Wonderful Washington (D.C.)

David and I had the great opportunity of attending a credit union Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. in March. It was a time of learning, politicizing, sightseeing, and many awesome experiences.

We started things off with a visit to the Chevy Chase Ward bright and early Sunday morning. A girl from our neighborhood is serving as a Page in the U.S. Senate and we had arranged to meet her on the Metro and ride out with her to Church.

Descending into Middle Earth? No, just the D.C. Metro

What a great experience this turned out to be. It was Testimony Meeting and the greater theme seemed to be about sharing the Gospel. Allie stood and shared how her testimony has grown as she has had to answer questions about the Church from her fellow Pages. She told about studying and praying in her closet at night after “lights out” to be able to answer her friends’ questions. We were very proud of her! And, a bonus for me was that when she came back to sit down beside me, I gave her a hug and then she snuggled up next to me. Obviously, this cute16 year-old, away from home for the first time and her family for 2 months, was in need of a mom figure and I was only too happy to fill in. David’s highlight was sitting and chatting with Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, in Priesthood Meeting. David commented that Harry was just a regular guy, a fellow High Priest participating in his Sunday meetings with no hoopla.

In this election year, it was an interesting time to be in the Nation’s Capitol. David was in meetings most of each day and was treated to addresses by wonderful speakers such as Colin Powell (who impressed David greatly), Senator Joseph Lieberman, and Dave Barry, and many other Senators and Representatives. A big important part of the week was visiting Capitol Hill. David was a part of the Utah delegation that visited all of our Utah Congressmen and Senators to keep credit unions on their “radar screens.” During one of his visits, I borrowed David’s conference badge and went to hear Chris Matthews, of MSN’s Hardball show. For being a very liberal Democratic commentator, he impressed me with his frank assessment of the current political campaigns and the leading contenders. One other highlight of the conference was a concert by the legendary band, America. It was a party!

David and I did have a little time for sightseeing. Sunday afternoon, we visited all the monuments, several of which were new to me.

A beautiful Sunday afternoon on the Mall

David with FDR

Later during the week, we had a late night tour of Washington with the “head hauncho” of the Utah League of Credit Unions. He previously worked in Senator Orrin Hatch’s office, so he really knew his way around and shared a lot of experiences with us.

Mr. Lincoln in his magnificent home

And so spectacular up close!

The Washington Monument and Capitol from the Lincoln Memorial

We also visited the National Indian Museum, the Phillips Collection (art gallery by all the embassies), and we loved the National Botanical Gardens, which we had never seen before.

The Orchid Festival at the National Botanical Gardens

I toured the National Gallery of Art on my own and a few other Smithsonian museums with the wives of other delegates from our credit union.

The magnificent Library of Congress

A Degas Ballerina at the National Gallery of Art

David was able to get tickets to the Senate Gallery for me and another wife, so we went through all the security and enjoyed sitting in the Gallery, watching Allie working as a Page. She came up to sit with us for a few minutes and gave a running commentary on what was going on and pointed out some highlights of the Senate Chamber. Then she got permission to take us on a tour of the Capitol.

The spectacular Capitol Rotunda

Me and Brigham in Statuary Hall

What a wonderful experience to have Alllie share her knowledge and love of this building!

Allie, Senate Page and Capitol Tour Guide Extraordinaire!

Bonus- we did not have to wait 6 months for a tour pass nor wait in a long line that day! Gotta love having friends in high places!

Welcome Gideon!

I recently spent a week in Southern California with our daughter Amy and her family. The reason for my visit??? A picture is worth a thousand words and I’ll add a quote from 2 year-old, Allison: “Ta Da…"

Our 10th grandchild, Gideon David, was born on February 19, 2008.

What a fun experience it was to join Tom and Amy, big brother, Jacob, and big sister, Allison, as they welcomed Gideon to their family. Having a week to be more than a “long-distance grandma” was a joy and a time to treasure. I have a multitude of memories from this very “short” week.

Of course, the star of the show was Gideon. Tom whisked me to the hospital as soon as I touched down. What a beautiful baby boy! It was such a joy to hold, snuggle, and love him and participate in all the tasks associated with a newborn.

Grandma gets lots of quality time with Gideon.

It amazed me how alert and responsive he was and how curious he was about his new world. He is truly a little miracle straight from heaven!

We thumbprinted onesies and here is Gideon wearing one of Jacob's creations entitled "Turtle Migration."

And, there were great times with Gideon’s big brother and sister. Several mornings, Allison crept down the stairs and crawled into my sleeping bag and we talked, sang, told stories, and I loved having this warm little bundle of joy snuggled close to me. We snuggled on the couch and read stories, she would often tell me “Grandma, I happy!” and she would break into her rendition of “I Am a Child of God” many times during each day and remind me so much of Amy singing the same song when she was 2 years old.

I Am a Child of God

Jacob and I ventured out to Karate lessons, Preschool, and shopping together. He amazed me with his elaborate illustrations and stories about them for his “Welcome Home” sign for Mom and Gideon. Another highlight- seeing the sheer joy on Jacob’s face as he and his dad finally got Spiderman and his parachute up and flying when they took me and the whole family to the beach. He ate my cooking with gusto, too! What a way to make a Grandma feel good!

Jacob at First Five Preschool

Spending time hanging out with Tom and Amy was great. We got to “catch up” on our lives, take a couple trips to the beach, learn some new baby-calming tricks together, and watch a “chick flick” that I think Tom even enjoyed. Amy and I had the fun of attending a baby shower planned by her friends in her Ward, timed so that I would still be in town. It was a fun evening and a great chance to meet so many of Amy’s wonderful friends.

And, there was a bonus at the end of my visit. Our oldest granddaughter, Meg, journeyed with her dad to L.A. for a business conference and she wanted to come and help Amy and play with her cousins. She spent the night and the next day with us. She had one big idea for our day together: “I want to go to the beach!” Amy was up for it and it was a beautiful day. It was very fun to see Meg exulting in the waves and doing some serious digging and constructing in the sand with Jacob, only for their structures to be washed away by the next big wave and then they would begin again. It was a great way to end my visit to California! A good time was had by all… especially me!

Meg jumping for joy with a day at the beach.

No time to build before the next wave.

And one last parting shot...

Gideon at the beach- only one week old and he’s been to the beach 2 times! He’s becoming a regular “beach bum!”

My Testimony of Jesus Christ

Easter (March) 2008

When we served as missionaries at the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center, one of the most important things we did was to invite our visitors into a beautiful glass room that had a large marble statue of Christ. This Christus is like the one that stands in the Visitor’s Center on Temple Square, but it stands in front of a painting of the Sacred Grove, where Heavenly Father and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith, which is only about 3 miles away from the Hill Cumorah. It is an appropriate setting for the Christus, for it testifies that Jesus Christ did appear with Our Heavenly Father, in what we now call the Sacred Grove, to the 14 year-old boy, Joseph Smith. From that sacred experience, the Church of Jesus Christ was restored in its fullness, through the authority of the Holy Priesthood of God. I joyfully bore testimony of this truth.

In that beautiful Christus room, we played an audio recording of some of the words of our Savior Jesus Christ. After the recording, we had the opportunity to bear testimony of Jesus Christ. Even though I had a testimony of our Savior, it was a very scary and intimidating thing for me and I didn’t do the greatest job for a while. But over time, this is where the greatest growth came for me as a missionary and for me personally. It still was an awesome responsibility to testify, but this is where I came to know my Savior as I never had before and my testimony and understanding the Atonement increased each time I bore my testimony.

Listening with our visitors, I heard Christ’s words, “I was with my Father from the beginning. I came to do the will of my Father….” I know that the will of Our Father in Heaven is summarized in this brief statement, “For behold, this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) I know that through Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice, He did will of his Father, and that the only way for us to realize the blessing of immortality and eternal life is through Our Savior.

Christ stood before us in the Christus Room, with his hands outstretched, inviting all to come unto Him. The greatest lesson of the Historic Sites was (and is) that Christ is the central message of the Restoration. Our mission and all that we did at the Sites was to invite Our Heavenly Father’s children to come unto Christ. Especially in the Christus Room, I understood this great responsibility and opportunity and I rejoiced in testifying of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His Gospel to the earth.

One of the striking details of the Christus is the clarity of the prints of the nails in Christ’s hands and feet. I often reflected on and sometimes shared Isaiah’s words, “… yet will I not forget thee… Behold, I have engraven thee upon the palms of my hands…” (Isaiah 49:15-16 and 1 Nephi 21:15-16) I know that our Savior will not forget us, for we are engraved upon His hands, His heart, and His whole being, through his atoning sacrifice. Elder Jeffrey Holland once said of this scripture, “The Savior reminds us that He has ‘graven us upon the palms of His hands.’ Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion and the Atonement, I promise you He is not going to turn his back on us now.” I know that this is true.

Tears often came to my eyes as I bore testimony of this great sacrifice, one that is almost overwhelming to consider. I once read a pretty amazing thought, probably by Elder Neal A. Maxwell, that even though Christ knew from the beginning what would be required, He did not know how hard it would be to go through it. He did not fully understand the pain, the sorrow, and the agony that He would have to endure. And yet, He did. This same comment included the thought that Satan did not think that Christ could “pull if off,” that He could do it, and yet, He did. His suffering was incomprehensible- the greatest upon this earth- but He did it.

I came to understand why. It was because of love- his great love for His Father in Heaven and his great love for us. It was a love that “passeth understanding” and it was the enabling power that gave Christ the strength to “tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore,” for us, for me, because of His great love. Another thought, whose source I do not know, speaks of how significant it is that Christ’s will was to do the will of His Father, because the whole Plan of Salvation depended upon it: “Incredible aloneness lay at the heart of the Great Atonement, and Jesus endured it, because He let His will be swallowed up in the will of the Father.” That is awesome to consider. I also came to understand the love of Our Father in Heaven in sending His Beloved Son and then having to witness the agony His Son endured in Gethsemane and Calvary, without being able to intervene. Neal A. Maxwell has said of this experience, “There was no ram in the thicket at Calvary to spare Him.” Our Father, the author of the Great Plan of Salvation, knew that only through the suffering of His Son would the opportunity of Eternal Life for all His children be forged. It was all because of love. Gratitude overwhelms me. Love of my Father in Heaven and my Savior fills my heart and my being.

I often think, as well, of the suffering He endured during the experiences surrounding the Great Atonement. I think of the Last Supper, of Jesus knowing what lay ahead and knowing that soon He would leave his beloved Apostles as He suffered alone. I think of the physical abuse He endured- no sleep, probably no food, being pushed, dragged, spat upon, smote upon, scourged, stripped, beaten, crowned with thorns, and made to carry the tremendous weight of the cross, after all this. And then, there was the agony of the nails and the cruelest method of execution- the Crucifixion. I think of the emotional abuse, as well- the ridicule, the rejection, the taunts and challenges (“If thou be the Son of God…” Matthew 27:40), and the denials. And, I think of the greatest trial of all, being left alone by His Father, (“My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46).

These things I came to understand as I testified of my Savior Jesus Christ in the Christus Room at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center. I count this understanding as one of the greatest blessings I received as I served as a missionary at the Historic Sites. My understanding has grown and my testimony has increased and intensified over time as I have studied and pondered and prayed. It is time that I shared it, for that is another way to strengthen my testimony. So, I share my testimony with you whom I love.

As I stood beside the Christus, I often shared a great scripture from The Book of Mormon, which has the power to direct our thoughts to what we must do with this testimony of Christ, especially as we live in these last days of wickedness, evil, and peril. It has become my favorite scripture and I share it with the hope that it will become your rock of strength as you weather the storms of life that may lie ahead and that it will be your central focus, your foundation, and your joy in the exciting and glorious days before the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. The scripture is found in Helaman 5:12: “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storms shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

About JustJan

For as long as I can remember, I have had to answer the question, “So, what is Jan short for- Janet, Janice, Janette, etc.?” My standard answer has always been, “It’s not short for anything, it’s just Jan.” Years ago, shortly after moving into an apartment with 3 great roommates, they quickly dubbed me “JJ,” short for “just Jan.” For almost 37 years, that has been my nickname, alias, part of many logins or passwords, and a part of my identity. So, when I had to choose the name of my blog, it was natural for me to immediately think of JustJan for this foray into the world of blogging.

So… to blog or not to blog. That was the question. Two daughters and a son have blogs and I enjoy their blogs immensely. Living so far away from my kids and grandkids, they give me a little window into their worlds. So… would they or anyone else be interested in a little window into my life? Admittedly, I do wonder. But, with a little encouragement from my kids, I have decided to try my hand at blogging.