On the Wings of Eagles: Quotes and Commentary

I came across a wonderful article by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -- who happens to be my favorite. :-) Anyway, I put the link at the bottom and I would encourage everybody to read the entire article. But here are a few quotes that stuck out to me.

"It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are that you can begin to take control of yourself. As you learn to control yourself, you will get control of your life. If you want to move the world, you first have to move yourself.

"President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) often quoted an unknown author: “The greatest battle of life is fought out within the silent chambers of the soul. A victory on the inside of a man’s heart is worth a hundred conquests on the battlefields of life. To be master of yourself is the best guarantee that you will be master of the situation. Know thyself. The crown of character is self-control.”

"This leads us to God’s great gift to His children: agency.

"Lehi taught this most important doctrine to his children. He said: “The Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. … And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Ne. 2:16, 27).

"You have agency, and you are free to choose. But there is actually no free agency. Agency has its price. You have to pay the consequences of your choices.

"Human agency was purchased with the price of Christ’s suffering. The power of Christ’s Atonement overcomes the effect of sin on the condition of wholehearted repentance. Through and by the Savior’s universal and infinite Atonement, all have been redeemed from the Fall and have become free forever to act for themselves (see 2 Ne. 2:26).

"Agency is a spiritual matter. Without awareness of alternatives, you could not choose. Agency is so important in your lives that you not only can choose obedience or rebellion, but you must. 

During this life you cannot remain on neutral ground; you cannot abstain from either receiving or rejecting the light from God." (Emphasis added) -- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, On the Wings of Eagles, 2003

Interestingly, this morning Lisa and I were discussing this very subject. I mentioned that if you're not continually working on living the Gospel, that you are rejecting it. There is no neutral ground. Those who think they are neutral, are actually rejecting the light from God, as President Uchtdorf puts it.

Living the Gospel requires daily continuous work.  If we are not moving forward, we are moving backward.

I was listening to "The Infinite Atonement" this morning. One thing Elder Callister mentioned that struck me was, speaking of the gifts of the Spirit, that we must continually fervently pray and ask to receive those gifts we've been blessed with or for anything that we sincerely desire or wish for.

Just keeping the commandments and trying to live righteously is not enough.  We have to ask the Lord for the desires of our hearts.

This makes total sense since work is an eternal principle and prayer is a form of work. I think it's something we often forget. The Lord requires effort on our part before he will bless us. He wants us to work to obtain those things which we desire. And he wants us to ask him for them. And if you think about it, things always mean more to us when we have worked hard to obtain them.

There are several scriptures which mention, "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you".

Another quote from President Uchtdorf's talk, On the Wings of Eagles:

"Prayer, if given in faith, is acceptable to God at all times. If you ever feel you cannot pray, that is the time when you definitely need to pray. Nephi taught in plainness, “If ye would hearken unto the Spirit [of God] which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit … teacheth him that he must not pray” (2 Ne. 32:8).

"President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) taught, “The sincere prayer of the righteous heart opens to any individual the door to divine wisdom and strength in that for which he righteously seeks.”

"Obedience assures us an answer to our prayers. We read in the New Testament, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 Jn. 3:22).

"Daily, simple but sincere and mighty prayers will help you lift your lives to a higher spiritual altitude. In your prayers you praise God, give thanks to Him, confess weaknesses, petition needs, and express deep devotion to your Heavenly Father. As you do this in the name of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, you perform a spiritual effort that leads to increased inspiration, revelation, and righteousness—not self-righteousness—and brings the brightness of heaven into your lives." -- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, On the Wings of Eagles, 2003

Well I actually combined two blogs into one.  :-) But it seems to flow.  Anyway, if you feel like you are not receiving answers to your prayers, perhaps you are not working hard enough.  Or perhaps the Lord is delaying his answer for your own benefit, which He sometimes does.  Or perhaps the answer is no.  But one thing is certain, the Lord does hear and answer every sincere prayer offered to Him.

Remember that the Lord will not thwart the agency of mankind.  Everybody must exercise his or her own moral agency and face the consequences whether good or bad.  Therefore if your prayer pertains to someone else's lifestyle or choices, the Lord will not intervene, even when those poor choices detrimentally affect us directly.  

Satan would have us believe that obedience limits our freedoms and agency when in fact, the opposite is true.  As we learn and exercise self-control and practice obedience to the Lord, we are actually increasing the choices available to us and therefore expanding our freedoms.

Look at those who rebel against the Lord's laws, and are slaves to addiction.  Or those who give in to temptation every time they face it.  Are they more free than someone who actively chooses to obey the Lord?  I think not.

Choosing to exercise our moral agency by actively striving to follow the Lord by living His commandments not only gives us more freedom but also brings more happiness and blessings in our lives.

That's my two cents.

President Eyring Quote

"If the foundation of faith is not embedded in our hearts, the power to endure will crumble."

-- Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, April 2012 General Conference address "Mountains to Climb"

Patience

From this month's visiting teaching message:

“Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something … even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!”

“Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being ‘willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father’ [Mosiah 3:19]. Ultimately, patience means being ‘firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord’ [1 Nephi 2:10] every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so.”

-- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency

X-rays 16 weeks

Another Friday the 13th and another set of x-rays.

These were taken yesterday.  Today marks the 16th week since the break.  And 13.5 weeks since diagnosis.

 These films were taken without the brace on so the view is more clear. obviously not much change on AP view.  This is consistent with the lack of stability upon physical examination.  :-(

This lateral view actually provides a glimmer of hope.

The posterior aspect of the femur shows some bone growth. Which is hopefully indicative of increasing stability along the sagittal plane.

Next step: check serum vitamin D levels, CT scan to get a better view of possible healing.

Surgical reduction/fixation is not ruled out yet but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.  And the trauma surgeon was not optimistic that the benefits would outweigh the risks.  So that will go on the back burner for now.

He did mention amputation as a last resort possibility.  But obviously that would be end of the line option.

For now I remain hopeful that it is healing slowly but surely.  Thank you for all of your prayers and fasting in my behalf.  I truly appreciate it.

Mary Ann Powell

Which of these photos of Mary Ann Powell should I use for my family tree wall?

Put your answer in the comments section.

Mary Ann Powell is my great great great grandmother.  She married David Dorwart Sabin and they are the parents of Henry Sabin who married Nancy Jane Stone and they are the parents of Henry Elmer Sabin who married Lillie Devena Christensen and they are the parents of Marvin Elmer Sabin who is my maternal grandfather.

I have a 12 page autobiography by Mary Ann Powell which is very interesting.  I will just tell you a few highlights that I remember.

She was born in South Wales where her father John Powell was an expert stonemason.  Her father converted and was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.  Her mother later converted.

I believe it was 1856 when they sailed across the "pond", as they say, and came to America.  She was 12 or 13 at the time.  Her mother was quite ill and Mary had to do a lot of the work.

Upon reaching America her family joined a handcart company and crossed the plains into the Salt Lake Valley. Mary walked the entire way.  Even helping to pull others' handcarts.

Her father John, being an expert stonemason, worked on the Salt Lake Temple.  Two weeks after reaching Salt Lake he died.  Her mother settled in Payson, Utah. Her brother William, also a stonemason, continued work on the Salt Lake Temple.

Here is a small snippet from her autobiography:

". On January 30, 1865, I married David Dorwart Sabin. He was born in Pennsylvania, and at the age of ten had come to Utah with his family. His parents settled in Salt Lake City and resided in the seventeenth ward until the spring of 1858 when there was a general move southward. I had known Brother Sabin several years before I began keeping company with him. He was an honorable upright man.

"We resided in Payson fourteen years. The first home we owned was a block north of the Payson flour mill. Brother Sabin built it. It was a blue adobe, two rooms, a little loft, and a nice cellar. There was a nice little orchard from which I used to gather and dry fruit. Those days there was a good price for dried fruit. 

"During our early married life, we were buying a molasses mill in Salem. My husband made the purchase for six hundred dollars. He repaired the machinery and set it to running at once. He made thousands of gallons of molasses. Our molasses was known throughout the state. The mill usually worked from September until November. For several years it ran day and night during the molasses making season. After the settlers quit raising cane, Brother Sabin changed the mill into a saw mill which he operated for several years. The wood for it was supplied from Loafer and Maple Canyons. 

"During the Black Hawk war, Brother Sabin held the position of home guard. Sometimes he would stand on duty for three or four nights in succession, but usually the turn came only one night a week. This lasted for two years. In 1879 we moved to Salem and hewed the lumber for our house from the Santaquin Canyon. He worked up the lumber in his own mill. Also made his own shingles and lathes. 

"We built a very nice home of seven rooms. In this home my three youngest children were born. Our family now numbered nine children. "1- Sarah Elizabeth 2- David 3- Henry 4- Mary Ann 5- John 6- Aretta 7- Margaret Amanda 8- Emma Eleanor 9- Ruth. 

"During the greater part of our married life, Brother Sabin held the office of Bishop´s counselor.He acted in this position during three different Bishops. He was superintendent of the Sunday school for a number of years also. 

"We were privileged to entertain many of the leaders of the church in our home. Among those who visited in our home was Joseph F. Smith, George I. Cannon, Dr. Hardy, Abraham Owen Smart, James E. Talmage, David John, and Brother Partridge. 

"Two years after Brother Sabin´s death, I sold our store and built a new home in the Central part of Salem where I am still residing. I am now in my eighty second year. The only living child of my father´s family. I am enjoying fairly good health for my season of life. My home is cozy and pleasant with all the convenience modern equipment can make. I am not burdened in any way. I take an active interest in the house keeping and work a little each day according to my strength. 

At this time in my life I recall the incidents of the past only for the pleasant memories they bring. I believe the todays are just as good as the yesterdays. My heart´s best message to my sons and daughters, grand children, and great grand children is Look Ahead. Don´t look behind." -- Mary Ann Powell, autobiography

 A remarkable lady!  There are many more stories about crossing the plains and life in jolly old England :-) in her autobiography.  I didn't know I was a direct descendent of some of the pioneers.  :-)

Paternal Grandfather Ancestor Photographs

William Merritt Shaw is my great great great grandfather.  He married Cornelia Margaret Sluyter.  They are the parents of Tryphosa Shaw who married Nelson Simmons.  They begat Millie Vieta Simmons who married Bert Nickolas Stone who are the parents of Newell Elbert Stone who is my paternal grandfather.

Something interesting about William Merritt Shaw is that, according to my great grandmother Millie, he was a graduate of Harvard University.

Apparently the Shaws were staunch Seventh-day Adventists and went west with the SDA movement.

According to my third cousin, She has letters written between my great great grandmother Tryphosa and Ellen White's people.  Ellen White being the founder or one of the bigwigs anyway of the Seventh-day Adventists.

William Merritt Shaw family

Tryphosa back left

Same family as above years later.

It gives me a much different vibe of that family.  They don't look like the same refined, proper people as above.  :-)

Something interesting about my great great grandfather Nelson Simmons -- according to his daughter Millie, He had a mean devil of a stepmother who kicked him out at age 8 and he was on his own since then.

Also according to Millie -- Nelson was very well versed in the Bible and read it often. He could also read the Hebrew Bible.

Another story Millie tells is that he accidentally stuck a knife in his brother's eye while skating a squirrel in Nebraska.

Here is a direct quote from the transcript of Millie from 1968

"Indians shooting at the wagon? Yes, there was a woman, they had to flee in the night to get away from the Indians, and there was a woman that had a frying pan up whenever she came to some brush she would hold the pan up like this. That was an Indian uprising. I don’t know what year it was. My other was among them. I don’t know how old she was."

"The Indians bothered in Nebraska awful bad. They stole our horses while the folks were in Nebraska. The folks were there awhile. I don’t know why they had to leave. Nebraska was where the Indians bothered my folks so bad. We had a big Newfoundland dog. She had pups every hear and the Indians came and stole them. They cooked and ate them (the pups)."

"The government paid the people for years afterward for the horses that the Indians stole. They paid the people for the horses."

Nelson and Tryphosa Shaw Simmons family

My great-grandmother Millie is in the back middle.  Her sister Marguerite on her left and in front next to Tryphosa is Irene.

According to my grandfather, The little boy in front between Nelson and Tryphosa was actually Millie's son and not brother. I hate to spread rumors and at this point that's merely speculation.  Although I did do the math and it is possible -- Millie would have been 17 when Carl was born.  

If it's true, it was kept hush-hush and never revealed.  Carl was raised as Millie's brother. 

One of the fun things about doing family history work is finding stories and learning more about my ancestors and their lives.

And digging up potential skeletons in the closet also makes it interesting.

Millie seems to have more than her share of skeletons, according to my grandfather -- her son.

Interestingly, for being staunch Seventh-day Adventists -- none of their current descendents that we know about still practice the religion.  Most of them fell away during my grandpa's generation.  My third cousin went to SDA church with her grandmother but left when she was 12.

As far as I know, neither my grandpa nor any of his siblings raised their children as Seventh-day Adventists. Apparently the Simmons children were too heavy-handed in raising their children as Seventh-day Adventists.  At least that's the story I hear. 

Or maybe they all just recognized that they didn't have the full truth.  :-)

Not likely.  :-)

Paternal Grandmother Ancestry Photos

My great great great grandmother.  Anna Elisa Burrell married Samuel Walker (below) and they are the parents of William Franklin Walker who was the father of Myron Day Walker who is the father of Lois Fern Walker who is the mother of my daddy :-).

My great great grandfather -- explained above.

Hannah Ada Davis is my great great great grandmother.  She married Richard Elsy Feris Moore.  They are the parents of Mary Ada Moore who married William Franklin Walker (above).  They begat Myron Day Walker who begat Lois Fern Walker, my paternal grandmother.  :-)

Mary Ada Moore bears a striking resemblance to my cousin Preston.  :-)

William Franklin Walker and Mary Ada Moore wedding photo

November 4, 1891

I have a bunch more to post but I'm out of time for now.  Look for more in the near future.  :-)

Elder Ballard Quote

"We cannot foresee what the Lord has in mind for us. Our only course of action is to be prepared and worthy for whatever he requires. We must govern our actions every day with our future in mind."

—M. Russell Ballard, "Purity Precedes Power"