The Plan --by Jeff Richins

I’m not paying a lot of attention to the road since Denise is driving. My mind is focused on something else. I keep thinking about the next step in the plan. I think that if…

“Which way?” Denise’s question snaps me back to awareness. She’s coming into town and slowing down to an intersection. I sit up and glance around to figure out where we are. “Nice little town.”

She’s already been noticing that. “Yeah, I like it. You know, if we had more time…”

Time! That’s right. We’re in a hurry. An afternoon stop is not in the plan. We’ve got a long way to go to get back to Provo. I pull out my smart phone and click Google Maps to figure out where we are and which direction to go.

Just kidding! It’s 1987 and the closest thing to Google Maps is a Rand McNally road atlas with all the states. I thumb to Arizona and look at our route.

In her naiveté, Denise sweetly stamps on my toes. “We could stop for a little bit and ask somebody which way.”

I shoot an incredulous look towards Denise. I’m a fairly young man, but I’m still a man. There’s just something fundamentally wrong with asking for directions! I hastily look around until I see a sign for Highway 666 North. “That way!”

Whew! That was a manhood trap! Best to just keep traveling.

She shrugs and soon we’re again heading north. I settle back into my prior thoughts, mentally evaluating the overall the plan, ticking each point off on my fingers.

Serve a mission… Check. Go to college… Check. Get good grades… Check. Get married… Check.

None of which went as smoothly as planned, but so far, so good. Now we’re close to graduating and we’re job hunting. The plan is to finish school, get a good job…

A chuckle from my wife interrupts me. “What so funny?”

She looks surprised. “I didn’t laugh. You laughed!”

I shake my head. “No, not me.” I shrug and continue on my thought train. Let’s see… Get a good job. Get a home. Maybe move up the corporate ladder in a couple of years…

This time it’s more than a chuckle. It’s a hearty laugh! Denise looks over at me. “What are you laughing at?”

I’m confused! “I, uh… Nothing. I’m not laughing. I was just thinking of our plans and then…”

Now it’s a burst-out belly laugh – the kind where your Pepsi comes shooting out of your nose. Now both of us are wondering what is so dang funny.

They say that if you ever want to hear heaven laugh, just tell it your long-range plans.

CLUNK!

Our car comes to a shuddering stop at the side of the road. Great! Now what? We hadn’t really planned on this. (There’s that giggle again.) I step out to assess the situation. Three of the tires are parallel with the highway, but the fourth is pointing awkwardly at 90 degrees. I scratch my head. Maybe if I get some baling wire… Nah, it’s beyond baling wire. So I pull out my cell phone and call for a tow truck.

Just kidding. It was still 1987. Cell phones wouldn’t be a thing until for another ten or fifteen years.

So we started walking back to town. After about a mile, a policeman picked us up and gave us a ride to St. Johns. We arranged for a tow truck and then had the rest of the day to spend. We were eating at Katy’s Kountry Kitchen when a jolly old cowboy scooted over to our table. “What are you kids doing here? Where ya from?” We explained our situation. Charlie Patterson paid for our meal and said, “I’ve got some time. Why don’t you let me show you around.”

So we climbed in his pickup and got our first tour of St. Johns – it actually didn’t take very long. But he talked and told stories the whole way. Denise asked about the school so he took us to the District Office.

The nice receptionist greeted us and asked how she could help us. Denise was a little timid. “I don’t know if you have any job openings, but I wondered if I could pick up an application.”

Joyce Dimbatt leaned forward across the counter, eager to hear our story. “Where are you from? What brings you here?” Denise explained how she was just graduating from BYU with a teaching certificate and we were looking for jobs. Joyce walked around the counter and took Denise’s elbow. “Actually, the superintendent is meeting with the principals there in the boardroom. Why don’t you go right on in there and introduce yourself and visit with them.”

Denise was embarrassed. “Uh… no thank you. I’ll just take an application and…”

“Pshaw!” Sister Dimbatt pulled her towards the board room.

Now Denise became mortified. “I’m in jeans and a T-shirt! My résumé is back in the car! No! I’ll just…”

By then Joyce was knocking on door. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’d like to introduce this young lady to you.”

So began Denise’s interview. They visited with her for about an hour and then toured us around the schools. We had a good feeling about the place and the job, but after that we didn’t really hear much from them.

In the meantime, we finally made it back up to Provo and soon I got an interview with Morton Thiokol in northern Utah. The position was to be an Instrument Tech on the Space Shuttle booster rocket. (After the original Space Shuttle had exploded, the company was doing extensive development and testing to prevent any future disaster.)

The prospect was exciting! The interviewing supervisor took me out to the testing site and showed me around the booster I would be working on. They seemed to like me and everything appeared promising. They said they would call me.

What a lucky break! What a blessing! A kid, fresh out of college with no experience. And the chance to start out on such an exciting project. Those kinds of opportunities don’t come along just every day.

A few days later, Morton Thiokol called me with a nice offer and asked me to respond within three days. “Yes!” Just right, according to the plan! But about thirty minutes later, Denise got a call from St. Johns schools with an offer.

Now we had a dilemma. But not a very big dilemma. We talked about the choices and decided that it made much more sense for me to take the Thiokol job, as Denise could teach anywhere. But we should probably pray about it, just to make sure.

The answer was a strong feeling to go to St. Johns! Uh… that’s the wrong answer! Let’s try praying again. You see, Heavenly Father, I’m the one who needs to get my career started. Denise is planning on being a stay-at-home mom. You’re the one that got me the interview! You helped me do well in it.

Again, the strong feeling to go to St. Johns. “No, I’m going to transplant you to Arizona.” What?! That makes no sense! Are you sure that’s what you want us to do?

Where was the happy burning-of-the-bosom? It was mostly a sickening feeling to turn down such a great job. But even though the heartbreak, there was an assurance.

So, it was a hard thing to call the Supervisor at Morton Thiokol and thank him kindly for the offer, but no thanks. I was grumpy to have to do that. Grumpy and scared!

We moved to St. Johns and I was glad that I found a minimum wage job, but I felt more and more sick that I had turned down the Thiokol job. Surely we must have misread the prompting. A thousand times I questioned and kicked myself.

But then, in late December 1987, there was a terrible accident at Morton Thiokol. A booster rocket explosion had killed five technicians during a test firing. I sat mesmerized at the TV as the news showed footage of the accident. It was exactly where I was shown during my interview.

I became a whole lot less grumpy about the answer I had received! But sparing my life was just the first thing to be thankful for in this transplant. A thousand times I’ve been grateful for Father’s plan over mine. The Lord didn’t give me what I wanted – He gave me something better.

They say we should “bloom where you’re planted.” That sounds nice, but I wonder if it might be a little passive. Elder Gene R. Cook said, “…[The Lord] often chooses to act according to our faith… The Spirit of Christ is in every living thing. I think often the Lord says, ‘Don’t ask me to do it—YOU do it!’ …If you were dependent on the Lord to do all of the work, you would be a puppet on a string. But because of the great love of the Lord, he says, ‘I will give you some of my power until you learn to act independently, just as I do, if you will do my will. And if you will, I will eventually give you all my power.’” We are to bloom hard where we are planted, to blossom!



The Lord has a plan for our lives. He knows the best way to help us – to help us grow! He is pleased when we work and plan and set goals and act and become. But we also need to allow him to adjust our plans. He is the Good Father, the Master Gardener – not the Hard Taskmaster. We can trust that His plan, His planting, will be for our benefit and growth.

Gratitude: A Characteristic of the Faithful --By Kip Anderson

I was recently taught a valuable lesson about gratitude. Fortunately, this lesson came through a tender mercy extended to me from my Heavenly Father. Had this new insight come some other way it may have been a lot more humbling.

In 2006 I decided to join the United States Air Force. When I was younger I knew I was going to do two things, serve a full-time mission and serve my country. When I came home from serving a mission in the Pennsylvania, Harrisburg Mission things really accelerated and between work, school and getting married I was pretty busy. Before I knew it years had passed and I still hadn’t made the jump into the military. However, that feeling of service to our nation never left me. So, at the age of 26 I joined. According to my test scores I was a natural mechanic. I fully expected to work on planes but the Air Force decided to make me a Meteorologist. The job would consist of making weather forecasts for our pilots anywhere in the world and required weather stations to be manned around the clock. The schooling was very long and would require me to be away from my wife and 2-year-old little girl. None of this sat well with me and I soon found myself complaining about it. After I graduated from weather school the Air Force assigned me to Hickam AFB, Hawaii. For the first 6 months we lived in paradise. Once the excitement of living in a new place, especially Hawaii, wore off all I could see were the negative things about it and the complaining continued. We had many good friends, but the people weren’t very friendly. We lived in one of the most beautiful places on earth, but it was too far away from home. We adopted our second child through LDS services while we lived in Hawaii. She filled a tremendous void in our family that was left by tragedy and continues to be a light and a joy in our lives, but we received a lot of racism as white parent adopting an Asian baby. If all we do is look for the negative, we’ll find it and there is always something to complain about.

My next duty station was Hurlburt Field, Florida. This was easily one of the most difficult assignments I ever had. Hurlburt Field is the Air Force’s special operations headquarters. Because my job required me to provide our elite fighting forces around the world with weather forecasts at any time our operations tempo was very high and it was very easy to get burned out. During this time, I was called to serve as a scout master and Priest Quorum advisor in our branch with no other help. In addition to everything else I got a distinct impression that I needed to go back to school. So I did, full time. Little did I know, at the time, this was a recipe for disaster. But our little family managed to get through it.

In late 2011 I left the active duty Air Force, we moved back to Arizona and I took what I learned to the Arizona Air National Guard. I worked for the Guard full time for a little while but my intention was to find civilian employment and only do the military thing part time. In 2014 I found a job doing environmental testing but the pay would decrease our income by almost half. As with most major decisions we make we try to include Heavenly Father and both my wife and I got the answer that this is what I needed to do. We took a hard look at our finances and realized it was going to be hard but we were in some good circumstance that would make it possible. As time went on my hours started to get cut back, we were barely able to make ends meet. We even had to go to our bishop for help a few times. As you can imagine I began to complain about our situation and questioned the answer we received. We endured this for 2 years and things began to change.

While all of this was going on our ultimate desire was to move to St. Johns and work at one of the plants. We prayed continually, almost pleading, for Heavenly Father to help us to get to St. Johns. We had a significant experience in the celestial room at the Mesa Temple that confirmed that we were to go to St. Johns and that all would be well. But year after year of submitting resumes to TEP and getting no response began to take its toll and I began complaining about that too. We knew we got confirmation about what we were supposed to do and we were doing it but we didn’t understand why nothing was happening. Finally, after 5 years of waiting I got a call from TEP and I got hired into operations and everything was good. We moved to St. Johns and I worked in operations for 10 months. Shortly after I got out of training a job announcement came out for an environmental position. The main requirements to qualify for this job was that the candidate have experience in meteorology, environmental testing and regulation and power plant operations. I was a shoo in for the job so I applied and was able to land it. To our great joy and relief what we had been praying for we were blessed with.

Before I even knew what I wanted the Lord was already preparing the way for me and my family to receive major blessings. When I look back on the last 12 years I can see every time we were blessed and that the Lord’s hand was in it the whole time. Yet, all I could do is complain about everything. I had to join the Air Force to adopt my daughter, what a blessing. I had to learn meteorology for a career I didn’t know I would want, another blessing. I was prompted to go back to school at the worst possible time to qualify me for my ultimate career, again another blessing. I took a job that almost ruined my finances but would give me the experience I would need, blessing.


President Monson said “A grateful heart … comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives…” For some, it’s easy to have gratitude for the things that we have and the blessings that we see, but the lesson I learned is to always have a spirit of gratitude for the blessings we don’t see no matter the circumstances. When our time is finished in this mortal life I have a feeling that we all will know how much the Lord was in our lives preparing a way for us to receive his blessings. Gratitude is the faith that we know the Lord is always there.

Letters from God --By Jessica Webb

Letters from God

Writing letters to God.  This was my first step to waking up from my “spiritual coma”.  Learning to write letters to God changed how I look at life.  It opened my eyes to an awareness that there was more going on than I had realized.

Before this, I was coasting.  I went to church, did my callings, read scriptures, said my prayers.  And yes, I even felt God’s love for me.  But I wasn’t progressing; I was coasting on what I already knew.  Was this my church’s fault for not teaching?  Of course not.  I love my church.  They teach the basic truths of the gospel and it is up to us to learn at whatever level we are at.  The principle of faith is so simple a concept it can be taught to children, but you could spend a whole lifetime trying to understand the full application of faith in action.  So my learning being stagnant was entirely my fault.  I was coasting.

The first time I heard about someone writing letters to God and getting letters back, my immediate thought was “good for you…”  I didn’t see the danger in this statement.  I wasn’t engaging.  I was still just coasting.  I didn’t even consider trying it to see if it would work for me.  I though “good for you” but I didn’t recognize the underlying message of rejection.  If I were to consciously finish the statement (as I did later) I would have said, “Good for you, but that kind of thing doesn’t work for me.  Besides if I try writing God a letter, what if I don’t get a response?  I wouldn’t handle that very well so I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing now.  I’m comfortable and I don’t really want to change.  Besides, that’s really weird anyways.”  That is what was going on in my subconscious as I said “good for you”.  As you may have noticed in that response, there are quite a few untruths and red flags in that statement.  If you feel hesitant about writing a letter, then pull out a paper and write down why.  With words written on paper, it is easier to see what is going on without emotions attached.

Anyways, the first time I heard about getting letters from God I blew it off.  But a few weeks later I heard about a nine year old kid who had wrote a letter to God and got one back.  His letter back was so simple and sincere, it touched my heart.  I thought, “I’ll give it a try.  Why not?”

So, how does it work?  For me, I start with a prayer in my heart.  This helps the spirit, or thoughts of light, to be around me.  It’s best to do this in a quiet place (at least as you are starting out) to keep your mind focused and avoid distractions.  I try to write letters in the morning while my kids are asleep because, as wonderful as they are, they are my biggest distractions.  Get a piece of paper and something to write with and get to work on a letter to your Higher Power.  For me that Higher Power is God who I see as my Heavenly Father.

I know this is basically a prayer written out on paper but it helps give me the focused intent I was missing in my worship.  After you finish writing your letter, go to the next page and listen to your heart for your letter back.  When a thought comes to you, write it down.  It was hard for me at first because I didn’t recognize the difference between my thoughts and the thoughts that were coming.  They sounded so familiar that I was sure they had to be mine.  But any time I pushed one aside, thinking I had made it up on my own, nothing else would come.  So I’d hesitantly write the thought down and another would come.  This continued until the letter finished with, “Love, Heavenly Father”.  Mind blown.  It was so simple.  Why hadn’t I known about this forever ago?  I had always believed in personal revelation, but I didn’t realize how clear it could be.

Quick question: Why is it hard for us to recognize the difference between our thoughts and thoughts of light?  I’d like to pose a possible answer for you to ponder on.  Are we not beings of light?  Our soul—the innermost part of who we are, is it not made of light?  As sons and daughters of God, or beings of truth, won’t some of these thoughts be within us?  Can’t the guardians (angels) speak truth to our soul and those thoughts filter to our minds?  That’s something to ponder on.

I do know that as you continue to work on writing letters that your recognition of the spirit, or thoughts of light, will increase.  You will be able to recognize these truth thoughts with more clarity and in so doing, you will begin to be prompted throughout your day.  You will start to recognize the difference between wandering thoughts and inspired truth.

Realize that with writing letters there is a process of growth.  You may get a page the first time, or maybe a sentence, or even a single word.  But even a word is proof that it is possible.  If you don’t get a letter back it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care.  Ask in your heart why you didn’t get a response and go from there.  It could be that you have some programs or filters that need to be worked on or updated.  The results vary from one person to another, so don’t be disheartened.  Know that as you work on this it will grow and you will be able to recognize thoughts of light more easily.

Will this work for you?  I believe it can.  But there’s one way to find out.

Give Your Problems to the Lord --by Amy Jarvis

I had heard the phrase “give your problems to the Lord” at home and from church teachers and probably even friends growing up. I had read about King Lamoni's father in the Book of Mormon (Alma 22:18) saying he would “give away all his sins to know” God, but that sounded too easy in my ignorant mind. Of COURSE you would “give up” your SINS (things that make you 'feel bad' is how I interpreted sin), what's difficult to “give up” is stuff you LIKE! Little did I know that sins are most often things you “like” and it IS difficult to “give them away” to the Lord! Going back to my original thought, I did not realize until embarrassingly late in life just how easy it is to “give away” problems and sins to the Lord (and how willing He is to accept them)!



It all came about from supreme frustration. I had been praying for the Lord to “soften the heart” of someone else. I knew it was wrong to pray for Heavenly Father to change someone, but it seems like praying for a little heart-softening is all right! I had received counsel from a few people I know (and Dr. Phil) that the only person I could change was me, but I was fine, it was this OTHER person who needed to “get with the program”! So, there was a day when finally, I had “had it”! This person was NOT doing what I thought should be done, and I was NOT going to stand for it any longer! There was a blow-up altercation between us, and I removed myself from the situation, more furious than I had ever been in my life! I could not talk to the person I was so incensed with (at least not to be able to get MY point across, which was the only argument worth considering, of course!) and I couldn't talk to anyone else, either. Or so it seemed. It took this extreme situation for my stubbornness to yield enough so that I would finally hit my knees to pray! I decided I was going to let my Father in heaven “have it”! At this time, it wasn't “giving my sins” to him (that I recognized), it was making sure He knew what I really thought about Him not going along with my musings of what should happen! If He wasn't going to require this other person to acknowledge how “right” I was, I was going to demand that He listen and validate my feelings! And guess what? He DID! I wasn't vexed with God, I was irritated with someone else, so I started telling Heavenly Father all of the things that I wasn't able to tell the object of my annoyance. I poured out all of my ruminations and shouted (yes, literally) everything I had been wanting to wail for months, maybe even for years. And what did my Heavenly Father do? He whispered, “Tell me more”. So I did. I told Him why I was so exasperated and I told Him all the reasons I had to be upset and I told Him I didn't know what to do to let go of my hurt and rage towards this person. Then the thought clearly came to my mind: “Give it away. Your pain. Your anger. Give it to me.” All I could do after having this impression was plead, “Lord, wilt thou take it?” And He did! My anger melted away instantly. I felt immense peace. I knew beyond a doubt that I was the one that had needed to change, I was the one that needed a “softened heart” and, thanks to my Heavenly Father, I did change! Why did it take me so long to go to Him? I suppose it was because since I was already conscious of the fact that Heavenly Father knows me, I didn't need to say it! I assumed he was aware of everything I was going through and was just making me suffer! In reality, I was making myself suffer, because I wasn't asking Him for help! He was there ready and willing and hoping to help me, I was just being too bullheaded to ask for assistance! It was so simple, and so profound. I have never again felt enraged like that. I have, however, felt God’s love for me, and acceptance of me, many times since. I know that I am in charge of my own happiness (and my own feelings). I know that God will not “change” anybody but those who request that He change them. Maybe most importantly, I know that my Heavenly Father loves me, and he let me feel of his love when I needed it most. When I believed I truly had nobody I could talk to, He allowed me to comprehend that I was wrong! He is ALWAYS willing to listen to ANYTHING we have to say, no matter how “bad” we think it might be (believe me, I was not telling Him “complimentary” things about one of his other children). Best of all, I felt no “judgment”! All I felt was peace, love, and acceptance, another wonderful lesson to me that that same “love and acceptance” was something I should be imparting to all of God's children. And that is how I learned what it is to “give my problems (and sins) to the Lord”.

A Community of Service --By Bruce Jackson

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, "Respectful and sincere interfaith service not only builds our communities, but also enables us to collectively and individually grow in our love of God and His children."

The New Covenant Church food bank and distribution center is a quiet place for much of the week. The church congregation reverently attend Sunday and mid-week services and activities. The church building and grounds are pleasant and well kept. Unless you were told, you might not realize that twice a month the food distribution center becomes a whirl wind of activity.

On those days, the first thing you see are eighteen wheelers pulling in and starting to unload case after case of fruits, vegetables, canned goods, and staples: beans, rice, pasta, and bread. It is urgent work; the portion for our area must be quickly unloaded so that trucks can travel on to help other communities.

By 2 pm, additional people arrive to start separating and unwrapping the cases. The work space quickly transitions into a high-speed assembly line. Pastor Mike Greene and his congregation have developed an efficient and effective way to sort, box, and distribute the food. But it is still go, go, go until the last customer has received the help they need.

Pastor Greene says that Apache County is one of the ‘food insecure’ counties in the nation. Many people do not know if they will have food to meet their family’s needs.  Pastor Greene tells of many children who come with their families to the center, and of their delight and their parent’s gratitude.

In the past two months I have been able to join in the work at the center. I was delighted to find the spirit of cooperation and friendship there. Everyone is welcome to come and join in the work. More volunteers are needed. The center distributes the food on the first and third Tuesday of each month. It is best to arrive at 2 pm, and the work is typically complete by 4:30.

A good warm feeling comes from pitching in and helping others. You will be glad that you were there.

A Thanksgiving Miracle-- by Tawnya Pulsipher

Have you ever asked yourself why me? What have I done to deserve this….This is a question I continue to ask myself.

On Sunday November 19th 2017 we left our home after our Sunday meetings and headed to Mesa… my husband had a surgery scheduled for Monday November 20th in Tucson, AZ. We woke up early the next day and headed to Tucson for surgery… all went well and we drove back to Mesa for the night. Tuesday November 21st we drove to Kanab, UT for the night. Wednesday morning continued our travels to our destination Escalante, Utah to spend Thanksgiving with my father and my other mother; Keith and Linda Carter.

We unpacked and settled in for the weekend, catching up into the night. I put the frozen Turkey in the bath tub filled with cold water and ice and went to bed. Early Thursday November 23rd 2017 Thanksgiving morning we began cooking the feast, Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, green bean casserole, yams and cranberry sauce. Plus Pies: Pumpkin, Cherry, Chocolate, Lemon, and my favorite Pecan. Throughout the day I paused to count my blessings and I went for a stroll up the road behind Dad's house now the Escalante Petrified State Park as I reflected on my many blessings. My mind flooding with wonderful childhood memories with Dad… I miss my Dad he isn’t there anymore mentally he has checked out to Alzheimer’s.

Fast forward to Sunday November 26th 2017 approximately 4pm we return home to the Town of Friendly Neighbors St. Johns, AZ. When I walked into our home through the back door into the kitchen I felt warmth and could smell gas… I turned to the right and to my surprise I was shocked to see flames on our gas stove burner and the pan on top of the flames that I had used to make my husband a fried egg sandwich just prior to leaving town one week ago… I walked over to the stove and there no more than an inch away from the flame laid a paper plate on top of the stove. My eyes wide with the feeling of horror rushing through me, how could I have been so stupid? Our home could have burnt to the ground while we were away. As my mind registered what I was witnessing… I picked up the paper plate turned the burner off as my thoughts started reflecting on a prayer.

I recalled kneeling in prayer in our living room before we left town the week before and asking for Heavenly Angels to surround and protect our home while we were going to be away… overwhelmed with emotion tears running down my face… I walked into the living room and stopped, dropped, kneeled and prayed expressing gratitude that our house was still standing “A Thanksgiving Miracle”.

I have a testimony of the power of prayer and that heavenly angels surround us and bless our lives. I believe our loved ones on the other side of the veil are our heavenly angels and oft times are the ones assigned to answer our prayers. God is in the details of our lives this I testify. Do Miracles cease to happen…? I say Nay!

I am eternally grateful our home is still standing and wonder why me? What did I do to deserve this… when sadly so many tragedies happen daily.

Joy and Trials

Two weeks ago, while sitting in my classroom, I received a text that I'd been waiting for all morning.  It was Sydney, letting me know that she and Ryder had just found out that they would be having a baby girl, due in the first part of June.  I announced the news to my 3rd hour class, telling them that they knew the information even before my sisters.  They responded with genuine enthusiasm that characterizes these 7th graders.  Quickly forwarding the text, I shared the exciting news with the rest of my family.

Just as soon as I pushed "send" my phone rang.  Seeing that it was Ryan, I stepped outside, expecting to hear him calling to celebrate the great news.  Instead, his voice was subdued, "Have you heard about my mom?"  He proceeded to explain that she had been admitted to the ICU with kidney failure along with a host of other problems due to an infection.  While talking to Ryan, my phone rang again.  It was Denis, my father-in-law.  Asking him what I could do, he replied, "Get on your knees and start praying."

Gathering myself, I went back into my classroom with distressing thoughts running though my mind.  And yet, I was greeted with the warmth, joy and optimism that youth possess.  They didn't know anything about the difficult phone calls I had taken, but their spirits lifted mine.  I was overwhelmed with love and gratitude for the young people that I get to associate with each day.

Over the following weeks, I have often thought of the immediate juxtaposition of these two very opposite experiences.  Joy and sorrow bounced back and forth almost simultaneously.  The excitement of welcoming a new girl into our family was balanced by the very real fear that we may be losing an integral part of our lives.  Difficult visits to the hospital were followed by laughing playtime with our Chandler grandkids.  As family members met at Carol's bedside there were tears but there was also laughter as we shared thoughts, memories and emotions.  Tender feelings of love were expressed where normally they had been kept closeted.  Personally, I felt a greater commitment to express and show my loved to those around me, before I missed my chance altogether.  And then a few days ago-jubilation!- as doctors successfully removed Carol's breathing tube and pronounced slow but steady progress toward recovery.

In 2009, President Monson said, "Though storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our heart…My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not.  Be of good cheer.  The future is as bright as your faith."

Later, President Nelson taught in the October 2016 Conference, "Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings power into our lives.  As in all things, Jesus Christ is our ultimate exemplar, "who for the joy that set before him endured the cross."  Think of that!  in order for Him to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior focused on joy! … If we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we loved, what can we endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair or simply impossible?"

So why did I receive good and bad news at precisely the same time?  For me, it has been a reminder of the beauty and the power of the Plan of Happiness.  We are sent to this earth to experience joy as well as tribulation.  While the trials may often seem to overshadow the cheer, we can find peace and happiness in all situations.  It will be there.  I'm certain of that.