It's Beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!

"Seek Ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and his righteousness; and all things shall be added unto you."

Matthew 6:33

These words, spoken by Jesus of Nazareth, have never been more true and more significant than in this age of Facebook and Twitter, bond markets, and shopping malls, stealth missiles  and terrorist targets. At this Christmas Season let us raise our sights and turn our hearts back to the story of His birth, when Shepherds from the fields and Wise Men from the East sought to find Him in Bethlehem. Let us go with them and "Seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written. . ." Ether 12;41

JOY to the WORLD is sung by choirs across Christendom to celebrate Christ's First Coming. However, the words of this favorite hymn more accurately celebrate the Second Coming of the Lord, when 'sin and sorrow will no more grow, nor thorns invest the ground.' To prepare for this future event, we as Christians should seek Him even more diligently so that we, at His Second Coming, can rejoice in the Most High and ever worship God.

We know not how many wise men there were, but we know that they were affluent enough to have an audience with King Herod and to bring the costliest gifts of god, frankincense, and myrrh to the rightful King of the Jews. Who better than these wise men and wealthy witnesses to bear testimony to the wise and wealthy of the world that 'the star which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star (and found the child) they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.' Matthew 2:9-10

The symbols of Christmas

THE PRESENTS are given to remind us of God's gift to the world.

THE STAR was placed in the sky for the wise men to follow.

THE TREE points to heaven, and reminds us that God is eternal.

THE WREATH is a circle without any end, the same as God's love for us.

THE CANDLES shine brightly to tell us that Jesus is the light of the world.

THE BABY in the manger shows the birth of Jesus, the savior of the world.

The Poinsettia is also known as the Christmas Star and Christmas Flower, It's said that this winter flower's association with Christmas comes from a Mexican legend. The story goes that a child, with no means for a grander gift gathered humble weeds from the side of the road to place at the church alter on Christmas Eve. As the congregation witnessed a Christmas miracle, the weeds turned into brilliant red and green flowers.
Named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, first US ambassador to Mexico and the amateur botanist who introduced the plant to the US in 1825. While considered by the ancient Aztecs to be symbols of purity, in today's language of flowers, red, white or pink poinsettias, the December birth flower, symbolize good cheer and success and are said to bring wishes of mirth and celebration.

When you find HIM, you will never be the same. And the Joy of His countenance will gladden your heart and you too will sing...We Wish YOU a Merry Christmas.

Thank you, Elder Ladle for these beautiful words.

What do I LOVE about Scotland?

Don't you love the trees on the hill? And the year round GREEN grass. This is on the way to Dumfries.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SCOTLAND?

Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales are all part of the United Kingdom. Scotland shares the southern border with England. 130 of the 800 Scottish islands are inhabited. Scotland is a little smaller than South Carolina.  The official language is English, AND Gaelic AND Scots.  We have to listen really hard to understand some of the Scottish people. I have always wondered if they have to listen as intently to us as well.

The Roman Empire in the 1st century begins Scotland's written history. The Gaels from Northern Ireland began to raid Scotland in the 5th century. Not far behind in the battle were the Vikings in the 8th century. The Bruce Family in the 12th century claimed Scotland as the Anglo-Norman land barons. Scotland continued to be fought for by the English. There were many wars and during a period of 50 years the nation of Scotland changed hands 8 times.

    

Glasgow is the largest city in population, followed by Edinburgh, the capital city. If you draw a 1/2 way point between the two cities and a little north, that is Falkirk, where we live.The last half of the 20th century they had a steady decline of population because of emigration.The rise in population is mainly from England.Many Asian and Chinese students come to Scotland to study, earn a degree and then return to their homeland.

The  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  Church in Scotland

1830 brought the first LDS missionaries to Scotland. Samuel Mulliner and Alexander Wright had emigrated to Canada and were the first Scottish people to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there and then returned as missionaries. 1840 brought the first converts to be baptized in Scotland. Four months later Orson Pratt organized the first branch of the Church in Scotland at Paisley. 

In Edinburgh there is a hill called Arthur's Seat or for LDS people, Pratt's Hill.  Elder Pratt prayed for 200 converts to join the church and by the time he left Edinburgh in March 1841, more than 200 people had been baptized. Now as missionaries come to the  Scotland/Ireland mission, they climb the hill and then before they go home they climb back up Pratt's Hill and have a quiet time accounting for their mission.

1840 also saw the first converts emigrating from Scotland. By the end of 1850 one branch had grown into more than 50 branches with 3,257 members. Church membership in Scotland began to decline in the  late 1800's as the members heeded the call to come to ZION, Utah, and build the church there. 

With two World Wars, and encouragement to stay and build up the church where you live, membership has increased slowly in Scotland.

Thanksgiving in Scotland

The Turkey Chef!

Our family away from home. L-R
Sister Walton, Sister Jones, Elder Beckstrand and Elder Salinas

Do you see Mr. Turkey? I saw this in Pinterest yesterday and had to have it. The eyes are M&M's

We had rolls, turkey, dressing, green bean casserole without the french fried onion rings (used Pringles onion & sour cream crushed on top), gravy, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and apple pie. YUM. Just missed all of YOU.

STIRLING CASTLE

This castle is considered one of the largest and most important both historically and architecturally in Scotland. It is seen for miles around, as it sits on top of Castle Hill, its imposing position having played a largely strategic role throughout the centuries, sitting on top of a huge volcanic rock, surrounded on 3 sides by steep cliffs.




"If you hold the castle, you hold the crossing. If you hold the river you could hold the realm. The river Forth where Scotland narrows between Forth and the Clyde Rivers, Sterling Castle has always been fought over. It is the broach that holds together the Highlands and the Lowlands.

The town lists its charter as beginning in 1226. The current city has buildings dating from the 15th century. It is one of the many sites associated with King Arthur.

Once home to the Scottish Royals, the building has been subject to many bloody sieges and political intrigue, but today has been restored to its former breathtaking glory. It was considered the center of art, culture and celebrity in the 16th century. In the 17th century it was a prison for the royals.

This is the Renaissance palace of JAMES V. It was refurbished and reopened in 2011. The royal apartments inside the palace have been returned to how they may have looked in the 1540's, when they were the childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots.  She was also crowned at this castle. Stirling was central to William Wallace's fight in the Wars of Independence where he and Robert the Bruce won great victories.

During the fight for independence, during the 1300's the castle changed ownership from Scotland to England 8 times in 50 years.

An interesting tale is told of James IV and John Damien, the Abbot of Tongland in Kircudbrightshire who earned the nickname of the Frenzied Friar of Tongland. He was an Italian and a learned man who spent a lot of time at court. In 1507 he convinced Jame IV that man could fly and he would prove it by jumping from the walls of the castle and soar like a bird. He had his servants gather a large collection of feathers from flying birds and construct a large pair of wings from them. The servants couldn't find enough flying bird feathers so used some chicken feathers without telling John.  He had his wings strapped on, the court assembled and he jumped fro the walls of the castle landing quickly in the castle midden, on which more than the castle's kitchen scraps were deposited. Luckily he didn't fall very far and only broke one leg. When he learned of the chicken feathers he was sure that was the cause of his failure to fly.

The grand entrance. Be prepared to be amazed.

To the left of the entrance are these beautiful statues which are Greek in origin.

In the distance is William Wallace monument. It stands over 220 feet tall and it has 246 stairs to the top.
William Wallace raised the revolt against English occupation.

Beautiful view from top of castle.

Notice the graveyard down by the church.

The guard house to the lower right.

This building houses the king/queens rooms. 

This is the king's gold building. It was this color originally 1500.

Queen Anne's Flower Garden

Our Scottish guide, Joe. He was superb. He told us that a Scottish pint of ale=3 English pints of ale. Everyone drank ale, even children and women-they drank the smaller amounts.

The Abbey.

This is the great hall created by King James. It is the largest great hall in all of Scotland. To celebrate it's completion after 3 years of building, in December 1566, there was a three day celebration. The hall was built to honor his son's baptism. It was at a cost of 3 million pounds in today's money and was a loan from Elizabeth. The two queens, Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots never met each other in this life.

The roof is made of 350 tons of Scottish oak from 350 trees. They used 4,000 hand made nails. It took 35 years to restore the roof.

500 people could be seated in this hall.

The hall can be rented for 10,000 pounds. In fact, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter fame) actually did.

Chapel Royal
This was restored at a cost of 12 million dollars, US. It was the first protestant chapel in Scotland.

Us sitting in the King and Queen's seats. My feet didn't touch the ground. Many queens and kings were crowned at 9-18 months of age, so their feet wouldn't have touched either.

The Kings waiting room for anyone lucky enough to be allowed in.

The next room's ceiling just before you see the king.

The King's bedroom.

Beautiful murals on lower walls.

The queen's waiting room.

The Queen's bedroom. Very plush with tapestries covering the walls to keep it warm.

Beautiful tapestry in waiting room of the Queen.  The unicorn is a universal symbol of Christ.

The queen's waiting rooms.

The kitchens were run by men and young boys. Rarely were women allowed in the kitchen.

The kitchens were underground.

The hunting dogs were housed at the end of the walkway on the left. The tapestries that are being restored  are in a building at the very end of this lane. It takes about 2 years to restore one tapestry. Six have been restored to date with one more to complete.

Robert, the Bruce.He was the first king of Scotland able to liberate the entire country from the English.