the Last Weekend

I was preoccupied and a bit stressed the weekend before Carmen left and didn't take pictures. what was I thinking!  I got a few off face book (courtesy Brittney Larsson) and hope to get a few more from other donations - to be posted later.  i didn't even get a picture of Carmen and Mary saying goodbye.  That was emotional for both of them, to say the least.  A couple of her good friends from BYU came over and they had some fun together one last time.    The Cushing family (Ron and Jeanne, Rebecca, Erin, Matthew, and Jordan) also came for the weekend - for Carmen's 'farewell'.  Jesse and Brenna and Family were also here Friday night (Brenna left for Atlanta with the kids on Saturday) for a family dinner.  We missed having Nelson here but looked forward to seeing him in Utah.

Carmen's talk on Sunday was great - her assigned topic?  The Prophet Joseph Smith.  Mary and Curtis sang a Janice Kapp Perry duet "How Great Shall Be Your joy".  Carmen accompanied them.  Mary broke down and cried at the very beginning - of course, since she was the first to come in. But it worked out best that way.  Curtis comforted her, and they started again.  She rose to the occasion-  they sounded very nice, and it was quite touching.   

Carmen and Mary - I really like this pic

Mary, Carron, Carmen, Brittney

Carmen put off writing her talk til Saturday afternoon.  She got it done pretty quickly, and had Brittney listen to her give it so she could time it.  Seven Minutes (supposed to be 12). 

Carmen said, "well- I'll read it slowly, that will add 2 minutes, and then I'll bear my testimony for three!"  

Someone else added, "and it will take longer because you will be crying".  

Carmen: "No, I'm not going to cry."  

Brittney:  "Are you kidding? you cried when you read it to me!"

Here is Carmen's talk, for those interested.  (Of course some of the best parts were when she bore her testimony and told from the heart about being at the Carthage Jail, etc.): 

Talky talk talk

Hello!!!!!

Possibly the most dreaded thing about my mission call would be this exact moment. So here goes. 

President Hinckley gave a talk titled Praise to the Man and talked about when he gained his testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.  He was at his first stake priesthood meeting at the age of twelve and the opening song was “Praise to the Man”.  He said: 

I would like to share a few experiences where my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith was strengthened by the power of the Holy Ghost.  When I was sixteen, my family took a trip to Nauvoo, and we stopped at Carthage Jail.  I had heard the story many times and was so saddened at the prophet’s death, but being there in the exact place where his life was tak

(TALK ABOUT EXPERIENCE AT CARTHAGE JAIL.)

(TALK ABOUT WATCHING THE JOSEPH SMITH MOVIE.)

I AM GRATEFUL FOR THESE MOMENTS IN MY LIFE WHERE THE SPIRIT HAS CONFIRMED TO ME THAT JOSPEH SMITH WAS TRULY CALLED OF GOD TO HELP WITH THE RESTORATION OF THIS GOSPEL. 

Hugh B Brown gave a talk called Profile of a Prophet telling how Joseph Smith was truly a man of God. He was an ordinary man who was called to be a prophet and with faith, hard work, and help of his Heavenly Father he was able to fulfill that role and be an example to us all.

Hugh B Brown mentioned the superhuman tasks that Joseph Smith accomplished and it truly is amazing what he had done.  Elder Brown said:

He also talked about the accomplishment of translating the Book of Mormon.

 Elder Brown Said:

It is so amazing to know the great things Joseph Smith accomplished and that we have a prophet today on earth that is ordained with the same power from God.  I consider it a great blessing that President Thomas S. Monson can receive revelation from our Heavenly Father for our whole church and can lead and guide us to do the right.

In eighth grade I had an assignment to write a book report for my U.S. History class. The book I chose was History of Joseph Smith by his Mother.  What a fun book to read to understand better Joseph’s personality, a very kind and loving man.  It was also a joy to talk with my dad about his testimony of the prophet and see his love for Joseph. 

Ivan J. Barrett, a professor of church history at BYU, gave a devotional talk giving praise to Joseph’s wonderful characteristics.  He said: 

I love how Joseph emphasizes the importance of loving everyone and that he was also a great example of it.  Joseph was also a great example of friendship.

Professor Barrett continued:

I hope that we can all show kindness to everyone we meet and do all we can to improve our character to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.  I also hope that we can all gain or strengthen our testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet of God.  It is so cool how everything in the gospel is connected- everything bears witness of Christ.  As we strengthen our testimony of Joseph Smith, we in turn gain a greater testimony of the Book of Mormon and when we know that’s true we have a greater knowledge of our Savior’s love for us and his greatest gift of the atonement.    

Back to President Hinckley’s story of his gaining of a testimony of the prophet: in the song Praise to the Man,  we can hear W.W. Phelps testimony of Joseph: (Read excerpt from "Praise to the Man")

 

(Testimony!)