Monday, December 10, 2012

Grandpa Stamper


Billie James Stamper

I was born the 10th of June, 1946 in a house near Crum, West Virginia.  My father’s name was Billie Stamper. My mother’s name is Maxine. Her maiden name was Edsall. My father was not continually employed until 1951 when he secured employment as a carpenter at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. My family was very poor and moved often from shack to shack in places near where I was born. My brother Steve was born during this time, and so was my sister Bonnie. Bonnie Died shortly after birth.
In 1951 my father moved his family to Detroit, Michigan where he rented the upstairs flat from his brother Paul. It was in Detroit where I first attended public school in kindergarten. During that summer before starting school, my younger brother, Steve, lost two of his toes while riding a chain driven tricycle. One day my brother Gary dropped me while we were playing doctor. The fall broke my upper left arm. Our stay in Detroit was not long. My father moved his us back to West Virginia. The school I began attending was Crum High School. Everyone that attended school, regardless of the grade, attended that school. Because there was not quite enough room for all the small children to meet in the two story sandstone school house, first and second grades met in the basement of a church about a block away. I attended first grade and then second grade two times. I was in love with Mrs. Little, my teacher. My brother, Rick, had failed the second grade and my parents did not want him to feel bad so they asked the school to hold me back so he and I were not in the same grade together. We had great fun playing in the hills that surrounded our little red roofed house.
My brother, Danny, and sister Brenda, were born during this time.
My father had purchased a white house that had a red roof from a local store owner named Carl Little, and it was in a location that got flooded from the Spring rains and snow melt nearly every year. Dad continued to work and live in Michigan while visiting us in West Virginia. I remember sitting by the highway waiting for him to come home. At first, he came on a regular basis. After a while, he stopped coming so often. We lived there for about three years and dad moved us to Michigan again. This time to Taylor, a small town located about 25 miles southwest of Detroit. We lived on Mary Street. My dad had purchased the house from my mother’s father, Allen Edsall. My dad did not always keep up the payments which strained their relationship.
I attended the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades while living on Mary Street in Taylor. My parents were dysfunctional and rarely provided guidance or emotional support. As a child, I was left primarily on my own to do as I pleased. My sixth grade teacher was named Mr. Spears. He was also the sports coach. I played football for him.  At the end of the season my school, Fairlane Elementary, played a bigger school, Blair Moody Elementary, for the championship. We played well but lost to a larger school.
My father was not a faithful husband. He and my mother had many arguments while we lived on Mary Street in Taylor. During the summer vacation after the sixth grade and after a rather violent fight, my mother left us. She has since told me that if she had not left, she would have killed my father and would have ended up in jail. That was part of her reasoning for leaving her family. Since my dad needed to work, and had no one to watch after his children, he moved us to live with his parents, Fred and Martha Stamper, in West Virginia. I was back at Crum High School and starting the seventh grade. At the Christmas break, my dad came and got us and moved us back to Michigan, this time to Dearborn. He had a girlfriend, Jeanne Williams. She was divorced and had four children. Dad was not divorced. Roxanne, my oldest sister married after mom left and before we moved back to West Virginia. Gary, my oldest brother, joined the Marine Corp, and never lived with the rest of us again after the separation of my parents. Gary died of leukemia when he was twenty one years old.
I completed the seventh grade at a Junior High School in Dearborn, started and completed part of the eighth grade and during the Christmas break, my father moved us and his new family to McGuire Street in Taylor, Michigan where I completed the eighth and ninth grades. The children in the neighborhood met at the corner of Beech Daly and Eureka Road to ride the bus to school. It was at the bus stop that I first met the girl, Cheryl Eberts, who would become my wife. It took a little while but we started “going together”. The school I attended was called Brake Junior High School. While at Brake I learned how to pole vault for the track team. I was very fast for short distances but not for the long run. That was okay for pole vaulting, but when I tried out for the football team, the only position the coach would let me play was fullback. Although fast at short distances, I was pretty small. Fullbacks are normally pretty big. You can guess how many times the coach let me play in a game. Another thing happened while I was at Break Jr. H.S., I found out that I liked to read novels and often checked out books by Walter Farley who wrote about horses.
After finishing the ninth grade, I began attending Taylor Center High School. I got in a fight the first day. The fight was more of a standoff than a brawl. The vice principle came out and drug me inside with warnings. It wasn’t my fault but that did not matter to him. I continued to be part of the track team and my pole vaulting skills improved. After finishing half of the eleventh grade, I moved to Columbus, Ohio to live with my mother. I also continued to be on the track team. At the finals for all the track teams in the Columbus area, I won the pole vault championship for vaulting 11 feet 6 inches. They gave me a gold colored metal belt buckle. I kept the belt buckle for a long time until it became very tarnished and I threw it away.
When school was over, I moved back to Michigan. I started working at a pizza place called LaRiveria in Allen Park. My soon to be wife was not involved with anyone and we started seeing each other again. I turned 18 that summer and in August applied for a job at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan, the same place where my father continued to work. I never finished high school; the money was too good to quit. On the 27th of February 1965, Cheryl and I were married at a Methodist church on Eureka Road in Taylor, Michigan. When I saw Cheryl in her wedding dress, I was so stressed I didn’t know what to say. Before the minister could finish asking me if I would take her for my wife, I said yes, and then had to wait until he finished the sentence before I could say yes again. We got about a foot of snow the day before the wedding. The Minister wanted 5 dollars for the ceremony. I thought my dad was paying for it, he never did. I have often thought about that and have felt guilty many times. Once, many years later, I tried to get in touch with the minister but he had retired and lived in another state. The workers running the day care center at the church would not give me his address.
Misschelle was born 9 months after the wedding. Almost two years later, Carrie came along. Then Danae and Holly were born. Cheryl could not have any more children, and since we wanted more, we adopted David, then Todd, and finally Ryan.
When Cheryl and I were first married, we lived in a little rental house on Beech Daly in Taylor. Next we moved to another rental house in Dearborn Heights. I quit Ford Motor Company and we moved to Columbus, Ohio where my uncle Freddy got me a job at a small machine shop. We were there for only 6 months when we moved back to Michigan and lived with Cheryl’s parents. I got a job back at Ford’s working in the skilled trades program as a welder apprentice. We purchased a house on Daniels St. in the Northwest part of Taylor. That was where we lived when Carrie, Danae, and Holly were born. In March of 1972 we moved to a larger house on Gibraltar Rd. in Flat Rock. I continued to work at Ford Motor Company until retirement in October 1994. Flat Rock was a good place to raise our children and we have good memories of living there. At the end of October 1994 we moved to Grace, Idaho. Carrie and her husband Mark lived there and on a previous visit we had purchased 40 acres of property. We lived with Mark and Carrie until the following spring. I worked through the winter building a house for us to live in. We moved into the apartment above the garage and I continued to work on the main part of the building.
We sold the house in 1999 and moved to Cary, North Carolina where I began working as an instructor at Wake Technical Community College. After 4 years, we purchased a new home in Clayton, NC. We have lived in Clayton until the present. It is now November 2012 and I continue to work at the college. We like to visit our children in places where they live. We now have 22 grandchildren, of which, two grandsons, Tyler and Nick, have served missions for the church, and one granddaughter, Danae’s daughter Maddie, who is married.
We joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints while living on Daniels St. in Taylor, Michigan. That was in 1968. We have lived in many wards and stakes and have found the church is pretty much the same no matter where it is organized.











My Wonderful Grandmother


Cheryl Diann Eberts

I was born the 2nd of November 1947. I was the middle child. My sister, Kay, was 6 and ½ years older than me. My brother, Earl, was 2 years younger. I was born in Wellston, Ohio. My mom was a homemaker; my dad drove a truck hauling coal. When I was three, my family moved to Romeo, Michigan. We lived in a trailer park. I attended kindergarten there. We then moved to Taylor, Michigan. I attended 1st grade there and my dad worked for Ford Motor Company. He drove truck for them. I attended 2nd grade through 6th grade at Eurekadale elementary school. Eurekadale was a 4 room school and it was about 2 and ½ blocks from my house, so I walked to school every day and came home at lunch time to eat. Sometimes I would watch Soupy Sales, a fun kid show. About 1957, my dad was laid off from work and my mom had to go to work. She worked at the Hi Restaurant as a short order cook. I was young and didn’t know how poor we were. It was hard times for my parents. My dad would drink and was not good to be around. When I was 12 or 13, I met grandpa. He was a new boy in our neighborhood. I thought he was very cute. We dated and got married. About 3 years after we were married, we found the church. Besides grandpa, the church was the greatest blessing for me. It helped me to be a good wife and mother and person. I thank Heavenly Father for the gospel in my life. I have wonderful children who have raised great children.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

My Financial Plan


My Financial Goals


2 years
        Pay off $7000 of School Debt.
        Have 1000 dollars in savings
        Have a small personal business (I don't want to share my business idea.)
        Have one child.

            Strategy
            Make and follow a monthly budget.  Never miss a month.
            Network
            Find and Qualify for good paying internships. I want the one in California.
            Continue being frugal in my expenditures.
            Spend money on assets and things that can produce income.
            Save a bit of money to start the business.
           
5years
        Enter into a 401K plan with my future job.
        Have 5000 dollars in savings.
        Grow the business.
        Make around $70,000 a year from full-time job and business.
        Invest 1000 dollars in an SP 500 mutual fund.
        Have another car for my wife and me.
        Have 2 Children

            Strategy
            Continue to follow a monthly budget.  Never miss a month.
            Continue being frugal in my expenditures.
            Obtain a job as a Long Term Facility Head Manager or CEO.
            Pray for revelation as to which lot to buy and which business opportunities to take.           

10 years
        Buy a lot and start building a home on it.
        Make 90,000 or more dollars a year
        Invest into college plans for children.
        Have 4 children
        Take out a loan for a $150,000 house ( I estimate that the payment will be 800 dollars a month)

            Strategy
            Continue to follow a monthly budget.  Never miss a month.
            Continue being frugal in my expenditures.
            Move up to a new position at work because of hard and smart work.

40 years
        Be ready to retire and serve the Lord on missions with my beautiful wife.
        Invest enough money to retire with 70,000 a year just from interest.
        Have a beautiful home with gardens and greenhouses.

Strategy
Live the word of wisdom
Invest larger amounts into the 401K and make sure the company has a match up to 5%.


My Personal Mission Statement


My Mission Statement


My Mission Statement = Become like God


1.       God is perfect in all of his relationships and roles.

2.       He has developed attributes that bring a fullness of joy and power.


The most important thing to God is humankind.  His mission statement is, “For behold, this is my work and my glory – to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
He deals perfectly with all people, even with himself.  In order to be perfect in all of his relationships and roles, God must always live in harmony with his personal values which are built upon the eternal principles of goodness and happiness.  He has developed the attributes that bring a fullness of joy and power.
1. My desire is to emulate my Eternal Father’s example and become perfect in all my relationships   and roles by following eternal principles of goodness and happiness. 
2. I also desire to develop the attributes that bring a fullness of joy and power.
This mission statement is a tool to use with planning.  It does not explain all the action that is needed to accomplish the vision.  It is a compass.  It will be a lifetime process and take regular planning to achieve the mission.




Organization:   Relationships, Roles, Attributes, Eternal Principles


I.                    Relationships to perfect
      
Relationships with:
             
1.       God
2.       Myself and Spouse
3.       Children
4.       Parents/Brothers and Sisters
5.       Ancestors
6.       Other

II.                  Roles to perfect

A.      Eternal Roles (in order of importance)

1.       Son of God
2.       Personal Master
3.       Husband
4.       Father
5.       Son
6.       Brother

B.      Temporal Roles (in order of importance)

Because these are temporal roles they are ever changing


1.       Home teacher
2.       Elders quorum instructor
3.       Student
4.       Member of Healthcare Administration Society
5.       Rexburg citizen
6.       U.S. Citizen
7.       Resident of planet Earth

III.                Attributes to develop  (schedule study and practice of values)

A.      Faith
B.      Hope
C.      Charity and Love
D.      Virtue
E.       Knowledge
F.       Patience
G.     Humility
H.      Diligence
I.        Obedience

IV.                Eternal principles, important to me, I seek to live by in order to develop perfect relationships and become like God. (These are not all inclusive but the principles I will focus on.)

-Always remember Jesus Christ.
-Draw near to the Lord and he will draw near to me.
-God and family are first.
-People are the most important.  Never let anything take precedence over them. 
-Remember that all people are gods in embryo.

-Keep my covenants and stand in holy places.
-Lock the door to sin and walk away from the window where sin may be seen.
-Pray always and plead for guidance from the Holy Ghost.
-Desire and ask for the best of blessings from the Almighty.
-Remember the priesthood is the power of God.  Use the priesthood to bless those in need and never do anything to discredit it.

-As a man thinketh so is he.  Fill my mind with positive, enabling, and hopeful thoughts.
-Be proactive.  Shape your world and carry your own weather.
-Believe that anything is possible with God’s help.
-Plan regularly or plan to fail.  Plan each week and always keep the big picture in mind.
-Be prepared so you may cast out fear.

-Be honest in my dealings with my fellowman.
-Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
-Protect those not present from destructive speech.
-Identify and develop talents, then use them for the good of all.
-Contribute to my community and country in the best ways I can.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Ebenezer Beesley

I'm learning about my great, great, great grandpa Ebenezer Beesley.  What a wonderful experience to learn about one my my ancestors who has shaped a large part of my life's circumstances today.  Also, it is neat to think about how his blood flows through my veins. Here is a basic overview of his life from Wikipedia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebenezer_Beesley


I also listened to this 30 minute audio clip about his life and some of the music he has produced.

This information I obtained from Find A Grave

Ebenezer Beesley
Birth: Dec. 14, 1840, England
Death: Mar. 21, 1906
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake County
Utah, USA

Heart Throbs of the West, Kate B. Carter, Vol. 2, p. 152

Succeeding Professor Careless as leader of the choir came Ebenezer Beesley. In addition to leading the choir for nine years, he compiled and published many of the early pioneer songs. Among those published were compositions by Eliza R. Snow, Tullidge, W. W. Phelps, William Clayton, Charles W. Penrose and others. Thus, another famous pioneer musician made a valuable contribution to the arts of Utah.

Ebenezer Beesley Space does not permit naming of the hundreds of beautiful singers who were trained under the leadership of these men, but they gave freely of their talents, singing songs of praise and joy, as well as leading in the social functions of the day.

It was a custom in those early days for the musicians, bands and singers to serenade leaders and friends on special occasions—Christmas, New Years, on birthdays. Many are the stories told of the joy and gladness brought to the different homes as the singers came to the doors or windows and lifted their voices in congratulations to their friends.

Conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir 1880-1889. He married Sarah Hancock in 1859 in England and later Anne Frewik April 19, 1869 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Ebenezer Beesley    Ebenezer Beesley
Additional information sent May 1012: Ebenezer's first wife had 10 children: Ebenezer Jr., William Henry, Frederick, Adelbert,
Ella, Lorenzo, Alvin Augustus, Franklin, Amy Susannah,Sarah "Sadie" Emily. The
2nd wife's name is Annie Frewin Buckeridge had 6 children: Truman John, Willard George,
Frances Caroline, Clarissa Alice, Alma Frewin, Wilford Angus. Thank you I am a 2nd great
grand daughter. Nina Nicol Groth


Family links:
Parents:
Alvin Augustus Beesley (1873 - 1940)

Spouses:
Sarah Hancock Beesley (1840 - 1921)
Anna Frewin Buckeridge Beesley (1845 - 1907)

Children:
Frederick Beesley (1864 - 1940)*
Ella Beesley Ridges (1868 - 1935)*
Truman John Beesley (1871 - 1871)*
Willard George Beesley (1873 - 1880)*
Frances Caroline Beesley (1875 - 1880)*
Amy Susannah Beesley Lee (1878 - 1959)*
Alma Frewin Beesley (1880 - 1882)*
Sarah Emily Beesley Everett (1881 - 1936)*
Wilford Angus Beesley (1883 - 1945)*

*Calculated relationship


Burial:
Salt Lake City Cemetery
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake County
Utah, USA
Plot: J 18 10 E52

Created by: Dale E. Caplin
Record added: May 30, 2008
Find A Grave Memorial# 27200438

I was able to find some cool information on he and his wife Sarah check it out.  

Eighth Company (1859)
EBENEZER BEESLEY (1841 - 25 Mar 1906), J-18-10-1-ES2
He was born December 14, 1840, at Bicester, Oxfordshire, England. As a very small child he exhibited unusual musical talent and often joined his parents in singing with the Wesleyan Methodist Choir when it practiced at his parents' home.
The Beesleys joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England, where Ebenezer was baptized September 22, 1849, by Elder Thomas Tanner. The family emigrated to the Salt Lake Valley in 1859 in the George Rowley handcart company. Ebenezer had married Sarah Hancock in 1859 before leaving England.
                                 Original Mormon Handcart used in 1866 at Mormon Museum. Salt Lake City, UT.                            
What a honeymoon! Ebenezer Beesley, trudging behind the crossbar of the clumsy handcart, pushed away at the front of the vehicle while his lovely bride, still wearing her wedding dress, helped by pushing at the rear of the cart. In the cart were piled all of their earthly possessions plus an elderly lady who was unable to walk the long distance across the plains and mountains. The Beesley couple were young, healthy and had no children so they were best able to take the invalid sister in their cart, reasoned the organizers of the pioneer handcart company. Sometimes when the pulling was easy and he had breath for it, Ebenezer would break into song in his rich bass voice. He loved to sing. In camp at night, he would entertain the company with his flute. He couldn't play his violin for them, someone had stepped on it aboard ship.
                                         
They spent the first eighteen months after their arrival in Tooele, where he conducted the ward choir. Moving to Salt Lake City, they settled in the Nineteenth Ward, where he led the choir and conducted the singing for Sunday School. As was the custom, the choir leader made copies of the music until the Church authorities "called" the Juvenile Instructor to print the music for choir conductors. Beesley organized and prepared the music for the printer.
This young musician extended his talents by studying the violin under Professor Charles J. Thomas. He later devoted his efforts to learning harmony and taking advanced violin training under Professor George Careless. He joined the Salt Lake Theater orchestra where he performed for many years. Mr. Beesley was instrumental in compiling his own hymns and anthems as well as those of contemporary composers. He supervised the compiling and publishing of the Deseret Sunday School Songbook and the Latter-day Saint Psalmody, aided by Professors George Careless, Joseph J. Daynes, Evan Stephens and Thomas C. Griggs.
Beesley became the Tabernacle Choir's 7th conductor in 1880, and held that position for 9 years.
After retiring from the Tabernacle choir, Brother Beesley, by invitation of Bishop Thomas Atkins, of Tooele city, moved again to that quiet little town for the purpose of training the choir and teaching music. He remained there four and a half years, then removed to Lehi, Utah county, where he followed the same line of work for two years. Both the Lehi and Tooele choirs performed in the Tabernacle in 1898 where they received first (Tooele) and second prizes at the Eisteddfod competition. He was presented with a gold medal on that occasion.
Beesley established the Beesley Music Company and was captain of the martial band of the second regiment of the Nauvoo Legion.
                        Violin
Ebenezer played the violin, viola, cello, and fife. Music written by Professor Beesley and published in the LDS hymnbooks includes "High on the Mountain Top," words by Joel H. Johnson; "School Thy Feelings, O My Brother," words by Charles W. Penrose; "Kind Words Are Sweet Tones of the Heart," and "Reverently and Meekly Now," words by James L. Townsend; "Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words to Each Other," "Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning," "Sing We Now at Parting," "Tis Sweet to Sing the Matchless Love," "God of Our Fathers, We Come Unto Thee," and "Lord, We Ask Thee Ere We Part." Authors included Eliza R. Snow, Tullidge, W. W. Phelps, William Clayton, Charles W. Penrose and others At least one hundred songs were written to the beautiful music composed by this fine musician.
Professor Ebenezer Beesley died in Salt Lake City March 21, 1906. Many of his descendants have also become noted musicians.

SARA BEESLEY (1840 - 29 May 1921), J-18-10-3-ES2
Four persons were assigned to each handcart carrying 200 pounds of flour. Mr. Beesley carried his violin and the Saints gathered at night around the fire to sing and listen. Finally, they got so hungry there were no more good times].
They tried sleeping in the tents, but everyone was in each other's way. Instead, they slept on the ground within the encircling handcarts with someone guarding the night. It if rained, they slept under the handcarts. It was never cold enough to be a problem, but the summer was hot and they suffered from heat, wind and dust.
The handcarts were made with handle bars, front and back, and high wheels. The wheels were to be used later in the valley for wagons. Sand was often to the hubs, and in water, the carts often washed down-stream.
In order to cross the Platte the first time, ten or twelve locked arms and waded in formation like a cordon across the current. The flour was carried by the men on their shoulders. Along the way when an ox was worn out and killed, the people would sit up all night watching for a piece of meat they could have.
Sarah picked as many wild rose berries (shaped like a pear only smaller) as she could and ate them. They were soft and fluffy inside and had a sour taste, but they could be chewed for a long time.
They said that every man ate a peck of dirt before he died and she felt she ate hers all behind the handcarts. They were literally on the point of starvation before they reached Green River. At Green River they met some rough mountaineers who took pity on them and invited them to breakfast which all attended who could. The squaws cooked the breakfast and fed them whiskey and milk in gourds and bread or cake cooked in kettles over a fire. One Scots girl stayed with them because a mountaineer offered her a home; her legs were in such condition she could not travel. There was no real trouble with Indians and the Indians saved their lives with food at various times.
A company from Salt Lake met them at the Green River which saved their lives. When they reached Emigration Canyon, they were met by the band and escorted into the city. After entering the city, they went down to the High School Square where they dropped their luggage and the handcarts were wheeled away.



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

What is a book of remembrance?


       I'm doing this because of an assignment in school. I think it is a fabulous idea and I am totally invested in it but, I realized I didn't have the best understanding of what a book of remembrance really was, so I did a bit of digging. Here is what I found.





Encyclopedia of Mormonism


Author: Gardner, Cynthia M.


From antiquity God has commanded his people to keep records. In the days of Adam the people wrote a book of remembrance "by the spirit of inspiration" (Moses 6:5) to identify the faithful, to "know" their fathers (Moses 6:45-46), to define "the right of priesthood" (Abr. 1:31), and to promote literacy (see Moses 6:6). Biblical records indicate similar practices (see Ezra 2:62; Neh. 7:5; Ezek. 13:9; Mal. 3:16). Nephi 1, in the Book of Mormon, stressed the importance of family history. In 1 Nephi 3-5,the Lord commanded Lehi to obtain the brass plates containing a history of his ancestors before leaving Jerusalem, to "enlarge their memory" (Alma 37:8) so that his posterity might know whence and from whom they came and might not lose the language of their fathers. Later, the Savior admonished the Nephites to be accurate and complete in their record keeping (3 Ne. 23:7-13). He also quoted Malachi 3:16-18,which includes a statement about keeping a book of remembrance (3 Ne. 24:16-18).


Latter-day Saints are encouraged to prepare family records as a Book of Remembrance, containing patriarchal blessings, records of ordinations and other sacred information, as well as personal and family histories, spiritual experiences, and other evidences of God's goodness and love (D&C 85:9;128:7-8, 24). As a latter-day prophet said, "Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity" (Kimball, p. 76).




Bibliography


Kimball, Spencer W. "Listen to the Prophets." Ensign (May 1978):76.


CYNTHIA M. GARDNER





BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE


See also Book of Life; Genealogy.


A book begun by Adam in which were recorded the works of his descendants; also any similar records kept by prophets and faithful members since that time. Adam and his children kept a book of remembrance, in which they wrote by the spirit of inspiration, and a book of the generations, which contained a genealogy (Moses 6:5, 8). Such records may well have a part in determining our final judgment.

A book of remembrance was written, Mal. 3:16–18 (3 Ne. 24:16–18).
All they who are not found written in the book of remembrance shall find no inheritance in that day, D&C 85:9
The dead were judged by the books that contained the record of their works, D&C 128:7
Let us present a book containing the records of our dead, D&C 128:24
A book of remembrance was kept, Moses 6:5–8
We have a book of remembrance, Moses 6:46
Abraham endeavored to write a record for his posterity, Abr. 1:31


Most likely I will not add my journal entries because they are more private but I'll add things that I think are appropriate for the public.

My Testimony


             
                All of us who are born on this earth, no matter our circumstances, ask ourselves certain questions, especially when we grow up, branch out, and learn about the environment in which we live.  I think a common one would be: why am I here?  We also ask ourselves, where did I come from and how did I get here?  Many wonder if there more after we die.  Do we continue to exist after death, if so where do we go and what do we do?
                In fact there are many who quarrel about the answers to these questions.  No matter how well someone may contend their answers are correct the truth will not change.  Truth doesn't change.  It is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 
                I would like to share some truth with you that I have been given and am now sure of its reality.   The way I learned these things to be true are through communications from a higher power, God.  He communicated these things to me through the Holy Ghost.   The Holy Ghost speaks to us in our minds and in our hearts.  He communicates an idea or a simple truth to our minds and then he assures us it is true by bringing good feelings to our hearts.  Then we can experiment on that idea communicated and find that it brings joy and happiness to our lives.  Now I’m not the only one who receives these communications there are many others and in fact God promises to speak to all of us through this manner.  In fact if you have evr felt a desire to do something nice for someone, that is a communication from the Holy Spirit.  This is how I know the veracity of these statements of truth I will now share with you.
There is a God.  He is the father of the whole human race.  Within our bodies dwells our spirit.  We are spirit begotten sons and daughters of God.  He has a physical body and we have been created in his image. He is immortal and lives perfectly.  He knows all things that were, are, and will be.  He has all power. He cannot lie.  He is unchangeable.  He is completely just and merciful.  He is not a respecter of persons and loves all of us equally no matter our actions.  He has a purpose and it is to teach us and to aid us to become like him and live as he does. 
This is one of the greatest truths of all time, “As man is, god once was.  As god is, man may become.” He wants us to become like him.  That is why we are here.  I know this is true.
We used to live with him before we came here.  We did not have physical bodies as he does and as we do now.  We also did not have the same character and knowledge that he has.  He proposed a plan that would help us become like him.  This plan involved coming to this planet so we might learn how to be like him and to prove that we love him and want to live like him.  We all agreed to this plan. 
It was decided that, in our experience on this earth there needed to be opposition.  There was one who opposed god’s plan, now known as Satan, and influenced others to oppose it as well.  There was a war and they were expelled from our earlier home.  They are now here and have become the opposition.  They will stay as spirits and as punishment will never receive a body.  While we are here they entice us to do bad and God invites us to do good.  We are free to choose which path we will take. 
                God is perfectly just.  Justice means we receive consequences for our actions.  If we obey him, there are good consequences and if we disobey him and follow Satan, there are bad consequences.  One of the consequences is permanent separation from God.  If we were permanently separated from God we would never become like him.
Art of the Resurrected Jesus                God sent Jesus Christ, his only Begotten Son in the flesh, to save us from these consequences if we will believe in him and do our best to follow him.   He lived perfectly while here and suffered for our sins and pains.  He was crucified for us and he rose from the dead and has power to save us. 
I know that Jesus Christ is one in purpose with the Father.  They share the same characteristics, omnipotent, omniscient, all loving, entirely just, completely merciful, and of being unchangeable.  Jesus Christ lives today and has an immortal body.  He has power to save us and bring us to the Father.  They can help us to be happy like them.
I know the things I’ve shared are true, because the Holy Ghost has let me know they are.  You may know them to be true as well.  If you pray to the Father of our spirits and ask, in faith, believing that you’ll receive, in the name of Christ, if these things are true, He will make them known to you through the power of the Holy Ghost. 
And upon knowing these things, let us come to know Jesus Christ and God our Father and follow them so we might become like them.  I share these things in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.