John R. Moyle

Here is a post that I actually wrote last January when I saw a video of the story of John R. Moyle. I couldn't get it to embed properly, then it mysteriously disappeared. Well, today I found it again and am embedding it here. I hope you enjoy this story about a great man who did a great work.

In April General Conference, 2000, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's sermon was entitled "As Doves To Our Windows" and has been one of my favorites. You should go here and listen to it, as it is worth hearing it in his own voice. But here is an excerpt, telling a story about John R. Moyle that was repeated by Pres. Uchtdorf this last October.

"Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth. . . .
"Ye shall not go after other gods, . . . the gods of the people which are round about you. . . .
"For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: [he] hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself. . . .
"[He] did not . . . choose you, because ye were more in number than any [other] people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
"But because [he] loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers. . . .
"Know therefore that the Lord . . . is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations."

"John R. Moyle lived in Alpine, Utah, about 22 miles as the crow flies to the Salt Lake Temple, where he was the chief superintendent of masonry during its construction. To make certain he was always at work by 8 o'clock, Brother Moyle would start walking about 2 a.m. on Monday mornings. He would finish his work week at 5 p.m. on Friday and then start the walk home, arriving there shortly before midnight. Each week he would repeat that schedule for the entire time he served on the construction of the temple.
Once when he was home on the weekend, one of his cows bolted during milking and kicked Brother Moyle in the leg, shattering the bone just below the knee. With no better medical help than they had in such rural circumstances, his family and friends took a door off the hinges and strapped him onto that makeshift operating table. They then took the bucksaw they had been using to cut branches from a nearby tree and amputated his leg just a few inches below the knee. When against all medical likelihood the leg finally started to heal, Brother Moyle took a piece of wood and carved an artificial leg. First he walked in the house. Then he walked around the yard. Finally he ventured out about his property. When he felt he could stand the pain, he strapped on his leg, walked the 22 miles to the Salt Lake Temple, climbed the scaffolding, and with a chisel in his hand hammered out the declaration "Holiness to the Lord."


And finally, as we head into a year sure to contain "shafts in the whirlwind" for many, here is another talk by Elder Holland that you may find inspiring.

Now there's something you don't see every day.

The internet is interesting if nothing. YouTube has certainly not changed the face of entertainment as much as it has broadened the audience on many levels (see Dante about levels). Anyway, I ran across this and just had to share. My fascination no doubt makes you wonder just how little it really takes to entertain me - and I can assure you it doesn't take much more than a box - or a little water.

More Sundial Bridge

Last Friday night the resident angel & I went to Redding so have dinner with the bishops & their wives in that stake. It was as much fun as I have had in quite a while. The food was great, especially the chili relleno cassarole (Sister Collins) and the oatmeal cake (Sister Jones of Weaverville). The people we met and spent the evening with were great also. It is always a great pleasure to be around bishops.

After the main event, we wandered off to see the Sundial Bridge at night (photos below). We had been told by the Garricks and by Pete/Mel that it is pretty neat, and it was. The only down side was all of the smokers hanging out there. But the weather was nice and the bridge was very pretty all lit up.

The view from the parking lot:

The bridge deck (you can almost here Darth Vadar's music playing in the background):

The sundial part:

And here's a video:

Things Springing Up All Over

Yesterday was a very productive day. We got a good jump on our garden, planting peas, lettuce, and spinach. But as you can see from the photos below, we already have flowers, etc. popping up, and before long will probably have lilacs blooming.

We also got the antenna up for the radio I purchased not long ago. This one came at no charge from my "elmer", Doug Reid. He keeps getting new ones and passed this one along to me as a starter. Unfortunately, the power supply that we thought would work would not (the radio will draw 15 amps and it maxed out at 5 for some reason), so I returned it and will continue looking. I will no doubt have an off-line conversation with our family's radio guru, Uncle Mike.

We finished off the day grilling hot dogs & turkey burgers on our little charcoal grill, but that didn't turn out quite as planned. But it was a fun, full, day.

This is a crocus, we think. Anyway, it is the first thing to flower in our new flower bed by the vegetable garden.

This is our little garden out front. Those purple flowers on the right have been doing well for weeks now, and everything is coming along.

These are our aloe vera plants that grow like weeds everywhere we plant them - and some places we don't. They are extremely beautiful when they bloom.

This is a shot of the antenna from the back yard making it look like it is coming out of the exhaust pipe.

And here is a good shot of it. It is on the peak of the house on the east side. Doug said it should work pretty well.

A Couple of Good Quotes

I know I have been delinquent in posting here - I have been reminded that even Saramarie has me beat on the number of posts this month! I don't know where the time has gone, but it has gone. This is just a quick note to pass along a couple of good quotes I saw on a forum this morning:

First from C.S. Lewis:
"He [the devil] always sends errors into the world in pairs - pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course. He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one." (Mere Christianity, p. 160)

The second from Oliver Wendell Holmes:
"I wouldn't give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity; I would give my right arm for the simplicity on the far side of complexity."

I particularly like the latter one. I have spent most of my life trying to explain complex things in simple terms that those unfamiliar with the technical aspects of things can grasp. It is not for the lazy or faint-hearted, and I am not sure how well I have succeeded many times. But it is a journey well worth the effort because of the blessings to one's self (clarity of thought) and to others (education).

Have a good Saturday, and if all goes well I may have photos to post tomorrow.