Christ and His Teachings are Living Water

Jesus Christ is Living Water

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." --John 7:37

Nick Came to repair the junction box, or cistern if you will, outside my apartment. It

had been leaking for some time, cracked, and causing a lot of mud. Here, he had dug around it, was covered in dirt and still smiling. It took hours. I thanked him for his good work and asked permission to take his picture.

Elder Bruce McConkie defined living water as "the words of eternal life, the message of salvation, the truths about God and His Kingdom; it is the doctrines of the gospel. Where there are prophets of God, there will be found rivers of living water, wells filled with eternal truths, springs bubbling forth their life-giving drafts that save from spiritual death"

Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, vol.3 (1965-73 Bookcraft, Salt Lake City) 1:151-52

We have living prophets on earth today and may drink deeply of the waters that stream from their words during conference talks, BYU devotionals, temple dedications, church publications and devotionals or firesides.

We can become cisterns for this living water. As we partake of the sacramental bread we remember His body and commit to keeping His commandments and as we drink of the water, to remember His blood. This is done with the promise to always remember Him. Our body becomes that vessel to be filled with the gospel of Jesus Christ and doing His will. 

Beginning 24 days of Christmas Countdown

My Spiritual Eyeglasses Moment

An Epiphany 

There was that moment in time

When I knew Him, perfectly.

My mind did not analyze and logic never entered the equation,

Yet there was an equal sign, a balance, a solution.

The universe as I knew it changed perceptibly at that moment.

It was a capitalized and singularly unique moment.

Quietly talking in prayer and sharing hearts,

He whispered in my ear.

His voice walked into my soul and touched a switch.

The light changed; it became crystal clear.

It was the kind of clearness that your reading glasses give

  after a good wipe with a soft cloth and a quiet huff.

Then you put them on after struggling to see, then remember,

  "Oh, yes, ...my glasses."

It was that kind of remembering, that clear moment,

  that looked into eternity.

I knew who I was, that I was loved and that He

  would never give up on me.

His strength empowered me to become His disciple.

I will always remember Him.

I knew Him fully in that moment, forever.

----Beverly E. Field 2022

Reflections on Blogging and Journaling

Blogging and Journaling

public and private

REMEMBERING: A Sacred priesthood responsibility

Wilford Woodruff began keeping a day book or journal shortly after his conversion in 1833 continuing until his death in 1898, filling thirty-one such day books and journals. For Elder Woodruff the writing of a diary was inherent in ordination to the priesthood. As an avid student of the past, he recognized that the story of God's dealings with mankind could not be written without the records of eyewitnesses. Now all of his work is digitized and being studied in "The Wilford Woodruff Papers" project. Much of what we know from exact wording to events in the first decades of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is found in Woodruff's journals.

I have about 20 journals so far; 
I'm not a Woodruff, but I am obedient

President Henry B. Eyring (Oct 2007 General Conference) spoke about personally keeping a written record even if it falls short of being a full-fledged journal--creating the opportunity for remembering the specific manifestations of the Lord's hand in our lives-- He would ponder the occurrences of the day and ask himself, "Have I seen the hand of the God reaching out to touch us or our children or family today?" He recalled something special began to happen. As he remembered the day he saw evidence of God's work that he'd been too busy to recognize.

"Trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done."

Bishop Frank D. Gibson, McCullough Hills Ward, Henderson, Nevada emphasized a windfall of blessings that come from keeping a journal. "Everyone should be a student of their own life and your journal is your workbook. You write it as you go along, page by page." He said, "If you're going to make progress in any aspect of life, you have to keep track of that progress and you have to keep track of it somewhere!" "I think," he continued, "that a journal as a workbook is a way to hold yourself accountable without having to talk it over with somebody else: you can talk it over with your journal" privately.      --Church News Week ending January 2, 2010

Whether it's a loose-leaf binder, index cards, 

or a note in a cell phone app, stay flexible. 

Do what works for you!

JUST REMEMBER TO REMEMBER

Posted in remembrance of the 

life of my inspiring friend Cecelia Welch

who passed away Nov. 17, 2022. 

Cecelia was the person who encouraged me to write a blog to publicly share what we'd in discussed in private, about patriarchal blessings, journal keeping, family history research and personal stories. She insisted that one person could quietly influence many, many others, even worldwide, as they search for truths, and as the Holy Ghost testifies.

Blogging is Public

Journaling is Private

 

 My mother on her scooter she rode when I was born. 

Now, I will be able to see me and my family when I was 6 in the 1950 US Census that will be available after Ancestry and FamilySearch volunteers index it. Ancestry has developed amazing technology that will scan each page and with truly unique, revolutionary software read the handwriting of the census takers. 

This will then be made available to volunteers around the world to look up, then correct any errors for any given enumeration district. I happen to know exactly where I lived in Los Angeles County, so it will be a cinch for me to find ME

These two women are amazing! While going to RootsTech's various Virtual Vendor Websites, I found Family Locket Genealogists  and their tips on "How to Research Like a Pro," another on DNA and another on how to organize your files and photos. Cool. You can watch their short video on YouTube at the link above.

 Did I say I'm developing a Research Plan by watching RootsTech 2022?

Well, here was my FIRST PLAN. My mother worked at Lockheed in Burbank, CA as a draftsman during WWII. This was my birth announcement. 

Now I've discovered Ancestral Quest's free version of software that interfaces with my FamilySearch family tree like PAF used to. I've used Legacy and RootsMagic, but they don't think like I do. So I've uninstalled them and have nothing now on my hard drive. Hmmmm maybe it's time to rethink having my own private version/software on my computer.

This Girl Detective is on the Hunt!!!! I am searching for my ancestors who are end of line mysteries, by watching RootsTech 2022 a Virtual Event with lots of Virtual Vendors and over hundreds of sessions. 

Also, I've just signed up to discover where my parents lived in Pasadena, California by volunteering to index the 1950 US Census that will be released on April 1, 2022.