9 October 2017

We have had some wonderful experiences these last few weeks. It always amazes me how wonderful our Heavenly Father is and the many opportunities we can have to strengthen us through hard times. Although these next two experiences that I will share are not trials, they have been life changing.

Throughout the year, President Monson, President Nelson and our Mission President Smith challenged us to read the Book of Mormon. President Smith wanted us to read it by the end of December. With our mission ending on November 16th, I opted to try two approaches in reading it this time. One was to read it in a short period of time to help create a continuity to context. The other approach that I took was focused on the purpose of the Book of Mormon which is to bring people unto Christ. With that in mind, I set my goal to finish by the end of September and my focus was going to be on:

1. Anything in the Book of Mormon that had reference to the Doctrine of Christ which is a) Having Faith in Jesus Christ, b) Repenting and being baptized by immersion for the remission of sins, c) Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands under authorized authority, d) Keeping the commandments and enduring well to the end.

2. Anything referencing the Atonement of Christ.

3. Anything where the Savior was teaching or involved with the people to help them through their burdens.

I began marking anything on these subjects in red. By the time I finished, Golden looked at my Book of Mormon and said that I had marked almost everything. That statement itself was powerful to me, because it was a testimony that our Savior is with us at all times until we harden our hearts and reject Him, and then He has to leave. There are only a few areas in the Book of Mormon where things were not marked, and that was when the people's hearts were hardened and the Spirit withdrew and they were on their own headed for complete destruction.

As President Nelson testified "I am a changed man." I can also testify that my life was also changed. I got to know my Savior personally and my testimony of the Book of Mormon grew.

The next experience was when a gentleman came into the FHC and asked me if I could answer some of his questions regarding the church. I told him,  "I would be happy to", and the questions began. After a few minutes, I told him that his questions were leading to a discussion about the Plan of Salvation and I asked if that is what he wanted to hear and he said, "Yes".

I spent the next hour answering his questions until he ask if I knew anything about the destiny of the United States. I had just finished reading Ether 2 which covers how the promised land is only for those following Christ. As soon as hearts are turned and they reject the Savior, we will lose our freedom and we will be facing our own destruction.

I told him he could learn about it by reading Ether 2 and other places in the Book of Mormon and he would know where we are headed. I showed the Book of Mormon and invited him to read it under one condition. That was that he had to follow the instructions in Moroni 10:4-5 which states that we must read with real intent, having faith in Christ and pray for, and asking for, a witness of truth to the Book of Mormon. He agreed and took the book. The Spirit was there and he was satisfied with the answers that I was able to give him. I love sharing my testimony with others. It is always such a powerful experience.

On September 29th we left New York City on the 4:00 train for Maryland arriving at 7:30 p.m. at Union Station where Jovy and her son-in-law Sterling picked us up.

Amtrak map of train from New York to Union Station in Washington DC

Diane and Jovy in Owings, Maryland

We spent five nights with Jovy and our plans were to visit Washington DC on Friday and then we were going to just visit and watch General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. Monday, I washed my clothes and got ready to leave on Tuesday morning at 6:50 a.m. to go back to Union Station and catch the train back to Penn Station. Then get on the 1 train back to 66th street and Columbus where we live.

Friday we spent the whole day touring Washington DC. We took a 90 minute tour around Washington DC on the Old Towne Trolley and then got off to see and walk to some of the sites.

Golden, Roxanne and Rod Barney on Old Towne Trolley

Jovy and Diane on The Old Town Trolley

Here are some of the places that we were able to tour while in Washington DC.

Washington Memorial - 555 ft and 5/8 inch high. Made of Marble, granite and bluestone gneiss and it took 36 years to complete the monument - no cement is used between the blocks.

Washington State Capital

Diane and Golden in front of National Treasure Dept.

Front of National Treasure Dept.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Diane and Jovy with the Republican Elephant in Washington DC

Golden, Diane and Jovy entering Arlington National Cemetery

John F Kennedy Eternal Flame at Arlington  National Cemetery

Diane and Jovy in the Arlington National Cemetery

Jovy and Golden in Arlington National Cemetery

Amphitheater - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

WWI Gift from China of the Unknown. It accompanied the Unknown Soldier as he lay instate in the Capital Rotunda and during the funeral service in the Memorial Amphitheater on November 11, 1921 .

Victory - The Republic of China gifted this iconic statue to America's World War I Unknown. It accompanied the Unknown Soldier as he lay instate in the Capitol Rotunda and during his funeral service in Memorial Amphitheater on November 11, 1921.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1848-1907, a famous American sculptor, designed the statue as part of the William Tecunisch Sherman monument dedicated on May 30, 1903 in New York City. 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington National Cemetery

Guard preparing for the ceremony of the Changing of the Guard which is done every 30 minutes

Beginning of the replacement of the shift of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Soldiers lining up for the changing of the guard -- the retiring guard being replaced by the new guard

Guard inspecting gun before relieving the soldier

Return of the guards as the replacement guard takes the next shift

Guard at the beginning of walk

On Sunday, we each presented a "Helping Others to Love Family History" experience for Rachel Blair, one of the Manhattan 1st Ward Temple and Family History Consultants, and her husband Preston Blair, a Priesthood Leader in the Lincoln Square Young Single Adult Ward.  Both were able to find names of progenitors to take to the temple.  The challenges was given to then teach others to do the same.  This is the Find, Take, and Teach initiative of the Church.

On Monday, Columbus Day, the temple was open as it is for most holidays that fall on Monday when the temple is usually closed.  Brother and Sr. Brown were in charge and were the coordinators for the day.  I attended a session and then served in the baptistry taking care of the laundry while Golden was at the Recommend Desk and served in a couple of sealing sessions.  Following our service, President and Sr. Bean, Manhattan Temple Counselor and Assistant Matron served a "light refreshment", --sandwiches, grapes, potato chips, and cheese and smoked white fish salad on crackers.

We love our service both in the Temple and in the Family History Center.  We started to pack up some of the items to ship back to Utah.  Due to the high cost of shipping, which amounts to between half and full value of the items being shipped, we will be leaving many items for the next missionary couple.