Christmas

Beloved Missionaries,


We are thinking of you at this season of Christmas with much love and wishes for the Lord's blessings. Each one of you is a blessing to us and we love you dearly.

My husband is now 83 and I am 77. Each day we awake we are grateful for each other, our good health, family and dear ones like you who have been an inspiration to us and have blessed our lives.

We recently went to Maui, Hawaii to celebrate a wedding anniversary. Surfing in the ocean he hurt his leg and I almost drowned because the waves were so high. I guess we should act our age. We are thinking of another mission but close to home. We have an inactive son here, and that in itself is a mission, isn't it?


Wouldn't it be a grand gathering if we could meet in Hartford when the temple is dedicated or sooner here if possible. We miss you. Please phone us if you have the time, we would love to hear from you. I was trying to find everyone before our last mission and it was a daunting task but after Christmas we would like to talk to you each one. We will never forget our missionary family. Thanks for the memories and may you have a blessed Christmas. We pray for you and the well being of your families and for your testimonies as well. Every day we love the Savior more and His Gospel that has blessed our lives so very much. And yes, the Pres is so handsome. I think I won't love him so much in the next world because I love his grey hair, his maturity and good looks now.


Our phone number is 801 9923551. We can call you right back if it is too expensive. Our email is deensign@yahoo.com. We would love to see your families as well.


xoxo Sister Ensign

Beloved Missionaries

We think of your often with love and beautiful memories, some of them humorous but all wonderful. What a privilege it is to know you. Just a couple of things.

We have recently read a book by Toni Robinson called "Master". It is fictional based on fact. One of my goals is to know and think about the Saviour more and this book definitely helps me. I say that in the present tense because I continue to read it over again. It portrays the life of the Saviour when He was little in the eyes of a mute boy adopted by His parents. Much research results in a setting of the Holy land in those days, the politics, culture, food and what I believe is a viable portrayal of the Saviour in those early days of His life. I have bought 5. Just a suggestion.

And of course the wonderful news of the temple in Hartford. We understand from a man who works in the real estate dept. of the church it was purchased from a Catholic man who is thrilled to have such a beautiful edifice built on that location. We remember the times Pres. Hinckley came to Hartford while we were there looking for a place and being rejected by the environmentalists because of a bird nesting in the area or something. Now is the time. We hope that it will be finished for us to be able to attend with as many of you as possible and that we can have a gathering and sing the mission song and everyone hug everyone and shed tears of joy together. We do love you so. Thank you for your examples to us. Please phone us if you have time. 801 9923551.

Love always,
Pres. and Sis Ensign

Beloved Missionaries,

We think of you often and pray for you always. When I think of you tears well
into my eyes for the blessing and privilege we had to know you. Only because of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ have we these eternal friendships. You were and are
great examples to us.


Since returning from our temple mission to Sweden we have been extremely busy
visiting family across the nation and attending weddings, blessings, etc. We
are blessed to have the Gospel in their lives because they are very good
people and parents and as they live the principles they are happily married
couples. We still have a couple who are not active and we pray for them always
as well.

Every day we have each other and our good health we  thank our Heavenly Father.
We only pray that we can have the strength to serve and be independent. My
husband is still handsome and patient and stable and plays a mean game of golf!
 I understand. We have been working on our histories and photos and it is a huge
task. We recommend you keep yours up as you go.

Another think we recommend is a book called "Master" by Toni Robinson. It is
fiction but about the Saviour when He was growing up , in the eyes of a young
friend and contains  details of the life at that time, the socio-economic, the
Pharisees, Sadducee's, and then the ministry after He reaches thirty-one. It
helped me feel closer to the Saviour and that my main goal these days.

Know we love you so much and before our last mission I was working to find you
all. I felt it was a daunting task but we do love you,each one, and care about
you and your happiness, your children, and want you to know how important it is
to your future and eternal happiness to keep close to the Lord.  Your happiness
depends  a great deal on the well-being of your children and it is imperative
to  strengthen their reliance on prayers and our Father-in-Heaven. I am amazed
at the strength and goodness of our grandchildren who are active in the face
of temptations these days.

Well, that's the message we want to convey to you. We love you, each  one of you,
and pray that you will keep in touch with each other, reach out to those of you
who need help. It is funny to me that even though my mind is slowing down I
still remember my missionaries, faces and names. In the meantime, our phone
number is 801-992-3551. We would  be happy to hear from you anytime and see you
when we are home. You have blessed our lives more than we can tell you. And when
I finish my history and start my genealogy I will return to trying to find
everyone. In the meantime, may the Lord bless you.

Love always, the Pres. and Sister Ensign

My Testimony of Temple work

Dale and I just returned from a temple mission to Sweden. These are my thoughts upon our return:

Each mission in which we have served has brought us joy, eternal relationships as well as real challenges.  During difficult times we have learned to rely on the Lord and  He has lifted, guided and comforted.  The greatest peace we have ever known was during our recent temple assignment as we went from the cold and darkness of the world into the light, warmth, peace and beauty of the temple. As we followed our daily schedule, dressed in white, speaking reverently and marveling at the teachings, ordinances and their beautiful promise we felt the love that inspired them,  experienced a bit of Heaven.  Concerns of the world with its problems, suffering, wars, tyranny and injustices were swallowed up in the knowledge that the justice, love and mercy of our Father-in Heaven will prevail.

 

I appreciate these messages from the dedication prayer in Doctrine and Covenants 109:13,16, and 22: "And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel Thy power and feel constrained to acknowledge that Thou has sanctified it, and that it is Thy house, a place of holiness. And that this house may be a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of glory and of God, even Thy house. And we ask Thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that Thy name may be upon them, and Thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them."

One sacred privilege I had was to gather the names for the prayer list to be put upon the altar.  As I carried them in my hand I thought of those who had great needs and I appreciated those who loved and cared about them enough to submit their names. It was a very powerful experience for me. I often thought of the poem by President Kimball:
"Enter this door as if the floor within were paved with gold.
And eve wall of jewels of wealth untold.;
As if a choir in robes of fire were singing here
Nor shout, nor rush, but hush, for God is here."

There is a closeness that comes from working together in the temple with other couples. We were a family. We all had some concerns about our families back home and when good news would arrive we would rejoice together and if sad news, weep together. Especially the women became very close. The relationships between man and wife are also enhanced through sharing missions   Dale has never looked so handsome to me, dressed in white, as shiftleader and conducting sessions and greeting people with his warm, wonderful smile. We laughed a lot, walked in the beautiful woods nearby each morming and did sight-seeing in his beloved Sweden. We have always been on  missions where temperatures were cold and my favorite thing has been to jump into bed with our hot-water bottles and read the scriptures.  Great memories.

We met and fell in love with people not only from Scandinavia but also from Latvia, Lithuania, Ghana, Russia and other places. To me they were angels, so humble, pure and radiating the Spirit. I miss them and look forward to seeing them again someday. We became close to three women who were professional  world-tour golfers who traveled constantly yet attend  the temple wherever they are. They also sponsor a humanitarian project, .-Eyes fo  We had a group of youth come from Lithuania with their seminary teacher who was also a Relief Society president. Actually they lived closer to the Finnish temple but because the air fare and housing was less expensive in Sweden, they came each summer to the Stockholm temple.   During each year they would forgo Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, even movies and ice cream cones and ask for equivilent money to go into their temple trip fund. They were very well prepared spiritually and did as many as 100 baptisms per person each day. When I asked them what they had for breakfast, they said, "pancakes’‘, for lunch, "pancakes", for dinner, "pancakes.". They gathered berries from the woods each day to garnish their humble meal. A few of us had the privilege of taking them to dinner. What a great example of the faith and sacrifice of youth.

I am grateful for the power of prayer. At age seventy -seven, I continually lose and forget things which compels me to fall on my knees ask for help and often, within a matter of seconds, I find the thing I have been searching for. What a blessing to be able to go to our Father- in -Heaven and pour out our hearts to Him and receive answers to our prayers.

 

I am grateful for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days, for the faith, suffering and courage of Joseph and Emma Smith in bringing forth the translation of the Book of Mormon.  As I read it, I know that at age 23, Joseph Smith could not have written it, or any man of any age, for that matter, and that the accounts of the Nephites, Lamanites and Jaredites are, in fact, true.  I know that God lives and am grateful for the scriptures. They are my GPS.  If I read the directions they give and listen and follow the Spirit, I will reach my destination- Eternal life. Even if I get lost and make a wrong turn I can hear a "recalculating" get back on the path- if I study, listen and obey the promptings of the Holy Ghost. 

 

With each passing year I become more grateful for the blessings of the Gospel in my life and the lives of our children and for my knowledge of our Savior, Jesus the Christ, His example, teachings and the love He proved through His atoning Sacrifice. I am grateful for repentance and for the promise that all shall be resurrected.  I will close with this oft-quoted statement by Lucy Mack Smith, who suffered the loss of her two sons in the building of the Kingdom:  "We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction that we may all sit down in Heaven together."

This is my prayer and with I send my deepest love,

 

Elaine Woodbury Ensign

Letter from the Ensign's

Beloved Missionaries,




Last week I saw some frog stamps here in Sweden and bought them --just thinking of you and future times together. You are never far from our thoughts. The new missionaries come to the temple here in Sweden their first day and it is great to see them in their new suits and dresses ready to go out and serve. They have pretty good success for Europe, the people seem to be disenchanted with their State government Religion and although they believe in God they are not too interested in organized religion. Of course the members here are valiant and dear.



We return the end of March and as with other missions it will be hard to say goodbye. You can look forward to serving a couples mission or several of them. They are the greatest! Never to equal the best experience in the Connecticut mission with you but nevertheless they have really enriched our lives and we are much closer than ever before. Of course there are bad days but that is part of life, right?



We know some of you have challenges of sorts, health, childrens health, ect. We don't know how this economy has effected you but pray things will go well for you..We would love to hear from you if you ever have a minute to email us and we want to know when and if we need to pray for you or yours, put them on the prayer list.



We are getting more wrinkles and more aches and pains but I tell you that it is a good life with the Gospel in our lives. Remember that we love you and more importantly that the Lord is mindful of you. Hang in there and you will be alright. Remember that we have been promised that regardless of troubled times if we are keeping the commandments and serving well we will be alright. Don't you LOVE the new mission of the Church, to serve the needy?



Sister E. and the Pres.