It's a Girl

We are excited to announce that we are expecting a baby on December 4. We just found out a few weeks ago that we will be having a girl. Brooklyn is very excited to have a baby sister because “she already has a baby brother why would she want another one."

The AWESOME message of the Gospel

As I sit here pondering on world events and life in general, I can’t help but be extremely grateful for the blessings I have been given to live in the time that I do. I know I have written some difficult blogs in the past stating some of the things that our Nation is about to go through and we as church members, but I must admit that at least when I am doing what I should be doing, rather than being worried or frustrated, I am actually very excited.

I don’t know why I have been blessed with the testimony that I have been given, but even from my childhood I could never deny that the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is once again on the earth. I love it. I love living it. I love everything about it. It is the answer to the problems of our day. Lately it has come at me stronger and stronger as I study the difficulties that our generation faces. Our country is about to go through some of the most difficult times it has ever experienced, and yet what awesome days are in front of us because we will be able to see the Glory of God revealed as these trials come upon our land.

When I see people struggling, I can’t help but think and even tell them, “Do you realize we have a modern day Prophet of God on the earth today?” There is nothing more glorious on the earth than that message. Armies can come against us, our own government can turn against us, and as Joseph Smith once stated, even the very pits of hell can open up before us, but if we realize this simple little fact that God is in charge, then we need not fear.

This land belongs to the covenant followers of Jesus Christ, those willing to keep the commandments, do his will, and defend their freedom. To these people, the Lord will reveal his will and show his power in the face of danger. We do not need to fear any government that acts as an enemy to the people, rather we need to keep the commandments and listen to the sweet words of a Prophet of God in our day and take action in doing what is right.

I can’t help but feel sorry for those who are not attending church or who are not partaking of the blessings that are to be had by church membership and attendance. I cannot by any means say I am perfect in this respect, but what I can say is that this is not a time to be casual in our relationship with divinity. We are not alone in our struggles and we do not have to fight our battles alone. The purpose of a prophet is to give us hope in times of trouble and to act as instruments in God’s hands to prepare his people against times of trouble. What a tragedy for someone to miss out on these blessings because of either not being aware of a modern day prophet or not listening to him when he does speak. We see things as they are in the present, but prophets are entitled to see things as they are and as they will be, therefore their insight is critical in these days.

When it comes to the church itself, there are three possibilities. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is either all true, all false, or part true and part false. If it were false, then we would not need to give much heed to it. Even if it were part true and part false, then we would not need to give very much heed to it. If it really is true however, which I bear witness of it being, then we need to give all that we have to be as active in the church as possible since this is the only way to safety, security, and eternal life. We can have our Father in Heaven fight our battles for us, but we must first be willing to do our part so that he can intervene and help us maintain our liberty and freedom. I still do not understand people who will say they know the church is true, and yet will not live the gospel to its fullest. In my mind it is kind of like knowing there is a flood coming your way and yet not moving to higher ground to avoid its effects. What good does it do that person to know the flood is coming, if in the end they are still drowned in the rush of water! If you know the church is true, then live it.

I know that Thomas Monson is a prophet on the earth today and is entitled to speak as the Lord’s mouthpiece the words we need to hear at this time. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Heavenly Father’s church on the earth today to give us direction, keep us on the right path, and lead us into the paths of safety. I invite all who are reading this who are members of the LDS church to strive to live the gospel with all of their hearts so that we can be worthy of his divine help. To those who are not members of the LDS church, I invite you to read the Book of Mormon, listen to our modern day Prophet, and study the message of the restored gospel. I promise as you do this you will find direction in a troubled world and peace will come into your life.

For more information, please visit one of the church websites:
www.mormon.org
www.lds.org

Parable of the Chickens and the Fox's

Their once lived a bunch of chickens out in the far yonder who were in need of security to keep them safe and secure. So, one day the head chicken went into town and went to a contractor who dealt with security work. Mr. Chicken walked all proud into the contractor's office, and said, "We need some security guards to protect us and keep us safe. Do you have any who would be willing to protect our residence and keep us safe? We will pay them with some of the eggs we produce." The Security Contractor said to Mr. Chicken, "We do have some who would be willing to do this for you, but you will need to give up some of your liberties for us to do this." Mr. Chicken thought this was kind of odd, but a deal was worked out and a security contract signed wherein the Chickens would have security around the clock.

The security contractor happened to be friends with some in town who did security work and who did it at a reasonable price. Since he needed security guards for this new contract, he went to this group and asked if they would be willing to protect the chickens. This group, who happened to be foxes, told the Security Contractor, "Why yes we would be more than willing to protect the chickens because they live right in the same vicinity as our favorite fast food restaurant." The Security Contractor thought that to be an ideal situation so a deal was struck wherein the Foxes would guard the Chickens.

The work started and the Foxes started guarding the chickens. There were some stipulations on the agreement though; one of these was that the Chickens could never see who it was that was really guarding them.

Well some time went by, and the Chickens lives starting CHANGING for the worse. Chickens started disappearing, and the Foxes started placing heavy restrictions on the chickens’ lives. Foxes started breaking in through the supposed Fox security presence and wreaking havoc. To compensate for this, the Security team decided they needed more eggs from the chickens to continue to keep them safe. The Chickens gladly agreed and they began to pay more and more, but the only problem is that it seemed their problems only seemed to get worse. Their were more and more attacks and with each attack, the Security team would come back and tell the chickens they were going to have to give up more and more of their rights and pay more so that they would be protected. Each time the Chickens reluctantly agreed to do so and yet their problems continued to get worse and the restrictions placed on the chickens began to make less and less sense.

A year later, after the contract was signed, there were no more Chickens left at the farm. They had "mysteriously" all disappeared. The fast food restaurant frequented by the foxes however was doing very well with lots of food for all.

(By the way, we are not the foxes, we are the chickens)

Daddy's In Charge

A few weeks ago Forrest was so nice to take care of the kids while I had a girls day out at the spa with some work friends! I was able to get a massage, manicure and pedicure. Then we finished up by having dinner. Needless to say it was very refreshing to have a small break in my week and be able to treat myself to something I wouldn’t normally do. The best part was returning home to my kids who were so happy to see me. The time to recharge was even worth the hours following where I got to put my house back in order and clean up the tornado that always hits when Dad's in charge!

Trip to San Diego

After a long summer of being apart, we broke down and decided to go on vacation to San Diego. We have to thank Holley’s parents for allowing us to stay in their time share for a few days. Holley’s parents had a time share that they had reserved for a full week and found out that Holley’s dad would not be able to come down until the middle of the week. Because of this, Holley’s mom invited us to come down and spend some time with her, kiddos and all!. We lengthened our stay by getting a hotel room on Coronado Island just outside of San Diego on the Navy base for a very reasonable price.

It was so nice to be able to get away to see the beech, the ocean, and just to be on vacation as a family. We had great weather and everything went well for us. An added bonus was that my sister Heather and her son Ryan were able to come down half way through the vacation and spend some time with us. We also through in a trip to Sea World in the mix of adventure, which was definitely interesting from our days of not having any children. Holley and I used to live down in San Diego during the summers so that we could earn more money for school. It is definitely one of our favorite places to go and visit.

It was really funny to see Zackary in the ocean since it was the first time that he has ever been their. It was also cool to see Brooklyn playing in the water and making sand castles. She has been to the beach on several occasions since coming into this world, but she was always so young that I don’t think she really understood the waves etc.

We all got our customary sun burns which is almost a given after coming from virtually no sun to being on the beach all day. Fortunately with some moisturizer cream, it was all good.

We want to make it a yearly tradition, but we will see what next year will bring. I told Holley that we could go even more than once a year if we actually lived in the west rather than the pretend west of Colorado, but that’s another story. It was nice to be a beech bum, surfer bum, and tourist; A great end to the summer’s many interesting adventures.

LET’S GET BACK TO THE BASICS

If you were to choose the most important trait in a candidate, what would it be? To many it would be the look of the candidate, or in other words how well his hair dresser and make-up person made him look. Another trait is how well he is able to give a speech, in other words how well he is able to read the speech that is already given to him in advance usually by someone else. Another trait that is often spoken of is how well he portrays himself. That I would give the candidates does take some talent.

It seems to me that the most important trait we should look for in a candidate is really basic in today’s age. It is simply this, will you Mr. candidate truthfully put the best interests of America before your own and before other self interests? I have little doubt that John Doe from a tiny little town in Idaho or some other way off place could run our country far better than the leaders we have in power today even with little or no knowledge of politics.

It is easy to see why such stupid things can happen in foreign policy and in other matters of the Presidency when you take into consideration that the candidate really didn’t care about the county at all, rather how it would affect his own self interests. How many times can deals be made against the best interests of the United States and we as Americans continue to believe it was a mistake or based on bad information? Last time I checked, coincidence multiplied by a million was no longer coincidence.

It is not coincidence that we are in the situation we are in politically and economically. When we Americans will set down at a TV set and talk for hours and hours on how we thought a certain candidate lied to us on television, how well his make-up person did his make-up (Last time I checked you could put make up on a pig, but it was still just a pig), or how he said just what we wanted to hear, is it any wonder we get such bad candidates. Last time I checked, a real leader was one who was willing to say what needed to be said, not what the people wanted to hear. Unfortunately that type of candidate is too old fashioned and outdated for our country, kind of like what they say about The Constitution.

Maybe if we actually want to live in a peaceful and prosperous country, we should start looking at some of those old fashioned things that used to make this country so great. It seems to me that a people that are so concerned with the trivial to overlook the factual, deserve what they get, not individually but as a whole.

The best candidate plain and simple is the one who will be a God fearing man who will put this country and its citizens first and foremost. Until you have met those criteria, don’t go worrying about makeup, speeches, or even presentation because it does not matter, the pig still wins and we the American people suffer!

You can tell far more about a candidate by looking at his past than by looking at him in a debate on the television screen. Unless you believe in last minute conversions of politicians who have every thing to gain by changing their story when it is convenient, vote for the candidate who has remained true to his office throughout his entire career rather than the one who looks good on television. If we as Americans would simply look at these criteria, miracles could happen; Miracles we desperately need at this time in our countries history!

Plan Accordingly and Carefully

Although no one can say for certain what will come of this huge mess we are in with the economy, some things are certain. We as a nation are in a world of hurt because we have allowed our leaders to build a huge debt load that we are now unable to pay. Politically there are many forces involved, but I am not going to get into those in this blog. This blog is only to give some perspective so that we can plan accordingly.

As tough as the truth may be sometimes, it is the truth that will make us free and give us options to plan in advance before we have to react to a situation. The whole reason for prophecy from the prophets is to give us some warning so we will not be so surprised when things happen and so that if we will head their warnings we can be prepared. This is a huge blessing we have as members of the LDS faith. We also have good reminders available to the general public through the bible, but these sources can never take the place of modern day revelation through modern day Prophets.

It does not take a genius with any kind of college education to understand that if you live off of borrowed income long enough, eventually there is going to be a day of reckoning. That day has come for us as Americans. It is sad that we as Americans may not be responsible for the situation individually, but as a whole we are because we have allowed our elected officials to carry on in a very reckless manner for way too many years. Because of this, we as Americans have some very very tough days before us.

We have two choices. We can prepare now so that those times will not be so difficult, or we can keep on pretending all is well in Zion, and find out all too late that things are really not all well is Zion. Our Prophets have told us to remain optimistic and to be hopeful, but to do this we need to know the truth.

Take this quote for what it is worth, but I would recommend anyone reading this to pray thoroughly about the counsel that is given and prepare accordingly. Take note of how current his statements are even though they are probably 3 decades old.

From the Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson we read:

"The pending economic crisis that now faces American is painfully obvious. If even a fraction of potential foreign claims against our gold supply were presented to the Treasury, we would have to renege on our promise. We would be forced to repudiate our own currency on the world market. Foreign investors, who would be left holding the bag with American dollars, would dump them at tremendous discounts in return for more stable currencies, or for gold itself. The American dollar both abroad and at home would suffer the loss of public confidence. If the government can renege on its international monetary promises, what is to prevent it from doing the same on its domestic promises? How really secure would be government guarantees behind Federal Housing Administration loans, Savings and Loan Insurance, government bonds, or even social security?

"Even though American citizens would still be forced by law to honor the same pieces of paper as though they were real money, instinctively they would rush and convert their paper currency into tangible material goods which could be used as barter. As in Germany and other nations that have previously traveled this road, the rush to get rid of dollars and acquire tangibles would rapidly accelerate the visible effects of inflation to where it might cost one hundred dollars or more for a single loaf of bread. Hoarded silver coins would begin to reappear as a separate monetary system which, since they have intrinsic value would remain firm, while printed paper money finally would become worth exactly it's proper value--the paper it is printed on! Everyone's savings would be wiped out totally. No one could escape.

"One can only imagine what such conditions would do to the stock market and to industry. Uncertainty over the future would cause the consumer to halt all spending except for the barest necessities. Market for such items as television sets, automobiles, furniture, new homes, and entertainment would dry up almost overnight. With no one buying, firms would have to close down and lay off their employees. Unemployment would further aggravate the buying freeze, and the nation would plunge into a depression that would make the 1930s look like prosperity. At least the dollar was sound in those days. In fact, since it was a firm currency, its value actually went up as related to the amount of goods, which declined through reduced production. Next time around, however, the problems of unemployment and low production will be compounded by a monetary system that will be utterly worthless. All the government controls and so-called guarantees in the world will not be able to prevent it, because every one of them is based on the assumption that the people will continue to honor printing press money. But once the government itself openly refuses to honor it--as it must if foreign demands for gold continue--it is likely that the American people will soon follow suit. This in a nutshell is the so-called 'gold problem.' (An Enemy Hath Done This, p. 218.)" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson p 639-640.)

Ezra Taft Benson, speaking of the upcoming economic crisis quotes Hamilton, but then also gives us hope to move forward and rebuild a monetary system and healthy economy which shall be a model once again for all the world. Benson states:
". . .it is even possible that some of the government manipulators who have brought us into this economic crisis are hoping that, in panic, we, the American people, literally will plead with them to take our liberties in exchange for the false promise of 'security.' As Alexander Hamilton warned about two hundred years ago: 'Nothing is more common than for a free people, in times of heat and violence, to gratify momentary passions by letting into the government principles and precedents which afterward prove fatal to themselves' (Alexander Hamilton and the Founding of the Nation, p. 21.) Let us heed this warning. Let us prepare ourselves for the trying time ahead and resolve that, with the grace of God and through our own self-reliance, we shall rebuild a monetary system and a healthy economy which, once again, will become the model for all the world. (An Enemy Hath Done This, pp. 220-21.)" (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson p 640.)

Unfortunately, many of the American Sheeple will plead with Washington for extreme measures, including the new monitory system that is prepared for us, without which no man will be able to "buy or sell." Hence, you had better be prepared to have perhaps a year supply of food, clothing, and fuel where possible to get you through a years duration, and to stand independent of these atheistic murderers who have brought us to this situation.
Remember, the Wall Street Backed Communists (Bolsheveks were financed by Wall Street, David Rockefeller being a great ally to these wicked Murderers) have been planning our destruction. When Secretary of Agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson met with USSR Nikkita Cruschev who stated:
“I have talked face to face with the godless communist leaders. It may surprise you to learn that I was host to Mr. Kruschev for a half day when he visited the United States, not that I’m proud of it. I opposed his coming then, and I still feel it was a mistake to welcome this atheistic murderer as a state visitor. But, according to President Eisenhower, Kruschev had expressed a desire to learn something of American Agriculture — and after seeing Russian agriculture I can understand why. As we talked face to face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his and all other grandchildren will live under freedom he arrogantly declaired in substance:
“ ‘You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like overripe fruit into our hands.’

“And they’re ahead of schedule in their devilish scheme.” (Ezra Taft Benson “Our Immediate Responsibility.” Devotional Address at Brigham Young University. circa 1968.”) [access the audio file on this page.]
Be it remembered this statement attributed to Vladimir Lenon:
“The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency”