Power sources

This could very well have been my big brother telling me little known facts about things back when we were kids.

And for those who are thinking that the remodel is taking an awfully long time, remember that the original construction took 40 years!

As we get ready for General Conference, it’s time again for the Ward Cartoonist’s semiannual General Conference Activity Pack! Download your copy today — and use it next week!

Keys to the kingdom

Remember the tagline in that old American Express commercial? Membership has its privileges.
 

You can count on it

I saw that Pres. Nelson has announced 200 temples. With the 15 announced in general conference, it brings the total number of temples — announced, under construction or operating — to 382.
 

Sketchbook: Which way?

It was easy back in King Benjamin’s days. There weren’t a lot of nearby temples to choose from!
 

Sunday Afternoon sketch notes

 

Old as the mountains

I don't know about you, but I'm thrilled about the 18 new temples that were announced in General Conference — especially the first one on the list. Busan, Korea, from my old mission! 
 

Easter Week: Cleansing the Temple

"And Jesus went in to the temple of God, and cast our all of them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

"And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."

 

Sketchbook: Conference Notes

I've compiled my sketch notes from October General Conference into a downloadable file. For me, it's a handy review of what I heard, and hopefully the notes will help you remember some of your thoughts and feelings. I thought it was a wonderful conference — and it's given me lots of things to work on!

Conference Notes: Sunday Afternoon

Conference Notes: Sunday Morning

 

Your religion is showing

Watch — it won't be long before Deseret Book starts selling kits to do this at home!
 

Sketchbook: Know your temple

We just had our first two-hour church yesterday — the first time in well over a year! It was kind of strange to be able to see our teacher live and in-person, not on Zoom!

Next step: Getting back to the temple! It'll be like the surge of missionaries for temple work once they open up again!

Time is a rough stone rolling

It would be less painful if it weren't so true. I remember a Primary class where we were challenged to memorize the names of all the temples. Imagine trying to do that today!
 

General Conference: Sunday Afternoon

 

Light the World: Peace on Earth

Today's Light the World service suggestion is to show a place where you feel peace. I couldn't decide between these two.

I think there's great benefit being at the temple even if we're not able yet to be back in the temple.

Sketchbook: Temple prep

It's been a loooooong time since I've been able to do a temple session. I look forward to going back!

Somebody lamented the other day that "only about a hundred" temples are open at any level. At the time, I was reading Saints, Vol. 2 where the one, single temple that was open was overrun with saints who wanted to get their endowment before heading west. What a contrast!

Supply and demand

Remember those old Mervyn's commercials where the gal would stand outside the closed store saying, "Open! Open! Open!"

There's been a lot of family history work done while we've been sheltering in place. With the temples mostly closed, nobody's been able to get in to do any temple work.

When they finally do open to proxy work, there are going to be a lot of people ready to go!

They come in waves

There's a popular burger joint located at the freeway exit just south of our local temple. Every time we go there after the temple, we can count on at least two or three other families from the session being there at the same time.

A lot of restaurants prepare for mealtime rushes; they prepare for a fresh wave of Latter-day Saints every couple of hours.

When the lights go down

A lot of people think it's a huge job to put up the lights on Temple Square. I think that it would be a huge job to take the lights down!

And where do they store the lights in the off season? Is there a big storage area under the Tabernacle with bins full of lights? Or maybe there's a section in granite vaults where they keep them.

Maybe it's just one the mysteries of the kingdom!

The temple doors seem to say to me... we're closed!

The above cartoon is mostly true.

When we got to Rome, the temple was closed.

We’d checked the Tools app to see when the Rome Temple would be open. The information wasn't consistent, and apparently it's updated in real time. When it's nighttime in Rome, the app says that the temple is closed  — which was a bit confusing as we made our travel arrangements back home.

We talked to the folks in the Visitors Center, who told us that the temple offers sessions in the mornings two days a week, in the afternoons two days a week, and all day on Saturday. Today, they said, was an afternoon day.

Our original plan was to do a session in the morning, do some sightseeing in the afternoon, then fly back to Athens in the evening. We decided to bag the sightseeing. We'd probably have a chance to do that again, but this would likely be the only chance we had to see the temple.

We hung out at the Visitors Center for a while (and met some lovely sister missionaries: Sorella Hyatt and Sorella Weaver!), ran back into town to get some lunch, and made it back in time to get ready for the 4:30 session.

Despite all the changes of plans, it was so worth it! The temple was amazing, we made our connecting flight back to Greece, and all was well...

...except for the earthquake that happened that day in Athens. More about that tomorrow!