We don't miss the water until the well goes dry and we don't really miss our loved ones until they die.

We just came back from California and found that our well is going dry little by little. We now have just enough water for the use of the house and can't water our flowers or our garden.

Suddenly our water becomes more important to us and we appreciate what we have and give thanks that we have as much as we do. At every turn we are reminded of the wonderful blessing of the water from the well.

We have two big bags of peas to shell. I brought in some big beautiful beets to steam for dinner using the greens and pickling the beets. There is a big pan of Blackberries sitting on the table ready to be processed and eaten. The tomato vines are starting to bloom, the carrots and radishes are doing well and the pole beans are starting to put on. The sweet corn is only about a foot high but will soon be giving us delicious sweet corn on the cob if we can keep it watered some way. The almond and Pecan trees are loaded with new nuts and the apples and peaches are coming along. We have been able to take five or six vases of beautiful flowers to church every Sunday that we have been here. I need to mention the apricots and the figs, the onions and the medicinal herbs and all of the beauty and bounty of our lot. All of this because of the water that gives life to us and all of the plants. We have not taken all of these blessings for granted but have given thanks continually for them but it has been brought especially to our minds at this time.

In this desert country we especially appreciate the rain. We constantly pray for rain and give thanks for the rain that we receive. Probably we are more aware of our dependency on our Heavenly Father for rain than say, in the state of Washington and Oregon where rain might even become unwelcome at times.

I sometimes feel that we don't appreciate enough the spiritual water that we constantly need to satisfy the thirst of our soul and spirit. I am sure that we would certainly miss more poignantly the spiritual food and water of the Scriptures and the counsel of our Prophets and church leaders if suddenly they were taken away as they were in the dark ages. Certainly we would miss our daily inspiration and revelation that we constantly need to guide and help us in our lives. What a terrible thing it would be if we could not pour out our hearts to our Heavenly Father in prayer at all times. I feel that we need to use the spiritual water that we constantly have more than we do and give thanks for it. Without it certainly we would wither and die spiritually in a very short time.

One of the greatest human needs is to love and be loved. True love and spiritual bonding can only be achieved when we are married and become one with our mate. Giving our all to the commitment of making our spouse happy. Our capacity to love expands when we are married for time and eternity and our eternal companion is sealed to us in Holy Matrimony in the Temple. Our posterity are born in the covenant and we have a firm base for an eternal family. Our need to love and be loved is filled and becomes secure and our love is nurtured day by day and can grow eternally. In our eternal relationship we don't need to worry about the well going dry and even if we are parted for a season our eternal love can continue on through eternity.

We recently attended the wedding of our Grandson Chad and his lovely bride Anel. She is a very organized and tough business woman and was all business with all of the preparations for the wedding and the reception. When she entered the sealing room of the Temple and was kneeling across the alter holding her beloved by the right hand the tears of gratitude and joy began to flow. At the end of the ceremony and she gazed at the ring on her finger the tears and the sobs came and continued as she hugged and clung to each of her loved ones and friends. The sister who was assisting in the Temple was busy exchanging dry Kleenex for wet ones. The spirit was strong and she felt the magnitude of being sealed for time for all eternity and felt that she had come home to find eternal love and companionship. The more they drink of the waters of love the more the waters will increase and flow. If each will give lavishly of their love and service their capacity to love will increase as they extend their love to their children and all who touch their lives. The more the waters of love are used the capacity of the well increases and will never go dry unless love is not expressed and given unselfishly. When the garden of our lives is watered with love, kindness and service it flourishes and grows into a life of love and beauty. Our capacity to find joy and happiness is in direct relationship with our capacity to love.

We express our love and gratitude to each of you for your lives of goodness and service. We feel your love for us and thank you for it. We feel especially secure in the love our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ have for each of us. We know that their well of love will never go dry. Even if we turn willfully away and find ourselves thirsty and hungry we can turn and come back and find security and love in them.