It takes courage to have faith in Jesus Christ

Dear Elders and Sisters

We think about talks from conference, and we listened to Elder Anderson talking about Courage born of our faith in Jesus Christ. The courage that you have to serve a mission, to teach, and to bear witness, even sometimes to people who are disbelievers, is born of your faith in Jesus Christ. Sometimes the sheep hear and know the voice of their shepherd. Some take a long time, it can be harder still, as the time goes by. Sis Chibota joined as a 17 year old, and her parents were influenced slowly by her example and joined 19 years later.

When I was young we went on at least one occasion to the mission home in Houghton, Johannesburg to listen to General Conference on Voice of America via shortwave radio. Otherwise, we could only read the sessions in Church magazines weeks later. Years later, we received 16mm films of the sessions months after the conference. Years after that we more quickly received video tapes, then DVDs. Now we can watch sessions as they occur in Salt Lake City. The work of spreading the Gospel is indeed increasing in pace.

    

Magazines, short wave radio, 16mm film, VHS tape, DVD, Internet

We are blessed to have the word that the Lord gave thousands and hundreds of years ago in the scriptures, and we are blessed to have His word through living prophets, seers and revelators who speak to our needs in 2026. We are not left guessing about whether space travel, air travel, heart transplants, blood transfusions, motorised transport, and so many innovations of men are appropriate or not. I appreciate hearing how prophets lead us in times of turmoil such as after the 9/11 attacks in New York City. Love, and not hate, were what was shared. Unity, not divisiveness, helping to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide health care for the sick, uplifting, enlightening and inspiring those around us, are what we are taught. Jesus was born in troubled times when Romans were colonisers in Israel and most of the world, and He taught to be respectful and loving to the Romans. There is much hate spat out against so many people in our time, but the prophets encourage us to love our enemies, to pray for those that despitefully use us or persecute us.

I am grateful that we can hear such guidance on the very day that it is given. I am conscious that a time may come when the Internet may fail, or power to enable us to charge devices may fail, and we will then need to rely on hardcopy resources, or delayed sources of information, but we need to fill our oil reserves so that we have sufficient oil for our lamps when the Bridegroom returns. We need to be prepared for days when what is normal for us may no longer be normal. We need to live in faith and not in fear. We have a prophet of the Living God who guides us to stand and be counted when the going gets tough and we need to be the tough that get going.

Blessings on you as you share the Living Word of the Living God. That god envisioned by so many that enabled millions of species to 'evolve' disappeared long, long ago and all that we see now is extinctions by the thousands in our lifetimes. But that Creator has not left us alone. He has called a prophet who guides us today. He keeps on winding the Celestial Clock, filling the gas bottles of the lights in the skies, maintaining balances in nature when we make mistakes in our replenishing, subduing, and having dominion over His Creation.

Sister Powrie and I share our testimonies that God does lead His only true and living Church. Other religions have wonderful truth, but God leads the only true and living church on the face of the Earth with which He is well pleased. He knows what we need, and He guides us in this time of need. Blessings on you as you share His love with those new and returning members that you teach, helping them to get firmly on the covenant path, progressing towards the Temple and making and keeping covenants, repenting of their errors as they make them, striving to become one with Heavenly Father. We share this witness in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Your brother and sister in Christ

Les and Sally Powrie

Some thoughts about Pascal's Wager

I was thinking this morning about Pascal's Wager. Sally and I happened to watch this in Touched by an Angel tonight, and it really supports what Pascal said.

Touched by an Angel 

I really loved how brilliant the stars were when I looked up in the Namib Desert and in the Karoo.

I have spent a fair amount of time in the Namib Desert. I picked up an interesting thing in the middle of the desert, and it really looked amazingly like a Kodak Instamatic camera, complete with what looked just like the letters KODAK. It is amazing how it even had what looked just like a film behind what looked just like a door at the back. All just by pure chance.

Would you believe that it was just pure chance? I certainly did not. I loved how much light I could see in the sky above the desert. I loved how much life I saw in the desert, even when it just looked like grains of sand, but after the rain on one occasion some of those 'grains of sand' proved to be seeds of grass, and the desert looked like a wonderfully green meadow.

Science reassured me that if I research with the theory that He is there, I will find evidence. If I followed the examples of some of my colleagues and teachers and looked for reasons to doubt, I would find reasons to doubt.

I challenge everyone who reads this to watch this movie. I challenge them to ask sincerely if God does not exist, and examine how you feel. Then, be open and ask sincerely if God does exist, and examine how you feel. Do your parents and family love you? How can you measure it and study it under a microscope? You just know. You can 'just know' that God exists by the love and peace that you feel, just like I did as a little child reflecting on how the peace and comfort that I was feeling right then, as I felt the Spirit of God, was like the peace and comfort that I felt in the loving environment in my family. You can know just as I know, and as millions know, if you follow the same recipe that I, and they, followed.

Thoughts of faith, hope, charity and resilience at Christmas time

I was asked to share some thoughts in our Christmas programme. It was suggested that I share some thoughts of examples of faith, hope and resilience. I reflected on several thoughts that I have had over the many years that I have thought of the example of that Babe who was born in Bethlehem, and the example that He set over the years, ending with His sacrifice that made possible the immortality and eternal life of man. Here is what I shared...

My parents encouraged my two sisters, two brothers, and me to remember some important things. They stressed some often. I guess that they felt that we needed to be reminded very regularly! Here are two things that we heard very frequently, especially during FHE.

• 'Remember that you are princes and princesses in Israel.' 
• They often had us read in 3 Nephi 11 '...And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been. For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.'

My parents really hoped that we would choose to live worthy of the title of Prince or Princess in Israel. It was not easy!

A young woman trying to be a princess

We watched My Fair Lady yesterday, and my mind turned to how my parents treated us as princes and princesses in Israel, and not as useless gutter snipes. I also reflected on how King Charles stressed during his Coronation that as king, he was there to serve and not to be served.

I have often reflected on how the babe born in Bethlehem whose birth we celebrate at Christmas time would have grown up with bullying, hate, and contention shown towards Him because His mother Mary was pregnant with Him before she married his supposed father Joseph. That rumour or accusation would have gone around - that kind of rumour or news, true or fake, sure does spread rapidly in 2024!

This man who had grown up with such a childhood and youth then frequently stressed that I - that you - should love my/our enemies - those bullies, those mean neighbours who spread false rumours and stories about me/we on social media, or are simply mean, 'orrible an' nasty in any way. 

Angels appeared to some 'shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night', and this caused them to be sore afraid. They said 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'

Then, this babe in Bethlehem needed to have His nappies changed, to be fed, and I have no doubt had to learn everything from scratch just as you and I did, adult spirits suddenly having an infant's body. I have no doubt that there was a veil drawn over His rememberance just as for every one of us, causing Him to forget everything. He had to grow, to take baby steps, to slowly become less dependent on Mary and Joseph.

Then, at some stage, wise men came from the East and visited Him, declaring things that Mary and Joseph had no doubt taught Him - that He was indeed conceived in a miraculous way and that He had some special mission to fulfil.

Following this, there was a threat on His life that Herod would condemn all children to death in order to remove the potential threat to his ruling over Israel, under the direction of the Romans. He then had to live as a refugee in Egypt for a while.

I have often pondered how He surely had to live in faith just as you and I did. He would have needed to wrap His mind around what His mother told Him about His Divine Nature. I have wondered how much personal confirmation from His Heavenly Father He might have had, and how much He had to live by faith as I had to when my parents taught me that I am a prince in Israel and so need to live like a prince in Israel ought to live. His Divine parentage would have been an infinitely bigger concept and challenge than I had. I am confident that He had to push on in faith that He wasn't delusional! With big dreams of himself!  The accounts of the angels appearing to shepherds who then came to the stable, of Simeon and Anna, and of the wise men, would probably have been reassuring to Him. But it would not have been easy for that young man to live up to those immense expectations.

I was looking at a book that my sister has about the snares of Satan and the first part of this quote that was unfamiliar to me. It referred to Luke 17:1 'Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!'? I was surprised to see how it links to verse 2 that is familiar to me 'It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.'

Brothers and sisters, we need to heed His counsel - our duty as members - to manifest a 'Godly walk and conversation …  walking in holiness before the Lord.' (D&C 20:68-69) This is particularly important at this time when we celebrate the words spoken by the angels 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.' Luke 2:14

May we remember that, probably the most frequently quoted scripture in all of Christendom is the prayer that the Lord taught in the sermon on the mount. 'Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.' Should there any doubt that if our Father is a King, then we are Princesses and Princes?

I am impressed as I read some of my thoughts about Mary and Joseph from my studying their stories a few years back. After the angel appeared to Joseph during the night, he would be realising that he was being called to be the 'father' to the child that would be born to a virgin as had been prophesied. This would be a daunting call! I salute Joseph and Mary for how they accepted and fulfilled their calls. It would have been a heart rending decision for both Mary and Joseph, and for their families! The stigma would be attached to the whole family of Mary being pregnant out of wedlock. Yes, there was the prophecy, but it would not be easy to sell their situation as being the fulfilment of that prophecy as opposed to unchastity or fornication. Being put to death, probably by stoning, was a possible threat, although this might be seen as fornication and not adultery. Roman law might have prevented stoning, but the stigma was real. This was a difficult challenge to accept!  

I suppose that there might have been times during the pregnancy, during early years, at any time, when doubt might have returned? Satan would surely have caused doubt, mistrust, accusation, slander, misery towards Mary, Joseph, and towards their respective families, and towards the boy Jesus! There would certainly be moments of comfort as someone would see indication or evidence of support for this baby, this boy, this youth, this man being special, different, prodigious, divine. But how often were there moments of doubt, niggling, casual, that he was just normal, even distasteful because of the stigma behind his conception out of wedlock? I'm sure that Satan would have used every opportunity to sow and nurture doubt.

Of course, the word that was spread by the shepherds after visiting the stable, of Anna and Simeon in the Temple, and of the visit of the wise men would have been reassuring to them and the families as well. But they would all have needed faith, hope, charity and resilience in fulfilling their unusual and special missions.

It takes faith, hope and perseverance to faithfully remember and live up to what Jesus of Nazareth chose to live up to from childhood, and all the way to adulthood when He fulfilled His mission and promise to live as the Son of God. You and I are princes and princesses in Israel. I think this is somewhat lower than He was. May we each choose to desire to keep the promises that we made at baptism and that we reaffirm every time that we partake of the sacrament - to 'eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them'. (Moroni 4:3) We are then promised that we will always have His Spirit to be with us. We need His Spirit. Oh, don't we need His Spirit! Heavenly Father will keep His promise. May we keep our promise and freely give the ultimate gift of surrendering our agency to Him at this Christmas time. May we live in faith, hope, charity, and perseverance as princesses and princes in Israel, is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Some concerns that I need to share with my loved ones in the face of adversity

I have been told that one of my family members has spread word about his apostasy that is of concern to others of my loved ones, causing some to question the faith. I have not kept myself informed of what he has written and so please do not see my comments as being comments on what he has written.

In about the early 1990s a friend of mine asked me to vouch for a product that he was wanting to market. He felt that my authority as a scientist would help his marketing campaign. I think that he was upset when I declined, not because I had reason to question his product or doubt his claims, but because it would take me many hours, maybe years, to research sufficiently to be able to state authoritatively that the claims of the manufacturers were valid. Similarly, it would take me much time to investigate what our family member has researched in order to comment with any intelligence on the conclusions that he has drawn. So I am only going to share my own research and experience.

In 1973 I was a missionary declaring to those around me that God the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ had appeared to a young man by the name of Joseph Smith. I declared that they had called him as a prophet, and that through him the priesthood and the fullness of the Gospel had been restored. After some time I started to feel uneasy in upsetting the equilibrium of the good people with whom I interacted. Good, believing, honest, upright people in the NG, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic and other religions. I knew that by declaring my message to them, I was putting them in a position from which they never could retreat. Was I sure of what I was saying? What right did I have to upset their apple carts?

I became seriously ill and for a while I was troubled, I guess in a way, like Alma the younger was, I was harrowed up by the memory of my weaknesses and inadequacies. I fasted and prayed to know what I should do - was it appropriate for me to continue bearing witness of the restored Church and Gospel? I did not doubt the Gospel - I doubted my testimony. I had had enough experiences as a child and a teenager to know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that the Holy Ghost is a real companion, even to a less than perfect youth such as me.

As I was thus troubled, I had an experience that has remained bright and clear to me to this day. Jesus Christ Himself bore witness to me, your far from perfect brother, husband or father, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is 'the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually— For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance'. 

My family, I could no longer deny, or worry that I had no right to declare this restored Church and Gospel without being ashamed. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself had borne that witness to me. And so, I once again bear that witness to you, my dear loved ones.

Besides this, I have pondered and researched for more than forty years, and I have come to a firm conclusion that God lives, that He created this Earth for us, that the Plan of Life and Salvation are true. Those of you who have access to the Family History folder in my Dropbox are welcome to read the promises in this regard given to me in the year 1969 in my patriarchal blessing. I have had, and continue to have, the special experiences that were promised.

As a scientist, being taught of chemistry, physics, botany and zoology, evolution and other sciences and philosophies of men, I have never had anything that caused me to doubt, but only to affirm, that testimony that I have. Science always has more questions than it has answers - that is what drives science - the questioning mind. 

As I have written in my blog, I know that without the superior force, power, or influence of our Heavenly Father, this universe would have 'run down' as it were. The time of sunrise on 13 June in the year 1900 was the same time as it was this morning, and according to a calculator on the internet, would be the same in 2099. But - I am very aware that there is much on the internet that sounds authoritative, and is written in many cases by well-meaning people, but they cannot have repeated the experimentation, or measurements, to confirm their own results, applying all of the methods, to draw the same conclusions that thousands of individual scientist have done over centuries to come up with the numbers of stars in the Universe, or the millions of years that it has taken in geological time for sandstone to develop or weather, or any other 'scientific fact'. 

Many things we (you and I) accept without question, but others we doubt. And that is fine - you may believe as you wish to believe. But please remember that, just as there is compelling argument on the internet that the Earth is flat, I suggest that you have no cause to doubt me when I declare my personal experience and conclusions that it is round. I taught on mission that just 500 years ago many people believed that the Sun revolved around the Earth and persecuted Galileo for declaring that the Earth was round and that the Earth revolved around the Sun. People who declare truth will usually be persecuted or put to death because error prevails in this Earth where Lucifer has bought up armies, navies, false priests who oppress, and tyrants that reign with blood and horror on this Earth.

Science on trial

https://physicsworld.com/a/the-galileo-affair/

I share my solemn conviction that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which the Lord is well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually— For He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Please, think, ponder, study, pray and fast carefully for yourself and do not be swayed by what anyone else says. The things that you and I declared as missionaries or at other times have not changed. The truth is still the truth - it is we that have changed. If any of us will do the Father's will, we shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether Jesus Christ spoke of Himself, or whether I, speak of myself.

Do we use the Bible in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Many people in and out of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are under the impression that we neglect the Bible. I replied to someone last night and thought you might enjoy my reply....

Good evening, Daniel

Thanks for the messages. Sorry I was not aware of your calls. I guess that I was driving at the time. 

I am kind of confused by your message. I've always encouraged Church members to read the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon. One cannot fully remember how merciful the Lord has been to the children of men from the days of Adam, even down to the time that we read those things in the Book of Mormon if we're not familiar with the abundant mercy described in the Bible! For very many years (decades!) the Sunday School study has been a year Old Testament, a year New Testament, a year on Book of Mormon, a year of Church history, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. That happened every four years, 50% of the time focused on the Bible! 

I love the Bible. I love the parables told by Jesus Christ. I love how He dealt with the woman taken in adultery, the rich young man, the scribes and pharisees, the woman from Samaria, Mary and Martha, and every wonderful story. I love His analogy that we be leaven in the loaf (we cannot do this from outside or in splinters - we must be distributed throughout the dough), being a light (we must let our light shine so that men see our good works and glorify the Father in Heaven- we must stand out!),  and salt (cleansing, purifying, flavouring). And all of His parables so wonderfully liken the known to the unknown. I love how He addresses the faith/works/grace debate as He challenges us to work - not just confess or believe, but be faithful in the covenant path. I could go on and on and on!

Read the Bible! Read the other scriptures and Conference talks! Pray to the Father! Pray to the Father in the name of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ! 

I love how Jesus Christ speaks so clearly about Him being the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, and that He was sent by His Father. I see that He had no confusion about whether or not He was the Son of God. I love how He prayed to the Father in John 17 that we would be one with Him as He is one with the Father. 

My faith and testimony would be very different if I were not as familiar with the Bible as I am. 

I encourage you to love the word of God. As He said in what we read this past week, we will hear His voice as we immerse ourselves in the scriptures. I have had that experience and I strongly encourage you to have it. 

Blessings on you as you continue to study the words of Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. 

Kind regards

Les Powrie 😊

Yeah - but, is it beyond reasonable doubt?

I had fun writing an article 'Beyond reasonable doubt' some years ago. That article is not in peer reviewed scientific literature, but was a 'popular article' in 'grey literature'. I had fun applying my mind to relating my experience in court with a friend who was on trial for what was apparently a fraudulent claim, to georeferencing...

I was thinking a lot this morning about my concerns about many of the 'conspiracy theories' in that, in my mind at least, they are not beyond reasonable doubt. 

When I do some fact checking I find all sorts of reasons to doubt many of the claims, and if many claims are not beyond reasonable doubt, then I wonder if each claim is beyond reasonable doubt?

I have been part of publishing many peer reviewed research papers and so I am not always confident with the outright derision of peer reviewed literature about vaccines or pesticides being biased - it might be true in many instances, but maybe not as many as some critics propose. 

I have been involved in computer modelling and know that there are usually many more variables involved than one can practically combine in a model, or for which values are known, and so conclusions are not absolutely conclusive, but simply suggestive. 

I have thought a lot about genetics and how many things might be far more prevalent in 2021 because we provide things like spectacles, wheelchairs, hearing aids and other things, and people live longer due to immunizations, and so there is more opportunity for genes causing disorders such as myopia, mobility challenges, and hearing challenges to be passed on because they are not 'selected against' or people reach an age when they can breed and they are more accepted by potential mates so that their genes have greater probability of being passed on than before these aids and immunizations. So - I do not deny the conclusions, but I do also recognise that there might be more variables involved than have been factored in the model and so maybe the conclusions are not beyond reasonable doubt. 

How many times have people sent me a sensational thing that they received on social media (especially when it says to 'pass it on to all of your contacts'!) and I send back a link to snopes.com or some other myth-busting post about that sensational thing that sheds doubt on it. I could send links to myth busting sites that debunk so many claims (I have not investigated all of the claims because that would simply take far more time than I deem appropriate), but I am not sure that the person who sent that item would read them with an open mind anyway. That person can do the same fact checking that I can do, perhaps better than I can do - I do not have tools available to me that are not available to them.

So - please accept that I look at what some of my friends send to me through my own filters and I have not been confident that the things with which they might be so passionately engaged are not beyond reasonable doubt. My wife Sal also looks at them through the filter of her personal experience seeing children that have died because they were not immunized. 

Let me share a scenario that came to my mind in the early hours this morning... Genes that lead to autism might be able to manifest themselves in 2021 when the condition is recognised and diagnosed simply because more people carrying those genes reach reproductive age because they were immunized, and they are not shunned by a potential mate who might also be a carrier of the genes because of things like spectacles, hearing aid, or some other life support aid, and so the genes are passed on to the next generation with more frequency than in previous years. So, double recessive genes manifest themselves more than they might have done, and they are discoverable, detectable, identifiable and describable, and so the frequency is more evident as well as more probable. If a computer model excludes certain variables, the conclusion can be drawn that there is a strong positive correlation between heavy metals in vaccines and the condition, whereas this might not be a causative, but simply a compounding factor. Then - people who do not consider the wider aspects of the scenario broadcast the conclusion of cause rather than coincidence and look for evidence to bolster their claims, and build up a really strong case that is accepted by hundreds of people who do not check the facts themselves, leading to stronger 'evidence' in favour of a misplaced conclusion. Then, the claim circulates widely on social media and fear is engendered where the whole claim really is not beyond reasonable doubt.

I hope that you will have a wonderful day and not be driven to fear by every one of those sensational scare stories that come to you. Please seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and I promise you that all those things that are of greatest value in this life and in eternity will be added unto you. I know that Heavenly Father has power to heal us should we have autism or whatever incidental problems might come because you or I might be one of the two or three out of a hundred people that is affected by immunizations or pesticides. If we are repentant and faithful, we can follow the prophet and put our trust in God's immeasurable divine power rather than putting our trust entirely in the arm of flesh. 

I hope that you are not offended by my being blunt in this. I hope that we can be one in Christ and agree to disagree... If you watched my YouTube  video about being one, then you will recall how passionate I am about the teachings of Jesus Christ in John17, John 15, Matthew 5-7, 3 Nephi 11, and so on 🙂

Some thoughts on Moroni 10:3

One of many thoughts that have been on my mind recently, I hope that you enjoy my musings about how merciful the Lord is - has always been...

Some home improvements after 21 years!

We finally took the leap in 2016 and started to do some renovating that really had been needed for two decades, and some that were not quite so urgent, but worth doing anyway. Here is a record of some things that we did between 2001 and 2018.

2014: Gutters, fascias, painting

The cage around our afdak (lean-to) at the side of the house.

Since 2014, trees have been removed in 2016 and a boundary wall built in the front of the house in 2017.

We had installed a carport in 2001. We also remodeled the kitchen and en-suite bathroom.

The carport was built in 2001 and for a long time had a basketball board and hoop attached. The beams were clad in 2014.

In 2007 we had a break-in. Prior to this we had a dog, a Jack Russell cross, that was presumably a deterrent to anyone breaking in, and then he died. From that time we had at least three break-ins. On the first occasion in 2007. Richard, at age 14, came home from school and found that someone had been rummaging in drawers. He came in through the front door and found the house in a mess. He then found that the side gate was open and there were things lying on the front lawn, presumably from the person running away, so he would have frightened the person who, fortunately, did not attack Richard, but simply ran away. Cell phones, jewellery and other things were stolen. He kept his cool and called his Dad who advised him to call the police. It is apparent that the thief was in the house and fled when Richard got home, and Richard was protected during the ordeal. He handled this all very well.

In 2009 we installed security gates and caged ourselves in. We installed a new stronger gate for the front door, and the afdak at the side of the house was extended and caged in. A trellis gate

was installed for the bedroom sliding door. The gate at the other side of the house was moved from the back to the front of the garage.

The security gate for the bedroom sliding door.

In 2012 we had another break-in where one burglar bar was bashed in to gain entry. Two laptops were stolen together with other smaller things. We then engaged the services of ADT, the security company, with a burglar alarm.

During 2013 and 14 we did further work - the house was painted inside, the lounge ceiling had been knotty pine strips and we installed a ceiling beneath this, painted white. The main bathroom was remodeled. New gutters were installed.

Some of the work that was done inside the house during 2013-2014

The house after painting and before the gutters and cladding were done.

Work in the main bathroom

Laminated flooring and painting in the passages and lounge.

During 2016 we had a number of large trees removed, most particularly those that would impact the house such as the tall palm tree that could cause serious damage if it should blow over, and tree roots that would affect the walls or foundations.

The palm tree that was cut down. The house can also be seen as it was before the renovations in 2013-2014.

During 2017 Sally was threatened by someone who broke into the house. Fortunately Richard was home studying for exams and attacked the attacker who fled after snatching Sally's cell phone. We were in the process of building a boundary wall in the front of the house. The wall was completed soon after the break-in.

The motor for the rolling driveway gate was stolen in 2018. Great skill was used - if only the person who stole it would use that skill to build society rather than only thinking of self.

During 2018 we installed four rainwater tanks to harvest as much as 10 000 litres of rainwater. These have all overflowed several times since then. We have used the rainwater for the washing machine and two toilets for most of the time. We also use rainwater in the garden and for washing the cars. We collect from 186.4 square metres of our 334.5 square metres (55.7%) and 229.1 square metres of the van Dorps' 403.1 square metres (56.8%). It should be easy to add our carport to the collection to increase our harvesting to include the carport, thus harvesting 69.5% of our roof area.

Although it appears as though our house has been targeted - it seems to be the only house in our close neighbourhood that has been broken into, or at least had as many break-ins - we have been blessed. In about 1984 we made a decision that, since we had to choose between using part of our monthly budget for paying Fast Offering or paying short-term insurance for the contents of the house, I was impressed that we had a wonderful promise from the Lord. In Malachi 3:10-12 we are promised that if we bring our tithes and offerings into His storehouse that there might be meat in His house, that He would pour out a blessing that we would not have room enough to receive it, and He would rebuke the devourer for our sakes, and bless the harvest of our fields. The challenge in Isaiah 31 that I studied in Institute to place our trust in God rather than in the arm of flesh helped us to decide to place our trust in the protecting hand of Heavenly Father. We committed to Him that if we did not lose more than we would through the excess that we would have to pay to an insurance company in case of a claim, we would not be losing out, and we would pay more than the amount that we would have needed to pay in monthly premiums to an insurance company into Fast Offering. We always continued to pay our full tithes as well as other offerings. I believe that the Lord has not failed to bless us in accordance with our personal promise and faith. We have had losses, but would have had losses even if we had the best insurance. So, we paid our monthly contribution to Zion rather than to Babylon and trusted God to prevent losses, whereas an insurance company would at best reduce the inconvenience in the event of a loss. We did what we could to improve security and then trusted that the Lord would assist us with reducing the incidence of losses or problems that we might otherwise have.

Panorama Ward conference theme 2016

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. That is our first Article of Faith. We believe that he wants us to have eternal glory, with Him.

His Son, Jesus Christ, taught us that 'After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven...' He taught us that we are children of Father in Heaven, one who has a kingdom.

For the past ten years I have been encouraging ward members to qualify for and receive driver's licenses to improve their self-reliance. As I worked with some of them, and with my own children, it became quite evident that the objective in the minds of many driver's license examiners is to look for every reason to fail the candidate. Contrast that with what I believe is the objective of our Father in Heaven as He will examine us in the final judgement. I firmly believe that the objective of our Heavenly Father is motivated by His love for us, and His absolute wish that each and everyone of us would come unto Him in purity of heart so that He can welcome us back into His presence. It grieves Him when we choose to become unclean in thought, word or deed. He taught Moses 'Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.' He wants everyone to pass, but every individual who passes will pass because he or she chose to repent. No one can pass while in an unclean state.

Alma taught 'And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.' As we develop these characteristics as part of our being, we repent, become clean and can  inherit the mansions prepared for us. The Saviour taught 'In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.' How sad it will be for a mansion to be prepared, but we fail to turn up to occupy it!

The Saviour also told a parable of great power.

31 ¶When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Some time ago I read about wealth creation. Robert Kyosaki mentioned hearing the Have, Be, Do relationship. In searching for this, I came across this by Tracy Corrigan 'The only way I could get a true definition of happiness for myself was to identify what it wasn’t. As in, what was absent: When I am NOT anxious, fearful, worried, scared, angry, resentful, depressed, sad, lonely, tired, jealous, greedy, lazy, hungry – I am at peace, and I am very happy. So, when I am calm, accepting, loving, kind, gentle, compassionate and empathetic towards myself, I am happy, and I can naturally extend those things to others because it is the very operating system of Who I Am. When I have let my judgments of the past, and projections onto the future go, I am fully present and happy with myself, wherever I am, doing exactly whatever it is I am doing at that moment. It is completely independent of people, places or things around me. BE happy is a state of being, not an emotion. That’s my definition of happiness for me, at least.'

In essence, as children of God, we HAVE divine potential. Sometimes we DO things that Heavenly Father wants us to DO. But, until we strive to BECOME, to BE, of a Divine Nature, we are not succeeding in Heavenly Father's vision for us. I recently heard someone comment on the term 'human beings', that we are not human doings or human knowings, but BEINGS.

Once again, to quote Jesus Christ in Matthew 22: 36-40:

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38 This is the first and great commandment.

 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, soul and mind. That ALL is everything.

I am reading the book The Undaunted and was impressed that young David is so excited when approaching his 6th birthday that he can start working at the mine! He will be underground in total darkness for most of 12-14 hours each day, earning some money to help his family. That touched my heart and made me think of the divine inspiration in Jacob's words 'And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.'

In the Sunday School discussion today we have read about looking to Christ as the children of Israel were instructed to look to the brazen serpent 'And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.' I have often thought about what this meant. If you were one of the children of Israel, in a camp of hundreds of thousands, even possibly 3 million people, what is the likelihood that you were conveniently close to the serpent to be able to simply turn and look? In all likelihood you would have needed to walk at least a few minutes, if not hours, to be able to look  upon it. But the promise was there, and it was simple - look, and live.

May we set out with devotion and commitment to follow the example of the faith, hope and charity exemplified by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Once again, as verbalized by Alma:

22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.

 23 And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

 24 And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.

 25 And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments spotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.

Let us press forward in our duty to God being blameless, of the holy order, humble, submissive, gentle, spotless. Then we can be welcomed in to 'sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began' being comfortable in their presence, our confidence having waxed strong in the presence of God.

May our hearts be committed to so do, I hope and pray.

The Hundred - Thirteen test

I have been at a low spiritual ebb all too often. That may surprise some, but it's true. 

I find the Hundred – Thirteen test helps me.

The Hundred part is inspired by something my older brother Tim shared with me years ago when he heard I was considering being an airline pilot. He came to me while I was doing my homework one evening and discussed implications of what I was considering (the fact that I wore spectacles, my lack of knowledge of geography, being away from home a whole lot, etc.). He suggested that I list the pros and cons of each alternative in the choice. My adaptation is to take a piece of note paper and prepare three columns: one for a scripture reference; one for the question like 'Become an airline pilot', 'Pack up and move to Nelspruit', 'Move to Cape Town to marry Sally', or 'The church is true as it claims' and one for the alternative 'Not become an airline pilot', 'Stay in Cape Town and look for work here', 'Stay in my parents' home and not go to marry Sally', or 'The church is a hoax'. Then randomly and prayerfully read 100 scriptures and after each one, write the scripture reference, and put a mark or cross under the appropriate column. I have to be honest in letting the Spirit guide me in the process. Should you take this test, you can decide if 'a scripture' is one verse; one chapter; 10 minutes; reading sequentially from the beginning of the book, e.g. Genesis 1:1 or Matthew 1:1, or whatever you feel appropriate. The important thing is to read the scriptures so that Heavenly Father can communicate with you through His Word. In research, one has to do sufficient testing to be confident in drawing a conclusion – a small sample size is not defensible. One hundred is a pretty reasonable sample size in some studies. Tens of thousands can be an appropriate sample size in very large populations. With more than 31000 verses in the Bible, even 100 is a small sample size, but it is a good start.

Another analysis that may help with some tough choices is the SWAT analysis (examining Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). The object of either exercise is ‘studying it out in my mind’ (See D&C 9:8).

The Thirteen part is to write down my own personal thirteen Articles of Faith. I read each that Joseph Smith wrote, and then write down my own. This is based on my mother's conversion story and the role that a challenge issued by an Anglican minister played. You can read her story in my blog http://personaltouchworks.blogspot.co.za/

When I’ve done this, I enter my Garden of Gethsemane and pray to my Heavenly Father and listen, hopefully being prepared to submit my will to His.

I believe it was one of my fellow missionaries Mike McLean who, in Port Elizabeth in 1973, shared a comparison with mathematics and receiving answers to prayer. A teacher will teach a mathematical principle and then give homework to be solved. The student then goes and applies the method to the problem in question. He returns to the teacher with the homework and the teacher either approves of the answer, or sends the student away to try again. If the student is still unable to solve the problem, the teacher might show the working out to get the solution, and then give the student a similar problem to go and solve. This continues until the student masters the principle in question. We similarly need to apply principles to solve problems in our lives, and go to our loving Heavenly Father and ask if we have reached the correct solution? We read that He will tell us in our minds and in our hearts when we have come to the correct conclusion. He will cause that 'your bosom shall burn within you' or, as I feel it, an incredible peace and feeling of completeness and clarity with no confusion as opposed to a stupor of thought or confusion when I need to go and give more thought to the problem.

It is not a quick fix – anything worthwhile is not a quick fix – but it is wonderful to receive personal revelation through the word already revealed to prophets. Talks in General Conference and other words of latter-day prophets and apostles also provide valuable insight as I ponder them. I do a great deal of pondering! I can recall one of my first experiences of pondering when I was probably about 16 years old. I received what Andre Naude would describe as 'a light bulb switching on in his brain'. I realized ‘Of course I must have a mother in Heaven because I cannot get to the Celestial Kindgdom without being sealed to a wife, so Heavenly Father must be sealed to a wife’. Yep, I was about 16 years old at the time! I know I must have been pondering because otherwise I would surely not have received such a prompting ‘out of the blue’. I don’t for one moment think I am on a par with Saul of Tarsus who was such a ‘chosen vessel’ that an angel would be sent to me to stop me on my road to mischief and cause me to have a few days of being without sight as I became cleansed and ready for someone like Ananias to come and restore my sight. I am just an ordinary person, but I have nonetheless had the Spirit speak to me through the scriptures, especially as I have pondered them. I have often said that some of my best scripture study time has been without a book in my hands, but while I am mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, or something like that and I am pondering the scriptures as I work

Perhaps another thing to contemplate is how I reflect each year at this season how interesting it is that when the temperature is 18°C (64.4°F) I am comfortably dressed in the kind of clothing that I would be wearing only at 27°C (81°F) three months previously. But at 18°C (64.4°F) three months ago I would be wearing polar neck sweater and jacket and still feeling chilly. I reckon the difference is not so much in the temperature as it is in my body becoming tolerant of the temperature. This reminds me of the story of a frog being placed inboiling water or being slowly brought to the boil, I become tolerant of lower temperatures, and if I do not check myself, I will be all too comfortable in the lower spiritual temperatures so that I don’t keep myself spiritually warmed. It is up to me to keep myself spiritually fed and nourished so that I can be more likely to be in tune with the Spirit and notice that the ambient temperature has dropped and I am becoming accustomed to it. I love the way Dieter F.Uchtdorf said it ‘first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith’

I have often questioned my faith, sometimes doubted, but I have taken to heart the advice to write what I do believe, and to know that although I do not know everything, I do know enough to declare confidently that God does live, He is my Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ is my Messiah, and I have enough experience with the Holy Ghost to confidently promise you that you, too, can know the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost if you read, ponder and pray with a sincere heart, with real intent, and having faith in Christ (see Moroni 10:3-5).