1 Happy birthday, Dr Seuss

Today marks the birthday of Dr. Seuss. He was born 105 years ago on March 2, 1904. He died September 24, 1991. An American writer and cartoonist, Theodor Seuss Geisel was widely known for his children's books. The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham are probably the most widely-known of the 60 books he published.

Someone recently forwarded the following piece to me, with the opening question, "What if the Book of Mormon had been written by Dr. Seuss?" It might sound something like this (with appropriate appreciation to whoever really authored it):

Nephi: Of goodly parents I was born.
I've never drunk, I've never sworn.
This is Lehi, he's my dad.
Laman, Lemuel, they are bad.
And who is this? Why this is Sam.

Sam: Yes, this is Sam; Sam I am.

Laman: That Sam I am, that Sam I am,
I do not like that Sam I am.

Sam: In a tent, my father dwelt.

Laman: And it's so hot, I think I'll melt.

Lemuel: Our father's brain is out of whack.

Laman: Yeah, it's too hot, I'm going back.

Lehi: Then go and get the plates, my dear.

Laman: On second thought, I'm staying here.

Nephi: You said you'd leave and go away,
Now all you want to do is stay?

Lemuel: That Nephi always gets his way.

Laman: Here we are in this damp cave.

Sam: We would not be here if you'd behave.

Nephi: I will go and I will do.
There's the angel, that's my cue.
Laban's had too much to drink,
Now he'll lose his head, I think.

Nephi: Look what I found, a brother from the quorum.

Sam: We will take him home, we'll call him Zoram.

Laman: Our gold and silver we have spent.
I do not like it in this tent.

Lemuel: I cannot read the Liahona,
I must have drunk too much Corona.

Laman: We hate it here, we have no lives.

Lehi: Then go back to town and get some wives.

Lehi: A tree, a tree, I see a tree!!
The fruit is white, the fruit is free!
A floating building, could it be?
Why do they laugh and stare at me?
Laman, Lemuel, come and see!

Laman: We will not eat your precious fruit.

Lemuel: We will not wear a tie and suit.

Laman: We will not help you build your boat.

Lemuel: We do not think that it will float.

Laman: No, not this boat, it will not float,
Not even in a shallow moat,
I do not care what Nephi wrote.

Lemuel: We will not eat your fruit I say.

Laman: We will not eat it on a tray.

Lemuel: And we won't eat it in a tent,
Not even if your clothes you rent.

Laman: We'd rather have a can of spam.

Laman & Lemuel: We will not eat it, Sam I am.

Sam: You do not like it, so you say,
Try it, try it, and you may,
Try it and you may I say.

Laman: Sam, if you will let us be,
We will try it, you will see.

Laman & Lemuel: Say, we like this fruit of life.
Sorry that we caused such strife.
You've saved us from an awful jam.
Thank you, thank you, Sam I am!

2 Quote of the week

"Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need. Spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicates to the Lord how you treasure it. That practice enhances the likelihood of your receiving further light" (Richard G. Scott, in Ensign, Nov. 1993, 88).

3 This week in our family

Mon, Mar 2: Nicole Lynn Real's birthday [Gene]
Tues, Mar 3: Robert Hodson's birthday [Dean]
Thurs, Mar 5: Austin's birthday [Kay]
Sun, Mar 8: Kimberley Ellis's birthday [Gene]
Sun, Mar 8: Kaitlyn's birthday [Lyle]
Mon, Mar 9: Next issue of newsletter

4 Bits and tidbits

Baptism and confirmation
Our eight-year-old grandson, Ben Cleverly, was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church on Saturday afternoon, February 28, by his father, Talmage. Most of our family (except the two who live in Washington and Georgia) were present for the occasion.

We're so excited!
Speaking of those who live out of state, as we were driving home from the baptism in Layton, my cell phone rang, and it was daughter Eliza calling from Georgia to say they were flying out to Utah for Paul's spring break. They found an incredibly good deal on airfare (which we didn't think existed between Atlanta and Salt Lake), so they snatched the opportunity. They arrive in Utah on Sunday, March 8, and return home to Georgia on Monday, March 16.

Facebook
Last week we reported on 24 family members who were on Facebook. In the week since then we've become aware of 13 more (the additional names are highlighted in red):

Lyle's family
Doug Cleverly
Thomas Cleverly
Amber Cleverly-Thomas
Keri Card
Marina Cleverly
Randy Cleverly
Rebecca Cleverly
Shandi Burdett
Sunshyne Kersker

Kay's family
Kay B Cleverly
Austin Cleverly
Nicolle Cleverly Higley
Andrea Cleverly McAllister
Kyle Cleverly
Melissa Smith Cleverly

Gene's family
Lou Real
Kelley Gene Cleverly

Ray's family
Eugene DeMartini
Sharae DeMartini

My family
Dean B. Cleverly
Michael A. Cleverly
Shauna Cleverly
Cade Hoff
Rebecca Cleverly Hoff
Rachael Cleverly Hodson
Anna Cleverly Halverson
Chris Taylor
Camilla Cleverly Taylor
Eliza Cleverly Challis
Paul Challis
Vince Oveson
Mary Cleverly Oveson

Dale's family
LeAnn Cleverly
Sarah Rager
Kira Cleverly
Keisha Lynn Cleverly

Jackie's family
Jolene Head

5 Our family 50 years ago

Excerpts from the March 1959 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 a 40-acre farm in the Deer Flat area south of Nampa, Idaho.

Mon, Mar 2. We got up & ate & Ivard did chores & I took kids over to first day at new school at Scism. Ivard & Jackie went over to old place in pick-up & I followed in car. loaded up car & pick up & came home & unloaded & I went & got Kids from school.

Tues, Mar 3. I changed all the beds & washed clothes all day went & got kids & Ray made beds & put clothes away. We ate & Ivard ilked early then went over to Adrian to Ad's for half hr. then we all went over to Owyhee ward to our farewell party. played games & ate & they gave us a pretty big picture.

Wed, Mar 4. We went over to old place & Bishop had set stuff out & guys had moved in. We loaded up & Ivard loaded davenport alone, he was so mad at Bishop because he wouldn't let us have the boards we took out of closet, other wise it would have been too heavy. We came home & unloaded.

Thurs, Mar 5. I came home from work & Ivard was home milking. I took Kids to school & me, Ivard & Jackie ate & at 10:30 we went to bed after I washed 2 batches of blankets and hung them out. We got up at 1:30 & went & got Kids no school, teachers meeting.

Fri, Mar 6. Ivard went to Nampa & Caldwell to see about getting sugar beet acrage & Ins on place. He came home & at 12:45 we went to bed. got up at 3:30 & I went & got kids. At 4:30 Ivard & Jackie went to Adrian to get Kay & Gene and bring back a load of hay. I cooked supper, hambergers with mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, spring salad, dressing.

Sat, Mar 7. Ivard, Kay, Gene & Ray went over to old place & hauled the rest of machinery on B&M truck & kids brought pick-up load of hay.

Sun, Mar 8. I came home from work & we all went to Priesthood & sunday school at Nampa 2nd Ward but Kay & he forgot to bring his clothes home. We got groc. & icecream & came home & Gail, Lynda & Debbie were here. We fixed dinner & ate & visited until 4:30 & they went home & took Kay & Gene back to Adrian for week.

6 What in the world

Ten-digit calling now required in Utah
As of yesterday, residents of Wasatch Front counties in Utah had to begin dialing 10 digits (area code + number) to make telephone calls, even if it's to the neighbor across the street. The 801 area code is pretty much all used up, and this change makes way for the new 385 area code that will overlay or coexist in the same geographic area.

Mormons in Congress
Fourteen members of the Church are serving in the current U.S. Congress: five in the Senate and nine in the House of Representatives.

Senator Harry Reid, D-Nevada, is the Senate majority leader. Serving with him are Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Senator Bob Bennett, R-Utah; Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; and Senator Tom Udall, D-New Mexico.

The nine members of the House include Wally Herger, R-California; Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-California; Mike Simpson, R-Idaho; Jeff Flake, R-Arizona; Jim Matheson, D-Utah; Rob Bishop, R-Utah; Dean Heller, R-Nevada; Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah; and Eni Faleomavaega, D-American Samoa (one of five territorial representatives in the House who are nonvoting delegates).

Darwin awards
The Darwin awards are bestowed each year, honoring the least evolved among us. Taking this year's number four spot: After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for three days.

And now . . . for the rest of the story
Paul Harvey (1918-2009), an American radio broadcaster during most of the second half of the 20th Century, died in Phoenix on Saturday, February 28, at age 90. He was familiar for his "The Rest of the Story" segments.

"A friendly and familiar voice in the lives of millions of Americans" was how former President George W. Bush characterized him. "His commentary entertained, enlightened, and informed."

7 A final word

Few things in life are as constant as change. Night turns into day. Seasons meld into one another. Years come and go. Children grow up. Hair turns gray. Or disappears altogether. People die.

Sunrise. Sunset.

And while change can be good, exciting, and wonderful, it can also be terribly bad. But, even when it's bad we can take hope, for when days are ugly, when times look dark, when entire economies head south, when we wonder how we're going to muddle through it all, we can rest assured, "This too shall pass." It always does. Life is like that.

We can have such assurance because of One who has suffered all such things, who has descended below all things, who has paid the necessary price for all that is wrong.

As the ancient prophet testified, "He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

"And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

"Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

"Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

"Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.

"And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me" (Alma 7:11-16).

And that is change worth striving for.