The Ulster Historic Foundation

There is an organization that is devoted to the preservation of the documents for the Province of Ulster in Ireland. Many people outside of Ireland have a misconception of Ulster. The Province of Ulster has nine counties, six of which are in Northern Ireland. The other three are part of the Republic of Ireland. The six counties that are part of Northern Ireland are: County Antrim, County Armagh, County Cavan, County Down, County Fermanagh, County Londonderry, and County Tyrone. Counties Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are in the Republic. Even though the headquarters for the Ulster Historic Foundation is in Belfast, they do search out the records for the three counties that are in the south.

When an appointment for a tour group is booked, it usually begins with a slide presentation explaining the history of some of the history of Ulster. The presentation that I was at included information on the Ulster Plantations. This was information that I had never heard before. I do have an understanding of European history but I do admit that I have never really taken the opportunity to study Irish history. This would be an interesting topic to study.

After the presentation, a break for refreshments will take place. During this time, you will have a chance to look at some of their literature that will give you an idea whether or not you will need to look at their holdings, browse through their bookstore, and just chat, asking questions about their organization.

Some of the members of our group were able to have some time to discuss their brick walls and how to solve them with members of the Foundation. At this time, the only thing that I could do any research on was the origins of the surnames that I am researching. I found that three out of my major four Irish surnames that I am researching have roots in England.

We spent about three to four hours at their facilities and, I believe that each one of us walked out of there with a bit more information than before we went in.

The Foundation has a website at:

http://www.ancestryireland.com/

They have a number of categories that you can look at, and under each category there are a number of pages that have different topics. Most of these pages you can see without being a member, but if you want to look at any of their databases, you need to be a member. Membership costs in the neighbourhood of £38 a year, £99 for five years, or £230 for a lifetime membership. They also have a Family Research Starter Kit for £47.99 which includes a year’s membership, 24 credits, Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors, and more. There is also a pay-as-you-go option but it won’t get you into their databases.

If you are planning a trip to Ireland and you have research to do in Northern Ireland, you might be best to take out a membership and have a good look at their databases. I have looked at the list of databases and have seen that there is at least one of them that I would like to look at. By looking at their databases, you should be able to find something to help you along your way.

Currently, I am not a member of the Guild but I am not ruling out the possibility that, in the future, I may find that their holdings may help my search.

The Foundation does send some of their members on tour in North America, and, (now this is according to me), Europe or other places where Irish ancestors migrated to when they had to leave the Emerald Isle. Part of the reason why the Foundation does this is to make people aware that they exist and that they do have these holdings. Another reason why this is done is for fundraising. This organization does not receive any money from government sources and depends on sales, research fees, memberships, and donations.

The Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland

If you plan to do any family history research in Northern Ireland and you have ancestors that emigrated to Northern Ireland from Scotland, this is a good place to do some research. Before we left for Ireland, I planned on visiting their facilities. However, when I was at PRONI, I decided to spend my time there rather than go to a facility that may not have anything that I am interested in as some of my Irish ancestors were Methodists and the records that I needed to access if I had enough time would be in PRONI. Afterwards, I was assured that there may have been some records that may have helped me in my search.

Most of the information that I present here was gleaned from the website. Their website looks like it’s fairly easy to use. They seem to have it well organized and they have a slide show explaining some of the history of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

If you are working on your family history, they do state that they do not have a comprehensive collection, but they will do the best that they can in order to help you. If you are interested in hiring a researcher, they direct you to go to the PRONI website and choose from the list of researchers there.

The website lists what is held in their library, in their archives, and how donations and indefinite loans can be made.

There are a number of documents that have been digitized and can be accessed online. The only problem is that you need to have a paid subscription or membership in order to access the information available. It currently costs £16 per year. When you look at the cost and compare it to some of the fees for other websites, £16 really is not very much money. Unless you are going to Ireland to visit other places as well, you may just find what you are looking for on your computer in the comfort of your own home.

If I find that the Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland is one of the places where I can find records of my ancestors, yes, I would use the website and pay the fee so that I can access the information. You never know just where you may find something about that elusive ancestor who doesn’t seem to want to be found.

Increasing Faith and Testimony

Increasing Faith and Testimony

Yesterday, I spent a good portion of the day at a flea market trying to sell some inventory from a business that never really panned out. The day before, I loaded up one of our vehicles with the inventory and then setting up the table so that I would be ready the following morning. I was so tired that all that I wanted to do when I got home was to go to bed and sleep for a week. Didn't happen. Very light sleep for an hour and then nothing else got done except supper and the dishes.

This evening, my topic is “Increasing Faith and Testimony”. I originally wrote this in 2012 for presentation in Sacrament meeting.

First of all, we need to understand a couple of things.  First, if you don’t have faith, you can’t have a testimony.  Secondly, you need to understand what faith is and what a testimony is.  So, my talk will consist of two parts, the meaning of faith and testimony, then, how do we increase our faith and testimony?

Faith and testimony have different meanings.

Faith is more than just believing.  The meaning of faith is taught in the Scriptures in both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon.  The Apostle Paul taught in Hebrews Chapter 11 verse 1: “Faith is the substance assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Alma taught the same principle in different words in Alma Chapter 32 verse 21: “And now as I said concerning the flesh – faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.”  Both of these men lived in vastly different places and times.  We also need to realize that faith is a principle of action and power.

What is a testimony?  For this, I went to LDS.org to find the definition.  I found that “a testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost.”  Dallin H. Oaks actually went a little farther when he said, “A testimony of the gospel is a personal witness borne to our souls by the Holy Ghost that certain facts of eternal significance are true and that we know them to be true. Such facts include the nature of the Godhead and our relationship to its three members, the effectiveness of the Atonement, and the reality of the Restoration.”

I sincerely pray that everyone has a better understanding of what faith and testimony are.

In order to endure to the end as we have been admonished, we need to have a strong foundation in our lives of both faith and testimony.  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf told us at General Conference in April this year that “we need to be constantly reminded of the eternal reasons behind the things we are commanded to do.  The basic gospel principles need to be part of our life’s fabric, even if it means learning them over and over again.”

Establishing and increasing our faith starts with a desire to do so.  President Henry B. Eyring taught that “A foundation of faith…takes time to build.”  President Eyring was comparing building faith to the building of a house.  You need a good foundation for a house to stand for many years.  It’s the same with faith, you need a good foundation and it takes time to build that good foundation of faith.  President Eyring goes on to say “if the foundation of faith is not embedded in our hearts, the power to endure will crumble.”  Faith has been compare to the muscles in your body, if you don’t exercise faith, your faith can and will grow weak.

How can we exercise our faith?  We can do all of the usual things, pray, be obedient, make our choices with care, scripture study, etc.  We have to be careful that we are not just going through the motions.  We need to have a real desire to do this.  We need to be receptive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  We need to not only read but study the scriptures as well as the words of latter-day prophets.  We know that we need faith to be lead to salvation, but some people forget that the faith needs to be centered on Jesus Christ.  We need to have that assurance that He exists and that the work that He did was for us.  We need to have a correct idea of His character, that He loves us but he does give us our agency to accept or reject His salvation.  We need to accept the fact that it is Christ that provides our salvation in order to progress.  We need to try our best to live the way that Christ would have us live.  We need to trust Him completely in everything even if we don’t understand it.  Christ has suffered everything for us and knows how to help us through our trials big or small.  We need to show our faith by the way we live.

Increasing faith is obtained through individual obedience and righteous action.  You cannot increase my faith through your actions nor can I increase your faith by my actions.  You can teach me ways to increase my faith, but it’s up to me whether I accept your teaching and adapt it to my circumstances or not.  I stand or fall on my own merits. Not my parents’ actions or faith, but my own.

If we want to obtain the highest degree of glory, we must keep the covenants we made.  Faith can motivate obedience to the prophets.  Alma taught this in Alma Chapter 32 verses 26 to 43.  Paraphrasing it says “The word of God helps strengthen faith.  Comparing the word to a seed, he said that the ‘desire to believe’ can lead us to ‘give place’ for the word to be ‘planted in our hearts.’  Then we will feel that the word is good, for it will begin to enlarge or souls and enlighten our understanding.  This will strengthen our faith.  As we continually nurture the word in our hearts, ‘with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.”  “Increasing our faith requires trusting the Lord with our whole souls and striving to act as He would in all circumstances.”

As with all things from Heavenly Father, there are blessings given to us when we obey the principle of faith.  Moroni 10:20 tells us “Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith, there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.”  Moroni 7:42 tells us: “Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.”  Faith in God and in His guidance through the Holy Spirit will sustain us in an increasingly more challenging world.  Only when our faith is aligned with the will of our Heavenly Father will we be empowered to receive the blessings we seek.  There is one other blessing that I should mention.  President Eyring says it best: “It is never too late to strengthen the foundation of faith…. You can do it wherever you are and however alone and deserted you may feel.  If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing.  We never need to feel that we are alone or unloved in the Lord’s service because we never are.  We can feel the love of God.  The Saviour has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up and He always keeps His word.

As I said before, faith will lead to testimony.  As we recall, a testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost.  I would like to tell you a story from President Eyring: “When our children were very small, I started to write down a few things about what happened every day.  I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day.  Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?”  As I kept at it, something began to happen.  As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day.  As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to Show me what He had done.  More than gratitude began to grow in my heart.  Testimony grew.  I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers.  I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Saviour Jesus Christ.  And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance – even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.”  President Eyring continues on to say that the Holy Ghost will help us to recognize and remember God’s kindness and will help to build our testimonies.  In order to do this, we need to accept the Holy Ghost as a companion.  President Eyring also challenges us to ask these questions of ourselves every night:

• 1.    Did God send a message that was just for me?
• 2.    Did I see His hand in my life?

I am adding one more question:

• 3.    How can we preserve the memory?

Doctrine and Covenants Section 76 verses 51, 74, 79 and 101 teach the following:

The foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son of God, and that He carried out the infinite Atonement; that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel; that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have the sacred opportunity and responsibility to obtain their own testimonies.  Having obtained a testimony, each member has a duty to nurture it throughout life.  Happiness in this life and throughout eternity depends largely on whether individuals are ‘valiant in the testimony of Jesus”.

I have done some reading on increasing my testimony and found that testimony needs the application of the following principles:

• 1.    The quest for a testimony begins with a righteous, sincere desire
• 2.    Testimony comes through the quiet influence of the Holy Ghost
• 3.    Testimony grows gradually through experiences
• 4.    Testimony grows as individuals show willingness to serve in the Church and to study, pray, and learn.
• 5.    Testimony grows as individuals obey God’s commandments
• 6.    Part of a testimony’s development comes when it is shared.

Alma taught a group of people who did not have any testimonies yet in Alma Chapter 32 verse 27: “If ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.”  Alma challenged those whom he taught to try to believe.

Joseph Smith was asked what the fundamental principles of our religion were.  His reply was: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”

As you can see, faith and testimony are tied together.  You cannot have a testimony without faith.  The ways to increase your testimony are the same as those to increase your faith and vice versa.  In both instances, the first step is the same.  You need to want to increase your faith and testimony.  Without that desire, you will not put the effort required to accomplish the work you want to do.  You need to do this with a sincere and contrite heart. 

President Eyring has given us some counsel on faith during the last General Conference: “That particle of faith most precious and which you should protect and use to whatever extent you can is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Moroni taught the power of that faith this way: ‘And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God’.”

Faith is very important in our lives and in our futures.  Faith will help us get through any difficulties that we may encounter on our journey.  Faith will gain our place in the eternities if we just exercise it.

The Albert Memorial Clock

In 1865, there was a competition that took place. It was not an athletic competition, but a design competition.

In mid December 1861, there was a death in England. Someone who had great influence with Queen Victoria and the government that was developed over time. This person was the Prince Consort, Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.

Prince Albert was born on the 26^th of August 1819, in Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. His family had connections to many of the European royal families. He was the second son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He and his older brother were well educated.

Albert’s uncle, Leopold, King of the Belgians, began to think about a marriage match with Victoria about 1836. Victoria was the heir presumptive for the British throne as her father had died when she was a baby and her uncle had no children. Her uncle, King William IV had no legitimate children. When the possible marriage was introduced to the king, he did not approve of it. He was more interested in the Prince of Orange. Victoria was aware of all the possible marriage matches that were floating around.

On the 20^th of Jun 1837, Victoria became the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. She showed interest in Albert’s education but did not allow anyone to push her into a marriage before she was ready to be married or a marriage that she did not want. When Victoria was ready, she proposed marriage to Albert, notified the government, and they were married on the 10^th of February 1840.

Albert was not well received as the Queen’s choice by either the people or the government. His allowance was £20,000 less than what was normally allocated. Albert did not have any authority with the government and had to develop his own niche in Victoria’s world. Albert chose to promote education, the abolishment of slavery, and economic reform. Albert also became Victoria’s secretary and sat in on meetings with representatives from the government, even filling in for Victoria when she was not available. Albert reorganized Victoria’s household, replacing servants that needed to be let go and bringing the household accounts into more accountability. Because of his training in finance, Albert was able to make real estate purchases and do major renovations for the family.

Albert and Victoria had nine children. Their education was supervised by Albert and they loved their father and knew that he loved them and needed them.

Albert developed an illness with his digestive system about two years before he died. Because medicine was not as advanced as what it is now, he was diagnosed with typhoid shortly before he died. Authoritative members of the medical field now believe that he may have had Crohn’s disease, renal failure, or abdominal cancer as the cause of death (according to Wikipedia). There are other articles available on the internet that also agree that Albert quite likely did not die from typhoid, and one article says that some modern medical authorities discount cancer.

Now, back to the memorial for Albert. In 1861, there was a competition held for a design for a memorial for Albert. This memorial would be located in Belfast. In 1862, the competition was won by W.J. Barre, an Irish architect who won the competition for Ulster Hall in 1861. Even though he won the competition, Barre was not awarded the contract but instead it was secretly awarded to Lanyon, Lynn, and Lanyon. When it became known that this had happened, the public were very upset and let it be known. Eventually, it was awarded to Barre.

It took four years, from 1865 to 1869, for the clock tower to be built. Because of the location for the memorial was land that was marshy and reclaimed from the River Farset, the memorial was built on wooden piles. The tower was made from sandstone and the ground was unable to support it properly. The tower developed a lean of about four feet off the perpendicular at the top.

In 1924, some ornamental work and a canopy had to be removed. In 1992, the clock was damaged in a bomb explosion. The area became a haven for prostitutes and their customers, primarily visiting sailors.

In 2002, a restoration project was completed. The area also had undergone a revitalization with modern public spaces sporting trees, fountains, and sculptures.

This memorial is quite impressive to see. It dominates the immediate area without taking away from it. It is surrounding by modern buildings and helps to bring remembrance of the past.

Old Jameson Distillery

Today, I am going to talk about the Old Jameson Distillery. Some people may think that I should have done this earlier when I was writing about other things in Dublin, but it really doesn’t matter about the order of these posts as I am writing about the place or event so that people can get a real idea of what it’s like over there.

The Old Jameson Distillery is situated in Dublin near Smithfield Square. It is the original location of the distillery and, before moving from Dublin, covered more than 5 acres of land. I read that it “was like a city within a city” because of the professions that were involved with the company. There were “a Smithy, Cooperage, saw mills, engineers, carpenters, painters and coppersmiths’ shops.” (Wikipedia) The amount of water that was required for the making of whiskey was a large amount. There were two wells on the property.

When you look at the trades that were involved with the distillery, you would sometimes wonder why. Perhaps it was found to me more inexpensive to make your own barrels for the aging of the whiskey. After all, if you pay another company to make the barrels for you, you also have to give them enough money so that they can show a profit and stay in business. But, if you have enough money to be able to have the space, purchase and store the raw materials needed, and pay the coopers and carpenters, then you might want to think twice about contracting the work out. After all, you want to have the highest quality work for your product. There may have also been the possibility that the amount of barrels required by the company was too much for smaller business to handle along with the work from other companies.

The Old Jameson Distillery got to the point where there was no room left to grow in the original location. After all, in 1966, Jameson merged with The Cork Distillery Company and John Power and Son to form the Irish Distillers Group. The move brought three rivals under one umbrella. The distillery was the last distillery to close in 1971.

What happened was that the distillery reopened in a new location, the New Midleton Distillery in Cork. Most of the buildings in the old location were dismantled with the main building being kept as offices. Sometime during the 1990s there was a fire which lead to the building becoming run down. A decision was made about 15 years ago to upgrade the building and give it new life. Since completion, it has apartments, shops, restaurants, and, apparently, has a hotel. There is also a visitors’ center that describes how whiskey is made and offers samples.

John Jameson made a sound financial move when he moved from Scotland to Dublin and began to work for Bow Street Distillery the late 1790s.

Mourne’s Seafood Restaurant

On our first night in Belfast, we were taken to Mourne’s Seafood Restaurant for dinner. Later in the trip, we began to realize that on the first night in a new town or city, we would be taken out to dinner by the tour company. Some of the members of the group discussed it for a bit and came to the conclusion that, because it was the first night in town, we didn’t know where the pubs were as we hadn’t really had a chance to look around. If we had more than one night in a city, the remainder of the nights were our responsibility to find a place to eat. Usually, there were some choices of restaurants and pubs in the area of the hotels that we stayed in.

When we arrived at Mourne’s, we were taken upstairs to a private room where we had a dedicated staff of waiters and waitresses and cooks to look after us. The cooks also did some of the meals for the room downstairs but we were their priority.

The menu gave us an excellent range of choices of food, both seafood and non-seafood. I can’t remember exactly what I had, but I think that I tried their chowder. I wasn’t feeling the best at that time and needed to have something to eat that I knew wouldn’t upset my stomach. It was served with bread and gave me exactly what I needed.

For my main course, I had the ribeye steak as I didn’t want to take the chance of having deep-fried fish. I had it earlier in the week and I can only tolerate it in small amounts. I was questioned about it, but that is what I felt that do me the best good. It was done almost to perfection and I enjoyed every bite of it.

I finished the meal with apple and rhubarb crumble with ice cream. It was very filling, almost too much so. But it was good. I think that everyone enjoyed their meal.

As we headed back to the hotel, plans were made for the evening. My plan every night was to complete the blog entry, and most nights, relax and try to go to bed by 10 p.m. It doesn’t always work, though.

All in all, I can say that Mourne’s Seafood Restaurant has excellent food and is worth the trip to have some when you are in Ireland. I think that almost everyone on our tour enjoyed the food as well.

By the way, I didn't take my camera with me that evening, so I had to download pictures from the advertisement for the restaurant.

The Titanic Quarter

One of the first places that our tour visited in Belfast was the Titanic Quarter. In particular, we visited the museum that focuses totally on the Titanic. We arrived after having a bus tour with a tour guide from the city on our first day in Belfast.

Once we went into the museum, one of the first things that is usually done is the watching of a video regarding the building of the Titanic. There were displays that were interesting, but the one that I enjoyed the most was the ride through the “dockyard”. It was like a roller coaster ride that takes you through various parts of the “dockyard” in which there were displays that described the building of the Titanic and the conditions that the dockyard workers functioned in.

On the ground floor of the museum is a gift shop. I was interested in seeing what they had. I was looking for souvenir spoons in particular, but I found that the prices in the gift shop were steep. I did find souvenir spoons, but it was going to cost me in the neighbourhood of £25. I was not that impressed with them that I was going to pay that much. After all, I don’t have a lot of money and I look for things that are not that expensive. I left the gift shop after that.

The Titanic Quarter actually consists of more than just the museum. The museum is only one venue that resides there. Just up the street from the museum is the Public Records Office for Northern Ireland, otherwise known as PRONI. If you need to do any sort of research involving Northern Ireland, that is the place to start with. After that, there are other places that I will talk about in the future.

Across the street from PRONI is the hotel that we would have preferred to stay in. It is the other Premier Inn that is in Belfast and has much more room for buses and groups. However, there was a concert that week and the hotel was booked when the error had been pointed out to the tour company. There aren’t many trees in the area, so shade is at a premium.

There are other businesses within walking distance of the hotel. Many North American companies are locating the European headquarters of their companies in Ireland, both in Dublin and in Belfast. We drove down one of the streets and there is still a lot of development that has to happen before it will look like the plans that they have made for the area.

There are also plans to have some residential areas as well. Hopefully, Belfast can continue with the development of this area as it does have potential. Some of the pictures included with this blog were downloaded using Google to find them.

Family

Today, I had the opportunity of working on my family history. I had sent an email last night to a cousin in Vancouver asking about some information that he might have. Well, Jim answered the email and sent me information as well as an obituary about the person that I was asking about.

I sorted through the information and was able to make sense of most of it. After I had entered it into my tree, some more information came to the surface. I use websites that have an automatic search function. This function does about 80% of the work when the information is on their website. This function can only sort through the information and records that the website has available. Not all information that is needed is on websites or is not yet digitized. It costs money to digitize records, but, fortunately, there are people that do the work needed.

Anyway, there was a bit of the information that he sent that did not fit easily into place. As it turned out, this information was on the tree of another cousin. This cousin lives in Rainy River, and we have been in touch previously. It just didn’t sink in which part of the tree was the one that she belonged to. I found out today.

We have just spent about an hour and a half, getting to know each other. I also took the time to sort out those hard-to-fit pieces of the puzzle and can now put it to bed (so to speak). I also asked for more information concerning the family and she was quite happy to give me the information. I found out that she is about a year and a half older than me and that her brother is about three quarters of a year older than me as well.

We plan to stay in touch as we are family, albeit distant family. My husband has been told that if we were to travel west in Canada, we will be stopping to visit.

I have found that when you research your family history, you have a marvelous opportunity to meet family members that have drifted away. This drift is not always intended and, sometimes, you think that there are not many members of the family.

Family history will help you to discover your living family as well as those who have gone on before you. It helps you to rebuild the ties that should never have been severed. It can make your family stronger. Once you discover how large your family actually is, and you may never know the full extent of the family, it’s up to you what you do with the information. It can be a very joyous trip.

On the other hand, you might dig up some information that some members of the family do not appreciate. Just remember, your ancestors were people too. They made their mistakes just as we make our mistakes. Life can be very rewarding even with the mistakes that are made. After enough time, we should be able to look back and say, “Yes, I made a mistake, and it was a bad one. But I learned from it.” Or “Yes, I made a mistake, and I thought that it was a bad one, but I survived and am trying to do better.”

Live life. Love your family. Look for the missing members of the family that should be there. Work together. Have fun. Support one another. If you don’t have your family, you don’t have one of the most important things in life.

The Righteous Need Not Fear

The topic that I have for today is “The Righteous need not fear”.  I wrote this a few years ago to give as a talk in Church. I was told that there had been a Conference talk that was based on this topic.  However, I did not find that particular talk.  Instead, I found 5 conference talks on this subject, A Silver Lining by Marion G. Romney in April 1977, May the Kingdom of God Go Forth by Ezra Taft Benson in April 1978, For I Will Lead You Along by Neal A. Maxwell in April 1988, Bible Stories and Personal Protection by Dallin H. Oaks in October 1992, and Preparation for the Second Coming in April 2004 by Dallin H. Oaks.

In reading these conferences talks, I found that 4 out of the 5 were about the signs and the preparations for the Second Coming.  The 5^th talk was about using that preparation in daily living.

President Romney pointed out in his talk that the warnings that are causing many people to just start to recognize that the world is heading for disaster have been known to members of the Church since the beginning of this dispensation.  In 1974, Kurt Waldheim, the Secretary-General of the United Nations at that time, said,

“I do not wish to conceal my profound concern about the situation which now prevails in the world, a concern which I know to be shared by responsible people everywhere.  There is an almost universal sense of apprehension about where the tumultuous developments of our time may take us, a sense of deep anxiety at phenomena which we do not fully understand, let alone control.  In all the speculation, much of it depressing about the shape of the future, there recurs a note of helplessness and fatalism which I find deeply disturbing.  This is not a new phenomenon.  Dire prophecies have often before been the symptoms of periods of transition and change in human society.  What is new is the scope and scale of the problems which give rise to these apprehensions….

Today the civilization which is facing such a challenge is not just one small part of mankind – it is mankind as a whole.”

President Romney went on to say that the Lord had already told us the cause of the disaster and also had given us the information needed to avoid the consequences.  This was given to us in Doctrine and Covenants section 1 verses 15 to 18.

President Romney also said that Heavenly Father knew all of this prior to the creation.  He gave instruction to every generation and told them that they would receive blessings for obedience, but would suffer the consequences if they disregarded His teachings.

President Romney went on to talk about the example of Enoch and the City of Zion.  They listened to the Lord and they obeyed His commandments.  They were blessed and consequently were taken away from this corrupted world.

President Ezra Taft Benson taught about the Gospel being spread in the latter days, our period of time.  When President Benson was first ordained an Apostle, average attendance was about 20 per cent of Church members.  In April 1978, average world wide attendance was 41 per cent.  He emphasized that the work of the Church would not be stopped.  It would continue until it filled the earth as prophesied by Daniel and in the Doctrine and Covenants section 65.  Righteousness will grow, must grow, but at the same time, evil will also grow.  The Saints will not be able to avoid being affected by the events.  In Doctrine and Covenants 63, we read:

“I, the Lord, am angry with the wicked.  …

I have sworn in my wrath, and decreed wars upon the face of the earth, and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every man;

And the saints also shall hardly escape; nevertheless, I, the Lord, am with them, and will come down in heaven from the presence of my Father and consume the wicked with unquenchable fire.”

But we can have comfort because the Lord has said, “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” in Doctrine and Covenants section 38 verse 30. 

Elder Neal A. Maxwell talked to us about expecting the Second Coming prematurely.  He said that some of the conditions of the world will be the same as it was in the days of Noah, wickness and disobedience.  However, back then, there was not the global outlook on the world that we have today.  Elder Maxwell says in his talk that:

“Before modern times, global perplexity simply was not possible.  Now, there is a quick transmission of some crises and problems from one nation to others – the consequences of debt-ridden economies, the spreading of diseases, the abuse of narcotics, and, perhaps most of all, a shared sense of near-helplessness in the face of such perplexities.  Today, the assembled agonies of the world pass in reminding review on the nightly news.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke in Conference of April 2004 and reiterated what the members of the Church have been told for 150 years.  We need to be prepared to withstand the calamities of the signs of the Second Coming and for the Second Coming itself.  We have no idea when it will come, but we have been told it will be soon.  The church members  in 1830 were given the same information.  The leaders of the Church have tried time and again to prepare us.  The Second Coming will happen when Heavenly Father allows it to happen.  In the mean time, we have work to do.

As you have heard, the term “The Righteous Need Not Fear” usually applies to the Second Coming in conversation.  However, at this point, I would like to take a different route.  We know that the Second Coming is on the way.  We know that it will happen in the near future.  We also know that we need to prepare for it.  My question for you is, how do we prepare for the Second Coming?  The answer is to become more righteous, as righteous as we can possibly become.  We won’t be perfect but the Lord knows that we are incapable of becoming perfect in this life.  So we do the best we can.  That is what The Lord wants.  He will help us do this if we ask Him.  He even provides us with this help through examples of both modern day and ancient records of what others have gone through.

We don’t know what the trials are that we will be asked to go through.  However, we can take comfort that Heavenly Father will not ask us to go through anything that we cannot succeed at.  We will be able to make it through anything if we just follow righteous principles.  However, we need to know what those principles are. 

Some of the comments that I am about to make are based on an article in September’s Ensign, Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus Christ by Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy.  Elder Corbridge used the Apostle Paul as an example.  Paul did everything that was asked of him by the Spirit.  He did not hesitate in doing the missionary work or go where the Spirit led.  He taught the people in many places and set one of the best examples that the world has seen.  Paul said: 

“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 6 and 7.

Paul had such faith that he was and is seen as being valiant, both within the Church and within the Christian community as a whole.

What does this mean to us?  Can we be as valiant as Paul was?  How can we be valiant in our busy lives? 

To answer the first question, we can follow Paul’s example and the example of our modern-day leaders.  We can be as valiant as Paul.  We have a tendency to believe that being valiant is hard.  It doesn’t need to be.

Elder Corbridge lists a number of examples of being valiant:

1.       Keep on going when you think you can’t go anymore.

2.      Admit your mistakes and strive to be better.

3.      Pick up the scriptures and put down the TV remote.

4.      Tell the truth when a lie would be easier.

5.      Refuse to do wrong even when everyone else is doing wrong.

6.      Set aside personal interests and postpone education to serve a mission.

7.      Speak no ill of another.

8.      Be honest even when it seems that no one else is.

9.      Choose not to click on a pornographic site.

10.   Smile and help another even when you yourself need help.

11.   Exercise self-control.

12.   Pray with all your heart.

13.   Forgive.

14.   Strive to raise your children in light and truth.

15.   Share the gospel without regard to consequences.

16.   Remember the Lord and keep His commandments.

17.   Don’t count the cost.

Maybe it’s time for all of us to take the time to examine our lives to see how many of these suggestions that we are already following.  Hopefully, we are following more of them than not.  Perhaps we can increase the quality of the effort that we are putting into doing what’s right. 

Most of these suggestions will be part of a change in lifestyle.  Don’t be disappointed that you don’t succeed immediately when you try to change your daily habits.  It will take time to do the necessary changes.  I know that I will have difficulties with some of the changes that I need to make in my life, but I also know that it has to be done.  One of my biggest problems is that I have a tendency to procrastinate.  I will have to ask Heavenly Father for help and I know that He will give me the help that I need.  I cannot do it by myself.

Once we start making the necessary changes in our lives, we can be assured that the Spirit will help us with the trials that we have waiting for us.  We need to be valiant like Paul, like Joseph and Hyrum Smith, like Peter of old, like the Saints who were persecuted in New York state, Missouri, and Illinois and then travelled to the base of the Rocky Mountains, not knowing exactly where they were going until they arrived.  How can we face these precious souls who went before us trusting in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ if we do not develop the same trust and commitment that they had?  The Lord has said that He will have a tried people.  The early members of the Church went through a lot of physical and emotional trauma that we are not presently exposed to.  Our trials may be different from theirs, but, be assured, we will have our trials.  We will come through those trials without any fear if we learn to depend on the Lord and be valiant by following what the Spirit tells us.

I have tried to find the advice from our leaders that applies to life as we know it.  I have also tried to substantiate why we need to follow this advice.  I have tried to show how to become more righteous so that we can have no fear as we face the future.  In a nutshell, the principles that all of these suggestions refer to are:  Choose the right regardless of the consequences and don’t count the cost.  As Elder Corbridge says:

“Whatever the Lord asks is little in comparison with what He has given and in light of what we receive through our small sacrifices.”

I pray that I have written the words that the Lord would have me write and that this topic touches each one of us, including me, in the manner in which the Lord would have it touch us.

Newgrange

Anyone interested in archeology will be interested in Newgrange. It is found in the Boyne Valley in County Meath and can be very interesting. You cannot enter Newgrange directly, you need to go through the Visitors’ Center at Brù na Bóinne. If you are planning to visit there, check out this website before going:

http://www.newgrange.com/

This website will give you the pertinent information that you will need in order to make your visit enjoyable.

Newgrange is a world heritage site designated by UNESCO. It dates back over 5,000 years to the Neolithic or stone age and has been recently recognized as a temple in addition to the status of monument as it was previously known as. It predates the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge.

Newgrange has found to be of greater importance for religious and ceremonial purposes, astrological purposes, and spiritual purposes than what was originally understood. This is why it is said that Newgrange is much more than just a passage tomb.

There is the fact that Newgrange was designed to have the chamber and passage illuminated by sunlight on the Winter Solstice. The archeologists indicate that, in order to have this type of building capacity, the community had to have been a well-structured and knowledgeable community, with specialist groups for various stages of building.

Newgrange is one of the places to go to celebrate the Winter Solstice, especially if you have a cloudless day. If you have the opportunity to go, it may prove to be quite an experience.

I was looking forward to the ride to Newgrange, but, unfortunately, my body did not want to co-operate with me that day. I am looking forward to the day that I can go back and see what the archeologists found, and dream of times long ago.

Carrickfergus Castle

Carrickfergus Castle is a twelfth century castle built about 11 miles north of Belfast on Belfast Lough in Antrim, Northern Ireland. It has a colourful and violent history as it was built in a strategic place.

The original castle consisted of a bailey, a great hall and an inner wall, along with some outbuildings surrounded by a curtain wall to protect it from the sea. This was originally built by John de Courcy in 1177 and used as his headquarters until 1204 when he was ousted by Hugh de Lacy.

Hugh de Lacy made some improvements to the castle by building a higher curtain wall for better protection from the sea. He also added a portcullis and a vault, completing these by 1250. Hugh de Lacy had been attacked by soldiers of King John in 1210, and was expelled while the castle came under royal authority. Hugh de Lacy received back the earldom of Ulster and the castle in 1227.

In 1315, Edward the Bruce, brother to Robert the Bruce, laid siege to the castle which lasted for three years. When Edward was defeated in Meath, three years later, the retreating Scots laid waste to the land in and around Carrickfergus. The area was razed twice more, in 1386 and 1402 with much of the original town being destroyed.

The sixteenth century saw some more battles involving Carrickfergus for supremacy, 1575, 1577, and 1597 when the governor, John Chichester, was killed. Two years after this, Chichester’s brother, Arthur, became governor of the castle and was successful in bringing in English and Lowland Scots to live and work in the area.

In 1641, Carrickfergus became a refuge for Protestants running from the rebellion. This lead to the area becoming the staging ground for a counter attack and massacre of Catholics. The castle changed hands three times over the course of two years until, in 1649, Parliamentary forces held it until the restoration of the monarch in 1660.

In 1690, after the town had been taken by his forces, William of Orange came to Carrickfergus to consolidate his troops until facing and defeating his father-in-law and claiming the English throne.

In 1760, the French attacked the castle which was surrendered. The French left after stealing the silver from the castle and were attacked by a British ship near the Isle of Man. In 1768, John Paul Jones, on his ship Ranger, attacked HMS Drake near Carrickfergus.

In 1797, the castle was used as a prison for the Rebellion. This would not be the last time that it would be used as a prison. It was also used as prison in the Napoleonic wars as well as an amoury. During World War I and World War II, it was used as a garrison and an air raid shelter.

Carrickfergus Castle is now open to the public throughout the year and, I believe that the castle is well maintained. It is one of the jewels of Northern Ireland, having survived countless attacks. It would be a great opportunity to be able to visit the castle and get to know all of its charms.