Jannuary 15, 2009
DOING THE LORD’S WORK ON THE LORD’S DAY
I have always believed on doing the Lord’s work on the Lord’s Day. Sunday is a day of rest only when I have completed the Lord’s work. Here is what I did today on Sunday. It is a typical day for me as stake president during ward conferences-on other Sundays I try to attend two Sacrament Meetings.
5:45 am Get up, shower and shave and leave for church at 6:40 a.m.
7:00 am Stake Presidency Meeting. Compile a list of individuals who need our prayers and what they need-it is my turn to lead the stake presidency in prayer. Go over items on the agenda which includes planning the agenda for High Council Meeting this week and planning the agenda for Stake Priesthood Meeting-I assign myself and my counselor’s to speak along with one other speaker and a special musical number.
8:00 am We are joined by the missionary zone leaders and Pres. Atkinson of the mission presidency. We review the list of every active investigator and determine what help can be given them and the missionaries. We plan a training session for the bishops and then I lead our group in kneeing prayer for the investigators and missionaries.
8:30 am Join with Fruita 1st Ward Bishopric, pray with them, review our ward conference agenda and meetings and go over the list of members we will visit in the afternoon. Pres. Dean goes over the sustaining list to make sure it is complete and that he is pronouncing all the names correctly. Bro. Thornton, stake clerk, reviews the four year ward statistics and points out trends, both good and bad.
9:15 am Meet with Fruita 1st Ward Council. The bishop goes over ward business and then Pres. Bowen gives a presentation of our theme, “Lift Where You Stand.” He invites ward and stake participants to give an example of someone, who by doing their duty, blessed his or her life. The last 10 minutes of the meeting is turned over to me. We make a list of ward members, friends and relatives who need our prayers and what they need. Bro. Richard Clark, with tears in his eyes, asked that we pray that his son Doug will return to the church. (I have a meeting this Saturday to go to Doug’s home with President Landes, his stake president, and invite him to return home to the church.) I then lead the Ward Council in prayer and plead with the Lord that blessings be given to those in need. We pray for a four year old girl whose dad is present that her kidneys will start to function properly again.
10:30 am Meet as a stake presidency in the bishop’s office with Bishop and Sister Wallace and give Bishop Wallace a Stake Presidency Blessing for this year as he serves as bishop.
11:00 am Sacrament Meeting with Fruita 1st Ward. Pres. Dean reads the sustaining list. I feel strength and support when I am sustained. Bishop Wallace speaks and I only have 10 minutes left for my remarks. (typical) I talk on reverence, home and visiting teaching and a special spiritual experience I had at Calf Creek one evening as I was matching up the cows with their calves who had just come off the trucks. I related two experiences in my life where my prayers for Kate and Kenny were answered by other people listening to the spirit and being there at critical times for my children I closed with my stake president’s blessing that the members would be blessed if they came on time for sacrament meeting and were more reverent. I promised them peace and greater access to the Spirit.
12:20 pm Met with a sister who wanted to find out if her daughter had been excommunicated-I promised to call Salt Lake tomorrow and get back with her. I attended Primary-boy was it hot in the Children’s Meeting room.
1:10 pm Attended Relief Society. I was only given 5 minutes to speak so I told the experience on mother’s meeting with her high school friend, May Mann, the famous Hollywood newspaper writer who knew all the stars personally. Mother was feeling like her life was very plain and simple but I noticed May Mann was envious of mother’s life. Pam Holder told me afterwards how she had listened to the Spirit while working for the Fruita Rescue Squad and saved a baby’s life. The baby’s birth started on the way to St. Mary’s Hospital in the rescue unit but he couldn’t come out. The Spirit told to check the neck of the baby where she found the cord tightly wrapped around the neck turning the baby blue. Even though she was not suppose to do a medical procedure in a birth, she pushed the baby’s head back and slipped the chord over the head and allowing the baby to be born and breathe again. Some of my children will remember Sister Holder as the kind person who assisted me in the emergency room of St. Mary’s when I cut my thumb.
2:30 pm Had a light lunch in the bishop’s office for all those visiting saints as part of ward conference and then I left with Bishop Wallace. We visited Bro. Cassson who is recently divorced and invited him to come back to church. He committed. We then visited the Odell family. Bro. Odell, about 60, was baptized as a child in the 740 Gunnison Building but had never really been active. The Spirit has moved him and he wants to again be part of the church. His criminal problems should be over in about 8 months and I believe he will get his life in order and return to church. He has a good spirit and heart. When I asked questions about Sister Odell, she told the most amazing story. Her maiden name was Shaw and her father had been the pastor of the Church of Christ-Temple Lot. This church owns the Independence Missouri temple lot across the street from the former RLDS Temple and Auditorium. They are a very very small church group. Kenny will remember our visit to the temple lot and their missionary. I had always read that this small group had a branch in G.J. but had never been able to find it. Sister Odell who joined the church about two years ago said about 12-20 people attend this church in G.J. I remember meeting Bro. Anderson at the Missouri temple lot on my way home from my mission. He was one of their seven apostles—they didn’t have enough active members in 1963 to fill their quorum.
4:00 pm After visits, I rushed back to the stake center for temple interviews. We got the initial temple interviews completed and gave a report of our visits and then I sent my counselors home at 5:00 pm. I had a couple coming in for their “marriage” recommends and a missionary to set apart but after I interviewed the couple, but before the temple orientation, four more people showed up so I had six at the same time to help. I interviewed two people and then did the temple orientation for the couple from 12th Ward. I committed them to keep their hands off each other until they were married and then gave them a stake president blessing. I did the final two recommends and by that time it was 6:00 pm and time to set apart a missionary who had been sent home after one year to have ACL surgery. After four months of surgery and rehabilitation he was ready to go back and finish the last 12 months of his mission. He is the oldest of six boys in the family. The mother brought me a picture taken when I first set him apart of me with the father and six handsome white shirted boys.
6:45 pm I check the convert baptism service about to begin and met the young man who is going to be baptized. I then go home and get something to eat and go to bed.
My days are long but I am sustained in my duties by a loving Heavenly Father is spite on my age and Parkinsons. Neither of these conditions has ever kept me from fulfilling my calling. Pres. Eyring’s blessing of “health, strength and stamina” is being fulfilled each day I serve. I am blessed also by the power of prayer from people who pray for me . I am most blessed.
K.K.Summers
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Test
This is a test to see if can post on this blog by myself. If this works, I will try typing something in Word, save and post to this blog-I am not optimistic.
K. K. Summers
K. K. Summers
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