From Dad 8/18
Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for your letters. Mom checks email before she does anything else as we come and go during the day. We appreciate the flexibility senior missionaries are given when it comes to communication with home. Mom is so good to not abuse this privilege but we use it daily. Keep them coming.
We can feel the change of seasons in the air as we approach the third and final month of summer. This is an interesting month. It brings school again. There will be lots of football games and other related sport activities. It would be interesting to see Sam in his fencing class in action. For Brian school again has a special meaning. We are so excited for him and for Kathy! His youth will bring many blessings to their family. Many dreams may still come to fruition. The nights and sometimes the days are showing distinct signs of cooling down. We love seasons and the changes they bring. We are excited for Camille. We are interested in the final happenings in the Hatch clan next Tuesday and little Jenny.
We look forward to Nate and Cindy’s new arrival in the next few weeks.
Last night we met with Brother Vollrath. He is headed to northern Germany to participate in two major senior tennis tournaments that will finish the season for him. His health is good and his spirits are high. We talked about prayer. He reviewed the two times he has attempted personal prayer. We talked about the importance of daily, morning and evening. Mom mentioned it is good to talk about our day early in the morning and at night to discuss how we handled the day and its events. Prayer is a powerful tool. Brother Vollrath seemed committed to exercise this new found form of communication and to learn from it. Another thing he shared with us last night is what he has done to patch up estranged feelings between him and an older brother. They had not spoken, written or been in any contact for many years. Brother Vollrath’s heart softened this summer and he has reestablished contact with this brother and they now communicate and remember each other with the events and general interest about what is happening in their lives. The Spirit affects us in ways often we are unaware it is even happening.
Anna Berner had her Book of Mormon on the table and had been reading in it when we came to see her on Wednesday. She is much more familiar with the Bible and we spend most of our time teaching from it. Her overall faith in God seemed less in doubt this week. When she spent six weeks in the hospital this spring for depression had she the faith then that we feel from her now, we don’t think the hospitalization would ever have been necessary. The comfort from the Spirit is real. It blesses our lives in ways we can feel in no other way. She was more accepting of where we were before we were born and the plan our Father in Heaven put in place to guide us while we are here on earth. As we talked about the resurrection and glorified state of Christ’s body as the apostles touched Him and He ate with them along with the others who were resurrected and went into the city of Jerusalem and appeared to their own families to confirm the reality of the resurrection, Anna asked, “So where did they go after they were resurrected?” We said we will talk about that next time we meet in September when she is back from vacation with her family.
Sister Kempe was amazed to learn that other Christian churches do not see members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christians. When Jesus was standing in the water after His baptism next to John the Baptist and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Beloved Son”, the question needs answering how many persons were there when someone from heaven spoke? We know the Father spoke from heaven. We know the Father and the Son are two separate individuals. This is not acceptable to other Christian Churches. This is the reason great numbers converge on the Salt Lake area one or two times a year and great amounts of brochures are printed and placed on every doorstep inviting LDS people to consider becoming Christians. We love the people in these other churches. There are so many good people seeking to follow Christ. We are thankful for that. The Church can never change from teaching what has been revealed when the Father and the Son appeared and answered Joseph’s question. Sister Kempe has a great understanding and love for people. She can talk with her friends at work about things few others can. Her example opens so many questions in people’s minds. There is a new young female doctor at the hospital. She invited sister Kempe to go and have a beer with her and just talk. Sister Kempe was willing and explained she would drink something other than beer. Many questions followed. Sometimes people say to her, “A church has no business telling you how to conduct your life. That’s a personal thing.” She simply smiles and shares her testimony of how thankful she is for the changes that have come into her life since she has been willing to accept the commandments as a way of life.
This has been a hard week. Losing Uncle Rulon and feeling he was unprepared for what he is now experiencing was a difficult time for me. Then I thought about Lea and Grandma and Grandpa Price and his own mother waiting for him and now having the time to work together with him and answer many questions that before could not be answered was reassuring and comforting. Should Uncle Rulon now choose to seriously consider repenting of some feelings, thoughts and actions he had and felt while he was here on earth, then the real work begins. Only now the difficulty to change is really uphill. When we have our body it is much easier to learn to control and discipline it. We can stop doing things to or with our body. After this life comes another question. How do you learn to discipline and control a body that is now only a memory? That will be much, much harder!
Thanks so much for your letters. Mom checks email before she does anything else as we come and go during the day. We appreciate the flexibility senior missionaries are given when it comes to communication with home. Mom is so good to not abuse this privilege but we use it daily. Keep them coming.
We can feel the change of seasons in the air as we approach the third and final month of summer. This is an interesting month. It brings school again. There will be lots of football games and other related sport activities. It would be interesting to see Sam in his fencing class in action. For Brian school again has a special meaning. We are so excited for him and for Kathy! His youth will bring many blessings to their family. Many dreams may still come to fruition. The nights and sometimes the days are showing distinct signs of cooling down. We love seasons and the changes they bring. We are excited for Camille. We are interested in the final happenings in the Hatch clan next Tuesday and little Jenny.
We look forward to Nate and Cindy’s new arrival in the next few weeks.
Last night we met with Brother Vollrath. He is headed to northern Germany to participate in two major senior tennis tournaments that will finish the season for him. His health is good and his spirits are high. We talked about prayer. He reviewed the two times he has attempted personal prayer. We talked about the importance of daily, morning and evening. Mom mentioned it is good to talk about our day early in the morning and at night to discuss how we handled the day and its events. Prayer is a powerful tool. Brother Vollrath seemed committed to exercise this new found form of communication and to learn from it. Another thing he shared with us last night is what he has done to patch up estranged feelings between him and an older brother. They had not spoken, written or been in any contact for many years. Brother Vollrath’s heart softened this summer and he has reestablished contact with this brother and they now communicate and remember each other with the events and general interest about what is happening in their lives. The Spirit affects us in ways often we are unaware it is even happening.
Anna Berner had her Book of Mormon on the table and had been reading in it when we came to see her on Wednesday. She is much more familiar with the Bible and we spend most of our time teaching from it. Her overall faith in God seemed less in doubt this week. When she spent six weeks in the hospital this spring for depression had she the faith then that we feel from her now, we don’t think the hospitalization would ever have been necessary. The comfort from the Spirit is real. It blesses our lives in ways we can feel in no other way. She was more accepting of where we were before we were born and the plan our Father in Heaven put in place to guide us while we are here on earth. As we talked about the resurrection and glorified state of Christ’s body as the apostles touched Him and He ate with them along with the others who were resurrected and went into the city of Jerusalem and appeared to their own families to confirm the reality of the resurrection, Anna asked, “So where did they go after they were resurrected?” We said we will talk about that next time we meet in September when she is back from vacation with her family.
Sister Kempe was amazed to learn that other Christian churches do not see members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as Christians. When Jesus was standing in the water after His baptism next to John the Baptist and a voice from heaven said, “This is my Beloved Son”, the question needs answering how many persons were there when someone from heaven spoke? We know the Father spoke from heaven. We know the Father and the Son are two separate individuals. This is not acceptable to other Christian Churches. This is the reason great numbers converge on the Salt Lake area one or two times a year and great amounts of brochures are printed and placed on every doorstep inviting LDS people to consider becoming Christians. We love the people in these other churches. There are so many good people seeking to follow Christ. We are thankful for that. The Church can never change from teaching what has been revealed when the Father and the Son appeared and answered Joseph’s question. Sister Kempe has a great understanding and love for people. She can talk with her friends at work about things few others can. Her example opens so many questions in people’s minds. There is a new young female doctor at the hospital. She invited sister Kempe to go and have a beer with her and just talk. Sister Kempe was willing and explained she would drink something other than beer. Many questions followed. Sometimes people say to her, “A church has no business telling you how to conduct your life. That’s a personal thing.” She simply smiles and shares her testimony of how thankful she is for the changes that have come into her life since she has been willing to accept the commandments as a way of life.
This has been a hard week. Losing Uncle Rulon and feeling he was unprepared for what he is now experiencing was a difficult time for me. Then I thought about Lea and Grandma and Grandpa Price and his own mother waiting for him and now having the time to work together with him and answer many questions that before could not be answered was reassuring and comforting. Should Uncle Rulon now choose to seriously consider repenting of some feelings, thoughts and actions he had and felt while he was here on earth, then the real work begins. Only now the difficulty to change is really uphill. When we have our body it is much easier to learn to control and discipline it. We can stop doing things to or with our body. After this life comes another question. How do you learn to discipline and control a body that is now only a memory? That will be much, much harder!
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