A Journal Entry to Remember

June 7, 2009

This last weekend was Stake Conference and I was really spiritually lifted. First in the temple on Friday and during the Saturday evening and Sunday Sessions. Sunday I sang in the choir so I could get a soft seat instead of the hard ones in back. lol... Actually I felt I needed to support our stake Choir Director, who is my friend and as long as I can sing without coughing I ought to sing. Anyway as I was sitting during a quiet moment I reflected back to the times when I was the stake music chairman of the Mesa East Stake and would lead the music during the stake conferences. It was in September 1996 when I was asked on the spur of the moment to give my thoughts during the Sunday afternoon session. Elder Abrea who was the visiting General Authority leaned over to President Johnson and whispered something to him right before he announced the congregational hymn and then he said I was invited by Elder Abrea to share my testimony and some thoughts. About a week before this conference I had a feeling that I was to someday, somewhere I would share the spiritual experience I had with Jonathan, my grandson a month earlier. So now I would like to share this experience with you, but I will use my journal entry to tell the story…….

Journal entry August 6, 1996

"For the last 6 days I have had little Jonathan (my grandson) here with me while his parents and all my other children went to Lake Powell. Jonathan will be three years old in October.

We had many wonderful moments together. It seems no matter what I was doing, Jonathan wanted to be by my side. When I would cook he wanted to watch and get right into the middle of things and help me. Well, as good as a three year old can. When I cleaned house or folded clothes he wanted to do his share and I would hand him a few things to be folded. We played, we read and morning and night we prayed together. When I played my piano or violin, he came with me to the music room. There he found my box of rhythm instruments and as I would play the sweet lovely hymns preparing for Choir rehearsals, he would accompany me with the crashing of a cymbal or ringing of the bells or rattling of the maracas. His music was rather noisy but he was so proud and looked so cute. One time he even found a blown up balloon under a table which was left over from my mother’s 80^th birthday party and he used a drum stick to hit the balloon in the air as he chases it around the room.

Those were some sweet moments together. But the time I will always cherish the most is where in the early light of the morning. When after waking from a good night’s sleep, Jonathan and I would go out in the back field and feed the animals. First we fed the cats by the house and then we put dog food into a small bucket. I picked up the bucket on one side of the handle and Jonathan would take the other side of the handle. I carried some hay for the sheep and the goat with my other arm and while balancing my load we would start out into the field. We looked like an odd couple carefully walking out into the field. Jon kept very close because the grass and weeds were very high, at times they were even higher than Jonathan. As the grass became thicker he would let go of the bucket at my side and followed behind me in my footsteps down a thin worn path through the weeds. We walked out there slowly looking at the wonders of nature as we went. We saw butterflies and bees. Found a few very ripe apples still on the tree, which we picked and they tasted like apple cobbler without any of the good stuff on it, like cinnamon and sugar. We filled up the water troughs and the dog’s wadding pool. And then we would venture back through the field toward the house. Again there was Jonathan right behind me walking in my footsteps until we got to the clearing and then he would run ahead of me but not too far. His favorite place would be, taking my hand and walking hand in hand back to the house.

Somehow this reminded me of the way I want to be with the Savior. I want to follow in His footsteps. I want to walk hand in hand by His side all my life. I want to be close to Him and not leave His sight. Sometimes when I feel I can walk on my own and take care of things by myself, I soon realize I cannot see what lies in that path ahead. It is then that I know that I can follow with faith, knowing that He will lead and guide me in the right path and He will not let any harm come to me.

But my favorite thing will be, to once again hold His Hand and then be drawn up into the arms of His love and live with Him eternally in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father."

My eyes were very moist and my voice very emotional but strong and I shared a powerful message that day. What an awesome and humbling experience. As I bore my testimony I shared the experience of Jonathan I also added that as parents and grandparents aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters we have the responsibility to lead our children and grandchildren in the way of truth. I bore testimony that I know the Savior lives and I want to be with Him always.

It took me the rest of the meeting to control myself, and then as we sang the closing Hymn, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives, the tears became unleashed not only by me, but it seemed the whole congregation was sniffling during the closing prayer.