2 or 3 witnesses

We had a few fun interactions with family this week.
The kids didn't have school on Monday (Martin Luther King Day), so by the afternoon the Dan Rasband kids were bored so they called to see if they could walk over.  All four of them showed up and played for a few hours.
Later, Nick and Sara had Roy and I come over to play a new game that they had.  It took us an hour to figure out the instructions and we played for another hour.  I won!
Since Roy had young men's on Wednesday night, and he's missed so often because we've been  traveling, I used our season tickets at the local theater to take Yuna, Ori and Doyeon.  The play was Peter and the Star Catchers.  If any of you have seen it, you know it's kind of abstract in it's presentation.  You have to use your imagination.  The premise is how Peter Pan came to be Peter Pan and why he has some powers and never grew up.  The girls loved it.  I gave them a few explanations along the way, but mostly I think they just loved the action.  Doyeon told me that her favorite character was one of the lost boys because he was "obsessed with food," and, she said, "I love food!"  To demonstrate just how abstract the play is, Roy went down to the theater the night before to pick up our tickets for the season.  An older couple were leaving (early) and he overheard the woman say, "I just don't get what this play is about."

Yuna, "Mollie" (remember Wendy in Peter Pan--she's her mother),
Doyeon and Ori.

We also had the privilege of spending some time with the Green's on Saturday night.  Adrienne and AJ got home from Sun Valley earlier in the week.  They'd been there skiing with AJ's family.  Roy and I went up to watch the kids so Adrienne and AJ could get to the temple.  We've told all our kids we will try to be available to babysit so they can go to the temple on occasion. Nick took us up on it right away, but it's probably been a year and this is the first we've been asked since then.  Ila was darling.  She warmed up to us immediately (a first), and we had a good time.  We made it a movie/popcorn night which was very popular with the boys.  Ila loved my ginger lotion and my lip gloss.  She's all girl!

We culminated our week visiting with Phil and Charlotte over dinner.  They are headed to Slovania for a biking trip.  On their trip they also want to visit Cinque Terra, so they asked for information.  Roy told them to come over and we'd fill them in. Hopefully they weren't bored looking at all our Italy pictures.

Last week Phil wrote about The Testimony of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.  As we are currently trying to study the restoration in preparation for conference (and I am also reading the book about my great great grandfather James Henry Hart), I thought I would put an excerpt from Phil's letter here.

From Phil:
Last week I gave a lesson in Gospel Doctrine. This year, we are studying the Book of Mormon and the first lesson in January was on the Introduction to it. As part of the Preface are written testimonies from three witnesses who were shown the gold plates by an angel. Eight others were shown the plates by Joseph Smith, whose testimonies also preface the Book of Mormon. If you’re not a member of our
church, gold plates and angels may sound odd, if not far‐fetched. However, we believe in the divine
origin of the Book of Mormon that was translated by Joseph Smith from gold plates made available to him from a heavenly source, and that belief comes from reading the Book of Mormon and praying for a spiritual confirmation that it is true.

THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES

Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come:
That we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the
plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the
Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath
been spoken. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of
God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is
true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they
have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of
soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our
eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by
the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these
things are true. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us
that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we
bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our
garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment‐seat of Christ, and
shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
OLIVER COWDERY
DAVID WHITMER
MARTIN HARRIS
(Underline added)

All three of these witnesses fell away from the Church for a time, but none of them renounced their
testimonies of what they had seen and experienced, and Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris returned. In preparing my lesson, I was particularly interested in David Whitmer. He left the Church when its
members were experiencing significant persecution in Missouri in the 1830s, and never returned. He
stayed in Missouri and became a well‐respected citizen of the community in which he resided.
I was focused on David Whitmer because my great‐great grandfather, James H. Hart, had a conversation with Whitmer in 1883, when Whitmer would have been 78 years old. He had been out of the Church for 45 or so years at that time. I quote James H. Hart below. (The author of his biography said that James was known for taking careful shorthand and was meticulous in reporting the truth.) Here is what he wrote (in part):
“Having some business in Richmond, Ray County, I took occasion to call on Mr. David Whitmer.... I
remarked that although I had no doubt of the truth of his published statement and testimony in the
Book of Mormon, I should be pleased to hear the testimony from his own lips. He said, ‘Persons may
attempt to describe the presentation of the plates as shown to himself and other witnesses, but
there was a glory attending it that no one could describe, no human tongue could tell the glorious
scenes that were presented to them. Joseph Smith was there and Oliver Cowdery and himself –
Martin Harris did not come as expected, but they were shown to him a short time after.’
“’Did the personage or angel who showed you the plates tell you his name?’ I asked. Mr. Whitmer
replied: ‘No, he did not.... It is not important who he was, but I know he was a messenger from God.
I have been visited by thousands of people,’ he remarked,’ believers and unbelievers, amongst them
a Governor of this State, gentlemen and ladies of all degrees and from many nations, sometimes 15
or 20 in a day, all wanting to know if these things are true. I have been surrounded by hostile mobs,
on one occasion numbering four or five hundred, demanding I should deny what is published over
my name in the Book of Mormon; but the testimony I gave to that mob made them fear and
tremble, and I escaped from them. One gentleman, an unbeliever, told me afterwards that the bold
and fearless testimony borne on that occasion and the fear that seemed to take hold of the mob
had made him a believer in the Book of Mormon.’
“Mr. Whitmer said further: ‘I heard the voice of the angel, and saw the engravings on the plates, and
the plates just as stated in the Book of Mormon. And we were commanded to bear record of these
things and that the book was translated by the gift and power of God.’
“Mr. David Whitmer, Junr., spoke of the strange and wonderful preservation of the written copy of
the book which Oliver Cowdery left in his father’s charge, and the hieroglyphics which Martin Harris
took to Professor Anthon, of New York. In the cyclone that devastated the town of Richmond a few
years ago, the court‐house and many other buildings were swept entirely away. Some books
belonging to the court‐house were carried over 40 miles, and the Whitmer house was all destroyed,
except the small room in which the said documents were kept, in which not a window was broken.”

I also listened to a talk by Dallin H. Oaks on the witness of Martin Harris given at BYU.  It is worth listening to.  It is probably in print as well, but I could only find video versions.
Here is the link.  Witness of Martin Harris

We know that out of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. 2 Corinthians 13:1
The Bible is one witness and the Book of Mormon is one witness, but the Lord doesn't stop there.  We have many prophets and apostles that have also testified of these things. We cannot discount the testimonies of our ancestors that sacrificed so much so that we can be members of this church.   I add my testimony that Jesus Christ's church has been restored to the earth and it is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  

Dan receives his Master's degree from Berkeley University

It seemed like the minute we got back from Mexico, we boarded a plane to go to California.  Dan had chosen to walk in his graduation from Berkeley.  He finished in August, but the ceremony was on Monday, Jan. 13.  It was a fun weekend with Dan and Jieun.  We spent Saturday in the De Young Art Museum.  We lucked out and ended up there on a "free" Saturday.  There was an interesting special exhibit called, "The Soul of a Nation."  by black artists in the mid 1900's expressing themselves and their desires for freedom. 
We ate at Pier 39 at a seafood restaurant, and enjoyed some other good food while we were there.

 Sunday we enjoyed the local color at Sacrament meeting in Alameda.  We were told if we really wanted local color we should go to the Berkeley ward, but it was a little further away. 

Riding the subway to San Francisco 

We used public transportation this trip, which is always interesting.  Both times we've been to San Francisco, since we moved back from Atlanta, we've been surprised at what a dirty city it is.  We would have thought that with the reputation Californians have of being "green," their city would look more the part.  They have quite a large homeless population as well. 

We never rode a trolley, but they are fun to see.

Of course, the highlight of our trip, as well as the reason for our being there, was attending the graduation.  It was  a small group of graduates in a couple of specialized programs.  Dan's group graduated in Machine Learning.  The other group graduated in Cyber Security.  Dan received a special award (along with his group) for his Capstone project, the final  project of his program.  He and his group designed an APP called "SNOUT."  It's free in the APP store.  It is a mushroom identifying APP that you can use out hiking to identify any fungi you come across.  They stayed away from saying which mushrooms are safe to eat--too much liability, but the APP is well designed with great artwork (by Jieun)  The dean said that they won because, not only was the app functional, but it was fun.

 The Campus at Berkeley.  Below is where Dan's major is housed.

Dan and Jieun just prior to the graduation

Dan, receiving his reward for his mushroom APP with one of the members
of his team.

Dan, receiving his fake diploma.

As is usual for the past several years, we were gone on Caitlyn's birthday.  She turned 20.  

On arriving home: 

Roy and I dropped by Tom's grave and took some
Spring flowers.

Crista sent us this picture of Bridget in her Christmas
pajamas.  There were no trico nightgowns in her size--
these were more functional.

Dojin came over to visit and no one was home.  He was fine, though.  He just played in the backyard until I got there.  He loves coming to grandma's.

I spent a couple of hours with Nick's girls on Friday night while Roy, Nick and Sara and Nick's friend Toby went to dinner.  I could have gone to dinner instead of Sara, but decided I'd rather spend time with my granddaughters.  They were darling.  We played games, read stories and ice skated on the downstairs floor (it's slipperier).  Avie loved our family picture we had taken at Jennie's wedding.  It's still unframed on my bedroom floor.  At one point she ran out of my room holding it.  She is starting to say a few words, one of which is "fra" which means she wants to watch "Frozen."

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.  Effie gave me a huge hug, she was so glad to see me.  

I already sent along this piece of good news, but it deserves to be repeated and recorded.  Andy and Carrie Cook added a new member to the Bruce Cook family this week when they adopted their new son: Luke David Bruno Cook.  Congratulations to their family.  We need to still keep Uncle Bruce in our prayers as he is still struggling from his illness.

Ward conferences started.  It's a blessing to be involved in visiting all the ward and associating with the other stake officers.  This year our theme for ward conference is (no surprise) the restoration of the gospel.  We have been asked by our prophet to immerse ourselves in studying the restoration, so this is a good start for me.  We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives--the Book of Mormon, the Priesthood, temple covenants, the plan of salvation and on and on, all because of the beginning of the restoration of all things.  I have a testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and his role in restoring all of the things I mentioned above, as well as many other things.  I am grateful for his sacrifices.  I'm also grateful for the sacrifices my ancestors made as they accepted the gospel so that I could have these blessings in my life.

Puerta Vallarta

(I"m writing a portion of this letter on Wednesday, January 1, 2020)

When we were in the 41st ward of the Bountiful Heights Stake, Roy started a scout fundraiser.  We held it every year.  The ward members would donate goods, and Roy, the auctioneer, would auction them off.  We also served dinner and asked for donations for that.  This fundraiser continued on after we moved out of the ward.  In March, Nick invited us to join him for this annual activity.  One of their friends in the ward had donated a week in their family's condo in Puerta Vallarta.  We won the week for $400.  We were  told that it was really fun to go for New Year's Eve as the city put on a great fireworks show.  So, here we are.  Nick, you should totally try and win it this year if it's offered again.  We're having a great time!


It was a little hard to leave right after Christmas, knowing that the family was still celebrating, but we packed our bags and had Jennie take us to the airport at 4:00 am the morning of the 27th.  That is pretty early for me (for dad and Caitlyn, too), but we managed.  Other than the early hour, the trip was uneventful.  When we arrived we followed the instructions of the condo owner--pass up all the taxi offers, leave the airport, cross the street, and catch a taxi there--it should be a lot cheaper.  When we got across the street we saw a restaurant. The cooks were shaving the meat off a big fish that was cooking rotisserie style.  They then put the meat on the grill, toasted a tortilla, and wrapped large portions of the meat into the tortillas.  It looked like beef, but we found out it was Marlin.  We opted to drag all our luggage into the restaurant and sit down.  We were very glad we did, the sandwich was delicious.  In fact, we are planning to exit Puerta Vallarta in the same way--only we will drop off our luggage before we order our sandwiches.

These guys making the marlin "tacons" (big tacos) seemed to
recognize us when we returned for lunch before catching our plane home.
I think it's because  Roy had taken their picture.

The condo was decent--especially for being in Old Town.  The best part is that it's at the top of the hill, so we get an excellent view of the city--and a lot of good exercise!

Our view

After resting and unpacking, we walked a little way down the hill from the condo and found a restaurant called Si Senor.  It happened to be on the list of recommendations from the condo owner, so we went in.  This has turned out to be our favorite restaurant so far (although the Marlin sandwiches are right on top with it).  We had guacamole & jicama tacos.  Roy had a chili relleno.  I had a salad with grilled vegetables (it came out beautifully presented, all stacked up on a couple of pieces of lettuce--it was delicious!), and Caitlyn had a quesadilla.  Everything was delicious and the owner or manager was very friendly.

Quesadillas are always safe, so Caitlyn orders them a lot.

I wouldn't post this awful picture of me but I wanted to
show off this salad.  It was grilled vegetables on top of a couple of lettuce leafs.  I couldn't believe how beautifully this salad was presented. 

We spent our first evening grocery shopping and the next morning at the Farmer's market getting fruits etc. to supplement our shopping trip.  It was a very fun morning mingling with a lot of people from the area as well as plenty of tourists.  Puerta Vallarta is obviously a travel destination for the Mexican people as well as American's and Canadians.  The Farmer's market didn't have any papaya, so we went on a search for a fruit stand.  We finally found one and bought some papaya, mango and pineapple.  We were pretty tired from traveling so when we finally got back to the condo we had a rest before going to dinner at Melissa's, just a little further down from the restaurant we went to the night before.  Melissa's is our 2nd favorite restaurant so far.  I had a delicious seafood soup, complete with very tender octopus.  I actually loved the feel of the tentacles in my mouth.  Roy had Ahi tuna and we had a couple of yummy appetizers to share.  Caitlyn had coconut shrimp.

One of my favorite things about Mexico is fresh papaya:  Note how few seeds were in this papaya, but it was delicious.  We had papaya every day.  We also enjoyed mango, pineapple and jicama while we were there.

We finally found a water bottle to keep me happy!

Just a note on why I looks so unkempt in all the pictures--the condo didn't have a blow dryer, so it was wash and go the whole week.  I didn't bother with make-up either.

This is at Melissa's.  I had seafood soup, and I'm not sure, but it looks like Caitlyn
may have had a quesadilla.

We are getting adventurous in our church attendance.  We joined the local ward for Sacrament meeting--all in Spanish.  They asked me if I played the piano and I said I could do it passingly well, so I became the pianist for the day.  We stayed for an English Sunday school class where we discussed the Come Follow Me program and the experiences we'd had so far.  The teacher made no mention of the chapters in Revelation we'd been studying--she was from Utah--she lives 6 months out of the year there, and 6 months here.  There was another couple from the states with a severely disabled son.  They bought some acreage down here and live 2 hours away, but they attend church every Sunday.  They are the leaders of the Young Men and the Young Women.  The husband played some sort of professional ball and they retired here--I'm thinking it's because they knew they would have a lot of service opportunities.

We had bought our Sunday dinner at the Farmer's market the previous day, so we cooked it in our Condo.  We had homemade pasta and sauce with green beans.  We had bought enough homemade gnocci for a small taste, also.  We kept our Sunday low key and went on a walk on the beach front in the evening, watching the waves until it got dark.

Monday we had an excursion planned so we got up early, took a taxi and got on a boat.  We were able to snorkel, "hike" to a waterfall, and spend time on a beach.  The boat was fun and the crew kept us entertained.

 The next day we went to a beach on our own and had at least as much fun.  Our snorkeling was better, too--more fish and a lot fewer people.  This happened to be New Year's Eve, so when we got back, we ate dinner and went down to the beach to watch the people.  That was fun and entertaining--all the various outfits, etc.  We also sat on the steps by the beach to watch the waves again.  About 10:00 we hiked up the hill to our condo and went to bed and watched TV till 11.  We planned to get up and watch the fireworks when we heard them go off, and we were glad we did.  None of us had ever seen anything like the display here.  We had a fabulous view on our balcony.  There were at least 100 boats/yachts and one cruise ship in the water right in front of us.  They were parked there to watch the fireworks.  A little before midnight people began to send off luminaries.  Fireworks were going off all around the shoreline which curves in a half circle so we could see everything.  At the stroke of 12 all the boats began honking and everyone was making noise to welcome in the New Year.  And it was all over within 30 minutes.

Today (Wednesday) we had quite the adventure.  We were signed up for a whale tour.  We started with a morning walk in search of a bakery we never found.  When we were done with that we caught a taxi and headed to the port.  We were over 30 minutes early from check in time and an hour early from departure.  This turned out to be longer as the weather turned and it began seriously raining.  The boat that was coming to get us made sure they had rain ponchos.  They asked us if we wanted to attempt the tour in the rain--telling us that it was a little bit rough.  They sorely underestimated the waves.  We got in the boat, put on rain ponchos and were soaked within minutes.  The driver was going qfast because he wanted to get where he wanted to go and in doing this, we were riding the waves and then crashing down.  It was super hard on our bodies!  Finally, he stopped the boat and said, "I don't think we should go further"  everyone on the boat was in agreement.  He then headed toward a port where he had first picked up people.  Since it was so rough, they bussed us back to the port we come from.  Our adventure took us almost all day and we didn't do anything.  Still, we had to admit it was somewhat exciting.  After we got back to the port we went to the mall for lunch, and then Walmart for a couple of needed items.  By the time we got back we just wanted to shower and get dry and warm.  Since Si Senor restaurant was so close and we enjoyed it so much, we went back again.  This time I tried their Molcajetes (like fajitas), Roy had a steak, and Caitlyn had coconut shrimp--again.  It's 9:00 and it's still raining heavily, complete with thunder and lightening.  We're glad we didn't have the lightening when we were out on the boat.

You can't tell from the picture how hard it was raining,
but it was pouring down in sheets.  

(I am writing the rest of this letter on January 7, 2020 following our return home)

We got up early Thursday morning to try the whale tour again.  Arrival time was 7:30 and the boat left at 8:00.  Thankfully, the weather had settled and we had a wonderful excursion. The highlight was a mother and her baby (and another female escort).  The baby was curious and came right by the boat.  The mother was also right there, we could just make her out beneath the water.  Then the baby gave us a show and jumped out of the water.  It was pretty exciting.  I could have watched for whales all day, but the boat was a small one with no facilities, so 3 1/2 hours was plenty.

Friday's tour was a lot like Monday's, but the music was louder and more overbearing, and we didn't get to see as much and our snorkeling spot was really rough because of the storm.  Caitlyn got a lot of attention though, from all the hombres on board.  She was told many times that she was beautiful and had beautiful eyes.  She was asked if she had a boyfriend, and she even got an invitation to go to bars with a group of kids.  Thankfully she's very grounded and was not at all interested in this.

We had one final day that we spent on the beach.  Beaches in Mexico are exactly like I remember them from 2008 when we went with Nan and Bruce and grandpa Cook.  You sit on the beach and all the people try to sell you stuff.  You get to sit on lounge chairs as long as you buy food and drink.  We found on this trip, as we have on others that it's a lot cheaper to get a boat on the beach to go out and snorkel--it's also a lot quieter and it doesn't take your whole day.  We went out for an hour and had a good time.

Jieun, I love my fashionable pants!

Virgin Pina Colada

On the main drag in Puerta Vallarta

Fun Fact:  They have blue-footed boobies in Puerta Vallarta.  I thought that only place to see these birds was in the Galapagos Islands.  I thought maybe they were a different variety, but we looked it up and they are the same.  We saw these by going out in the boat from the beach.  Otherwise we'd have never seen them or known they were there.

Caitlyn loved taking pictures of her and me.  I asked her
why she didn't put dad in the pictures, so she took the camera and tried
to get Roy in a selfie and he completely ignored her.  She said, "That's why."

All good things must come to an end.  Here we are on the way home--waiting for t

Ori turned 6 while we were gone.  She got a unicorn dress and pillow from her grandparents.

Christmas Celebrations 2019 Photo Essay

Christmas Eve we had our annual crab dinner.  This time we supplemented with prime rib instead of ribs but we heard no complaints.  Everyone except Elise was able to be there, and we had Elise on the phone quite a bit to keep her and Andy in the loop as much as possible.  

Avie

Adrienne, Jordon, Jennie and Ollie

Roy, Sara and Jieun

Hyeji, Dan, Ollie Matt and Bridget, NIck, Effie and Ori 

Bridget, Ila and Catharine

Finn and Yuna--Finn and his brothers each had an annoying barking toy dog from a previous Christmas activity.  Adrienne finally confiscated the toys and we were grateful.

This was the first year we've tried to reenact the nativity story.  Ruby was the angel.  When it was
time for her part, she spoke up loudly and clearly.  She was taking it very seriously.
Next year I'll have to improve on the costumes, but the kids didn't mind using dish towels
and other assorted dress-ups.

Hyeji was a beautiful Mary, and Gunnar was a handsome Joseph.  Oli, the shepherd
looks on lovingly at our baby Jesus (Bridget)

Effie, Yuna, Finn, Gunnar, Hyeji, Bridget, Ori, Doyeon, Greta, Ruby, and Avie (front and center)

Time for presents

Ila, Caitlyn Face timing with Elise, Roy, Jieun and Dojin

The girls all got matching nightgowns and a book
 from Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma handing out gifts.

And for dessert, Sara had made Creme Brulee.  Matt added a pie and Sara had also made a
Harry Potter Butterbeer cake for the kiddos, complete with snitches made out of  Rocheros.

Greta, Ori, Gunnar, Adrienne, and Finn with Roy on the sideline.

Oli

Here are the Greens in their pajamas.  Finn opened his first and Oli
was very jealous of the Raiders pajamas, then he found out he got them, too.
Gunnar's more into Harry Potter.

Cait, Sara and Effie, Gunnar and Adrienne

Yuna, Jennie, Jordan, Hyeji, Nick, Doyeon, Avie, Finn and Gunnar

All the grandchildren who were in attendance.  

And the children: Jennie, Dan, Nick, Caitlyn, Crista, Adrienne, and photo bomber Ila.  We missed Elise!!!

The Greens were the first to leave to get their over-excited children to bed.  They were happy to go because they knew that Santa was scheduled to arrive at midnight.  Unfortunately, Oli was so excited that he checked in every hour from the time he went to bed until his parents finally gave up and let them all open presents.  Ila was the only one to get enough sleep.

Caitlyn took some adorable pictures of the family:

Yuna

Dojin, Yuna, Oli and Gunnar

Hyeji

Matt with his girls

Andy's gift from us were these flashy pants. (This picture was taken
in Georgia and was not taken by Caitlyn)  

Dan and Caitlyn--obviously siblings!

Greta and Grandma

Effie

Dojin

Ila

Bridget

Effie, Ori, Finn, Yuna

Effie, Ori and Avie

Matt and Bridget

Finn and Yuna

Roy, Gunnar and Hyeji

The newlyweds, Jennie and Jordan with a photo bomber--Yuna

Crista and Caitlyn, also obviously siblings

Caitlyn and Jieun

Christmas Day 2019

Jieun came over and gave us facials.

Ruby got a sled from Santa

Crista and Greta (Ruby told me the nightgowns weren't
modest because they could slip off the shoulder).

Greta

Roy and Catharine

Crista and Bridget

And Ila got a new kitchen for Christmas

Roy and Bridget cuddling

The night after Christmas we all drove down to Santaquin to celebrate with Grandpa.  He'd requested music, so Crista, Caitlyn, Dan and I provided some violin and piano numbers.  All of his kids and most of his grandkids were there, along with a lot of his great grandkids.  I think it made him pretty happy.