Family in Quebec

Ever since we got back from Quebec a year and a half ago, I've been working on the family history of a bunch of ancestors from Quebec City. I didn't even know I HAD ancestors from there, and true, they are rather distant cousins, but I have felt more and more close to them and very happy to do their temple work. I found my first name when I went to do initiatory ordinances at the temple and was randomly given the name of a lady who had been born in Quebec. Because I felt that little connection with her, I remembered her name and her birthday, and when I went home, I looked her up, and I was related to her! I was able to request her other ordinances, and while I was doing that, I started looking at records for her siblings and parents, leading me to even more people.

She was the first. Since then, I have "coincidentally" been led to a whole new set of names four times at the temple. Twice I happened to sit next to someone in a session holding a name card of a person from Quebec, and I glanced over and saw the names and then remembered them and looked them up later. And twice I was being a witness for a sealing session and saw a Quebec-based name on the lists the sealer was using. And all of those four names were also relatives and led to finding more relatives. It is almost comical at this point, like anyone on the other side who has the remotest connection to Quebec City (or me) is suddenly jumping out of the woodwork: "Find me! Find me!"

Someone could scoff at these distant connections. I'm sometimes tempted to do so myself. "Well! These aren't really direct line ancestors, after all. And basically everyone is related anyway. Of course you'd run into relatives if you go back far enough. There's nothing so special about that."

But it's not true! I DO run into lots of people who aren't related to me, if I'm just searching around Family Search on my own. And even if I'm not a true great-granddaughter of these people I've found, I AM connected to them. I can feel that I am. I have literally felt other mothers speaking to me across time and space, whispering, "Find my baby!" I've felt their spirits rejoicing with mine in the temple. I've felt their determination as they make the covenants I'm standing proxy for: "We didn't live like this on earth. But we are ready to do it now."

And why did we even go to Quebec in the first place? On one level, we just chose it. It made sense for some reasons (rent was cheaper there than almost anywhere else), though it was not the obvious choice in other ways (the language difference being a big one). But on another level, through prayer and research and discussion and revelation, we were led there as surely as if we'd been pulled there on a string. And I don't know if we even yet know all the reasons!

On top of that, it's really fun for me to do this research. I get to use my French, and I feel like I sometimes spot things no one else might spot because I know what to look for. (Like my ancestor François Boivin showing up on another record as Frank Bevan, or the deux enfants anonymes twins who died before they could even have the ondoiement, the emergency, private baptism for an infant not expected to survive.) I like learning these things. I like feeling useful.

While I was researching some of these Quebec family members, I came upon this guy:

I immediately liked him. He looks so grumpy! He reminds me of some of the people in our church congregation in Quebec. His profession was listed as épicier (grocer) in Quebec City, and there were some pictures of his épicerie:

It looked so much like several stores we knew in Quebec (one very old, the others newer), with the jars of jams and mustards stacked carefully along the wall shelves. And when I looked up where it was, I saw it was on a corner right down the hill from our house in Quebec, a place I had passed many times as I walked down to the St. Roch cathedral where I liked to go to Mass. (And where he also probably went to Mass!) I couldn't believe our paths had crossed so closely (in space, if not in time!).

So, on our trip to Quebec in June, I wanted to find the place. There was one picture of the outside of the building:

and it did look like so many of the buildings in that area, including our house. It obviously wouldn't be a grocery story any more, but I thought for sure I'd still be able to find it. But sadly, when we got to that corner, none of the buildings matched.

It must have been torn down to make room for new construction, which makes sense. Even the J.A. Moisan store we used to love on Rue St. Jean, which boasted of being "the oldest grocery store still operating in North America," has closed now. 😭 But I didn't mind too much. It just feels different being there by accident like I was when we lived here, than being there this time, on purpose, knowing it was the very place that man—my grumpy friend in the picture—had lived and worked.

Also on this trip, we visited the cemetery on L'Île-d'Orléans. We had been there many times. I always thought it was a lovely, peaceful place. But this time I knew I had some ancestors buried there. I just wanted to find their graves, and…I don't know, just stand there again, knowing now of our connection. As I said before, it feels different.

It's a small cemetery, but there are more graves there than you might think when you aren't looking for one in particular. I thought at first I might not be able to find any relatives at all! But there were so many familiar names, and I started recognizing them. Blouin, Hébert, Pouliot, Julien, Leroux, Fortier.  At last we found the one I was looking for, and then there were so many more around it! I felt like I was coming upon old friends!

One thing it made me think about was just how quickly memories are lost. These people didn't live that long ago. Most of them are in the 1800s, with a few in the last half of the 1700s. But already so many of their gravestones are unreadable. The places they lived and worked are all gone, and there aren't even pictures of most of them. Their great-grandchildren likely don't even know their names. How would you ever even find these people's information again, let alone know any facts about them, or least of all know who they really were? The impossibility of that task seems so enormous and final. It is strange to think about.

And yet as we stood there in the graveyard, I felt so hopeful knowing that these people are NOT truly gone and forgotten. Their spirits still exist and have some power to reach toward us. And Heavenly Father knows and loves each one.

As I was writing this I looked up the temple work I've been doing in the past year and a half since we got back from Quebec. And I found out that between me and Sam and the kids, we have done over 300 ordinances for ancestors from Quebec. Now of course many of those are multiple ordinances for the same person. But even if you count six temple ordinances per person (and many didn't need all of those six ordinances done), that is fifty people I've somehow been led to out of nowhere. Fifty people I now feel closer to. Fifty people I, in a small way, love.

As we wandered through the cemetery, Sam had the impression to take a picture of a random gravestone, one of the weathered, lichen-covered ones with an undecipherable name. When we got home he put it into Photoshop and turned up the contrast and we were able to make out enough details to hunt for that name in Family Search. We finally found the right person, and we were so excited to see that I was related to him, and he needed his temple work done. But to our surprise…Sam was related to him too! And now we have a whole new branch of relatives to search for.

Quebec Trip with Daisy

Are you the type of person who likes to watch your favorite movies and read your favorite books again and again? Or are you, like our son Malachi, scornful of such wasted time and prefer to never revisit something you've already done? I am the former. But if you are the latter, feel free to skip right past these pictures of places we've already been and things we've already done!

The gentle tug of the Spirit

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Afternoon Session of the April 2014 Conference.

This week I loved Elder Boyd K Packer's powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. He spoke like He knew God personally, maybe had even seen Him. Now for sure he has! I also liked Elder L. Tom Perry's talk  about obedience:

An obedient horse which is part of a well-trained team of horses needs little more than a gentle tug from the driver to do exactly what he wants it to do. This gentle tug is equivalent to the still, small voice with which the Lord speaks to us. Out of respect for our agency, it is never a strong, forceful tug.…

So the lesson my grandfather taught me was always to be ready to receive the gentle tug of the Spirit. He taught me that I would always receive such a prompting if I ever veered off course. And I would never be guilty of more serious wrongdoings if I allowed the Spirit to guide me in my decisions.

I have noticed many times that when I'm getting frustrated or angry with my children (or whoever, I guess, but it's usually only my children 😩), there is a moment where I could stop. It's like the moment when you hear your alarm to wake up, and you could wake up, but if you go back to sleep right then you'll think later, "Hey, I never even heard my alarm!" Likewise when I'm really getting overwhelmed or carried away by my anger, there's a moment I know it, and can stop. Sometimes I do stop. I take a breath, lower my voice, close my mouth, or whatever else I can manage. But sometimes I don't stop, and those are the times I feel so regretful or discouraged afterwards. Those are the times I think sadly later, "Parenthood truly does allow us to exercise unrighteous dominion."

I guess it's just comforting to me to know that there (usually? maybe always?) IS that moment so I will HAVE that choice. The Spirit will whisper, "stop now" or "go now," but it will only whisper it, and it's up to me to choose to hear!

I also recently read a quote about "believing blood" somewhere, about how some people are blessed to have an easier time believing, but we should also have compassion for others for whom it doesn't come as easily. This part of Elder Perry's talk reminded me of that:

I recognize that the challenges associated with having faith in Jesus Christ and obedience will be more difficult for some than others. I have had enough years of experience to know that the personalities of horses can be very different and, therefore, some horses can be easier or more difficult to train and that the variety of people is far greater. Each of us is a son or daughter of God, and we have a unique premortal and mortal story. Accordingly, there are very few one-size-fits-all solutions. And so I fully recognize the trial-and-error nature of life and, most importantly, the constant need of the second principle of the gospel, even repentance.

I'm sure this is true. For some reason, the belief that Heavenly Father and Jesus live and love me is almost a natural as breathing to me. I feel I have always known it. But still:

Strong, proactive obedience is anything but weak or passive. It is the means by which we declare our faith in God and qualify ourselves to receive the powers of heaven. Obedience is a choice. It is a choice between our own limited knowledge and power and God’s unlimited wisdom and omnipotence. According to the lesson my grandfather gave to me, it is a choice to sense the spiritual bit in our mouths and follow the driver’s lead.

Anyone can make that choice! And when we miss our moment, when we ignore the Spirit we know we should follow, we can repent and turn back, and choose a better obedience next time. I love knowing that.

It was the load

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Morning Session of the April 2014 Conference.

How can I even choose which talk to write about this week? Two of them are talks I've already returned to over and over. ("Grateful in Any Circumstance" by Elder Uchtdorf and "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease" by Elder Bednar.) When I look at them in the gospel library app they are full of my highlights and comments from multiple years. I seem to learn different things from them every time I read them. But, I guess this time I will focus on a few quotes from Elder Bednar.

As I've read his talk over the years, I've often wondered about these questions he tells us to ask ourselves:

“Is the load I am carrying producing the spiritual traction that will enable me to press forward with faith in Christ on the strait and narrow path and avoid getting stuck? Is the load I am carrying creating sufficient spiritual traction so I ultimately can return home to Heavenly Father?”

I've wondered about it because it seems that we largely do not determine our own loads! So what good does it do to ask ourselves if they are creating sufficient traction? Isn't it God who decides the trials and circumstances we must face? But I suppose some of it is what we’ve taken on ourselves—obligations or worries we need not have. Perhaps we could shed those. Or maybe some loads are sin and guilt, which we need not carry—but we do need to carry the load of honorable obligations, like our obligations to take care of our families.

On this reading I thought maybe the emphasis was on the "creating traction" part, though. Even if we don't choose what loads we carry (or we don't fully choose them), maybe we can choose the amount of "traction" they are giving us. I tried to think of ways we might do that. Maybe it means we choose to take on responsibilities and efforts that are spiritually helpful—like accepting callings and taking ministering assignments seriously, and choosing to form families and have children if we can, knowing that kind of "load" will definitely help us progress.

I also like the idea that choosing to love more people, allowing more people into the circle of those we care for and feel responsible for, would be a righteous increase of our individual loads and would surely generate more "traction." In President Monson's talk, he included a quote from President Kimball that I feel like I've been looking for my whole life. I've heard the idea in other talks but I didn't know there was a specific quote from a prophet about it:

We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and to serve. It will do us little good to speak of the general brotherhood of mankind if we cannot regard those who are all around us as our brothers and sisters.

Once I got to maybe my fourth or fifth baby, I started to glimpse the actual weight of the choice we were making to have more children. I realized how much more we were taking on than a few more years of diapers or a few more years of sleepless nights. And when you think of having stewardship over even more people than your own family, it's easy to get a little gun-shy and start to think, "I can't afford to care about any more people! It's too hard and there's too much potential for heartache!" But it's also clear that "the portion of mankind God has given us to love and serve" can constitute an important part of our individual traction-giving load (the "joyful burden of discipleship" I was just writing about recently)—if we accept it and choose to carry it willingly.

It also seems clear that carrying our load, whatever it is, with Jesus, will instantly give us more traction. Elder Bednar says, 

"In essence, the Savior is beckoning us to rely upon and pull together with Him, even though our best efforts are not equal to and cannot be compared with His. As we trust in and pull our load with Him during the journey of mortality, truly His yoke is easy and His burden is light."

I get a little frustrated with the idea of "share your burden with the Lord!" because it seems so nebulous HOW to do it! Just saying "I hereby cast my burden on the Lord!" doesn't work. But it's also probably simpler than it seems. Maybe we invite Him to share our load by telling Him about it in prayer. And we also do it by making covenants, as Elder Bednar explains here. Maybe sharing our burdens with Jesus also means trusting that already He is there bearing some of the weight, even when we can’t tell for sure because we still feel tired and heavy. I’m sure Jesus is already lightening my load in so many ways, but sometimes I don't appreciate it and thank Him.

Elder Bednar also says this:

As we are yoked with Him through sacred covenants and receive the enabling power of His Atonement in our lives, we increasingly will seek to understand and live according to His will. We also will pray for the strength to learn from, change, or accept our circumstances rather than praying relentlessly for God to change our circumstances according to our will.

That made me think about how we might gain "traction" while carrying our loads by deciding to act deliberately against the “natural man” and to surrender ease and comfort in favor of growth and knowledge. By thanking God for hard things. By trusting Him to turn all things for our good. By specifically asking the Elder Scott-ish questions of "What can I learn from this?" and "Is there more I can learn?" All those choices would lead us to more power through covenants, and therefore increase our ability to progress in becoming like God.

Your power to become

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood Session of the April 2014 Conference.

This was the priesthood session where President Oaks gave his wonderful talk "The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood" which has become such a fundamental part of how I understand my relationship to God's power and authority. I love that talk. But my quotes for today come from a different speaker, Elder Randall L. Ridd. He talks about the importance of our desires in shaping who we become, which is always a subject that has interested me. Elder Maxwell talked a lot about it. Maybe it was something he said that made me think the main purpose of education is to educate our desires—what we like, what fascinates us, what we wish for—so that we learn to want what God wants.

Elder Ridd brings up an interesting measure of desire:

The Internet also records your desires, expressed in the form of searches and clicks. There are legions waiting to fill those desires. As you surf the Internet, you leave tracks—what you communicate, where you have been, how long you have been there, and the kinds of things that interest you. In this way, the Internet creates a cyber profile for you—in a sense, your “cyber book of life.” As in life, the Internet will give you more and more of what you seek. If your desires are pure, the Internet can magnify them, making it ever easier to engage in worthy pursuits. But the opposite is also true.

Then he says:

My young brothers, if you are not proactive in educating your desires, the world will do it for you. Every day the world seeks to influence your desires, enticing you to buy something, click on something, play something, read or watch something. Ultimately, the choice is yours. You have agency. It is the power to not only act on your desires but also to refine, purify, and elevate your desires. Agency is your power to become. Each choice takes you closer to or further from what you are meant to become; each click has meaning. Always ask yourself, “Where will this choice lead?”

I love the idea that agency is our power to become. The question isn't whether we can change. It is what we will choose to change (or be changed?) into. 

Senior Pictures for Daisy

In April I took graduation photos for my niece who was graduating from BYU, and Daisy came with me as an assistant to help smooth windblown hair and cheer up fussy babies and so forth. (Sweet Parker was never fussy though, bless him.) While we were there I took some pictures of Daisy too, since she'll be a BYU Student herself come September!

"Seasons" ballet

 

You would think everyone would have been all balleted out after "Giselle," but the girls' studio did another show too because none of the youngest classes got to have parts in Giselle! This one was more of a recital format (loosely held together with the theme of "Seasons") and it was fun because the older girls could choose more of what they wanted to do, and Daisy got to do a "Senior Solo" since she is graduating this year! She danced a solo from "La Corsaire" and wore this beautiful costume. It was bittersweet to see her dancing her (probably) last solo! When we tried out ballet classes just for fun during the Pandemic, I never knew she would become such an accomplished dancer in just a few short years. This is a part of her life she'll be sad to leave behind!

Lots of good things that happened in May

We had a happy visit with "our sisters," our missionaries from Quebec, long since home and now one of them is even engaged (thwarting our plans to marry her off to Abe, grrr)

Snatches of life

 

Who are those hooligans running across the road as Sam and I drive off for our date night? And what are they running to? I'll tell you: it's a Lamborghini that was parked by someone's house. We told Teddy and Ziggy we'd seen it and they (and then of course Gus and Clementine too) went running off to see for themselves.

Find some way to trust them

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Afternoon Session of the April 2014 Conference.

Elder Scott's talk in this session was characteristically piercing. It was called "I have given you an example" but I'd summarize it more as being about How to guide and influence those we love (such a needed topic!).

Here are some little bits I liked:

• Both Grandmother Whittle and Jeanene loved me enough to share their conviction that the ordinances of the gospel and serving Father in Heaven would bless my life. Neither of them coerced me or made me feel bad about the person I was. They simply loved me and loved Father in Heaven. Both knew He could do more with my life than I could on my own.

• For so many in the world, the first challenge in accepting the gospel is to develop faith in a Father in Heaven, who loves them perfectly. It is easier to develop that faith when they have friends or family members who love them in a similar way.

• Sometimes we get so wrapped up in things that we find fascinating or become so consumed by mundane responsibilities that we lose sight of God’s objectives. As you consistently focus your life on the most basic principles, you will gain an understanding of what you are to do, and you will produce more fruit for the Lord and more happiness for yourself.

"Consumed by mundane responsibilities" is such an apt summary of my life sometimes, and I'm always worried it will become all there is for me. It's why I'm so anxious to find God and His purposes within the mundane, because those responsibilities aren't going away anytime soon. I think it's possible. But it takes focus and attention, and looking for meaning in small things. I like his advice to focus on basic principles: How is what I'm doing right now part of "bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"? How can I reframe my perspective to make sure I'm doing this thing to serve God's children and not just for temporal reasons?

• Remember, loving them is the powerful foundation for influencing those you want to help.

And this one has been the one I've thought about most:

• As a companion to that love, trust them. In some cases it may seem difficult to trust, but find some way to trust them. The children of Father in Heaven can do amazing things when they feel trusted. Every child of God in mortality chose the Savior’s plan. Trust that given the opportunity, they will do so again.

This is a fascinating concept—the idea of trusting someone's past self (or "real" self, perhaps?) to come through with the right choice in the end. And the thought that the act of trusting can produce miracles…not just trusting God but trusting others. It seems so unjustified sometimes! And I know we aren't supposed to put our faith in imperfect mortals. But I've been pondering how I can trust (in an active way) my children, and show them that I trust them. I love to consider that "given the opportunity" and the right understanding, they will choose the Savior's plan again!!

The joyful burden

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Morning Session of the April 2014 Conference.

Last Sunday a bunch of children got up in sacrament meeting and bore their testimonies. It wasn't coordinated or anything, it just happened to be so, and they all gave such cute little testimonies—not prompted by parents, but just short little sweet convictions: "I know Jesus loves me because he helped me when I broke my arm"—things like that. I knew I was feeling the Spirit during the meeting because I felt such hope and peace about the things I'm usually worrying about; this strong sense of "Everything is going to be okay; God is in charge and He's got everyone in His hands!"

I think that felt particularly good to me because in general, my current stage of life has me constantly feeling the opposite—like everything is complicated and messy and paradoxical and full of struggle. It's not that I don't usually feel like "everything is going to be okay," but it's more like "there is a bunch of stuff I didn't understand about how complex and thorny and stretching it is to walk the path of discipleship and get to the point where everything will be okay."

Two apostles talked about discipleship in this conference session, and you can tell from their talk titles that both of these perspectives are clear to them too: "The Cost—and Blessings—of Discipleship" and "The Joyful Burden of Discipleship." 

In the first talk, Elder Holland says

In addition to teaching, encouraging, and cheering people on (that is the pleasant part of discipleship), from time to time these same messengers are called upon to worry, to warn, and sometimes just to weep (that is the painful part of discipleship).

I am always looking for and hoping for the first part, and I do find it so often—that happy, satisfying feeling of loving and serving and fellowship where you think to yourself, "Ah! The gospel is so good!" And it is. But then at times when I'm weeping and thinking sadly, "Is there a single person in the world who isn't carrying a bunch of heavy burdens very few people know about?"… the other part rings so true too. And Elder Rasband has this reminder:

[Sustaining the prophet and the twelve apostles] is not a mere formality, nor is it reserved for those called to general service. To sustain our leaders is a privilege; it comes coupled with a personal responsibility to share their burden and to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course Jesus does give us rest from our burdens, but this burden—of aching for other people, of constantly worrying what to do, of being forced to stumble your way through complicated and unpleasant situations hoping to somehow do more good than harm—is not a burden we can lay down. I think I have been looking to lay it down sometimes. Of course I can share it with the Lord and with others! But I shouldn’t be seeking not to have it at all.

The hope comes, I guess, not from somehow closing our eyes and hoping the path will get easier, but from holding to that child-like conviction that "everything will be okay" even as we stumble along not feeling okay. President Eyring, in another talk from this session, talks about finding a way to do both:

I suggest that you take both the short and the long view as you try to give the inheritance of hope to your family. In the short run, there will be troubles and Satan will roar. And there are things to wait for patiently, in faith, knowing that the Lord acts in His own time and in His own way. 

There are things you can do early, when those you love are young. Remember that daily family prayer, family scripture study, and sharing our testimony in sacrament meeting are easier and more effective when children are young. Young children are often more sensitive to the Spirit than we realize.

When they are older, they will remember the hymns they sang with you. Even more than recalling music, they will remember the words of scripture and testimony. The Holy Ghost can bring all things to their remembrance, but the words of scriptures and hymns will last the longest. Those memories will exert a pull that may bring them back when they wander for a time, possibly for years, from the pathway home to eternal life. 

We will need the long view when those we love feel the pull of the world and the cloud of doubt seems to overwhelm their faith. We have faith, hope, and charity to guide us and to strengthen them.

It's easy to feel despair when I think about all the cute testimony-bearing children, "Yes, but what happens in a few years when you forget or reject these sweet little experiences you're having now?" But Elder Eyring promises those things will still be inside them! And Elder Holland also ends on a hopeful note:

[The path of Christian discipleship] is a strait path, and it is a narrow path without a great deal of latitude at some points, but it can be thrillingly and successfully traveled, “with … steadfastness in Christ, … a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.” In courageously pursuing such a course, you will forge unshakable faith, you will find safety against ill winds that blow, even shafts in the whirlwind, and you will feel the rock-like strength of our Redeemer, upon whom if you build your unflagging discipleship, you cannot fall.

I do want to walk the path of discipleship. And I want to do it with optimism and courage even when the cost or the burden is greater than I'd anticipated. If Elder Holland, Elder Rasband, and Elder Eyring can do it, hopefully I can too!

Nothing we wouldn't willingly do

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Relief Society Session of the October 2013 Conference.

After talking to some friends who are struggling in their marriages recently, I was pondering what keeps us going when we feel like nothing we do is really working. I've felt it with motherhood so many times, and with trying to improve myself, and at times in my own marriage too. Those times when you're just tired, and you're discouraged, and you sort of feel like you should keep trying but you also can't seem to make yourself want to. It's so hard to be in that place. But I was thinking about how one of the only answers I've found is just to keep trying because I love Jesus. I know what He's done for me. I can't forget it. So if I can keep my love for Him as my motivation, it helps with that feeling of "but what's the point? Nothing makes a difference!" If I try to serve my family or my neighbors for Jesus, it doesn't matter as much how they respond to me or even if my efforts are "successful" or not. It just feels satisfying to do something I know Jesus would want me to do.

This quote from Sister Linda K Burton's talk reminded me of that: 

“If we fully appreciated the many blessings which are ours through the redemption made for us, there is nothing that the Lord could ask of us that we would not anxiously and willingly do.” According to this statement by President Joseph Fielding Smith, covenant keeping is one way to express our love for the incomprehensible, infinite Atonement of our Savior and Redeemer and the perfect love of our Father in Heaven.

He is mighty to save

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Afternoon Session of the October 2013 Conference.

This week I was struck by this quote from Elder Quentin L. Cook's talk:

God intended that men and women would be free to make choices between good and evil. When evil choices become the dominant characteristic of a culture or nation, there are serious consequences both in this life and the life to come. People can become enslaved or put themselves in bondage not only to harmful, addictive substances but also to harmful, addictive philosophies that detract from righteous living.

I remember hearing somewhere that one of the reasons the Lord sent the flood at Noah's time was that the people on earth were so wicked that children coming to them had basically no choice to be righteous anymore. I don't know if that is the whole reason, but this quote reminded me of that, and made me wonder—are we at that point now? We must not be, quite. Surely there are many righteous people on earth teaching their children good and righteous things. Still, I feel discouraged sometimes at how much it feels like "evil choices have become the dominant characteristic" of our world too. Our children have—not NO chance—but it seems such a slim chance of being able to escape those harmful, dominant worldly philosophies.

But of course, as always, Jesus is the answer. Elder Cook reminds us:

Our challenge is to avoid bondage of any kind, help the Lord gather His elect, and sacrifice for the rising generation. [But] we must always remember that we do not save ourselves. We are liberated by the love, grace, and atoning sacrifice of the Savior. When Lehi’s family fled, they were led by the Lord’s light. If we are true to His light, follow His commandments, and rely on His merits, we will avoid spiritual, physical, and intellectual bondage as well as the lamentation of wandering in our own wilderness, for He is mighty to save.

I need to remember that no matter how bad things get, if we are determined to follow Jesus, His light will be enough—for us, for our obedient children, for our disobedient children, for our neighbors, for everyone. His plan is good enough. It takes into account our day and our challenges. Jesus is mighty to save, and He wants to save, and He will save everyone who has the desire for good somewhere in their hearts.

People Doing Notable Things

Of course, Malachi is always doing great things. But one particularly great one was that he won first place at his final Speech and Debate tournament in oratory. Sam and I went to hear the last several rounds and had to concur that he really was the best! 😄 From a very good field, I might add. There were about 250 competitors in just the oratory category (which is writing and then giving an 8-10 minute speech entirely from memory). I loved Malachi's speech about facing in to the people close to you rather than facing outward to an "imaginary audience" (it wove in all kinds of surprising connections and metaphors; I can't do it justice in a summary) and was just so impressed with his maturity and thoughtfulness. He is so smart. Such a deep thinker. And he works so hard.

Even more impressive was the fact that he kept competing in debate tournaments this year at all, since he was also a full-time student at BYU! He came back home from college on Thursdays to be T.A. for his debate program in spite of a busy college schedule. He really is quite remarkable. He even got ranked 3rd overall (out of a huge group…over a thousand, I think) for his performance in tournaments all year long! It was fun to cheer him on and see the huge, screaming, standing ovation he got from his peers. I suppose it was a "high school graduation" of sorts for him and I'm glad he got to pause and have that celebratory, look-back-over-what-you've-learned kind of milestone, even though he has technically already moved ahead to the next stage.

———

Malachi also went to Prom with cute Jordan (did he go to every dance with her this year? I believe he did…) and they made a very handsome couple! The mom who was supposed to take their group's pictures couldn't come at the last minute, so Malachi took them himself, and boy did he not let anyone forget it. He was praising his own photography skills to the skies for the next several weeks. (He had someone else actually click the camera shutter on these pictures of himself, but still claimed all the credit, naturally.)

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The next notable thing is that Junie turned 15, which, granted, she could not help—but she's such a good 15-year-old, she should surely get some credit. She has already had several driving lessons from Sam, and drove me around to several stores grocery shopping the other day without me even fearing for my life once! Her birthday was quite a Day O' Fun, because it was on a Tuesday (which is our Math Class and Field Trip day) and we had to stay in Provo all day so we'd be there to take graduation pictures for my niece and her family in the evening. So, we met Sam and went to Cafe Rio for lunch…

…and played games with my mom at her house…

…and went to the Provo Rec Center and swam (the place was practically deserted on a Tuesday afternoon)…

(Clementine acted just like one of the big kids and wasn't scared a bit on the waterslides!)

…and then we had a picnic dinner in the park with my brother and sister-in-law and nieces! Chicken salad and flavored milks (from Gossner Foods, of course) and rainbow jello and clementines and oatmeal lemon bars. So all that was fun.

But THEN of course Junie still wanted her "real" birthday dinner at home, so we had that the night before, and she wanted to watch Pride and Prejudice so we did THAT the night after…and of course we had to make little treats for watching such a long movie (gyoza and cucumber sandwiches and cracker dip and flourless chocolate cake)…so, all in all, I think it was more like three birthdays Junie had this year. Which would make her 17. Which sounds just about right (and she would be pleased to beat Daisy to it).

After such eventful birthday festivities, one might be forgiven for falling asleep in the chair next to one's sister!

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We had an Etiquette Unit for school, and at the end of it I promised lunch out somewhere fancy to practice our excellent manners. We went to a buffet at a hotel up in Salt Lake City, and it was fancy and expensive, so definitely an out-of-the-ordinary event! The children acquitted themselves nicely. They thanked the waiter every time he appeared in the vicinity, waited politely in the buffet lines, used the correct silverware, and made pleasant conversation. A random guy at another table came over specifically to tell me "Your kids are so well-behaved!" and I was quite pleased…since that was the very reason for which we had come! Ha!

Yum, look at the pastries!

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Teddy's on a neighborhood track team this spring, so we got to go to a track meet! It has been a while. I forgot how long (and boring, haha) they are. It always seems to take forever to get to the event you're waiting for! I took the younger kids and hoped we'd be home after just a couple hours. Ha! Silly of me. Teddy was fun to watch, though! He ran the 100 m. and the 800 m.

We saw a baby of our acquaintance, and played with him. Cute little Alfie!

Clementine ran down the hill many times, and one of the times she didn't so much run as…fall. She got quite a scrape on her head and nose. (She wanted me to take this picture so she could inspect her wounds and determine how sad to be about them.)

Yay for Teddy!

The afternoon quite wore us all out!

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Lastly, here is Clementine's friend Luna with the little loaf of bread Clementine made for her…

…a picture Clementine drew…

…and another picture Clementine drew! (Ballet dancers, Clementine and Gus on the swings, and Clementine and Evie eating ice cream.)