Visit from the Bishop

Tuesday evening the bishop paid us a visit. Since then, I have been going over and over in my mind what transpired. I've wanted to write about what happened and came up with a letter to the bishop. It's one of those letters you write, but never send. The bishop is a decent man and DH and I both like him. The letter is just my way of sharing my reaction to the bishop's visit. If you have any thoughts after reading the letter, I hope you will share them with me.

Dear Bishop ____________:

Thank you for paying us a visit Tuesday evening. I am sorry I was the catalyst for DH getting up at Fast and Testimony meeting. We were both so excited with the results of my genealogical research and how it tied in to my patriarchal blessing. I realize now I should have discouraged DH from sharing our joy with the ward members.

I told DH I believe the purpose of your visit was to (1) explain why the note was passed to DH to tell him, in effect, to stop talking; and (2) to reprove him for some of the comments he made.

DH and I are both sorry for any harm that his words may have inflicted on those present. His intent was to explain why he was speaking for me. Obviously, he revealed too much information.

We appreciated your candidness. We hope you, in turn, appreciated our candidness. Having you visit us in our home, uninterrupted, gave us the opportunity to get better acquainted.

Before you left, you said that you would like to see me baptized. You challenged DH and I to read the Book of Mormon together. You said our lives would change for the better. You also said we would have the spirit in our home. As I've reflected on your words, and I may be reading more into what you said, I started wondering if you felt that because I am not a member, we do not have the spirit in our home. Am I to understand that unless I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is no way we can have the spirit of Christ in our home? I hope that is not what you meant. If that were true, it would mean only members of the Church can have the spirit of Christ in their homes. I am a firm believer that ALL can have the spirit of Christ.

Will DH and I read the Book of Mormon together? No. Not together. As I told you, I have found it more inspiring when I open the scriptures (be it the Book of Mormon or Bible) to no particular page and find an answer to something that is troubling me.

You told us you like seeing us at church. I believe you were being sincere. We explained to you why we only attend Sacrament Meeting.

You mentioned that DH's testimony was talked about the most by the members of the ward. I do not know what to expect when we come to Sacrament Meeting this Sunday. Perhaps we will be shunned. If so, that is truly sad. But I know in my heart there will be one person who will never shun us. That person is our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Peace to you, Bishop ___________.

This Is Love

Today is Mother's Day. My precious son Jim made me a card with this message inside:

M -- is for Model; you have taught me so Much.

O -- is for Open arms always hugging me.

T -- is for Taking Time to always kiss me goodnight.

H -- is for Helping me, and Holding my Hand.

E -- is for your caring Eyes.

R -- is for Raising me Right.

My wonderful husband gave me a card with this message:

With Love and Thanks to My wife

I'm a better man because of your love.

And because of your love,

I now know

that home isn't a place,

it's a person.

Yes ... THIS IS LOVE. What more could any woman ask for?

Need Your Prayers [Please Read]

It happened again ... my DH was assaulted/mugged. He went out this morning (around 6:00 a.m.) to go to the store. On his way home, he was mugged. The thugs slugged him in the face several times and punched him in the stomach. One of the thugs held their hand over my husband's mouth so he couldn't cry out. They stole his house keys and car key from the pocket of his pants and the canvas bag he was carrying that held his wallet, coin purse, eyeglasses and the newspaper and cleanser he had purchased. His wallet contained credit cards and $20. The thugs also stole the garage door opener, so it looks like we'll have to have a new garage door opener installed.

When DH returned home, he had to bang on the window where our bedroom is located to get my attention.

I immediately called the police so DH could file a report. Since DH's face was bruised and bloody and his stomach hurt, I told him he needed to go to the emergency room. I would have taken him myself, but one of us needed to be at home because of the stolen house keys. One of our neighbors, who is a pastor, is taking DH to the hospital.

I called a locksmith to come and rekey our locks. I will have to figure out what to do about the car key since it's one of those keys with a chip. I imagine I'll have to go to a Ford dealership.

I'm trying to remember if there was anything in DH's wallet with our address. I don't think so because DH did not renew his driver's license and that was not in his wallet. His social security card was not in his wallet.

I've already called one of the credit card companies to report the card stolen. I just have to pull myself together to try to remember what other cards were in his wallet.

I'm trying desperately to hold myself together. It is so painful to know there are such evil people in our neighborhood. I know if I start crying, I won't be able to stop.

Please remember us in your prayers.

~~~

The pastor just came by (it’s 9:00 a.m.) to tell me that DH is still at the hospital. He told me it does not look like DH will require any stiches on his face. He will be having a CT scan of his stomach. The pastor told me that DH will be at the hospital for at least two hours. It hurts so much that I am not there with DH. If DH is not home by the time the locksmith has come and gone, I will head over to the hospital.