Traces of
Time . . .
Time . . .
Last week: Scroll to end click
"Older Posts" at bottom right.
Last week: Scroll to end click
"Older Posts" at bottom right.
It is in very tiny font: Older Posts} Week ofJUNE 22-28, 2026
"Time moves slowly, but passes quickly...
On this blog I share with family and friends my daily thoughts, doings, what interests me, and--at times--tributes to my eternal sweetheart, Walt, who graduated to heaven on 8-21-2020.
On this blog I share with family and friends my daily thoughts, doings, what interests me, and--at times--tributes to my eternal sweetheart, Walt, who graduated to heaven on 8-21-2020.
Dedicated to our seven children--Janie, Gary, Steve, David, Julie, Brian, Jen, their spouses, our 39 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and posterity to come.
Dedicated to our seven children--Janie, Gary, Steve, David, Julie, Brian, Jen, their spouses, our 39 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and posterity to come.
THIS WEEK- JUNE 22-28, 2026
THIS WEEK- JUNE 22-28, 2026
MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2026
Family is Everything... Sunrise: 5:58 a.m. Sunset: 9:O1 p.m.1 Day above normal --breaking records... 
President Spencer W. Kimball[1895-1985 - Age 90Prophet 1973-1985]said in 1966...
We
knew before we were born that we were coming to the earth for bodies and
experience and that we would have joys and sorrows, pain and comforts, ease and
hardships, health and sickness, successes and disappointments; and we knew also
that we would die. We accepted all these eventualities with a glad heart eager
to accept both the favorable and unfavorable. We were undoubtedly willing to
have a mortal body even if it were deformed. We eagerly accepted the chance to
come earthward even though it might be for a day, a year, or a century. Perhaps
we were not so much concerned whether we should die of disease, of accident, or
of senility. We were willing to come and take life as it came and as we might
organize and control it, and this without murmur, complaint, or unreasonable
demands. We sometimes think we would like to know what is ahead, but sober
thought brings us back to accepting life a day at a time, and magnifying and
glorifying that day."
----
Spencer W. Kimball (“Tragedy or Destiny,” Improvement Era, March 1966, pp.
216–17) *** *** ***
TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2026Family is Everything…
Family is
We
knew before we were born that we were coming to the earth for bodies and
experience and that we would have joys and sorrows, pain and comforts, ease and
hardships, health and sickness, successes and disappointments; and we knew also
that we would die. We accepted all these eventualities with a glad heart eager
to accept both the favorable and unfavorable. We were undoubtedly willing to
have a mortal body even if it were deformed. We eagerly accepted the chance to
come earthward even though it might be for a day, a year, or a century. Perhaps
we were not so much concerned whether we should die of disease, of accident, or
of senility. We were willing to come and take life as it came and as we might
organize and control it, and this without murmur, complaint, or unreasonable
demands. We sometimes think we would like to know what is ahead, but sober
thought brings us back to accepting life a day at a time, and magnifying and
glorifying that day."
---- Spencer W. Kimball (“Tragedy or Destiny,” Improvement Era, March 1966, pp. 216–17) *** *** ***
Happy Birthday, Kelly 2014 IN SAN SALVADOR
Your treasures...
*** *** *** *** *** Our Tuesday night movie was
postponed to next weekgary has a singles conference *** *** ***WEDNESDAY,JUNE 24, 2026
Family is
Everything
Happy Birthday, Janie
Lunch Bunch was at
One Man Band...
12 CAME TODAY...
Linda, Sue, Sharon,
MaryAnn, Faye, Carol,
Kathie, Kaye, Shauna,
Annette, Sandi, Eileen
*** *** ***Joseph Smith - 1805-1844
How did a young farmhand change American Christianity forever?After claiming a series of spiritual visions, Joseph Smith was said to have translated ancient texts after placing two stones inside a hat. This remarkable origin story set him on an audacious path that would see him organize a new faith, lead his followers across the frontier, and even run for U.S. president.
Learn more about the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—otherwise known as the Mormon Church—and his impact on Christianity: https://on.natgeo.com/CwTmNB
*** *** ***
❤❤❤
Robyn Wyatt Jones post today - June 24...
61
years ago, my mom and dad were sealed together in the Logan Temple and began a
beautiful journey side by side. Except for five short weeks, they spent more
than 58 years together on earth. Now, they have eternity together. I am forever
grateful for their example of love, commitment, faith, and enduring devotion.
Their legacy continues to bless our family every day. Happy Anniversary, Mom
and Dad. 
Neal & Kenna Wyatt
June 24, 1965
*** *** ***
After claiming a series of spiritual visions, Joseph Smith was said to have translated ancient texts after placing two stones inside a hat. This remarkable origin story set him on an audacious path that would see him organize a new faith, lead his followers across the frontier, and even run for U.S. president.
Learn more about the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—otherwise known as the Mormon Church—and his impact on Christianity: https://on.natgeo.com/CwTmNB
*** *** ***
❤❤❤
Robyn Wyatt Jones post today - June 24...
61
years ago, my mom and dad were sealed together in the Logan Temple and began a
beautiful journey side by side. Except for five short weeks, they spent more
than 58 years together on earth. Now, they have eternity together. I am forever
grateful for their example of love, commitment, faith, and enduring devotion.
Their legacy continues to bless our family every day. Happy Anniversary, Mom
and Dad.
❤❤❤ ❤❤❤ ❤❤❤
THURSDAY,
JUNE 25, 2026
Family is
Everything…
...
Thank you Sonia
and Tina...
♪♫"The sun will come
out tomorrow..."♪♪♫
Contrast today's
beautiful blue skies...
...with yesterday's
gloomy, dark skies.
*** *** ***
Solemn's Temple
2 Samuel 24When
these stories are placed side by side, a pattern begins to emerge. On Mount
Moriah, Abraham found a ram in place of Isaac. On Mount Moriah, David found
mercy when sacrifice stopped a plague. On Mount Moriah, Solomon built the
Temple where Israel would seek kaphar,...atonement, covering, and
reconciliation for generations.
Long
before Solomon's Temple stood upon Mount Moriah, the mountain had already
become a place where judgment approached, sacrifice was offered, and mercy
prevailed. The Temple was not built upon an ordinary mountain. It was built
upon a mountain whose stories had been teaching the language of atonement all
along.
*** *** ***
NEAL A. MAXWELL
– 1926-2004 – AGE 78
Apostle –
1981-2004
"...Maxwell
wrote approximately 30 books concerning religion and authored numerous articles
on politics and government for local, professional and national publications.
He was well known for his extensive vocabulary and elegant style of speaking
and writing. His highly alliterative talks have always presented a great challenge to
translators. During one LDS general conference, the translators had categorized each
of the talks to be given into five levels of difficulty. All of the talks were
assigned to levels one to four, except Maxwell's. His talk was alone at level
five. Commenting on his speaking and writing styles at Maxwell's
funeral, church president Gordon B. Hinckley said,
'I know of no other man who spoke in
such an interesting and
distinct manner.
His genius was the product of diligence.
He was a
perfectionist determined to
exact from every phrase and sentence
vivid imagery
that brought the gospel to
life. Each talk was a masterpiece, each
book was a
work of art. I think we shall not see one like him again.' ..."
Neal A. Maxwell said in 1981...
If there is an imagery upon which I would focus, it is two scriptures from the Book of Mormon. The one in which we are reminded that Jesus himself is the gatekeeper and that ‘he employeth no servant there’ (2 Nephi 9:41).
I will tell you…out of the conviction of my soul…what I think the major reason is (why he ‘employeth no servant there’), as contained in another Book of Mormon scripture which says he waits for you ‘with open arms’ (Mormon 6:17).
That’s why He’s there! He waits for you with open arms. That imagery is too powerful to brush aside….It is imagery that should work itself into the very center core of one’s mind – a rendezvous impending, a moment in time and space, the likes of which there is none other……” --Neal Ash Maxwell...
*** *** ***
FRIDAY,
JUNE 26, 2026
...
...with yesterday's
When
these stories are placed side by side, a pattern begins to emerge. On Mount
Moriah, Abraham found a ram in place of Isaac. On Mount Moriah, David found
mercy when sacrifice stopped a plague. On Mount Moriah, Solomon built the
Temple where Israel would seek kaphar,...atonement, covering, and
reconciliation for generations.
Long
before Solomon's Temple stood upon Mount Moriah, the mountain had already
become a place where judgment approached, sacrifice was offered, and mercy
prevailed. The Temple was not built upon an ordinary mountain. It was built
upon a mountain whose stories had been teaching the language of atonement all
along.
NEAL A. MAXWELL
– 1926-2004 – AGE 78
Apostle –
1981-2004
"...Maxwell
wrote approximately 30 books concerning religion and authored numerous articles
on politics and government for local, professional and national publications.
He was well known for his extensive vocabulary and elegant style of speaking
and writing. His highly alliterative talks have always presented a great challenge to
translators. During one LDS general conference, the translators had categorized each
of the talks to be given into five levels of difficulty. All of the talks were
assigned to levels one to four, except Maxwell's. His talk was alone at level
five. Commenting on his speaking and writing styles at Maxwell's
funeral, church president Gordon B. Hinckley said,
'I know of no other man who spoke in
such an interesting and distinct manner.
His genius was the product of diligence.
He was a perfectionist determined to
exact from every phrase and sentence
vivid imagery that brought the gospel to
life. Each talk was a masterpiece, each
book was a work of art. I think we shall not see one like him again.' ..."
JUNE 26, 2026
Family is
Everything…
6-26-26
*** *** ***
So nice to talk to
Brian when he called
as he drove
home from his
medical office in
Tennessee...
Last time I was with Brian...
Dec 19, 2025 at the BroCasa
Dec 30, 2025
Rendezvousing with life...
"We are often called “the elderly,” but that quiet label hides a truth most people rarely pause to consider: we are the last living witnesses of a world that no longer exists. .
If
you look closely, you might notice gray hair, slower steps, or the quiet
patience that time alone can teach. But if you truly listen to our stories, you
will discover something far more extraordinary. We are not simply older people
moving through the final chapters of life.
"We
are often called “the elderly,” but that quiet label hides a truth most people
rarely pause to consider: we are the last living witnesses of a world that no
longer exists.
We
are the survivors of one of the most breathtaking transformations in human
history — a generation that walked from the slow, deliberate rhythm of an
analog world into the dazzling speed of a digital one without ever losing our
sense of humanity along the way.
Our
journey began in a very different place.
Many
of us were born in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s,...
[Eileen's note; So that would include Janie and Gary, but not our five younger children born in the latter 1960s - early 1970s. And sincc I was born in the 1930s, I guess I'm not considered still living.]
...when the scars of World
War II were still fresh across Europe and Asia and the world was slowly
learning how to hope again. Cities rose from rubble. Families rebuilt lives
after years of uncertainty. Childhood unfolded in ways that would feel almost
unrecognizable to younger generations today.
Our
toys were simple: marbles played in dusty yards, hopscotch drawn on cracked
sidewalks, checkers and cards gathered around kitchen tables while the smell of
dinner filled the house. When the streetlights flickered on in the evening, it
was the universal signal that childhood adventures were over for the day and it
was time to go home.
There
were no smartphones, no streaming videos, no endless scroll of digital
distractions. Instead, we built our memories in the real world — with scraped
knees, laughter echoing down neighborhood streets, and friendships that formed
face to face, without the mediation of screens.
Music
became one of the defining soundtracks of our youth. The 1960s and 1970s
arrived like a wave of color and rebellion. We watched culture shift around us,
carried by electric guitars and voices that dared to question the world.
For
many of us, gatherings like the legendary Woodstock Festival of 1969 symbolized
something powerful: the belief that peace, music, and community could reshape
the future. Hundreds of thousands of young people stood together in muddy
fields, listening to artists who poured raw emotion into towering speakers
known as the Wall of Sound. Those concerts were not merely entertainment; they
were moments when strangers felt like a single generation singing the same hope
under an open sky.
Education
looked different then, too. Our notebooks were filled with handwritten notes
carefully copied from chalkboards. Research required patience, long hours in
libraries, and stacks of heavy books rather than a quick internet search. We
learned to slow down and think through ideas because information did not arrive
instantly. Mistakes were corrected with erasers and ink, not with the click of
a delete button.
Love
carried a different rhythm as well. We fell in love while vinyl records spun on
turntables and cassette tapes clicked softly inside plastic players. Music
became the background to first dances, long conversations, and dreams about the
future. Those relationships grew into marriages, families, and lives built step
by step through the 1980s and 1990s — decades that saw technology begin to
reshape the world around us.
Yet
nothing compares to the bridge our generation has crossed. We are the only
generation to have experienced an entirely analog childhood and a fully digital
adulthood.
We
remember waiting days — or sometimes weeks — for handwritten letters to arrive
in the mail. We remember rotary telephones and party lines where neighbors
could accidentally overhear conversations. Communication required patience and
anticipation. Today, we can see the face of a loved one across the ocean
instantly on a screen small enough to fit in a pocket.
The
world changed in ways few could have imagined. We watched humanity land on the
Moon in 1969, a moment when millions of people sat in living rooms staring at
black-and-white televisions as Neil Armstrong took humanity’s first steps on
another world.
We
saw the rise of personal computers, the birth of the internet, and eventually
the arrival of smartphones that placed entire libraries of knowledge in our
hands. Machines that once filled entire rooms now exist on devices lighter than
a paperback book. We moved from punch cards and mechanical tools to artificial
intelligence and global networks connecting billions of people instantly. And
through every shift, we adapted.
Our
bodies carry the marks of the times we lived through as well. We grew up during
fears of polio and tuberculosis, illnesses that once terrified entire
communities before vaccines helped bring them under control. We witnessed the
global challenges of pandemics and health crises across decades, including the
recent silence and uncertainty of COVID-19, which reminded the world that
resilience is still required in every generation.
Science
itself transformed before our eyes. We saw the discovery of the structure of
DNA in 1953, the decoding of the human genome at the turn of the century, and
the early steps into gene therapy and advanced medicine. Transportation evolved
from simple bicycles and steam engines to hybrid vehicles and electric cars
gliding almost silently through city streets.
Few
generations have witnessed such sweeping change. And yet, despite everything
that evolved around us, certain things remain unchanged. We still understand
the joy of a cold glass bottle of lemonade on a hot afternoon. We still
remember the taste of vegetables picked straight from a garden. We still know
the value of a long conversation that unfolds slowly without a keyboard or
screen interrupting it.
Our
memories stretch across decades. We have celebrated births, mourned losses,
watched friends depart, and carried their stories forward. Those of us who
remain share something rare: the experience of standing at the crossroads of
history, holding memories from a world that younger generations know only
through photographs and stories.
But
we are not relics. We are living bridges. Our perspective reminds the modern
world that progress does not have to erase wisdom. The speed of technology does
not have to replace patience, kindness, or reflection. We remember what life
felt like before everything moved so fast — and that memory carries quiet
lessons worth sharing.
So
when someone calls us “elderly,” we can smile. Because behind that word lies
something extraordinary. We are the generation that crossed two centuries,
witnessed eight decades of transformation, and walked from the age of
handwritten letters to the era of artificial intelligence.
What
a life we have lived. What a remarkable story we continue to carry. And if you
belong to this generation, take a moment today to look in the mirror and
recognize something powerful.
You
are not simply growing older. You are living history. You are part of a
generation that will always remain one of a kind. And perhaps, in the quietest
and most meaningful way, you are becoming legendary."
*** *** ***
SATURDAY,
JUNE 27, 2026
Family is
Everything…
*** *** ***
SUNDAY,
JUNE 28, 2026
Family is
Everything
Saratoga Springs 3rd Ward
*** *** ***Redemption is equal because Christ is infinite...
-- Alma 34:14.
Glory is different because agency is real...
-- Doctrine and Covenants 93:31.
Sun, moon, stars...
--The Bronze Serpent...
If
you look closely, you might notice gray hair, slower steps, or the quiet
patience that time alone can teach. But if you truly listen to our stories, you
will discover something far more extraordinary. We are not simply older people
moving through the final chapters of life.
"We
are often called “the elderly,” but that quiet label hides a truth most people
rarely pause to consider: we are the last living witnesses of a world that no
longer exists.
We
are the survivors of one of the most breathtaking transformations in human
history — a generation that walked from the slow, deliberate rhythm of an
analog world into the dazzling speed of a digital one without ever losing our
sense of humanity along the way.
Our
journey began in a very different place.
Many of us were born in the 1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s,...
[Eileen's note; So that would include Janie and Gary, but not our five younger children born in the latter 1960s - early 1970s. And sincc I was born in the 1930s, I guess I'm not considered still living.]
...when the scars of World
War II were still fresh across Europe and Asia and the world was slowly
learning how to hope again. Cities rose from rubble. Families rebuilt lives
after years of uncertainty. Childhood unfolded in ways that would feel almost
unrecognizable to younger generations today.
Our
toys were simple: marbles played in dusty yards, hopscotch drawn on cracked
sidewalks, checkers and cards gathered around kitchen tables while the smell of
dinner filled the house. When the streetlights flickered on in the evening, it
was the universal signal that childhood adventures were over for the day and it
was time to go home.
There
were no smartphones, no streaming videos, no endless scroll of digital
distractions. Instead, we built our memories in the real world — with scraped
knees, laughter echoing down neighborhood streets, and friendships that formed
face to face, without the mediation of screens.
Music
became one of the defining soundtracks of our youth. The 1960s and 1970s
arrived like a wave of color and rebellion. We watched culture shift around us,
carried by electric guitars and voices that dared to question the world.
For
many of us, gatherings like the legendary Woodstock Festival of 1969 symbolized
something powerful: the belief that peace, music, and community could reshape
the future. Hundreds of thousands of young people stood together in muddy
fields, listening to artists who poured raw emotion into towering speakers
known as the Wall of Sound. Those concerts were not merely entertainment; they
were moments when strangers felt like a single generation singing the same hope
under an open sky.
Education
looked different then, too. Our notebooks were filled with handwritten notes
carefully copied from chalkboards. Research required patience, long hours in
libraries, and stacks of heavy books rather than a quick internet search. We
learned to slow down and think through ideas because information did not arrive
instantly. Mistakes were corrected with erasers and ink, not with the click of
a delete button.
Love
carried a different rhythm as well. We fell in love while vinyl records spun on
turntables and cassette tapes clicked softly inside plastic players. Music
became the background to first dances, long conversations, and dreams about the
future. Those relationships grew into marriages, families, and lives built step
by step through the 1980s and 1990s — decades that saw technology begin to
reshape the world around us.
Yet
nothing compares to the bridge our generation has crossed. We are the only
generation to have experienced an entirely analog childhood and a fully digital
adulthood.
We
remember waiting days — or sometimes weeks — for handwritten letters to arrive
in the mail. We remember rotary telephones and party lines where neighbors
could accidentally overhear conversations. Communication required patience and
anticipation. Today, we can see the face of a loved one across the ocean
instantly on a screen small enough to fit in a pocket.
The
world changed in ways few could have imagined. We watched humanity land on the
Moon in 1969, a moment when millions of people sat in living rooms staring at
black-and-white televisions as Neil Armstrong took humanity’s first steps on
another world.
We
saw the rise of personal computers, the birth of the internet, and eventually
the arrival of smartphones that placed entire libraries of knowledge in our
hands. Machines that once filled entire rooms now exist on devices lighter than
a paperback book. We moved from punch cards and mechanical tools to artificial
intelligence and global networks connecting billions of people instantly. And
through every shift, we adapted.
Our
bodies carry the marks of the times we lived through as well. We grew up during
fears of polio and tuberculosis, illnesses that once terrified entire
communities before vaccines helped bring them under control. We witnessed the
global challenges of pandemics and health crises across decades, including the
recent silence and uncertainty of COVID-19, which reminded the world that
resilience is still required in every generation.
Science
itself transformed before our eyes. We saw the discovery of the structure of
DNA in 1953, the decoding of the human genome at the turn of the century, and
the early steps into gene therapy and advanced medicine. Transportation evolved
from simple bicycles and steam engines to hybrid vehicles and electric cars
gliding almost silently through city streets.
Few
generations have witnessed such sweeping change. And yet, despite everything
that evolved around us, certain things remain unchanged. We still understand
the joy of a cold glass bottle of lemonade on a hot afternoon. We still
remember the taste of vegetables picked straight from a garden. We still know
the value of a long conversation that unfolds slowly without a keyboard or
screen interrupting it.
Our
memories stretch across decades. We have celebrated births, mourned losses,
watched friends depart, and carried their stories forward. Those of us who
remain share something rare: the experience of standing at the crossroads of
history, holding memories from a world that younger generations know only
through photographs and stories.
But
we are not relics. We are living bridges. Our perspective reminds the modern
world that progress does not have to erase wisdom. The speed of technology does
not have to replace patience, kindness, or reflection. We remember what life
felt like before everything moved so fast — and that memory carries quiet
lessons worth sharing.
So
when someone calls us “elderly,” we can smile. Because behind that word lies
something extraordinary. We are the generation that crossed two centuries,
witnessed eight decades of transformation, and walked from the age of
handwritten letters to the era of artificial intelligence.
What
a life we have lived. What a remarkable story we continue to carry. And if you
belong to this generation, take a moment today to look in the mirror and
recognize something powerful.
You
are not simply growing older. You are living history. You are part of a
generation that will always remain one of a kind. And perhaps, in the quietest
and most meaningful way, you are becoming legendary."
Redemption is equal because Christ is infinite...
-- Alma 34:14.
Glory is different because agency is real...
-- Doctrine and Covenants 93:31.
Sun, moon, stars...
--The Bronze Serpent...
** *I am so thankful for The Plan of Salvation and the Atonement of Jesus Christ that makes this
Great Plan operational.
At the end of this June 28th, 2026I pray you have had a restful, peaceful, and spiritual Sabbath Day...
I share these truths as my testimony to you...
Heavenly Father lives and knows us each by name. He loves us and wants us to return to Him and Heavenly Mother when we leave this mortal existence. He loves us just as we are at this very moment.
*** *** ***
Jesus Christ came to earth as The Only Begotten of the Father and fulfilled the Atonement. He is the Redeemer of all.
“An omnicompetent God leaves all mortals free to choose, but how grateful we should be that God chose long, long ago to rescue and to resurrect all His children through the Atonement of His Son. Nevertheless, some reject and many are indifferent to these and other divine beckonings, mostly because they are too caught up in the cares of the world. They are strangers to the Savior, who is far from the thoughts and intents of their hearts.”Neal A Maxwell
How Choice a Seer!
Revelation 19:16: -- "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS".
*** *** ****** *** ***I am thankful for the guidance of the Holy Ghost as the third member of the Godhead. Walt said to me once: "I look forward to thanking the Holy Ghost in person when I get to Heaven. I don't think we give Him enough credit for all He does."
*** *** *** *** ***
Joseph Smith was foreordained to be the Prophet of the Restoration. He is the Restorer of all things.*** *** ***President Dallin H. Oaks is the Living Prophet today for all the world. 
*** *** ***
*** *** ***
The Bible is "the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly" and is a Testament of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.*** *** ***The Book of Mormon is the Word of God and is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It is the most correct book of any book on earth.*** *** ***The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the True Church on the earth today. Because of the restored Priesthood Temple Ordinances families can be sealed for eternity.
PriesthoodAaronic andMelchizedek
*** *** *** *** ***
*** *** ***Of these truths I testify in the Name of Jesus Christ, amen.Eileen PetersenJune 28, 2026 "Time moves slowly, but passes quickly...
I pray you have had a restful, peaceful, and spiritual Sabbath Day...
I share these truths as my testimony to you...
Neal A Maxwell
How Choice a Seer!
