At Parting

"We face many challenges in the world today, but I assure you that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us. He loves each of us and will bless us as we seek Him through prayer and strive to keep His commandments."

--Thomas S. Monson, "At Parting", April 2011 General Conference

The Power of Prayer

My boys and I were in AZ last week for my niece's wedding. The night before we were to fly out, I was packing and realized that I hadn't seen my oldest son's stuffed animal kitty. I recruited all the nieces and nephews to help search the house, and we looked in ever nook and cranny several times, coming up with nothing. With Hunter (my oldest) being on the verge of tears, I told him there was one last thing we could do - pray. Hunter said a sweet little prayer summoning Heavenly Father to please help him to find his kitty. Less than 5 minutes later, Hunter found his kitty in a spot that was looked at several times but the kitty never was seen there. What a great experience to plant a testimony seed in his life. My nephew, Ryan and I said "we should have prayed 30 minutes ago." We probably should have, but this was a great teaching moment nevertheless.

Something I noticed on my sister's fridge says this: ASAP - Always Say A Prayer. I think that is a great reminder that no matter what situation we are in, whether it be a trial, or a joyous occasion, or to simply find something that you're looking for, like Hunter's kitty - we should remember ASAP - Always Say A Prayer. 

The Lifeline of Prayer

"No earthly authority can separate us from direct access to our Creator. There can never be a mechanical or electronic failure when we pray. There is no limit on the number of times or how long we can pray each day. There is no quota of how many needs we wish to pray for in each prayer. We do not need to go through secretaries or make an appointment to reach the throne of grace. He is reachable at any time and any place."
--James E. Faust, “The Lifeline of Prayer,” Ensign, May 2002, 59

September 09' Visiting Teaching Message

I am going to visit two of my sisters today, and in reading the visiting teaching message this month, one of the quotes for this month is something that I have emphasized in my own life and sharing with others in general and on my On Wings of Faith group. Let me share this with you and we'll dive more into the importance of it in general & in my own life as well.

"The reason we pray, study the scriptures, have good friends, and live the gospel through obedience to the commandments is so that when - not if, but when --the trials come, we are ready." --Elder Robert D. Hales

We have been given some simple measures from the example of Jesus, and commandments from God that if we do these simple measures in our lives on a regular basis it will go a long way in our trialing times - and in turn our joyous times are even more joyous.. If we have not done these simple things on a regular basis, then our trialing times simply are harder to get through. The weight of our trials seem too hard to bare.

I know in my own life that when I have not been consistent with my personal prayer, scripture study, and other aspects that make life run more smoothly that life tends to be more bumpy.

If you know me, you will know that I have been through a lot of trials in my life, some that were through mistakes I have made or trials that simply were placed in my life - any way the trials came into your life gives the opportunity for growth. I know that when we choose to lean on God, doing our part, we will get through even a little bit easier, have more sense of peace, comfort, and in the end more joy.

Recently, I friend shared this with me during some difficult times in my life:

Remember that the fiery darts that Satan throws at us puts holes in our buckets, which makes us have to work to keep them filled. It is almost impossible for us to keep our buckets full all by ourselves, that is why Heavenly Father provides friends and loved ones to help in that bucket filling chore. As one fills another bucket, your bucket is filled in return.

Also remember, that the most important is no matter how hard life seems at times, remember that God will never give us anything that we can't handle. Never, never give up and don't let Satan win the battle he is waging against you. Know that endurance is the key to salvation. And that which does not kill us, only makes us stronger. Like the story of the man that was commanded by the Lord to push against a rock, and the man obeyed and pushed, and pushed, but he never moved the rock one inch. He became discouraged, and when the Lord came bac, he told the Lord, I pushed against the rock, but I failed because I was not able to move it. Then the Lord said, I only asked you to push against the rock, not to move it, and by pushing against the rock it has made you strong. So, God is there to comfort us when we think we have failed, but in reality we have succeeded! So, remember, keep pushing against every rock and you will become stronger by every passing day!

I have found in my own life that if the load of my trials are feeling so heavy that I am feeling unable to bare them, I ask myself "Am I doing my part?" If I am not, which we all have our moments that we fall back, then the good news is, is that we can move forward again. He is waiting for each and every one of us. He knows each of us. He loves each of us. And He knows what is best for us. It truly is in God's infinite wisdom that he places us with trials - it is out of love that he does this, to again, give us the opportunity to grow. We can choose that - that is our free agency to choose the better road. I do have a strong testimony of this, and while I am not perfect, and I continue to fall over and over again as others do - I learn, I grow spiritually, mentally, and physically. I am so grateful for these opportunities.

Lost Five Days in a Mine

I received this in my email today from a friend. It is very inspiring and a good reminder that when we have faith in God in our difficult circumstances, He will come through for us. And sometimes within our own difficult times, comes strength for not only you, but others around you.

Meridian Magazine

Lost Five Days in a Mine

By Maurine Proctor

Everyone had given up on ten-year-old Josh Dennis, missing for five days, except one man.

It was already dark when Josh Dennis's scout troop had finished setting up camp and were squeezing their way in small laughing groups into the Hidden Treasure Mine in Utah's Oquirrh Mountains in that September, 1989. The mine was a chaotic labyrinth of shafts, chutes, pockets and tunnels on six different levels that wound some eight miles into the mountain. Since the scouts had been armed with safety rules and flashlights, the adventure loomed not as dangerous, but enticing, a scout's dream come true.

An engaging and tow-headed ten-year-old, Josh was still a Blazer and technically too young for the camping trip, but with his scoutmaster Dad,Terry and three other boys, he trekked down the long, black mine shaft where the flashlight beams played off the rough walls and the chatter and hooting of other scouts echoed. Then, Danny, a visually-impaired scout, who was disoriented by the long shadows and dark corners could go no farther. "I'll take you out," Terry volunteered. "Do you want to come with us, Josh?" Josh hesitated only a moment before he shook his head, saying he'd go ahead with Cary and Tyler.

Josh turned to tag along behind the other scouts, who, not realizing he was planning to follow, had moved fast. They were already a long way ahead, threading their way deeper into the mine without him, their voices growing dimmer. Turning back, Josh saw that his father, who had taken the flashlight, was already out of sight with Danny. Josh focused his eyes on the scouts' flashlights ahead, and hurried to catch up. He thought if he moved quickly enough, he'd be with them soon. However, in an instant they turned a corner, and their light disappeared, leaving him utterly alone in the blackness.

He started back toward the entrance again, blindly groping his way down what he was sure was the tunnel. Without any light he was immediately disoriented. The farther he went, the more confused he became, and he stopped for a few minutes until it fully hit him. He was lost and he was worried, though not panicked. At that instant, he knew by instinct what to do. "Dear Heavenly Father," he prayed. "Please help me to be all right."

Josh continued feeling along the wall, yet he didn't seem to be coming any closer to the mine entrance. No distant light offered any hope. Several times he stumbled against broken planks, and he sloshed through unseen puddles that froze his feet in the chilly air. He covered a distance and still no hint of the mine entrance. Finally, he took a turn that lead him up a slope. How steep it was he couldn't tell, but at last he settled on a ledge to wait for help, certain now that he couldn't find his way out alone. Josh hunched down against the cold wall and prayed again, a little boy's whispered words in a silent cave, "Help me."

Lost

Nobody seemed to know where Josh Dennis was. When Cary and Tyler emerged from the mine, he wasn't with them, and Terry, growing more anxious with every passing moment, started asking every cluster of scouts that emerged from the cave, "Have you seen Josh?"

=0 D

They said he wasn't in the mine; they said he wasn't in camp. Everyone was questioned and faces were blank. Terry was sure Josh was still in the mine somewhere, and so the scout leaders, some of them expert rappelers, went back into the mine searching pockets and crannies, dropping ropes down chutes and climbing down to check every forgotten hole. Josh, who apparently hadn't gone that far into the mine, now seemed somehow to have vanished.

By two thirty a.m., the Tooele County sheriff had been notified and some search and rescue were on site. By morning, 40 people were searching for Josh, questioning and questioning again everyone there. "Who last saw Josh?" It was all to no avail. Terry hoped Josh would be found before he had to notify his wife, Janeen, but as the desperate hours passed with no sign of Josh, it was clear she had to be told.

Telling Mom

It was late Saturday afternoon and Janeen Dennis, having run some errands, was just pulling into her driveway when a neighbor came up to her and asked, "Have the police gotten in contact with you yet? Have you heard? Josh is lost." The police and neighbors had been looking for her all over West Valley City, paging her at superstores, calling the malls. Now she was here, but nobody had details. As two of her friends drove with her west to Tooele County, the phrase kept drumming in her head, "Josh is lost. Josh is lost." As they got closer to the mine, a helicopter flew overhead and Janeen thought, Maybe they've found him already and he was being taken to the hospital.

As Janeen arrived at camp, however, the enormous gravity of the situation became clear. She saw her husband, Terry, who normally never cried. He was sobbing.

John Skinner

Long-time Tooele County resident and history buff, John Skinner, heard about the little boy that was lost in the Hidden Treasure Mine Saturday evening when he arrived back in town from Montana. Since John's grandfather had been the superintendent of the mine, and he had grown up exploring its hidden recesses, somebody at the sheriff's office thought he might have a map. He reported to the sheriff's office immediately volunteering his help, but a deputy said a map had been found, and everything was under control.

"Have you found him?" John asked. They hadn't, and he wondered how things could be possibly under control. How is it that they couldn't need his help? He decided to go up to the mine and see for himself, but only made it up to Stockton where the road was blocked. No, they didn't care how well he knew the mine, he wasn't needed there.

By Sunday, the entire nation knew about the ten-year-old lost in a mine in Tooele, Utah, and the news reports were grim. Not a trace of the boy could be found. Many were becoming sure he wasn't in the mine, but had wandered off somewhere into the gulches and draws of the surrounding mountains. Gas stations and convenience stores sprouted signs, "We love you, Josh." The Dennis home and yard was covered with yellow ribbons. Dogs had been brought to the mine to sniff out the youngster, and people everywhere wished their imaginations didn't travel so vividly to a black hole where a terrified little boy lay thirsty, freezing, and starving.

In priesthood that Sunday morning, John Skinner was praying for Josh, and something kept telling him that he had to get up there, that he had a key to finding the boy. He took a drive one more time to Stockton and one more time was stopped. If nobody needed John Skinner up by the mine, why did he feel so urgently that they did?

The Search Falters

Each hour that passed lessened Josh's chances of being found alive, and Janeen and Terry knew agony. During the day Janeen could keep her composure, but she lay awake crying all night. Terry, unable to eat, was growing weak. An idea kept impressing itself upon Janeen, so much so she started asking members of the rescue team about it. "Josh has gone up. He's up somewhere. Could he have crawled up something? Could he have hiked up a hill?"

Another thought returned again and again. On the way up to the mine, her neighbor, whose own daughter had been in a devastating car accident, had said, "Remember when you can't carry this burden anymore, ask the Lord to carry it for you." Staggering under the load of grief, Janeen was having to learn what that meant.

Turned Away

As Sunday turned into Monday, whenever John Skinner had a moment, he prayed for Josh, and the news media reported that few people still assumed that Josh could be in the mine. Searchers had combed every inch of it, their ribbons strung back and forth in multiple colors marking the places probed. Nothing. Today the search was opened for volunteers from the community to comb the surrounding hillsides. The numbers swelled, and Janeen Dennis' eyes anxiously scanned the hillsides looking for a flash of blue that could have been Josh's coat. But John Skinner, still pushed with the sense that he could find the boy, was not allowed near the mine. Having been turned away twice on the Stockton side of the mountain, he hatched an idea. He decided to go up the mountain on the Ophir side on a different unguarded road, and then go into the old Buckhorn mine which he knew connected with the Hidden Treasure.

Once in the Buckhorn, it took him hours to wind his way through the nooks and crannies of the abandoned mine. When he got to the place where the two holes joined, fallen timbers and rocks made it too dangerous to cross. He was foiled again.

As John came down the mountain on Monday night, he stopped for a soda. On a napkin, he drew a picture of the mine for a waitress and pointed out the place the thought Joshua Dennis was lost. She asked what scores of his friends had asked, "You've got so much knowledge; why don't they let you help them?"

John couldn't rest. He prayed, and he felt all but compelled to try again. On Tuesday, he finally made it up to the camp, and it was his worst encounter yet. "I know this area. I know the mine," he pled with authorities. "If you don't leave now, we'll escort you out," a deputy told him.

That night the newspaper read "Hope Fading Fast for Local Boy Lost Four Days," and Janeen and Terry, with hearts sinking, began to plan Josh's funeral. Some were saying that shortly the entrance to the mine should be blasted shut so that nobody could ever be lost in there again, It was a bad night for John Skinner, as a discouraging cloud sunk over his spirit. He kept praying about it, and three areas of the mine kept coming to his mind. When the television reporters said that authorities were becoming certain that Josh Dennis must have left the mine and gotten lost or met with foul play, John shook his head. He can't have gotten out of that mine with no lights. He's got to be in there. Maybe if he'd been less aggressive about it, they would have let him help. But now his involvement seemed hopeless.

Don't Give Up

John hardly slept that Tuesday night, tossing and turning and praying. When he awoke on Wednesday morning, he had an entirely new feeling. He was going to go up there, no matter what, and find Josh. As his wife later said, "Wild horses wouldn't have stopped him."

Wednesday was the last day of the search. A Utah Power and Light team from Carbon County, with high-powered, sophisticated experience in mine rescue, had been called onto the scene on Tuesday, and still the ten-year old had not shown up. Team member Ray Guyman had vowed, "If that boy is in there, we'll find him." Now, even his determination was waning as their repeated searches turned up nothing.

The UP&L team was standing by a truck, scanning a map of the mine. when John Skinner approached them, "Have you looked in the resolute stope?"

"You sound like you know this mine," one said.

"I do. My grandfather used to be the superintendent here."

"We've needed you. Where have you been? Would you mind coming in with us for one last sweep p before the rescue efforts wind down?"

The Search

It was 2:00 in the afternoon when Janeen, Terry, and their bishop and his wife knelt around the bed in the hotel room pleading through tears with God for Josh's life. Janeen said, "It was a prayer with real intent. and you could feel that it connected." At that same hour, John Skinner finally got into the mine, and while some who followed scoffed and went off different directions, Ray Guyman and Gary Christensen followed John.

They went to the first of the three places that John had been impressed to look. Nothing. They went to the second place. Nothing again. As they went to the third spot in the mine, they were talking and calling, "Josh, Josh," and suddenly Ray Guyman, who was deaf in one ear said, "Shh. Did you hear that?" They became still and listened. A faint cry came, "Help."

Different colored ribbons hung everywhere, showing that the area had been checked and rechecked by scores of people. How could the little boy have been missed? But the cry came again: "Help."

Cold chills went down John's back. He'd always known it. The boy was alive. For five days and nights he had held on. Neither terror, nor dehydration, nor hunger had taken him. Josh had seen their light and was able to answer. They climbed up a thirty degree angle, and Gary Christensen was the first to get him, a little boy sitting on a ledge with ruffled hair and a dirty face.

He had sunken eyes from dehydration and rocks in his hands because in his dreams he was eating a hamburger and drinking Sprite, but no sight could have looked better to three rescuers than Josh Dennis. "We'll take you out to your Mom and Dad,"

“Only my Dad's here, not my Mom. She's back home," he said, in a sentence whose meaning they would only later come to understand.

Found

Josh emerged from the mine to television cameras rolling, cheers, and weeping. By this time, the lost scout. who had seemingly vanished without a trace, had become a focus of the nation, and his rescue was a felt miracle by millions.

Janeen and Terry were resting in their motel room, when a knock came at the door. "Josh is alive. He's been found." She just looked toward the heavens and wept, "Thank you." They arrived at the hospital before their son, and one of Janeen's first views was of the blue coat she had strained to see on the mountain while searching for Josh. It was Josh, pale and tired, his toes frostbitten, and in that moment of exhilaration, Janeen thought, "He's so dirty."

Terry, who in his grief and stress had hardly eaten in five days, collapsed, and they put him on a gurney, too. Josh looked toward him and with the earnestness of a ten-year-old asked, "Oh, were you lost, too?"

Answered Prayers

Amidst the hubbub of greetings that surrounded Josh, he beckoned to Janeen and whispered, "Mom." She leaned over, and he whispered something that he never again would remember or repeat, "There were angels with me."

Headlines everywhere announced that Josh had been found and that he had prayed for help. Readers imagined the trauma of a helpless child at last coming to a happy end, but only his closest family and friends would ever know the rest of the story. He later described how he felt after his first prayer, "I knew that my Heavenly Father would protect me, no matter what. I didn't panic. I didn't feel like my life was in danger. I was calm and I never doubted."

For Josh it had been like floating in a bubble of protection. He had gone to sleep shortly after he had been lost, and awakened only once in awhile, when he heard a distant sound or felt uncomfortable. He hardly felt hungry or thirsty, and even though at the hospital they thought they might have to amputate his frostbitten toes, he hadn't felt cold. Nothing about the experience was traumatic for him. "It seemed to me like I had been lost only a few hours, when suddenly I saw a light in the distance and heard someone calling my name," he said.

The reason he was surprised to hear that both of his parents were outside, worried about him, was because he assumed it was still Friday, or maybe Saturday at mos t. "It's not Saturday, Josh. It's Wednesday," a rescue worker told him.

Josh Dennis had more than overcome the odds against death by exposure or dehydration, he had seen a miracle. And in God's masterful economy, his remarkable experience answered the needs of many others. Ben Lemon, an off-duty policeman, who had scoured the mountain searching, prayed his heart out for Josh, and vowed, "If this boy is found, I will change my life and go back to church." He did and years later told Josh, "It's because of you I have my two beautiful daughters." The new bishopric in Josh's ward had been seeking in prayer the solution to how to unify the ward. Josh's experience bonded his ward like few other things could have.

Janeen Dennis had been praying for challenges to help her grow, and she came to understand dependence on the Lord like she had never before experienced. John Skinner had wondered if he knew and understood when the Spirit spoke to him.

After his days of quiet urging to go find Josh, when nobody thought they needed him, he would not need to wonder that again.

Mission Farewell

Exactly nine years to the day since he emerged alive from the mine, Joshua Dennis sat on the stand at church at his mission farewell prior to his departure to Honduras. When Elder John Madsen of the First Quorum of Seventy arose to speak, the same faithful Josh who had so courageously endured five days in a mine, understood his experience in a new way.

"What does it mean to search?" Elder Madsen asked. "There's someone in this is audience who knows, and his name is John Skinner, because over and over again he was moved to try and get into that mine, and he was thwarted at every turn, but he could not be restrained.

"I believe it is our responsibility to search, to do whatever it takes and never give up. If we search the holy scriptures, we find out they are true. If we search the commandments, we find their promises will be fulfilled. As Joshua goes on his mission to Honduras, he will search, and he will not quit searching for those who sit in darkness and are waiting to be found and brought into the light.

"Josh will do whatever it takes to be a rescuer and bring souls to the one who truly rescues. Jesus Christ. The greatest rescue of all time was performed by the son of God who gave His body and His blood that all mankind might be redeemed."

At Thanksgiving, while Josh was still in the MTV, he wrote John Skinner a letter. "I've been pondering in my mind all day," said Josh, "the things that I'm thankful for, and the list never ends. I thought of you when I read this scripture in Mosiah 7:12, 'I am very thankful before God this day that I am yet alive, and am permitted to speak and I will endeavor to speak with boldness.' P.S.," Josh ended the letter, "I'm glad you know what it means to search."

Distractions

A couple Sunday's ago, in Relief Society, there was a sister who taught a lesson that really touched my heart. It was something I obviously needed a reminder of, or a new perspective, or perhaps just a kick in the pants.

I have recently been struggling with a lot and all at once, which doesn't help the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Her lesson, along with other moments that I know Heavenly Father had a hand in to help me move forward again has really got me pondering on a daily basis more-so than I already do.

For awhile, I have not felt like I could see that guiding light at the end of the tunnel. Only I realized that the light has always been there, I just wasn't doing ALL my part to see it. I have been distracted from these overwhelming feelings, frustration, sadness, depression even that I have failed to do ALL my part to be able to let God touch my life, for me to be able to see that light at the end of my tunnel. It never goes out, distractions just started to creep in to the point I just didn't know which way I was going.

What are some things that mean the most to you? Or who even means the most to you? Have you let these distractions take place of your duty, your loyalty, your moments to cherish, your moments for growth in your life? Do you have anger holding your anchor down? Let it go. Move forward. Distractions take away from what is SO important.

Prayer. This is another one that keeps popping up for me. And although we pray as a family every night, and I try and be diligent to do my own personal prayers each night - I do lack at times and I know when I need to be doing better. Having that conversation with Heavenly Father every night goes a long way. The light is strong at the end of the tunnel when I am, the way is made clear, and my heart isn't feeling as troubled. I always keep a prayer in my heart, which helps me so much, but I need more personal one-on-one focused conversation time with Heavenly Father. What a difference that would make. What an opportunity for growth.

You know, I often think about all the resources that have been given to us - spiritual resources - that we often times fail to accomplish. These resources are always there, they are easy to do, they give great opportunities in so many areas of life. Why the procrastination on doing some of it - natural, as we are not perfect of course, but wow - the antidote is always in front of us for happiness, for letting grudges or anger go, for a wholesome, good life --- it is so easy, yet sometimes so hard. Life is hard, I won't deny it - I have had my many days throughout that have been hell and back - but life is worth living, life is worth growing and in God's infinite wisdom He gives us these trials to give us the choice to choose to grow from. God is good in all that He does for me, for everyone.

Every day now, I always think of the lesson in Relief Society about what my distractions would be in my life, what do I need to do to get rid of them and focus on what will not only help my growth in my life, but for my children, for my husband, family, and friends. What is it that I can I let go of today that is stopping me from being my best? What do I need to do to improve spiritually, so I can also improve emotionally, and then physically? What is it? I think as long as I am aware, and doing my best, everything will turn out for the best in the end. To me, the journey is worth it when I am always aware of what I need to work on, so that it not only helps me to grow, but so I can in turn help my children grow and nurture our marriage.