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| Sister Blatter and her daughter flanked by two lovely missionaries |
Nothing very “eventful” this week, at least as far as our
work in the office goes. President and Sister Blatter, however, have a heavy
load and a “loaded” schedule. Between now and July 18, they will be
interviewing each missionary. It will require much of their time each day. Then
they’re trying to go out with missionaries in the evenings. In addition to our
responsibilities at the office, we’ll do whatever we can to help them, of
course. But some things only they can do.
We worked on the 4th of July, but were able to
take off a little early. One of the service missionaries and his wife invited
us and two other couples to their home for a BBQ. We could have gone to Steilacoom
or Chambers Bay to watch fireworks, but chose to stay home instead; we were
tired. Instead, we watched fireworks in Herriman & SLC via Facetime. That was a treat. There were fireworks going
off much of the night all around us here in University Place. It sounded like a war zone. But, I’m glad
folks were celebrating America.
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| I've never seen such huge hostas! |
On Saturday, we went to the Seattle Temple. Had to take a picture of flowers there as well as of a statue of a woman and children holding hands in a circle. We were missing our family a lot this week so the statue had special meaning. Elder Hadlock helped me get my mind off home by taking me to a
cute little town called Issaquah (not far from the Temple) for dinner and chocolates! The Boehm Chocolate
Factory is in Issaquah. We will return!
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| View coming out of Temple |
Since we’ve just celebrated Independence Day, I want to
share some ideas on freedom that I just read in a book called The Infinite Atonement by Tad R.
Callister:
Lehi then pled with
his sons to “look to the great Mediator . . . and choose eternal life”; otherwise,
he warned, the devil will have “power to captivate” you and “reign over you” in
his kingdom (2 Nephi 2:28,29).
As we choose the Lord,
he gives us more rope; as we choose Satan, he tightens the noose until we are
in his grasp.
Brother Callister also
quotes Cecil B. De Mille:
“We are too inclined
to think of law as something merely restrictive . . . something hemming us in.
We sometimes think of law as the opposite of liberty. But that is a false
conception. . . . God does not contradict himself. He did not create man and
then, as an afterthought, impose upon him a set of arbitrary, irritating,
restrictive rules. He made man free --- and then gave him the commandments to
keep him free. We cannot break the Ten Commandments. We can only break
ourselves against them – or else, by keeping them, rise through them to the fullness
of freedom under God.”
As we obey God’s laws
we receive increased knowledge of God’s plan, and with increased knowledge
comes increased capacity for freedom.
Gods do not live
oblivious of laws, but through obedience have mastered the laws so that they
might use them to accomplish their purposes.
We are grateful for this country and all its goodness. We know that America was established through divine intervention. Only in America could the gospel and true church of Jesus Christ have been restored. We are grateful for God's laws. Choosing to obey allows God to bless us. We are thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. From personal experience we have learned that application of the Atonement gives us more freedom to become who we really can and ought to become. We are happy AND free when we obey.
We will close with these lines from Bruce R. McConkie's I Believe in Christ:
“I believe
in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan’s grasp he sets me free.”
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