Tyler's Big Day

Tyler went through the Washington DC temple yesterday to receive his endowment before he leaves to serve a two year mission for our church in the Utah Ogden Mission. He was so thrilled to be surrounded by so many friends and family who were there to support him. Congratulations Ty! We are all so proud of you!

Pictures coming soon.

Kitty Hawk, Take 1

Chelsea decided to step on a HUGE horseshoe crab today. Seriously. The thing was ginormous! Tip to end, it was about 2 feet long. And the little sort-of claws on the sides are apparently quite sharp!

Tyler got his mission call!!!

Ok, so, I hope I'm not stealing his thunder, but, Tyler got his mission call this morning!

I am so excited for him! I'm sure this will be a wonderful experience for him!

He will be reporting to the MTC on September 9, 2009 to prepare to serve for two years in the Utah Ogden Mission.

Here is his mission website: http://www.mission.net/utah/ogden/

The Blessings of the Melchizedek Priesthood - My Talk

In Moses chapter 1, verse 39 the Lord revealed, “For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” The Atonement of Jesus Christ made the blessings of immortality and eternal life possible. However, we need the power of the Priesthood to fully access those blessings. During the Great Apostasy, the priesthood, which is the power to act in God’s name, was taken from the earth. In May of 1829, the Lord, through his ancient apostles, Peter, James, and John restored the second and higher Melchizedek Priesthood to the earth. In Doctrine and Covenants section 110, we learn that Moses, Elias and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith during the dedication of the Kirtland temple to restore the remaining priesthood keys, including the Abrahamic covenant, the key of the gathering of Israel, and the sealing power to bind families together both on earth and in heaven. Thus, the Melchizedek Priesthood and all its associated keys were restored and conferred upon Joseph Smith, which allowed him to organize the Church, with all the covenants and ordinances necessary for us to access the full blessings of the Atonement- immortality and eternal life.

So, what are the blessings of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and why did it have to be restored as well as the Aaronic Priesthood?

Only some of the ordinances of salvation can be administered by bearers of the Aaronic Priesthood, including baptism and the sacrament. The remaining ordinances, including conferring the Gift of the Holy Ghost, ordaining others to the priesthood as assigned, and the ordinances of the temple, both the endowment and the sealing ordinance, can only be administered by one who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, and who ahs been authorized to do so by one who holds the appropriate keys. We receive our patriarchal blessings from patriarchs bearing the Melchizedek Priesthood, We receive our temple recommends from our bishop and stake president who hold keys as judges in Israel for our ward and stake at this time. We are also set apart for our various callings by the Bishop or those he has authorized to do so, but always by the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holders may also anoint the sick with consecrated oil and give blessings of healing and comfort

Growing up, I was blessed to live in a home where my father held the priesthood. Each year before school began, I received a father’s blessing of protection, guidance, and comfort as I faced new friends and teachers, which were often intimidating. It was also a great comfort to know I could call on my dad for a blessing if I was sick or scared.

When I came to college, it was a big adjustment for me to learn to call on my home teachers when I needed help, rather than my dad. I have realized very powerfully in the last 6 years that those special blessings come from the Lord and not from the priesthood holder themselves. There have been many times when guidance from priesthood blessings has been about concerns I have harbored in my heart and not voiced to the priesthood holder who gave me the blessing. The Lord knows our hearts. As bearers of the priesthood, worthy men have the opportunity to act in the place of the Savior when administering these blessings and other sacred ordinances. The blessings of the priesthood are available to everyone, and when we ask for and receive those blessings, we enjoy a direct line of communication with the Lord – He will answer the questions in our hearts and remind us that we are His children and that He loves us and knows us.

Receiving our patriarchal blessings is another gift made possible through the Melchizedek Priesthood. We not only learn our unique heritage according to the Abrahamic Covenant, but we also learn about gifts and talents we have, and blessings that can be ours if we are faithful. Our patriarchal blessings can be a source of comfort, strength, and guidance. Whenever I call home about something that is bothering me, my mother’s constant piece of counsel is to call my home teachers for a blessing and to read my patriarchal blessing. How easily I forget these simple acts that provide me with another direct link with the Savior through the Melchizedek Priesthood.

We also receive the sacred ordinances of the temple through the Melchizedek Priesthood. While I have not received my own endowment or sealing, I am striving to live worthy to receive them. Even as an undendowed member of the Church, however, the sealing ordinance has held special significance and power in my life. A year and a half ago, my uncle was diagnosed with Leukemia. As our family faced this trial, there was an added sense of peace and trust in the will of the Lord because we knew that we would be together forever, even if the Lord’s will was not the same as ours. My uncle is now doing well, and continues to serve as a counselor in his bishopric. Especially as my brother has been preparing for a mission, we have seen that the Lord still has a work for this uncle to do in encouraging my brother to serve. As Elder Holland mentioned in the video for the Draper Temple Open House, “Truly heaven would not be heaven without those that we love.” Through the Melchizedek Priesthood, that blessing can be ours.

Scripture Reading

A little family FYI:
Tony's almost finished the grant he's been working on.
Laura didn't have to go to the inauguration and is about to start another on-line class.
Mallory is busy, busy, busy.
Tyler is Tyler, a man of few words and having a good time. He's moved again, and hopefully has an internship lined up.
Chelsea's getting her wisdom teeth out next Friday so her braces can actually do what they're supposed to.
Nikki and Casper desperately miss Tyler and Mallory.
The Pelo boys got to spend the night Sunday night. It was fun having little ones in the house again.
That's us to date in a nutshell. I wish we had some better pictures of us...I'll work on that!

Since we're soon to be a missionary family, we've started reading the Book of Mormon together. We started on December 21st. The 3 of us in Virginia are in 1st Nephi 19. Hopefully the Utahans (is that a word) are close to the same place. We're trying to read at least something. I thought I'd share with you something that I learned during my Young Women lesson on Sunday. There's a website readthescriptures.com. You can receive your daily reading through email! You set the amount of reading you'd like to accomplish. We all check our email regularly, right? What a cool way to be reminded and actually make some progress. Keep reading family, even if it's not alot.
Love to all

Family Letter 2008... Finally, an update!!!

Merry Christmas Family and Friends,

How fast the year has gone by. Wasn’t it last week that we were exchanging Christmas cards and family letters? We love all the cards and letters, our only regret is they don’t get exchanged more often. If we corresponded more regularly that would take all the fun and excitement out of it, so we’ll limit ourselves to once a year.

Chelsea is a 16 yr old High School Junior. The only one left at home, not that we’d know that she was here. Chelsea is taking a pretty ambitious course load and is involved in the Big Brother/Big Sister program and is serving as the Music Honor Society President. She continues to be very involved in the Young Women program and early morning Seminary at Church as well. Chelsea hopes to be driving soon (much to the chagrin of her father).

Tyler graduated High School early this summer. He worked as an intern at Brown’s Toyota this summer, before heading off to Weber State in Ogden Utah to study in the Toyota program there. Tyler is looking forward to another semester and another internship this summer. He’s enjoyed spreading his wings a bit. He plans to leave on his mission this summer. If we want to really know what going on in Ty’s life we check his “Face book.”

Mallory graduated BYU Provo this spring. She’s teaching 2^nd grade at Heber Valley Elementary. Mallory loves her job. She was brave enough to host her family in her small apartment for almost 2 weeks this summer while they helped her get ready to move out and help Ty move in their respective apartments. Mallory loves Utah, camping and traveling when she has the time and money.

Laura is still working at WorldStrides; an educational travel agency. She feels exceptionally fortunate not to have been selected to chaperone the 6,000 students that will be traveling to Washington DC for the Inauguration. Laura is taking some on-line courses in case the travel industry goes as far south as her 401K. She works with the Young Women at church.

Tony works, works and works some more….UVA, Wayside, and Church. The family decided that his hobby is working. He is the 1^st Counselor in the Rivanna Ward Bishopric. He is also still very involved in scouting. Life right now revolves around writing a training grant for the lab at UVA and stalking his kids on Facebook.

Casper (Maltese mix) and Nikki (silver schnoodle) eat, sleep and get in trash given half a chance.

We are so grateful for family, friends, health, and home. We’re especially grateful for our Savior and this special time of year when we focus on Him. We wish the very best for you and your families at this holiday season.

All our love,

Tony, Laura, Mallory, Tyler, and Chelsea

A Sunday Drive

So, after church yesterday, I came home, changed my clothes, and took a little drive. Driving is seriously therapeutic for me. It just really clears my mind and somehow gets me into perspective.

Here are some sights and insights from my little jaunt.

But first, a disclaimer. These pictures are taken with my camera phone, which means they're pretty lame. Just know that everything I captured on film was completely spectacular and soothing.

So, I saw a moose! She was pretty close to the road, and, I know you can't tell, but she was looking at me when I took this - she was huge! Why are moosen so cool?!

Timp was phenomenal! It had just snowed, and was clearing, but my favorite mountain was still covered with clouds.
And this one is also tiny, but, the fall colors against the powdered evergreens was gorgeous! Oh, and I discovered a new canyon park right by here.
Another one of my canyon favorites. Always spectacular.

When I stopped my car on the way up, I read a few chapters in a new book that I got by Elder Holland, Broken Things to Mend. Here's one of my favorite quotes.

" Every time we reach out, however feebly, for [Christ], we discover He has been anxiously trying to reach us."

"[He is] a personal, living God, who knows our names, hears and answers prayers, and cherishes us eternally as children of His spirit... Amidst the wondrously complex tasks inherent in teh universe, He seeks our individual happiness and safety above all other godly concerns."