Week 47

LAWS OF NATURE, Part 2
In the Jungle  

(Pam) All around the world, the church does a marvelous job providing safe havens for its missionaries.  Gulu is no exception.  We live in a secure, clean compound that is guarded (no guns – not needed) around the clock.  We live next door to two homes of missionaries, a kind doctor from Serbia and a few other pleasant neighbors, who are all truly “neighborly”.  Our house is not the quality of one in America, but it is far better than we had imagined.  It lies the furthest point from the compound’s gate, with an open space on the far side that last year yielded a nice raised-bed garden, as well as some pretty fruit and shade trees.  Elder and Sister Woods and our dear friend Isaac were its caretakers and kept this area fruitful and looking nice.  We benefited from all the crops Isaac planted before he left on his mission, but by August the garden was finished, he was gone, and with our many projects, that area was left neglected.

On Dec 9, Big Momma (a tiny stray cat) had another small (two) litter delivery at our house.  She was determined to raise her babies inside. After a week of relatively patient persuasions, she got the message to keep them outside, but the kittens were no longer seen.  When over a month had gone by, I was anxious to do some serious searching, not knowing if they were dead or alive. 

No sign of them when searching bushes around our homes, but I noticed Big Momma came occasionally from under a large, low-lying tree in the furthest back corner of the garden area.  For the first time in months, I was shocked to realize what a jungle had encompassed this entire area.   So many months of heavy rains had produced bounteous growth – just of the noxious variety.  Navigating through meter high prickly weeds and entangling vines was challenging and cumbersome.  I started to clear out the growth, but the more I pulled up or out, the more I realized how long this process was going to take.  Finally, a pathway was cleared to the tree, but the growth under and behind the tree was also very thick.  (Thinking as a cat, what a perfect hiding place for a litter of kittens!)

Stooping down to inch my way through and under the foliage, I was aghast to feel a very sticky web on my face and arms.  Looking up there were big black and yellow spiders.  I am not afraid of spiders, but walking into a spider nest with spiders 1-2 inches long excluding the legspan, is very creepy.  I then noticed these big webs in many places on the tree, the wall vines and other bushes.  With a long pole I was able to get one of the spiders to take to the guards and our African missionaries to find out what it was.  None of them knew but the guards thought they were poisonous.  I did a search online and concluded they were/are golden orb weavers or banana spider. Brooks and the missionaries took a number of pictures but none of them focused well: they don’t show the detail of the spider’s body.  There are a number of varieties but the ones here have a large yellow body and their sides and stomach have an incredible black geometric design.  Their legs are like long black spindles.  There webs are super strong and can catch small rodents and birds.  Their  venom is similar to black widow's but not as potent and they aren't agressivel. Still, I can’t say I am fond of being around them.  The spider episode ended that day’s search for the kittens.  Every time I closed my eyes that night, I felt as if I was getting entangled in a new web with spiders crawling on me.

A couple days later concern for the kittens took precedence over arachnophobia.  After clearing out all the webs in and around the tree, I gritted my teeth and foraged through the undergrowth.  Within a couple feet of the back corner of the compound, a little kitten suddenly scampered out and away!  If there was one still alive, the other probably was also, so I kept digging my way back into the corner.  Soon I was hearing kitten screeching – like a cornered mountain lion – but I couldn’t see a thing.  Since this area had very thick undergrowth and the disturbing noises sounded nearly “killer” to me, I went back in the house to get two pair of heavy insulated rubber gloves and a towel.  I didn’t want to be mauled to death on this backyard safari. 

Finally, I was able to see the other kitten.  In the corner was a small opening into a little “room” that allowed momma and babies to rest in seclusion between the brick wall of our compound and the parallel brick wall of the adjacent compound.  It was like this 3 foot enclosure was built just for them!  It wasn’t at all visible; even up close I would have never seen it because of rotted wood in front of it – had it not been for the screeching cat.  How in the world did Big Momma find this unique spot? 

When I finally had enough nerve to pick up the little man-eater, she went as limp as a dishrag!

It’s now been about 10 days.  They both learned to drink milk from a dish last week.  They are still a little skiddish, but they play now in front of the house and are adjusting to human presence  rapidly.  They both have homes awaiting them and will likely become good mousers for their new owners, which is a priority for most Gulugans.

Lessons learned.

1.       The weeds!  Geesh, they become so prolific in no time.  What a powerful lesson this was regarding the need for us to constantly weed out the little noxious things that are part of our character.  If we neglect those things, not putting any effort into cleaning up our character, or personal property, we can in short order be entangled in all kinds of things that will hurt us.  Daily weeding – or repentance – will keep our personal homes clean and free from all of life’s entrapments that can hurt us or even poison us.

2.      The animal kingdom is so amazing!  We humans often think we have all the answers and all the solutions, but God has blessed every kind of creature with natural abilities to survive, to protect themselves and their kind.  We can learn a lot from watching nature around us.  I’m grateful for the bounteous opportunities to observe here in Amazing Africa.  
_______________________________________________________________________

It is the dry season in Gulu now.  We haven't had rain in weeks.  Highs in upper 90's.  The power often goes out but we have a back-up battery system in the apt that allows us to run fans which keep us quite comfortable.  During the rainy season, the truck would not stay clean for one day as we sloshed over and through muddy roads.  In the dry season, a clean truck is good for about a day as well.  There is so much dust in the air from what used to be muddy roads.  It settles on the running boards, bumpers, hood and roof of the truck.  To look nice the truck needs washing every day.  It does give me an opportunity to pay some of our prospective missionaries to clean the truck as they earn money for their missions. They do such a thorough job it takes nearly 2 hours for two of them to detail the truck inside and out.  The dust, in the meantime, causes respiratory illness for many of our acquaintances.

 "Clumped".  You look it up and tell me what you think it means.

I keep sending  pics of fish because I just can't get enough of these tasty treats.

A convoy of Ugandan tanks heading north, approaching Gulu district.  I read  in the newspaper a couple days after taking the pics that Uganda has sent troops into South Sudan which borders Uganda on the north...a few hours north of us.  I don't know how much you are picking up on the civil war taking place in South Sudan.  I see little, if anything on-line on Fox, CNN, ABC, etc.  It's estimated that 10,000 civilians have been killed since latter Dec. and hundreds of thousand have been displaced, some spilling over into Northern Uganda.  The Church is shipping blankets and clothing as quickly as it can to many of the refugee camps.  We recently hosted a senior couple who were hauling a truck of supplies to the Northern Uganda camp.  They had with them a young member of the Church who barely escaped the war with his life.  He witnessed a lot of the mayhem that occurred just before Christmas as fighting broke out, including the killing his cousin and other relatives. His relatives thought our friend had also been killed.  When our senior missionary couple returned from the camp (of 35,000+)to spend the night with us on their way home to Kampala, their driver said, "before you enter into the camp, you must leave your heart outside."  It is just too much to bear.

Poor Victoria...she works at the Church Distribution Center in Kampala....she can hardly move around for all the boxes she has to constantly sort through.  It is such a tiny space with stuff piled everywhere, but she is used to it and she knows her stuff.  However, it makes it impossible for those visiting to browse around for things that might be useful.

This is what you get when you are diverted off the main highway (turned over truck).  We are trying to head one direction when an untold number of vehicles come at us from the opposite direction.  This is not a one way street.  More like a one way walking path.  I yielded...you can see I'm half way off the path hoping the oncoming traffic can get by without hitting me.  A good Samaritan, seeing our predicament ran ahead of us and blocked the oncoming traffic so we could eventually pass through and around the wrecked truck tractor rig that was blocking both lanes of the main Gulu to Kampala highway.

Back on the highway...these are the trucks behind the overturned truck who aren't going anywhere for a few hours.  Too large to manuever the walking trail we were re-routed onto.
__________________________________________________________________

• •
  • •
    Elder Richard G. Scott shared his feelings about Christ’s mercy in paying our debts: “Jesus Christ possessed merits that no other child of Heavenly Father could possibly have. He was a God, Jehovah, before His birth in Bethlehem. His Father not only gave Him His spirit body, but Jesus was His Only Begotten Son in the flesh. Our Master lived a perfect, sinless life and therefore was free from the demands of justice. He was and is perfect in every attribute, including love, compassion, patience, obedience, forgiveness, and humility. His mercy pays our debt to justice when we repent and obey Him” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1997, 77–78; or Ensign, May 1997, 53).

Week 46

Lessons learned from the Laws of Nature, Part 1

Animal Kingdom

I (Pam) enjoy being around all the benign animals here in Uganda.  We see cows, pigs, goats, chickens, and of course cats and lots of dogs along every road or in any compound.  Some may be a little skittish when approached, but none appear mean;  there has been no reason to fear them.   

Part of my routine when jogging is to take leftovers to one of the mother dogs down the road from us.  She has two pups that are now about 6 months old, but in this harsh environment with little food, the mothers nurse for quite a long time.  As I jogged by their home a few days ago, I called for the mother and her puppies.  To my surprise, they came running, ALONG WITH four other large dogs.  “Sheesh,” I thought, “better not put food out today!”.   As they were about to reach me, a vicious fight broke out between two of them and quickly spread to the others.  In a blink of the eye, their sweet-looking countenances had changed to narrow-beady eyed, blood-thirsty avengers while they were fighting ferociously with each other. It was too dangerous to try to break them up; yelling or throwing rocks didn’t phase them.  I was frightened at their gashes and amount of blood I was seeing and could tell that this was by no means friendly fighting.  A golden retriever appeared to be going for the kill, pinning one of the dogs on his back with a literal stranglehold on his throat, the retriever sinking his teeth deep into the dog’s throat over and over again.  It was a terrifying scene.  I had never witnessed anything like this  before.  Seeing a brick nearby, I hurled it with all my might into the retriever’s side; it startled him enough to break the death grip, and the bottom dog somewhere disappeared.  The fighting amongst all four of them completely stopped as quickly as it had started.  My greatest apprehension was what the retriever might then do, but it was all over; the dogs were now acting as normal as before the fight – although covered in blood and limping around.

The warnings we have received many times about the “wild” animals – not getting too close, became very poignant.  Animal behavior is never really predictable.  They don’t have the ability to reason like we do and truly can be volatile.  I was reminded of the Elder Boyd K. Packer’s experience with crocodiles years ago when he visited Africa.  Following is a utube link to his classic speech, worth pondering again:   http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=V.4542448870162720&w=213&h=119&c=7&rs=1&pid=2.1

The laws of nature highlight the precarious behaviors of lower species in the animal kingdom – creatures lacking the power to reason -  but sometimes we act as if we are one of them!  We seem to forget that we have God-given powers far superior to any animal.  Frequently  we react or lash out to little things as if they are threatening our very existence, forgetting who we really  are and what potential we really have.  King Benjamin spoke of this as being the “natural” man and teaches us how we can overcome this  tendency by developing our divine nature:

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.  (Mosiah 3:19)

A significant part of our mission is to help those we work with (including ourselves) recognize  the difference between the natural man and our divine nature achieved through the Savior’s great redeeming Atonement.  

______________________________________________________________
A senior couples conference week before Christmas at Murchison Falls Natl Park...Paraa Lodge.
Three nights of good food and fellowship.  A couple of land safaris and one up the River Nile to the falls.

A closer look at Murchison Falls than the last shot we sent you.  We did a hike from our original stopping place to the top of the falls...about a mile.

 Getting closer and on top of the falls.

 On top and looking down into the falls.  A lot of noise, a rainbow, mist and beauty.

 Speaking of beauty...check out the 'poetry in motion" on the left right.  I"m not one that smiles after a 1 mile hike, am I bishop?

 Never get tirred watching these beautiful animals in the wild.

Water buffalo

________________________________________________________

Elder David E. Sorensen of the Presidency of the Seventy explained how a loss of love can happen in our homes: “In much of today’s popular culture, the virtues of forgiveness and kindness are belittled, while ridicule, anger, and harsh criticism are encouraged. If we are not careful, we can fall prey to these habits within our own homes and families and soon find ourselves criticizing our spouse, our children, our extended family members. Let us not hurt the ones we love the most by selfish criticism! In our families, small arguments and petty criticisms, if allowed to go unchecked, can poison relationships and escalate into estrangements, even abuse and divorce. Instead, … we must ‘make full haste’ to reduce arguments, eliminate ridicule, do away with criticism, and remove resentment and anger. We cannot afford to let such dangerous passions ruminate—not even one day” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2003, 10; or Ensign, May 2003, 11–12).

Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Seventy explained that we are able to choose whether to react with anger or not:

“A cunning part of his [Satan’s] strategy is to dissociate anger from agency, making us believe that we are victims of an emotion that we cannot control. We hear, ‘I lost my temper.’ Losing one’s temper is an interesting choice of words that has become a widely used idiom. To ‘lose something’ implies ‘not meaning to,’ ‘accidental,’ ‘involuntary,’ ‘not responsible’—careless perhaps but ‘not responsible.’
“‘He made me mad.’ This is another phrase we hear, also implying lack of control or agency. This is a myth that must be debunked. No one makes us mad. Others don’t make us angry. There is no force involved. Becoming angry is a conscious choice, a decision; therefore, we can make the choice not to become angry. We choose!
To those who say, ‘But I can’t help myself,’ author William Wilbanks responds, ‘Nonsense.’
“‘Aggression, … suppressing the anger, talking about it, screaming and yelling,’ are all learned strategies in dealing with anger. ‘We choose the one that has proved effective for us in the past. Ever notice how seldom we lose control when frustrated by our boss, but how often we do when annoyed by friends or family?’ (‘The New Obscenity,’ Reader’s Digest, Dec. 1988, 24; italics added)” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1998, 105; or Ensign, May 1998, 80).

Week 45

Well, gotta tell u, a horrible way to end and begin a new year.  First the Tide plays like a bunch of sissies and then the Tigers gave up the title game they should have won ...would have kept the BCS Championship in the state of Alabama for five years straight.  Even though I was pretty down, our Gulugans are still big Bama supporters.  Each time we go out to the village, the young children gather around us and yell, "Roll Tide!" We have helped bring many converts - to Alabama.  AND KICKOFF IS JUST 7 1/2 MONTHS AWAY!

_______________________________________________________________

 Typical cooking job here.  Boiling up water for hot coco.  This family has a pretty nice brick/stucco home, nice furnishings.  Never-the-less, they don't have anything resembling a kitchen.  Much safer to cook outside, but some do inside.  Because most use charcoal its very dangerous, not just "short term" carbon monoxide poisoning but also other lung diseases with such poor ventilation, plus blackened walls.  One reason why we had the project making the rocket stoves.  If used properly with wood instead of charcoal, they burn 75% less fuel, no poisonous fumes and a cleaner home.  Still, many  are reluctant to change.   

Hope I'm not duplicating myself...this is a gurney lying on the ground outside a local hospital.  Will be used when a family drives a sick family member to the emergency room.  That is mud on the gurney. The family is responsible for physically getting the sick one into a hospital ward or emergency room

 This is Jackfruit - a VERY LARGE and heavy fruit that grows on tree

Looks like the inside of a crab that just been deshelled...but pretty sweet tasting.

 Our Christmas Turkey we told you about...store bought in Kampala...all skin and bones, with pin feathers.  Pam wouldn't even feed it to Big Mama...our adopted cat.

 

Newest member of the Ugandan Chapter of the U of A Alumni Association.   A wife of one of our senior couples. I am so proud of her.

 Our dear friend, Praise, who has cerebral palsy.  She is three years old but weighs about 8 kilograms or 16 pounds.  Praise is so thin because she has difficulty holding down food.  Many from the states have helped bless Praise.  First, the chair was purchased by a donation from a couple in  south Texas.  Then another friend from Bountiful, Utah helped get a fifty pound bag of Atmit from the Church.  (BYU research and dairy has developed a special  formula for this porridge which has just the right amount of vitamins, minerals, milk and grain to nourish  3rd world malnourished children.) Another couple from Laramie Wyoming picked  the bag up in Salt Lake and brought  to their home in Laramie.  My brother Dennis, from Cheyenne, brought it to Africa.  Thanks to all involved for your compassion.  For the first time Praise has been able to hold her food down when she eats the Atmit, making her healthier with each bite.You truly have made a difference to one African family.  Praise's family are not members of our Church.  Like all Humanitarian efforts the Church gets  involved in, it doesn't make any difference who is served, member or not.  Most are NOT members.  

Pam and brother Dennis on the River Nile at the top of Murchson Falls...about a mile hike up the mountain.

Living happily ever after at our couples' conference at Paraa Lodge, Murchison Falls National Park.

 Did a little black Rhino trekking week before last.  Found a family of them.

Each Rhino is watched 24/7.  Largely due to poachers and partly to learn more of their habits.  This guard carries a gun with him.  If he sees an unauthorized person on the sanctuary with a gun, orders are "shoot to kill"...not the Rhino, the person.  They are automatically assumed to be poachers. The rhino horns are prized by the Chinese  for medicinal purposes and as an aphrodisiac.

A few interesting Rhino facts:

There are in only 15 in Uganda 13 of those live in this sanctuary, the other two in the Kampala zoo.  There were once thousands of rhinos in Uganda.  Due to the civil unrest of the 1970's rhinos were poached to extinction.  Prior to the establishment of this sanctuary, the last rhino was seen in 1983 

White rhinos and Black rhinos are the same color...sort of a muddy grey.
The real name for White rhino is Wide rhino because his mouth is wider than the black rhino.  Englishmen from UK got it all screwed up years ago and started calling the Wide rhino the White rhino.  It stuck.  White rhinos are more aggressive than black rhinos

Most of these rhinos were shipped here from Kenya.  The first rhino born in Uganda in 28 years was born 2009...named Obama.
Gestation...16 months.  In the group of rhinos we saw, one of them was ready to deliver in early January.  When she goes into labor, she chases all the other young rhinos - her children - out and they are not allowed back with her until about a year has past.  Females are ready to be on their own when they are eight; males when ten.  We assume extended family watch over them while mother has them ousted.
Max speed...25-35 mph depending on if a rhino is white or black.
Longevity...40-45 years for same reason above. Black rhinos push their young in front of them when feeding (grasses).  White rhinos eat from branches/bushes and the young trail, so they are more apt to be attacked by lions. 

If a rhino gets aggressive, and we got within 20 feet or so of them, our instructions are to head for a tree to climb into or into a thick bush (they have poor eyesight and stay in the open).  So, avoid open areas, unless you can run 35 mph.
Adult White rhino drinks 75 litres of water per day usually from dusk onward.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You may want to watch this very short video...it carries a number of messages centered around the order in the universe.  If it won't open for you, cut and paste it in your URL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=h60r2HPsiuM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988) of the First Presidency shared the following personal experience regarding the importance of pure motives for doing righteous things:
“About a quarter of a century ago Sister Romney and I moved into a ward in which they were just beginning to build a meetinghouse. The size of the contribution the bishop thought I ought to contribute rather staggered me. I thought it was at least twice as much as he should have asked. However, I had just been called to a rather high Church position, so I couldn’t very well [say no]. Therefore, I said, ‘Well, I will pay it, Bishop, but I will have to pay it in installments because I don’t have the money.’ And so I began to pay. And I paid and paid until I was down to about the last three payments, when, as is my habit, I was reading The Book of Mormon, and came to the scripture which said:
“‘… If a man … giveth a gift … grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.’ (Moroni 7:8.)
“This shocked me because I was out about a thousand dollars. Well, I went on and paid the three installments I had promised to pay, and then I paid several more installments to convince the Lord that I had done it with the right attitude” (“Mother Eve, a Worthy Exemplar,” Relief Society Magazine, Feb. 1968, 84–85).

Week 44

Happy New Year!  They had a lot of fireworks at midnight (sponsored by local hotels).  Lots of revelry, just like in the states.  Even five days later, people still greet you cheerfully with Happy New Year!  These are such friendly people, but ...

OK...we are approaching a year over here and the new sights and sounds we've sent you are getting harder to find.  We still have a host of pics to send but I can see our blog posts slowing down from weekly to every other week.  I know, I know.  There will be much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.  We are doing the best we can.
___________________________________________________________________

Communication...it ain't gettin much betta as I had hoped it would this far into our mission.

Communication is always a problem here. Not just us mzungus (white folks, all of whom are thought to be wealthy) and the local Acholi people but between themselves as well. For example, I met with a branch presidency recently. Their General Conference Priesthood Meeting DVD malfunctioned so they were unable to watch this session of conference a couple of weeks ago. I told them I’d make them another copy and they could watch it in upcoming Sunday Morning Priesthood meetings (the first Sunday of the month.) They thought this was a good idea, rather than calling a special meeting as more brethren would be able to watch the broadcast. I just received a phone call from one of our full-time missionaries who was at the branch chapel with a number of other brethren who had gathered at 2:00 pm to watch the DVD. No one seemed to know about the gathering for the meeting other than the members…not even the branch presidency.

This is just sort of the way it is here. Certainly between Pam and me and the locals.  Believe me, their English is far superior to our Acholi but our English accents are so different it is next to impossible to carry on a conversation on a phone...and when you are in the car trying to listen on the phone over the a/c and road noise, we just have to tell em we'll call them back when we reach a destination. They are very patient with us!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pam has always loved bugs and such. In high school she entered into a modeling contest and placed a tarantula on her evening gown. She had the MC announce that whatever she was wearing was accented by a live tarantula. The heat of the stage lights caused the spider to begin to crawl up her dress. Needless to say, this did not impress the judges.  She had won the year before and like most Alabama Football haters, it's hard to win the hearts of the pollsters year after year.

"When it rains it pours"...as they say and when it pours here, traveling is difficult and hazardous. Here we are on our way and this is what we are traveling thru.

Lamtoo Clifton and Ojok Simon.  Simon made the boards and Clifton painted them.  Each is a bean bag toss board and theses were given to the children at Lacor Hospital Christmas eve, eve by our Young Single Adults.

We have a small group of members about 2 hours north of us.  This is a members building they meet in.

This was the whole group on a recent Sunday Pam and I visited.  There are more but not all were in attendance.

You have seen this type picture before.  These are patients waiting to see a doctor at a local hospital.  They can wait up to two days.

And this little cutie-pie, Prudence, is one of our Gulu Branch Members.

Wow...I didn't think I could down load an actual clip.  I've had problem before and now that this one is up and running it doesn't appear worth looking at...sorry  This cultural show is in Kampala.  The MC, before the last song, encouraged the world to dance together...his belief that if we would only dance together we could bring peace to the world.  You saw in an earlier blog post Pam and her brother Dennis doing their thing.

Gardens at Sipi Falls.  Nearly Garden of Eden-like.  Lush, plentiful, flowers, evergreens, breathtaking.
________________________________________________________________

The following is credited to one of my first cousins, once removed...Grace Rockett.


Well...I said usually but I will be pulling for Auburn in the BCS Championship Game just to keep the trophy in the SEC for 8 years in a row and in the state of Alabama 4 years in a row.  Then again...if Auburn gets beat, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it...like I did Thurs nite after the Sugar Bowl...or I should say Friday morning.  Kickoff was 4:30 AM here.

Thought you might enjoy the following short segment on AJ McCarron, Alabama QB and his relationship with one of the Tide's equipment managers.  Very touching.  I know you will be touched.  If it doesn't open for you please cut and paste into your url.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10233231

_____________________________________________________________________

President James E. Faust (1920–2007) of the First Presidency taught that despite diversity of cultures, races, or traditions, unity can be developed:

“I have learned to admire, respect, and love the good people from every race, culture, and nation that I have been privileged to visit. In my experience, no race or class seems superior to any other in spirituality and faithfulness. Those who seem less caring spiritually are those individuals—regardless of race, culture, or nationality—spoken of by the Savior in the parable of the sower who are ‘choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection’ [Luke 8:14]. …
“As we move into more and more countries in the world, we find a rich cultural diversity in the Church. Yet everywhere there can be a ‘unity of the faith’ [Ephesians 4:13]. Each group brings special gifts and talents to the table of the Lord. We can all learn much of value from each other. But each of us should also voluntarily seek to enjoy all of the unifying and saving covenants, ordinances, and doctrines of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lorenzo Snow…5^th President of the Church

(Born 1814.Died 1901)

”Place a cucumber in a barrel of vinegar and there is but little effect produced upon it in the first hour, nor in the first 12 hours.  Examine it and you will find that the effect produced is merely upon the rind, for it requires a longer time to pickle it.  A person’s being baptized into this church has an effect upon him, but not the effect to pickle him immediately. It does not establish the law of right and of duty in him during the first 12 or 24 hours; he must remain in the church, like the cucumber in the vinegar, until he become saturated with the right spirit.”