A Very Fun Time!

Erdbeere likes to be in plays now and then so every so often she will hook up with a local players theater and get herself in a play.  And, of course, when she does we like to go see the play.  So she did that recently and this weekend we went to attend the opening night of their play, Singing in the Rain. I've long been a fan of the old Gene Kelly / Debbie Reynolds movie so I was particularly interested to see how they would adapt it to the stage.  I'm sure that's been done before but I've never seen it so I was curious.  Particularly the title number where the star dances on the street while its raining.  This was going to be good.  But more about that in a minute.

Schwarzbeere and his wife went with us. That was a happy thing.  Because Erdbeere was going to be way busy with the play and all we decided to stay in a motel this time.  And we also decided to take the day off work and go down early to see if we could do something else while we were there.  And that worked out to be fun, too.  Erdbeere did have a little time so we all went to the zoo for a short visit.  That was fun.  Her little boy, Townsend, likes the zoo, they take him pretty often.  So we did see a few animals, even though his favorite thing to do at the zoo is to play at the playground there.  Funny boy.  There wasn't time to see a lot of the exhibits but what we saw was good, it was a fun trip.

After the zoo Erdbeere had to take off to start getting ready for the play so headed over to a nearby mall for some lunch and then decided to go check into our motel, grab some dinner and get some flowers to give to Erdbeere at the play.  Unfortunately, the afternoon didn't play out like we had planned. I had got reservations at a motel that was only about 10 miles or so from the theater but Friday traffic turned those few miles into a very long car trip.  Then, when we got to the motel it turned out to be less than advertised and was unacceptable. We won't get into the details of that.  Suffice it to say that we opted to find some place else.  And because the afternoon was wearing away we decided to be safe and find one closer to the theater.  Well, the drive back was even worse than the drive out, including sitting for fifteen or twenty minutes at a train crossing.  There was a train sitting at it, thoroughly blocking the crossing and during the whole time we were there it never moved an inch.  Having had the GPS let us down once already on this trip we were a little reluctant to trust it to lead us on a good route out of there but we took the chance and this time it came through.  So we beat it back through heavy traffic, back to the new motel and got checked in. But by now there was no time for the short nap we had hoped for, or for the stop at the store for flowers we had wanted - there wasn't even time to go get something to eat for dinner.  So we headed straight to the theater.

The GPS came through again for us and took us straight to the theater and we got there just a few minutes after when we had originally planned on arriving anyway.  That was good.  Plus, they had a snack bar so we held off starvation with some junk food to carry us over until after the play, when we hoped to be able to get something better.  We'll come back to that in a few minutes.  Erdbeere was able to come out and say "hi" before the play started.  That was fun, she was all in costume and looked so good.  For a small donation we could have gotten into the play for a small, simple appearance if we'd wanted but nobody in our group wanted to so we skipped that opportunity.  And then it was time for the play to start.

Erdbeere's role in the play was versatile, she actually played several roles during the play - an opportunity afforded by it being a small, local theater group.  They were all fun.  The costume we saw her in before the play started was just for her first appearance. She had a few others and had some quick changing to do behind the scenes as the play went on.  Most of the actors did.  That's part of the fun of local theater.

The play turned out to be real good, everyone did a good job, the pace was steady, the talent was good, singing and dancing and acting all around, everyone knew their lines, or if there were any flubs they covered them so well it wasn't noticeable at all. We had good seats (actually, when I bought them I was the first so I had my choice of anywhere in the whole theater).  We were close enough to be able to see and hear very well but, as it turned out, not so close that we got wet at all when the title number came and the rain was falling as the lead splashed and played around in it.  The had rigged some plumbing above the front of the stage so that when they needed the rain they had rain, real water, and true to the warning they gave before the play began, the people on the front couple of rows did get splashed on a little.  But we were far enough back that we didn't get in on any of that.  I was impressed with the actor that played the role of Cosmo.  That's a high energy part that takes a lot of talent and he pulled it off very well.  His bio said he was grateful to the other actors for giving him room to play with his role and he certainly did.  He did a good job. The whole show moved at a good pace so that you didn't notice the time at all.  It was a two hour play with one fifteen minute intermission.  It was a good play, done well, and a good time.  Worth all the hassle we'd had to wade through during the afternoon.

When the play ended we got to talk to Erdbeere again for a few minutes before she took off to the cast party and we took off to see if we could find a place still open so we could get some dinner.  It was almost 10:30 by the time we left the theater. And what was even very appropriate, it was raining outside as we left.  Erdbeere had mentioned a place that was near by that might still be open so we headed back there.  Unfortunately, we ended up stuck at another train crossing, waiting on another train.  But this one didn't sit there longer than just a few minutes before it began moving and it was a short train so that delayed us only five or 10 minutes.  But then, a little farther down the road we came upon an accident that had just happened.  The whole road was blocked, no traffic moving in our direction at all.  We sat there a few minutes, the police arrived and we decided to go around the block.  But when we got to the restaurant a few minutes later they said their kitchen had already closed.  Fortunately, we had passed another place, a fast-food place on the way that was still open so we went back there and got some dinner and took it back to the motel to eat.  By the time we finished and were all ready for bed it was a little after midnight. It had been a long day.


The plan for Saturday was to meet Erdbeere and her family and all go for a late lunch and then head for home, and check out was pretty late as most motels go so we were not in a hurry at all to get up the next morning.  So that's what we did.  We checked out and left the motel around 10:30 and went over to Erdbeere's place and hung out for a few minutes.  Then we drove a few miles to a place to get some good deep dish pizza.  I'd never had it before and it turned out really good.  But what I thought was the best was the salad we got to go with it.  That was really yummy!

All too soon the pizza and salad were gone and Erdbeere needed to take off to get ready for the evenings performance.  So we said our good-byes and we took off for home.  It had been a real good visit - good company, good entertainment, good food, just an all around good time.  Erdbeere was saying that her plan was do see about getting into a play each spring. I like that idea.  These trips to her plays have always been a lot of fun.  I'm looking forward to the next one already.

Sunday Thoughts

Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.  Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.  Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.  For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.

Proverbs 8:32-35

Its Spring Again!

Blaubeere has had a lot of sickness at her house the last while so it has been a while since she came over.  So it was really nice to see her when they came over today.  So since Brombeere has been wanting to get out into the yard and get dirt under her fingernails that's where they went.  Blaubeere likes to garden, too.  She actually did better than we did last year.  We never got a garden in last summer - too much going on.

This year they started in one of the flower beds.  Lots of weeds to get out of the way, and some dead plants as well.  And Blaubeere's littlest stayed and helped the whole time.  Not sure how much help she was but she was having fun and, at that age, that's what counts.

And there was also time for some fun with the boys.  Himbeere and his friend that stopped by for a visit, took the boys out and gave them an introduction to football.  Taught them some of the finer points of the game, like when the ball is thrown to you but doesn't come directly to wherever you happen to be standing you have to move over to wherever it is.  I think every kid has to learn that.  I remember playing out front with some of my brother's friends and being taught that lesson.

Fun times.  It was real good to see them again.

Sunday Thoughts

Colossians 1:21-29

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I, Paul, am made a minister; who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the church: whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:  Whereunto I also labor, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.

Mosiah 5:15

Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. 

Although Mosiah said it in far fewer words than Paul, both of these prophets expressed the same thought for their people; that they would continue faithful, grounded and settled, steadfast and immoveable, in their faithfulness in living the Gospel.  A sentiment for their people shared by all the prophets that ever were, I imagine.

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

The prophet and president of the church when I was born was President David O. MacKay.  He passed away when I was 17 and was followed by President Joseph Fielding Smith.  I stood in a line that snaked around the block the church office building (the old one that faces South Temple in Salt Lake City) sat on, to participate in mourning with thousands of others as President MacKay lay in state.  After a short term as Prophet, President Smith was followed by President Harold B. Lee, who signed my mission call.  He was followed by President Spencer W. Kimball, who was followed by President Ezra Taft Benson, who was followed by Howard W. Hunter, who was followed by President Gordon B. Hinckley, who visited my mission while yet a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, with his wife, Marjorie Pay Hinckley. President Hinckley was followed by our present Prophet, Thomas S. Monson.  I had the opportunity to photograph President Monson, while he was still in the Quorum of the Twelve, when he came to the College I was attending to speak at a devotional, at the LDS Institute of Religion there.  I was the institute photographer at the time.  Somewhere I probably still have the negative of that photo. Today and yesterday, during General Conference, it has seemed that President Monson has not been in as good health as he was last October at conference. He did not give his usual “bumper-talks” to open and close conference and the two addresses he did deliver were shorter and delivered with less strength than his addresses have been in the past.  He seems to have lost a little ground in his health in the last six months.

Over the years, as I have had the opportunity to listen to the various prophets, and read of others from times past, I have occasionally been brought to the realization that being a prophet of God has to be a difficult thing, a calling that requires a great deal of sacrifice, one that requires significant confidence that it truly is a call from the Lord.  In our dispensation, only the first, President Joseph Smith, Jr, has been called upon to die in the service of the Lord, while serving as prophet.  But it occurred to me some time ago that it is, in my opinion, often just as hard to live for the gospel as it is to die for it. I think that is particularly true of prophets. So why would anyone wear themselves out, tolerate the abuse, criticism and ridicule, and take the risks that so often have accompanied the call to act as the prophet of the Lord to the world?  Even in times like at present, when the church is relatively well known, respected and even honored for many of its works, there are still voices of ridicule and sources of persecution to the church and the prophets. So why do they do it?  Why do they tolerate such treatment from those that would mock and hinder them in their assignment from the Lord?  It is out of love.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus was asked which was the greatest of all the commandments.  “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”  (Matthew 22:37-40).  The two commandments he identified are, to me, no surprise as to being identified as the two greatest commandments.  But the sentence he added at the end had always mystified me a little bit as to what he meant by it.  But then the other day I was studying Zenos’ Allegory of the Olive Vineyard in Jacob 5.and it occurred to me that it was out of love that prophets serve.  In the Allegory of the Olive Vineyard twice the master of the vineyard said he was going to destroy either the branches or the whole trees because of their corruptness and each time it was the servant helping him that persuaded him to spare the vineyard a little longer, to give it another try (Jacob 5:26, 27 and 50, 51).

I began to think of other indicators scattered through the scriptures that show the love of prophets for the people they serve.  I thought of Abraham, boldly negotiating, if you will, with the Lord over the fate of the City of Sodom.  When the Lord mentioned He as going to visit Sodom to see if its wickedness was enough to merit destruction Abraham asked if He intended to destroy the righteous along with the wicked and asked if He would spare the city if there were just fifty righteous people found.  Or if forty-five could be found, then for forty, then for thirty, then twenty, and finally of just ten righteous people can be found in the city (Genesis 18:20-33).

Nephi, speaks of writing and leaving a record so that perhaps he could persuade his people to come unto Christ (1 Nephi 19:18), and of laboring to write to persuade his children to be reconciled to Christ (2 Nephi 25:23), even though it was with great difficulty that they wrote on plates (Jacob 4:1) so the record would be preserved not just for a little while but for generations to come.  He wanted to reach the furthest generation of his descendants possible.  Nephi wrote of praying for his people by day, crying for their welfare by night, of asking in great faith that the Lord would hear his prayers for the welfare of his people (2 Nephi 33:3).

Jarom, the grandson of Nephi’s brother, Jacob, told of the efforts of the prophets, priests and teachers to labor diligently to teach the Law of Moses so the people would look forward to the Messiah with faith (Jarom 1:11).  The Book of Mormon is full of example after example of prophets laboring, teaching, imploring, working and risking their lives to bring the people to Christ.

The prophet Ezekiel tells of the calling of prophets to be watchmen unto the House of Israel who pass on the warnings from the Lord to the people (Ezekiel 33:1-9), who strive to be serve the people they are called to labor with.  Prophets are the watchmen the Lord has set in the tower (Ezekiel 3:17-21).  Isaiah speaks of watchmen able to report, “My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights” (Isaiah 21:8).

Moroni tells us of the ministry of angels, and thereby the ministry of Prophets: For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing. … neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.  For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfill and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him. And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men” (Moroni 7:22, 30-32 ).

President Monson, at a BYU Devotional speech delivered Sept 15, 2009, shortly after  becoming the 16th president of the church, related an experience from several years earlier, involving President Spencer W. Kimball.  He said, "For President Kimball, obstacles became his opportunities. He was totally dedicated, a worker such as one seldom sees. He cared not at all about personal aggrandizement.

"One day I was sitting in the temple near President Kimball. As I looked down, I noticed that he had a large hole in his shoe. And I mean large! His stocking showed through. After the meeting I said to Arthur Haycock, President Kimball’s secretary, “Arthur, you can’t let the President wear those shoes.”

"Arthur responded, “Has he got that pair out again? He has many pairs of shoes, and I frequently hide that pair, but he searches and finds that particular pair most of the time.”

President Hinckley said, on the occasion of the funeral of President Spencer W. Kimball on the 9th of Nov 1985, “I should just like to leave one thought. It has been my great privilege and opportunity to work at President Kimball’s side in the harness of the work of the Lord. On one occasion I tried to slow him down a little, and he said, “Gordon, my life is like my shoes—to be worn out in service.” He so lived. He so died. He has gone to the company of Him whose servant he was, even the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom he bore witness and testimony” (Ensign, Dec 1985).

Any time we are fortunate enough to hear, in a local conference or gathering, from one of the general authorities who associate regularly with the Prophet and Apostles, they express the love of the brethren to us.  L Aldin Porter, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, speaking at a BYU Devotional Speech delivered 4 Feb 2001, said it well, “I thought if somehow I could help you understand the deep love and affection that our Brethren of the General Authorities have for you, my time tonight, and yours as well, would be well spent. Will you please know how deeply you are loved and respected and how very much concern and prayer goes up to our Father in Heaven in your behalf?” 

These brethren who are called to the Apostleship are never the same after accepting that call.  They sacrifice the rest of their lives to serve the Lord and the people they represent the Lord to.  They wear out their lives in well doing.  They give up their anonymity, their privacy, their normalcy, all because they love the Lord and his people.  Surely it is the motivation the Lord spoke of when he said the prophets hang on the love of the Lord, the pure love of Christ.

At that address delivered at BYU in 2009, President Monson spoke of each of the prophets that had served during his life time, relating experiences and describing character traits of each.  As he concluded his address, President Monson said, "As the sixteenth President of the Church, my story is yet to be summarized by those who will follow. In the meantime, I pledge my life, my strength—all that I have to offer—in serving the Lord and in directing the affairs of His Church in accordance with His will and by His inspiration."  And so he has.

How it Was

We were watching conference on the computer, which was getting a bit of glare from the front windows. As Brombeere adjusts the computer monitor to reduce the glare I commented, "You know something else you could do."

"What's that?"

"Close the curtains." (She's always bugging everybody about never opening the curtains)

Brombeere rolls her eyes at me.

"Stachelbeere! She rolled her eyes at me!" I complained, looking for support.

"You should be used to it." Stachelbeere replied.

A Fun Visit

We went for a visit to Erdbeere and her family yesterday and this morning.  It was a good visit, even though things were not entirely as settled as we all would have liked.  We had planned to go out and do somethings in the area but poor little Townsend wasn't feeling well so we pretty much stuck to home for the visit.  Still it was a good time.

Brombeere and Townsend made Easter eggs out of paper.  We drew in chalk on the deck.  Yes, some drawing did get done even thought it seemed that the chalk occasionally got under foot. In fact, that deck has probably had more use as an art medium than anything else so far, since they moved in last year.  And we played with Townsend's  toys.  
 Believe it or not, we also sat around and visited with the grownups. But its so much easier to get pictures of Townsend or any of the other grandkids.  But it was a good visit, even if Townsend's "grumbly tummy" did make itself known a couple of times, in some rather unpleasant ways. Ah, well.  Kids and illnesses.  Its hard to keep them apart some times.