Reflections to share with my children

Thoughts on this Sabbath evening: Recently, Spencer and I were visiting about our children and grandchildren. As parents, we never stop feeling concern when you face challenges and heartaches. Every parent hopes their children achieve a higher level than they did in every important area: spiritually, emotionally, financially, etc. We rejoice with you when things go well in your lives and we pray for you when they don’t. We are many miles away, but our hearts are knit closely with yours. Sometimes we feel concerned about choices we see being made and then we pray even harder. But tonight I feel inclined to do more than pray. I want to counsel you to stay close to the basics you have been taught. 1. Have family prayer and personal pray twice a day. 2. Read scriptures together with your children—regularly. Set the example 3. Have Family Home Evening every week. Help children prepare to teach the gospel. 4. Attend meetings and encourage children to fully participate in the activities. 5. Pay tithing. 6. Attend the temple. 7. Keep the Sabbath Day holy. 8. Etc., etc., etc. [This are in random order, not placed by importance.] Last week I read the April Conference talk by Russell M. Nelson, “The Sabbath Is a Delight”. I want to include a couple of paragraphs for you. Years ago the First Presidency stressed the importance of quality family time. They wrote: “We call upon parents to devote their best efforts to the teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles which will keep them close to the Church. The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place or fulfill its essential functions in carrying forward this God-given responsibility. “We counsel parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities. However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform.”17 When I ponder this counsel, I almost wish I were a young father once again. Now parents have such wonderful resources available to help them make family time more meaningful, on the Sabbath and other days as well. They have LDS.org, Mormon.org, the Bible videos, the Mormon Channel, the Media Library, the Friend, the New Era, the Ensign, the Liahona, and more—much more. These resources are so very helpful to parents in discharging their sacred duty to teach their children. No other work transcends that of righteous, intentional parenting! …” It touched my heart to know that the First Presidency and Elder Nelson outlined the same goals I had been thinking about. I have been reflecting about my years as a mother. We did some things quite well—but not perfectly. We read scriptures together regularly—on school days—but we fell short otherwise. We held FHE regularly, generally on Sunday afternoon because of work conflicts. We even held FHE when it was only Adam and I left at home—sometimes our preparation and quality was lacking, but we still met together and discussed some aspect of the gospel. Normally, I kept the Sabbath Day holy—but there were infamous times we let go of the iron rod. We regularly attended and participated in church activities. We tried to have quality family time as often as possible. Tithing was faithfully paid by all. Even without a dad in the home, the kids received priesthood blessings at appropriate and needed times—first from Grandpa then Chad. Those are special memories. I echo Elder Nelson in encouraging families to utilize LDS.org, Mormon.org, the Bible videos, the Mormon Channel, the Media Library, and church magazines. Man, there are so many things I DIDN’T do. I did love listening to great tapes or reading together when we were on trips. But I could have done more. So much more… Today was our ward conference. The bishop spoke about tithing and the importance of the Sabbath Day. He read from the Proclamation on the Family about the basics I’ve already touched on. The Stake President talked about the Sabbath Day (do we find joy and happiness in it?) and the Sacrament. He brought tears to my eyes as he spoke about the difficulty of the sacrifice the Savior made. It was not easy for Him. Do I truly reflect on it and thank Him as I should? In Relief Society the Stake President spoke. He taught from Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk in October Conference, “Lord, Is it I?” That is what made me really do a critical self-assessment. I know I have fallen short in areas. But I pray that you will learn from both the things I did right and the mistakes I made. I guess this is long enough. I’ll close by saying I love you all and I’m proud of the good choices you are making. Hold to the rod!

Memories of Jeanine's Mom

Memories of Mom 2015 One of my earliest memories of Mom occurred when I was probably 2½-3 years old. Carl and I were the only preschoolers at home. One day, Mom was sick, and sitting in chair near a window in the living room. We asked what made her sick and she explained that sometimes people just got germs. Upon learning that they were tiny things in the air, we thought we should keep germs away from her. I noticed dust mites in the sunlight. I pointed them out to Carl and we started dancing around and batting the dust mites away from her. At one point in our efforts, I noticed Mom’s expression—it was one of complete adoration and love. In that moment I knew that Mom loved me in a way that words could not express. I have never forgotten that moment. As I got a little older, I learned about the pre-mortal existence. I learned that there was a council in heaven and that when we heard the plan of Heavenly Father we shouted for joy. In my “mind’s eye”, Mom and I were both little girl spirits. We had on long dresses with ribbons at a high waist line. We started laughing and shouting. We grabbed hands and danced around in a circle because we were so about getting to come to earth. We had lots of fun deciding which of us would be the mom and which would be the little girl. It was a fun “memory” or imagination of our participation in the Council in Heaven. Mom always knew how to make each one of us feel loved. I truly believed that she was convinced she had been blessed with the eight most choice spirits in the Spirit World to be born into her family. It was a good feeling. I remember having a campout at Camp O’ Rama with Mom and Aunt Dode. I don’t know if it was the two groups of Homemakers in Primary or Beehives in Mutual. But it was a fun time. It was definitely magnifying their callings. During our growing up years, many of us ran for school offices. Mom stayed up late at night helping with posters and handouts to share with the student body. She didn’t think there was any limit to what we could accomplish. Many times she had more confidence in me than I had in myself—but she gave me the courage to forge ahead and reach for the stars. Mom always expected a lot from us. We definitely had lots of responsibilities and learned to work. But she also liked to help us grow in other ways. She had us share many things we learned in school and we developed a love of learning. We discussed Sunday School lessons around the table during Sunday dinner. We had Home Evening on Sunday afternoons and each one of us had the responsibility of teaching the lesson. Once we had a TV I remember watching historical movies with mom and then afterwards we’d get the World Book Encyclopedia to look up the main characters and try to determine how much of the story was fact and how much was fiction. She made it fun to learn. Mom loved good books. She didn’t have time to read a lot herself, but she encouraged me to read and to tell her every little detail about the books. Many of them she had read when she was young, and she remembered and discussed them with me. She encouraged me to ride my bike down to the city library during the summer (Carnegie Library). One summer I read the entire Zane Gray section of the library. When I was a junior in high school, I read a book about the life of Abraham Lincoln. I was home from school because of an illness. When Mom got home from teaching seminary, she heard me sobbing and thought I must have gotten much worse. She came rushing into the bedroom to see what was wrong. I sobbed, “Abraham Lincoln just got shot!” She paused for a dramatic moment and said, “Honey, didn’t you know that was going to happen?” When I went through a phase of reading lots of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky’s works, she loved hearing about Russian culture and history. It made it more real and enjoyable because I was able to share it with Mom. She truly exemplified “life-long learning”. Mom taught seminary my last couple of years in high school. She was an amazing teacher. Due to her leadership and vision, we planned a seminary trip to the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and visited the Palmyra Pageant and many church history sites. The next year I had to come home from college because of rheumatic fever. She utilized my help in preparing for seminary. She gave me her topics and resources and I researched them while she was gone. Sometimes we stayed awake many hours into the night discussing the gospel. We had a ton more information than she would ever be able to use. It was a testimony building time for me as well a bonding experience for the two of us. I think that is when we became “adult friends” and not just mother and daughter. Mom had lots of challenges and stresses in life—as all mothers do. But they didn’t control her life. We often got to laughing about some ridiculous thing and could hardly stop. Sometimes we questioned our own sanity. I’d tease her about it being her fault, but she always retorted that she was a perfectly normal, sane person until I came along, so it was actually my fault. Then I remind her that my personality was formed from either my heredity or my environment and she was responsible for both! It was a fun, ongoing argument about which one of us made the other one a little bit crazy. As an adult, it was my privilege to live next door to Mom and Dad. They supported me during the most challenging trials of my life. Mom was always there for me. If my kids were sick, she made a little “nest” for them on her little couch and took care of them so I could work. The kids loved being sick at Grandma’s house. Mom and I were Visiting Teaching partners for 18 years. Thanks to her persistence we had 100% for all 18 years. She was willing to fit my crazy schedule. We sometimes had to visit just one sister at a time, because that is all the time I could manage on that afternoon. She’d call me at work to check on my schedule; then she’d make to appointments. I’d rush home from work, and she would be at the gate, ready to jump into the car so we could go visit one or two sisters. Then we’d repeat this on another day or two until we had visited everyone. It was crazy. But we had a calling and an obligation, and we were going to fulfill it. No questions asked! Mom loved my children and was a great influence on them. She would sacrifice for her grandchildren the same as she did for her children. Each of them felt uniquely loved! What great memories we have of tying quilts in the front yard with both Mom and Grandma Tenney. All ages had a chance to participate as we laughed and talked and worked together. That was true when I was growing up and also while the next generation was growing up. That was almost as fun as going to the ranch with Grandpa! I could go on and on… but mostly I just want to say that someday I hope I am the person my mother always thought I was. She encouraged and inspired me in every worthwhile activity. I miss my mom and hope my life will be a positive reflection on her.

Memories of Spencer's Mom

Memories of Mom By Spencer Brown I’d like to share some brief memories of our mother from when I was young since this is Mothers’ Day. I can only go back to when I was 2½-3 years old. We lived in Norman, Oklahoma where Dad was stationed while serving in the navy during WW II. I can remember sitting on some door steps and then being called back into the little house. Also, about that time I remember being in the hospital with spinal meningitis. I remember not being able to see my parents. They could only see me through a peep hole. I suppose it was because I would cry for them and the nurses didn’t need to contend with that on top of everything else. Maybe it was to protect me from germs. When Dad was discharged from the navy we returned to Chandler for a while and then to Pomerene while our parents were trying to get into the dairy business. We lived first with Dad’s parents. Mother found that very difficult and often spoke of the strain she felt living with her in-laws. I suppose that is very natural. During those early years, they dissembled an old bridge built with 1½” x 12” rough cut lumber. They took those boards and built the house down on the highway where we lived up through my mission to Central America. Mother had to be a very hardy woman to endure the life style we were forced to live under. We only had the meager earnings of the 35-40 head of dairy cows for our dairy farm and 35 acres of pasture. Mother endured years with a terrible infestation of mice in the house. It was a constant battle. The kitchen didn’t drain properly so she carried a plastic pan of water from the sink out the back door to pitch the water into the yard for many years. The toilet was a nightmare. The cars were not that good. But she worked hard and managed everything. Mother was always a Primary president or Relief Society President or Seminary teacher. Our old Pomerene church house burned to the ground during those times. At the time the church only supplied 50% of costs to build (or rebuild) the building. Mother helped put on many, many barbeque dinners to raise money for the building fund. Sometime during my 30 month mission to Central America she became a substitute teacher. This went on for maybe 15 years. With those meager wages she supported her sons on missions. She was able to do this until the last of her sons’ missions were over. Those missions cost perhaps $150-$200 a month. That was somewhat of a miracle. She earned a reputation of not putting up with any “crap” from the students. Life on the dairy farm got very tough and they changed to raising hogs. Then Dad got a job with the state highway department where he worked until he had accumulated a meager retirement. During this same period of time they built the present home south of St. David on Curtis Flats (named after her father, Milton Curtis). When I came home from my mission, they were clearing the mesquite trees and brush off the 100 acres. I helped with the piling and burning of the tress all summer long. They were then able to send me to ASU in Tempe, AZ with a little dumpy travel trailer where Curt and I stayed during our college years. Dad and Mother always gave us all they had, which wasn’t much, but we got along. They encouraged us to get an education. Once, when I was courting Susan Vance (the mother of my kids), we went to meet her father, Marion Vance. Mother and I were in a terrible old pick-up that was filled with hogs going to market. I recognized mother’s great strength of character when she got out of the pickup to greet him. He was a prosperous farmer with respect in high circles. He later was an influence in encouraging Susan to accept my proposal for marriage. Susan was accustomed to a much higher standard of living. After Dad retired, they started a very successful mission to Florida. That was followed by years of stake missions. They actually baptized many people. That was not the norm. Most stake missionaries accomplished very little. But Mom and Dad had a way of finding lots of people who lived tough lives, like they did. They brought more people into the church than most full time missionaries. She still is a great missionary through her example and she frequently gives away copies of the Book of Mormon to neighbors and acquaintances. My patriarchal blessing starts out by stating that I was born of “goodly parents”. The patriarch made an accurate statement. Our dear mother, almost 97 years of age, is still a hardy woman who takes care of herself, for the most part, lives in her own home, walks with a cane and is sharp in her mind. At her age, she still is serving the Lord and the church. She works daily with indexing of names for family history research and temple ordinances. She now serves as an arbitrator to make the final determination when two indexers haven’t agreed. She is an inspiration to many and is a perfect example of enduring to the end.

Letter from Spencer

3rd of May, 2015 Dear Family and loved ones, I'll show you a couple of pictures of the gym I go to several times a week. Heavy exercise is certainly not why we're here, but it is a necessity. Exercise is necessary to be able to endure a 7 hour shift five days a week and stay healthy. On the way home (up the hill) I carry our shopping items. That makes for a good work out. Here is the road I take to get there. It is called Paseo America. These shots were taken on a really quiet day. Usually it is filled with traffic. You can see the pedestrian walkways that go over the road as well. They are a challenge when you are loaded down with groceries. More importantly, this has been a remarkable and wonderful experience to be here among the Lamanite people. We've gotten to know some of them on a personal level. these people are children of Lehi and a covenant people thru the loins of Joseph. they have endured many atrocities over the years. Now, they are being blessed and prospered thru the gospel. It is so touching to see their meager homes in the mountains and then see how they have been blessed thru activity and temple attendance. The children who serve missions come home,go to school, marry in the temple and blossom in a literal way. I don't know how we have been so blessed. Love you all, Spencer P.S. We think of and pray for Quinn and Nathan on their missions and now for cousin Johnny Brown.

May 3, 2015

Just thought I'd take a moment and share a couple of events. This week I walked down to the Nauvoo Store. It is down the hill from the temple. It is a cute little store and sells scripture cases, missionary briefcases, tie tacks and other church "stuff". It is a fun little store. It fronts on our street right along with other businesses and apartments above. Then I went to Cemaco to buy a wedding present. Cemaco is owned by Ace Hardware. It is huge and you can buy almost anything except food there. Just wanted you to see that Guatemala is 1s class in some ways! It was so much fun to attend a wedding on Friday night. My friend, Astrid, works in the Distribution Center below our apartment. We were the only missionaries she invited. Spencer worked at the temple, but President Galvez said I could go. Here in Guatemala, the only weddings that are recognized are those performed by a judge. No church officials are authorized. So all couples must be married by a judge. They have a window of seven days to by sealed. If they miss that window, they must wait a year, just like we do in the US after a civil wedding. The wedding was held at a resort on the other side of town. It was actually very beautiful. There were only chairs for about 100 people at the wedding. The reception (a sit down dinner) seated more than twice that number. The judge gave them advise which was very appropriate and nice. Then she went into what was codified. I included reading every official piece of information about them--what hospital they were born in, parents' names, birth date (you can't hide your age here!), what city, department and the country. It was long, but sort of cool. After they were officially married, instead of having just two witnesses sign, the judge invited parents, siblings, grandparents and then anyone else who wanted their name on the official document. Astrid's mission president and wife signed it and a couple of other people who weren't identified. Her mission president is Elder Lopez and he is currently in the Area Presidency and is a 70. I ate at the same table with them. It was sort of fun. Sister Lopez served her mission here in Xela, so they loved coming north for a visit. At the reception, they had Sparkly Cider for the traditional toast to the couple. Then the newly married couple came to each table and had their picture taken with that group. It gave everyone a chance to greet them. It took a while and the meal wasn't served until they sat back down to be served first. There was also the traditional dance with her father and then the two of them. Music was loud enough it was hard to visit, but it was a happy atmosphere. Towards the end of meal, her parents made the rounds to each table to see if everything was alright. They were the perfect hosts. They were sealed the next day in the temple. I tried to get a few pictures of the resort and the couple, but I was never in a good position. But I'll share what I have. That flower was interesting. It is a hanging flower--the stem goes straight up from the center of the flower to the branch above. Very different--it was almost too dark by that time. The circus is back this year. I would really like to go but I haven't been able to convince Spencer to go (yet). Of course being sick two weeks didn't help at all. We work evenings again this week. If it is still here, maybe the week after that! That is my report for this week. Hope all of you are doing great! We love and miss you. We only have seven more weeks here--that is sort of amazing.