Baptism Day for Sandy

Sandy with her mother Karen

Sandy with her father Jordan

Sandy with her grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins

Sandy with her Grandma and Grandpa Baadsgaard

We were able to attend my granddaughter Sandy's baptism yesterday in Roosevelt, Utah. It was a joy to surround this precious little girl with lots of family love on her special day. Sandy wants to live her life after the pattern of Jesus Christ. I know she will be a joy and a light where ever she goes. I love you Sandy. Congratulations on becoming a brand new member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.   Pin It

The Treasure of Family

Rylan on our back yard swing.

My grandson Rylan lived with me for a couple of months this summer while his mother taught two religion classes at BYU. Rylan always smiled at me when he woke up in the morning and he gave gentle love pats while he hugged me. He called me Gaggy. He jumped on my bed at night and raced around the house during the day exploring the world with the energy only a one-year-old can muster. Even though he is back in Pennsylvania my daughter says he still asks for me.

I haven't wiped off some of the finger prints he made on my french doors because they remind me of him. They are like fragile ghosts of his tiny hands.

Some people think that a mansion on the hill, gem stones and foreign travel are the rewards of success and old age. I think the reward and success and old age is a life-long sweetheart that still makes my heart beat faster, children grown to fine manhood and womanhood and a house full of sticky, noisy grandchildren to love.

My love song is this  . . . You are my diamonds, my  exotic travel to foreign lands and my mansion on the hill. Everything that makes my heart sing is you.
  
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A Letter From Grandma For Your Baptism Day

Sept. 2, 2012

Dear Sandy,

          Happy Birthday! I’m so excited that you are turning eight years old this year because that means that you are old enough to choose to be baptized. I’m so happy you have made that choice.

I remember when I was baptized. I was baptized on my eight-year-old birthday on a Saturday night in a little white church across the street from my house in Union, Utah. My congregation had all the children being baptized sit on small wooden chairs and talked to us for a while. I don’t remember what they said, but I do remember what I felt.

I felt excited and a little scared before I was baptized. When I was baptized, the water was warm and I felt clean. After I was baptized and put my dry clothes back on, I walked out of the church into the cold January winter air. I remember looking up and seeing lacy white flakes of snow falling all around me. Even though it was cold outside, I felt warm inside. I knew God loved me and was pleased I wanted to come home to heaven someday.

I also knew that Jesus was my best friend and that if I tried to live like Him that I would be happy. When I was your age, they waited until Sunday to confirm me at church and give me the gift of the Holy Ghost. I felt protected when the men with the priesthood made a circle around me and put their hands on my head as my father confirmed me.

What I didn’t know was that the man I was going to marry someday was being baptized on the very same day, January 6^th (my birthday) in a little town called Spanish Fork, Utah. He was a little scared and excited too. Because we both wanted to be like Jesus, we found each other many years later. We recognized that we had the same dreams and plans for life.

When he got back from him mission to Samoa, we got married in the Salt Lake City temple and made some new special promises to God when we were sealed for time and eternity. Then pretty soon your daddy was born. Then he grew up and married your mommy in the temple and then pretty soon, you were born.

Being baptized was the beginning of everything wonderful in my life. Being baptized is such a special time because we are able to participate in our first saving ordinance and make our Heavenly Father our first official promise. You are a daughter of God, Sandy, and your Heavenly parents love you very much. They want you to be happy so they have made you a plan of happiness to follow so you can return to them someday. 

Up until now, you have been a child who is learning, growing and maturing. You don’t have any sins. Now that you are eight, you are wise enough to know the difference between right and wrong choices. Heavenly Father knows that all of us make mistakes and some of our choices are not wise. Because He loves us, He wants us to know how to change and not be trapped by our mistakes and bad choices. So He invites us to make a promise to Him and then He makes a promise right back to us. When we make a special promise to God and He makes one right back to us, it is called a covenant. Heavenly Father never breaks a promise.

The promise you make to God is that you will remember Jesus, follow Him and keep His commandments. Heavenly Father promises you that He will forgive you if you make a mistake or do something that you know is wrong if you feel sorry and repent. He also promises you eternal life. He also gives you the gift of the Holy Ghost to help, guide, warn and comfort you.

When you choose to be baptized you tell Heavenly Father that:

*You take on the name of Jesus Christ

*You will serve your fellowmen

*You will stand as a witness of God all the time

*You will obey the commandments of God

          God promises you that:

               *You are accepted as a member of Christ’s church

                  *You can be forgiven of sin if you repent

               *You can have the gift of the Holy Ghost

               *You can live in the kingdom of God

          Everybody makes mistakes after they are baptized so Heavenly Father gave us the sacrament every week on Sunday. That is when we remember the covenant we made when we were baptized. We think about our week and decide how to be better this week. We think about our Savior Jesus Christ and how He atoned for all our sins, pains, disappointment and grief. We also think about Christ’s resurrection and that we can be resurrected too someday.

          So this is such a happy day! I hope you will write about how you feel in the journal I’m giving you. Never forget that you are a child of God and that you can inherit the eternal life God has planned for you. And never forget that your grandma loves you with all her heart.

          Love,

          Grandma Baadsgaard.    

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When Your Sister Is Your Best Friend

Happy Birthday Katie!

Here is a poem I wrote just for you on your second birthday.

Never forget how much your Grandma Baadsgaard loves you. You're my piece of gold.

 

Katie and Her Best Friend

by

Granny B

 

My name is Kate.

I have a dog

and a Mom and a Dad.

I also have a sister named Emma.

So I won’t be sad.

 

Emma is my best friend.

She lives in my house with me.

She lets me jump on her bed

and keeps me company.

 

Sometimes we feel dancy

So we hold hands and twirl

I like my fancy shoes

They squeak whenever I swirl

 

 Sometimes we watch movies

Cuddle under blankets and talk.

Sometimes we read books

or go for a little walk.

 

Whenever I feel scared.

Emma sits right next to me.

Whenever I feel sleepy

She takes good care of me.

 

And when the day is over

And the skies become a sea

Emma brings her blanket

And snuggles up with me.

 

Soon when we grow up

And pretty soon grow old

I know my sister Emma

Is my piece of gold

 

For when you love your sister

You always have a friend

It doesn’t matter what goes wrong

She’s your treasure to the end.

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The Sacred Grove is Still Sacred

My family had the opportunity to visit the Sacred Grove, in Palmyra New York, this summer. This is the place where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe Joseph Smith prayed and had a vision where God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared, called Joseph by name and spoke to him.

Joseph Smith was a simple country boy of fourteen who was praying aloud for the first time because of a verse he had just read in the Bible. That verse told him that if any one lacks wisdom, to ask God. So he prayed and asked.

Because of that humble prayer, the world will never be the same - my life will never be the same. Joseph's yearning to have his questions answered ushered in the restoration of the original gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Memories of Trek at Martin's Cove Wyoming 2012

My husband and I and our son John participated in a four day trek at Martin's Cove in Wyoming a few days ago. It was a holy experience I'll never forget. Every single person there, both leader and youth, cheerfully did more than their share of work. Everyone pulled and pushed and served each other with a smile. When you are in the middle of nowhere, you depend on each other to stay alive. We were able to leave the frantic pace of our usual lives and experience a piece of heaven right here on earth - as if we created our own Zion. Dressing in period clothing, pulling handcarts and camping in the actual place where our ancestors struggled and died and where brave men came to their rescue was a tender and spiritual experience I'll never forget.

Stopping for a rest

We were divided into "families" with a ma and pa and 8-10 children.

All the women participated in a "woman pull" where we pushed and pulled the handcarts up Rocky Ridge alone. The men stood at attention with their hats over their heart to honor our strength and courage.

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We set up and took down tents each morning and night and and cooked our meals on the vast prairies.

This is the first handcart on the woman's pull. I'm on the right. Angels came to help us. 

River crossing.

There was hill after hill of sage, blaring sun and no trees.




One of my favorite moments was at sunset during testimony meeting.

Daniel W. Jones - My Hero

A few days ago, I went on a trek to re-enact the Mormon handcart pioneer experience. There were 240 of us from the LDS Spanish Fork Maple Mountain Stake who dressed in pioneer clothes and pulled handcarts. We all thought about the stranded pioneers that tragic winter of 1856 and the 210 people who died. We also thought about those who risked their lives to rescue them. One of the rescuers was my great, great, grandfather Daniel W. Jones.

There is a cove of trees with benches named after him at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. Our group of 240 youth and leaders assembled there.

I was asked to speak about you Daniel.

As I spoke I saw tears in the eyes of those who listened.

Thank you for your life of courage.

You are my hero.  

Daniel Webster Jones (August 26, 1830 - April 20, 1915) was an American and Mormon pioneer. He was the leader of the group that colonized what eventually became Mesa, Arizona, made the first translation of selections of The Book of Mormon into Spanish, led the first Mormon missionary expedition into Mexico, dealt frequently with the American Indians, and was the leader of the group that heroically wintered at Devil's Gate during the rescue of the stranded handcart companies in 1856.
Jones was born 26 August 1830 in Booneslick, Howard County, Missouri. Orphaned at the age of 12, he joined a group of volunteers to fight in the Mexican-American War in 1847. Following the war, he remained in Mexico for a number of years, learning Spanish, and while taking "part in many ways in the wild, reckless life that was common in that land," still he longed for something. When a sheepherding expedition bound for California departed in 1850, he left with them.
While camped along the Green River in 1850, his pistol went off in his holster, piercing through fourteen inches of his groin and thigh. His companions left him, lame, but alive, with a Mormon settlement in Provo. There, he studied Mormon doctrine and was baptized by Isaac Morley in 1851. The next year, he married Harriet Emily Colton, daughter of Philander and Polly Colton.
In the October 1856 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church President Brigham Young informed those gathered that a group of Latter-day Saint immigrants were then stranded on the plains of Wyoming. These were the Martin and Willie handcart companies, as well as the Hunt and Hodgett wagon companies. The next day, about 25 men departed from the Salt Lake Valley to find the immigrants.

The company found the Willie Handcart Company near South Pass. After reaching Devil's Gate, they still hadn't found the other groups, and Jones, Joseph A. Young, and Abe Garr were sent ahead to find the missing parties and help them in to the Devil's Gate area. After assisting them to a spot now known as Martin's Cove, it was determined that Jones, Thomas Alexander, and Ben Hampton would remain behind with the goods cached at Fort Seminoe, together with 17 teamsters detailed from the Hunt and Hodgett wagon companies. During that winter, they endured terrific privations which Jones later detailed in his autobiography.
In 1874, Jones was commissioned by Brigham Young to translate selections from The Book of Mormon into Spanish, in preparation for a missionary expedition into Mexico. This he did, with the assistance of Henry Brizzee and Mileton Trejo, a recent Spanish convert from the Philippines. Following the translation, the company, including James Z. Stewart, Helaman Pratt (son of Parley P. Pratt and father of Rey L. Pratt), Wiley C. Jones (Jones's son), R. H. Smith, Ammon M. Tenney and Anthony W. Ivins (who would later become an Apostle and First Counselor in the First Presidency, departed for Mexico. The mission lasted from 1875 to 1876.
Upon returning, he was commissioned by Brigham Young to start a settlement in the Salt River Valley of Arizona. Originally called Jonesville, the settlement was later renamed Lehi, and was eventually incorporated into Mesa, Arizona.
After some conflict with the other settlers, Jones moved to the Tonto Basin area, where his wife and 14th and youngest child were killed when a shed fell on them during a storm in 1882. In 1890, he published his autobiography, Forty Years Among the Indians. He died on 20 April 1915, of gangrene after an accident, and was buried in the Mesa City Cemetery.^[1] He was 84 years old.
Jones was the grandfather of Fay Wray (King Kong (1933)), his last surviving grandchild. He is the great-great-great grandfather of Jeffrey Jones, the first Mormon senator in Mexico.

Martin's Cove

The Mormon Trail.

Youth groups and their leaders re-enact the heroic struggles of their pioneer ancestors.

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Family Reunion 2012

We had a terrific family reunion this weekend. My sweet husband, children and grandchildren bring me real incredible joy.

Some of my favorite moments were:
*watching the grandchildren give each other clown hair with a shower caps, shaving cream and Cheetos.
*clapping while Karen did the happy dance after a great turn at the bowling alley with all the girls.
*Breathing a sigh of relief when all the boys walked back through the door alive after going to the shooting range together.
*having my youngest child Alisa and and oldest grandchild Josh perform their first baptisms at the temple.
*seeing my children dressed in white at the temple.
*listening to family members express their love for each other as we sat in a circle on the deck at the cabin.


We missed Martha because she was helping her father after open heart surgery and Caleb because he was the first person in our family to go to heaven.

The love of God and family

                                         is everything.                                                                    

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From my daughter Arianne's perspective:

Every member of my immediate family gathered yesterday evening. My parents paused, in awe, to regard how quickly ten children have multiplied in only a few years. Imagine ten, fifty, a hundred years from now! It's not something you grasp when you're a new parent--the immensity of your influence.

I thought about the days when Mom and Dad were in my shoes, wrestling little ones. Feeling so tired but pressing onward anyway. All that is good and beautiful in my heart started there with them. If I could go back in time to my pigtails and petticoats, this is what I would tell them.

There's a ripple created, Mama and Daddy, each time you choose to hold and hug me. Each time you reach out for me in tenderness when I am screaming back at you. Each time you scoop up my tired legs and carry me in your arms. Each time you set aside your own interests to read and sing to me. Each act is a ripple spreading outward.

Some day my hands will wrap around your grandchildren. I will reach for them in gentleness the way you showed me. They will grow strong swimming in a pool of safety and love. There will be dozens of children who are carried by a loving, gentle current you created, one ripple at a time.

It is then you will know heaven. For heaven is simply this--little acts of love moving ever, forever outward.

That's what I'd say to them if I could go back. And this is what I'd show them--these photos I took last night of their love, multiplied. All my brothers and sisters and their spouses gathered their little ones up to listen to Grandma and Grandpa. It was a sea of squirming, wiggling, hugging love. And it was breathtaking.

Celebrating Pioneer Day

Our family had a great time celebrating Pioneer Day. Some of us slept at the cabin on Friday night, had a free breakfast at Stokes in Salem then attended the parade in Spanish Fork. Others enjoyed the pioneer activities at the Pioneer Park in Provo. My favorite part of the parade was watching how delighted my grandson Rylan was to see all the floats, marching bands, and especially those who walked up to him and threw him candy. After filling his pockets he decided to return the favor. He filled his hands with candy and threw back it at the people in the parade hoping to spread the joy. Then we had a great BBQ up at the cabin where some of the grandchildren tried their hand a fishing up at the pond. Next we lit sparklers, picked grapes and jumped on the tramp back at home. Fireworks came last in Mapleton and what a show it was. These wonderful pictures were taken by my daughter Arianne who helps me make a visual record of all our family fun. Thanks Annie. Pin It

Radio Talk Show Interview on Healing From Abuse

I was interviewed on a radio talk show onWednesday July 25 from 5-6 p.m.
Here's a little information about the interview.
Diana Hoffman

Host of Healing Talk Radio Show

live on the air Wednesdays 5 pm - 6 pm MT on KHQN 1480 AM

see the archived video simulcast on http://healingtalkradio.utahvalleylive.com

website at: healingtalkradio.com

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Customer's Review of Healing From Abuse

I just found this customer review for my new book on Deseret Book's web site.

"This is possibly the best book on abuse that I have ever read. Despite the author's no-nonsense approach to the devastating effects of abuse on both perpetrator and victim, the overall message of the book is one of hope. Easy to read and navigate, this beautifully written book seamlessly mingles spiritual insights, practical advice and anonymous firsthand accounts in a truly inspirational way. True to its title, Healing From Abuse centers on the key role of Christ's atonement in escaping and healing from the abuse cycle. In accomplishing this, the book grants readers a profound look into the psychology of abuse and the major obstacles all involved parties face in the quest for change and healing. Healing From Abuse is an essential guidebook for the abused, abusers and the friends and family of both parties that walks readers through how to overcome the effects of abuse. This book is both eye-opening and inspirational and is a must-read for anyone who has experienced abuse or knows someone who is struggling with an abusive relationship."
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God's love is all around us

SLOW DOWN

Savor the beauty

of the small

each blade of grass

each raindrop

whispers,

the love of God

is all around you

but first

we must

slow down

watch,
wait
and
listen

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