Election Day

Just spent 2 hours standing on a street corner with a "Yes on Proposition 102" the Marriage Amendment sign. Very interesting how people react. I was called a racist (??) and a bigot, yelled at, given thumbs down, tongue stuck out at me, and the middle finger salute. Many would not even look at me. But for all those who waved back, honked, whistled, and gave a thumbs up it was definitely worth it. It is frightening how immoral our society has become that this is even an issue--and that so many are against this proposition. It has been a long two years of campaigning and we are very glad to see an end to it. I fear for the future if Obama wins the election and has a majority of Democrats in congress. However, I don't see a much rosier picture with McCain. Orrin Hatch has said that the constitution is already hanging by a thread, and I think he is right. We must have faith in our church leaders and the guidance they have been giving us. They are seers. They know what is ahead. President B K Packer told us at stake conference this past Sunday that we are now entering the years of famine after all the years of plenty.

This week I decided it was time to learn how to do the new Temple Ready System. I put my info on a disk and took it to the family history center only to discover that I did not have my confirmation date, so I could not log onto the system to learn anything. The ladies were patient with me and showed me how to register and get started. I tried again at home, but it is Greek to me. Another day, maybe. I have been praying that that way would open up for me to be able to spend more time at the computer doing this work. Surgery and pain killers have not been the answer, so now Angie has volunteered to brave the lines at Target, along with Lou and Shanda to get me a Wii and the exercise console "Fit". She says it is helping her with balance. I am really hoping it will give me better posture and balance so I can do more things without so much pain. My misgivings are in the fact that the only day they can even try is on Sunday. Nothing will be left within a few minutes of opening the store, so waiting till Monday is not an option. The prophet will be telling us to keep the commandments and I am sending them out to break one.

So I still do not know what I am doing. I lost the info I had entered on Jed & his family so did another one only to discover it was on another page. That is the reason he is in twice. Lots to learn about this.

October 4th & 5th bring us General Conference with uplifting messages from the prophet and apostles. These past two weeks have seen our country in major upheaval with the freezing of the banking system, major companies going out of business, the largest tumble of wall street stocks in history, and many people in the country living in great fear of the future. We may be reminded by the brethren to have our year's supply and get out of debt, words we have been hearing for years. Also, we hope to hear words of comfort in theses times of uncertainty. The Saturday afternoon session will be extra special as Ryan Packer, who turned 8 last April, will be singing in the children's choir. What an honor for him. For all those watching, he is in the 2nd row on the right side near the wall. Good for you, Ryan!

Jed Packer Family.

Jed, Shana, Dorian, Kerigan, Corbin

Jed and his family live in Hickory, North Carolina. The past year has been difficult and challenging as Jed has battled colon cancer. He was diagnosed just after last Christmas and had surgery followed by months of chemo and a colostomy. The treatments appear to have taken care of the cancer and he successfully had the colostomy reversed in August, although it has been a difficult recovery. I was able to visit in January and help out at the hospital and then go back again in May when Jed graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne college with his masters degree in nursing. We also went to see Dorian participate in his school's version of "Are You Smarter Than A Pirate (5th grader). Dorian did a good job answering his questions.