25 Mar 2020, Wednesday

25 Mar 2020, Wednesday
Prioritized Daily Task 
Beth McAlpin Davis' 40th Birthday

Debbie and I had prayer and watched a video on Female Relief Society in Nauvoo from the Joseph Smith Papers.  Debbie went to physical therapy and I emailed back and forth with Michael and Dalin.  Sister Alexandra McAlpin is leaving the MTC today at 5 PM for her field of labor in the Colorado North Mission.  She has a suite case Dalin McEwin is picking up.   Debbie and I called and wished Beth a happy birthday.  She was on her way down to San Clemente but was stopping at her mother's and Reg's in Fresno.  She has a birthday cake and a little party planned for her, Tucker, Maggie and Andrew.  Michael called and put me on a 3 way conservation with him and Matthew.  The company that Matthew was going to work for is now not hiring anyone.  The CEO put a freeze on all new hiring until things get back to normal.  Matthew is moving forward with developers from India to get his software done to start his company.  Jodi and Tony got word that their son Elder Cache Traveller is on his way out of Ghana on a chartered flight to the US.  The children and grand children are playing games by email.  Debbie and I studied Hebrew.  When Beth got to San Clemente she checked in to a Hotel with Tucker, Maggie and Andrew and called us.  The children were playing in the tub.  Debbie and I watched videos of the Joseph Smith Papers until we lost connection with the internet.  We had prayer and got to bed before midnight.  (One of the sources of historical data for the Joseph Smith Papers was journals of early members and non-members of the Church. One statement made by one of the historians was that many of the journals were "weather reports" while others journals contain entries of substative matters. I am going to try from here on to only write things of substance which will be of value to those who read my journals.  
One thing I want my posterity to know is I love the Lord and I love them, even though I may not have known them in this life, I still love each of them.  You are the reason I have kept a journal over the year and written a personal history to cover the time before I kept a journal.
Many of the things I have included in the past I will not be included in the future.  You should know for most of the last 56 years I have had daily prayer; most of the time morning and knight, both personal and family prayer.  I have read and studied the scriptures daily during that time, almost always, morning and night.  I have tried to keep the Sabbath day holy and have paid an honest tithe and given a generous fast offering.  In fulfilling my callings, I could have done better if my heart would have always been right.  I have tried to teach my children and family to be  have integrity, to be honest and have strong moral principles.  I want you who will read this to have the same qualities. I want you to control your desires, your appetites and passions.  In Proverbs 16:32, and Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities; "He who conquers himself is greater than he that conquers a city".  I want you to reach higher and be a better person than I have been.