Written by Faye. I was asked to lead the discussion in Relief Society in our ward last Sunday. The talk we discussed was Elder James R Rasband, “A Righteous Judgement.” I felt like I was prepared, but the Saturday before while I was cooking, I felt like I should listen to the talk one more time. As I was listening, I heard in my mind, “Don’t forget the Book of Mormon.” That was significant for me because I was going to skip the first part that talked about the Book of Mormon and focus on another part of the talk. I did end up including that part… and it felt right. I don’t know why I originally decided to skip that very important part and I’m happy to be able to receive that sweet message from the spirit to help me know what was important. The Book of Mormon was an integral part of that talk.

I listened to a podcast from Book of Mormon Central this past week that really helped me. At the beginning they talked about the phrase, “And it came to pass” that is found all over the Book of Mormon. They named 3 reasons why it’s one of the most important phrases in the Book of Mormon. The first one is just because of the literal perspective. It doesn’t say…..It came to ‘stay’ or …..It came to ‘linger forever”. Whatever suffering we’re dealing with right now…it comes to pass. It comes for the purpose of passing. Everything we experience in this life will pass on by. Eventually we will be brought back into God’s presence.

We are back to level 3 lockdown in the Auckland area. They have found Covid-19 in a family in the community and want to stop it before it gets spread too badly. And they want to find out where it came from. They originally said it would be for 3 day but I’ll bet it will last longer. Our church has been canceled this Sunday. (Update: They have not found the origin, so it’s going to be for 2 weeks) It was nice to be back in our Sunday bubble with Kate & Marie. We have some sweet discussions that we could never have with our ward. We are supposed to wear masks when we are in public now….. I do NOT want to wear a mask. I do have some fabric to make some, so I’d better get busy. Carter says he’d better wear one to be a good example.

A friend of Ashton messaged me this week to tell me they had a dream about Ashton and wanted to let me know about it. Here’s part of what they said, “He was calm, peaceful and happy. He was sitting next to me, just talking with me. I don’t remember the words that were said, but I remember feeling supported and loved…..maybe he was just stopping in to let me know it’s all going to be okay. It was good to see him.” I don’t know how dreams work or what those in the spirit world are allowed to do, but I’m happy to know that Ashton is still able to help his friends. It made my day. After he died, I used to hear from him often when I was struggling and that’s what he would tell me….”You’re going to be ok Mom.” That’s his signature phrase. 

Our 8th grandchild is coming this week! Jacob & Gracia’s first, a boy. They are naming him Jacob Antonio. She is overdue and being induced on Tuesday. We are praying that all goes well and everyone is healthy. Hopefully we will have pictures for next week’s email.