A project which I"m glad is done...

When we lived in Montana, I bought 8 fifty pound bags of wheat.  We brought them all with us and have put them in our pantry and our extra freezer.  They have taken up so much space in our little house!
So, I found out about this trailer that travels through our Stake which has equipment in it to dry pack your own stuff.  You can bring your own #10 cans to refill, or they have lots of them from the local schools. 
Cory and Nathan and I went today and canned all of this wheat, and it was pretty cool.
First, you reflange the top of your can with one machine, then you fill it and put an oxygen absorber packet in, then you put the lid on with another machine, then you label (that was Nathan's job-- to put the stickers on).
So now most of this wheat is in the shed and not all over my house, and I'm really glad about that....
I wish I would have taken pictures-- I might go out later to the nice lady's house who helped us and take some.  I'm grateful our Stake has such a cool resource.

Breakfast Pull Aparts

16 Rhodes Rolls

1 sm. package vanilla pudding (cook & serve)

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c. butter

Grease bundt pan really really well.  place frozen rolls in pan.  Sprinkle with pudding, sugar, and cinnamon.  Melt butter and pour over it all.  Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and put in oven.  Let rise overnight.  Remove covering, turn oven to 350, and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Turn out on a plate.

I have a family of 6 who could easily eat a double batch of this.  Next time I'm going to try it in a 9X13 pan and make more.

Yummy!

Reasons I admire Joseph Smith

 

He was inquisitive. 

It didn't matter that people twice his age were telling him what he should believe.  He wanted to find truth for himself, from the source of truth.

He was bold.

Many disbelieved him when he told them he had seen a vision.  Yet, he would say:

 " It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, ...should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling.  But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself.     UAdd a Note 

 However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision.  I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad, and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.     UAdd a Note 

  So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation."
                                                                                                    (Joseph Smith History, vs 23-25)

He loved his people.

He treated the Saints he led with love and compassion.  He prayed for them, played with them, blessed them, chastened them, and suffered with them.

He lived in sacrifice, constantly.

Whether it was guarding the plates, leading Zion's camp, being beaten my mobs, watching his fellow disciples suffer for the cause, being jailed on spurious charges, rarely having a home of his own, or being betrayed by those he loved... he did it.  He paid the great price to bring forth this Latter Day work of the Lord.

He brought back doctrines which had been lost which are precious to me.

Eternal Marriage.  Knowledge of Premortal and Postmortal life.  Three members of the Godhead with distinct purposes.  Priesthood Power necessary for ordinances of Salvation.  Temples.  Proper mode of baptism.  Clarity of the doctrine of the Atonement as found in the Book of Mormon.  Visions.  Healings.  Organization of the Kingdom of God on the earth.  Necessity of Prophets.  Continuous Revelation, including personal.  The necessity for the Holy Ghost.  And many, many more...

He died for the cause.

  "To seal the testimony of this book and the Book of Mormon, we announce the martyrdom of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Hyrum Smith the Patriarch. They were shot in Carthage jail, on the 27th of June, 1844, about five o’clock p.m., by an armed mob—painted black—of from 150 to 200 persons.  Hyrum was shot first and fell calmly, exclaiming: I am a dead man! Joseph leaped from the window, and was shot dead in the attempt, exclaiming: O Lord my God! They were both shot after they were dead, in a brutal manner...     UAdd a Note 

     UAdd a Note 

 Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!"

(Doctrine and Covenants, section 135, vs 1-3)

Joseph and Hyrum, his devoted brother...


Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!
Jesus anointed that prophet and seer.
Blessed to open the last dispensation.
Kings shall extol him and nations revere.
Hail to the prophet, ascended to heaven!
Traitors and tyrants now fight him again.
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;
Death cannot conquer the hero again.

"Praise to the Man, Hymn no 27"

I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God!  Through the knowledge he restored, I have come closer to my Savior and Redeemer.  Whenever I tell the story of Joseph Smith, I feel the spirit, reconfirming my knowledge that he was and is truly a vessel in the hand of the Lord, even as Moses, Abraham, Adam, Isaiah, and all the other prophets the Lord has called to lead.  I love him and honor his name.

A plug for the new Church Website..

new.lds.org
Revolutionary! 
I love this site and I'm so grateful for the forward-thinking leadership in our church! One particularly cool aspect of the site is the study tools you can use.  You can log on, highlight scriptures, add notes, link scriptures/quotes together in folders, etc.  It is a way to study like never before.  You can save all of your research in such a way that you don't need to write it down in notebooks or file it in physical files.  It is password protected.  You can prepare talks/topical study easily with the folder option.  It is so cool!
Also, the new search tool is very user friendly.  I used to have a very hard time finding quotes I wanted on lds.org because it would bring up a lot of random stuff that didn't fit with my search.  Now it is more intuitive, and will only bring up select references instead of thousands.
And the site is very media rich.  More video, more pictures, more interaction, chances to share info through social media, etc.
And young women can keep track of their Personal Progress online!
And there are new features highlighting general conference:  video segments of certain talks, easier searching, etc.
I am so very excited and I know the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to move forward like a "stone cut out of the mountain without hands"...

Surfing

It started at 3 a.m. when Nathan came into the bed.  I've been awake since.  I rotated the trays in the dehydrators, where I'm drying Gala apples sprinkled with jello.  Yum.  Then I went to the computer and have been surfing the internet for 2 hours!  Time flies!  What did I look at in that time?

1. The news that Cory left up last night.  He loves to read national news and keep up on the times.
2. My default site: soyouthinkyourecrafty.blogspot.com  where I vote on what I think is the best craft, which
         led me to...
3. A crafty girl's site and all of her projects with quilts, scrapbooking, etc., and where she recommended...
4. Knockoffwood, a site that shows you how to build simple projects without getting intimidated.. (and this
        I was on for a long time because there are so many things I think I can build even though I haven't the     time or money...
5. A site about frugal living, which is written by a home school mom who runs 2 other businesses.  This was
         very fascinating to me...
6. 5 meals in one hour, or something like that....

So, this is how I spent my time this early morning, which tells me something of my thoughts.  I like to think about things to do.  I like to see how other people do things.  I don't, however, carry out enough of my thoughts.  I have so many projects in my head for our home right now that I really don't need to go looking for more.

The internet can be so scary.  Of course because of predators, pornography, scams, etc.  But also because of the sheer amount of information.  All of these accessible words can either be enabling or disabling, depending on your judgment.  For example, if I had spent my time looking at just one of these sites and then doing something about it (write a letter, make something, etc.),  my family would have been much better served.  Rather than surfed.  Ha Ha.