My Family As A Bar Chart

Our newest grandson, Bentley, has been added to the Murray Age Chart.  Kind of strange way to "picture" your family.  Can't wait to see them in person when we get home in July 2010!

Beauty at both ends of the chart:  Joyce holding Bentley Wells Murray

Blake and Tianna named Bentley Wells Murray after two of Joyce's direct ancestors:

• Clara Bentley Bleak (Joyce's grandmother).  Born November 22, 1891 in Yorkshire, England.  Died February 3, 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• William Henry Wells (Joyce's g-g-grandfather).  Born July 10, 1821 in Paddington, London, England. Died February 7, 1886 in London England.

The Story of Marie

The Prophet Joseph Smith has been misunderstood by many, due in large part to half-truths, rumors and innuendo.  These words of his help understand his vision and his motive: "We don't ask any people to throw away any good they have got; we only ask them to come and get more."

This is the story of Marie.  She came and got more.  She was baptized last Sunday.

Marie and Sister Custer

Marie is 83 and has been a widow since she was 54. As a child her mother physically abused her. She went through her life with a very low opinion of herself. She would often wonder as she looked in the mirror as a teenager, “What is wrong with me?”

When she was 26, she met and married her husband. He came from an Irish Catholic home and she loved him very much. They had 4 children. He died almost 30 years ago.

The way she came in contact with the church is through Sister Smith. Sister Smith served as the Relief Society (women’s organization) president in her ward while her husband was attending graduate school in Philadelphia. Sister Smith lived on the same block as Marie and befriended her. Actually, it was 3 month old Thomas who befriended Marie.

Marie says, “I needed a man in my life, and there he was, Thomas, 3 months old." Sister Smith would help Marie often, but did not mention the church much. Marie started asking questions when Sister Smith invited her to the church. Now Marie has been coming to the church for the past two years and constantly talks about the peace she feels there. She declined the invitation to be baptized for a year and a half because she did not feel worthy. President, there is another side to this story.

Two months ago our sister missionaries, Sister Lloyd and Sister Custer, went to Marie’s house and, moved by the Holy Ghost, boldly invited her to be baptized. She declined. They went home and prayed fervently that night. The next day, Marie had an experience in Relief Society which told her that the Church was true and the she should be baptized.

Imagine making such a profound change in your life at age 83! Marie had the courage to act on the tender feelings that came to her heart. She replaced fear (of change) with faith and trust in God. Marie knows that there is more for her and that God will bring her back together with her beloved husband who has been gone for almost 30 years. She looks forward to this reunion. I always marvel at stories like this.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Garbage!

Joyce has a brother who uses a special word when he accidentally bangs his thumb with a hammer.  He shouts out, "GARBAGE!"  It's a good word to use in place of those other words...

 Garbage in our inner-cities is a fact of life.

One day you clean it up, the next day it's back

I have little confidence in the impact and effectiveness of government programs to solve the problem of urban blight.  The proof seems to be in the pudding.  But there is a way out.  Consider these words from Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994), former president of the Church:

"Some may ask why we as a people and church quietly and consistently seek to change individuals while there are such large problems about us. . . . But decaying cities are simply a delayed reflection of decaying individuals. . . . The commandments of God give emphasis to improvement of the individual as the only real way to bring about the real improvement of society" (A Plea for America [1975], 18).

"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. . . . Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature" ("Born of God," ENSIGN, Nov. 1985, 6).

Habla Espanol? Do You Speak Spanish?

We have 30 missionaries assigned to teach Spanish-speaking people. They receive three months of Spanish lessons in the Missionary Training Center.  But upon arriving in the mission field most are shocked and initially discouraged at the difficulty of living and breathing Spanish all the time.  When paired up with an experienced, older missionary who has mastered the language, the fear factor diminishes and the language skills quickly improve.

All of our Spanish-speaking missionaries belong to a "Spanish only" zone called Si Se Puede. Typically half the missionaries in a zone will have been on their mission for at least a year. This provides lots of "big brothers" to help the younger missionaries.

Due to a quirk in timing, only 5 of our 30 Spanish-speaking missionaries have been on their missions for more than a year. The majority have been here only 6-7 months. And of the 5 experienced Spanish-speaking missionaries, 2 go home next week and 1 goes home in March. Yikes!!  We are quickly running out of experienced Spanish-speaking missionaries.

So today we held an all day "Boot Camp" for Si Se Puede missionaries. They received training in language, culture, teaching skills and essential communication skills. They were also asked to think of Spanish as their native language. They are requested to live an "all-Spanish" life while in the mission field.

I was greatly impressed with the quality of the training and the effort of all the missionaries. Habla Espanol? Si!!