Monday, April 6, 2020

The Book of Mormon








". . . the Book of Mormon testifies that all human beings are sons and daughters of a loving Father in Heaven, that He has a divine plan for our lives, and that His Son, Jesus Christ, speaks today as well as in days of old."
from A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World

Many know with fervent zeal
God the Father is quite real.
And he loves us, ev'ry one;
that is why he sent his Son.
Life is not a random spiel;
Jesus Christ does still reveal
to his prophets what is meet 
for our lives to be complete.





Sunday, April 5, 2020

Photo Essay: Chimneys. Vol. 2










Photo Essay: Postcards to my President. Vol. 17








The Good Friday Fast


President Russell M. Nelson


“During times of deep distress, as when illness reaches pandemic proportions, the most natural thing for us to do is to call upon our Heavenly Father and His Son—the Master Healer—to show forth Their marvelous power to bless the people of the earth. …
"I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized."
President Russell M. Nelson

Thy footstool comes unraveled, Lord; we don't know what to do.
Our lives are far from normal as pandemics kill anew.
Our treasures and our monuments are hollow and unstable;
our leaders have but itching ears and follow ev'ry fable.
As from abundance we retreat, as we begin to fast,
have mercy on our plight, O Lord, forgive our follies past.
Heal our ravaged planet and restore our fragile hold
on the Hope of Ages, even Jesus Christ of old!

Saturday, April 4, 2020

Photo Essay: Blue so sharp




Blue so sharp
it cuts the stone
beneath the snow.




Do we know
what trees really 
do at night?




Plastic yellow.
A disappointing
peril.








You can take the gray
out of the ground
but you can't take the ground
out of the gray.






Dawn.
Flushed with shame
at being reduced
to a postcard.




The pregnant cloud
breaks water
over the mountain.

Friday, April 3, 2020

If I Survive





. . . and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.
Alma 34:38

If spring finds me a faded scrap,
crossing o'er that fatal gap,
I will spend my final day
giving all my thanks away --
thanks for sunlight on my face;
thanks for snow's forgiving lace;
thanks for honey on warm bread;
thanks that I was temple wed;
thanks for friends and folly, too;
I cherished laughter like fondue.
But if my time is not yet done
I'll praise the Lord (and have more fun!)

Thursday, April 2, 2020

A Promise About the End of the Coronavirus from an Apostle of God.



Remember and never forget': Elder Holland teaches graduates how to ...
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland


“He who created this marvelous world in which we live can say to any of the elements in it: ‘This far and no farther.’ That is what He will say to this blight we are facing. In the presence of His majesty, even subatomic-sized creations must bend—if only figuratively—and each in its own way ‘confess’ that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the great Redeemer of all."
Jeffrey R. Holland


He who stilled the tempest on the Lake of Galilee,
who overruled the elements to open the Red Sea;
The Lord of Hosts we call him, since all things obey his will --
his majesty and power give to ev'ry soul a thrill.
His promise is deliverance from this malicious blight;
his prophets have declared it far into the weary night.
So put your trust in Jesus Christ, the greatest Architect,
and witness how pandemics by Almighty God are checked.

How great are thy works



Book of Mormon - Wikipedia

Lord, how great are thy worksand thy thoughts are very deep.
Psalm 92:5


Of what use wealth
if for our health
we live like hermit lorn?
Through God's design
he prunes the vine
and we like sheep are shorn.
We cannot know
while here below
what Majesty intends.
But testify
that by and by
he'll greet us as his friends.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Ye are little children



Book of Mormon - Wikipedia

 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you . . . 
D&C 78:17

I am but a child, O Lord, upon this spinning plane;
without thy care and guidance my existence is in vain.
How small my quibbles are to thee, how trivial my fears;
and yet thou hast assured me thou will wipe away my tears.
I cannot fully comprehend the blessings in thy hands;
to me they seem elusive, like the desert's shifting sands.
Help me to understand, dear Lord, what it must really mean
to live the gospel fully with a joy that's evergreen!

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

I cannot speak in tempered tones

President Russell M. Nelson

President Russell M. Nelson

Restoration of God's truth is an established fact.
The details are available, and not in the abstract!
Broadcasting to all the world, a prophet speaks for Christ;
embracing ev'ry race and creed -- it's priceless but not priced!
The invitation is extended to each man and child;
come unto the Savior who is powerful and mild!
Clasp hands through ev'ry mortal storm and testify anew
to one and all that Jesus Christ will safely see us through!