Die beitel in die hand van die Skepper (The chisel in the hand of the Creator)

Think about what you are seeing here. 

What are you seeing here? 

Are you seeing just a simple piece of scrap wood? 

Can you figure all that my son Richard did to convert this plain block of scrap wood into this carved work of art? Think of the imagination, talent, innovation, purpose, effort, time, intentional action, the instruments used to realise the dream, and on and on?

I remember the challenge given by Prime Minister P. W. Botha in about 1982 when he opened a new building at Tygerberg Medical School while I was working there after I relocated from my parents' home in Florida Park to move to Cape Town to marry Sally Swindell. He talked about being die beitel in die hand van die Skepper or a chisel in the hand of the Creator.

Another example of Richard's craftsmanship using innovation, scrap wood, chisels, and other tools. 

That is part of what we do as instruments in the Lord's hands when we help Him to bring souls closer to Him, or contribute in some way in His Work and His Glory which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Blessings on anyone in anything that you do, even in those times that you are as a chisel in the hands of a sculptor, being hammered on one end while being bashed against rock, stone, or wood on the other end. It can be painful, difficult to bear, because all that we are aware of is our discomfort and pain. We don't know what the end product will look like.  He is producing a beautiful sculpture. 

May we serve Him with delight and strive to bring souls to Him.

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.

I was interested to read in my journal from 1979

I was interested to read in my journal from 18 November 1979 - and I found the following.

'Just recently Gerald Wiffen challenged us in his Sunday School class to pray to find out if Joseph Smith was a prophet. Well, on several occasions I have done this in the last few years, but never feel a burning in my bosom. This time, though, last week, on Tuesday or Wednesday, I began the day on my knees praying aloud and pleading for a witness.

'What concerns me is that I do not want to be looking for a sign, and am not sure if this is not what I am indeed seeking. Well, after over an hour of thus pleading and feeling empty, for I have heard it said that once, having received a witness about something, we receive no more witness - we must live on that experience. So, I begged for a re-witness, re-confirmation, but felt nothing.

'After this long time of pleading, I said that if I received no answer, did I quit living the Gospel? and I simply could not do this. I explained that I know of no better way, this gospel makes sense to me, and I just cannot deny that I believe it to be true. I explained this, and then I began to feel the warmth in me. Then the re-assurance came. So, I have committed to live the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and if this is wrong, which I cannot conceive it to be, I must ask for God to intercede in my life as He did for Saul of Tarsus and for Alma the Younger, because to the best of my ability, and with my most noble and righteous intent, I will work to build this, what I believe to be the kingdom of God on Earth. I have committed to promote this work.

'If the gospel is not true, I can only accept it to mean that, either God does not live, or else He does not have a church on the Earth. I cannot accept either of these options, because I believe that I have had a spiritual witness, and while I do not have a perfect knowledge, but only a faith, I can only trust that this faith is well founded.'

I had visited Gerald and Marie a few times in Panorama Ward in Cape Town. I had not remembered Gerald teaching me, but there you are! I hope that his testimony burns at least as strongly as mine did back in 1979 when I wrote thi, and evidently his testimony burned strongly then.

The road to Emmaus and me

I have done several two or more hour walks recently in various settings, including karoo, succulent karoo and fynbos. My most recent walk was a 5¾ hour, 14 km walk on the front of Table Mountain and Devil's Peak, marvelling at seeing probably about 250 plant, fungus and lichen species. I love living in this part of the world where I am able to walk in these wonderful ecosystems.

I am touched by the story told of two men who lived about 1990 years ago. They were walking and conversing in a landscape very similar to the karoo. They were joined by a stranger at some stage of their journey of about two hours, and were guided by this stranger in their thinking and interpreting of an amazing experience that they had just witnessed in their country. I hope that I may help others to have wonderful experiences as I walk with them and share some of my thoughts with them.

A couple walking in the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden

These two men were walking in an area not vastly different to the semi arid winter-rainfall succulent karoo vegetation. They had just witnessed a dramatic event in their city and were discussing it as they walked. They had had close affiliation with a really impressive character that they thought was going to lead them to victory against a foreign oppressive colonialist regime that ruled their land. At the very least, they anticipated some dramatic outcome for their people following all that they had seen their wonderful hero doing on a day to day basis in their country. 

Even with all of their wonderful expectations, their hero had just been killed by the foreign imperialist regime that they despised. It is true that a lot of their own people had hated their hero and had called for his execution, despite their own antagonism towards their foreign rulers. Their own leaders did not want to be ruled by these oppressive foreigners, but they hated this upstart commoner who had such popularity with some of their people. They just wanted him out of the way!

These two people were presenting the thoughts and anticipations that they and some others had about their hero, and the sudden and unexpected anticlimax to the story that they had to share. 

They were about to be guided by this stranger in reinterpreting their observations. 

The stranger initially reprimanded them for being slow of heart to believe in their hero that had been killed. But - he was dead! What good could he do now for their cause? What good would his death do for their cause? This stranger then recounted things that had been said hundreds of years before about this hero and that his death was not a defeat, but actually a victory. This was the very way that the enemy would be defeated - by their hero being killed. This left them with much to ponder. They were not entirely sure what to think!

They had walked for a long time and it was approaching the end of the day so they invited the stranger to dine and spend the night with them. He did accept their invitation and as they were about to eat, he blessed the food and gave them each some bread, then he vanished out of their sight!

These two rather startled men reflected on this remarkable and unreal experience and recognised that their hearts had burned within them as the stranger had been talking with them during their walk. They felt comfortable with these strange things that they had heard, even if they could not comprehend them! 

I am always impressed that if these guys had just got on with their meal and chatted about the weather or the latest triumph of their favourite sports team, and had not reflected on the experience that they had with this stranger, they might have missed their precious feelings. 

They had evidently just walked about two hours. It was possibly already dark, or nearly dark. They immediately set off again to repeat the two hour journey to share their experience with their friends who were also distressed by the death of their hero. 

As they were once again with their friends, they tried as best as they could to explain what had just happened to them - what they had heard the stranger say, what they had felt, and about the stranger disappearing!

Even after being told of the experience that two of them had on the Emmaus road, the people of the assembled group were terrified and affrighted when their hero Jesus appeared to the group as they were trying to come to grips with their feelings and confusion. 

It appears that, as part of His way of making it absolutely clear that He was not a spirit, that He was not dead, but had risen from the dead, Jesus Christ gave a clear demonstration that the resurrection is the reuniting of body and spirit by asking if they had some meat for him. He would surely not have needed to eat, but the disciples would have needed to witness His ability to eat and participate in this regular social activity - that he was not a spook. 

I enjoyed watching the two videos portraying some of the events of the 24th chapter of Luke - the stranger joining the two disciples on the road, and then Jesus appearing to the gathered disciples in the room that was shut for fear of the Jews.

I am grateful for the insights that I have gained as I have pondered the stories of long ago in the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book Of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and the Pearl of Great Price. I am grateful that there are enough times that I have not simply chatted about the weather or sports and have been able to have the Spirit teach me things that no man has taught me. I have realised that my heart has burned within me as I have come to feel the complete harmony of truth in so many of the things that I have studied. I am grateful that this harmony of truth has extended to include some things that I was taught in my science and biology classes at university - helping me to see how things that are scientifically possible but absolutely unlikely without God can have occurred because I know that God is there with His divine oversight. 

How can I doubt when I know enough about genetics, ecology, physics, probability and other things that were taught to me at university to know that these things that are possible are almost certainly absolutely improbable without divine design? Beyond that, though, I do not only know about God - I know that God has made Himself known to me in undeniable ways. 

I have felt my heart burn within me on my road to Emmaus, and I hope that some of the insights that I have shared with others on their roads to Emmaus have caused their hearts to burn within them. I hope that I can be that kind of tour guide that does not only share information, but helps guests to learn things from the Spirit that no man could teach them.

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.

Remember what you know before just believing what others tell you ...

I was given a lot to think about when my brother Tim posted something on Facebook on 12 Nov 2018.

 

I see the image may not display because it contained text. It was the great pyramid with its geographical coordinates. I am trying again, this time with a cropped picture as well...

It gives:
Speed of light: 299 792 458 m/2
Coordinates of the Great Pyramid of Giza 29.9792458°N
COINCIDENCE?
His comment was 'Not in billions of years is this by chance........'

I posted the comment:

That depends... The pyramid spans about 29.97817°N to 29.98019°N, One of about 20200 points with 7 decimal place, each about 7 mm apart, along the approximately 150 m stretch from the northern to southern edges of the pyramid is indeed 29.9792458°N. That point is about 10758 out of about 20200, so reasonably close to the middle of the pyramid. It is TRULY REMARKABLE, but you have to have real faith in the precision of the surveyors of about 4578 years ago to think that they calculated the speed of light and plonked the pyramid on the ground at precisely that point to match that great number :-). This requires just about the same amount of faith as those have who believe that the millions of species in the world are the result of natural selection and the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life rather than the work of an intelligent God :-). But thanks for giving me something to think about :-)

I thought a lot about that.

The pyramid was built around 2580 to 2560 BC.

The speed of light was first considered about 1676 AD, and postulated by Albert Einstein in 1905 AD.

One has to ask why it was decided that a circle can be divided into 360 degrees, and that the Earth must span from 90°S to 90°N rather than any other number of degrees.

Then - the second is based on 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day - instead of some other numbers for seconds, minutes and hours.

The length of a metre is defined based on the length of a path traveled by light in a vacuum - instead of some other number like foot or yard or mile or something else.

These decisions and postulations put the pyramid close to 29.97817°N.

When I teach the process of georeferencing, or assigning geographical coordinates to record where museum or herbarium specimens were collected, I teach that one should not use more than 5 decimal places, nor less, because 5 decimal places puts one appropriately within 1 metre of the determined place, and using more decimal places adds false precision. So, I would have georeferenced a specimen of a bird or lizard with 'the Great Pyramid of Giza' as its location at about 31.13425°N, 29.97925°E, with a confidence of about 150 m representing the radius of a circle surrounding and including all four corners of the pyramid. If it had been a plant, then I would have given it within about 300 m or even 1000 m from the centre of the pyramid. Something like a bird or lizard can be 1000 m from the pyramid and can feasibly move onto the centre of the pyramid, whereas a plant is pretty much stuck in one place from the time of germination to its death, and is not likely to have been growing on the pyramid itself, and looking at aerial photography or satellite imagery shows the nearest visible vegetation at about 300 m from the pyramid.

My GPS is good to about 5 m - and I have benefited from that precision by locating a small plant ten days after recording its locality with my simple GPS, so I know. To get less than 1 cm precision in 2018 requires using a Differential GPS, costing many thousands of Rands or hundreds of Dollars.

What prompted the pyramid consulting engineers to place their pyramid precisely there? Perhaps an all-wise, loving, gracious and merciful God prompted them about 4600 years ago so that this picture would be posted on Facebook in November 2018 so that I would think about the question and saying to me 'It's OK, Les. I am here' :-).

Hopefully my comments will prompt you to search your thoughts and remember what you know.

So - think.... remember.... ponder.... dare I say pray?....

Would I be privileged to be welcomed into the most special marriage feast of all history?

I was thinking as I prayed tonight. I pondered the parable in Matthew 25

Why would Jesus Christ use a marriage feast as an object lesson? What is special about a marriage feast, and an invitation to one?

Would I receive an invitation?

How would I know that I had received an invitation? So many Jews, even the leaders of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, rejected the very Messiah when He came in their midst – would I recognise an invitation to the most significant marriage feast in all of history?

Who would deliver such an invitation? Who would be on the list if invited guests? Would I be among those who would be invited?

If there were to be an invitation given, how would one come, other than through a living prophet? After all, Amos said ‘Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.’ Amos 3:7 Does this apply here? Would the Lord arrive unannounced, or would he have a prophet deliver invitations to the feast?

If I were to be one of the fortunate ten virgins who would receive an invitation to this feast, would I have sufficient oil in my lamp when the cry comes ‘The bridegroom cometh’ and I tried to trim my lamp at the crucial moment when it is most needed?

I bear my testimony that the Lord does indeed have a living prophet. The invitation will not go randomly to all the world, just as an invitation to the wedding feast would not go to all in the town, but to special friends of the bridegroom, and not all of those special friends will have sufficient oil in their lamps to enable them to be prepared and welcomed in to the figurative ‘hall’ where the feast will be held. I hope and pray that I may at least receive an invitation, and hopefully have sufficient oil in my lamp. I know that the Lord lives now – still as He said to His disciples ‘Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.’ Luke 24:39

I know that He still lives, that he still has that body of flesh and bones that his disciples saw and felt. He will come again. All we need to do is to be ready to be welcomed into the marriage feast. I reckon that a Temple Recommend will be a basic requirement, and then living worthy of that, enduring in faith to the end. And then, being alert and attentive to the still small voice as it whispers in the right place at the right time to become aware of the cry that 'the bridegroom cometh'.

I hope that I will be welcomed in and hear those glorious words 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.' Matt 25:21,23. I hope that all of my loved ones will be among those wise virgins who are welcomed in to the marriage feast.

Some thoughts about a question to me on the beach near Kwesani

Thanks, Rohan, for this picture of weird clouds.

This morning, storm clouds from my study window.

And the rain gauge which measured 9 mm for 07:00 to 07:00.

WeatherSA had forecast 80% chance of 10 mm for City of Cape Town.

As we face a tremendous storm in the Cape of Storms, my mind is turned again to a question asked a few days ago by a colleague from the Kwelera National Botanical Garden as we stood on the beach near Kwesani. He asked me about my thoughts regarding creation and evolution.

I don't know what prompted his question, but I shared some thoughts about the many questions that evolution has never answered for me, and that creation can be the only answer. Like, who keeps the celestial clock wound? Who keeps topping up the gas bottle? Who helps the flimsy little insect species to survive despite the individual that I see caught on a raindrop clearly not being 'the fittest'? What were the levels of radioactivity millions of half-lives ago? How is the distance between the Earth, the Sun and all other celestial bodies constant so that day lengths and year lengths seem to have been consistent for thousands of years? These fiery suns, without some intelligent governing force or power or influence, must be constantly losing mass as they emit infinite quantities of solar energy, and the planets that must be constantly gaining mass as they absorb small proportions of the solar energy emitted by their suns.

I failed to go beyond the academic and intellectual in answering the question. 

The reality is that I know about evolution, and I know about creation, but far more importantly, I know the Creator. I know that Heavenly Father lives, loves us, is merciful to us.

 

I apologise for not giving this piece of essential evidence to my friend. I sent it to him this morning. And I give it to you.

I hope that you can learn to know the Creator instead of only knowing about him. It is essential to read His word - not what people say about His word. Read the Torah, Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, or the Qur'an. It is essential to speak to Him through prayer so that He can speak to you through His holy scriptures. Sometimes He will give you something that He has not already spoken through the prophets, but most of His answers have already been given. We just need to discover them in the scriptures. Prayerfully read with a question in mind and you will find answers. Not many of us are like Saul of Tarsus, Zeezrom, or Alma the younger who will be called to repentance on some road to Damascus or Zarahemla or in the land of Ammonihah. Rather get to know the creator without having to spend days in eternal torment or anguish because of being harrowed up by the memory of our sins.

Compost, braai ashes, flames!

I have a special appreciation for compost because my mother taught me from young about its value.

I spent some time in 1980 to 1981 working under the lofty title of Horticultural Chemist. Part of that involved visiting a place where pine bark compost was made. They had large mounds covered with plastic sheets that would increase the buildup of heat in the mound and prevent excessive evaporation.

Compost is lovely. It is wonderful to dig a hole and put my hand into the hole. It is dirty (clean dirt), but it is hot, even without a plastic sheet over the heap. That heat is generated by earthworms, lice, bacteria and other decomposers that are working away at breaking down the organic material in the heap, releasing nutrient rich, light textured, dark brown material that is wonderful to add to soil for improving the quality of what is grown in the enriched soil. It gives a wonderful water holding, nutrient rich, aerated and well draining substrate that improves the growth of most plants. Some plants cope well without compost, some are better off without compost, but those are rare exceptions.

Sometimes I'll go to the compost heap that I have in my garden and pour on large amounts of cold water. That is not to dampen the spirit in a successful decomposer party, but that cold water is very quickly absorbed by the organic pile and the moisture improves the ability of the decomposers to do what they do best!

A few years ago I had a braai (barbecue) fire on which I cooked some meat on a Saturday afternoon. After the fire cooled I poured the ashes into the compost heap because ash adds valuable nutrients and texture to compost. I was confident that the ash was cold, and I would probably have watered it down with a hose to make sure that it was cold.

The next morning I was startled, to say the lest, to see flames leaping up outside my bedroom window. I rushed outside to hose down the compost heap! Some of the ashes must have got buried as I hosed  them down more than 12 hours before, and as cold as they were, had enough warmth in them that heat built up again with the warmth of the compost heap and then reached a point of combustion. The flames were about 2 metres high!

I was very glad that I was on hand when this excitement occurred and I could immediately douse the flames. A little later and I would have left home to go to Church and then the flames might have been undetected and it is scary to contemplate what damage might have occurred.

This little experience reminds me of the flame of testimony that may seem to be dead, but that can rekindle when enough warmth is added as in the "hot coals" story. It won't happen without warmth, and may not happen with warmth, but if it happens, it can be dramatic! May it happen as much and as often as Heavenly Father wants it to, and may we help to make it happen whenever He wants us to have a part in it.

Do our spiritual muscles also ache when exercised after a long break?

Yesterday I exercised after six weeks of not specifically exercising.

I have spent a wonderful break with family and at the Temple, and I did walk and bend and lift and climb, but I did not do specific exercises that worked the muscles and heart. Then I did my normal 20 to 30 minutes of stretching, bending, running and lifting and today my muscles are letting me know all about it. Not too serious, but definitely aware of these muscles, especially in my legs and back.

This set me wondering as to whether someone who has not been exercising their faith might feel some pain and discomfort when doing some spiritual exercise such as pondering, scripture study, pondering the scriptures, or starting some form of spiritual activity? I suspect that the feeling of remorse about sins of omission or of commission, feelings of guilt or uncleanness, or anything else prompted by our conscience might give us similar discomfort, reminding us of those 'spirit muscles' and we may be tempted to complain and stop exercising. But, just as with physical exercise, it is important to continue exercising, and gradually, but determinedly, increase the pace and frequency of the exercise to get the spiritual heart pumping in a healthy manner and to improve the spiritual muscle tone and decrease the spiritual fat.

If you have been neglecting your spiritual exercise, or are feeling those discomforts from sudden exercise, I encourage you to exercise well and press forward with with a steadfastness in Christ, and persevere. The gain will definitely outweigh the pain.

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).

My parents' stories of their conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

My father Charles Kenneth Powrie 

Born 5 November, 1921 in Lydenburg, Transvaal (Mpumalanga), South Africa

New horizons were there to conquer a year later in the form of an offer of a job by a former shipmate who asked me to move to Johannesburg to join the firm of Stanley Motors, Limited. This I accepted and -in 1946 we moved to Krugersdorp and here we found happiness and joy in building a home and in rearing our two children. Timothy was born here in 1947.

This was a strange, quiet life which seemed to be the calm before the storm. Finally in May, 1950 the change came, quietly and determinedly, when two young Americans knocked on our door with the offer of a message of great importance. My wife, Philippa, as though moved by some unforeseen force, invited these young Elders from Utah and Idaho to come inside whilst the week's wash-for a growing family became of secondary importance.

Mother led the way in this new intellectual exercise, whilst father tagged along in somewhat polite boredom, bred of post experiences which had resulted in such religious excursions. They had provided nothing more than a temporary distraction ending in on obscure wilderness. This time, however, it seemed different, as mother's arguments (given to her so strongly by her mother) appeared to be losing ground in the face of truth which was irrefutable. This resulted in talk of baptism and then why not both of us taking the step? On the 10th of September, 1950 we entered the waters of baptism at old Ramah to join what we now know to be the only true Church and Kingdom of God here upon the earth. We shall always remember with affection the four missionaries who spent time and effort in our conversion, Elders E. Mauary Payne, Parry D. Harrison, Farrell J. Roberts and Dean D. Baxter. Thus started the new life in a Church which, in its temporal appointments, showed very little sign of being the one and only Church of Jesus Christ, for we met in dingy halls and other humble surroundings in limited numbers and with very inadequate facilities. However, the true sweet spirit was there to guide us as we, like infants, crawled, then toddled, then stood upright and walked with our heads high yet humbled by the testimonies which we felt growing within our hearts.

The wisdom of the Lord in prompting growth and testimony through activity soon became manifest in my being called to one assignment after another - branch clerk, branch teacher, counsellor in the Krugersdorp Branch Presidency and then, after having been a member of the Church for just over seven years, the staggering and humbling call to serve as the Transvaal District President. This call in itself was one of the highlights of my life. The day as Transvaal District Conference, 13th April, 1958. We had returned home between sessions and, during that time, received a call from the District President, Brother I.C. Louw, requesting that we come in early. We duly arrived and were ushered into the presence of the Mission President Glen G. Fisher and President Louw, who dropped what I described in my diary as “the bombshell”. I had anticipated some call or another but certainly did not think of a position as the District President! Philippa and I looked at one another in astonishment, but the spirit whispered to us that we could do nothing but accept this high and wonderful calling. We appreciated the sobering honour and I was set apart by President Fisher that he admonished me to recall the promise given to Nephi of old that the Lord would not do anything save he would open the way for them to accomplish that which they had been commanded to do. This had the effect of helping me to recognize the promptings of the spirit in this calling and has been a blessing and a testimony. I have felt my inadequacy fall away in the face of the strength and guidance of the spirit which has helped me to do many things beyond myself and has indeed brought the treasures of Heaven into my life in this great service to the Lord.

The years have rolled by and our family has been increased in that three other precious souls have been brought to us namely, Jane in 1950, Leslie in 1954 and Ronald in 1959. These three children, sent to us during the course of membership in the Church, have all by strange coincidence been born on the 23^rd of their respective months - an honour we felt indeed to be thus matched in some small way with our prophet Joseph Smith, born 23^rd December.

The Church is our life. We have found the answers to every problem in service and in this association with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Recently we celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary of our wedding day, and Philippa and I are able to bear witness to the fact that the sweeter years are here with us now because of the fact that we have attempted to mould our rebellious, stubborn lives, and the lives of our children, to the restored Gospel. We know without any doubt whatsoever, that these Gospel principles hold the key to that happiness and joy which is the heritage of children of men here upon the earth.

We hope and pray that we may continue to serve in this Kingdom and that-we shall be able to enjoy such precious experiences as we have in the more recent years, in having our eldest daughter, Judy, serve an honourable mission in South Africa. Currently our son, Timothy, is serving a mission in the British South Mission, thus bringing the Gospel to others as we had it brought to us.

Our next goal in life is to visit the House of the Lord as a family, to be sealed thus for time and all eternity. With the blessing of the Lord and with our ability to work in this direction also, we hope to achieve this in July, 1969. We pray that this will lead us to be able to serve better in the future and thus repay our Father in Heaven in some small measure for the great and glorious blessings which he has showered upon us over the years.

My mother Beatrice Philippa Dryden Dymond Powrie

Born 26th September, 1917, Mossel Bay,  Cape Province (Western Cape), South Africa

When Judy was nineteen months old, we moved to Krugersdorp, Transvaal, and Timothy was born there on the 2^nd August, 1947 and we decided that our family was complete!

In May 1950 a friend of mine asked me “Have the Mormon Missionaries called on you yet?” I replied that they had not.

“Well, when they do, you must ask them in just to listen to their lovely accents - you don't have to listen to what they say!”

Meanwhile the Church of England Padre had called on me just a short while before that and during our, discussion I had said “But I don't believe that,” or “I don't believe that either”. He challenged me to do the thing which prepared me to receive and accept the gospel when the missionaries presented it to me. He said “Forget what you don't believe and read the Bible to find out what you do believe. Write out a list of the things that you do believe.” I did just this, reading the New Testament, and my list started with 1. I do believe there is a God. 2. I do believe that Jesus is the Christ. 3. I do believe the Bible to be the Word of God.

This surprised me because my mother had studied and passed on to me Theosophy, Yogi-ism, School of Truth, Unity Church of Christianity, etc. She believed that every time the earth needed a Saviour, one would be supplied and that Jesus Christ was only one of many. Also, she far from accepted the Bible to be special word of God, although she quoted from it so often.

The spiritual climate created by my reading the Bible and writing the list of beliefs – I regret that space does not permit me to tell of some of the fancy and very interesting ideas that came into my mind on, the subject! – was just the perfect one for the reception of the message brought by the Missionaries. When they knocked on our door I said “Oh yes, I've heard about you, come right in.”

We joined the church three months later; I, because I knew that it was true, and therefore was duty-bound to support it, and Ken, so he says, to keep me company. Elder Payne, in his last two Months of mission said that he had never lost his temper with any other investigator, but he used to get really mad with me for arguing in favour of reincarnation. In the end he said, “Pray about it,” and I did, because I knew I was right and I wanted to prove him wrong! The answer came to me one morning in a vivid flash of light inside my brain, “either you must believe in reincarnation or you must believe in resurrection – you cannot believe in both.” I investigated the two ideas and decided that I believed the Bible, so I accepted resurrection, and joined the church.

My mother taught me the Law of Tithing, in principle, although as far as I know she never paid tithing herself. A month before we were baptized, when the Missionaries, who were staying with us paid their first month's rent, I said to my husband, “Now can we start paying tithing?” I believed that tithing was the Lord's due, although it still did not seem to matter to me which church we paid it through, so we have been paying tithing ever since, for one month longer than our membership.

We also decided to have a larger family – Elder Harrison said I was still young enough to have four more, but that fourth one has never come. Eleven months later Jane was born on 23^rd August, 1951. Leslie followed on 23^rd February 1954 and Ronald on 23^rd January, 1959 - we began to wonder if the “23^rd” has any special significance for us!

Citation:

Extracted from their autobiograhical entries in a collection of Autobiograhical Sketches.

Wright, Evan P (Editor). 1969. Autobiograhical Sketches - South African Mission - 1969. South African Mission, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Johannesburg, South Africa