Why I Believe: “Suffer the Little Children to come unto me.”

September 10, 2014
This will be the first official entry in the WHY I BELIEVE series

It’s purpose is to share a moment that increased or in this case was the germination of belief.

I was three years old. I know because I sat on the Moonbeam row in the very front of the Jr. Sunday School.
There is nothing profound in this earliest religious experience. But it is important to me because it was the first time I felt something special in relation to Jesus Christ.
In the front of the Jr. Sunday School was a large painting of Jesus, similar to this one.

The song, “Reverently, Quietly” was playing softly on the piano. I sat down in the little Moonbeam chair and listened to the melody:
 Reverently, quietly,
Lovingly we think of Thee, 
Reverently, quietly,
Softly sing our melody, 
Reverently quietly, 
Humbly now we pray, 
Let thy Holy Spirit dwell,
In our hearts today.
I felt deep peace and reverence. I sat there looking at the picture and feeling love for Jesus. I wanted to be a good girl for His sake. 
Since that time, I never see that image without remembering what I felt for the Prince of Peace that Sunday morning over fifty years ago.   
“Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is kingdom of Heaven.”

Pray, he is there, Speak, he is listening.

August 24, 2014
As I vacuumed the guest bedroom today, I ran across a picture of my fourth son, Brian. A moment later I found myself whistling “A Child’s Prayer”. I wouldn’t have noticed it, or recognized why, except that I saw my husband smile at me as he passed, and there was more in his expression than mere good cheer.

It was about 16 years ago.  Jeff and I were inspired by all the good-hearted people in our Black Forest Colorado ward to join the ranks of foster parents with the aim toward adoption. There was a four-year-gap between our sixth and seventh children and it seemed natural to fill that gap with a little girl.
The paper work and hoop-jumping were daunting, but after several months of studying child psychology, getting CPR certified and being psychoanalyzed through a questionnaire that asked if we believed we had no hair anywhere on our bodies, (no kidding) we finally got to be certified foster-adopt parents. And then we waited.
We waited and waited. . .six months. We’d always had the impression that there were dozens of children ready and waiting to come to a loving home, and were a little puzzled. Nobody else that we knew, (and we knew four other families that had gone through the process) had waited so long.
But we did have some specific requirements. With a whole house full of boys, (our only daughter was already soon to be off to college,) we didn’t feel prepared to handle the problems and issues that come with a little girl that has been sexually molested. The likelihood of her acting out her experiences with her new adoptive brothers was too great a risk. Add to that the tremendous amount of care a child dealing with those issues would require from her parents, it was simply a matter of hours in the day. We needed a child to fit in to the family without taking too much time away from her siblings.
At last we had an offer. There were two little girls, almost identical ages of our last two boys. They were half-sisters, though until they went into foster care, they had never lived in the same household.
The first few weeks were great. They were sweet, happy, and healthy. But our number six child was unhappy. He seemed to be dealing with more than just jealousy. He was trying to avoid his foster sister as much as he could.
As the older girl was less on guard, strange behaviors began to emerge. She was “herself”, a little sweetheart, during the day, but at night, she began to show signs of severe emotional disturbance.
We watched and wondered and continued to let ourselves fall in love with our two little mites.
But it got worse. The placement worker was unavailable and nobody at DHS claimed to have any information. The little girls were assigned at new caseworker that had never met them because the old one had switched areas of work. I called the former foster mother and asked if she’d noticed certain behaviors. The main things that we were noticing were new, but she had far more information about their background than DHS had given us, and she told us of several incidents that made it absolutely clear that both little girls had been molested probably from their earliest memories. The foster mother said she had reminded the case worker to tell me about those incidents. They were the reason she had asked that the little girls be re-placed in another foster home, even if a foster adopt home wasn’t available.
We surmised that the previous caseworker couldn’t find a suitable adoptive home for the girls and wanted (or had no choice) to place them before she changed to serving adults. She’d emptied their files of the objectionable information (or not shown it to us) and sent them to us with a wish and prayer that we’d manage. We should have been warned that the caseworker was sub-standard when she told us that the younger girl was developmentally delayed because she wasn’t using complete sentences, wasn’t potty trained. She was only 22 months old! And she also claimed that she didn’t know why the older girl was removed from her grandparents home.
 To make a long story short, the older little girl needed the undivided attention of a very diligent, watchful, patient and expert mother and father.
We already loved them both. But we owed it to the children we already had to provide a safe and happy home. From all that required research for certification, we knew how destructive keeping the older one in our home could be. It wrenched my heart to ask to have the older girl moved again.  Bouncing her around would only make her worse and she was an angel most of the time.
Looking back, I believe she had already split her personalities. Her behavior was so extreme in both sides of the spectrum that it’s almost the only explanation that makes sense. And with the evidence of what she had been through mounting, there would have been enough to precipitate it.  
When an emergency caseworker on call heard what had happened one night (I’d been trying to get help through the regular caseworkers and got no response for weeks at a time because of the transition) and determined that the older girl was an immediate threat to the family. She arranged to have her analyzed in a mental hospital.
I met their new caseworker for the first time after the older child had been in the hospital. She had never been to my home, never met the family and never even met the younger sister. But she had met the angel older girl. “And all the hospital workers said she was an angel all the time.”
She scolded me for “doing this to this poor little girl.” She told me I “had no right.” and that she was going to put in our file that we couldn’t have any child that was not Caucasian. This was out on the sidewalk in front of the facility. I corrected her as strongly as I could, trying to explain what had been going on and how she had manifested the dangerous behaviors. I told her what the foster mother had related to me and she said I was making it up.
“We’re taking both girls. You’ve done enough damage already.”
I begged to have a trial separation of the little girls. Just see how the older one got on without her half sister. It wasn’t like they had ever known each other before.
They placed both girls in a new foster adopt home.
The new mother was very sweet. She listened to the whole story and what I’d learned from the previous foster mother.
The father sat in the living room, tapping his foot, shifting in his chair and finally burst out, “Can we get on with this? Do I really have to be here for this? This is your idea, not mine.”
His wife meekly soothed his impatience. He showed no interest in meeting the children. He sat in the driver’s seat while we loaded their belongings.
The older girl went quietly away with just a few tears. It wrung my heart. I knew she was going to be worse off than ever in a hateful man’s home. How I wished I could soothe the ferocious world she’d lived in!
The baby clung to me, screaming Mama! Mama! She had to be physically torn away. She struggled to get loose from her carseat, reaching and sobbing.
The DHS caseworker didn’t come to the transfer. She still hadn’t met the younger girl.
I let myself bawl for a few minutes after the their car spewed gravel down the road as they left. My children hugged me and tried to comfort me and each other. When Jeff got home from work, he assured me over and over that it would be okay. That we’d made the right decision.  The house was very quiet that night.
After the children were tucked into bed, I went into my room to pray.
I knelt there and poured out my worries and woes to Heavenly Father. Who would protect those two little girls from that scowling, rude man? Who would get professional help for that wounded child who did nothing to deserve the nightmare that must have been her life? What would become of them?
I let myself sob out my sorrows, begging The Lord to help them. . .to help me.
Our youngest started to cry in his crib in the room next to ours.

He shared a room with Brian who was almost twelve. “Don’t cry, Thomas,” he said. “Do you want me to sing to you?” Even then, Brian had a beautiful, melodious voice.

Brian and Kelsi on their wedding day

I half-listened as I silently prayed. “Father in Heaven, wilt thou watch over and protect them? Keep them from harm and help their new parents to love and nurture them. . . Sooth this terrible pain I feel! Did we do the right thing?”
 And then Brian began to sing “A Child’s Prayer”

Heavenly Father
Are you really there?
And do you hear and answer every child’s prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away,
But I feel it close around me as I pray.
Heavenly Father, I remember now
Something that Jesus told disciples long ago: “Suffer the children to come to me:
Father, in prayer, I’m coming now to thee.

The descant or second verse is in a lower, slower melody

Pray, he is there
Speak, he is listening
You are his child
His love now surrounds you.
He hears your prayer
He loves the children
Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav’n.

I cannot yet, after sixteen years, hear that song without having tears come to my eyes. I still pray for those two little girls from time to time. They’d both be young adults by now.
Nor can I hear that song without remember the feeling that penetrated my heart when I received the answer to my earnest prayer in the moment and power that I needed it most.

Pray, he is there
Speak, he is listening
You are his child
His love now surrounds you. 

How to can/bottle fruit using a pressure cooker

August 18, 2014
I planted my first fruit tree in my own yard about 25 years ago. It was a pear tree that languished in the heat and sand of the high desert of Los Angeles County. Then some advice from an orchardist caused me to quadruple the water I was giving it and to sock it with some lawn fertilizer.  The little tree bloomed and leafed out mid summer like it was the beginning of Spring. Six little pears grew on that poor little tree. When they were about half size, I babysat for a friend. Her six-year-old came in with all six pears in his grubby little paw. “Look what I found in your back yard,” he said. 
My fruit growing attempts were thwarted by Mother Nature as we moved before the little tree had time to re-bloom. I planted peaches, pears, apples and apricots in Colorado. I replanted a few years later when the horses and deer had destroyed the first round.  After 12 years in the house we built, I got about a dozen peaches off of a tree right before we moved. 
Oklahoma is good for tree fruit. Before the boxes were unpacked, I went to the store and bought the last little peach and plum in the garden center. The plum started producing a nice little crop about 4 years ago. The dwarf peach gave us a decent little crop, just enough to eat, about three years ago. 
In the meantime, I planted nine more fruit trees. More peaches, two pear, two apple, a cherry, an apricot, a nectarine.  
This year, for the first time in my adult life, we have a truly abundant harvest. We had more plums than we could use, and as many peaches as we wanted. We did have to place smudge pots under the trees one night when a late frost came, and one pear and one peach didn’t produce anything. But everything else is going strong. The squirrels and racoons got about half the peach crop off the bigger Elberta tree, but here is a sample of one day’s picking. 
The pears are “Ayers” variety and happily, I picked them green before the varmits were attracted to the tree. I HIGHLY recommend the Ayers pear. They are firm, sweet and juicy with a fine texture and a smooth skin.
They took two years longer to produce a crop than the Bartlett, but they are resistant to fireblight and the Bartlett is stricken every year, so that it drops its crop before it’s ready. 
So, I’m finally able to can fruit that I have raised myself.  I have learned that pressure canning is the quickest and easiest. 
I got the best results by filling the jars with peeled, sliced fruit to within an inch of the top, adding a 4-1 water to sugar syrup, (maybe a little less for some) wiping the rim, placing the lid and pressuring in the pressure canner, (see it in the background on the stove?) on 5 pounds of pressure JUST UNTIL IT STARTS TO HISS.  I immediately turn it off and let it cool for about half an hour. Then I remove the jars to cool on the counter. 
I did exactly the same process with the pears. (I blanch the skins off the peaches in boiling water. I peel the pears by hand, since blanching turns them brown and you lose too much of the fruit.)

A Mission Call for Thomas

August 16, 2014
Drum roll please!!!!!!
We’re laughing, it’s true, but it feels right!
Thomas will report to the Mexico City MTC on Dec 31 to learn Spanish in preparation to serve in the Salt Lake City West Mission. 
He received a confirmation as he read the call that it was truly from the Lord. He’s happy!

Exciting times and HUGE research on Creating Strong Families

August 15, 2014
Tick, tick Tick

We’re waiting for our youngest child, Thomas’s mission call. If not this week, it will be here next week. They usually come on Wed, or Thursday, so I ‘m thinking next week. He’ll be our 7th missionary. I predict he’ll be called to a Spanish Speaking South American Mission. Argentina? He’ll serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years, wherever he’s called.

NEWS FLASH! I CHECKED THE MAIL AND THE CALL IS HERE!  WE’LL ASSEMBLE THE FAMILY (BY PHONE) AT 5:30 THIS EVENING.  I’LL POST HERE THIS EVENING!

I’m waiting to hear from Susan Brower whether she’s decided to represent me and “The Pig Wife” as a literary agent. HOPING! She’s great!
 I have a family history story due to the Oklahoman (newspaper, for you non-Okies) by the 19th.
Somebody hacked my computer. Wiped all my personal files. . .including the three unpublished novels and 60-70 short stories, all my public affairs templates and training materials. (I managed to restore it all except for the half-finished newspaper article mentioned above. I’ll have to start over on that one.) I have changed all stored passwords. Whew!) (I had backed almost everything up, but it feels like such a violation!)
Probably the same somebody used my credit card number to pay a dating and escort service in Montreal and two other similar charges. The other two were with a “Bi-racial” service. Hmmmmm. I’m having an interesting week!
But as I was doing a bit of research for the Family history story, (I’ll link to it when it’s published) I found this INTERESTING research! This needs to be known by every parent and grandparent in the world! It’s huge!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html?_r=2&

I realize that there are many things my dear old husband, (36 years on Sunday) and I did very well. But most of the traditions we created were motivated by him. He’s always loved to gather his children around him like a hen gathers her chickens under the wings. I did the daily stuff, like meals and holidays and birthdays, teaching them to work, etc. We both felt strongly that it was important to pray as a family first thing every morning, (often at 5:30 a.m, before Seminary for the teens) and last thing at night. We held our Family home evenings every Monday evening too. They weren’t fancy in the content, but they were absolutely consistent. We always had a special treat, and we did SOMETHING together.
 Jeff has always been the outing and vacation planner. He also has made a tradition of taking the family visiting the sick, afflicted, needy, housebound, hospital bound people that he knows of. He doesn’t require an assignment or hold them (the needy) to any standard of behavior to receive his compassion.That might be the most important legacy he’ll leave to his children. His good example has rubbed off on all of us, I think.

What are your traditions? Please share and help the young’uns strengthen their families.

Thoughts on Undocumented Children

July 25, 2014

A friend recently told me of her family’s astonishingly kind act. They bought and remodeled a home for their parents. The parents had no where else to go. They had no credit, no money and because of their history of not taking care of their home, no landlord would rent to them.
I would imagine that most readers will identify what happened next, before I need to say it.
Those receiving the freebees didn’t take care of their free home.
They attracted others to come freeload with them.
They didn’t keep it clean. It became infested with cockroaches.
They dumped grease down all the drains in the house because it was easier than disposing of it in the garbage, until there was not one drain in the house working. The drains all started leaking.
Leaking plumbing was allowed to continue to leak and leak and leak until the floors rotted out.
The place reeks of mold and decay and would be condemned if investigated.
Now the home is unlivable. The parents have nowhere to go. No landlord will rent to them. They’re health is damaged from living in such unwholesome circumstances. The generous children still owe a chunk on a mortgage.
How would you advise my friends to handle this situation?

Are you surprised by the recipients’ behavior? Why?  Dysfunctional people do not become high achievers just because they receive something for free. In fact they value less those things for which they have made no sacrifice. It is human nature to value something in direct proportion to how much effort it took to obtain it.
.
1.  People like free stuff.
2. The more of it they get, the more of it they seek,
3. The more they get, the less value they perceive to be receiving
4. They soon believe that because they’ve received it in the past, they DESERVE to continue to receive it.
5. Most importantly, the more that someone else tells them that they are incapable for providing for themselves by their own labors, the more they BELIEVE IT!
6. We have created a generation of people that don’t believe that they can succeed if they work hard and maintain high moral ethics by extending welfare, workers comp, etc far far far beyond reasonable limits.

We are systematically cutting the hamstrings of the poor and needy Americans by not enforcing strict limits on the free stuff. Free stuff should be limited to those incapable of providing for themselves, who have no other resources.
We are motivating young people to give up on education and effort, since the only risk they see is that they will have to steal to get some of the extras they want. They no longer connect their labor to providing for their needs and wants.
The USA is attracting free-loaders from all over the world by giving away free stuff.
Those coming here for the freebees, often become human traffic, forced into prostitution and criminal behaviors by predators.
The children that are flooding across our boarders in hope of free stuff, without the help, protection, guidance of caring adults are leaping into a shadowed abyss, a moral vacuum of ignorance, abuse, crime, disease and dependency.
There are no vacancies in the American Foster System. Every state has a shortage of foster homes, let alone adoptive homes. There is literally no healthy place for these children to go.
There are thousands upon thousands of foster children languishing for want of a permanent home. Case workers are so overloaded that need, abuse, molestation are impossible to prevent.
America is utterly unequipped to take care of ANY more children without parental support. We’re often failing dismally in doing it for the citizens.

These are two of my sons and grandson on a hike to Ice Lake in Colorado, but the image applies symbolically.  

These children are just trading a Guatemalan street for an American street, a Columbian gang for an American gang. Somebody is paying their way, however. How much better to invest that money in helping them at home!
 So it makes sense that those governments facilitating these travelers are glad to see them go. They are a symptom of those governments’ social disorders and dysfunctions.
The only solution for undocumented children who make it or who have made it across our boarders is to sort them into 747’s headed to their countries of origin, and feed and clothe them once they’re airborne. Inoculate them against disease while they’re on the jet. This would cost only a tiny fraction of the cost currently proposed by the American president. It will return the problem of caring for these people to those responsible for it.
If American’s feel compassion for the hopeless existence these children face, get involved in international programs that feed and educate children in their own countries. Such organizations abound. They are sponsored by churches and other altruistic organizations.
The US government is NOT an altruistic organization. It seems to acknowledge that by giving tax exemptions for donations to REAL charitable organizations.
The US Government  is so gigantically obese that it does nothing well and is chock full of waste and decay.
Compassionate people will stop the US’s  debilitating practice of doing for people what they can and ought to do for themselves.
 They will donate and help organizations that address the needs of children all over the world.

They’ll work with their own two hands to make a difference, one person at a time. 

Thoughts on why children are sealed.

July 19, 2014
I’ve been pondering a question for months and believe that I have finally come to understand it. Note that I don’t claim any official right or duty to declare doctrine nor do I have more information than is available to everyone. This is merely the result of my asking a question with a true desire to understand it so that I can help some friends that are struggling with this doctrine.
The question is ‘why are children sealed to parents? It is NOT a covenant, because a living child is either sealed automatically upon birth or sealed by authority to parents later. But the child makes no promise.
Every person ever born on earth must be sealed to parents. So if it’s generally applied, why is it necessary at all? 
We will be judged for our own sins and nobody else’s. There is a case I am close to where many children were born “in the covenant”.  That means that they were automatically sealed to their parents at birth because their parents had covenanted to be faithful to God and Jesus Christ forever. But the husband broke the covenant he made and the marriage dissolved. He lost his membership in the Church.  So, what happens to those kids who are sealed to two people who probably won’t be sealed to each other much longer?
The answer is ‘nothing’. Their sealing is not jeopardized in the least.  How could a just God penalize children who had nothing to do with their parent’s choices? Obviously he doesn’t.
So what about my friend who was baptized as a married adult.  Her husband was not baptized and so current policy is that the children can’t be sealed to her yet. Is she penalized by her husband’s unwillingness to join the Church?  Are her children? Of course not. God is perfectly just.
So what about the person who married outside the faith but has remained faithful to the covenant he or she made at baptism? He or she is urged to attend the temple and receive all the promises contained in the endowment, independent of his/her spouse. All the promises are made “through your faithfulness’ and are not contingent upon ANYBODY else’s behavior.
 The same is true of a marriage partner who suffers with an unworthy/unfaithful spouse, whether sealed or not, active in the Church or not. Will their blessings be withheld because they have a bad egg as a spouse? Impossible.
So what significance does the sealing of families have to us? If a child is ‘born in the covenant’ WHAT IS THE COVENANT??
As simple as it sounds, it is the covenant of baptism.  We promise to be true disciples of Jesus Christ. He promises that if we do, we will have eternal life. It’s in the Book of Mormon and the New Testament. It’s clear as it can be.
In 2nd Nephi Chapter 26, Isaiah is explaining that ALL MEN EVERYWHERE are called to come unto Christ.
This is why in the New Testament, in Second Peter, we learn that Jesus preached to the dead during the time that his body lay in the tomb. Because even though they died without baptism, they’ll be given that opportunity by proxy baptism.
 Every living soul is judged only by the law we have received. A young child who dies without baptism is alive in Christ. They were too young to have received sufficient law to act accountably and therefore are innocent and promised all the same blessings of the willfully innocent. This is another element of the covenant our Heavenly Father offers us.

Here’s the proof. The work we do in temples is designed to bind all of mankind together by covenant. The work and glory of God is to bring us all back to Him. This is done through the covenant. So he seals his promise (like a signature on a contract) that we will receive exactly what He promises.
 This is the literal application of the promise Nephi repeated from Isaiah. ALL children of God will be given eternal life if they keep His commandments. In 3 Nephi 11, the first words out of the resurrected Lord’s mouth to the people in America were ‘Come unto me, be baptized and receive eternal life.’ That’s the end all, be-all of true religion. That is the contract OFFERED by our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ to all Mankind.

Lest you panic that I am dismissing the temple endowments, I’ll point out that there is nothing in our covenants there that is not implicit in the covenant of baptism. The temple covenants are a delineation of the laws and principles we must keep in order to receive eternal life. Those temple covenants are more information, a way of knowing the boundaries and recognizing the signposts along our path. They are described generally in the Sacramental prayers of our weekly meetings.  It is the process of becoming a true disciple.
All people that have reached accountability must come unto Christ and follow him. That covenant must be demonstrated through baptism.
So why are children sealed?  Why must every child be sealed? Because our loving Heavenly Father forbids none to come unto Him. It is his way of showing us that the covenant is available to all of us. Every single living soul, every human being that has ever lived.

A marriage where both parties have covenanted with God to keep his commandments, to follow Jesus Christ, and to humble ourselves as little children, the way Jesus said was necessary, and then strive to DO what we have promised, is FAR more likely to teach the covenant to their children and to raise their children to love and worship their Father in Heaven. But sooner or later, the Lord offers that covenant to every single person that has ever lived.
The covenant that is sealed upon us is the opportunity to come to Christ and receive redemption through him. The sealing is making the offer and conditions of the that covenant official. It is done by priesthood authority because only those authorized by God to act in His behalf: as His agent, may extend promises in His behalf.
When we have met the conditions of that promise and endured to the end of our lives, we receive the fruit of the Lord’s side of the covenant. It’s specified in the temple, but it’s generally defined by Jesus in the New Testament and Book of Mormon as “Eternal Life.” 
Throughout the Old Testament, we hear God calling Israel his “chosen people.” The house of Israel are the children of ‘the covenant’. That means that anyone who makes and keeps the Covenant is part of the house of Israel, if not literally, then by adoption. So sealing of children is acknowledgement by GOD that the covenant between God and Man is available to all creatures, everywhere.
Whether we ENTER that covenant through baptism is up to us. We each individually decide whether or not to activate the promises offered to us by our loving Heavenly Father.

The final redo for The Angel’s Song

July 3, 2014

The original version of The Angel’s Song is a teenager now. I did some minor edits and tweaks when I retrieved the copyrights from the original publisher and made it available online. But I’ve rewritten it for the last time now, according to a higher literary standard. I mainly fixed some issues with the flow and tension of the story. My brother “Jiggs” made some observations about it that resonated, and I finally decided it was worth doing. I realized that as long as it bears my name on the front, I owe it to my readers to make it well worth the trouble of buying and reading! So far this year, there have been over 650 downloads.    

Those familiar with this blog will also notice that I have changed the cover.

 The original book has the art work of Amie Jacobsen on the front cover. But it is very Christmas-y and I realized that there’s no reason to promote this book as a Christmas story, since the overall theme is not related to Christmas.  SOO, I’ve given it a simple, most-of-the-year cover, and will probably revert to the previous red cover with the angel ornament closer to Christmas.  We’ll see.

I’ve enabled the button on Amazon.com that allows you to download the new version to Kindle for free, if you’ve already purchased an earlier version.  I imagine that you can re-download for free too, if you got in on the free weekend earlier this year.  
I dearly welcome any and all reviews on Amazon for either of my currently published books!   

Best Plum Jam EVER tutorial. Thoughts on Ordain Women issue is below the jam tutorial.

June 24, 2014

BEST PLUM JAM EVER!

This is a bumper year for soft, summer fruits, and garden vegetables.  These plums are good for jam. . .not so good for eating because all of the flavor is in the very tart skin. Each morning, I go on an Easter Egg hunt, looking for the plums that have turned red in the last 24 hours and dropped on the ground.


  Next I harvest the plums that are mostly red or turning pink from the tree.  For jam, it doesn’t seem to matter if the plums have turned red/pink. I’ll add a few yellow ones if I’m short of 8 pounds of fruit.  This variety is too tart to eat fresh in either case.

Place canning lids in boiling water and let stand until ready to use.  This will help prevent the skim of mold that can grow on the very top surface of jam that sits in storage for a long time. (But if it does form, skim it off and enjoy anyway.) There is too much sugar in jam for it to spoil in the jar.

Rinse the plums, make sure there are no stems, and then cook down to soup consistency. Use a pressure cooker or a pot with a lid for simmering.   Pictured is my new favorite appliance! It’s an Cuisinart electric pressure cooker. I put the plums in with about ¼ cup of water, set the pressure to high, set the timer for 15 minutes, pop on the lid and then go do something else. I can leave the house, run an errand, take a nap, weed my garden.  Previously, the one flaw of cooking with a pressure cooker is that it requires close monitoring.  Not any more!  It turns itself off when the 15 minutes is up and keeps the contents warm until I remember to proceed to the next step.  It replaces a rice cooker, (brown rice takes 15 minutes of pressuring) . . .it does everything that a small pressure cooker can do, but it’s easier!) Because it’s timed, you can entirely replace a crock-pot,(slow cooker). But enough of the unpaid infomercial!

Do NOT pour off the liquid. It’s pure plum juice and FULL of flavor!

Once the cooked plums are cool enough to handle, I grab the plums in a clean fist and squeeze the pulp away from the seeds. When I have all the seeds out, the fruit is thick liquid and slightly more textured than applesauce.

If using liquid pectin, cut open the pouch and stand in a cup of hot water to loosen up while you bring the jam to a boil.

 I usually double my recipe, (because I have a big, deep pot). I measure out 9 cups of the pulp into my cooking pot.

Ready for sugar

If using powdered pectin (purchased in the canning department at Walmart) add it to the fruit and bring to a boil before adding the sugar.  Add 15 cups of granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons of good quality vanilla and two teaspoons of ground cinnamon.  (Trust me! Though the vanilla and cinnamon are optional, they’ll make it an “artisan” jam that is so delicious, you’ll be sending me love notes!)

Bring to full rolling boil on medium high heat, stirring constantly. I use a great big grilling spatula for stirring to keep my hand away from the heat.  I could use an oven mitt.  When the jam is boiling add liquid pectin,  and stir in well. 

Use either liquid pectin (more reliable in my opinion) or powdered. 

Cook jam on full boil for four minutes and turn off.  It should be thickening on the spatula somewhat, though still dripping off. 

If foam on the jam bothers you, add a teaspoon of butter or margarine with the sugar. I like the foam, so I leave out the butter. 


Pour/ladle hot jam into clean jars. This recipe will make about 9 pints. I’m using quarts because we eat a lot of jam. I bottle it in pints for gifts.

Wipe rims of jars with a damp cloth or paper towel to be sure there’s nothing on the rim to interfere with a good seal.  Place the flat canning lid and tighten with the band.  Carefully turn the jar upside down until warm to the touch.
My left thumb is shaped more like a toe. Are you jealous?

Turn right side up.  Rinse away any stickiness from the bottle and store in a cool, dark place until you serve it triumphantly to your mother-in-law at Thanksgiving. . .(at least TRY
 to save one jar! It’s so hard to resist!)

If you’re reading the instructions on the pectin package, you’ll notice that I’m using only half the called-for pectin.  Plums (particularly the skins) are very high in pectin and more than make up for the shortage.  

Did you know that you can combine fruits to make jams? Just use half of each of two recipes (from inside the pectin package) and get unusual and delicious combinations.  Try Blackberry –Peach or blackberry-plum for starters!  Raspberry-nectarine will knock your socks off, too! But you’ll LOVE this plum jam, too.  

Thoughts on the Ordain Women question.

June 18, 2014

What is the doctrine of the Priesthood? Why are women not ordained to offices in the Priesthood organization?

I think I’ve finally sorted out all the particulars in this “Ordain Women” issue.  The underlying problem, I think, is that many, many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Mormons) don’t understand the priesthood.  They don’t know what it is or how it operates. In my observation, this problem is equally likely in males as females and is why the people involved in the Ordain Women movement won’t accept Elder Dallin H. Oaks’ talk on the subject as an answer to their anguish.

First, I’ve considered where these women, who are demanding that the Apostles pray for new inspiration, are coming from. (Do they know the story of Martin Harris and the lost manuscript? He wouldn’t take no for an answer until the Lord was wearied and said, Okay, have it your way…and take the consequences.) I would expect them to report that they have been ignored, belittled or undervalued by local priesthood leaders. They’re hurt and/ or they’re mad.
 I have had the sensation when I’ve been offended by what I perceived as the misbehavior of leaders, that I’d like to retaliate. “Bust that ninny “down” to a scout leader.” I doubt that there are any people in the world that have not run across a domineering, selfish person. BUT then I prayed about it.  I complained mightily in no uncertain terms and was astonished by the answer I received:

“Don’t you think I am grieved when people use their position of authority to dominate instead of to bless? Don’t you think I am MOST offended by acting badly in my name? BUT…I still love him. I still want him to learn and do better. If I can love him,(who really is misbehaving) how much easier is it to love you, who are trying hard to do right?”

I felt an outpouring of love for my Heavenly Father, from my Heavenly Father and also for the man/men who had offended me. I caught a glimpse of how the Lord saw him and considered for a moment what insecurities caused him to respond to me in the way that he had.

 As Ben Hur says, “I felt his words take the sword out of my hand.” The answer, like it always is, was love.

Back to the point. There will always be chauvinists. Changing the methods of leadership in the Church will not cause one male or female to repent or humble themselves enough to see how they have offended others. Only the chauvinist can decide to make one less of those in the world.

The priesthood, as defined in Church doctrine, is the ability and authorization to act in behalf of Jesus Christ. This is his Church and he has delegated that ability or authorized the righteous to act as he would act were he physically present. He honors those righteous acts and ordinances both in heaven and on earth as though he performed them himself. The promises inherent in a covenant are binding on Him when done by the authority of the Priesthood. But a covenant is only useful or relevant if the person making the covenant, (as in covenanting to be a disciple of Christ through the ordinance of baptism) lives by it. It matters nothing who performed the ceremony if the person receiving it doesn’t make the covenant with God.

So the question is: How would Jesus act? What is it that he charges us, as disciples of Christ, to do? If you answered “Read the scriptures and say your prayers,” you’d be wrong. We are constantly instructed to pray and to study the scriptures every day, not as an end, but as a MEANS to an end.  When we do those things, we feel his Holy Spirit. When we feel inspired, (another word for feeling the Holy Ghost/Spirit) we act on those promptings.  Those promptings will instruct us on how to minister to others. We’ll see whom we need to forgive. The needy, naked, lonely, hurting, will become noticeable to us. We’ll recognize how to best use our time, how to influence others for good. We’ll be motivated to work hard at our responsibilities. The Sermon on the Mount, (as recorded in Matt. 5-7) will become our daily instruction for what to DO, not what to know. We will come unto Christ by degrees as we step toward him.  This mighty change is the WAY we apply his atoning blood to our lives. We accept the Savior by accepting his direction and instruction and then following it.

In Matthew 7:21 Jesus instructs us, “Not everyone that saith unto me “lord, lord” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” That’s what EVERYTHING in the Church is about: Learning to communicate with God so that he can direct us in doing His work.  Only by becoming his disciple, by acting as he would act, do we have part in Christ’s atoning sacrifice.  

Do women have less access to inspiration or promptings from the Holy Ghost than men? Of course not. Do we have less responsibility to respond to those promptings when they direct us to bless some  persons’ life? Of course not. Do we have less ability or right to help others understand and feel the indescribable love our Heavenly Father has for EACH of His children? Of course not. Do women have less liability in regard to the charge “Feed my sheep!”? Not by a long shot.

Each month, Mormon women are assigned to visit a few other women in their congregation, (called a ward). We call it “visiting teaching” We are expected to look after their needs and minister to them spiritually and temporally.  We build friendships and share our testimonies of Jesus Christ as we learn to help others. This program is in place, just in case a woman doesn’t have enough opportunity, or notice her responsibility to feed his sheep.When we’re in leadership roles, sometimes we don’t get down to the service element in our callings. So we have our assigned visits to keep “the rubber on the road.” It’s designed to soften our hearts and help us feel gratitude for our blessings. It’s a way of ensuring that each of us can be actively ‘coming to Christ.’

Every active Mormon woman and Mormon man is given an (unpaid) job or calling in the Church. Some of my more demanding “callings” have regularly taken more than 20 hours per week.  I’ve learned to minister wisely to the poor through the welfare program of the Church. I’ve learned to conduct a meeting in a timely way. I’ve learned to delegate and to lead by a leading example. I’ve learned to speak in public without getting nervous. I’ve taught adults and little children and every age in between.  As a seminary teacher, teaching a roomful of teenagers at 6:00 a.m. every school day, I’ve learned diligence and honed my ability to prepare and present meaningful lessons that will interest a tough crowd. (When they were awake enough to engage!) I’ve learned to council and to receive council.  I’ve also had my hurts soothed and my heart softened as I worked with the tiny children in the nursery. I’ve made hundreds of friends. I’ve even had hundreds of opportunities to use my writing talents through responding to a simple request from a priesthood leader.

All of these callings and many others have pushed me outside my comfort zone. They’ve forced me to stretch, to become, to grow and develop. They have given me confidence. All of these are “priesthood assignments.” All of them have been given through men who held the responsibility of directing the work.   

So what is it that the Ordain Women group want?  Ostensibly, they want to be allowed to hold new keys in the organization of the Church. Perhaps they want the right to perform ordinances.  They feel slighted by the restriction on which keys they are allowed to hold.

But women in the Church may hold some keys.  The presidents of the Relief Society, Young Women’s or Primary organizations, are given the keys to her priesthood calling (would ministry be a more precise word?). Men are not allowed to serve in the directing positions in any of those organizations. Women do not hold the “master” key over all priesthood assignments. Those demanding and extremely time-consuming responsibilities are relegated to men.  There is order and design in the Church to prevent inefficient chaos.

So the “Ordain Women” group feel they will have more respect and or honor if they are also allowed to hold the “master keys.”

But nobody is paid for the work they do in the Church.  All this foment is that these women think they want to donate a larger share of their weekly time to doing the Lord’s work.  No, that can’t be it. There is already PLENTY for everyone to do.  If ever I am a little bored, I can call up the women I visit teach and ask them what they need to have done or would like to do. I can minister to the needy or lonely. I can volunteer in a local food bank or . . .or. . . .or.  . . There are always plenty of sheep that need feeding.

So perhaps these ladies want to perform ordinances.  We know that it isn’t gender that prohibits women from administering ordinances like baptism because some of the ordinances in the temple are performed by women.

 I have often pondered the possibility that the act of gestating and giving birth through the blood and water from a woman to give mortal life is an ordinance very closely parallel to other saving ordinances.  It is in a woman’s body to perform the “ordinance” that brings a spirit into a mortal body. It is absolutely necessary to be born in order to return to our Father in Heaven.  An understanding of the holiness of this process, so essential to the children of our Father in Heaven, explains why our bodies are sacred and why sexual behavior is so closely guarded by the laws of God. Bringing forth a child into mortality is a holy sacrament…not a plaything.  The other saving ordinances are left for the men to perform so that they have an equal opportunity in blessing other’s through the power of godliness.  

So what is the doctrine that dictates that women cannot be given the “master keys?”

It is the doctrine of the family.  It has nothing to do with whether women are capable of being bishops and stake presidents. Of course we could.  We are presidents of stake and ward Relief Societies. We know how to run an organization. We know how to delegate. We work hard. We love to serve others because we love the Lord.

 But who is going to care for the children? Who is going to nurture the family? Who is going to take care of the physical work involved in caring for a home? Who is going to comfort the hurting child, council the searching teen, advise the young adult and demonstrate Christian behavior,  if the mother AND father are off doing “administrative Church Work?”

One parent at least needs to be devoting their time to ministering to their family. Why does it need to be the woman in the home instead of the man? Because God has physically, spiritually and emotionally equipped women uniquely for that work. It’s the difference between the effects of estrogen and testosterone. Men naturally protect, defend, and provide, and women naturally nurture, nest, and grow nice, cushiony fat!

 My father was the bishop of our ward through most of my growing up years. Coupling that with lots of hobbies and interests and a willingness to avoid the stress of a large family’s interactions, he was rarely actually in the house with the family. While my mother often also held demanding callings in the Church, hers were mostly callings that didn’t require the  privacy of an office or time away from home.  I’m not excusing my dad for absenting himself. But I recognize that men in demanding leadership callings in the Church need to MAKE time for their families.  It has to be a conscious, diligent effort. When David O McKay said that “No other success can compensate for failure in the home,” he did NOT exclude success in Church service. An absent parent is an absent parent, regardless of the cause.

Ordaining women to additional leadership roles in the Church would diminish the time spent with their families. The family is under “heavy fire” from a wicked world.  The last thing in the world that the Lord is likely to do, is to lower yet another shield and pull women away from the home where they are most needed.

The home is the workshop for heaven.  In the home, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters learn to resolve conflict, love, serve, and work hard. In families we learn about Jesus Christ and we learn to love him and to serve him. My role as a woman, wife, mother and now grandmother is not diminished one iota by what it is not. I can feel my Father in Heaven’s love and do His work and incorporate His will into my daily walk, regardless of the nature of my current calling or the high-ness or low-ness of it.

Jesus said, “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” (Matt 23:11-12)

  “But Jesus called them unto him and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; But whosever will be great among you let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matt 20: 25-28. Ironically, the phrase “give his life for the ransom of many” is most relevant to this issue. As women, we give our lives (what is our daily time if not the stuff of our lives?) to benefit others. Like the Savior, we sometimes must sacrifice heavily for the sake of love. Is there a more Christlike behavior than sacrificing our time for the love of our children? The very nature of a mother’s life engenders Christ like attributes. For men, it must be assigned and developed. The Lord has provided myriad ties and links to help men bind themselves to their families, if they desire righteousness.  

Women play an essential role in our Father in Heaven’s plan. Without women caring for and nurturing the foundation of society, progress individually and socially grinds to a stop. Being  “essential” is not a lesser role, any more than the foundation, which is underneath a skyscraper, is less important than the visible part.

To suggest that women’s work nurturing the family, homemaking and building society through positive interactions that promote love of God and love of neighbors is less important than administering ordinances and governing the Church, is to teach false doctrine. It contradicts the doctrine the Savior taught. It employs another ramrod against the structure of the family. And it demeans and belittles the importance and significance of roles of women. The seriousness of the threat this type of thinking poses cannot be overstated.  
The doctrine of the priesthood, (Come, follow me) was revealed by the Savior himself and it available freely to everyone who desires to come unto Christ.
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