Friday, March 21, 2014



Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
March 16, 2014

It is already the middle of March and spring is upon us.  I still struggled physically this week, but am on the road to recovery.  The flowers on Temple Square are out in abundance and it is delightful to walk around the grounds and admire the beauty.  In only a couple of weeks it will be General Conference and we have the privilege of listening to our leaders and greeting thousands of people visiting the Square.

This week personally I was taken aback by the love the sisters extended to me while I was ill.  Their love and concern for my health was overwhelming.  I received teas, cookies, chocolate, cards and gifts from these lovely sisters.  Their example to me has made me want to emulate them in word and deed.  Because of the outpouring of love from them, I’ve had to write many thank you cards.

We love being eternal companions and serving the Lord



Taggart for part of the week was still a lone man teaching and greeting.  His leadership is greatly appreciated as he heads our Senior Couple Group Meetings.  He certainly is on top of things and his organizational skills will serve us well as we head into summer and the hospitality tours.  We love being companions and serving the Lord.






Sister Frost's English Class



The English classes are still going strong although it appears there may be some changes.  I have two more weeks before I say goodbye to my sweet class.  Each week as I teach them, I am struck by their humility and total trust in the Lord.  Language is such an obstacle to them, yet is doesn’t stop them from going forth and being the best they can be.  I will miss these intimate and special moments with them as changes take place.



The Sisters love Sister Frost




A good friend - Peter Robinson
We had an unexpected surprise when Taggart’s friend and colleague, Pete Robinson, came to the Square.  I know for Taggart it was fun getting caught up with all the changes at UVU and hearing from his friend about colleagues and associations.  Hopefully they can always stay in touch because they have very similar personalities and interests.



With me back on the Square again we have hopes of going through the many names we have on our call list.  Because the call center is having challenges, phones haven’t been working properly.  So, we have been stopped in our tracks in calling these individuals.  Some of these people may be waiting for the gospel to be taught to them!  Taggart did have discussions with Junior and Diane.  Again, unfortunately, they are not progressing.

We were able to go to Cesar’s home to visit with his mom, sister and her new baby this week.  They are all so welcoming and friendly that we hope at some point they will be interested in the gospel.  Also Cesar was sustained in stake conference to the Melchizedek Priesthood.  Taggart was going to ordain him after stake conference, but at the last minute found out that it would be done next Sunday.  We look forward to the event.

Thursday, March 13, 2014



Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
March 9, 2014


Our present District - Sister Frost still ill
This has been another week of sickness for me.  Who could believe that two weeks have passed and I am still no better.  However, I did go to the doctor and am now on antibiotics.  This sinus infection or whatever it was put a grip on my body like nothing I have ever experienced before.  Hopefully, the next blog entry will reveal that I am feeling better.

Taggart has been busy on the Square without his companion.  This last week he visited with Junior, Jason, and Diane.  Taggart keeps saying that he wants to drop Junior because all he wants is to debate.  He seems to have no real interest in the church but wants to continue the discussions.  Anyway, at least for now, they will talk weekly.  Jason met with Taggart on Saturday and it was good to see him again.  After talking about the role of a prophet within our church, Taggart took him to see “Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration.”  Because everything he is learning is so different for him he struggles with these new concepts.  (Christ, prayer, prophets, etc.)  He asked him to continue reading the Book of Mormon and pray.  We think it may be a long road for him in his understanding and learning, but he is in our prayers.  Diane was called too this week, unfortunately, Taggart was unable to have a real discussion with her.  She is struggling with a business venture that is falling apart.  Her whole emphasis at the moment is thinking of what she can do to keep this enterprise going.  I’m sure Taggart tried to uplift her and have her center herself on Christ and His great strength in her hour of need.

On Friday we held zone conferences at a stake center very close to the Square.  Because we were in charge of food that day, I left my sickbed.  We had ordered food from the Church Office Building, but much to our dismay, they messed up the orders.  It was a little chaotic but everything worked out in the wash.  Taggart was able to attend some of the sessions, but after the food was served I went home.  I am sure the sisters learned a great deal from the material presented that day and were uplifted.

Sister Horlacher - she was one of the Sister Missionaries that assisted us in teaching Mimi White in Kentucky - Mimi was baptized in September
A large hospitality tour of 150 people occurred this week.  This group contained people from all over the world who were in Utah to explore the dairy industry.  They were divided up into five groups each with a sister companionship and a senior missionary pulling up the rear.  They enjoyed their visit to Temple Square and asked some very thought provoking questions.  We look forward to other hospitality tours that will occur on a regular basis starting in May.

We are excited because next week Cesar will receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.  He approached Taggart again to perform that ordination.  He is so thrilled and ready to be an Elder.  He had hopes that perhaps his stake president could pull strings so that he could go on his mission earlier than November, however, it doesn’t appear that this can happen for him.  He will have to wait a year before he can go to the temple.  So for now, he will be a ward missionary.






Salt Lake Temple Square Mission
March 2, 2014


Tabernacle and the Temple in March


Unfortunately, I have been sick for most of the week.  Perhaps I have been too cocky because I haven’t seen sickness for months.  With so many sisters and visitors coming to Temple Square there are germs everywhere.  Anyway, the illness hit me very hard and consequently Taggart has been a lone man without his companion for days.  Being down really makes you appreciate the healthy days and feeling good.  The sisters have been very kind to me bringing remedies for me to try so that I could get better. Sister Xu from Vietnam brought over a rice soup and instructed me to eat it because it was good for me.  She also said I should drink at least ten glasses of warm water a day.  Sister Jin from China brought us stir fry.  We are always getting a little something from them even if it is only a candy kiss.  They love to share and to give.

Taggart still had discussions with Junior and Diane this week.  Junior just wants to debate so Taggart doesn’t see these discussions going anywhere.  Diane is the same.  She loves portions of the church and its doctrine, but there are other things she cannot accept.  Unfortunately, we may lose Diane too.  Jason couldn’t come to the Square on Saturday but we hope to see him next week for sure.  He seems to be the only progressing investigator we have at the moment.  As some sisters left the mission they gave us some of their contacts.  We still have work to do in getting in touch with them.

We have been planning food for zone conferences coming up next week.  It has been a little wild and crazy getting answers to questions such as when, where and what time things would happen.  Anyway, we hope all will be in order next week.  Taggart has also been working on a large hospitality tour coming up next Wednesday.  There will be 150 people coming from thirty-two different nations.  

Our Beautiful Temple in March
We heard from Cesar this week that his sister had her baby.  He testified to us again of the spiritual nature of the whole event and the Plan of Salvation.  We bought her a baby gift and hope to take it to her soon.  Because she had a bad experience with the missionaries, we hope that maybe we can have an influence on her in a positive way.  We also need to see his cousin, Nayelli, again and reinforce what she has been learning.  We don’t want to lose the opportunity to follow up with her.

Another celebrity sighting took place a couple of weeks ago by Taggart.  As he was walking by the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in ran into Sheri Dew, author and former counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency.  Anyway, he stopped her and thanked her for the gifts she gave to the sisters at Christmas time.  She said if she could do anything more to please call on her.  Well, he approached her personal assistant this week and asked if she could talk to the sisters in Relief Society.  We have not heard back as yet, but hope that she will respond to his request.  It would be wonderful if she could speak to us because she has been one of my favorites for some time.  By the way, I just finished her latest book this week, Women and the Priesthood.