Dad's papers

Mon, Aug 26 at 5:17 PM It was fun to be with Miles yesterday as he reported on    his mission to the Stake High Council. He did a great job!    I commented to mama afterwards how rewarding it is as a parent to hear your children be able to articulate so well on the the fly of how the gospel of Jesus Christ influences not only their life, but the lives of those they share it with. This made me think of the blessing a mission has been for me and for you older kids, and how much it will impact Avery, Graham, and Lainey lives in the near future. As you think about the temple endowment and covenants we make there, ponder on how those covenants have been strengthened because of your missionary experience. I think you will see a pattern of how the Lord has taught and instructed each of us through serving Him as a full time missionary.  Think about about it. You learn very early on in your mission the importance of exact obedience, so you can be worthy to call down God’...

  Happy Birthday Emma! I hope you have a great day and Sadie and Noah spoil you a little bit. As Grandpa Miller would say, “23, you’re going to catch up to me! Save me a piece of cake!” We love you so much and hope you feel extra special today! This week we’ve all been studying the war chapters of Alma. It’s a testimony to me that even in these detailed chapters of strategy and war, the name Jesus Christ appears in nearly every chapter. There is so much we can learn from these people in their time of spiritual and physical struggle as they choose to turn to Christ for added power and strength. One verse that stood out to me is found in Alma 48:7 “Moroni ….  had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.” I had the thought or the question: How are prophets today trying to prepare our minds “to be faithful unto the Lord their God”? A talk from this last General Conference by President Oaks stood out to me. Like Moroni with the Tile of Liberty,...

 79 8/12/24  The Summer went quickly and a new school year is upon us again. I hope you older kids have a fun trip visiting GG and Opah in California this week. You will no doubt make some great memories together.   It was hard to send Emma off today knowing our summers of having her move home are gone, but we are excited for all the new adventures that lie ahead for her. As I was giving Emma a back to school Priesthood Blessing last night I had the thought of the blessing it is to be able to see all you kids going “out in the world”, yet clearly living “above the world.” This thought reminded me of a message from this past conference by Elder De Feo about clearing our spiritual vision and rising up as a true disciple of Jesus Christ. He said, “There are many voices today trying to lower our voices as disciples of Jesus Christ. The voices of the world are trying to silence us, but that’s exactly why we must declare our testimony of the Savior louder and stronger. Among al...

 78 (8/5/24) Thank you all for such a WONDERFUL weekend! Miles, it is so good to have you back home! When we were all out in the yard playing games Saturday night I went over to talk to mama sitting on the patio lounge chairs. She was all smiles. She said, “I love each one of them so much, and my mama heart is completely full!” It is a hard feeling to describe, but to have all of you together, enjoying each other, it is just the absolute best feeling. As I think about all of you going back to school here soon, it seems like in away you are leaving the safe haven of home and gong back into the world. Less home and mama time, and more time away, where the influence of the world is a little louder. Obviously this is the way it is meant to be, and we have no doubt you will each thrive and excel wherever you are. But here is an unsolicited reminder from a dad who loves you so so much. Do all that you can each and every day to take the Spirit with you wherever you go. Make this your prio...