I think we have all been blown away by how fast and how quickly things change minute to minute. The week started out vey normal. We had our weekly mission devotional where the choir sang. Every quarter We have a catered dinner and this one was held on the 26th floor of the Church Office Building. We had a lovely buffet of Chinese food and the largest choice of desserts I have ever seen. I chose the carrot cake which was out of this world. After dinner we met at the Assembly Hall for a special devotional on the first vision done by President Fenn, our mission president. Our Choir, the Ensign Choir sang again. It was a very good as he talked about the different versions of the first vision. I did not realize that the first written account of the first vision was not written for 12 years after the vision. The differences are really insignificant and taken all together actually gives us more clear understanding of the vision. I don't understand how that shakes the faith of many in the church. Not me.
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| Our missionaries from the balcony of the Assembly Hall March 9, 2020 |
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President Jerry Fenn teaching us about the first vision.
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| Looking South from the 26th floor of the Church Office Building March 9, 2020. |
Tuesday and Wednesday found us doing Capstone. We have 17 couples getting ready to go home. We are feeling more comfortable with our new assignment and it looks like we will be taking over for April instead of May. Tuesday night our Relief Society went to the Humanitarian Center and had a tour and then worked on quilts. It is amazing what the church does. I was surprised to learn that about 90 percent of the ones who work there are refugees and not members of the church. They are given lunch, job training, and English lessons and helped to find jobs. I am so grateful to be a small part of the Lords work.
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| Touring the Humanitarian Center. March 10, 2020. Notice the flags from all the countries they serve. |
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| This board showed all the employees placed in jobs. Most were from the Congo. |
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| Debra and Sandy Briggs happily tying a quilt. |
I have been battling sty's in my right eye. I have a third one forming in the last 3 months and none of them have completely cleared up. I ended up going to an ophthalmologist who prescribed an antibiotic and told me to be very diligent with the moist hot packs. I have done so and with prayer and treatment I am hoping to get through this mess. After our appointment we returned to Capstone for the final day for this group. Near the end of the class we got information that Conference was canceled. When President Nelson said this conference would be like none other and to prepare ourselves for a very special conference. This will definitely be a unique conference. Soon we learned all special events on temple square are cancelled as well as Music and The Spoken Word. I just can't believe how fast things are changing. Our tickets to Noteworthy, Synthesis, Tabernacle Choral Spring concert, Messiah, and everything else are not to be. BYU and UVU classes are all suspended and will be done online. Brenan, our BYU grandson, left today to go home to Mesa. Alea, our granddaughter at UVU is staying here to continue her job at Kohl's. Like idiots we went to Costco for gas and a few things. There were so many people with little on the shelves. They actually had employees directing traffic in the parking lot. What were we thinking.
Friday we went to the Timpanogos Temple with our Training Zone missionaries. We had 8 there and the session was quite full. We then joined our good friends Bob and DeeAnn Buchanan in their beautiful home in Alpine. She made us a delicious lunch and we had great fun walking down memory lane in the Philippines. We went through pictures and relived some great times. It never fails to amaze me how a picture brings back such amazing memories. Just a challenge to everyone to write your story.
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| Our dear friends DeeAnn and Bob Buchanan March 13, 2020 |
As we drove home in a freak snowstorm, Buchanan's called with the announcement that all the temples worldwide were closing except for special appointments for living ordinances. We were so grateful we went for one last time for who knows how long. Friday night we had a game night with the Briggs. So fun.
Saturday we got an email that we would be going into the office on Monday if we choose to and then today we heard that the Joseph Smith Memorial Building will be closed for now. Family History Library is closed and the Church Library and Church Museum also. We are to work from home for the time being. We are so grateful we have learned so much about family history because we can definitely work on it. We will be getting together with the Inglet's, who we are replacing in Capstone, in our apartment to continue our training for Capstone.
The work on the Temple continues. They will not stop their work! "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing."
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| South side of the temple March 11, 2020. Notice the underground tunnel. |
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| where the South Visitors Center used to be. |
Saturday night at about 10:00 we had so many sirens going. We got up to look and there was a 4 alarm fire going on across the street in a 3 story apartment. They had the ladder truck and firemen on the roof cutting through with chain saws. There was no smoke until they cut through the roof and then here came the smoke but not as much as we would expect. We had an excellent view from our balcony, and there were many missionaries and others out in their PJs to watch the excitement. It was going on still for an hour and a half when we finally went to bed.
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| Firefighters on the roof of the building across the street 10:15 PM March 14, 2020 |
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Very colorful night. The apartment was very dark this morning. 10:30 PM March 14, 2020
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