Review of Lectures in Newspaper

Deseret News just posted a review of my lectures on the Book of Abraham. You can find them at http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865588253/Whats-new-BYU-scholar-shares-latest-research-on-book-of-Abraham.html

Baptism day for Sabrina

What a glorious day it was on Saturday, October 12th. This was the day that Sabrina was baptized. We are so excited and so proud of her.



Sabrina is really an amazing girl. She is so pure, so thoughtful, and so giving. As an example, she was given some cookies as a gift for her baptism (actually 2 different sets of two different kinds of cookies). She immediately shared them, and shared them until they were gone. This is so Sabrina.

Her mom had her hair looking so cute, and she was so ready for baptism.



She understands the covenant she is making and was willing and anxious to make it. We are

also excited that BJ was able to baptize her. He is a good and worthy boy, and Sabrina was excited that he was now a priest and could baptize her. They practiced and practiced and so they were confident as they went into the font.



The ordinance was beautiful. The whole experience was sublime. She beamed and glowed! Her grandpa and great grandpa were the witnesses. Dad was able to give confirm her a member of the Church and give her the Gift of the Holy Ghost. As he gave her that blessing it was so clear that she was so loved by her Heavenly Father. As he told her that He was proud of her, she lit up. We are confident that she has a bright future ahead of her consisting of the opportunity to help people. She is such a good soul.



Lots of family came to support her and we had a great time at our house afterwards. A few families of cousins stayed the night.



The only downside was that her little cousin, Tanner, had to go back into the hospital that afternoon due to complications from his recent brain surgery. He is not doing well, and so his siblings will stay with us for a while as his parents take care of him in the hospital. He is such a little trooper, we are all praying for him!

Sabrina is an amazing girl, and we are all so proud of her!

Interview Available

The interview with Martin Tanner is now available online. You can listen at http://img.ksl.com/audio/2013_09_29_religion_today.mp3 We talk about my books that have come out, my lectures that have come out, and the Book of Abraham.

Another Good Interview

I just finished an interview with Martin Tanner of KSL Radio. We spoke about my books the Essential Old Testament Companion and Return Unto Me, my Book of Abraham lectures, and the Book of Abraham in general. He was great to work with. He took my wife and I on a tour of KSL studios beforehand, which we enjoyed. The interview will be broadcast on KSL radio (1160 am 102.7 fm in Utah) this Sunday at 6:30 am, 10 am, and 9:30 pm. When it is archived I will post the link here. Hope you all enjoy!

Interview Available

The interview with Carole Makita of KSL radio and tv about my book Return Unto Me is now available online. http://img.ksl.com/audio/2013_09_22_people_of_faith.mp3

Interview went well

I just finished an interview with Carole Makita about my book Return Unto Me. (see http://returnuntome.blogspot.com/)  I feel like it went well (Carole is so good at this she made it easy). It will air on KSL radio (1160 AM, 102.7 FM in Utah, or online at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=16) on Sunday morning (Sept. 22), at 8 am and again at 5 pm (MDT). Pass the word along to anyone you know who might be interested.

Hitting the bookstores

I just had two books and a lecture series on cd come out. The books are on the Old Testament and the lectures are on the Book of Abraham. 

One of the books, "Return Unto Me" has a lot of my heart and soul in it, and I feel so strongly that its message will make such a huge difference for each person who reads it. 

The Essential Old Testament Companion will help every one understand the Old Testament and see how it applies to their life.

The Book of Abraham lectures will help answer questions so many people have about the Book of Abraham.

These items are available at Seagull Books and Amazon, and should be in Deseret Book next week.

I would love it if you would like their facebook pages. You can also check them out on their blogspot pages. We are hoping to create a flurry of activity online so that more people can learn about the messages I am trying to convey in these publications. I think they have important messages. Hope you will check it out, like it, and share it.  Thanks! 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Return-Unto-Me/356692467792916?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/EssentialOldTestament?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Book-of-Abraham-Lectures-on-CD/582551838463010?ref=hl

or 

http://returnuntome.blogspot.com/

http://essentialot.blogspot.com/

http://ancientworks.blogspot.com/
 

Great Reunion!

We had a reunion for all our Jerusalem Center friends at our house last night. It was so wonderful to see so many incredible people that we love so much. Sadly, with so many great people we never got to spend enough time with each one. With each person my heart wished for more and more time with them.

I can only hope it happens!

We love you all!!

The Fall Semester Group posed for a picture. I wish I had gotten one with each semester

Great Evening

Tonight Julianne and I were able to attend an annual dinner held for General Authorities Emeritus. What a delight and pleasure. We were able to visit with so many amazing men and women. What power and how many years of serving God and mankind. It was a delightful and impressive group.

The dinner was held in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City on the 10th floor.



We sat next to Elder Neuenschwander and had the most fascinating conversations about his work as a Patriarch in Russia and eastern Europe. The work he puts in and the blessings people receive from that service is amazing. Because my oldest son and daughter just received their patriarchal blessings it was all the more interesting to us.

The evening ended with my giving about a 25 minute lecture on the excavation and about 20 minutes of questions and answers.

Overall it was an amazing dinner. We loved it!

Getting the book on the shelves

So yesterday had some interesting elements. My book, The Essential Companion to the Old Testament (see essentialot.blogspot.com), was supposed to be on the shelves of the BYU Bookstore on Monday for the thousands of extra visitors that come there as part of BYU's Education week. Since Monday was the last day before school starts for my kids, and because it was my son Kaleb's birthday, we decided to go to Seven Peak's water slides for one last summer fling. I made everyone stop on the way as I went in to the Bookstore to put some fliers for my other book Return Unto Me (returnuntome.blogspot.com) in these books. But the books weren't out yet. I politely asked both the BYU bookstore and the publisher to look into this, and went on to the waterslides (lots of fun).

On Tuesday, before my lecture on God's love in the Old Testament, I went to see if the books were out. They were not out yet. Happily my cd's with my lectures on the Book of Abraham were there! (see http://bookofabrahamresearch.blogspot.com)

I spoke with some more people. They told me that they didn't think it had arrived, others that it had arrived but was not scheduled to be put on the shelves for a few more weeks, and others told me that they needed to know when it had come in to find it. I emailed the publisher (Covenant Communications) and went and did my lecture.



I felt great about my lecture. Then I went to the bookstore and found the buyer who was in charge of getting these books. Together we went to work. We talked to the person from the publisher who had dropped the books off on Friday, after having them air freighted in the night before. We talked to the person who had received them. We checked all around in the receiving area. I looked and looked. We had a person in receiving who had left for the day come back in. We sleuthed and worked and searched and looked for an hour and a half. Finally we found them tucked away in the receiving area without their invoice in a different box than we were looking for. I helped unpack them and helped create the price stickers for them and put them on and took them up on a hand truck and put them on the selves myself. I am not sure they would have made it there this week if it had not been for Maureen (the BYU buyer) and myself sticking on it for so long. But they are definitely there now. I am so happy to finally see them out. I can hardly wait until the other one comes out!

Fun Lecture

Yesterday I did a lecture as part of Education week. The topic was an introduction to the ideas I have in my book Return Unto Me.

The concept, the God loves us and will never stop trying to work with us and help us, and that this is clear in the Old Testament, is one that I feel passionately about. I think it is a life changing topic. I saw several people tearing up during the lecture, and I like to assume that is because they were hearing something they needed to hear, not because the lecture was so terrible. I really, really enjoyed it, and look forward to doing a follow up lecture tomorrow.

Homeward Bound

6-24-13

I woke up at 4 am, and thought it would be nice to get a lot of the driving out of the way. So by 4:30 we were on our way, and everyone else just kept sleeping. But we came to Martin’s Cove sooner than I thought, by 7 am. So I woke everyone up, we had breakfast, and then we started on our way.

It was a great time, talking about the pioneers, walking, etc. I think the kids came to appreciate the pioneers just a bit more. The only downside was that the mosquitos were crazy, and most of us got dozens and dozens of bites. It was the worst I have ever seen mosquito infestation.

Off we go on our hike. No mosquitoes to begin with

BJ doing the dance we all did to keep mosquitoes away. It didn't work.

Some dogs came along with us, and the kids enjoyed that. We saw several gazelle very close up, and a deer and some rabbits too. 

The polar bear dog that came with us, Oscar

The blue healer, Max (we gave them these names)

To begin with the little ones were afraid of these dogs

Later they loved the dogs, especially Sabrina. They cried when we left them

We talked about the sacrifices the pioneers made, a  little bit about the history of the place, and pulled a handcart for a while. It was a good break.

Statue at Martin's Cove where we talked about the sacrifices of the pioneers

Alexia and Sabrina pulling the handcart

Jacob and BJ moving the handcart

But by the time we were done we had spent 3 hours there and I was anxious to get back home. I was mildly worried about the motor home. I should have been very worried, but by now I just have developed the feeling that God will get that thing home for us. We climbed several thousand feet on some long, steep, steep, steep hills. The engine ran cool, the radiator never leaked. For about an hour the bad wind came back. Not quite as bad, but still I had to wrestle with the steering wheel. We drove and drove. We stopped for McDonald’s to make it a little more fun. 

We drove and drove, and just before 6 pm we got home.

Driving and driving

and driving, looking out the window

I was, and am still, overwhelmed with gratitude. The Lord has helped us so much. I am amazed that we pulled this trip off. We have been planning it for 10 years or so, and working hard for it for a little over two. It was complicated, expensive, and difficult, but it worked. And it was a great trip. As soon as we got in we knelt in prayer and thanked our Father in Heaven that it worked so well. I really, truly, fully believe that we experienced miracles with that motor home. God saw us through. I am so utterly grateful and cannot find the words to express how much I relied on the Lord and how grateful I am for how he helped me and how calming it was to come to trust in him so much. My testimony has deepened in so many ways, but the motorhome may have brought me closer to the Lord than even the Sacred Grove.

I can’t believe we did it. With his help, but we did it.

Our faithful motorhom

 We unloaded a bit, said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, and had dinner. The kids went to various places in the house, and it seemed so strange that they weren’t right with us. When BJ was down in his room I missed him. I didn’t like having my kids so far away from me. I came to realize that if we had to all live in a small cabin we could. I feel closer to them than I ever have. It was so strange to have so much space. I am sad to see our squished time together gone. I am grateful to be home, so grateful. It was a great trip, but I am very ready for it to be over. But I miss having us so together and working so much together. I love this family, and am so happy to have had this experience. We will always remember it. Thank the Lord, Julianne, and all my family!

Casper

6-23-13

This morning we got up early, got all packed up and out of the hotel, and as soon as they had food we started eating their breakfast. Then we drove and drove. We got to the Church in Casper, Wyoming about 15 minutes before it started. We changed clothes and went in. It was a nice service. The radiator has fully stopped leaking, and even though we pulled up some steep hills, gaining thousands and thousands of feet in elevation, the engine ran cooler than normal. This motorhome is a miracle machine, meaning that it has been the recipient of miracle after miracle. The Lord has truly been mindful of us, and has blessed us and seen us through. The blessing we gave that motorhome beforehand, which I had felt so strongly it needed, has been realized in every particular. The Lord’s mercy to us in the smallest and largest of things has been incredible. The more I drive (and I have driven about 7000 miles in that now), the more I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for how the Lord has miraculously helped us on this drive. I am grateful.

Typical driving scenario

BJ and Sabrina passing time with Paper/Rock/Scissors

Seems like Mom was always making food as we drove. Thanks Mom!!!

Kaleb often kept me company and navigated while I drove (and drove and drove)

The kids loved riding in the cab-over. It didn't always work out well, especially if they weren't calm enough

The kids found all sorts of ways to entertain themselves

Jacob sometimes struggled with calm entertainment

Sometimes Julianne got to be with me up front. It was nice when that happened

From there we went with the Norcross family to their house, where they fed our whole group and we had a nice visit with a lot of very nice people there. They were all so fun, pleasant, and hospitable. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Then they took BJ, Tashara, Julianne’s parents and me to the Church. There was a world wide broadcast going on, and we saw the end of that. Julianne stayed with the younger ones to watch them. Then I set up to do a fireside. They gave me a pretty funny introduction, and then I spoke about the Book of Abraham, ending on the reasons why we should trust in what we learn from revelation and why we can believe what we feel from the Holy Ghost. I think it went very well. Everyone was so gracious. And then we went back to the Norcross home. They were so very kind to us. We all slept in the motorhome that night. I was planning on going back in to visit with the Norcross family, but I was so tired I just fell asleep.

Moving on

6-22-13

We woke up early and started driving. We found a place in Omaha that would change our oil for us, and we had that done. It was even kind of fun for all of us to stay in the lounge, where the kids saw an infomercial they really got into and started chanting for Mom to buy it. Then we went to Winter Quarters. We spent a lot of time there, and it was a great experience. We helped the kids see how the transition from Nauvoo to the pioneers crossing the plains was working. I think they got a real feel for what happened at Winter Quarters.  Everyone learned and was touched, and I think the story started to really come together for them.

Kaleb and Jacob pulled the handcart

Then Sabrina and Alexia pulled it

They plotted out the route

Alexia tried her hand at living in a Sod Hut

Sabrina tried her hand at Sod Hut living too

Sabrina the pioneer

BJ and Jacob tried their hand at a wagon wheel odometer

Then we drove and drove. We stayed at a nice little hotel in Nebraska where we swam and dumped the RV and got it all ready and had a nice, relaxing time. It was a good day. During all our driving the radiator was leaking a bit, but less and less all along, until it was hardly leaking at all. 

Of course, dinosaurs are of interest too

There were amazingly powerful wind gusts. Some nearby places had small tornados. I had to fight the wind the whole time. The steering wheel was usually at about a 45 degree angle just to keep going straight, and often I was hit by such gusts of wind that we almost moved over a lane. I felt like I was really fighting the wind, and my arms grew tired as I wrestled with the wheel so much. But we made it through. I was glad to be done with that drive.