Memo #7 (written December 2000)

Memo #7 written December 2000 (published to the blog February 1, 2013)

From: Richard M. Pratt

To: All Pratt family adults and selected others

Re: Christmas

Christmas Greetings!

I am so impressed with my grandson Stephen Rowbury’s missionary farewell testimony that I am going to send it for December’s memo with one story of my own. (Thank you Steve)

The greatest sermon I ever heard was at the age of seven. What a powerful affect it has had in shaping my life. I can still quote it in its entirety and will do so shortly.

I had spent the night at Grandma’s old farmhouse. It was more than ten miles beyond the roads end and two miles from our ranch house. Other neighbors lived further out.

It was an early spring morning and cold outside. I hurried down from my cold attic bedroom to dress in the warm kitchen by the old black range. The rising sun was just peeking thru the window. Grandma was busy working at the table in the center of the room preparing breakfast and the bread and pies for the day. (Grandpa and several hired men would soon be in and hungrier than wolves.)

She was singing in her happy voice, “I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen” I don’t believe Grandma knew I was in the room. Suddenly she stopped singing, raised her flour-covered hands toward the ceiling and, gazing raptly toward heaven, rapturously exclaimed. “Oh how I love my Lord Jesus.”

In my little boy mind, I thought, “I don’t know who “My Lord Jesus” is but if my Grandma loves Him I will love Him too. And so for the past 80 plus years I’ve been learning about Him and the more I learn the more I love Him.

It is so fitting to have this special time of year to pay Him homage and celebrate His mortal birth. My heart fills with joy and gratitude when I consider that all I am, all that I have, and all that I ever hope for is available only through Him. May we all rejoice in His glorious love this Christmas Season!

Merry Christmas to each of you and all of my love,

Dad, Grandpa etc.

Richard M. Pratt

The following is Stephen Rowbury’s missionary farewell talk:

“Whosoever shall believe in My name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all My words, even unto the ends of the earth” is the promise given by Jesus Christ, found in Mormon 9:25.

Joseph F. Smith said, “Men do not receive the gift of. . . . a testimony of the Spirit of the Living God in their hearts, [unless] they seek for it. The principle is: Thou shalt knock and it shall be opened unto thee; thou shalt ask and receive; thou shalt seek if thou wilt find; and if you want wisdom, ask for it, as Solomon did; if you want knowledge and the testimony of the spirit in your hearts, seek for it earnestly.  Put yourself in a position whereby you will be worthy to receive it, then it will come to you as a gift of God, and His name should be praised for the same.

[A testimony] comes to us . . . because we put ourselves in harmony with the principle of communication from God to man.  We believe, we repent of and confess our sins, we do that which the Lord requires in order to gain a remission of our sins, and thus we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Our minds become attuned to the Spirit of God, and to the method which God has instituted for revealing His mind to the children of men.

We must obtain this light [of testimony] by revelation, we cannot do it by our own wisdom.  God will give us knowledge and understanding, he will lead us in the path of truth if we put our whole trust in him and not in man.”

In Alma 9:10 we learn that the condition of our hearts can affect our understanding of God’s words (read Alma 9:10) in 1st Nephi 15:11 we learn how we can develop hearts that recognize, understand, and accept the word of God.  It says: (read 1 Nephi 15:11) We have a good example of this in 1st Nephi 2:16 (read 1 Nephi 2:16)

President Hinckley gives us a positive direction in the January New Era :

“When I left for the mission field 66 years ago, my father handed me a card he had written on it four words spoken by the Lord, who, when he had received news of the death of the daughter of the centurion, said: “Fear not: believe only” (Luke 8:50)  As we step into the third millennium A.D. I can think of no greater counsel than is found in this statement.  Fear not, only believe!  Believe in God, the father of us all. We are his children and he loves us. He is interested in us. He is concerned about us. He wants us to be the very best we can be., he wants us to make something of our lives. He wants us to be upright and true and honest and straight forward and clean and decent. I believe that he desires to bless us. If we live our lives in such a way as to be worthy of his blessings, he will bless us and we will not be troubled by the evil of the world.”

The first step in becoming a follower  would be to know what we are following.

As a musician I like to think of testimony as a musical instrument, the more it is practiced, the easier it is to perform and the better it sounds. The more we practice our small faith and act upon our knowledge, we become more capable witnesses of Jesus Christ.

Joseph F. Smith gives the following, “When I as a boy first started out in the ministry, I would frequently go out and ask the Lord to show me some marvelous thing, in order that I might receive a testimony. But the Lord withheld marvels from me, and showed me the truth, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until he made me to know the truth from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and until doubt and fear had been absolutely purged from me. He did not have to send an angel from the heavens to do this, nor did he have to speak with the trump of an archangel. By the whisperings of the still small voice of the Spirit of the living God, he gave to me the testimony I possess. And by this principle and power he will give to all the children of men a knowledge of the truth that will stay with them, and it will take them to the truth, as God knows it, and to do the will of the Father as Christ does it.

A pure testimony is a tower of strength through all time.

I desire to bear my testimony to you; for I have received an assurance which has taken possession of my whole being. It has sunk deep into my heart; it fills every fiber of my soul; so that I feel to say before this people, and would be pleased to have the privilege of saying it before the whole world, that God has revealed unto me that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of the world. I have absolute confidence in [Jesus Christ]. My whole heart and soul goes out with love for him.  My hopes are built upon His glorious character and His word.  He was without sin; He was spotless, and possessed power unto life eternal; He opened the way from the grave to everlasting life for me and all the children of men.  My confidence in Him is boundless. My love for Him surpasses all else on earth, when I possess the Spirit of the Gospel as I should, and He to me is first and foremost.  He is the greatest of all that has ever sojourned in this world of ours, and He came to be our beacon light, our guide and exemplar, and it is our business to follow Him. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Dad also chose to put in Mom’s Christmas memories. They can be found in her book pages 12-14.

“My memories go way back to my life in that first two-roomed home. Our Christmas tree stood on a box on the table. (To take less space, and so little hands could not reach the decorations.)

Santa Claus brought me a Jack-in-the-box which was exciting after I got over my fear of as it jumped out at me. But of all the Christmas gifts, I loved dolls the best. I must have had a real mother instinct because if my doll got broken and I did not have one, I would make one myself...in those dark days, there were small china dolls. They were very breakable. Even the tiny ten-cent dolls had moveable arms and legs. They were called “ten cent dolls” because that is what they sold for. Now they would cost much more, but they are no longer to be found.

One of these dolls received a lot of my motherly attention. I found a chip of wood that looked like a sleigh. I had Mama tie a piece of string to it. Then, I put my doll on the sleigh and pulled my baby around the house. The doll would roll off time and again, but I would patiently put it back in place and go on playing.

Sometimes, I helped to sell Christmas cards or boxes of chocolates. In the spring of the year, I sold seeds, then in early December, we took orders for Christmas trees. Papa would go to the timber at the homestead and bring the trees to town by bobsled for delivery to the customers. In this way, we earned money for Christmas buying. I always enjoyed selling. So even in the summertime, my sisters, Arminto and I picked wild chokecherries, gooseberries, and service berries to sell. We would pick all day long, lug them home from Crooked Creek and then deliver them and perhaps make only a few dollars. But in those days of depression, we were glad to get that much. It taught us some lessons in business, pluck, patience and independence.

Another important part of Christmas preparation was the catalogs that we poured over, wishing and dreaming of things that we knew we could not have. Mama spent hours and hours carefully planning, writing the orders, adding the cost, then scratching out and reordering. How I love her and my father for all those many thoughtful hours spent for me and each of their children!

On Christmas eve, a choice large tree, a fir fresh from the forest was brought into the house ready for Santa to decorate that night. Papa, and later the older boys, went tot he timber about 15- 20 miles away and selected the finest tree they could find and brought it back high on a load of timber. Our tree’s festive fragrance filled the house and mingled with the aroma of baked goodies. The smell was exciting and filled us with great anticipation.

Along with the hanging of stockings, we prepared a special treat for Santa, which we placed, ready, on a table near the tree so that he would be sure to find it. Papa and Mama said Santa would probably enjoy a pie and a large piece of fruit cake and even a few pieces of candy. They were right because the cake and goodies were always gone when morning came.

Mama would get breakfast, but we would find it hard to stop and eat with all the exciting things to play with. I remember the little pig-sausages that we received from Burt’s Grocery Store, the raisin bread that Mom made, and the delicious juicy, small, sweet “Jap” oranges, as they were called. They came shipped in small wooden boxes that were tied with fiber ropes in time for the holidays each year. Breakfast was so good!

Grandma Enders had arrived the day before, bringing with her one of her choice large turkeys that she had raised for our Christmas dinner and a large, white flour sack full of surprises. Grandmother Enders, Christmas Eve and snow came like a benediction to the year. Santa’s best helper, Grandma, with her dark dancing eyes and jolly laughter, arrived with bells a-jingle in her horse-drawn cutter which was stacked high with Christmas goodies and the fabulous, large white sack. She spent hours chopping onions and giblets for dressing in a large wooden bowl while mother made steam pudding and raisin bread, and while we children asked questions about Santa Claus and his reindeer and became too excited to sleep when bedtime came. Then we all hung our stockings. Papa usually chose socks with a hole in the toes so that Santa would bring him new ones. And he usually did.

Preparations for Christmas began early. We sewed and made things for each other and made sweet, nutty home-made candy. We made chocolate fudge, peanut brittle, caramels, and hand-rolls. We popped corn and strung it on a string for tree decorations and made popcorn balls. And we made colored paper chains and all sorts of pretty little things to hang on the tree.

Mama let us all help make the large fruit cake. We stood around the table with the little children standing on chairs. We got to sample everything and helped to chop nuts, cut fruit peel, beat eggs, cream butter, wash raisins and currants and smell all those good spices and things, and to stir everything together. It was great fun! I presume the reason those cakes always turned out so successfully was because Mama had so much good help. Ha! Or was it that Mama could make any food taste good in spite of the help? Whatever the reason her Christmas cakes are unforgettable. This has inspired me to maintain the quality and to keep the recipe alive by passing it on to my children and grandchildren. (This was where Dad left off for the memo but page 14 is so full of fun go read Grandma’s book!!!! They hung their stockings on the end of their wrought iron bed. The family lined up from youngest to oldest before the living room door was burst open to reveal that Santa had come. Candles were the lights on those trees. Papa’s music with his harmonica. Etc. READ It for yourself!) What fun!

IN Dad’s papers I found a paper he wrote for a class at BYU Jan. 8, 1963 (I, Rose would have been 15) He got an A on it and I felt he would want it printed here and now.

The Atonement by Richard M. Pratt

General effects of the Atonement

It seems to me that this subject can be readily treated in four parts. First, the atonement was an infinite atonement; second, all men are to be resurrected and stand before God; third, those that are redeemed from the spiritual death; and last, all men, through the atonement become subject to Christ. (Note, men is MANKIND)

Amulek testified to the Zoramites that the atonement must of necessity be an infinite atonement, that all mankind must otherwise unavoidably perish because they are all fallen and lost and that no sacrifice of man or nature can possibly redeem man. Only an infinite atonement, that all mankind must other wise unavoidably perish because they are all fallen and lost and that no sacrifice of man or nature can possibly redeem man. Only an infinite atonement could accomplish man’s redemption.(Alma 34:8-13)

Jacob also taught that only an infinite atonement could reclaim man from the fall. Otherwise man would lay his body down to rot never more to rise, while his spirit would become subject to the devil, like unto him, angels to the devil shut out from the presence of God, and to remain with the devil in endless misery. (2 Nephi 9:6-9 ~ 25:16)

Because of the atonement, all men will be resurrected. (Ibid 9:22) The spirit and the body will be reunited and will become incorruptible and immortal and man will have a perfect remembrance of all his mortal life both that of his evil works and of his good. He will, then, stand before the judgement seat of God and be judged according to the holy judgement of God. (Ibid 9:12-15 ~ Alma 33:22 ~ Helaman 14:15-16 Momon 9:13) (Lehi suggests that all things that were created also fell with Adam’s transgression and became mortal.(2 Nephi 2:22) Alma indicates that all things shall be restored to their proper order.)  (Alma 41:2)

the atonement redeems a portion of mankind from both the temporal and spiritual death. (2 Nephi 9:26)

It satisfies the demands of God’s justice in relation to those who died without law. “For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law.” (Moroni 8:22 ~ Mosiah 3:11) This includes those who have sinned ignorantly. (Mosiah 15:24) “And little children also have eternal life.” (Mosiah 15:25 ~ Moroni 8: 8, 22)Through the atonement all mankind become subject to God. or as Jacob taught, Christ suffered himself to become subject to man that all men might become subject to him  (2 Nephi 9:5) and the Savior said: “as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works.”

(3 Nephi 27:14)

In summation the, the general effects of the atonement will redeem all man from the first judgement through the resurrection. They will have a bright remembrance of their mortal life and will be judged by Christ. All those who sinned ignorantly, died without law, or died as children are redeemed both spiritually and temporally and saved in the Kingdom of God. It is suggested that the atonement affects the whole earth and all that dwell upon it.