4 Aug 2024, Sunday

 4 Aug 2024, Sunday

Prioritized Daily Task 

Abbington Memory Center, McAlpin

I woke up this morning a little before 7 am.  I got a good 8 hours of sleep. Today is fast Sunday.  I woke, had prayer, and got to church at 8 am to set the chairs up for meetings today,   The Priesthood,  Relief Society, and Ward Auxlaries are meeting with the Bishopric today so the church was already open when I arrived.  I started setting up chairs but the ward who was assigned to clean the building did not get to dust mopping the gymnasian.  I had a few rows of chairs set up when I started seeing bits of paper and trash.  I did not want to fold the chairs I had set up so I did not use the dust mop but got a vacuum and did some light cleaning.  When the meeting ended with the bishop there were lots of people helping.  I attended sacrament and testimony meeting in Lehi 7th ward.  At 10 am I drove over to Abbington Memory Center.  Brother Gary Pyne, Stake High Councilman, who has the responsibility of the center came over to make sure he knows what has to be done when he covers for me and Debbie on me on Sunday, Aug. 18th.  The 39th Ward provided priesthood and music today.  After church, I came home at about 11 am.  Note: I studied and listened again to Come Follow Me, Scripture Central.  This time to Kirk Magleby, Chief Evangelist.  BYU was founded in 1875; a Commercial School was founded in 1891, known today as the Marriott School of Business; the J. Ruben Clark Law School was founded in 1973; and a new medical school at BYU was announced on July 9, 2024.  Each year about 200 graduates begin attending medical school somewhere.  BYU is ranked 18th in the number of students accepted into medical school but hundreds are not accepted.  In May 2024 the Church's open reported stock portfolio exceeded $50 Billion.  It is expensive for students to attend medical school and is prepared to help students from all around the world who are poor and may not be able to afford medical school to now be able to attend.  This is first time in the history of the Church that there have been two medical doctors in the First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve, President Russell M. Nelson and Elder Dale G. Renlund.             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RL9o5NJojo                                         I enjoyed this video so much that I watched another one from Scripture Central,    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuoyG47cUhg                Why did the Church Donate 55.8 million dollars to help 148 million poor children and 2.7 million expecting mothers in 12 countries.  The Church will lead 8 NGOs, non-government organizations, CARE International, Catholic Relief Services, Helen Keller Intl, iDE, MAP International, Save the Children, The Hunger Project, and Vitamin Angels administering relief to the poor and needy similar to the US WIC program only not to the affluent.  A report will be given in about a year by Camille Johnson, Relief Society President, and attorney.  The Relief Society was organized in 1842 by Joseph Smith.  Today the Relief Society has a membership of over 7 million sisters.  The Church leads this group of NGOs in carefully planned goals, key performance indicators, and transparency reporting focused on treatment and prevention of malnutrition and other needs.  2024 the Church had 150 Bishop's Storehouses.  A Bishop's Storehouse is like a grocery store without cash registers.  From 1830 to 1985 the focus of the Church's welfare program was to help the members.  On April 7, 1985, the Church's Welfare Program was expanded to reach every person on the planet.                                                                   If I had an understanding of the whole picture when Debbie and I were serving as Humanitarian Missionaries in the Adriatic North Mission I would have been more patient with Gilles Francois who was an employee of the Church in the administrative department in Frankfurt, Germany.

    It has been a good day.  I talked to and Facetimed Debbie.  She, Jarmi, Tylee, and Libby are having breakfast.  They have about one more day there and will be catching a boat and riding to the airport.  They will be coming home.  Leaving tomorrow morning for them it will be Tuesday and for me, it will be Monday.  Michael called he and Alex were on their way.  They will arrive about 1 am.  He has to go into their office in Draper.  At 5 pm I cooked some cream of wheat, made toast, and had it with peanut butter on the toast and fruit in the cream of wheat.  I studied scriptures and made some *notes from 2 Nephi that I relate to. (chapter 25 verse 23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. And chapter 4 verse 15 And upon these I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.

I got a voice message from Max Kimball letting me know Dan Lester passed away.  He also told me Charlie Hibbert wants me to call him.

I laid down and rested waiting for Michael and Alex to get here in Lehi.  I moved the Subaru from the drive and parked it on the street so Michael will have room to back the U-haul trailer up to the house.  

Note: I did some thinking about how blessed I have been while waiting on Michael and Alex.  From the time I came to this earth, the Lord has been watching over me.  I should have been more humble and I could have helped more people with the Lord's help.  When I was a senior I won regional and state competitions in the 4-H Club and went to Nationals in Chicago.  Before this, I had not even won at regional competition.  When I was a young missionary in the West Central States Mission I politely suggested to a Stake President privately at his Stake Conference he give more support to the full-time missionaries.  The next day, Sunday, the visiting General Authority was Elder Gordon B. Hinckley.  He called me out of the audience and invited me to come to the stand.  I was in the back of the cultural hall and when I got to the stand I went to sit next to the stake mission president.  Elder Hinckley said no, Elder McAlpin you sit here and pointed to a red velvet high-back chair he, Elder Hinckley had been sitting in, you sit here.  When I was seated he begin to dress-me-down.  For the first time I thought maybe I had gone too far the evening before with the stake president of one the Pocatello Stake.  There were five stake in the town and all were doing great in missionary work except this one.  But this was no excuse for me a young convert missionary to try and council a stake president.  When Debbie and I were serving a humanitarian mission in the Adriatic North Mission we submitted a project to the Area Office in Frankfurt, Germany.  The project would benefit many people, both members and non-members.  The town supported it and the officials in Belgrad, the capital of Serbia, supported it and had TV and press coverage.  The project was rejected in the Area Office by an administrative employee of the church.  I went to our Mission President and explained the situation to him.  He went to the Area President and when he explained things to him he had the administrative employee reverse his decision.   This does not happen very often and is an exception to the way things operate between the Executive and administrative branches of the Church.  My life has been an exception to the rule.  I have no reason to believe this was any of my abilities, but I have been watched over and blessed by the Lord.  I think it must have been something I did in the pre-existence or those on the other side of the vale, who have passed on are praying for me or maybe a combination of the two.  Either way, looking back over my life, I see I could have helped more people and done more good if I had been more humble.  Michael and Alex arrived at about 2:30 am.  We visited and I showed him pictures and cards of Dad, me, him, and Gavin from a baby to an adult, to an aged man.  Michael led us in family prayer before going to bed.