010225, Thursday, My 79th Birthday

Daily Vitals: Weight: 229.2,  GMI: 6.7, Steps (previous day) 4,946

Journal Entry

Beth and Karen came over yesterday afternoon and we had a nice visit, played games and Cathy served another delicious meal. Karen, who has never married, is so talented and has such a great attitude. She has, in my opinion, been a blessing to Beth who would otherwise be living alone. She has a pretty nice set up in Beth's basement with her own bedroom and bath and she is very helpful to not only Beth but anyone who might need her.

Today, Jake and Meredith are taking us out to breakfast at Corner Bakery to celebrate my birthday. That should be fun. Then later I think we might go to the Bishops Storehouse and help out there.

We took down all of our indoor Christmas decorations yesterday and I'm planning on taking down the outside decorations tomorrow. The temperature outside is supposed to get to the high 40s so that's not too bad.

Come Follow Me 

The "We Believe" app has been giving us excerpts from the Bicentennial Proclamation:

The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, A Bicentennial Proclamation to the World

By The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This is the fifth segment:

"We further witness that Joseph Smith was given the gift and power of God to translate an ancient record: the Book of Mormon—Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Pages of this sacred text include an account of the personal ministry of Jesus Christ among people in the Western Hemisphere soon after His Resurrection. It teaches of life’s purpose and explains the doctrine of Christ, which is central to that purpose. As a companion scripture to the Bible, 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."

In April 2020, Elder Ulisses Soares Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in his general conference address said:

"The translation process of the Book of Mormon was also a miracle. This sacred ancient record was not “translated” in the traditional way that scholars would translate ancient texts by learning an ancient language. We ought to look at the process more like a “revelation” with the aid of physical instruments provided by the Lord, as opposed to a “translation” by one with knowledge of languages...The Lord’s help in the translation of the plates—or revelation, so to speak—is also evident when considering the miraculously short time Joseph Smith took to translate them."

Commentary on D&C 18:37–47

As instructed here, Oliver and David, assisted by Martin Harris, conducted the search to find the first Quorum of the Twelve in this dispensation. The date the search began is unknown, but in a conference held on October 26, 1831, Oliver declared that the Twelve would be “ordained and sent forth from the land of Zion” (Minutes, 25–26 October 1831, 15, JSP). The record of the February 1835 meeting at which the Twelve were called reads, “President Joseph Smith Jun^. said that the first business of the meeting was for the three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon to pray, each one, and then proceed to choose twelve men from the church as Apostles to go to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people. The three Witnesses, viz, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, united in prayer. These three witnesses were then blessed by the laying on of the hands of the Presidency. The witnesses, then, according to a former commandment, proceeded to make choice of the Twelve.”[1]

The first members of the Quorum of the Twelve chosen by the witnesses were (listed in the order given in the history of the Church) Lyman E. Johnson, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, David W. Patten, Luke Johnson, William E. McClellin, John F. Boynton, Orson Pratt, William Smith, Thomas B. Marsh, and Parley P. Pratt. Since all of the Twelve were called at the same time, they were ordained in order according to their ages. Oliver Cowdery delivered the first charge to the Twelve.[2]