First time back at primary for over a year because of darn Covid 19! Primary is the second hour Sunday school class for children ages 3-11. I am Anna’s primary teacher and I have missed these children. Anna has missed being with her friends. But we are back! When the children sang, “I am a Child of God” together I lost it. I cried with the joy of hearing children’s voices testifying of the beauty of this simple principle that we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father.

Today was the first day in over a year that we were back at church, every row filled and no masks. We’ve been back at church now for several months but with a rotating schedule, everyone in masks, every other pew empty to allow for social distancing and no second hour meetings in person. In February we went from group limits from 99-150 people. Last summer we were having to reserve a spot to attend one of two meetings each day because only so few people were allowed to gather. But TODAY, we were all there! We had elderly members who I hadn’t seen who could now come because so many are vaccinated, we had whole families, people hugging and sitting next to each other. It was delicious. It was joyful! It was so, so marvelous. It was if we hadn’t seen our family in so long and now we were back together again. Usually we try to sit reverently in our seats for a few minutes before the meeting starts but today the volume and energy was high with people greeting one another and catching up. It was so, so nice to see smiling faces. I am so grateful that this pandemic is slowing down and things are starting to get back to normal (kind of). Next month we resume in person second hour classes for everyone including primary aged children!

“The Lord does not ask about our ability or inability, but only about our availability, and if we prove our dependability, the Lord will take care of our capability.” – Neal A. Maxwell

“There is nothing healthier than confidence in yourself, confidence in your Heavenly Father, confidence in others. The only way to achieve this confidence is a clear conscience.” – Unknown

and lastly,

“The escape from a  trial will never be out of the trial but through it.” – Henry B. Eyring

I keep putting off writing because there is so much going on. I know, I know, that is the worst possible reason to NOT write. Yesterday I came across a box with all my pre-smartphone notebooks that had all my to-do lists and notes and thoughts. They were not my journal, nor my college or high school class notes but had basically everything else in them. I realized that I had a lot of great things written in them. So, to get me to write I think I will attempt to occasionally share some of the great quotes found therein. The above quotes were on the first few pages of my notebook from 1998

And now kid quotes

Last week Lizzie hurt her knee while long-boarding. She had to be on crutches for a few days while the swelling went down and the pain subsided. She was on dishes duty and so I encouraged William and Anna to help her out. I said, “If you guys want to be super awesome you can help Lizzie with her dishes.” Anna replied, “Mmmm. I don’t want to be super awesome. I’m ok with just being cute.”…

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Worldwide cases: 1,237,420
U.S. cases: 321,020 (triple the number of the next hardest hit country – Spain)
Utah cases: 1428 (yesterday’s numbers)

Yet despite all of this depressing news our prophet, Russell M. Nelson said to us last night in General Conference:

I said recently in a social media video that “as a physician and surgeon, I have great admiration for medical professionals, scientists, and all who are working around the clock to curb the spread of COVID-19.”

Now, as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, I know that God “has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.”

So, during times of deep distress, as when illness reaches pandemic proportions, the most natural thing for us to do is to call upon our Heavenly Father and His Son—the Master Healer—to show forth Their marvelous power to bless the people of the earth.“

In the same talk he asked for a worldwide fast saying:

“The doctrine of fasting is ancient. It has been practiced by biblical heroes from the earliest days. Moses, David, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Isaiah, Daniel, Joel, and many others fasted and preached of fasting.
Through Isaiah’s writings, the Lord said: “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free?”
The Apostle Paul admonished Saints in Corinth to “give yourselves to fasting and prayer.” The Savior Himself declared that certain things go “not out but by prayer and fasting.”
In my video message, I invited all to join in fasting on Sunday, March 29, 2020. Many of you may have seen the video and joined in the fast. Some may have not. Now we still need help from heaven.
So tonight, my dear brothers and sisters, in the spirit of the sons of Mosiah, who gave themselves to much fasting and prayer, and as part of our April 2020 general conference, I am calling for another worldwide fast. For all whose health may permit, let us fast, pray, and unite our faith once again. Let us prayerfully plead for relief from this global pandemic.
I invite all, including those not of our faith, to fast and pray on Good Friday, April 10, that the present pandemic may be controlled, caregivers protected, the economy strengthened, and life normalized.
How do we fast? Two meals or a period of 24 hours is customary. But you decide what would constitute a sacrifice for you, as you remember the supreme sacrifice the Savior made for you. Let us unite in pleading for healing throughout the world.
Good Friday would be the perfect day to have our Heavenly Father and His Son hear us!”

So the Beckwith’s will be fasting today and trying hard to have our best fast yet. I love knowing that I am going to join my faith with the world, millions of other people, to give relief and faith to others. We are so grateful for a prophet that gives us comfort, direction and the will of the Lord. Indeed, as it says in the scripture: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
We know that no matter what happens in the world, our prophet will let us know how to thrive during times of trial and that the Lord is in control and mindful of each of us.

I thought I should include here all we have received from Sam now that he has been out over a month and then from now on I will try to put his emails on here when we receive them weekly. Here we go (In order of oldest to newest):

December 5, 2019 – I’m Alive
Hey momma i made it! I have SOOO much to learn and i really wish i had spent more time studying spanish and less time on my phone. no one here speaks english and there are only 8 white elders haha. Its great tho also getting here was a hassle ill tell you the whole adventure next tuesday when im allowed to email fully. tell ervyone i say hi.
Love Elder Beckwith…

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This was a wonderful Christmas! The highlight was hearing from Sam who is currently in the Colombia Missionary Training Center (MTC). He has chosen to email only for the weeks he has been there but decided to video chat home on Christmas Eve. It was positively magical! Our family huddled around my little laptop and enjoyed every minute of our time with him. Sam seems so happy and thriving! Some things he said on the call:
– The thing he is looking forward to most is getting out of the MTC and teaching the gospel, he wants to change lives! (This is amazing because before his mission this was the thing he was most worried about doing.)
– He loves the food there. It is mostly rice and meat and he barters with other missionaries to get more ice cream as they are only allowed one each
– He has been called as a zone leader. Part of his responsibility as a zone leader is to motivate other missionaries to not goof off. He says that is sometimes problematic because he is the one goofing off.
– The tight schedule is difficult for him. He is used to working hard but having a choice how to use his time. Int he MTC all aspects of his life scheduled for him and that is causing him some grief. He is hoping that once he is in the field his work won’t be quite to regimented or regulated.
– He is being so challenged mentally with the “sink or swim” nature of immersive Spanish learning that he feels like his brain actually hurts sometimes! Very few people (around a dozen) speak English at his MTC. None of his teachers speak English and so he is learning Spanish as quickly as possible.
– He is finding so much joy in diving into the scriptures. This is the first time in his life that all he has to do is study and apply the scriptures. No distractions, no noise. He loves it and can’t wait to share what he is learning.
– He finds the Latina missionaries quite attractive but is trying not to notice or be distracted by it.
– No matter how much he is learning and growing, he is still the same Sam. He is just becoming a better version of himself. He is still joyful, full of life, goofy, silly…
– He still doesn’t like haircuts and has been avoiding the tiny Latina stylist that has been hunting him down to get his hair cut. He says she is tiny, but terrifying because she is a hair butcher!
– He wasn’t going to call home until he left the MTC but when he opened our Christmas present to him (chocolate orange, plaid Christmas tie, snowflake window clings, and an over-the-door basketball hoop), he felt homesick and wanted to talk to us. I was SO GLAD he changed his mind because when he said he wasn’t going to call for a few more weeks my heart broke!

On the home front, we have noticed that the house feels very empty, but very peaceful without Sam. When he was home, he was generally the life of the party, but also loved to stir things up. Now William is moving into the role of teaser and trouble-maker. We are trying to curb that as much as possible. Lizzie likes to be home more than Sam did (he was almost never home), so we often have nights where everyone is home together and it is very enjoyable. The week before Christmas I read aloud the book, “The Root Cellar” by Janet Lunn. It was beyond wonderful having my kids snuggled up around me, reading them a book that I have loved and read many times since the fifth grade! And knowing that the child who wasn’t there is safe and happy made it even better!

I learned a new term tonight while the kids were playing on the Switch together, it is “Rage Quit”. It means that you are so mad you quit the activity you are doing and storm off. Hearing the kids talk about it made me laugh to think of all the times though the years that my kids, with each other and sometimes with their friends (mostly the Saxeys) would be playing and get mad enough to Rage Quit. I’m not sure why I’m including this in our family blog. I guess because being a human can be kind of messy. Especially in our early years when we are forming our character.

Thinking of this brought to my mind a scripture I love that Lizzie shared with me today. It is found in the Book of Mormon at the end of the book. Moroni, a prophet who is alone and finishing up his record is writing down some of the things his father, Mormon had said. I’m sure these words brought him a lot of comfort. The scripture says,

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall  be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.”

I love this because it is a message of hope. I felt a confirmation that if I just keep trying to be a “true follower of Jesus Christ” and repent often (daily), then I will be like Him, I will recognize Him in myself. I want that! So, the lesson here? I need to make sure and not “rage quit” when I am parenting, in my relationships, in my daily responsibilities, and in my efforts to be a true follower of my Savior.

I’ve been thinking  a lot on light and truth. I have been feeling very materialistic lately – seeming to desire more and more things – you should see my list! It wasn’t enough to get our big van, now I want to install four wheel drive and a cool rack on top (both of which are SO expensive). It isn’t enough that I have this cool new computer, now I want one that has more storage…and maybe a bigger screen. It isn’t enough that we are going on this amazing trip in the summer, every day I get some e-mail about a great deal for trips to exotic places… The funny thing is, I know that when I seek a greater portion of light and truth in my life, my gratitude increases and my insatiable desire for stuff decreases. I read a beautiful quote today about this:

“No; nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit! Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind.”

I get from this that the world cannot offer what the spirit can. Seek the spirit and the influences of the world will fade away. I better do a little more seeking and a little less dreaming about all the things I could buy. It would not only fill my soul, but our bank account too!…

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