Celestial Hack

[Muriel Pelley]

This quiet, 4.45 acre on the north side of Celestial Road at Bellbrook Drive is a good spot to sit and reflect on the beautiful surroundings. It features a jogging trail, steps with celestial quotations and poetry leading up to a human sundial, park benches, and pet waste dispensers. Stand on the appropriate month-engraved stone in the middle of the sundial and your shadow will be cast onto the appropriate time-engraved stone (not allowing for Daylight Savings Time.) Limited on-street parking is available on Celestial Road in front of the Addison Pump Station.

Celestial Park is a Neighborhood Park and does not have the parking capacity or support to facilitate group gatherings such as Weddings or organized Athletic Play. Please contact the Addison Parks Department with any questions related to gatherings of 20 people of more at 972-450-2851.

We were recently reminded of a family experience directly connected with the games. Our son Bryce was seven years old at the time and was mesmerized with the half-pipe snowboarding competition. He would jump from couch to couch in our family room, pretending to be a world-class snowboarder.

Upon further interrogation, Shawna learned that Bryce had jumped off our nine-foot balcony, pretending to be a half-pipe snowboarder. His younger brother was waiting below, holding a small pillow that was supposed to break his fall. Shawna was more than a little upset, wondering why anyone would choose to jump off a nine-foot balcony. Thankfully there were no broken bones.

Brothers and sisters, how many times in life do we cause ourselves pain and sorrow through poor choices? We live in a fast-paced world full of distractions and deceptions that can hurt us. We also live at a time of great opportunity. This is a time that has been prophesied and anticipated by prophets throughout the history of the world.

Let me provide some context for the spears and axes. A few days prior to the baptism, a young girl had died when she was attacked by a large crocodile. The village came together to provide support and protection for this baptismal service. The people surrounded this sacred cove with boats and men with spears and axes to protect those who had made the decision to follow the Savior and be baptized.

Now you may never come face-to-face with a crocodile, and you may never be asked to exercise your faith by entering muddy waters with danger lurking in the shadows. Instead you have your own crocodiles to deal with. These challenges may come in many forms: exams, papers, social media, evil influences, illness, depression, and, of course, relationships. The list goes on and on.

Who you are becoming as sons and daughters of God is eternally important, and Satan knows it! Just as with the crocodiles, he will try to distract you, take you, and destroy you. His destructive path leads to heartache, disappointment, and discouragement. Knowing these challenges, President Russell M. Nelson has provided us with his prophetic counsel:

When I think of the blessings of a testimony, I think of how I obtained a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This happened when I was a little boy. I read one scripture that changed my life forever.

It is a scripture that I go to when I need a spiritual lift. It is the scripture of Joseph Smith recounting his experience at the age of fourteen. He wanted to know which church was true. In connection with this desire, he went to a grove of trees not far from his home and prayed to his Father in Heaven, seeking an answer.

This First Vision marked the beginning of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. Joseph Smith received a multitude of visitations from heavenly messengers, and they restored the priesthood authority of God. Moroni visited the Prophet Joseph Smith twenty different times in connection with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.5

I have come to admire many of our modern-day pioneers who learned what I have learned: that God lives and loves His children. With this understanding, they have placed their faith in the Savior and His gospel.

I recently became acquainted with the Abol family from the Wali Branch in Madang, Papua New Guinea. During our visit, Sister Abol explained that she had spent seven years searching for the gospel of Jesus Christ. When she first met the missionaries, she immediately recognized that they had been sent from God.

Sister Abol and her husband have been preparing for five years to attend the temple. They are looking forward to when they can enter the house of the Lord, kneel around the holy altar of the temple with their children, and be sealed as a family for time and for all eternity.

Every Sunday morning at 6 a.m., they join with the entire village to begin a four-hour walk to sacrament meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. With a smile, Brother Ulugun explained that they climb over two mountains and cross five rivers. They do this with one thing in mind: they want to partake of the sacrament to renew their covenants with God. They want to always remember Him.

These Brethren have given so many magnificent sermons. We quote them, we ponder them, and we apply them. However, I believe that the greatest sermons of these Brethren are found in their exemplary lives. They are devoted disciples of Jesus Christ. When I am honored to be in their presence, without exception I am lifted and inspired by their examples, I am strengthened by their testimonies, and I feel the love of the Lord. They are special witnesses of the name of Jesus Christ to all the world. They have been foreordained to their callings.

I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly . . . , the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God. . . .

I know these measures sound simple and easy to do, but I promise that if we are faithful in these simple measures, we will find great joy and will be blessed with an increase of His Spirit to be with us.

Having said this, I know that life can be extremely challenging. Sometimes we experience things that are so devastatingly difficult that they cause us to tremble, to gasp for air, and to search for peace. During those times, more than ever, we need to seek for the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost.

In July 2013, Sister Nattress and I loaded up our four youngest children and moved to Gilbert, Arizona, to serve as mission leaders. It was hard to leave our home, our family, and our friends in Idaho. However, our service in Arizona has proven to be one of the great blessings in our lives. We love our missionaries, and we love the people in the Arizona Gilbert Mission.

In our second year, Sister Nattress experienced some minor symptoms of discomfort. We sought medical attention from three different physicians and were given three different diagnoses. Then we made an appointment with a specialist, and he gave us the devastating news. Shawna had stage-four cancer.

Many of our friends with whom we shared this experience of cancer and uncertainty have heroically passed through the veil, faithful and true to their covenants. I am grateful that Shawna has been able to continue her journey in this mortal existence. Cancer has helped our family to cherish each day. Each day is a gift. We live in a world filled with uncertainty. The eternal truth that never changes is that God lives and that He loves His children.

Two of her daughters are enrolled here at BYU. Raquel continues to love, to serve, and to bless the lives of others. We are grateful that she is here with us this morning. She is a miracle, as is Sister Nattress.

Brothers and sisters, as we continue on this mortal journey, let us think celestial by avoiding the spiritual crocodiles in our lives. Let us do the simple things that will strengthen our personal testimonies. Let us remember to

Doing these things will strengthen us, will provide healing, and will help us to receive the guidance and direction we seek in our lives. It will also increase our desire to enter the house of the Lord.

I testify that God is our Father and that He knows us personally. I further testify that Jesus Christ is the Living Son of the Living God. We are His work and His glory.16 I know that He lives. He is our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Friend. It is my prayer that we will seek Him, that we will choose to follow Him.17 In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I love hiding in plain sight. It makes me almost giddy. So last week I went on a camo binge: I wrote about hunting camo, food camo, underwater camo, but I can't stop. I've got to do one more. Just one.

This nebula-like cluster is so bright, so rich with star-like objects at the center it looks like a celestial cloud. I thought, maybe this is a section of space, magnified, telescoped and possibly viewed through a fish eye lens.

Then there's this place: forlorn, silent, lifeless. Maybe it once had ice or volcanoes, mountains, valleys, maybe a hint of color, other than this almost iron-like surface, but now it seems dead, like an iron marble in space.

Photographer Jonassen told Peter Smith of Good Magazine that the idea came to him when he was far from home. "When I was studying abroad in Australia, I lived in a cheap share house with some friends and the cooking utensils were banged up in a pretty bad way," and that's when he noticed the starry nature of those frying pan bottoms. So he went on a frying pan hunt.

I asked my friends and family, [to dig] around in cellars and in attics. It was surprising to see how many frying pans are being stored after they are no longer usable for cooking. Why would anyone do that? I got access to the winter storage of cooking supplies for the local scouts. Those were probably the best ones.

That is how he created his collection of iron-cast heavenly bodies. (I know, of course, that what he did was not camouflage. He was just creating an illusion. But thinking about this in a more subtle way, yes, I lied, and this is not really about "celestial" camouflage. But it could be about frying pan camouflage.)

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