Below are a few photos that I took. It was difficult to get all the planets to show so I had to piece together a couple of photos.

"Nature is full of symbols with meaning. The most obvious, frequent, and repetitive symbol that you can find everywhere is the difference between the light and the darkness. When the sun is up you can see stuff. When the sun is not up and the moon is not up, you can’t see stuff. If you go into a room and there is no outside window, or it is dark at nighttime, and there is no light, you can hurt yourself in the dark. Light and darkness are everywhere testifying to you about the difference between truth and error, comprehension and confusion, what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is error. It is just the biggest symbol of all in Nature."
Photo taken last night of the total lunar eclipse as it was beginning to emerge from totality.
In our Chaotic world, what we need most from God is peace. But he doesn't want to force it upon us. He speaks to those who sincerely want to hear, who make the effort to hear. And it does take effort to hear. It means striving to mute the noise in our lives, to clear the clutter from our minds and the pride from our hearts. It means seeking sacred moments alone with the Lord. Simply stated, if we slow down and be still, we will know that He is God.
Below is a heavenly song based on these words from the 46th Psalm; Be Still and Know that I am God. It is an invitation to peace and reassurance that resonates through the ages.
Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household...Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight."
One week from today marks the 2 year count down until the second Total Solar Eclipse that crosses over America. I am trying to understand the significance of this cosmic event. It is interesting to look at the cities that fall within the narrow width of the Path of Totality. One of the cities that is almost dead center of the 2024 Solar Eclipse is Kirtland, Ohio. I just got back from visiting Kirtland this week. So many significant events happened in that small little city. If you didn't get to see the 2017 solar eclipse, it might be an interesting place to be at on April 8, 2024 to witness the next solar eclipse.
Here is the account of April 3, 1836.
On the third day of April 1836, Joseph and Oliver were in
the temple in Kirtland, Ohio. The veil was taken from their minds and the eyes
of their understanding were opened. They saw the Lord in his glory standing
above them and the breastwork of the pulpit; and under his feet appeared as it
were a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame
of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance
shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the
rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
I am the Alpha and the Omega; I am he who was slain, I am he who lives; I am your advocate with the Father.
Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me, therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice. Let the hearts of your brethren also rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name. For behold, I have accepted this house and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house. Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house.
Behold and see: The hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings that shall be poured out and the endowment with which my servants will be endowed in this house. Behold, the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands; and this is the beginning of the blessings I shall pour out upon my people. Even so. Amen.
As this vision closed, the Heavens were again opened to
their view, and they saw and beheld, and were endowed with knowledge from the
beginning of this creation to the ends thereof. And they were shown unspeakable
things from the sealed record of Heaven, which man is not capable of making
known, but must be revealed by the Powers of Heaven.
They beheld Michael, the archangel, Gabriel, and Raphael,
and divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the end of time, showing in
turns their dispensations, their rights, their keys, their honors, their
majesty and glory, and the Powers of their Priesthood; giving line upon line,
precept upon precept; endowing them with knowledge, even here a little and
there a little; holding forth hope for the work God was yet to perform, even
the revelation of all things which are to come upon the earth until the return
of the Lord in glory with His holy angels — to pour out judgment upon the
world, and to reward the righteous.
And they were unable to take it in; therefore, they were
commanded to pray and ask to comprehend by the power of the spirit, to bring
all things to their remembrance, even the Record of Heaven which would abide in
them. Amen and Amen.
In the Encyclopedia of Mormonism under the entry of 'April 6' it states that Christ was probably born in the spring at the time of the spring equinox. There seems to be more evidence to point to that, including evidence from early Christians like Origen. Origen lived around 250 A.D. and he certainly, among others, says that Christ was born on the spring equinox, which would've been a little bit different dating back then than it would be in our time. While others may disagree, one thing is for certain about the Spring Equinox. The Northern Hemisphere has the increase of light after the period of darkness, which symbolizes the triumph of light over darkness. This goes back as far as 6000 to 7000 B.C. where the ancient Egyptians celebrated the "Festival of the Triumph of Horus over Set." .
"And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed."D&C 93:6, 18-19
6 And John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory, and the fulness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed. And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John.Background History
18-19 And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall receive the fulness of the record of John. I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
There is a new edition of the scriptures being prepared which will use the JST of the Bible. That will result in both the Book of Moses and JS-Matthew being removed from the Pearl of Great Price. When I was asked to take a look at the project I had the impression that a new translation of John's Gospel was needed and ought to replace the missing texts. I asked a qualified Greek Scholar to undertake that project and he declined. But the impression remained that it needed to be done.
I made it the subject of prayer and was told to do the work. I spent a few days working with an English-Greek New Testament, the JS Translation of John, and a Greek Lexicon before becoming hopelessly discouraged by the many options and choices. I prayed about it before retiring for the night and essentially quit. I explained that it would take years for me to accomplish this, and that I was not going to be able to solve the riddles of the text. I went to bed assuming I was done with it.
In the middle of that night I was awakened and given the solution to every dilemma I had been facing in the work on the text. So the next day I continued on from where I had abandoned the work and, to my surprise, everything was opened to my mind so clearly and continuously that the entire project was completed in less than three weeks. The light of heaven opened the material in a way I had never thought of nor had previously attained to in considering the Gospel of John. At times it progressed so rapidly that I was unable to finish one part before the next came rolling out. Many new and different things were added, and at least one thing was dropped entirely because it was not part of John's original composition. Because of the rapid way it rolled out, once I finished the text I went back to clean up a lot of what had been left as incomplete sentences, run-on sentences, missing words (particularly conjunctions) and cryptic or inadequate explanations. The intent of the writer, John, was revealed, including why some things were included in the text and the manner he wrote.
When it began it was an attempt at a "translation" but by the time it was completed it was clearly a "revelation" and not merely a translation of a text. Therefore the result does not have my name on it, because I cannot claim any credit for the content. I failed in what I was attempting. What resulted came from heaven. -DS
A good friend of mine gave me some advice a few years ago. He suggested that I should post something positive in between blogposts that might come across as critical. So here is one such post.
Every year in January, I take a day off of work and spend it up in the mountains either to snowshoe, snowboard or ski. Here are a few photo that I took this year. It is a whole new world up there. Free from mandates, masks and mayhem.
Another piece of advice that I thought was super helpful that I want to incorporate into my life."Behold ye, the people of this great city, and hearken unto my words; yea, hearken unto the words which the Lord saith; for behold, he saith that ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them. Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ."And now it came to pass that Samuel, the Lamanite, did prophesy a great many more things which cannot be written.
"Today I’d like to talk with you in Europe about truth and prophets. In the literary folk tale the emperor's new clothes by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson, swindlers convinced the emperor that the new attire they made for him is of the most exquisite pattern, material, and colors. They emphasize that anyone who cannot see the extraordinary clothing is unworthy of his office or simply stupid. Everyone is duped by the charlatans even the emperor's most trusted officials. All the town's people join in the chorus telling the emperor how magnificent he looks as he proudly parades in front of them. No one wants to be thought of as stupid. However, one child boldly proclaims the emperor has no clothes on and that was the truth. Today it can be difficult to know who speaks the truth, but my testimony is that prophets of god always speak the truth. While many in the world's great and spacious building convincingly profess that evil is good and good is evil. Prophets speak the truth....
And now how will your life be blessed as you choose to follow President Russell M Nelson the prophet of god on the earth today who for four years has led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction of Jesus Christ himself. I’m grateful that my husband is the kind of man who many years before he was called to be an apostle said quote, “I never ask myself when does the prophet speak as a prophet and when does he not. My interest has been how can I be more like him” end quote. As his wife, may I offer you several examples of president nelson's life that you may want to emulate."
To listen to the entire meeting. Here is the link where you can listen to the things in Presidents Nelson's life that you should emulate in your life...
or we can read in our scriptures about the life of Christ and how we should emulate Him like taking care ofthe sick and the afflicted, and the poor and the homeless.
Years ago, when President Nelson was president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder and Sister Rasband attended an annual mission leadership seminar in Provo. Sister Rasband was scheduled to attend a meeting with the mission presidents’ wives, and for whatever reason, she arrived late.
“The room was full of our devoted sisters,” Sister Rasband says. “I stepped in near the back of the room, looking for a seat I could slip into.”
But as she was looking for a seat near the back, eye caught the eye of President Nelson, who was seated on the stand.
“He smiled. I smiled back, despite my embarrassment for being late,” Sister Rasband says. Then President Nelson held her gaze as he motioned with his finger for her to come take a seat on the front row. Not wanting to draw attention to her late arrival, Sister Rasband indicated that maybe instead she could stay and sit near the back. But President Nelson continued to smile and again beckoned for her to come and take the front-row seat that had been reserved with her name on it.
“There was power in that pointing finger,” Sister Rasband said.
So she smiled back, took a deep breath, and “walked the long walk” to the seat awaiting her on the front row. After the meeting, Sister Rasband bolted from her seat to try to catch President Nelson and ask forgiveness for not responding to his request the first time. His response was to again smile and lovingly say, “Thank you for being obedient.”“The Son of God has also invited each one of us to come unto Him to step up and be like Him. The Lord taught, lifted, blessed, forgave, and loved, ministering one by one like President Nelson did for me. Like we can do for others,” she said.
Tomorrow begins a New Year! I am looking forward to what 2022 has in store. If there is anything that gives me hope for the upcoming year, is to hike with the next generation who are willing to wake up in the middle of the night and hike in the snow in sub degree weather to see the sunrise. Here are a few photos from our hike last week.
Starting tomorrow a large group of youth is planning on fasting to overcome the challenges that are ahead of us. A fast is a way for people to band together as a people and become one.
Here is their invitation:
The youth have decided to fast, and would love for everyone to join us. We have decided to fast for the Lord's guidance in our efforts to do his work. For the entire month of January, choose a fast that will challenge you individually (examples could be social media, sugar, tv, etc.. these are a few ideas, but we don't want to limit your decision. Let the spirit guide your choice). We invite you to join us in becoming united as a people of one heart and one mind.
And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his spirit to go with them and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God...
(RE Alma 12:2)
Sidenote:
A friend of mine sent me a link to a sermon given last week by Pope Francis. I thought there were some excellent things he said. Here is one excerpt:
“The humble are those who are concerned not simply with the past but also with the future, since they know how to look ahead, to spread their branches, remembering the past with gratitude,” Francis told them. “The proud, on the other hand, simply repeat, grow rigid and enclose themselves in that repetition, feeling certain about what they know and fearful of anything new because they cannot control it.”
A few weeks ago the Church News featured an article entitled 'How 2 words from the Prophet to his wife touched a missionary - and me.' It describes how inspirational it was for people in attendance to hear President Nelson say "Good Job" to his wife.
Here is an excerpt from The Church News story that appeared on the back cover.
"The missionary also wrote about inviting friend of the Church to hear the Prophet speak. And the missionary wrote about the joy he felt when a young man walked miles to participate in the meeting.
It was, however, another observation by the missionary that struck me. He noticed and wrote home about being touched as he heard President Nelson whisper "good job" to Sister Nelson after she spoke.
The brief, tender exchanged - as they passes between their seats and the pulpit - was a sweet acknowledgment of her effort and his gratitude. For one second - the second before he would speak - he directed attention away from himself to her.
For the missionary, the moment was a sermon between the sermons.
It is hard to describe what that meant. It was the sweetest "good job" any one of us could have imagined. "
Last week over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Church demolished one of my favorite buildings on Temple Square, the North Visitors Center. It was built over a half a century ago. My family would go down there often to see the larger than life murals depicting scenes from the scriptures. The best was the spiral ascension walk up into the heavens to see the statue of Christ with his outstretched arms. I have great memories at Christmas when we would into this building to see the movie, Mr. Krueger's Christmas, and get warm from seeing the Christmas lights.
It is now gone. Demolished. Only to be a fading memory. I took one last photo of the building before the wrecking crew came in last week.
"Preserve these buildings, we beseech Thee, from injury or destruction by flood or fire; from the rage of the elements, the shafts of the vivid lightning, the overwhelming blasts of the hurricane, the flames of consuming fire, and the upheavals of the earth-quake, O Lord, protect them."
Do we no longer believe in the efficacy of our dedicatory prayers for our Temples? Have we found evidence that the Lord is not preserving our temples and so we need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to solve the problems of cracks in the foundations? flooding? lightning strikes and fires?
Here are a few photos I took of what the Salt Lake Temple looks like today and the new foundation the Church is installing.
"Attendees at any events on Temple Square are required to wear masks and be vaccinated if in the eligible age categories."So the list continues to grow. The Church/First Presidency has set forth these "vaccination" mandates thus far -
"In our day of abundance, we are easily be misled into thinking that the blessings of our productive society permit us to be self-reliant. Of course that is only temporary. The principles upon which our society’s abundance are built have been discarded. Therefore, our “riches will become slippery” as the fruit of true principles vanish from those who dishonor the foundation upon which prosperity is conferred.
Safety in the coming scarcity of the last-days will only be found through Zion. Because the occupants of Zion will be one, they will follow two controlling principles which create the “self-sufficiency” of Zion.
First, the counterpart to the world (or Babylon as the scriptures have nicknamed the world) is Zion. Zion will require the laborer to labor only for Zion, not for themselves.
Second, we must perform the required great labor. We cannot expect to eat or be clothed in Zion if we do not work to produce the necessities of Zion."