Yes, I've totally missed a day. Yikes!

So, yeah ... I was busybusybusy ... and tired.

The house is still mostly clean and ready. Freyja-cat is kinda drugged out (yay for kitty prozac! Taking the anxiety out of social anxiety) ... but she did eventually come lay by me in bed and get some loves when I woke up in the middle of the night.

I dreamed that the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors were all concurrently alive and had disappeared. And there was only one way to get them back. I had to kiss whoever was going to be on an asphalt pad. And it was Sherlock ... well, it was going to be. There were a couple chalk outlines of him. one was of his shadow all splayed out like when he fell. And ... well, Sherlock is NOT that kind of guy. It'd be like kissing Sheldon Cooper. Just not done.

And then I woke up. So , yeah ... apparently my dreams are now sponsored by the BBC?

I volunteered and came home. Mom and I went out to lunch and to pick up some last-minute supplies for packing. I finished making the kids' autograph books (just made a collage on MS publisher and taped it to the front of a sketch diary ... then covered it with clean shelf liner) this morning. Michael and I ran some errands and are having some quiet time before the kids get home. Bubbles got a bath and is NOT taking a nap. Silly girl.

Okay, so I have scriptures and talks to catch up on:

Mosiah 16-17

• Chapter 16 - REPENTANCE. And lots about Christ's role in the Atonement.
• Chapter 17 starts with  Abinadi having finished speaking ... and what does the king do?
  IMMEDIATE declares that Abinadi is to be put to death.
  Dude, Noah ... don't you think you're being a little hasty? How's about you ruminate on the message, do a little soulsearching? ... Apparently not.
  (Bad choice, Noah. Bad choice.)
• There is ONE priest of all the people there, Alma, who listened to Abinadi's words ...He believed. He even petitioned King Noah and the other priests to let Abinadi go safely.
  but Noah's all, "NO! I KILL HIM!! AND I KILL YOU!!"
  So Alma has to run away to the wilderness.
  He hides and writes all of Abinadi's words
• Abinadi is thrown into prison for three days. Then the guards bring him out again.
  Noah tells him to recant. Abinadi won't. He (Abinadi, not Noah) tells them that if they slay him, it will be shedding innocent blood ... and that testimony will stand against them at Judgment Day.
  Noah is about to let him go, since that's a strong threat ... but the priests are all, "No, he needs to die."
  And, as Abinadi's put to death (burned alive), he proclaims that Noah will meet the same fate. And there will be punishments for killing a prophet of God. (No, really ... BAD THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN.
  And then Abinadi dies.

As John Bytheway wonders, did Abinadi KNOW that Alma listened and believed?
That's a pretty powerful question. 

Okay, the talks that I need to go over ...

First is "The Lord's Way" by Elder Stanley G. Ellis

• We are not spiritual orphans! We are direct spiritual descendants of a loving Heavenly Father.
•  "What are the advantages of having parents—of not being an orphan? We can learn from them, benefit from their experience, avoid pitfalls they warn us about, and understand better because of their perspective. We don’t have to be lost, confused, deceived, or less effective. This is especially true in the case of our Heavenly Father, who has taught us and shown us not just a way but the way."
• God has a plan for us. If we follow his way, we will receive wonderful blessings of guidance and strength.
• There are guidelines that He has given us ... in helping the poor, we are encouraged to give help when and how we can ... but we must not do for others what they can and should do for themselves (He has also commanded us to be self-sufficent).
  "The Lord has His way, or the way, to love. Those of the world say that what really matters is that two people love each other. Our Father in Heaven teaches that this is important, but He teaches us more: that there is an authorized way and time to express that love."
• We need to govern ourselves. And to do what we can IN HIS WAY. Because HE knows best. He will help us in our efforts to help ourselves and others.

Today's talk is "The Gospel to All the World" by Elder John. B. Dickson

• After the resurrection  Christ appeared to His apostles. He taught them ... and He commanded them to go forth and to preach the gospel to all the world. At first, the gospel was only taken to Israel, then (after revelation to Peter), it was given to others.
• This mandate is still in place.
• When the Church was restored in 1830, missionaries were sent to preach.
  In 1978, the priesthood was extended to all worthy males.
  These are in preparation for Christ's second coming.
• The gospel is going to people all over the world. It is not just an American religion. It is a worldwide religion ... many different cultures have accepted the restored Gospel.
• "How I wish you could join the Saints in the temple in Aba, Nigeria, or Accra, Ghana, where you would sense the commitment of the Saints and come to know the all-African temple presidencies. Or how I wish I could introduce you to the African Area Seventies, who are assembled with us here in the Conference Center today and are attorneys, professors, and business managers, or have you become acquainted with the African stake and ward leaders and their families.
  Across Africa, to join a Sunday School, auxiliary, or priesthood class is a sacred experience, where the Church curriculum is followed and there is great gospel understanding, teaching, and learning by the Spirit.
  The gospel in Africa is going to a happy people, very unencumbered by the trappings that affect the lives of many in the West. They are not concerned about having endless material possessions.
  It has been said of Africans that they have very little of that which matters least and a great deal of that which matters most. They have little interest in enormous homes and the finest cars but great interest in knowing their Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and in having eternal families. As a natural result of their faith, the Lord is lifting them in meaningful ways.
  Knowing them as we do, we are not surprised that they would be such an important part of the expansion of the Church of Jesus Christ in the last days. Given that Daniel, the Old Testament prophet, envisioned the kingdom of God in the last days “roll[ing] forth unto the ends of the earth, as [a] stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands [would] roll forth, until it [had] filled the whole earth” (D&C 65:2), it is very fitting that our wonderful African brothers and sisters would be an important part of the fulfillment of that prophecy and that the revelations making it so would follow the Lord’s established patterns."
• This talk just makes me smile. And get a little misty-eyed. I'm so grateful to know that Heavenly Father loves ALL His children. And that His gospel will be made available to all people (they don't have to all accept it. It's totally their choice. But they will have an opportunity to hear it. Maybe not all will hear it during their mortal life ... but, well, it just makes me happy.

So, I don't know how often I'll be near a computer to blog for the next few days. But (1) please don't break into our house. You'll scare the sitter. And Freyja-cat won't think highly of it either. Nor will our neighbors. and (2) I hope that you are all healthy and happy and won't miss me too much. ;P