Dear Elder Berky,
As I have been reading the Book of Mormon this morning, I have just covered 223 years between Enos and Omni. USA has been in existence fr 243 years. Granted, the Book of Mormon is intended for spiritual things, but those seven pages and 223 years also represent to me a couple things:
- Obedience. The men that wrote in those 223 years and 7 pages, even though not much, still kept the commandment to write.
- Keeping a record. A few times during those 7 pages, we had sinners to saints recording. “…I of myself am a wicked man…” and “…for what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me.”
Keeping a record of our family is what we need to improve upon. It’s too easy to not do it, but I am so grateful to read the journals of my ancestors and of my dad. I will send some more precious snippets from his 1990 journal that will inspire you in your missionary work. Last week I woke up at 1am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I have this never-ending project of scanning in his journals, so I commenced reading and scanning in 1990. I found little treasures and mentions of friends and family that I knew they needed to “hear from him”, so I also copied those pages to send to them as surprises. It was an all day project, but so rewarding! So, we will get back to writing to you, our dear missionary son!
Continuing on the thought about my study time this morning with the scriptures, I do wonder about, and look forward to someday reading the other Nephite records to learn more about their people. AND I really look forward to the time that the sealed portion will be revealed. I have been pondering this for some time now, and feel that the Lord, through President Nelson, is asking us to prepare to receive such things by following him diligently. The commandments are there for a reason, and he asks us to follow him so he can further bless us. D&C 130:
20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
As President Nelson has said in his April 2018 talk about revelation:”…we must learn to receive revelation. Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”
They preside, but we, conduct. IF we choose to be obedient to the counsels of our dear prophet and of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our family has been struggling with being diligent with Come Follow Me. Getting everyone together with varying schedules is a challenge. Tonight we will counsel together to see how we can implement this better into our individual and family lives. On a bright note, Anthony has been incorporating the phrases, “…when I go on my mission…” some more in his communications! That is very encouraging! Ben’s girlfriend, Kaitlyn D-y, is in Anthony’s seminary class. She says that he is always raising his hand answering questions, and volunteering to write things on the board. I kinda wonder if that is to impress her, knowing that she’ll report to Ben?
A run down of our week last week:
Ammon is doing swim lessons these next 2 weeks before the outdoor pool is closed. Lessons are after school for just 30 minutes. His hair is getting sooo blonde! He also had his kindergarten assessment. He did just fine with Mrs. Eckhardt. Larsen Elementary just has 1 kindergarten teacher now. The neighborhood demographics are changing! She told me the BEST news ever. She will not be assigning busywork to do at home anymore.
It was found that the kids who did the homework were the ones that did not need the homework. The children who needed to do it, never did it. So it was a futile effort on both sides. She, and the other teachers at our elementary school, have been discussing this very issue for a few years. This year, some teachers are not going to have homework, and some will still have homework. Though what level of homework of the last few years I do not know yet. So I am hoping that science fair project will be optional this year
This decision is based off research from the past 30 years that kids in elementary school do not benefit from homework.
You saw on Facebook that he learned to ride a bike? A few weeks ago I went into Noble Cycling and said that he’s outgrown his balance bike. They showed me the next bike his size that is better construction (lighter weight) than Walmart bikes, AND has Tannus tires (solid tube). Took him about 3 days to get the hang of it, but he is now a confident cyclist! He and I go on the REALLY long circle of 3 miles around our neighborhood, and take E with us to get a good run. Ammon jabbers the whole way talking about Minecraft. It’s so cute.
Today is his first official day of kindergarten! He is going to the morning class. Last Berky boy with Mrs. Eckhardt. I’m sorry you didn’t have her 🙁
Jacob Last week he had three rounds of tryouts for the UVRays swim team. All summer long he had been part of the SF Rec League team, and did pretty good. I don’t know if you remember, but he had been doing the “Swim School” with UVRays from January-May practicing at the BYU indoor pool (obviously). Watching him at the tryouts with his tan body next to the other swimmers that were lily white kind of made me chuckle. During the summer he swam nearly everyday with the SF team, with only Wednesdays and Sundays off. His best stroke is backstroke. He can really fly. His least favorite is the butterfly.
We’ll know of the results this week. The swim coaches are placing kids in practice groups right now. I’m pretty sure he is in. He really does love it.
Sam You saw THE Old Man haircut, right? At first I vetoed the idea, but realized, it’ll grow back, and it’s better than a mohawk or tattoo or piercing. The idea originated at scout camp as the boys were just talking about what would be funny for the first day of school. I don’t know who came up with the idea, but Sam ran with it. Ben and Enzo (A-d) really fueled the fire and made him want to have it even more. So, Sister Brenda Dance in our ward did the initial cut a couple weeks before school, and on the day before school we shaved it down the rest of the way. He had a Mountain Bike team practice and when he got out of the van the coaches yelled out to him, “hey Sam! What bet did you lose?!” Interestingly, on the first week of the cut, he was out in the sun without a hat during the morning hours. The next day his head swelled like you wouldn’t believe. It was a sunburn! Then it began to drain to his eyes and one eye was nearly swollen shut! I should have taken a picture of the progression, it was so weird. He looked like Elephant Man on one of the days. Really should have documented with a picture!
First week of school for him he loved the attention from all the kids regarding his hair (or lack thereof). He is signed up for Jazz Band (percussion) that is 0 hour (before school), and Intermediate Band. His band teacher came to him and asked if he would also want to do Advanced band as there is only one percussionist, and he needs another one. On the down side, the teacher needs Sam still in the intermediate band because Sam is the best player and he needs him to mentor the other players. Sam came home so excited about the opportunity, and I smiled as it is exactly something that I did when I was his age. So we switched his schedule, and are having him do “Digital Literacy” online (that’ll be a breeze), so he can do 3 hours of band/percussion every day. He is thrilled! Also another fun class for Sam is the new PE class that is a Mountain Bike class. The company called Specialized has a pilot program to get more kids on bikes, and our school applied and got the grant. There are 40 kids in the class, and Sam was the first one to sign up in May when we heard about it. He and his long-time friend since preschool, Bryce W-r, are in it together.
Ben On Sunday our family went to the D-y’s (Ben’s girlfriend) and had a Come Follow Me 15 minute discussion. Then we shaved Sam’s head at his request. Root beer floats. A fun dare/roulette game with disgusting concoctions of liquids from the refrigerator. Ben will have to teach it to you. Thursday night his Sophomore team played Pleasant Grove (in PG), and beat them after a REALLY exciting 4th quarter. Even Jacob was intently watching. Leean D-y is a huge football fan so she helped us understand everything that was happening. Dad was at a meeting in Park City. Ben played nearly the entire game, both Defense and Offense. He had 1 sack, and an assisted sack. I’ll have to have him send the video clip from his team account of the sack. It was pretty awesome.
We learned that college football recruiters start in Freshman year to look at players. Since he wants to get a scholarship to pay for college, he has set up an account with Next College Student Athlete. This is where the college coaches go to start recruiting. Invite letters start this year. Junior year more personalized contact. Senior year offers come.
Anthony He is on the Varsity team, but got shin splints 3 weeks ago and was benched so they could heal. He got bumped to JV because they needed to fill his spot with someone that could run. He was pretty bummed. But he’s doing what the team trainer is telling him to do to get better. He really wants to get back to playing again. For Friday’s game, he dressed in full uniform like all the other players, even though he knew he wouldn’t be playing. Another team member got a serious neck injury with the ambulance even coming on the field. Though the coolest thing happened. As the injured player was lifted onto the gurney, all the team players gathered in a circle around him. They bowed their heads and the team captain lead a prayer for their injured teammate. Nothing was announced, but the stands were dead silent when they saw what the team was doing.
What incredible young men honoring their covenants as disciples of Jesus Christ! I love our community and little pocket of Zion.
Enzo A-d has become the new Kooper T-n in our house. He is over nearly every day hanging out with Anthony, when Anthony isn’t at football. Even though Enzo goes to ALA, he comes to MMHS varsity football games with us. He was there Friday hanging out with Ben, who was manning the team video camera at the end-zone. When Enzo wasn’t with Ben, he was flirting with a girl in the band. (Leean, Dave and I were sitting behind the band. Note to self: TAKE my shooter headphones to games!! Holy cow, my ears can’t take that much noise.) Ammon loves to come to the games now because he finds new friends, and he loves to dance to the band (I put a video on Instagram). Jacob sometimes likes to come because he sometimes finds friends to hang out with. I love to go to get them away from screens, and to help them learn how to be supportive.
Circling around I started this letter on Monday. It’s now Tuesday night. While I was picking 3 giant bowls of tomatoes this afternoon, I was listening to a podcast about the book of Enos and Omni. The presenter had an interesting point. Next year will be 200 years since Joseph Smith’s First Vision. Between Enos and Omni was 223 years. Think about what has transpired in our history since the Restoration; population growth, technology, wars, education, gospel knowledge, temples. What transpired in their history? The Nephites lasted 1000 years. Will the USA last 1000 years?
Keep the faith. Put your shoulder to the wheel. Share your testimony of Jesus with real intent.
Love you, Mom