102125, Tuesday

Daily Vitals:

Weight: 230.3, GMI: 6.8, Steps (previous day): 5,820, Blood Pressure: 119/72 Pulse: 86, Reported Sleep: 5:22 (61)

102025, Monday

Daily Vitals:

Weight: 229.7, GMI: 6.8, Steps (previous day): 3,386, Blood Pressure: 119/67 Pulse: 75,  Reported Sleep: 6:01 (76)

Journal Entry

Getting ready to fly to Virginia tomorrow. Should be a fun week.

Come Follow Me 

D&C 121:7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

10 Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.

The point is that faith means trusting God in good times and bad, even if that includes some suffering until we see His arm revealed in our behalf. That can be difficult in our modern world when many have come to believe that the highest good in life is to avoid all suffering, that no one should ever anguish over anything…

"…I…suggest that “one’s life…cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free.” It simply will not work “to glide naively through life,” saying as we sip another glass of lemonade, “Lord, give me all thy choicest virtues, but be certain not to give me grief, nor sorrow, nor pain, nor opposition. Please do not let anyone dislike me or betray me, and above all, do not ever let me feel forsaken by Thee or those I love. In fact, Lord, be careful to keep me from all the experiences that made Thee divine. And then, when the rough sledding by everyone else is over, please let me come and dwell with Thee, where I can boast about how similar our strengths and our characters are as I float along on my cloud of comfortable Christianity.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Apostle

“Burdens provide opportunities to practice virtues that contribute to eventual perfection. They invite us to yield ‘to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and [put] off the natural man and [become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and [become] as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father.’ Thus burdens become blessings, though often such blessings are well disguised and may require time, effort, and faith to accept and understand.”

L. Whitney Clayton of The Presidency of The Seventy, October 2009

101925, Sunday

Daily Vitals:

Weight: 229.4, GMI: 6.7, Steps (previous day): 9,704, Blood Pressure: 101/64, Pulse: 74,  Reported Sleep: 7:10 (91)

Journal Entry

I met today with Bishop Schoonover at Tithing Declaration for the year. Before meeting with him, I met with Cathy, our CFO, and verified that we have, as in past years, paid an honest tithe so far this year, plus an extra $200 per month for other church managed donations. We are blessed in so many ways because of these donations. I'm grateful that we have the opportunity to contribute in this way.

Cathy still hasn't got her new phone activated. Xfinity is apparently incapable of finishing the job. We've talked to numerous people including people at the xfinity store. We got the phone... Everyone agrees...but their "system" cannot be convinced and won't allow the phone to be activated. Seems like someone should be able to pull a switch or push a button but no one can figure out how to do it. Meanwhile Cathy has two phones. Her old phone for making and receiving phone calls and her new phone for photos and whatever else phones do other than make phone calls. Truly amazing!

Come Follow Me 

D&C 120:1 Verily, thus saith the Lord, the time is now come, that it shall be disposed of by a council, composed of the First Presidency of my Church, and of the bishop and his council, and by my high council; and by mine own voice unto them, saith the Lord. Even so. Amen.

"The “bishop and his council” and “my high council” referred to in this revelation are known today as the Presiding Bishopric and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, respectively. These sacred funds are used in a rapidly growing church to spiritually bless individuals and families by constructing and maintaining temples and houses of worship, supporting missionary work, translating and publishing scriptures, fostering family history research, funding schools and religious education, and accomplishing many other Church purposes as directed by the Lord’s ordained servants...In the...Church, two basic and fixed principles are observed. First, the Church lives within its means and does not spend more than it receives. Second, a portion...is set aside as a reserve for contingencies and unanticipated needs...The leaders...feel a tremendous responsibility to care appropriately for the consecrated offerings of Church members. We are keenly aware of the sacred nature of the widow’s mite."

Elder David A. Bednar, Apostle

While Doctrine and Covenants 119 represents “the beginning of the tithing of my people” (D&C 119:3), it does not serve as the end of the law of consecration. Consecration is a holistic law that involves more than just temporal things; it encompasses all of an individual’s time, talents, and gifts to build up the kingdom of God. Latter-day Saints may not be asked to sacrifice all these things for the kingdom, but those who accept the sacred covenants of the temple signify their willingness to sacrifice these things if needed.

101825, Saturday

Daily Vitals:

Weight: 231.0, GMI: 6.6, Steps (previous day): 3,545, Blood Pressure: 117/68, 83, Reported Sleep: 6:17 (80)

Journal Entry

We spent most of yesterday trying to get Cathy's new iPhone to be functional and failed.

Three weeks ago, Friday, September 26th, we decided to leave Verizon and go to Xfinity for our cell phone service. I wanted to keep my iPhone 13 pro max because it works well and I'm happy with it. Cathy had an iPhone 13 pro (not pro max) and was not very happy with it so we went to an Xfinity store and tried to switch from Verizon to Xfinity. 

We went to the Xfinity store in American Fork. My phone got switched and we tried to buy Cathy a new iPhone 17 pro max. They didn't have any 17 pro max in stock but told us we would be sent one by the following Tuesday, September 30th, and we could activate it when it arrived and send Cathy's old phone in to Xfinity as a trade in.

Tuesday came and went but no new phone.

Cathy waited two more days until Thursday, October 2nd, and tried to call Xfinity to see what was going on. They apologized and said her phone would be arriving soon. This went on until Thursday, October 16, when we got notified by our Ring doorbell that a delivery man from UPS was trying to deliver a package. We were two minutes away and he waited for us. Cathy got the phone and signed for it.

We decided to hang on to it and go into the Xfinity store the next morning (October 17) to get their help in activating the new phone and trading in her old phone. They tried to help but couldn't get the new phone activated because Xfinity "had no record that the new phone was delivered."

We went home and upon examining the papers that came with her new phone, I found a phone number to call for assistance. So I called and got a man who was obviously speaking English as a second language. This was not a problem at first but when I began explaining that we needed the new phone activated he kept saying that we needed to send in her old phone before the new phone could be delivered. 

The new phone had been delivered and I had it right in front of me but I couldn't make him understand that. And I advised that we would send the old phone back right away as soon as the new phone was activated. He advised that they had no record that the new phone was delivered. I told him I had it right in front of me and I had order numbers and serial numbers and could send him a picture of it if he wanted. I finally asked for his name and location. He gave me a name that seemed phony and said he was located in Florida. I asked to speak to a supervisor. He said they were all busy and put me on hold and never came back.

Cathy called them again and after nearly two hours they told her that her phone would be activated within 24 hours. Still hasn't happened. So we're going back to the store and see what we can make happen. My thinking is since they "don't have any record that the new phone was delivered" we should tell them to just switch her old phone over to Xfinity and just hang onto the new phone until they acknowledge we got it. Then we can give them the old phone as soon as they activate the new one. That probably won't work either so...

Will try again this morning at the store. 

Otherwise we're just trying to get ready for our vacation to Virginia which starts with a flight this Tuesday from Provo to Washington Dulles.

Come Follow Me 

D&C 119:3 And this shall be the beginning of the tithing of my people.

4 And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.

"What a marvelous law! He who has not only the power and the means to bless His children temporally and spiritually, but also the desire to do so, has provided to us the key to those blessings that we both need and desire. This key is the law of tithing. Indeed, as stated by President James E. Faust: “Some may feel that they cannot afford to pay tithing, but the Lord has promised that He would prepare a way for us to keep all of His commandments. To pay tithing takes a leap of faith in the beginning. … We learn about tithing by paying it. Indeed, I believe it is possible to break out of poverty by having the faith to give back to the Lord part of what little we have.” My brothers and sisters, we have but to obey the law."

Elder Daniel L. Johnson of The Seventy

101725, Friday

Daily Vitals:

Weight: 228.1, GMI: 6.5, Steps (previous day): 7,474, Blood Pressure: 102/64, 83, Reported Sleep: 6:23, (74)

Journal Entry

Had a good day at the Bishops Storehouse. A lot of senior Missionaries were gobs so we were busy but everything went well.

Cathy got her new phone finally. IPhone 17 promax. Top of the line. We're going to go over to the xfinity store to let them help her set it up. I still have my 13 promax which is still working great.

Come Follow Me 

D&C 118:3 Let the residue continue to preach from that hour, and if they will do this in all lowliness of heart, in meekness and humility, and long-suffering, I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that I will provide for their families; and an effectual door shall be opened for them, from henceforth.

"Yes...we have work to do. Thank you for the sacrifices you make and the good you do. Keep going, and the Lord will help you. At times you may not know quite what to do or what to say—just move forward. Begin to act, and the Lord assures that “an effectual door shall be opened for [you].”...It is true that we are in many ways ordinary and imperfect, but we have a perfect Master who wrought a perfect Atonement, and we have call upon His grace and His priesthood. As we repent and purge our souls, we are promised that we will be taught and endowed with power from on high."

President D. Todd Christofferson, Apostle

101625, Thursday

Daily Vitals: Weight: 229.4, GMI: 6.4, Steps (previous day): 8,448, Blood pressure: 127/77, 76, Reported Sleep 5:02 (58)

Journal Entry

We walked at University Place then had brunch at First Watch. 

We drove up to UofU medical facility for a doctor's appointment for Cathy with Dr. Sundaresh. She had had less than satisfactory appointments with him in the past but he is purported to be an accomplished endocrinologist and Cathy is trying to get her osteoporosis under control.

He is, I think, from India and we got the feeling that he is sort of dismissive of unaccompanied women. I decided to go with her this time and he was very attentive and helpful. We both were pleased with the visit and it looks like he is going to oversee her treatment for at least three next 6-12 months. Anyway, success so that was good.

Then we went to Fashion Place for Cathy but she couldn't find anything that she wanted so we ate at Cheese Cake Factory and came home.

Come Follow Me 

President Russell M. Nelson taught that if the Lord were speaking to us directly, the first thing He would make sure we understand is our true identity: we are children of God, children of the covenant, and disciples of Jesus Christ. Any other designation will ultimately let us down.

D&C 117:4 Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is property unto me? saith the Lord.

 "Stubborn selfishness leads otherwise good people to fight over herds, patches of sand, and strippings of milk. All this results from what the Lord calls coveting “the drop,” while neglecting “the more weighty matters.” Myopic selfishness magnifies a mess of pottage and makes thirty pieces of silver look like a treasure trove. In our intense acquisitiveness, we forget Him who once said, “What is property unto me?”

Such is the scope of putting off the burdensome natural man, who is naturally selfish. So much of our fatigue, brothers and sisters, in fact, comes from carrying that needless load. This heaviness of the natural man prevents us from doing our Christian calisthenics; so we end up too swollen with selfishness to pass through the narrow needle’s eye."

Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Apostle 

101525 Wednesday New First Presidency announced

Daily Vitals: Weight: 229.9, GMI: 6.4, Steps (previous day): 5,085, Blood pressure: 121/74, 71 Reported Sleep 6:03 (71)

Journal Entry

We went to breakfast today at First Watch and this was the view from our booth. The mountain is, I believe, Kyhv Peak.

President Oaks revealed yesterday that his new First Counselor will be President Henry B. Eyring and his Second Counselor is President D. Todd Christofferson.

I support those three completely. Now looking forward to finding out who the next Apostle will be.

Come Follow Me 

D&C 115:6 And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.

"Likewise, the stakes of Zion are “a refuge from the storm” because they are led by those who hold priesthood keys and exercise priesthood authority. As you continue to follow the counsel of those whom the Lord has authorized to guide you, you will feel greater safety."

President Russell M. Nelson