Beneath the Wraps

                Scouting is no longer a calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but there was a time when it was – which is still a sore subject for some.  I remember when Richard had been called to be a scout leader for the primary youth.  He was told that it would be a five year calling.  I don’t think he was in for even a year before he called to be first counselor in the Elder’s quorum.          I think it was just April of this year that Richard had been called as a Sunday School teacher for the 11-14 year-olds.   In July he was called to be the Sunday School president.   Just now he was called as first Counselor in the priesthood quorum.   Wow.   I wonder who the new Sunday School president will be?          It’s funny how it seems there are some people stuck in callings as though it is a lifetime positio...

               I had to make a few trips downtown yesterday.   The first was to mail a package to Roland’s mother.   Saturdays provide a two hour window between 11:00 and 1:00.   I’ve been told Myrtle Creek’s is the only post office in the county that is open on Saturdays.           Jenna and her friend had wanted to go trick-0r-treating, but the event didn’t start until 2:00. It was crowded.   Each year the city has offered trick-or-treating to the businesses downtown – though they had changed things up last year and “spaced” apart those handing out candy in the park and kept things in the park and not the entire 8 streets that make up the downtown area.   It continued to just the park this year.   Jaime wore her homemade costume “Sam” from Trick or Treat and her friend had gone as “Red Riding Wolf”.   They spent their last day of school (Thursday the 28 th ) ...

  The other night I had a dream that I had been living in my old house in Kearns.   I was serving as a Relief Society counselor (my current role) with the presidency from the ward I am in.   Roland and I had moved to another house during the pandemic but had not told anyone.    from google maps Church was not back in session and I continued to meet with the sisters in our ward.   I wasn’t trying to do it secretively – I really just didn’t think about it.   However, the new area we had just moved to was about to start up with returning to church and I wondered if I should call the RS pres in the ward I’d been serving to let her know I had moved and that my records would need to be transferred to another ward.   I dreamed that the RS president had stopped by my old Kearns house to learn that I hadn’t even lived there for a couple of months.  She called me and I told her that I was just about to call her.  I woke up realizing that I ...

Yesterday I was watching a movie on Hallmark.    The movie title is one I have seen before – but with a different description.    I enjoyed the 2019 version of “Christmas Town” starring Candace Cameron Bure ( here ).              The movie starts out with the focus on a man and his little girl.    He is struggling with some health issues.    The tree has been put up and decorated and he somehow loses his balance causing the angel to fall and breaks off a wing.    He promises that he will send it off to have it fixed.    If he had just used a form of Elmer’s or Gorilla glue, we might not have the story that takes place roughly twenty years later. Lauren has recently accepted a teaching position in Springfield, Mass. and is anxious to leave behind her life in Boston. We learn that she has a boyfriend and a promised relationship, but her wants and his wants are not the same.   ...

          Today it was announced in primary that one family has left us already and that another family will be moving Thursday.   We knew the stay for both families being in this ward was only temporary.   But when the first accepted a calling in the bishopric, I was truly excited believing that his family would be living in Oregon for a while - not just only one month more!   What's up with that!   They didn't even say good-bye - I think it was just announced: Oh, by the way.           Two weeks ago there were 15 children in our combined class of valiants. Most of them were visitors.   The amount of all classes combined totaled almost 30.   Today we had 5 in class and 10 in sharing time - and that was with two of the children who are leaving.   Not counting the visitors from two weeks ago, our primary has decreased by a third with the two families th...

        Just over two years ago, we moved to Myrtle Creek.   Less than three months I had been called to be a primary teacher - specifically for the sunbeams.   At the time I had heard there were four children in the class.   The most that I ever saw was three.   Usually it was just Emily and me.   It took her about five months before she warmed up to me.          The following year, I had her cousin Hayden.   Unless there were visitors, he was my only pupil - until they brought Christopher in.   He had turned three in February.   He was in sunbeams for five or six months before the year ended.   The primary president decided to move him up to CTRs along with Hayden so that I could teach team Danny's class - the Valiants.           Danny was not present for the first two and a half months.   Being able to return has been a grad...

        I have two callings in the ward which I currently attend.  I was pining for a position as an instructor in  Relief Society.  The primary was just a bit quicker about snatching me up for a position.  I had agreed to substitute teach the sunbeams only the week before I was asked to be a teacher for the sunbeam class.         Emily was not there the first week that I taught, but has been there every week since.  Quite shy at first because she didn't know me.  She was okay if there was another classmate in attendance.  But for the most part it's just been me and Emily.         She reminds me of my granddaughter, Ester, though I wasn't given the opportunity for spending much time with Ester.  I am reminded of her smile and her great knowledge as I spend time with Emily, who often pretends that she is a horse.   ...

             There are some members of the Church who often feel that they have served in a position forever or feel like others have.   To the best of my knowledge, there have been only two lifetime callings.   That is apostle (who either passes away while holding apostleship calling or goes on to be Prophet and serve in that calling even after death) and stake patriarch who (to the best of my knowledge) continues to serve as patriarch even if he moves to another location becomes patriarch in whatever stake he moves to.             So as far as ward callings go, there is no lifetime calling – though I have often wondered if the ward librarian feels overlooked and lost in the shuffle.   I’m not a ward librarian, but that is kind of how I view the ward librarian – especially when the library itself is located in such a conspicuous place that more than half ...

       It was just over four years ago when we made the decision to leave Kearns and move into the cracker box house where we currently live in West Valley.   We were at least five months behind with our mortgage; the economy did NOT appear that it would ever get better; we were in debt to more than just the mortgage company and we were bound to lose more than just our house. We already had a property in West Valley with only half a fixed mortgage than the elevator (up and down) mortgage we were given monthly in Kearns.   Still struggling and on Welfare for over two years and still paying on an unfair back child support   - but that’s another story – not a pleasant one at that and so it will never get posted on this blog. Initially we were just going to swap out houses with the tenants that had been living in our WV house.   We had planned on doing so right after Thanksgiving. But the economy had been unkind to them also and...

In addition to celebrating the nations birthday in July, Utah also celebrates its roots with “Pioneer Day” or “the Days of ‘47”    On the 24 th of July Salt Lake holds its annual two hour parade in addition to the youth parade that takes place the week prior.   “The Days of ’47” parade is well attended.   There’s several people who will actually camp overnight in order to get the perfect parade watching spots.   I happen to believe that all of these people are crazy – yet at the same time I admire their enthusiasm.   The parade is truly an awesome moment for them and I’m grateful for the enthusiasm.   I really am.   I’m also grateful that the parade is televised and I am able to watch it in my air conditioned home.   I am not a parade person – actually I am not a crowd person.   I could handle the parade in Afton, Wyoming just fine.   I don’t think the entire population of their small town matches the tremendous ...

Once upon a time in the kingdom of     Natalafe , there lived a royal prince and his subjects.    Now the name of the prince was   Emmanuel Bishop   and the king had given him a list with the names of all of his subjects.    The problem was there were some names on the list that he wasn’t familiar with. Now all of these subjects lived far and wide all throughout the kingdom – yet they all lived within a day’s walk of the castle.    Many of the subjects would come to the castle at least once a week to pay their respects to the king.    Prince Bishop knew all of those subjects by name.    He would often meet each subject at the castle gate and would welcome them. But there were many subjects who never even entered the castle though the king strongly desired for each of his subjects to attend.    Prince Bishop knew some of those subjects but not all of them.    And yet the king ...