Dad and Mom Update for April 2009

As you all know Dad and I went down to St. George for UPHA meetings. Dad was able to get about 12 hours of CE which will help towards the 30 hours he will need this fall. The drive down was uneventful; except for a little bit of rain. I had asked my brother John if we could stay with him. We arrived Thursday Afternoon and enjoyed a great evening with Gloria and John. Both Sunny and Gloriana came over with their cute little ones. Kelli was going to be gone for the weekend so regretfully we didn't get to see her sweet little baby. All three of the girls are pregnant again. Kelli is due in July and Gloriana in August. Sunny is just a couple of month along. This has been so fun for John and Gloria to get some more grand babies. On Friday, Dad was gone all day and John went to work for a while. Gloria and I talked non stop and also visited the girls. They all live within about 2 miles of each other. Kelli and Sunny live across the street from each other.
In the late afternoon, Mac and Amparo came up also. We had such an awesome time visiting with them all and sharing a lot of stories from our past. Gloria fixed a great dinner and then John said a wonderful prayer. As he was praying; I knew that Dad and Mom were there with us. After the prayer they all said they felt it too. This was a sweet experience. On Saturday we continued to visit and then we left later in the afternoon. Dad and I had decided to drive to Richfield to stay over night and see Aunt Alene and Uncle Keith on Sunday. We also were hoping to maybe see Mari.
Our cousin Mari's husband passed away with a heart attack on Wednesday. The funeral was on Saturday. She had been married to Mark since 2005. They were cousins; so Mark was our cousin too. He had a heart attack at the age of 59. His father also died of a heart attack when he was 55 years old. There family owned the Richfield Reaper for 75 years. This was the town paper. I used to play with one of Mark's sisters when I was little. I also played a lot with Mari and Mitzi, my Aunt Alene's daughters.
We got up on Sunday and went to church. It was one of the most spiritual meetings that I have been in for a long time. There was a young couple who spoke on their feelings about the temple.
They had just been to the temple the week before and been sealed as a husband and wife along with their year old baby. The girl told about many of the mistakes she had made with her life.
She had done about everything possible to rebel. Drugs, Alcohol, and etc. He was a return missionary that had got in trouble with her. They had both been excommunicated. They had such sweet humility as they told their story of coming back into the church.
She mentioned that her repentance process started on the day that they got married. She said that as she walked down the aisle to be married; that she thought too herself she was getting married for time and she loved him so much she wanted him for eternity. She told about her repentance process. She said she would go into the Bishop in tears with a desire to come back; but he would tell her not yet. At times she would be mad about that; but now she sees why that was necessary. He told about going on his mission and the testimony that he had while in the mission field. He expressed his love for her and how much he wanted to be with her for eternity. He said they were both subborn and had prideful hearts. He talked about his road back and then described what it was like to be in the temple kneeling across the alter being sealed to her and then having them bring in their baby boy. It was so powerful and they were both so humble about the repentance process they went through. I can't even begin to say how affected Dad and I were. We cried through both their talks and most of the congregation did has well.
It was so wonderful to see their full humility and love for the Savior and the temple covenants.
She even talked about her garments and how she would never want to be without them; that they made her feel warm and protected inside.
Afterwards we went to Aunt Alene's and had a good visit. We didn't get to see Mari. Mitzi had come up from California with her husband and he wasn't able to go to the funeral do to him having the flu. Dad encouraged Aunt Alene to have him go to a doctor to see if he had Swine flu.
The drive home was very tense. It snowed hard over the Lavan desert. We of course didn'thave our snow tires on so it was slick. There was a rollover just a few minutes a head of us. I was so grateful when we finally got home.
All I can say is that I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For answers to prayers. For witnessing the change in both my brothers as they prepared to take their families to the temple.
This event was probably the closest I have ever felt towards my brothers and wifes. I know that my parents were there part of the time and are so happy to see this event. We continue to stress with you all the importance of the temple in your lives and the fact we want no empty chairs in our eternity.
Hugs and Loves to you all! Dad and Mom
PS. I will post some pictures later when I figure out how to download them off my new Blackberry. Dad got a two for one deal and personally it is a little complicated for me. Although it is amazing that I can get my email and facebook on it. Doing a email might be a different story; that will take some time for sure.