May 1, 2010 (written Feb. 25, 2008) Dad worked the last couple of years of his life studying and writing for our learning and benefit! It is a special privilege to be entrusted to put these out monthly. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. In so many ways he is still helping us grow!
Re: 13th article of Faith
From: Richard M. Pratt
“We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul, We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” 13th Article of Faith
What a wonderful world we would be living in if this was the universal code and it will be when the Lord reigns personally upon the earth. And may that day be soon is my daily prayer. The day of his second coming was laid in the great plan of Heaven before the earth was, so there is no use praying for the day to be hastened, it will come on the appointed day.
Remember that the Lamanite prophet Samuel gave the wicked Nephites a sign of the birth of Jesus by prophesying that, “there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh (be born) there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.”
“Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there was no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; there fore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; never the less the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.” (Remember this sign was to be given here in America signaling the birth of Jesus in Jerusalem)
Heleman 14: 3-4
“Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.....but it came to pass that the words of the prophets were fulfilled. For behold at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.....and it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew it was the day that the Lord should be born.” 3 Nephi 1:1-19
but we don’t live in that wonderful world yet and must endure the wickedness of the present world. So let us follow the admonition of Paul. Lets start with the first word, “HONEST” What a joy to live in a world where everyone was honest. I can’t remember the many times dishonest people have taken advantage of me not the exact amount of money but it would run well in excess of fifty thousand dollars and a half dozen or more of people. Two of them I forgave the debt and cancelled it, but all the rest were totally dishonest. In fact one man said, “sue me, I never pay my debts in full, how do you think I got rich.” well we sued him and sure enough he won. When we heard he and the judge calling each other by their first names we knew we were lost and we were sure of it when they went out to lunch together.
And these crooks were not all men. I had a little 75 year old woman do about the same as the man listed above. She said, “take me to court, can you imagine what chance big rough old you has against me a cute little o ld widow.”
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I just walked away in disgust for truly I didn’t have a chance of collecting.
yet I would rather lose all the money than to think some where in that group was an individual who would not have been saved had I kept the money.
An honest man is a true man and can be trusted with your very life. Such a man was my own father. As a small boy I learned this valuable lesson and he was not even aware of it. In the early spring when I was about eight years old, Dad needed money badly so he sold his first cutting of alfalfa hay for ten dollars per ton to be picked up in the field by the buyer when it was cut and cured.
The buyer gave Dad a $5.00 per ton deposit. Two months later the hay was ready to be hauled away. In the meantime the price of hay had doubled to twenty dollars a ton.
The buyer came to haul the hay away and fully expected to pay the increased price. There had been no papers signed, only Dad’s word and a handshake.
The buyer was willing to pay the increased price but MY DAD SAID, “NO WE MADE A DEAL AND I INTEND TO KEEP IT.” Boy what a lesson that was to a small boy and I’ve always tried to emulate my Dad! IT FEELS GOOD TO BE HONEST!
An honest person is a true person they can be depended upon. Both their words and actions are as solid as the mountain stone. An honest man is chaste. He shuns all things that are unclean and impure. An honest man is benevolent, always aiding those in dire circumstances paying an honest tithing and contributing to the other programs of the church that is helping their fellow beings.
I am constantly deluged as you are by mail and phone for charitable contributions. It would be utterly impossible to help them all. One time, long ago, I was looking at a picture of a starving little child and supposedly that child could be saved by as little as fifteen dollars a month. Then these thoughts went through my mind. Most of these commercial “do gooders” take from fifty to ninety percent of your money for management. I thought there must be a better way. And then I thought of my monthly tithing and offerings. Besides tithing which of course is ten percent, there are seven other categories that one can help in. And with the church 100% goes to the needy one. I”m going to list them. And the LDS Church reaches out into all areas of distress in the world.
1. Fast Offering - The equivalent of two meals per month. That’s a minum. And every cent goes to the hungry. So I could increase my Fast offering.
2. Ward Missionary - every cent goes to the missionary- I saw how this works when we were in the islands. The young men wanted to serve missions but had nothing. The church would finance ninety percent of their mission but never 100 percent. So I contrived ways to help those young men make that ten percent. And as soon as they had it saved the church paid the rest. They had found by sad experience that unless the missionary sacrificed a little, they were not effective missionaries.
3. General Missionary fund - if your ward is not sponsoring a missionary, a contribution to the general fund is always welcome.
4. Book of Mormon - suppling to those who can’t afford them.
5. Humanitarian Aid - where ever needed in the world regardless of race, color or creed the Church responds to disasters with supplies and help.
6. Temple construction - The only church in the world that has a saving program for the living and the dead.
~ 3 ~
7. Perpetual Education Fund - This is one of my personal favorites as I hear success stories of
returning missionaries being aided to qualify for a well paying job that would otherwise never be possible. The educational loan is then paid back for another to go to school!
And we believe in doing good to all men regardless of race, color or creed. I had a touching incident happen to me in Moses Lake, Washington about a half a hundred years ago. As I was driving on the busy highway out of town ahead I could see a man trotting as fast as he could carrying a lunch pail. Several cars passed him, but I stopped. He hurriedly got in, saying as he did so, “My car wouldn’t start. And if I don’t get to my job on time I’ll be fired!” He told me where the job was another two or three miles down the road and off to the side a mile or two.
We made it. He got out came around to my side, opened the door and kissed, yes kissed my dirty old work boots, not once but two or three times. I never saw him again, but his thankfulness was so touching I wanted to cry. Oh! Yes and he was black.
Paul says, “We believe all things (that are true) to believe in things that are not true is not just a waste of time, it is much worse than that. Much of what the world believes today is false. And no matter how faithful they are in their beliefs in untruths it will not only not save them but may well lead to their destruction.
Example: as quoted earlier in this memo. “The wicked did not believe the “day-night-day” of bright light that would signify the birth of Jesus in far away Jerusalem. But it happened and of course “scared the living day lights out of them.
So if we will just believe “all things about the Father and the Son, that they are resurrected, glorified men who are trying to lead us into all truth and that the Holy Ghost as the revelator will testify to us of these truths then all other truths are believable and as Paul says. Because of this fundamental belief about God, “we can HOPE all things.” Knowing that our hopes will be justified we can then rest assured with a good conscious that we are doing all things needed to assure our peace and happiness here on earth and in the life following. Such a person is then free from the sorrows of this world so far as they affect them although of course they still sorrow for those who have not yet arrived at a belief of all things.
We have endured many things and hope to be able to endure all things. And we are going to pass through many trials before long that will try our faith to the limit. But we must never, no never give up! And all will be well.“And when I think of God, his Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing he bled and died to take away my sin.” Keep focused on Jesus Christ!
As I look back over my long life and the things I have endured, and they have been many. Yet now that its about over it really doesn’t seem important. The important thing is that everything I have endured has been educational and I have no regrets unless it is like that great patriot of the Revolutionary war, Nathan Hale as the British prepared to hang him, said: “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” Except in my case I would say: “I regret that I have but one life to give to my country, my family and my God.”
If there is anything virtuous, let us seek after it. Let us shun all that is unclean and is destroying the lives of those who indulge in them. I’m thinking of x rated movies and TV programs. I”m thinking of pornographic literature of all the poisons of mind, spirit and body that is ensnaring the unwary. Shun all such as if it were the very poison of hell for truly it is.
Seek after that which is lovely and of good report and praiseworthy. Above all be so living your personal life that the sick, the weary, the discouraged, the lonely and the abused may ~ 4 ~
look to you as an island of refuge in a world beset on its own speedy demise.
It’s such a thrill to be your father, grandpa, uncle, brother, friend or whatever. Let us rejoice together now and always.
My Love,
Dad, Grandpa etc.
Richard Marden Pratt
Mom’s Pink Jell-O fluff (Adaline Pratt’s by Rose Marie Pratt Rowbury)
put a can of canned milk in the fridge as well as a can of equal size crushed pineapple the night before you plan to make this.
1 large package red jell-O
make this with a tiny bit less water than called for and let set up tell “jiggley” in a large bowl.
Crush graham crackers, add 1/4 cup sugar, ½ cube butter and mix well. Put this in the bottom of a large cake pan. Set aside about a 1/4 cup to garnish the top of the finished fluff.
Beat the canned milk like whip cream, add ½ cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.
Put 1 T lemon juice in jell-o, fold in the whipped milk, stir in the can of crushed pineapple and pour this mixture over the graham cracker crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top to garnish and set in fridge for 4 hours. This should set up just like mom’s did and served in her glass dishes bring a fond memory or two.
A mother is someone who knows all our needs, hopes and our dreams and desires.
With a genuine interest in all that we do, someone who guides and inspires.
The heart of my mother is full of compassion, is generous, kind and forgiving.
The smile of my mother is loving and tender, and adds so much gladness to living.
My mother is someone with infinite patience, who soothes all my troubles away.
My mother has limitless faith in we her children and loves us day after day.
My mother made a home out of a house by being there and using talents and thoughtful, sweet actions.
My mother is warm, understanding and gentle.
My mother is full of wisdom, strength, loveliness, and grace.
My mother is well read and shares bits of this learning well with others.
My mother shares all that is hers joyfully.
My mother takes pride in her husband, children and home.
My mother radiates beauty. She has a gentle tone to her voice.
My mother is a wonderful grandmother too. She is always thinking of one of them and seeing to their needs.
My mother has always kept her priorities in order.
My mother is an influence for great good on all whom she comes in contact with.
My mother has a quick mind for ideas and can see ways of making things beautifully.
My mother shares her sincere testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She lives a life of dedication to these sacred beliefs.
If mothers were rated from one to ten, my mom would be much more she’d be at least a 15!
Happy Mother’s day!
Love,
Roger, Rose and tribe ((Written in poster form and mom saved this all these years. Probably written 30 years ago before we had a computer! In cleaning out the house from Dad’s passing we have found things they treasured. May 12th, 2009)) May 9th is Mother’s Day honor motherhood that day.
