Graven Angels

Over at Paper Traders, I am managing the current round robin journal project but was disappointed that I couldn't commit to actually participating this year.  Working 50-60 hours per week at my two jobs has left precious little time for making actual art.  What time I do have is spent doing more management type work for the group, although I have been trying to host the occasional ATC swap.

Even though I did not participate in this year's round robin, I did make a spread in my mom's journal which has the theme of Graven Angels.  Everyone's work so far has been lovely but they tend to be dark and somber - no surprise, really, given that it's all about cemetery statues!  Yet, death has never felt like a dark spectre to me so I wanted to make a page that was lighter and more introspective...

...in fond memory of George, Grandma Betty, Jennifer, Grandpa Holso, Alyssa, Uncle Ronny, Danny, and Aunt Joyce.  I love and miss you all and I'll see you someday soon!

Remembering Danny

I received word this weekend that a dear childhood friend passed away last week and although I have not seen him in over 20 years, I have found myself spontaneously bursting into tears ever since I got the news.

I have known Danny Gatten almost my entire life, since we were toddlers; and he was my best friend when we were young children.  I followed him around everywhere... we often walked to and from school together, sometimes walking backwards in the snow so that no one would know that we were coming instead of going; we would play kick-the-can in the street with the other neighborhood kids; we went to the movies, rode bikes, played board games, jumped on the trampoline.  Every Sunday night, our family would go over to their house and the kids would all head downstairs to fight over whether we should watch "Swiss Family Robinson" (the Gatten's choice) or "The Wonderful World of Disney" (the Holso's choice)... usually agreeing to trade off every other week; our parents would be up in the kitchen - our Dads making milkshakes for everyone and our Moms chatting at the kitchen table as women tend to do.

Danny was a fun, popular, and kind person.  When other kids would tease me on the playground, he always stood up for me and would invite me to hang out with him and his friends or let me sit on the sidelines while he played ball with his buddies.  And, honestly, that's all I really wanted to do because I worshiped that boy!  I thought he was the cutest, coolest guy in the world and he was MY friend.  Oh, how I dreamed that someday he would be more!

Eventually, our family moved away and time & distance did their thing.  Although our parents kept touch, Danny and I didn't for very long and we each grew up and went on with our lives.  Once, shortly after high school, I was able to see him again.  He had grown into a very handsome young man and was still so kind and friendly to me.  Funny how no matter the years that had passed, he still made me feel all giddy inside.

I guess I share all this because I, like most girls, have never forgotten my first love.  And I am feeling sad that although I remember the boy, I never really got to know the man... and now he's gone and I will never have that chance.  And it's such a shame that someone so young (only a year older than me) should pass away.  I also feel sympathy for his family who was almost like a part of my own.  Nearly every childhood memory has the Gattens in it - they played such an important role in our lives.

"Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love...  'Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die.' (D&C 42:45)  Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life."

~Russell M. Nelson

I'm grateful for my knowledge of the plan of salvation.  My testimony of God's eternal plan of happiness brings me a measure of comfort and I hope his family feels that too.

ARTIVITY Giveaway

My Paper Trader friend, Lorri has had quite a creative frenzy and is sharing some of her resulting treasures... check it out!

http://auslorri.blogspot.com/2010/01/giveaway-for-my-blog-followers.html

BECOMING SAVIORS ON MOUNT ZION

Since I have continued to receive positive feedback in doing this, it's time for another installment of Beckie teaches Relief Society. The lesson below comes from the manual, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Chapter 41. Entries in italics represent excerpts from the manual or other quotes, as indicated.

BECOMING SAVIORS ON MOUNT ZION

• Note how Joseph Smith and the early Saints grew in their understanding of the doctrine of baptism for the dead.
As the Saints moved forward with this sacred work, “it soon became apparent that some had long records of their dead, for whom they wished to administer,” recalled Elder George A. Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. “This was seen to be but the beginning of an immense work, and that to administer all the ordinances of the Gospel to the hosts of the dead was no light task. Some of the Twelve asked Joseph if there could not be some shorter method of administering for so many. Joseph in effect replied: ‘The laws of the Lord are immutable; we must act in perfect compliance with what is revealed to us. We need not expect to do this vast work for the dead in a short time.’”

• Think about how the Saints might have felt when they first learned of salvation for the dead.
It seems apparent by their actions that they early saints were both excited about the work and also felt a great responsibility to it.

• What were your feelings when you first participated in ordinances for the dead?
I grew up in the Denver area before we had a temple here and our youth group used to take long bus trips to Manti to do baptisms for the dead. It was always a wonderful experience. The first time that I went, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the names there were to do – and by how fast the ordinance worker could say the words before dunking me in again for the next person on my list… there was barely time to catch my breath!
On many occasions, I experience a sensation that seemed to send both chills and warmth from the top of my head all the way down to my toes and I knew, in that instant, that someone was very happy that I had performed this service for them.

The doctrine of salvation for the dead shows the greatness of God’s wisdom and compassion.

• How does the doctrine of salvation for the dead show God’s compassion and mercy?
(Excerpt from: Why These Temples? by President Gordon B. Hinckley):
Was there ever a man who truly loved a woman, or a woman who truly loved a man, who did not pray that their relationship might continue beyond the grave? Has a child ever been buried by parents who did not long for the assurance that their loved one would again be theirs in a world to come? Can anyone believing in eternal life doubt that the God of heaven would grant His sons and daughters that most precious attribute of life, the love that finds its most meaningful expression in family relationships? No, reason demands that the family relationship shall continue after death. The human heart longs for it, and the God of heaven has revealed a way whereby it may be secured. The sacred ordinances of the house of the Lord provide for it. But all of this would appear to be unfair indeed if the blessings of these ordinances were available only to those who are now members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fact is that the opportunity to come into the temple and partake of its blessings is open to all who will accept the gospel and be baptized into the Church. For this reason, the Church carries forward an extensive missionary program in much of the world and will continue to expand this program as widely as possible, for it has the responsibility, under divine revelation, to teach the gospel to “every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.” But there are uncounted millions who have walked the earth and who have never had the opportunity to hear the gospel. Shall they be denied such blessings as are offered in the temples of the Lord? Through living proxies who stand in behalf of the dead, the same ordinances are available to those who have passed from mortality. In the spirit world these same individuals are then free to accept or reject those earthly ordinances performed for them, including baptism, marriage, and the sealing of family relationships. There’s no compulsion in the work of the Lord, but there must be opportunity. This vicarious work constitutes an unprecedented labor of love on the part of the living in behalf of the dead. It makes necessary a vast undertaking of family history research to find and identify those who have gone before. To assist in this research, the Church coordinates a family history program and maintains research facilities unmatched in all the world. Its archives are open to the public and have been used by many who are not members of the Church in tracing their forebears. This program has been praised by genealogists throughout the world and has been utilized by various nations as a safeguard of their own records. But its primary purpose is to afford members of the Church the resources needed to identify their ancestors that they might extend to them the blessings that they themselves enjoy. They in effect say to themselves, “If I love my wife and children so dearly that I want them for all eternity, then should not my deceased grandfather and great-grandfather and other forebears have opportunity to receive the same eternal blessings?” And so these sacred buildings are scenes of tremendous activity, quietly and reverently carried forward.

• In what ways can this doctrine “enlarge the understanding” and “sustain the soul”?
There is so much to learn and understand about the Gospel and the Lord’s Plan of Salvation for us. Only by studying the scriptures and the words of the prophets will we be able to “enlarge our understanding” of these things.
The answers to our questions and the comfort they bring to us can “sustain our souls” and increase our faith in Heavenly Father’s love for us both collectively and individually.
This great plan of redeeming our dead solidifies this loving bond with our Father by helping us to know that every single one of His children is special and is given equal opportunity to live with Him for eternity.

We become saviors on Mount Zion by performing sacred ordinances for the dead.

• What does it mean to be a savior on Mount Zion?
“But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah.”

• Why do you think it is impossible for our deceased ancestors to be made perfect without us?
(Excerpt from Gospel Library – Gospel Topics on LDS.org, Baptisms for the Dead):
Jesus Christ taught that baptism is essential to the salvation of all who have lived on earth. Many people, however, have died without being baptized. Others were baptized without proper authority. Because God is merciful, He has prepared a way for all people to receive the blessings of baptism. By performing proxy baptisms in behalf of those who have died, Church members offer these blessings to deceased ancestors. Individuals can then choose to accept or reject what has been done in their behalf. Jesus Christ said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Even Jesus Christ Himself was baptized (see Matthew 3:13–17). Many people have lived on the earth who never heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ and who were not baptized. Others lived without fully understanding the importance of the ordinance of baptism. Still others were baptized, but without proper authority. Because He is a loving God, the Lord does not damn those people who, through no fault of their own, never had the opportunity for baptism. He has therefore authorized baptisms to be performed by proxy for them. A living person, often a descendant who has become a member of [the Church], is baptized in behalf of a deceased person. This work is done by Church members in temples throughout the world. Some people have misunderstood that when baptisms for the dead are performed, deceased persons are baptized into the Church against their will. This is not the case. Each individual has agency, or the right to choose. The validity of a baptism for the dead depends on the deceased person accepting it and choosing to accept and follow the Savior while residing in the spirit world. The names of deceased persons are not added to the membership records of the Church.

• Why do you think it is impossible for us to be made perfect without them?
John A. Widtsoe (“The Worth of Souls,” The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Oct. 1934, p. 189.):
“In our preexistent state, in the day of the great council, we made a[n] … agreement with the Almighty. The Lord proposed a plan. … We accepted it. Since the plan is intended for all men, we became parties to the salvation of every person under that plan. We agreed, right then and there, to be not only saviors for ourselves but … saviors for the whole human family. We went into a partnership with the Lord. The working out of the plan became then not merely the Father’s work, and the Savior’s work, but also our work. The least of us, the humblest, is in partnership with the Almighty in achieving the purpose of the eternal plan of salvation.” “That places us in a very responsible attitude towards the human race. By that doctrine, with the Lord at the head, we become saviors on Mount Zion, all committed to the great plan of offering salvation to the untold numbers of spirits. To do this is the Lord’s self-imposed duty, this great labor his highest glory. Likewise, it is man’s duty, self-imposed, his pleasure and joy, his labor, and ultimately his glory.”

God has placed upon us a great responsibility to seek after our dead.

• What is our great responsibility to “seek after our dead”?
(Read excerpt from: Michael Otterson, “In Search of My Dad - Online,” Ensign, Oct 2009, 58–61):
All Done? Some say, “My family history is all done.” Others say, “Uncle Fred is doing it all.” That’s a bit like saying, “I don’t go to Church, but that’s okay because Uncle Fred goes for me.” The fact is that we need to be personally engaged in family history so our hearts will be turned to our fathers. Then we will forge that welding link between our ancestors and us that is so important to the Lord. Think about it. We each have four grandparents and that doubles each generation. In 10 generations we have 512 “grandparents” – not counting the thousands of other family members they bore. In 16 generations, we have nearly 33,000 direct ancestors. Our family history hasn’t all been done – I guarantee it.

Elder Theodore M. Burton, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, “Genealogy: A Personal Responsibility,” Ensign, Jan 1973, 52:
Stated, …in simple words, I say to every member of the Church that you have a personal, individual responsibility to become engaged in priesthood genealogical activity. The real impact of the priesthood genealogy program is one of individual responsibility. The actual work must be performed by individuals, not by organizations. What is everybody’s business is nobody’s business, so I must say that this work is your individual responsibility and each of you, as an individual, must become converted to this work as a personal responsibility. It is not my responsibility alone, nor that of your stake president, nor that of your bishop alone. It is not confined to the high priests. Neither is genealogy and temple work reserved for older people. It should not be put off until you retire or become too old and infirm to do anything else. Some persons have asked me, “Just what is my personal responsibility in this work?” I answer that your individual responsibility is to be, or to become, worthy to enter the temple of God to participate in ordinances of salvation for yourself and for others. Youth are to be baptized in behalf of the dead. Young adults are to receive an endowment of power and to be married in the Lord’s appointed way. Wives are to be sealed to husbands and have their children sealed to them for all eternity. Thus, just as you can be saviors for the living through active missionary work, so you are to qualify yourselves to become saviors for those who are dead who rely on you for help and assistance.

• What can we do to help children appreciate their family heritage and participate in temple and family history work?
What Young Adults Can Do (from Michael Otterson, “In Search of My Dad—Online,” Ensign, Oct 2009, 58–61):
I doubt there are many young adults who aren’t familiar with how to use a computer. The same isn’t true for many of their parents or grandparents. So I want to encourage you as young adults to do three things next time you are in their home. 1. Download. If your parents or grandparents have a computer with an Internet connection but don’t have an electronic family history program on their hard drive, go to www.familysearch.org and download a free copy of Personal Ancestral File (PAF) or other family history software for them. It will take you only a few minutes. 2. Tutor. If they have never done any family history work, sit down with them and get them to enter their own names into the software. Enter husband, wife, and children—no more for the moment—and just add the names, birth dates and places, marriage dates and places, and death dates and places. That will take about 20 minutes. Then encourage and help your parents or grandparents to gather up any written family history information from shoeboxes, scraps of paper, and pedigree charts and to begin entering it into the computer. In the weeks to come, help them with this goal. Once information is in an electronic format, you will be able to access the power of the Internet and amazing things can begin to happen as you search for your family history. If you do not know how to access this information from the Internet, a Church family history specialist should be able to help you. 3. Interview. If you can, use a digital recorder or digital video camera and ask your parents about their early lives and what they remember of their parents and grandparents. Do this in multiple sittings, but get it while you still have the blessing of living parents and grandparents. If you don’t have that opportunity, then try to gather this information from aunts and uncles or anyone of the previous generations. If you don’t do it, those memories will pass out of existence. Becoming involved in family history as young adults will turn your hearts toward your ancestors, enrich your temple experiences, and help to unite your family together forever.

Pose the following questions to the class:
• What experiences have you had as you have learned about your ancestors?
• How has your love for your family and your faith in God been strengthened as you learned about your ancestors?
• How has performing temple ordinances for your ancestors influenced your feelings about them?

Family Search Basics and FREE genealogical software available at FamilySearch.org

Closing

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008), “Excerpts from Recent Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign, July 1997, 73:
“I hope that everyone gets to the temple on a regular basis. I hope your children over 12 years of age have the opportunity of going to the temple to be baptized for the dead. If we are a temple-going people, we will be a better people, we will be better fathers and husbands, we will be better wives and mothers. I know your lives are busy. I know that you have much to do. But I make you a promise that if you will go to the house of the Lord, you will be blessed, life will be better for you.”

Two years ago, we lost my cousin's young daughter to Cystic Fibrosis... With your support, we can make CF stand for Cure Found!

Here's a montage of Jenn's pics her mother created online at onetruemedia.com.

In 2 months, they will be having 2 teams walking in the Great Strides Walks for Cystic Fibrosis in South Dakota - May 30th in Rapid City and June 6th in Sioux Falls. Please join Jenn's Green Team at one or both of these sites and help raise money and awareness for CF in memory of Jenn. Even if you don't want to fundraise, please come join us! We want to make CF stand for Cure Found!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Remembering Alyssa

This week, we lost our dear friend Alyssa to a brain aneurysm. She was a special spirit and a good friend. I pray for her husband and young son to find solace in this difficult time and in the knowledge that families are forever.

Randy Pausch reprising his Last Lecture

If you've got 10 minutes to spare, this is worth the time:
Randy Pausch reprising his Last Lecture

Family Resemblance

My mom sent me this photo of my late grandmother and commented on the resemblance... what do you think?

The Passing of a Prophet

President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.

President Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 12 March 1995.

The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from causes incident to age. Member of his family were at his bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days.

He was in his late 90s. He arrived at the office early and often left late. He traveled the world at a breathtaking pace and kept up a speaking schedule that would drain the energy of men decades younger.

"I would enjoy sitting in a rocker ... listening to soft music and contemplating the things of the universe," he once told the Associated Press. "But such activity offers no challenge and makes no contribution."

Gordon B. Hinckley, the venerable and beloved president and world leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was described by veteran 60 Minutes television journalist Mike Wallace as "a genuinely remarkable man ... (a) warm and thoughtful and decent and optimistic leader."

Back in 1933, with a bachelor's degree from his hometown University of Utah in hand, 23-year-old Gordon Hinckley had his sights set on graduate studies and then a journalism career. Columbia University in far-off New York City was the school of choice.

But before leaving his boyhood home in Salt Lake City and heading off to the East, he accepted a call to serve as a missionary for his church.

Two years in the British Isles, where he not only "spread the word" but also picked up some leadership skills along the way, didn't change his professional goals. As his mission service wound down, the Great Depression in the United States was in full throttle. Times were tough.

But he still harbored hopes that he could find the financial means to study at Columbia's renowned journalism school. From there he hoped ultimately to find a professional outlet for his considerable writing skills.

As young Gordon prepared to set sail from England back to the United States, his mission leader asked him to call on Church headquarters as soon as he returned home to Salt Lake City and tell them of the need for publicity materials in not only England, but all of Europe. There was an urgent need to help missionaries better explain their faith.

That last mission assignment changed the direction of his life. Impressed by his plea for an information program to buoy up missionary efforts, Church leaders asked him to come aboard and spearhead the development of such a program.

The rest, as they say, is history.

On that day in 1935, when he was assigned to run the Radio, Publicity and Mission Literature Committee of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nobody could have foreseen that 60 years later Gordon Bitner Hinckley would become the global leader of a faith that today includes almost 13 million adherents spread over many nations.

He never became a professional journalist. But, ironically, he was interviewed by hundreds of them over the years, including reporters from Time magazine, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and many other major publications around the world. In recent years he appeared on national television news shows such as 60 Minutes and Larry King Live.

This gifted wordsmith also honed his writing skills in a variety of Church assignments over the years and was renowned for the wit and wisdom of his self-written sermons. His sparkling sense of humor balanced the generally serious nature of his messages from the pulpit.

Despite his age, President Hinckley was blessed with a keen mind, good health and incredible energy as he led the global expansion of a faith that, according to U.S. News & World Report, "has sustained the most rapid growth rate of any new faith group in American history."

Latter-day Saints viewed President Hinckley as a prophet of God in the same way they revered the prophets of scripture. Church members believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is literally a restoration of the church originally established by Jesus Christ during His mortal lifetime. Part of that restoration includes living prophets.

"This is not a reformation," President Hinckley said. "This is a restoration of that church which was set up by the Savior. This is the handiwork of the God of heaven and His Beloved Son."

President Hinckley's deep involvement in the world expansion of the Church long predated 1995, when he became its world leader at age 84. He was involved in major leadership roles since 1958 and was ordained in 1961 to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles — one of the highest governing bodies of the Church.

President Hinckley was by far the most traveled of the 15 prophets who have led the Church since the restoration in the early 19th century, logging more than 250,000 miles over the years in meeting with, instructing and inspiring Latter-day Saints in dozens of nations. In fact, at the age of 95, he traveled nearly 25,000 miles on a seven-nation, nine-day tour to Vladivostok, Russia; Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong, China; Delhi, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Aba, Nigeria; and Seoul, South Korea.

He was the driving force for the erection of dozens of Latter-day Saint temples in the past few years, bringing the number to over a 120 around the world. Temples, which are special buildings reserved for the highest sacraments of the faith, are significantly different from the thousands of chapels or meetinghouses used for Sunday worship.

President Hinckley personally initiated a smaller, more practical style of building so that temples could be erected more readily in far-flung locations and be more accessible to Church members.

He also oversaw the rebuilding of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple, built on the same site and to virtually the same exterior specifications and design as the original Nauvoo Temple, which was dedicated more than 160 years ago. At a news conference prior to the dedication, President Hinckley said: "The past is behind us, and the future ahead never looked better than it does today. ... This is the greatest season in the history of the Church, and it will only get better."

President Hinckley frequently expressed concern for the well-being of all of God's children and was aware of the impoverished circumstances of many members of the Church in underprivileged countries. On 31 March 2001 President Hinckley announced the creation of the worldwide Perpetual Education Fund to assist missionaries from areas of the world such as Asia, Africa, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Philippines, who often return to a life of poverty after Church service, lacking the resources to pay for an education.

President Hinckley made clear this was not a welfare effort, but an educational opportunity. He said, "Where there is widespread poverty among our people, we must do all we can to help them lift themselves, to establish their lives upon a foundation of self-reliance that can come of training."

During the 2002 Winter Olympics, President Hinckley welcomed the world to Salt Lake City. He personally met with political leaders such as President George Bush and participated in 13 interviews with major media from all over the world. Many remember Church leaders on the steps of the Church Administration Building as the torch was passed to President Hinckley and he invited the crowd to salute the Games' athletes and organizers, the state of Utah, the United States and the whole world as they joined in celebrations of excellence.

On June 23, 2004, President Hinckley was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award, by President George Bush. President Hinckley said: "I will be deeply honored to receive this prestigious award from the president of the United States. I am profoundly grateful. In a larger sense, it recognizes and honors the Church which has given me so many opportunities and whose interests I have tried to serve."

And serve he did into his late 90s with the same unselfish vigor he was characteristically known for. In a rare moment of personal introspection, President Hinckley talked about his health during the Church’s general conference in October 2006.

“The President of the Church belongs to the entire Church. His life is not his own. His mission is to serve. … The Lord has permitted me to live; I do not know for how long. But whatever the time, I shall continue to give my best to the task at hand.”

(photo & excerpt from http://newsroom.lds.org)