The Inane and the Sublime....Thoughts on a Saturday

What a lovely day for the 2nd day of Spring!  It has been dark and cloudy all day long....and cold.  I don't think it even got up to 40 degrees.  I even brought out the portable heater again.  I had rolled up the cord and tucked it away in a closet for the people who will replace us to use next year.

SK went to the temple this morning for an hour and a half.  It makes him so happy to be there.  He works in the baptistry on Saturdays.  He came home looking kind of pale.  I think he is on the mend, but he is without energy....really dragging, and he still has the sinus thing going on.  I may have to be more aggressive in pushing him to see a doctor if he isn't feeling better by Monday.

We sat together and had lunch.  I always sit where I am facing the windows - which go floor to ceiling.  I love it.  However, two things caught me attention.....the first thing was that the sky got dramatically darker....heavy black clouds hung low and the wind picked up significantly.  The apartment got cooler.  The second thing was that activity next door got nearly frantic.

I am talking about rotter....or rats.  Plump little rats scuttled back and forth with great speed.  The last time this happened, it snowed.  I commented to SK that it must be about to snow, based on my scientific observation.  He laughed at me!

Within a half hour, light puffs of snow began wafting down to the ground.  That is when the rats settled down and stayed inside their den.  I'm telling you....those little critters know something.  When the snow comes, they go out shopping and stock up on supplies so they can sit out the cold weather watching old movies and snacking on the bread crumbs that Sister Hamblin puts out for the pigeons.

I have been studying D&C 121, 122, 123 for the lesson on Thursday.  So today while I have been working I have been listening to Truman Madsen talking about Liberty Jail (he recorded several hours of masterful lectures about the prophet Joseph Smith).  I listened to Jeffery R. Holland speaking at a CES broadcast....his topic was "Lessons From Liberty Jail."  I have read and listened to it before and never tire of it.  I also listened to a Mormon Channel panel discussion about the Liberty Jail experience, which was excellent.

All speakers talk about the utterly miserable conditions Joseph Smith and the other men with him suffered for over 5 months.....during the coldest winter on record in Missouri.  It was during that time that he was given some of the most sublime gospel messages ever recorded.  The gospel principles taught and the depth of meaning for every individual life found in those verses are exceptional.  I cannot imagine not being able to find comfort there.

One of the speakers made the point that Joseph Smith was angry when he first began to write the letter, which later was canonized and became the 121st section.  He pleaded in anguish to know where the Lord was in their great need.  As he languished in that foul place, his people were going through some of the worst trials in the history of the Church, his parents, wife and children were suffering, and the outlook for relief was grim.

Yet the revelations that came were a call to lead a Christlike life, to let worldly things dim in importance and to seek to develop the qualities that qualify for the companionship of the Spirit.  They are some of my very favorite scriptures.

We talked to SK's sister Kaye last night, wishing her a happy birthday.  She has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has been told that she doesn't have long to live.  She sounds like she is coming to terms with it, but it must be so very difficult.  SK and I frequently talk about the battles ahead for her. She is much in our thoughts and prayers.  She is a gentle and kind soul who has spent much of her life lovingly caring for others.