"Give Us Of Your Oil"

Today, Taleesa and I received much sobering instruction in being prepared temporally, and spiritually. It was very discomforting. Pain literally struck Taleesa's stomach like a bolt of lightning. We were nearly convinced to leave church, and run to the grocery store. It didn't happen quite this fast. I guess I should start from the beginning. I mixed pancakes for the first time in my life. Jalapeno bacon was sizzling in a pan, and right next to it was a smaller pan of eggs frying. It was a true breakfast. A meal that reminded me of fonder times. I remember eating similar breakfasts as a child with my grandparents. I remember watching my grandpa stare out the window over his estate while sipping apple juice, like he was a man, and he deserved that breakfast. This was one of those breakfasts. We finished our meal and headed to church. The first speaker spoke about being prepared, then the next, and then the next. We went to our next meeting only to be greeted by senior missionaries. One, an elderly woman of the usual shape and size of any grey-haired grandmother. She stood, though not very tall, and draped in a modest and plain flower print dress, in front of the class. Beside her stood a crude display of poster board and glass jars filled with what I presumed to be various spices, or dried fruits. Her husband stood at the back of the room wearing rubber gloves working on some concoctions of food I imagined they would eventually try selling to us. The woman instructed us on ways to improve or begin a food storage, where to store, what to store, and where and how we could obtain such dried powdery goodness. All these things were explained as well as a fierce rebuke to never store anything in any type of garage, or shed. Following her instruction was a slew of questions most of them focused solely on what could be stored in one's garage. "How about flour?", one said. The answer was, "no". "Peas, could we store peas?", asked another. Again the answer was, "no". To tell the long version of this story yourself just refer to the questions asked above only substitute flour, and peas, for just about every other fruit, vegetable, or anything else you could imagine. After the meeting we made our way slowly to the refreshment table set up at the back of the classroom. We tasted the rehydrated refried beans, and the wheat berry salad both of which could sustain the life of one starving quite easily. However there was a bit of hesitancy to try the pinto bean fudge; not to be confused with black bean fudge. I stood staring at the little brown lumps trying not to let anyone see me doing so. I was mesmerized just looking for any signs of bean shrapnel. Just as I was trying to break out of my trance an elderly woman with small pieces of chocolate gathering in the corners of her mouth said sweetly , "don't be a chicken", and quickly thereafter I did indulge. Shortly following our turn at the refreshment table we turned to our last and final class with the sweet mixture of beans and fudge still dancing in our mouths, the ratio of which is unbeknownst to me. Our final class focused on the second coming of the Savior Jesus Christ. We talked about the signs that will precede His coming. There are some that are quite evident, some that have already happened, and some that are happening at this time. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and is being taught by the missionaries of the Church in just about every country of the world save roughly forty. The spirit of Elijah has visited the earth with the power and keys to seal families together for eternity, and the promise of turning the heart of the children to their fathers is coming to pass as advancements in family history technology increase daily. There are most definitely wars taking place, there are rumors of wars, and many many other signs that are or have happened. Get your storage on. And be good.

Kolob Pictures

Three Months Now

Here's what's new. Taleesa and I have been married for three months now--and they said it would never last. Things are going super swell. Taleesa is turning up the heat on her cooking skills, we're talking chicken, cookies, enchiladas, chicken, you name it. We try to keep it somewhat healthy. The St. George Marathon is coming up on October 3rd, so we're trying to get ready for that. We spend a lot of time stretching and running, and not eating as many cookies as we'd both really like to. Hopefully this will pay off. We've also received a few callings in our ward. Taleesa watches the little ones in the nursery it sounds like the children are taking to the lessons quite well. A few have hinted toward a not too-distant baptism, we'll keep an eye on it. Myself, I teach once a month in the Elders Quorum, and as of two weeks ago have been called to serve as Assistant Scout Master, or Assistant to the Scout Master. Yes scouts! I think I could probably still use my old scout shirt seeing how there was never a patch sewn onto it. It should be a good time, I can't wait to whittle some new slides for my neckerchief collection. Other than that we are way pumped for school, and homework, and other stuff.