The Story of Polly Knight

Polly and Joseph Knight and their family lived in Colesville, New York. Joseph Smith met them when he was working in Harmony, Pennsylvania. They listened to him and believed him. It was their carriage that Joseph borrowed so he could pick up the plates from Moroni. They moved from Colesville to Thompson, Ohio when the Lord commanded his people to gather in Ohio. After a short time in Thompson, the Lord told the Colesville saints to move to Jackson County Missouri.

This journey was almost 900 miles and Polly Knight was already in poor health. The company traveled mostly by river. Her family tried to convince her to stop and rest with friends along the way. She was determined to obey the Lord and gather to Zion. She became so ill that along the way her son Newel left the boat to buy wood to build a coffin.

Her son Newel wrote, "Her only, or her greatest desire, was to set her feet upon the land of Zion, and to have her body interred in that land." Polly lived to see Zion. She died within two weeks of her arrival and was the first Latter-Day Saint to be buried in Missouri.

The Lord give these consoling words on the day of her funeral, "Those that live shall inherit the earth, and those that die shall rest from all their labors, and their works shall follow them; and they shall receive a crown in the mansions of my Father, which I have prepared for them."--Doctrine and Covenants 59:2.

I am always amazed and impressed with the faith and determination of the early saints. They determined to obey God at all costs. Their example inspires me to follow the Lord's commandments as they did.

Michelle's shoes

Not only are they expensive, they are UGLY!

The Death of Intervention

It's time to pay the piper, all good things must come to an end, or the chickens have come home to roost.

In case you hadn't heard, the state of Arizona has a HUGE budget deficit. Because of that deficit, Mesa Schools has a BIG deficit. Education has been and is going to take a BIG cut. At my school we are losing teachers, the basic skills person, the reading coach and the last certified interventionist.

I have been working in the intervention program for the last 4 years. Next year it will be gone. "No money," the district says. Now I admit when it first started, I hated the program. I didn't think it would work and it meant a whole lot more work for me. Sometimes I have felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall because nothing seemed to be soaking into kids' heads. Head banging is NOT my idea of a good time.

Other times however, when the light turns on and they start to get it, well that is one of the best feelings ever. At times, it has brought me to tears.

Next year the intervention program will be gone. I'm sad. I'm losing some friends to other schools and I wonder if some of the kids will do as well. Will I even have a job next year? Maybe I will have a job and I'll get to be in the classroom all day which I really enjoy. I really don't know, but I know the end of this school year will be heart rending for me.

The Law of Consecration

Yesterday my Sunday School lesson was about the law of consecration. One thing I have decided is that we think too much about what we have to give up instead of the blessings we will receive from Heavenly Father.

4 Nephi
2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.
3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift
13 And it came to pass that there was no contention among all the people, in all the land; but there were mighty miracles wrought among the disciples of Jesus.
15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.
17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were as one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.

This is the world I would like to live in.

The Personal Hygiene of 12 year old boys, (or lack thereof)

Today I cleaned my house. I realize this is not a big event for some, but for me sometimes it is. I was in Sam's bathroom. I must admit I haven't been there for awhile. I looked in his shower and what did I see--two little slivers of soap and no shampoo. So I ask myself, "How is he getting clean ?" He does take a shower everyday and he comes upstairs with with wet hair. I am mystified.

Like any good mother, I took a whole new bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo to his shower. I wonder if he will notice the difference.

Mother Nature

Mother Nature and I sometimes have our disagreements. For instance, she thinks the perfect temperature for Mesa in the summertime is 110 degrees. I think that is too hot. I think she is showing off with her wild thunderstorms during the monsoon season.

Today, however, we were in perfect agreement. I woke up to a nice cool breeze blowing in my bedroom window. To make it even better, I heard the pleasant sound of a spring shower. It was perfect!

Thanks Mother Nature!

Thanks to all those who are the "another person"

"God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our need."--Spencer W. Kimball

I'm grateful to all those wonderful people who help me (and those I love) in times of trouble, or in times of not trouble. They listen to the spirit and follow his promptings. The world is a better place because of you.

THANKS!