Missionary

"Someone who leaves their family for a short time so others can be with theirs for eternity" - unknown

Mom Do You Know Who's Shoes I Have On?

Today while in sacrament meeting my son Gary leaned over to me and said Mom do you know who's shoes I have on? and I said No, he said they are Uncle Murry's I had a flood of emotions come over me, it just so happens to be Murry's birthday, tears filled my eyes, oh how we miss him, the lessons I learned from him in life and death have forever changed me and my family. Gary you are wearing the shoes of one Remarkable man!!! You are wearing the shoe's of someone who loved the Lord and loved to serve....wonderful footsteps to follow.


What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?

What is this thing that men call death?
This quiet passing in the night?
‘Tis not the end but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light

O God, touch Thou my aching heart
And calm my troubled, haunting fears
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change
With recompense for vict’ry won
The gift of Him who loved all men
The Son of God, the Holy One.

President Gordon B Hinckley

Formula fo Success

"May I share with you a formula that in my judgment will help you and help me to journey well through mortality... First, fill your mind with truth; second, fill your life with service; and third, fill your heart with love."
--Thomas S. Monson, "Formula for Success," Ensign, Mar. 1996, 2

Behold Your Little Ones♦ Margaret & Leila

"As the darkness of this day surrounds us, we are also commanded to bring our children to the Savior, and as Elder Ballard has reminded us, 'we are the ones God has appointed to encircle today's children with love and the fire of faith and an understanding of who they are' ("Behold Your Little Ones," Tambuli, Oct. 1994, 40; "Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children," Ensign, Apr. 1994, 60)."
"Behold Your Little Ones," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 76

"Sunday Will Come" Happy Birthday Murry!!!

My son Reese introduced me to this talk, and it has brought me much comfort in the loss of our dear Murry. I encourage you all to take the time to read the talk it is amazing. I Love you Murry.

"Each of us will have our own Fridays--those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

"But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death--Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

"No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or in the next, Sunday will come.

"I testify to you that the Resurrection is not a fable. We have the personal testimonies of those who saw Him. Thousands in the Old and New Worlds witnessed the risen Savior. They felt the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. They shed tears of unrestrained joy as they embraced Him."
"Sunday Will Come," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 30

The Strength of the Lord

Reese and I were recently discussing the book "The Hiding Place". In the beginning of this book the author, a concentration camp survivor, talks about life lessons she learns that helped her to persevere through the harshness of the concentration camps.

When she was younger her father told her that that the Lord always gives us the strength to do what is required of us in the obstacles we face. Many years after her father taught her this lesson she saw it in action. Her aunt who is terrified of death receives the news that she will pass away in roughly a month due to diabetes. She said that when she received the news she was surprised by the calm and peace she saw in her aunt despite her known fears. Her aunt went on to accomplish great things and show admirable strength in those last weeks. The author relates that she knows it was just as her father told her, the Lord had given her strength in the moment she needed it most.

I have gained a testimony these past few months of this promised strength. I have stared down some weeks that I literally did not know how I would get through, and knew I couldn't get through with my own strength. Yet, through the goodness of the Lord, I have been blessed with strength that is not my own. We may look to the future and think, "How can I do this?" or, "I could never do that." However, it is my testimony that we do not have to fear anything we are called to go through because the Lord will always supply sufficient strength as we have Faith in His Son Jesus Christ who died for us and who lives to succor all.

Treasured Children of The Promise

"You are treasured children of the promise. If you will keep the Lord's statutes and commandments and hearken to His voice, He has promised that He will make you high above the nations in name and honor and praise (see Deuteronomy 26:17-19). Your patriarchal blessing should inspire you to make changes in your life when they are needed. It contains promises that you can receive only through your faithfulness."
"You Have a Noble Birthright," Ensign, May 2006, 107by : Julie B. Beck

Power in This Work

"Years ago a friend, who long since is gone, told this experience. He was seventeen-years-old and with his companion stopped at a cottage in the southern states. It was his first day in the mission field and was his first door. A gray-haired woman stood inside the screen and asked what they wanted. His companion nudged him to proceed. Frightened and somewhat tongue-tied, he finally blurted out, 'As man is God once was, and as God is man may become.'

"Strangely enough, she was interested and asked where he got that. He answered, 'It's in the Bible.' She left the door for a moment, returned with her Bible. Commenting that she was a minister of a congregation, she handed it to him and said, 'Here, show me.'

"He took the Bible and nervously thumbed back and forth through it. Finally he handed it back saying, 'Here, I can't find it. I'm not even sure that it's in there, and even if it is, I couldn't find it. I'm just a poor farm boy from out in Cache Valley in Utah. I haven't had much training. But I come from a family where we live the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it's done so much for our family that I've accepted a call to come on a mission for two years, at my own expense, to tell people how I feel about it.'

"After half a century, he could not hold back the tears as he told me how she pushed open the door and said, 'Come in, my boy, I'd like to hear what you have to say.'

"There is great power in this work, and the ordinary member of the Church, sustained by the Spirit, can do the work of the Lord."

Boyd K. Packer, "The Candle of the Lord," Ensign, Jan. 1983, 56

"If the veil were lifted off the face of the Latter-day Saints and they could see and know the things of God as they do who are laboring for the salvation of the human family who are in the spirit world..., this whole people, with very few, if any, exceptions, would lose all interest in the riches of the world, and instead thereof their whole desires and labors would be directed to redeem their dead."

Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p. 152

Look at Daddy's Love for His Sweet Baby Girl

Our goal is to achieve, to excel, to strive for perfection. Remember, however, that our business in life is not to get ahead of others but to get ahead of ourselves. To break our own record, to outstrip our yesterdays by today, to bear our trials more beautifully than we ever dreamed we could, to give as we never have given, to do our work with more force and a finer finish than ever—this is the true objective. And to accomplish this task, our attitude is reflected in a determination to make the most of our opportunities. We turn from the tempting allurement and eventual snare so cunningly and carefully offered us by “old man procrastination.” Two centuries ago, Edward Young said that “procrastination is the thief of time.” Actually, procrastination is much more. It is the thief of our self-respect. It nags at us and spoils our fun. It deprives us of the fullest realization of our ambitions and hopes. Knowing this, we jar ourselves back to reality with the sure knowledge that “this is my day of opportunity. Thomas S. Monson, “The Lighthouse of the Lord: A Message to the Youth of the Church,” Liahona, May 2001

The Value of One Soul

"Only as we accept the Atonement in our lives and strive to live the gospel can we meet the challenges of life and find peace, joy, and happiness. Coming to understand this great gift is an individual pursuit for each child of God. . . .

"If we could truly understand the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we would realize how precious is one son or daughter of God."

"The Atonement and the Value of One Soul," Ensign, May 2004, 86

Never Alone

This Sabbath day has been designated as a day of thanksgiving, a day of gratitude—even a day of prayer. We pause, we ponder, we reflect on the blessings an all-wise Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us, His children, by bringing peace to the battlefield of war and comfort to the hearts of so many in this wonderful world where we live and which we call home.

Today knees will bow, bells will peal, hearts will swell, and voices will proclaim the glorious message “Thanks be to God.” In the United States of America, a grateful nation and a thankful president will give utterance to the tender feelings felt by all in a world that welcomed peace.

Who among us will ever forget the touching and vivid pictures of husbands and fathers bidding good-bye to weeping wives and wondering children as fond farewells dominated every newscast and printed story. The children cried but did not know why. Wives wept because they did know the danger, the loneliness, the fear that awaited.

With the wave of a hand and a somewhat forced smile, the men and the women of the military went off to war. Their farewell expressions even now ring the conviction of their hearts: “I love my country”; “I’m proud to serve”; “I’ll be home soon”; “Try not to worry.”

But worry they did. Constant bombardment not only by bombs and missiles but by the press and over the television provoked the haunting questions, “Was the downed pilot my husband?” “Was the navigator taken captive my son?”

In her classic poem “The Gate of the Year,” the poetess M. Louise Haskins summed up the feelings of all touched by the conflict and concerned for the safety of loved ones. She penned the comforting lines:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way”
(In Masterpieces of Religious Verse, ed. James Dalton Morrison, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1948, p. 92.)


At last the guns fell silent. Aircraft remained grounded. Mobile patrols halted. A quiet calm settled over the battlefield. The din of war succumbed to the silence of peace.

A scene on the cruel desert sands—and a sentence uttered from the heart—spoke volumes. An American soldier looked down at his vanquished enemy prisoner, touched the man’s shoulder, and reassured him with the words, “It’s all right; it’s all right.”

President Thomas S. Monson

Finding Old Friends!

I have been looking for this family for years. I had lost the last known address for them. Over the last couple of weeks on Facebook I have found this family again through a Filipino friend in Florida that was able to help me. It's been nice to speak with them again and to find they have all done well with their lives, and a couple of them had served missions. They were baptized in the South China Sea on Christmas Day 1982 that was one of the most amazing Christmas presents I had ever given someone, the gift of the Gospel.

WE ARE SOMEBODY

"As children of God we are somebody. He will build us, mold us, and magnify us if we will but hold our heads up, our arms out, and walk with him."
--Marvin J. Ashton, "In His Strength," Ensign, July 1973, 24

Missionary Work

"There are few things in life that bring as much joy as the joy that comes from assisting another improve his or her life." Richard G. Scott - Ensign, Nov. 1997, 35

Holy Ghost!

My lesson this Sunday is on the Holy Ghost. I know His purpose in our lives, and grateful for His presents to prompt us as to what Our Father in Heaven wants for us, and what is best for us.

The Holy Ghost works in perfect unity with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, fulfilling several roles to help us live righteously and receive the blessings of the gospel.

He "witnesses of the Father and the Son" and reveals and teaches "the truth of all things". We can receive a sure testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ only by the power of the Holy Ghost. His communication to our spirit carries far more certainty than any communication we can receive through our natural senses.

As we strive to stay on the path that leads to eternal life, the Holy Ghost can guide us in our decisions and protect us from physical and spiritual danger.

Through Him, we can receive gifts of the Spirit for our benefit and for the benefit of those we love and serve.

He is the Comforter. As the soothing voice of a loving parent can quiet a crying child, the whisperings of the Spirit can calm our fears, hush the nagging worries of our life, and comfort us when we grieve. The Holy Ghost can fill us "with hope and perfect love" and "teach [us] the peaceable things of the kingdom"

Some Good Men That Don't Mind Burnt Biscuits

Burned biscuits

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every
now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had
made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.
On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage
and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to
see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at
my mom and ask me how my day was at school.. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on
that biscuit and eat every bite!
When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom
apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget
what he said: "Honey, I love burned biscuits."
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he
really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and
said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired.
And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!" Life is full of imperfect things....and imperfect people. I'm not
the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries
just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that
learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate
each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.
And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good,
the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of
God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!
We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the
base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or
friendship!"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it
in your own."
God Bless You..... Now, and Always.... So Please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine.

My Brothers Sweet Daughter

Our Family had a Birthday Party for our Dear Aunt Renee Thackeray, It was a very special day! I couldn't have done it without the help of my mom, brothers & Sister in law Judy, and my sweet niece Kristi Dickson Witherspoon. Talk about a girl that can serve she never sat down once in 5 hours!!! She is quite an amazing woman, I am sure her Dad is smiling down on her. I believe we are most happy when serving others, her Dad was a fine example of that! Kristi is following that example. Love you Kristi we are so proud of you... My thanks to my Dear brother Denzil for being Kristi's Dad on earth while her own Dad is serving the Lord.

Kristi is the 3rd from the left

3 Wonderful Examples! Karlee Dickson, Denzil Dickson, Margaret Loveless, Trip to Ghana 2008

" 'I suppose every Mormon [man and] woman [have] measured [themselves] at one time or another against [their pioneer ancestors],' wrote Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. 'Am I as stalwart? As self-reliant? As devoted to the gospel? As willing to sacrifice?' Could I leave my wife and children without food or means to support themselves while I responded to a call to serve a mission abroad, or take these same innocent ones, dependent solely upon me for their survival, into hostile territory to set up housekeeping and provide a livelihood for them? Or, were I a woman, 'Could I crush my best china to add glitter to a temple, bid loving farewell to a missionary husband as I lay in a wagon bed with fever and chills, leave all that I possessed and walk across the plains to an arid wilderness?' (Ensign, June 1978, p. 54.)

"Some may feel that their lives of relative ease and convenience lack the vigor and fortitude of those who survived the pioneer days, that they can never measure up to the toil, struggles, and challenges our pioneer ancestors faced and emerge the victor.

"Yet, 'Our challenges are just as important as those of the past. Our testing is as crucial; our contributions may be as great. . . .

" 'An essential quality of the first pioneers was optimism, an ability to see new possibilities in a strange and unsettling environment. To beautify the desert, they needed faith in God, but they also needed faith in themselves and in their ability to help shape the world. The need for that faith has not diminished. . . .

" 'A pioneer is not [necessarily] a woman who makes her own soap' or a man who grubs sagebrush from the land. Pioneers are those who take up their burdens and walk toward the future. With vision and with courage they make the desert blossom and they press on toward new frontiers. (Ibid., p. 55.)"

David B. Haight, "A Call to Serve," Ensign, Nov. 1988, 82–83

Children Bless Our Lives

Several years ago I received a letter from a woman who had emerged from a long period of Church inactivity. She was ever so anxious for her husband, who as yet was not a member of the Church, to share the joy she felt.

She wrote of a trip which she, her husband, and their three sons made from the family home to Grandmother’s home in Idaho. While driving through Salt Lake City, they were attracted by the message which appeared on a billboard. The message invited them to visit Temple Square. Bob, the nonmember husband, made the suggestion that a visit would be pleasant. The family entered the visitors’ center, and Father took two sons up a ramp that one called “the ramp to heaven.” Mother and three-year-old Tyler were a bit behind the others, they having paused to appreciate the beautiful paintings which adorned the walls. As they walked toward the magnificent sculpture of Thorvaldsen’s Christus, tiny Tyler bolted from his mother and ran to the base of the Christus, while exclaiming, “It’s Jesus! It’s Jesus!” As Mother attempted to restrain her son, Tyler looked back toward her and his father and said, “Don’t worry. He likes children.”

After departing the center and again making their way along the freeway toward Grandmother’s, Dad asked Tyler what he liked best about their adventure on Temple Square. Tyler smiled up at him and said, “Jesus.”

“How do you know that Jesus likes you, Tyler?”

Tyler, with a most serious expression on his face, looked up at his father’s eyes and answered, “Dad, didn’t you see His face?” Nothing else needed to be said.

As I read this account, I thought of the statement from the book of Isaiah, “And a little child shall lead them” (Isa. 11:6).

President Thomas S. Monson

My Muffin

"What is popular is not always right and what is RIGHT is not always popular."
unknown - window sticker

Our sweet Margaret is a fine example of this quote, she has never worried about being popular!!! And she truly loves the Lord.

Albert Schweitzer, the noted theologian and missionary physician, declared: 'I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.' "
"Three Gates to Open," CES Fireside for Young Adults, Jan. 14, 2001

I love this quote it reminds me of my wonderful parents that have taught my brothers and me how to serve!!! Service starts at home..

Look at my sweet Dad he is the greatest man ever!!!!

You Know Enough

There are "days when we feel inadequate and unprepared, when doubt and confusion enter our spirits, when we have difficulty finding our spiritual footing. Part of our victory as disciples of Christ is what we do when these feelings come.

Nearly 40 years ago as I contemplated the challenge of a mission, I felt very inadequate and unprepared. I remember praying, “Heavenly Father, how can I serve a mission when I know so little?” I believed in the Church, but I felt my spiritual knowledge was very limited. As I prayed, the feeling came: “You don’t know everything, but you know enough!” That reassurance gave me the courage to take the next step into the mission field.

Our spiritual journey is the process of a lifetime. We do not know everything in the beginning or even along the way. Our conversion comes step-by-step, line upon line. . . . We then remain steady and patient as we progress through mortality. At times, the Lord’s answer will be, 'You don’t know everything, but you know enough.'"

Neil A. Anderson, "You Know Enough," October 2008.
http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-4,00.html

Be not afraid only believe

"Brothers and sisters, whatever your distress, please don't give up and please don't yield to fear. I have always been touched that as his son was departing for his mission to England, Brother Bryant S. Hinckley gave young Gordon a farewell embrace and then slipped him a handwritten note with just five words taken from the fifth chapter of Mark: 'Be not afraid, only believe' (Mark 5:36)."

"The Spirit"

The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear. It is described as a “still small voice.” And while we speak of “listening” to the whisperings of the Spirit, most often one describes a spiritual prompting by saying, “I had a feeling …”

We do not seek for spectacular experiences. President Spencer W. Kimball spoke of the many who “have no ear for spiritual messages … when they come in common dress. … Expecting the spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed communication.”

For me over the last 10 months and the last 16 months since Murry's death, I have been brought to my knees, my heart and my mind have been opened to the spiritual side of me. More so than before, probably since my mission and the birth of our boys. I've been able to feel the "feelings" and understand what I'm feeling more so than before. Having been blessed with the Holy Ghost, and to feel the love of my Angel Grandma Thackeray. To feel the burning and the prompting of her presents that I might share her message to her sick daughter. Of going to the Temple to feel the spirit of a man waiting for so many years to accept his Temple Ordanices. To feel other small promptings that there were no other explaination for but to be the spirit telling me of what I need to do and what needs to be done.

My "test" or refiners fire is burning my outside to a point of wondering if I will combust soon. But my inside is full of warmth and gratitude for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that I know of his love and kindness for all of his brother's and sisters, and for the love of our Heavenly Father to his children. I am willing to take whatever test is given me from Him, I did not make Him a part of my life like I should of, so if I have to wait longer to learn and be more humble I will. I am just greatful that I can feel His spirit and peace as I/we deal with this trial.

Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil.

A Day I Will Never Forget

Today I had the privilege of going to the temple with my Dear Brother Denzil, It is a day that I wont soon forget, and one we have both waited for! He is truly one of my hero's, we have a close relationship one that I will cherish forever. He has always had my back and has the gift to help me focus on what really matters in life, he is a wonderful example of endurance through trials. I think that we should all remember to cherish our family members and treasure every moment with them. Just a little over a year ago our brother Murry left this life to be with his Father in Heaven to serve a mission there. Oh how we miss him and how our hearts ache for him. Today as I sat in the temple with Denzil I felt blessed to have felt Murry's spirit with us. What a beautiful day!!! I love my brothers!!!! I am so blessed. I am proud of you Denzil

Adversity!

Adversity is part of our Heavenly Father’s plan for us here upon the earth. We are here to be proven—to see if we will do whatever God commands us to do (see Abraham 3:25). As we struggle to meet trials, we grow and develop qualities that we can attain in no other way. When we seek his help, our Heavenly Father will strengthen us and make us equal to the trials that come to us.

the enemy of righteousness also works in little steps, so small that they are hard to notice if you are thinking only about yourself and how great you are. Just as truth is given to us line upon line and the light brightens slowly as we obey, even so, as we disobey our testimony of truth lessens almost imperceptibly, little by little, and darkness descends so slowly that the proud may easily deny that anything is changing.
Henry B. Eyring