Events: Parables and Teachings Prophecy:"I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old." (Psalm 78:2) Summary: Jesus was the master teacher. On this day, He teaches the awaiting crowds at the temple and the mount of Olives
through sermons and parables. His powerful teachings on this day include the parable of the Ten Virgins, the
Widow’s Mite, and the Greatest Commandment, love one another. He also emphasizes the importance of serving
others: “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto the one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40) Scripture Reading:
The Greatest Commandment: Matthew 22:35-40
Ye Have Done It Unto Me: Matthew 25:31-46
The Parable of the Talents: Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Ten Virgins: Matthew 25:1-13
"The blessings of the temple are available to us all—young and old and everybody in between. It is in the temple that we remember who we really are and see with clarity who we really can become."
Events: Jesus Cleanses the Temple, Heals the Blind and Lame Prophecy:"Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." (Isaiah 56:7) Summary: Three years prior to this Easter Week, Jesus Christ had cleansed the temple in Jerusalem and called it "my Father's house." On this day of Easter Week, Christ once again clears the temple of money changers but, in his role as Messiah, claims the temple as "my house." He teaches in the temple, and the blind and lame come to Him and He heals them. Scripture Reading: Christ cleanses the temple, heals blind, and teaches: Matthew 21:12-18; Mark 11:12-19; Luke 19:45-48
Seeing how upset Jesus was in the account of Jesus cleansing the temple and the depictions of this story in art always used to surprise me. But I've come to realize that he acted strongly because he felt so strongly that it is important to be respectful of sacred things.
This reverence for that which is sacred has guided how I learn about other religions, their books of scripture, their cultures, their dress. People of many religions are often mocked for their beliefs or their outward symbols of belief. Mormons, Muslims, and Jews alike. I want to be more careful when I speak of or observe another's beliefs, which they hold sacred. It IS important to be respectful of sacred things, things you deem to be sacred. It's also important to be respectful of things that others hold dear.
"It is fitting that during the week from Palm Sunday to Easter morning we turn our thoughts to Jesus Christ, the source of light, life, and love. The multitudes in Jerusalem may have seen Him as a great king who would give them freedom from political oppression. But in reality He gave much more than that. He gave us His gospel, a pearl beyond price, the grand key of knowledge that, once understood and applied, unlocks a life of happiness, peace, and fulfillment."
Event: Jesus's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Prophecy:"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." (Zechariah 9:9) Summary: Jesus Christ rides into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, and is greeted by multitudes of people shouting Hosanna, waving palms, and laying down clothing and branches for Christ to walk on. They recognize Him as their King. “And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.” (Matthew 21:9) Scripture Reading:
Triumphal Entry: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-36
Prophecy of Triumphal Entry: Zechariah 9:9
When I was in Jerusalem in November 2015, I walked the half-mile route down from the Mount of Olives on the way to the Old City of Jerusalem. Not only did it provide a stunning view of the city, but I was reminded of the significance of this place in biblical history.
From the Mount of Olives, you can see a green area, which is the Valley of Kidron—the site where King David first established Jerusalem. Most cities in Israel were founded around springs of water rather than defensible positions. King David established his city above the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley. This was also an area that didn't belong to any one of the 12 tribes of Israel, so it was a neutral place to locate the capital city of united Israel.
Olive Trees in Jerusalem. Photo by me.
In reading the four gospels in the New Testament, we know that the Mount of Olives, adjacent to Jerusalem's Old City up on a ridge to the east, played a significant role in his life. It served as a place of refuge for him. On Palm Sunday, fulfilling prophecy, Jesus descended the Mount of Olives on a donkey in a long procession which we have come to know as "the triumphal entry" into Jerusalem.
The road from Bethany to Jerusalem, down the Mount of Olives, is a steep descent and winds its way past a Jewish cemetery. These burial grounds have been used to lay to rest more than 150,000 Jewish faithful including important rabbis from the 15th to 20th centuries. They believed that when the Messiah returned, they would be closest to being resurrected so they could enter Jerusalem in triumph.
But Christ's followers knew of his divinity and believed him to be the Messiah. Palm Sunday commemorates the day of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We call it Palm Sunday because of the palm fronds and leaves that were laid out before him on his path to Jerusalem, a custom symbolizing victory. He was greeted by multitudes of people shouting Hosanna and waving palms. They recognized him as their King. This set in motion the events leading to His Atonement, Crucifixion, and Resurrection.
"Every attempt to reflect upon the Atonement, to study it, to embrace it, to express appreciation for it, however
small or feeble it may be, will kindle the fires of faith and work its miracle towards a more Christlike life. It is an
inescapable consequence of so doing. We become like those things we habitually love and admire. And thus,
as we study Christ’s life and live His teachings, we become more like Him."
~Tad R. Callister
For years, I have felt that the commercialization of Easter, with its chocolate bunnies and egg hunts, was lacking in terms of howI want to celebrate Easter and springtime. Springtime brings with it a feeling of new birth. Baby animals, eggs, tulips, and fresh grass all add to this feeling of newness. And Easter is about Jesus Christ, his life, atonement, crucifixion, and his resurrection, a new birth.
To capture this feeling, I've decided to take time to study the last week of Christ's life during Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday this year. I've found various suggestions and guidelines online and plan to share my thoughts each day during Holy Week. And I'd love to hear what you do to commemorate the events of the last week of Christ's life during this week.
"There are a thousand viewpoints from the viewtiful city."
~Herb Caen
Ocean Beach with Seal Rock and the Cliff House
It's been awhile since I've been home to San Francisco, so I planned a trip to visit Shep. I was able to get a pretty good deal on a flight over Thanksgiving weekend, so it was a fun brother/sister holiday weekend. I arrived late Wednesday night, so sleeping in on Thanksgiving day was at the top of our to-do list!
Em and Shep with Seal Rock in the background
After spending the morning sleeping in and relaxing (and a gourmet breakfast of egg mushroom scramble and turkey sausage), we set out for a walk down to Ocean Beach and up and around Land's End.
Em and Shep
We didn't walk all the way to Favorite Place (named by Mom back when we were kids), but we got a great 6-mile walk in that afternoon and watched the sun setting along the Pacific. Beautiful and refreshing.
Can you ever get enough of this view?
Shep making fun of all my picture-taking with my scarf wrapped around my head
After our walk, we made our way back home and Shep got to work making our Thanksgiving dinner. New York steaks, roasted yellow squash, asparagus with bacon and parmesan, and brown rice. Absolutely delicious. And our Thanksgiving "pie" came in the form of vanilla It's Its. Yum! A perfect San Francisco Thanksgiving! Thanks, Shep!
"Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second."
~Marc Riboud
Christmas at the LDS Conference Center
Christmas lasted quite awhile for me this year since I started thinking about putting up my tree and listening to music on November 1st. I refrained from putting up all my decorations until the day after Thanksgiving, but I was certainly listening to and rehearsing Christmas music at the beginning of November.
What follows is a few pictures to remind me of what went on this Christmas: concerts both attended and performed, a play, dinners, a wedding, warm weather in early December, cold weather just after Christmas, daily walks downtown, and loads of pleasant days.
A beautiful December day in Salt Lake City
Mom and I saw "Peter and the Starcatcher" at Pioneer Theatre.
Emery, Amber, Mom
Stephen, Mom, me, Amber, Claire, Emma, and Grant
After my concert in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square
"We can choose to be grateful, no matter what.
"This type of gratitude transcends whatever is happening around us. It surpasses disappointment, discouragement and despair. It blooms just as beautifully in the icy landscape of winter as it does in the pleasant warmth of summer."
Just about every year for the past 40 years my mother has hosted Thanksgiving dinner to which usually upwards of 30 people come. This year, I offered to change to course of history. With Thanksgiving dinner at my house, only a handful of guests were invited. I just don't own that many chairs. Plus it was my first time hosting and making a turkey, so I didn't want to overwhelm myself.
Speaking of turkey, I read all kinds of recipes and tips online before I decided to brine my turkey. Everything I'd head and read convinced me that my turkey HAD to be brined to be juicy and moist. So the night before, I got started with my preparation of both the turkey and the veggies.
After two and a half years living in my new house and being SO careful, this guy finally attacked me. I was surprisingly amused at myself. Laughing sure is good for the soul.
So the brine. There are endless recipes for turkey brine on the internet, but all of them seem clear about the basic salt and water ingredients and ratio. The salt must be coarse kosher salt. And you must have one cup of salt per gallon of water. Also, use two oven bags (Reynolds makes these) one inside of the other to avoid any leakage. As for a recipe and instructions, this is what I came up with:
1 cup coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
16 cups water (split in half during the process)
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
5 fresh sage leaves
1-2 Tbsp of peppercorns (crushed)
a few random celery sticks and leaves
Combine salt, sugar, and half the water (8 cups) in a large saucepan and stir on stove. Add all the fresh herbs and bring to a boil. Let boil for a minute or two and then turn the burner off. Let the saucepan sit for as long as it takes for the liquid to cool.
While brine is cooling, take turkey out of it's plastic and rinse off. Remove the neck and the giblet and set aside for later. Place the oven bags in a large stock pot or bucket or casserole dish that can fit in your fridge and fit the turkey. Place the turkey, breast side down (this is important since you want it to get the most access to the brine, since it will cook breast side up and the juice will drain down to the back), in the two oven bags. Add remaining 8 cups of water (cold) to turkey bag.
When the rest of the brine is cooled, add it to the turkey. At this point, be very careful that you have a good hold on the edges of the bags so that the brine doesn't spill right out as you're pouring it in. Make sure all the herbs go into the bag.
Now you will take the inner bag and wind up the top as tight as you can, pressing out as much air as possible so your turkey is completely immersed in the brine. Secure it with a twist tie. (Reynolds oven bags come with a handy tie.) Then do the same for the out bag. Next place the container in the fridge. If your container with the turkey in it doesn't fit on a shelf (like mine) then you should have planned better to start, but just transfer it to carefully to another container.
Leave turkey in the fridge in the brine for 8-10 hours. In the morning, place the bag in a freshly scrubbed and disinfected sink, undo the bags, and pour out the brine. You will want to rinse turkey to get any excess salt or wilted herbs off and dry it thoroughly, inside and out, before placing it the roasting pan.
Then just prepare your turkey as you like. I put onion quarters, celery and carrots in the cavity, along with some other aromatics (more rosemary and thyme) and then slathered the outside with melted butter, crushed fresh rosemary and thyme, and pepper. Then I cooked it for 3 1/2 hours until it was perfect. And it was perfect.
I have to admit, I'm pretty proud of myself. That turkey tasted so yummy, I'm ready to roast another. Apparently, even the white meat was tasty. I'm not a big fan of white meat; I much prefer the dark and juicy thigh meat, myself. Everyone's offerings made for a beautiful plate.
And, I've been enjoying leftovers for last two days. Yum! First Thanksgiving dinner as host was a success! I think I'll go make myself another plate.
