1 Say again!

A coworker e-mailed me the following headlines. These are not made up. They are from actual newspapers. Apparently they don't use proofreaders much anymore.

Man Kills Self before Shooting Wife and Daughter

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

Panda Mating Fails;

Veterinarian Takes Over

Miners Refuse to Work after Death

Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

War Dims Hope for Peace

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly,

It May Last Awhile

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures

London Couple Slain;

Police Suspect Homicide

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

Man Struck by Lightening;

Faces Battery Charge

New Study of Obesity
Looks for Larger Test Group

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

Hospitals Are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

Typhoon Rips through Cemetery;
Hundreds Dead

Isn't this a crazy, marvelous language that we have?

2 Quote of the month

In life, the sandpaper of circumstances often smooths our crustiness and patiently polishes our rough edges. There is nothing pleasant about it, however. And the Lord will go to great lengths in order to teach us a particular lesson and to help us to overcome a particular weakness, especially if there is no other way.

In such circumstances, it is quite useless for us mortals to try to do our own sums when it comes to suffering. We can't make it all add up because clearly we do not have all the numbers. Furthermore, none of us knows much about the algebra of affliction.

Neal A. Maxwell (1926-2004)

Notwithstanding My Weakness [1981], 67-68

3 This month in our family

Lyle's family

Thurs, Mar 8: Kaitlyn's birthday
Sun, Mar 25: Josh & Sunshyne Kersker married 2000 [Lyle]
Tues, Mar 27: Lyle & Lucile married 2001 [Lyle]
Sometime in Mar: Christopher & Carey married 2004 [Lyle]

Gail's family

Sun, Mar 11: Alyx's birthday
Tues, Mar 13: Jack's birthday
Mon, Mar 19: Kelly's birthday [Bill's wife]
Thurs, Mar 22: Savanna's birthday

Kay's family

Sat, Mar 3: Conner's birthday
Mon, Mar 5: Austin's birthday
Sun, Mar 11: Aleaya's birthday
Sat, Mar 17: Mason's birthday
Tues, Mar 20: Danielle's birthday

Gene's family

Fri, Mar 2: Nicole Real's birthday
Thurs, Mar 8: Kimberley Ellis's birthday
Thurs, Mar 15: Cheryl's birthday
Fri, Mar 30: Roxy's birthday

Ray's family

Sun, Mar 18: Addisyn Reher's birthday

Dean's family

Sat, Mar 3: Robert Hodson's birthday

Dale's family

Sun, Mar 25: Dylan & Sarah Rager married 2000 [Dale]

Everybody!

Sun, Mar 4: Fast Sunday
Thurs, Mar 8: Full moon (Worm Moon)
Sun, Mar 11: Daylight saving time begins
Tues, Mar 13: Democratic party caucuses (in Utah)
Thurs, Mar 15: Republican party caucuses (in Utah)
Sat, Mar 17: St. Patrick's Day
Sat, Mar 17: 170th anniversary of Relief Society organization
Tues, Mar 20: First day of spring!
Sat, Mar 24: General Young Women meeting
Sat, Mar 31: April conference

4 Bits and tidbits

Postscript

Last month we posted answers from random children about questions of love and marriage. Our daughter Eliza decided to ask her two boys (Peter age 5 and Aaron age 3) the same questions. Here are their answers:

1. How do you know who to marry?
    Peter: You find someone you don't know but you want to love.
    Aaron: You ask Jesus.

2. What is the right age to get married?
    Peter: Any age.
    Aaron: 4 years old.

3. How can a stranger tell if two people are married?
    Peter: If they have rings.
    Aaron: I don't know.

4. What do you think your mom and dad have in common?
    Peter: They both like a house that is cleaned up.
    Aaron: Mom and Dad both like crayons and having kids be brothers.

5. What do most people do on a date?
    Peter: They go somewhere kids can't go.
    Aaron: They ride airplanes.

6. When is it okay to kiss someone?
    Peter: When you're married.
    Aaron: When someone says thank you.

7. Is it better to be single or married?
    Peter: Be married.
    Aaron: Married because people will love you.

8. How would the world be different if people didn't get married?
    Peter: It would be bad, bad, bad because nobody would have kids, and if there were any kids they would be all alone.
    Aaron: They would just have to go to the store and buy food for themselves and they'd say, "You can't get food."

9. How would you make a marriage work?
    Peter: I'll marry someone who I know is good and kind and playful.
    Aaron: I'd do nothing because I'm not grown up. But when I'm married I'd say thank you and stuff.

Lyle's family

Lyle has been doing some traveling. He spent considerable time with his family up in Washington. More recently, he visited Tami and her family in Nevada.

One of his granddaughters, Crystal Price (who lives in Bellingham with husband Josh, three sons, and a daughter) reported recently on a special Valentine's dinner she did for her family. She said, "I have a real problem with over planning things and not being able to execute all the great ideas I have thought of. Which leads to the end result of me being frustrated and no one enjoying the evening, because mommy is grumpy. So this year I was purposeful to plan a simple menu and simple decorations. . . . Josh commented that it was his best Valentine's Day ever." You can read her full report and see the pictures she took on the Prices' blog.

Kay's family 
Kay continues to be busy being a bishop. Claudia and I will be traveling down to visit him and Karen this weekend so that Kay can do our taxes (which he does for us every year, except when they're off somewhere like Peru on a mission).

Kay's daughter Nicolle also reported, mostly in pictures, on making cookies and on their Valentine's candlelight dinner. See the Higleys' blog for full details.

Ray's family

Ray's daughter Sharae DeMartini posted on Facebook birthday greetings to her 12-year-old (or is it 3-year-old) son, Blake, who was born on Leap Year Day twelve years ago. But there have only been three February 29s since then. "Thanks for being such a sweet, helpful boy that always makes us laugh," Sharae wrote.

Dean's family

I have been down much of this week and last with a nasty bout of bronchitis. Not fun. It's slowly getting better, I think.

Our son Talmage posted, "After years of scrimping and saving, I purchased a new to me silver 08 Toyota Yaris 3-door hatchback to replace my aging 98 Saturn SL1. This is the first car I've ever bought that was my choice to get what I wanted. Ever." Read a more detailed report and, of course, see a picture at Talmage's blog.

Our daughter Anna Halverson is expecting her second child sometime in the next few weeks. This one is a girl, who will join older brother Miles.

5 Our family 50 years ago

Excerpts from the March 1962 diary of Dorothy Batt Cleverly (1915–1982). The full text of her diary can be found online at Dorothy's Idaho Diaries and is updated daily, exactly 50 years to the day after it was originally written. The family at the time lived on Colorado Avenue in Nampa, Idaho.

Thurs, Mar 1.  I came home from work & went right to bed at 9: & got up at 2:30. Ivard took Sis to Primary. I made a rice pudding for breakfast. Ray went to work after school he went to high school tonite to ball game. It was snowing so hard when I left for work I could hardly find the road, 2 in deep.

Fri, Mar 2.  The roads were real slick when I came home from work but it melted off in awhile. Gail came a few min. on way home from Boise. My nite off.

Sat, Mar 3.  I got up late. Jerry & Ray had both gone to work. Gail, Gene, Jeff & Kristine came at 11: & went home at 4: Ivard rode with Gail & Gene when Gail went to see about a job milking cows. he got job if he wants it, to start Monday morning, he has to decide with Lynda. My nite off.

Sun, Mar 4.  I laid in bed & got my Sunday school lesson. Ivard, Jerry, Ray & Dean went to Priesthood. I made a meat loaf in oven & got ready & Dale, Jackie & I went to Sunday school and fast & Testimony meeting. Ivard bore his testimony. Jackie gave 2 1/2 min. talk. We came home at 2: & Jerry & Dean finished getting dinner.

Mon, Mar 5.  Gail started new job. Milking cows over here by Nampa. Ray came home from school & went to work & from there to Mutual. We ate & Jerry & Dean went to Mutual.

Tues, Mar 6.  I came home from work and ate & went to bed. I woke up at 1: but laid in bed until 2: then got up & we went to Boise & Ivard went to Dr., he said that he could go back to work the 15th.

Wed, Mar 7.  Gail was here all day, between work. Dale went to cub Scouts. I took Jackie to dance lesson at 12:45. Ivard went to Boise to Sunvita meeting this afternoon and again tonite.

Thurs, Mar 8.  Gail went home today between work & brought Lynda & Kids back to see a house out by his work. Ivard & I went over to Stake House to genelogy class & Ivard Kept telling me off & I bawled so I wouldn't go in. I came home & went back to bed. Awful hard wind for little while blew a tree across road out by Allens & when Dean came home from Swimming Party at Givins they hit it & shattered wind shield, no one got hurt bad.

Fri, Mar 9.  I cam home from work and went right to bed and never got up until 4: then I went up & paid car & put some money in my Savings and got groc. Gail spent afternoon here.

Sat, Mar 10.  I came home from work & cooked hot cakes & made cocoa then went to bed at 10: Gail came after he got threw milking & stayed then went to work at 4: got back at 7: & we ate & him & Ivard went to basketball tournment. He stayed all nite. Jerry came home from work at 12:30 & ate & went on a date.

Sun, Mar 11.  Gail brought Debbie this afternoon to spend a few days.

Mon, Mar 12.  I came home from work and went right to bed. I woke up at 1:30 & couldn't go back to sleep. I got supper & Ivard went & got Jerry & we ate and Ivard, Jerry & Dean went to Mutual. Ray went to work after school and went to Mutual from there.

Tues, Mar 13.  I came home from work and went right to bed. Ivard tended Debbie and Jackie.

Wed, Mar 14.  I came home from work sick. I laid off for next 2 nites, that time of month. Ivard started back at R. R. after being off 9 mo. Had to go to Glenns Ferry.

Thurs, Mar 15.  I got up & took Jerry to work. I sure feel awful. Gail took Debbie home today.

Fri, Mar 16.  I started back to Dr. Cudmore today. Gail left for work at 3:30 & I called about some places for rent for him. At 5:30 Ivard walked in, got a ride up so came to go to relief society party with me. We went & saw about a couple of houses for Gail then went up to church to supper, real good, fried chicken & home made icecream. I took Ivard up to R.R to meet a guy at 9: & go back to Glenns Ferry. Jerry & Ray went ward teaching.

Sat, Mar 17.  Gene, Lynda & Kids came about the same time Gail got here from milking & they went & looked at houses - rented one out by Midway.

Sun, Mar 18.  Gail moved to Nampa. I got my Sunday school lesson. Jerry, Ray and Dean went to Priesthood & sunday school. At 11:30 I took Jackie & Dale & went to prayer meeting & Sunday school. Came home and fixed dinner & we ate then Dean & Ray made a cake & I made a Kettle of spagetti & a bowl of salad and Jerry, Dean, Dale, Jackie & I took it over to Gails new house. They were sure hungry.

Mon, Mar 19.  I was so tired I went right to bed and never woke up until 5:30 then some one woke me. I wrote to Kay. Gene came home tonite.

Tues, Mar 20.  I came home from work and Ivard & Jackie had gone to Adrian to take Gene to school. Hes going to stay over in Haney's house (empty) Gail left him a bed. They came home at 10:30 & ate & took off over to Gails until 1: then they came home & ate lunch & Sis had a nap & Ivard came to bed with me.

Wed, Mar 21. Ivard went back to Glenns Ferry. I came home from work & went right to bed. I took Jackie to dancing lesson. Dale went to Cub Scouts. Jerry went to show in Boise.

Thurs, Mar 22.  At 4: I took Ray to work & Jackie to Primary then got groc. & at 5: I went & got Kids from Primary and went to bed until time to go to work.

Fri, Mar 23.  I came home from work and washed some cloths & Jackie went to bed with me but I never did get to sleep. I had such a pain in my side. When she woke up at noon we got up & ate and started up town & tire went bump - bump so I took in to Don's & run it up on rack & it had a bump a foot long so I took it back to Wards & got a new tire for $9.75, we'd had it a yr. Then we went to Dobbs & had them work on starter, it wouldn't work again.

Sat, Mar 24.  Ivard came from Glenns Ferry right after I got home, got a ride up. We went to bed at 10: Ivard got up about 1: but I never got up until 5: The Mutual went to Givins Swimming. Ray came home & could hardly walk he'd jumped off in shallow end & hurt his pelvis. Ivard went back to Glenns Ferry to work.

Sun, Mar 25.  I came home from work & went to bed & got my Sunday school lesson & slept an hr then got up and had a shower & Ray came & took Dale, Jackie & I to Sunday school.

Mon, Mar 26.  Ray stayed home from school with his hip & laid down all day. I took him up to see Dr. Ross at 5:30, he has to go have ex-ray in morning. Ivard got home from Glenns Ferry for his 2 days off. I went to bed at 10:30 & got up at 5: Kids went to Mutual.

Tues, Mar 27.  Ivard took Ray to hospital at 10:30 & had his pelvis exrayed, notheing was broken. It hurts him a lot & he stayed in bed all day. I got up this afternoon & Ivard, Jackie & I went up & got a bed spread for Lynda's birthday & Ivard went to Dr.

Wed, Mar 28.  I got up at noon & took Jackie to dancing. Jerry came from work & fixed supper. Ray went to school & passed out & vomited so teacher brought him home & I kept him in bed all day. He took a double dose of paine Pills, didnt go to work. Dale went to Cub Scouts.

Thurs, Mar 29.  I came home & took Ray to school then I washed 4 batches of cloths & hung all outside but socks, had all my lines full. I went to bed at 1: Got up at 3: & took Jackie to Primary. Went & got Jerry at 6: and we ate & I went to bed until time to go to work. I was so tired.

Fri, Mar 30.  Jackie & I went to bed at 1:30 & at 3:30 we got up & took Ray to work & we went & bought Jackie a new green dress for Easter, a pr of white sandals, a white hat & unbrella perse & slip, a pr red slacks & a pr of fancy slacks & shirt to match then we got Ivard 2 shirts for his birthday.

Sat, Mar 31.  A woman called from New York to say she'd met Kay in Peru & he was fine.

6 What in the world

Political caucuses
For those family members who live in Utah, the Democratic party will hold political caucuses on Tuesday evening, March 13, and the Republican party on Thursday evening, March 15. The First Presidency has urged members of the Church to attend the caucus of their choice. They feel strongly enough about it that they have asked that any Church meetings or activities on those evenings be canceled or rescheduled. Widespread grassroots participation is essential to prevent those with special agendas, interests, or leanings from hijacking either party.

Open house and dedication of temple in Manaus
The First Presidency has announced that the public open house for the Manaus Brazil Temple (where our son Michael served his mission) will run from Friday, May 18, through Saturday, June 2 (except Sundays). The temple will be dedicated in three sessions on Sunday, June 10, and will be broadcast to Church meetinghouses throughout Brazil. A cultural celebration will occur the evening before on Saturday, June 9.

The temple in Manaus will be the sixth in Brazil. The Saints in Manaus, because of the city's unique geography in the heart of the Amazon, have still been far away (as in a week's travel by boat and bus) from any of the other five temples in Brazil. This will be a great blessing for them.

7 A final word

There has been a lot of noise in the media in recent months questioning whether Mormons are Christians or not and whether The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a Christian church or a cult. Such conversations will likely increase if Mitt Romney happens to secure his party's presidential nomination.

According to any standard definition of the word Christian (and you can check any reputable dictionary here), Latter-day Saints or Mormons are clearly Christians. They believe in Him. They seek to follow His teachings. They try to live as decent, Christian people. They pray in His name. They invoke His authority in all that they do. The Church is named after Him.

What exactly are we missing here? I am a Mormon, and I consider myself a thorough, devout Christian.

I think the problem with us Mormons is not that we don't believe in Jesus Christ but that we believe in Him too literally, too completely, too intimately. We believe He is still alive today, a glorious, resurrected, holy Being who interacts with His servants and who continues to reveal His will to them. His ministry is not complete. He still speaks to man. We believe in a very real and literal sense that He is at the head of the church that bears His name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Advocate with the Father. He is the Captain of our souls. He was, as Isaiah declared, "wounded for our transgressions . . . bruised for our iniquities . . . and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).