Church Dedicates 142nd Temple

The Church’s 142nd temple and Arizona’s fourth was dedicated on Sunday, 2 March 2014. Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presided over the dedicatory services and gave the prayer in the second session. His first counselor, President Henry B. Eyring in the First Presidency, offered the temple dedicatory prayer in two of the sessions.

Joining President Monson were President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency; Elder Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy; Elders William R. Walker and Kent Richards of the Seventy; Ann Dibb, President Monson's daughter, and David E. and Nancy R. LeSueur, Gilbert Arizona Temple president and matron.

 

The Gilbert Arizona Temple, located east of Phoenix, was dedicated in three sessions, and broadcast to Church meetinghouses throughout the state. Choirs composed of Latter-day Saints from within the temple district (district is a geographical area around the temple) provided the inspirational music for the cornerstone ceremony and dedication.
During the traditional cornerstone ceremony where the final block is cemented in place, President Monson said to those gathered, “There is sunshine in my soul today,” referring to the rainstorm during the cultural celebration Saturday evening.

To the children he remarked, “You're going to help build the temple. All the children take note; this is a very special day in their lives and one day they can come to the temple to be married.”

President Monson waved to the children but specifically noticed Kendall Crum, a 16-year-old disabled girl, waving at him. Kendall's mom later said that she has always loved President Monson and talking to him was an answer to prayer. He asked her what her favorite song was. Her mom responded, “Called to Serve,” to which Kendall signed, “I love you.”
The temple dedication was preceded by a cultural celebration Saturday evening at Discovery Park in Gilbert, Arizona. “What a wonderful sight,” said President Henry B. Eyring. He told the performers and audience, “You will never forget this night. Years from now you’ll bring your children to this spot. You will tell them how you felt as you participated in this great cultural celebration before the dedication of the beautiful temple of God.”
Approximately 12,000 youth of the Church from Gilbert, Chandler and surrounding areas celebrated Arizona and the history of the Church through narration, song and dance. The theme of the performance was “Live True” and focused on heroes throughout the ages who lived true to their faith.
The 85,000-square-foot temple features ivory-colored exterior, high-quality precast concrete and stone accentuated with fine rustications and beautifully crafted art glass windows. The building’s dimensions are 193 feet by 165 feet, and it is crowned with the statue of the angel Moroni, which is on the top of the tallest spire at 195 feet. Moroni is significant to Latter-day Saints for his role in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Gilbert Arizona Temple will serve approximately 100,000 members of the Church in Gilbert and the surrounding areas. Other Arizona temples in operation include Mesa, Snowflake and The Gila Valley Temple. The Phoenix Temple is under construction, and the Tucson Temple is currently in the planning and approval phase.
Prior to the temple dedication, more than 400,000 people attended the three-week open house in January and February to view each room and learn the purpose of temples. Special open house guests included Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, United States senators John McCain and Jeff Flake and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, as well as many clergy and community leaders.

Enduring Love

 

Let us always show our love one to another. 

Getting to know our Meadows Ward sisters!

Questionnaires were sent out by email months ago and FINALLY those questions and answers are being used for this ward blog! Hooray! With that, meet Sister Daryl Lee!

1. Name? Daryl Smith Lee

 

2. Birthday (feel free to leave out the year if you'd like:)? April 18, 1955

3. How long have you lived in St. Johns?   31 years

4. Favorite color?  Red

5. Favorite movie?  Oh so hard - Count of Monte Cristo - Ever After - One Fine Day - ...........and probably some other good ones I can't remember right now.;(

6. Favorite book?  Too many good ones, but my first one was - Where the Red Fern Grows.

7. Favorite food?   Oh so hard - Mexican & Thai and ice cream

8. Talents? Can sing and play piano a little. (She is being modest, she plays A LOT and oh so well!)

9. Hobbies? Sewing, Cooking  (used to like to) -  playing piano -

10. Number of  children or name of spouse (or count him as a child:)? 6 children - 5 boys, 1 girl and a peter pan husband

11. Favorite thing to do?  Grandkids - meeting up with family/friends - traveling - sewing - watching good movies

 

Daryl serves as the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Relief Society. We are so thankful for her service and her smile!

Fall Decor

 

Put flowers in a pumpkin instead of a vase! Makes a beautiful and creative decoration and/or centerpiece.

 

Simply cut out the center of the pumpkin, clean out the pumpkin and place a clean empty can in the center. Fill with your favorite flowers or a candle.

 

Genius!

 

 

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing
• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)                                                                   

Instructions

1. Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low in the crockpot for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. Once chicken is done you can leave the chicken breasts whole, cube it, or even shred it. I always cut the breasts into tenderloin size strips.
2. Once you have cut up the chicken, throw it back in the crockpot and stir into the sauce. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.

It's a Wonderful SJ Life

The following blog post if from the new St. Johns Stake Digital Mission blog. It is a new blog that will be posting stories/experiences of this wonderful community we live in. When you get a chance, go to wonderfulsjlife.blogspot.com to read this post as well as many others. We live in a beautiful community and it is so refreshing to read of the positive!

Live Like You Were Dying

When I think about the kind of people we have in our small community of St. Johns, it reminds me of a story I once heard about an old farmer who, with shovel in hand, was standing at the edge of the road irrigating his field, when a young man with his family pulled their vehicle over to the side of his field. The farmer walked over to see if they needed any direction or if he could help them in any way. As he approached the open window of the car, the father of the family said hello and then told the farmer they were thinking of moving into this small community and then asked the farmer what the people who lived here were like. With just a moment's thought, the farmer replied, "What kind of people lived in the town you just moved from?"

I have lived here 53 years, and I have seen many good times. But as everyone knows, we are without a doubt going to go through some hard times as well.

I am going to try to explain where I am going with this.

We have Heap reunions, Crosby reunions, and family gatherings where we have our children and grandchildren come. We bless babies and watch over our families.

Then something happens. Someone close to us loses a loved one, a son in his teens or an only child. It is hard to be around your friends when their hearts are broken. You feel like no matter what you say, their spirits can't be lifted. I was in a heartbroken home and watched as friends from all over town came to their home with food and love and concern for the parents who had lost their young child.

We can gain many good experiences when our lives are going well, but on the other hand, when tragedy enters our lives, we can have the opportunity to learn and grow strong if we will rely on our Heavenly Father. We can gain the knowledge that He is with us and will be by our side through our hard times, just as our friends and family are.

All we have to do is ask for His help, and He will give it.

It has boosted my faith to watch my friends and family in hard times and good times here in this small community.

I would like to add one more experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I have a good friend whose name is Lee Jaramillo. Like myself, he has lived in this community all his life. He has served his country in the military. His wife's name was Delores. I didn't know Delores as well as I know Lee until I attended her funeral. Sounds interesting that I could learn something about someone at their funeral, but I did, and it was a very memorable moment for me. She was one of those unfortunate loved ones here in our town who passed away because of cancer. She fought it for some time, but she lived long enough to write her own eulogy.

Hearing it was quite an experience. She stated how much she loved this town and all the people in it and said that no matter who you were, when hard times or something terrible happens, that the town will be there to help and lift each other. She was the type of person that makes this little town what it really is.

Tim McGraw sings that he hopes that we can have the chance to live like we were dying. If we knew today might be our last, we might realize how short life really is and be a better person.

I know that when adversity comes my way, I will be able to rely on my family, my friends, and uppermost, my Heavenly Father.

Jeff Raban
September 15, 2013 

"There are so many people in need whom we could be thinking about instead of ourselves. And please don’t ever forget your own family, your own wife (husband). There are so many ways we could be serving. We have no time to become absorbed in ourselves.”

-Pres. Uchtdorf