LaReita – Page 27 – David & LaReita Berky

2010 School Concert for UVS

The Utah Valley Symphony had their annual School Concert today. LaReita having injured one of her fingers with a knife was unable to play. So instead, she took James and Anthony out of school to attend the concert with her. After years of playing in the concerts she finally go to sit next to her boys during this one. Although cutting her finger so severely that she couldn’t play wasn’t the plan.

Some pictures from the concert: (not only was it for children but there were also children performing!)

School children arriving at the Provo Tabernacle building.

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James’ Court of Honor

Thoughts on Amulek in the Book of Mormon

I had some insights while reading in Alma (I have always loved that book), and keep having the thought that I need to write them down. So here are the insights.

I’ve been trying to read bigger sections so I can get a better picture. I’ve had bits and pieces of the following come to me over the years, but the past 2 days as I read Alma chapters 5-14, I have had a greater appreciation for Alma, and especially for Amulek.

King Mosiah dies and the reign of the judges commences. Alma is high judge of the land and high priest of the church. Seeing great wickedness start to creep in, so much so “that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of the people, and seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.” (see Alma 4:15). Alma decides to turn over his judgment seat to “a wise man who was among the elders of the church, and gave him power according to the voice of the people…” (Alma 4:16)

Then Alma goes out to perform his duties as “high priest over the church” (Alma 4:18). He teaches in

Zarahemla (where there’s been some struggles) – Alma ch. 5&6
Gideon (where they are doing good) – Alma ch. 7
Melek (doing good) – Alma 8:1-6
Ammonihah (doing really bad) – Alma 8:7-end, 9-14
Sidom (baptizes many, including healing & baptizing the lawyer Zeezrom from Ammonihah) – Alma 15

So now that I mention the overview so the overall picture can perhaps be seen.

After Alma leaves Melek, he goes to Ammonihah to “preach the word of God unto them. Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma. Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city.” (Alma 8:8-10)

Alma is “reviled and they spat upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city.” (Alma 8:13). He is feeling really down, because “of the wickedness of the people who were in Ammonihah” (Alma 8:14). Then in verses 15-17 he sees an angel. It’s the same angel that came to him as a youth and told him to shape up or else! After giving Alma some comforting words, he tells Alma to go back to Ammonihah. And he does – “speedily” (Alma 8:18)

I mention the above because this man was not going to all these cities because he wanted to score high membership numbers in his quarterly reporting. He was doing it because he was genuine in his desire to see people come unto Christ. This is why I love Alma so much. His heart ached for people to be good, and do good, and to become like Christ.

Then here is where Amulek enters. Alma comes into Ammonihah a back way and asks the first person he sees if he would “give to an humble servant of God something to eat?” (Alma 8:19) Later in verse 26 Alma tells Amulek that he had been fasting for many days. So Alma was clearly doing his best to have the Spirit with him.

Amulek says that an angel came to him earlier and said that a prophet would be stopping by, and that Amulek needed to bring into his home. Alma stays in Amulek’s home “many days” before they went out to preach. When they do go out to preach and Amulek stands up to serve as a second witness to the things that Alma has been preaching, Amulek says that “he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk.” (Alma 10:11) So there was plenty of time for Amulek’s family to get to know the prophet and the teachings. Now whether or not all of the kinsfolk were fully converted…..I’ll get to that at the end.

The lawyer Zeezrom tries to bribe Alma and Amulek into denying their testimonies with gold. (Alma 11:22) But they see through him, denounce him, and start to teach the gospel to him and those gathered around. Zeezrom starts to change his attitude, so much that HE then starts to tell the people,

“I am guilty and these men are spotless before God. And he began to plead for them [Alma & Amulek] from that time forth; but they [the people] reviled him saying; Art thou also possessed with the devil? And they spit upon him and cast him out from among them, and also all those who believed in the words which had been spoken by Alma and Amulek; ” (Alma 14:7)

“And they [the people] brought their [Amulek?] wives and children together, and whosoever believed…and caused that they [the believers, women and children] should be cast into the fire.” (Alma 14:8)

Now here is where I start to really appreciate Amulek.

Did Amulek’s family, his “women and children”, get thrown into the fire? Were they believers? Think about it… His family hosted Alma for many days, and Alma “blessed them”. Had they been given priesthood blessings by Alma (the prophet) and Amulek (their husband/father)? Had Amulek’s women and children believed the prophet and their husband’s/father’s testimony?

He was a resident of the city. He was a “man of no small reputation..and acquired much riches by the hand of [his] industry.” (Alma 10:4) If the wicked people wanted to get revenge, it would seem likely to go after the person telling them to shape up. Especially if that person was a local celebrity of sorts? A mob mentality of “ha! I’ll show you.”

“And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.

“And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of god which is in us, and save them from the flames.

“But Alma said unto him; The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mind hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea and cry mightily against them at the last day.” (Alma 14:8-11)

Did Amulek see his family burned?

To those that were witnessing the whole course of events, how did they view Alma and Amulek?

In Alma 14:15 they tell the prophet and his companion that they are fakes because they couldn’t do anything to save those thrown into the fire.

Alma and Amulek are put in prison, stripped of their clothes, the lawyers come and taunt them, hit and spit on them for “many days”. Finally Alma says, “O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance.” (Alma 14:26) The prison walls crumble and crush all the bad guys and Alma & Amulek walk out unharmed.

They go to Sidon to preach. This is where “Zeezrom lay sick with a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his wickedness.” (Alma 15:3) He hears they are coming to Sidon and sends for them. He is miraculously healed according to his faith (Alma 15:6-12) and becomes a great teacher.

Zeezrom is another story that I love, which will be for another time.

After Alma and Amulek finish their business in Sidon, Alma decides to go back to his home in Zarahelma. But where does Amulek go?

He takes Amulek with him. Why?

If you were Amulek, would you go back to the city that kicked you out? Plus, what would you have to go back to?

In Alma 15:16 is says Amulek “was rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred,” (Alma 15:16)

Wow. Amulek was rejected by his father and his kindred. That is tough, especially back in those days, where family connections were of the utmost importance, especially with your father. At the beginning of this saga in Alma 10:11 Amulek said “he [Alma] hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk.”

If his father and kindred were blessed by the prophet, why did they later turn and reject Amulek?

Did Amulek’s “women and children” die in the fire?

If yes, did Amulek’s father doubt and blame Amulek for not saving his very own family?

If so, where does Amulek go now?

“Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.” (Alma 15:18)

What a greater appreciation I have for Amulek. A husband, father, a man of “no small reputation” with riches, honor, gives it all up “for the word of God” (Alma 15:16).

How grateful for Amulek’s testimony and example. And how grateful I am to Alma who took him in “and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord.” That is the true spirit of the priesthood and the gospel. Strengthening each other. Especially in our tribulations.

I love the Book of Mormon. It is so plain, yet has so many hidden treasures waiting for us to discover and enrich our souls. How incredibly grateful I am for the scriptures and for the prophet Joseph Smith who translated directly from the plates written by those prophets a millenia ago. Their exact words. The plain and simple points of Christ’s gospel.

I love my Savior, even Jesus Christ. The fullness of His gospel is here, alive and well!

Homemade Laundry Soap

These recipes are from a couple sisters in my Relief Society. I love how they aren’t ‘smelly’ and they still do fine in cleaning. This is the source: http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/category_s/24.htm . I was able to find all these ingredients at my local grocery store.

First Recipe:

3 Pints Water
1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated
1/2 cup Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer, NOT baking soda though!!)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
2 Gallon bucket to mix it in
1 Quart hot water Hot Water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints hot water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket completely with additional hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. You may add additional HOT water if the mixture becomes too thick. Mix Well before each use. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load. Makes 64 loads. Cost per load .03.

Second Recipe:

Water
1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap
5 gallon bucket
1 cup washing soda (Again, Arm and Hammer, not baking soda)
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
4 1/2 gallons water

Put grated Fels Naptha in saucepan and cover with water. Heat on low until dissolved. Fill bucket with hot water and add soap. Stir to combine. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax and mix well. As it cools, it will thicken. If mixture becomes too thick, add hot water to thin it to desired consistency. May be used immediately. Mix well before each use. Use 1/2(normal) to 1 cup per load (heavy). Cost per load .04.

Powdered Laundry Detergent (I haven’t tried)

1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup 20 mule team borax

Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light or small loads, use 1 tablespoon. For normal loads, use 2 tablespoons. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons. Cost per load .15.

To make a large batch – grate 6 bars of Fels Naptha Soap and then add 3 cups of Washing Soda and 3 cups of 20 Mule Team Borax. Mix well and store in covered container.

TIP: The above recipes will NOT make suds in your washer so don’t be alarmed. Fels Naptha Soap is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water. This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as traditional washers. The website that these recipes came from say that you will also notice the need to either reduce your laundry softener or in most cases you can even eliminate the use of softener completely, but I haven’t seen this yet for my laundry. But I don’t use softener anyway because I think that putting chemicals on your clothes probably isn’t the best idea.

Ribs Ribs Ribs

Bingham Canyon Mine

LaReita, Jacob, Sam, Benjamin and Anthony

Samuel’s first day of “preschool”

Well, it really isn’t preschool, just a playgroup between 5 moms on Tues/Thursdays. We’ll take a turn hosting at each of our houses. Anthony is really excited that I’m going to be a preschool teacher (as he always talks about how this is what he wants to do).

The first “official” day of the playgroup (August 25th), I wasn’t even able to be there (I was at another funeral). But my sister Lynette dropped him off for me. He did really well! Marched right into the house with no shyness. He knew at least one of the other kids there, so it was no problem. This picture was taken the 2nd week, at another house. But same friends! This 2nd week, he even wrote some of his name! That was VERY exciting, and he was quite pleased with himself too!

We are calling this his preschool because he has just been so lonely for his brothers when they are all of at their school. Last year he would run crying after James and Anthony when they would leave in the morning for school. One time Samuel even got his backpack on and started going out the door as well. That time I indulged him and we went and sat in the back of James’ class for about 15 minutes and read stories. When I told him it was time to go, he began to get very distressed. He wanted to be with his brothers! Fortunately the teacher intervened and gave him some crayons and paper to put in his backpack for ‘homework’. But it didn’t appease him enough. I still had to carry Samuel out of the school, nearly kicking and screaming.

Oh how I hope that he will continue to want to be in school once he gets there! Though it really is his love of his brothers. He wakes up in the morning saying, “where’s guys?” or “Where are my brothers?” Today in the store he began freaking out because dad went down another aisle, and Samuel couldn’t see him. Oh, how he loves his dad and brothers!

What a case these guys are

Benjamin was thinking that maybe he would like to try learning cello too, but said that violin would be enough for right now. (Gee, that is a very grown-up decision Benjamin.) Benjamin and Samuel then began playing in the small 1/8 size cello case. Sam fit in the best!

Although I cut his head off a bit, you can see that Sam would fit pretty good!

Benjamin probably wouldn't be able to fit as a carry on.

Jacob Kerry coming home

My good camera lost its battery, so I had to take these coming home pictures with my BlackBerry. Not the best, but got the job done.

Are you ready Jacob to enter the house of chaos?

Look at all that beautiful, fuzzy hair. He's sleeping so peacfully... For now.

I have loved this part of the journey. Moving from one place to the next with my children.

Birth of Jacob Kerry Berky

(As told by David Berky, Jacob’s father.)

Because of Samuel’s emergency c-section birth (ruptured placenta previa) LaReita and I decided to err on the side of safety and have scheduled c-section for this baby also.

This was a new experience for us. Our previous 4 boys were all panicked, middle-of-the-night, race-to-the-hospital adventures. This time we had a scheduled appointment (like a teeth cleaning) at 7am Monday morning (November 3rd, 2008).

LaReita had been preparing for this during the previous week and we had everything arranged with baby-sitters, schedules, bills-paid, etc.

Then Monday morning we woke up around 4:30 (at least we got some of the early-morning adventure), got ready at a leisurely pace and then calmly drove to the hospital (keeping to at or below the speed limit this time). LaReita even drove and had me fill out deposit slips, and was giving me instructions of what needed to be done that day.

We joked casually as we sat down at the admittance desk and filled out the rest of the required paperwork. We were led into the preparation room where we changed into the necessary clothing – LaReita in the standard hospital gown, me into a set of disposable surgical articles that went over my regular clothes.

My sister Julles Berky arrived around 7am to be with us and observe the c-section procedure. She also donned the surgical clothing and soon the anesthesiologist arrived to start the epidural. That was probably the most painful part of the entire process (so far – LaReita is still on pain medication as I write this). Not having the pains of labor to “distract” her, LaReita got to experience the full range of sensations as the anesthesiologist inserted the medicine-delivering needle and tubes into her spine – a bit of a scary process to watch.

Once that had been endured and the numbing agents started flowing, LaReita soon lost feeling in her legs and lower body. At about 7:30am she was dressed, poked, prodded, measured, hooked up, and ready for the show – well at least Julles and I were ready for the show. But LaReita had a calm assurance that kept the rest of us feeling confident as well.

She was wheeled into the operating room and prepared for surgery. I sat next to her holding her hand while Julles got to stand near a wall with a “nice” view of the surgical field. I peaked over the dividing curtain set up at LaReita’s chest so she couldn’t see what they were doing to her stomach – and believe me – she didn’t want to.

Luckily all she could feel were a few tugs and pulls every once in a while. She was a trooper as usual and was more concerned that Julles or I would feel sick and pass out than what was happening to her and her body.

At about 7:55 the doctors had the baby’s head out and were suctioning the lungs and mouth. At 7:57 he was fully delivered and rushed off to be cleaned, weighted, measured, poked and prodded as his welcome ceremony to this world.

He weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces and was 20 inches long. Scored an 8 and 9 on the APGAR tests (out of 10) and had a healthy set of lungs.

Julles went back in to the operating room to reassure LaReita. I stayed with the baby and took some pictures of his first weighing, shots, etc. Then later brought him in to see his mommy. She was very glad to see him and how healthy and strong he looked. He displayed his lungs for her also.

Julles and I left LaReita to finish the procedure and have the doctors put her back together. Julles and I went with the nurse into the hospital nursery where the new baby was washed (first bath), checked some more, given some shots, foot-printed, and diapered for the first time.

After about an hour, LaReita was back in her hospital room while the baby stayed in the nursery for a few more procedures. Julles and I went to LaReita’s room to give her an update on her new son. After another 1/2 hour LaReita was taken into a new recovery room where she would stay for the next 3 days.

Once settled into the new room, the newest member of the Berky clan was brought to his mother. After shedding some tears and welcoming this new little soul to our family he promptly started rooting for something to eat. After several tries he got the “hang” of nursing and the most amazing of in-born natural reactions took place as he started the innate sucking reflex.

While his parents were still trying to determine whether he was Jacob Kerry or Kerry Jacob, he spent his time creating poopy diapers on a regular schedule of 1 1/2 hours apart and nursing well every 1 1/2 hours. [During pregnancy LaReita had received a prompting while at her Uncle Kerry’s funeral “You should name him Kerry.” And a month before delivery, Dave received a clear prompting, “Jacob is a good name.” So we had to determine which name went where.]

Finally on November 4th, his parents decided that he was to be called Jacob Kerry Berky and began informing the family of his “official” name here on Earth.

Welcome to this world Jacob Kerry Berky!