be with him.

Our YSA ward had Family Day this past Sunday. Way more people showed up than had RSVP'd. One of the high councilors saw the huge crowd and made a run to Walmart for rolls, ham, cheese and condiments to supplement the shredded, bbq'd pork we already had. He was hoping he would be forgiven for shopping on Sunday, but was truly getting the ox out of the mire. Well over 500 people were fed, and they kept going back for more. The 32 dozen cookies lasted only about half way through the throng of people.

As usual, when I am at the temple, Reed is home alone. Now today, I am home and Reed is driving a school bus. Some evenings and on Sunday, I am home and he is at church. We wish the scheduling would work in our favor at least part of the time. :(

Last Monday we had FHE at our house for some of our YSAs. This coming Monday I am hosting DUP here. What shall I fix for the luncheon???