Twenty Third Week

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
November 10, 2013

A Beautiful Fall Day

What a beautiful day, sunshine and blue skies.  Earlier this week it snowed for the first time and temperatures dipped into the twenties and now warmth and sweater weather again.  We wonder how long this will last.  The sisters eager to wear their fall/winter clothes broke out their boots, scarfs and coats this week.  About March they will be very anxious to be wearing springlike clothes again.

 

We went home for P-day this week.  Dentists and doctors occupied our time while we were there.   Also, we were anxious to bring back Christmas items to decorate our little apartment.  It will be quite different this year without a full-fledged Christmas in our home, but we have Temple Square with all its decorations and beauty.  In fact, this week they finished stringing the lights on all the trees and starting putting up poinsettias around the visitor’s centers.  Also two very large lighted trees were installed on the grounds.  We think sometimes that all of this is premature but really Thanksgiving is around the corner.



Our District within our Zone

We were asked to speak in our zone this week.  Our topic was “Our Missionary Calling.”  It was decided that we would bring back our missionary call letter from home and read it.  Actually it was quite emotional for us to do so.  I think sometimes we don’t realize that we truly are representatives of Jesus Christ.  As such, we have certain responsibilities to uphold.  I think each day we are asking ourselves if we are doing enough.  Hopefully, we instilled within the sisters a desire to again reread their call and take it to heart.

Cesar in the Tabernacle

The excitement this week was teaching Cesar twice.  Again, as was mentioned before, he is an amazing young man.  He is constantly teaching us.  Tonight we were to talk about tithing and one question we asked of him was if he knew anything about tithing.  This one question triggered a whole discourse from him.  All we had to do was to say “amen” to what he said.  He is going to be baptized this next Saturday and be confirmed on Sunday.  He asked Taggart to do the confirming which is really an honor for him.  He is also having such an impact on his family.  Each night he teaches his mother about the gospel and actually she defended the Church at her Catholic services when a priest was out of line saying something derogatory about the Church.  We have hopes that because of his influence she and others in the family will eventually join the Church.

Our Beautiful Tablernace

We had an interesting experience at the Organ Recital on Wednesday.  As the recital begins we don’t allow anyone to come into the Tabernacle until after a number is completed.  The guests need to stay in the Observation Room.  On Wednesday four men came into the Observation Room and I told them they could not enter the Tabernacle until after the first number.  As I looked at the faces of the gentlemen, I realized I knew one of them but couldn’t place him.  Taggart came to the rescue and knew that it was Rick Santorum, a Republican Presidential Candidate, who had run against Mitt Romney.  Taggart talked with him for a moment and thanked him for his high standards.  He told Taggart that he was working with the Church in a media capacity with an organization he belongs to.  He shook our hands and went on his way.  Quite exciting!

Practice in the Assembly Hall

We are again terribly busy.  The sisters have been practicing for months to put on a musical fireside in the Assembly Hall coming up this Tuesday.  So, for the past several days we have been getting up very early to run through all their numbers.  There is such great musical talent among the sisters, so it should be a wonderful program.  Cesar and the local missionaries will be attending so we look forward to that.  We all will be singing one number “Called to Serve” while holding our countries flags.  It is quite emotional for me, so I hope I don’t cry.