Apple Orchard

We planted a few fruit trees last year. Five to be exact.  We have a Honeycrisp apple, Zestar Apple, and three cherry trees.  Rainier, Bing, and another black cherry whose name escapes me at the moment.

The cherry trees didn't do too well this year but the apple trees did.  We didn't expect any fruit the second year.  But we got a few apples on each tree and even a couple cherries.  Although birds got those.  :-(

The following pictures were taken at the beginning of August.

 Honeycrisp apple tree

The following pictures were taken at the end of August.

Zestar Appletree -- looks like it's ready to harvest. 

Honeycrisp apples

Honeycrisp apple tree in the foreground, Zestar tree in the background.  We have faithfully watered our orchard and sprayed a few times.  (Although too late for the cherries).  We are excited to harvest a few apples this year.  :-)

Words of the Prophet

"He calls you and me to serve Him here below and sets us to the task He would have us fulfill. The commitment is total. There is no conflict of conscience. As we follow that Man of Galilee—even the Lord Jesus Christ—our personal influence will be felt for good wherever we are, whatever our callings."

—Thomas S. Monson, "Your Personal Influence"

Total Eclipse of the Sun

First of all, Happy 90th Birthday to our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. His birthday wish is for people to do an act of service for someone else.  He has lived his life serving God and others.  He is a wonderful example to emulate.  Happy Birthday President Monson!

Isn't it interesting that on President Monson's 90th birthday there is a highly anticipated celestial event?  Coincidence?  I don't think so.

Today was the much-anticipated total solar eclipse.  I didn't really think much of it -- I don't watch the news so I don't get all the hype -- but I know much of America was on pins and needles waiting for the celestial event.

My nephew, Elijah, is very much into astronomy and was super excited for the big event.  Thankfully he has a grandfather who is a welder and had some lenses everyone could look through.  So, his mother dropped him off early this morning and he and Grandpa found the lenses and cleaned them up and set the bench up for perfect viewing.

Grandma and Elijah

While testing the welding hood/lenses, Elijah came running in the house all excited saying he could see the moon starting to eclipse the sun.  So we all went outside around 9:30 AM.  It took about an hour for the total eclipse to occur.  Where we are, the sun was totally eclipsed except for a very small portion of the top.

This picture was taken at 10:38 AM.  I believe this is when we had the total eclipse.  This was the best picture we got.  This was taken through a number 11 welding lens.  We probably should've turned the exposure down.  You could see it really good through the welding lens.

  This is an unfiltered version of the total eclipse. This was taken seconds before the above picture.

Grandma and Elijah enjoying the eclipse.  Elijah is using a number 12 welding lens in the welding hood.

Interestingly, it got really cold when the sun was totally eclipsed.  The cold lasted several minutes. 20 to 30 minutes I would guess.  It also got ominously dark.  Not like nighttime just everything became darker in color.  These pictures don't do it justice.  But these landscape pictures were taken during the total eclipse.

It really did look darker than the pictures portray. But the cold was the most surprising aspect of it.  The temperature change was quite dramatic. I was actually glad I left my blanket on during the eclipse.  The temperature gradually increased as the Moon continued on its path across the sun.  It was downright hot when it was all over.

Another picture of the eclipse.  This one almost looks like a diamond ring. The eclipse was totally gone by about 11:30 AM. So it was about a two hour ordeal from start to finish.

Elijah said it was the best experience of his life.  I'm so happy Elijah was able to witness the eclipse.  I know it meant the world to him.  I'm sure when he becomes an astrophysicist he will still remember watching the total solar eclipse at his grandparent's house when he was 11.

Thankfully, for Elijah, the weather cooperated.  There was not a cloud in the sky.  And thankfully Grandpa had welding lenses on hand for people to use to enjoy the total eclipse of the sun.

Camp Stove

Since there are so many people in this world living in Lala land, I feel it my duty to educate them. At least in a small way.  There's only so much I can do.

Lesson #1 -- If you borrow something from someone, it is YOUR duty to return the borrowed item to the person you borrowed it from.  Apparently in Lala land it is someone else's responsibility to return something you borrowed.

And as a side note -- I don't want to overload the people in Lala land with too much common sense -- but it is also nice, and even expected, when you borrow something that you return it in as good or better shape than when you borrowed it.

It's always good to teach using examples so I will illustrate my point with a real-life scenario.

A certain baby son asked to borrow a camp stove from his father for a camping trip.  The father (most likely reluctantly) agreed. [We all know Baby Son's track record at returning things.] The father even went so far as to spend part of his day making sure the camp stove was in working order and supplying bottles of propane to go with it.

After the camping trip, Baby Son makes his daily call to his parents (most likely to complain about his ex-wife and drag her name through the mud which seems to be his favorite pastime). During the course of the conversation the father tells his baby son that he didn't get his camp stove back.  Instead of taking responsibility for not returning the camp stove to his father in a timely manner, Baby Son immediately blames his ex-wife for not returning it.

Here's where lesson number one comes in. Baby son's ex-wife did not borrow the camp stove. In fact, she was actually doing Baby Son a favor by picking up the camp stove from Baby Son's father and delivering it to him.  She did not have to do that. She was being nice.  (Which I don't know if I could do after the way Baby Son has treated her.)  So what thanks does she get?  Let me tell you.  When Baby Son's father inquired about his camp stove not being returned after the camping trip, Baby Son comes back with a snide remark about the woman who did him a favor. Baby Son's response to his father was, "she didn't bring it back yet?"  As if it's her responsibility.  And if that's not bad enough, he has to throw in, "she probably sold it for money."

Can you believe the gall of Baby Son?  Seriously, I could hardly believe what I was hearing.  First of all, it is not Baby Son's ex-wife's responsibility to return the camp stove that Baby Son borrowed from his father.  It is Baby Son's responsibility.  That's just common sense. Which apparently, Baby Son is lacking.  Then he has the audacity to accuse her of thievery?  That seems to be a quality with which Baby Son is well acquainted, not his ex-wife.  (I'm sure you all remember the story to which I'm referring.)  But to accuse Baby Son's ex-wife of thievery is beyond the pale. It's deplorable.

Baby Son's ex-wife would never sell her father-in-law's camp stove for money. For Baby Son to accuse her of that, even in jest, is despicable, absurd, disgusting, and disgraceful.  If he lived in the real world, he would be ashamed of himself.  But apparently in Lala land that type of behavior is acceptable.

 Here in the real world, people take responsibility for their actions.  If you borrow something, you give it back in a timely manner and in good shape. You don't expect someone else to do it for you. Here in the real world, people don't blame others for their poor choices and poor actions.  Here in the real world, we have rules of society that civilized people follow.  In Lala land, you make up your own rules and blame others when the fault lies squarely on your own shoulders.  In Lala land there are no consequences because you make up your own rules and pretend there is no God. In Lala land you drag other people's good names through the mud to make yourself feel better.

Lala land might seem like a nice place to reside, where there are no consequences.  But mark my word, one day reality will prevail and there will be H to pay.

That's my two cents.

Scripture of the Day

Mosiah 15:26-27

26 But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection.

27 Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim.

Tragic Consequences

In reading the Relief Society lesson for next week, I came across this quote by President Hinckley about The Book of Mormon.

  "I know of no other writing that sets forth with such clarity the tragic consequences to societies that follow courses contrary to the commandments of God." -- President Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B.  Hinckley, chapter 16, The Power of the Book of Mormon

President Hinckley hit the nail on the head with this quote.  The Book of Mormon minces no words when it comes to detailing the consequences of those who choose lifestyles contrary to God's commandments.  For those of you who have not read The Book of Mormon, here's a spoiler alert -- the consequences are not pretty.  They are devastatingly tragic.  Read the book and see for yourself.

That's my two cents.

Antichrist

As I was listening to The Book of Mormon this morning, something struck me.  I was listening to Jacob -- the part where Sherem (the antichrist) was contending with Jacob.  What struck me was that this particular antichrist (Sherem) was telling people "that there should be no Christ" (Jacob 7:2). The chapter heading says this was written between 544-421 BC.  What struck me was that the antichrists in The Book of Mormon such as Sherem, Korihor, and Nehor were all preaching against Christ before He was born.

So, the thought crossed my mind that those antichrists actually had more credibility than the antichrists of today.  Sheerly because of their ignorance.  Because today we have many witnesses that Christ was here.  History proves that Christ was born and walked this earth, and taught His gospel to many people.  We have the New Testament as a witness of Christ and we have The Book of Mormon as a second witness of Christ.  We have many people who have actually seen our Savior and can describe what he looks like, and have. The antichrists before Christ's birth, as foolish as they were, didn't have the witnesses, history and testimonies of Christ actually being born.  All they had was prophecy.

So antichrists today are even more ridiculous and foolish than the antichrists in The Book of Mormon.  Especially those who have been taught the gospel and have had testimonies.  Then chose to follow Satan instead.  Seriously, how stupid are these people?

Interestingly, the arguments haven't changed through the millennia.  They are still just as unbelievably stupid as they were when Sherem was around.  I won't delve into their arguments.  I've done it in a past post. But they are utterly absurd.  If John McEnroe heard the absurd arguments of any antichrist throughout history, he would certainly reply, "you cannot be serious".

Just so we're all on the same page, I want to give the definition of antichrist. The following quotation is from a talk given by Elder Robert D. Hales, January 10, 1982.

"Now, to help you with this, I want to talk from the scriptures about antichrist. That’s a hard word. It may help you if I give you a couple of examples of what I mean. Basically what I’m asking is this: “How do you identify those around you who appear faithful but will lead you astray?” How does John describe these people? (I also use the Bible dictionary.) Antichrist was a word used by the apostle John to describe one who assumes the guise of a Christian but in reality is opposed to Christ. That would be including nonmembers as well as members or priesthood holders. In a broader sense it is anyone or anything that counterfeits the true gospel or plan of salvation. Therefore, it means anyone who will prevent you from obtaining eternal life and who openly or secretly is set in opposition to Jesus Christ. The great antichrist is Lucifer, but he has many assistants, both spirit beings and mortals.

"We sometimes think of Peter when he denied Christ, but he didn’t deny him as the Savior; he merely denied his association with him because of fear of what he thought was going to happen to him with his peer group. And that’s what happens with many of us. We are often afraid when we don’t know what is going to happen, and it has always puzzled me that anyone can have more fear of man than of God. We can learn from the scriptures as John recorded,

"Even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. [1 John 2:18]

"We will have many antichrists among us from within the Church. President Lee used to constantly tell us that the greatest danger to the Church was internal, not external."

So in a nutshell, an antichrist is anyone who is in opposition to Jesus Christ and anyone who counterfeits the true gospel or plan of salvation.  Like Elder Hales mentioned, there will be many antichrists among us from within the Church.  I personally know a few of them. My own brother being one of them, unfortunately.  And it was President Harold B. Lee who said that the greatest danger will be from within the Church. It is the former members of the Church who were once faithful servants of the Lord who served full-time missions and married in the temple who for whatever reason choose to follow Satan and willfully rebel against God and apostatize who become the biggest antichrists and can't seem to let the Church or its members alone.

I've always wondered why the apostate antichrists won't leave the Church or its members alone.  Is it not enough that they choose a different lifestyle and no longer believe in truth?  Why do they have to fight against truth?  Why must they persecute the faithful? Elder Hales gave a good explanation from the same talk in 1982:

"Jacob dealt with Sherem who preached among the people that there would be no Christ. Sherem flattered the people; he was learned. This is true of all such men who take these positions. He had perfect knowledge of the language and the people. He spoke with much power of speech according to the power of the devil. Sherem sought out Jacob. Isn’t it interesting how those who are faithful are always sought out? That’s the challenge. The adversary wants every one of us in this assembly more than anyone else in the world, and don’t ever forget it."

 So, according to Elder Hales in the quote above, Satan works harder on the faithful saints and those who try to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And who better to try to drag you down to hell with them than those who are your own family and friends and associates?  Very cunning mister devil.

Unfortunately the apostate antichrists who have already fallen for Satan's deceptions and lies don't realize they are just being used as pawns by the great antichrist himself, Lucifer.  He just laughs at them as they do his bidding.  In the end, Satan will not support his minions who blindly followed him. He will just laugh at how easily they were persuaded as he drags them speedily down to hell.

"And thus we see the end of him who perverteth the ways of the Lord; and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell."  -- Alma 30:60

The take away here is don't be deceived in the first place.  Keep your defenses up and constantly work on strengthening your testimony.  The stronger we are, the harder Satan works on us.  To quote Elder Hales again, "Be careful of those who tell you there is no such thing as prophecy or revelation." Anyone who tells you that is certainly antichrist.  Whether deliberately or ignorantly.  If you do fall, pick yourself up and come back to the truth before it's too late.

All antichrist's arguments are absurdly stupid yet so many people fall for their flattering words. I'm constantly amazed at how many seemingly intelligent people are dropping like flies.  Falling for Satan's cunning lies.

Anyone who claims.there is no Christ, or that Christ is not our Savior and was just a regular man is a bald-faced liar.  Yes those are strong words but they are truth.  Christ was born on earth, he ministered to the people and taught them His gospel, he completed the atonement and yes he is our Savior and Redeemer. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar and Antichrist.  Don't fall for the deception.

To those of you who have already been deceived and are currently antichrist, you are more foolish than Nehor, Sherem, and Korihor.  And that's saying something.

That's my two cents