After experimenting for a while, I finally came up with a New York-style ricotta cheesecake that works perfectly in a 6-inch cheesecake pan that fits in an Instant Pot. This recipe is great for a cheesecake that requires fewer ingredients, and a few people can enjoy it over a couple of days. It always tastes better on the second day. We have served it with cherries, raspberries, and strawberries on top, and whipped cream if we’re feeling indulgent.

Ingredients

Crust

18 Oreos*, crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
12 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sour cream
¼ teaspoon almond & lemon extract (we have a mixture of these two extracts, but you can use either; whatever you’d prefer)
⅛ teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Directions

Coat 7-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Place crushed Oreos in the bottom, mix in melted butter until you have an even thickness of crust (about a ¼-inch) across the bottom.

Optional: Cut parchment paper and place it around the rim, resting on top of the crust. (Helps cheesecake separate easily from the sides of the springform pan.)

Mix cream cheese, sugar and ricotta together. Add all other ingredients. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix until just combined (don’t over mix).

Pour cheesecake batter into pan.

Place a metal rack/lifter at the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add 1 ½ cups water. Place the springform pan into the Instant Pot, on top of the rack.

Cook in the Instant Pot on high for 40 minutes. Allow the natural pressure release.

Let cool on a wire rack for an hour, then cover it and place it in the refrigerator to cool.

Serve with fruit topping and whipped cream.

*Note: My parents called me about this post and recipe and commented that an authentic New York-style cheesecake has a graham cracker crust. I haven’t tried this recipe with that crust because I like the Oreo crust. But I’m sure you could change the crust if you’d prefer.

The post Instant Pot New York Ricotta Cheesecake appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

I was shocked when I checked my blog to find that our most recent New Year’s letter was January 2018. I suppose you’ll just have to fill in the blanks for the past two years.

Our family’s grown up a lot since then. Dominic is now the tallest one in the family, and he’s 15!

While 2020 has been a stressful, unexpected year, we’re grateful it’s behind us, and we’re looking forward to the future.

Dominic – age 15, 10th grade

• He’s enjoying learning the lay of the land as a sophomore at Bingham High School. It’s hard to believe, but he has grown taller than both Vickey, and then Pete this year. He is doing well in his classes and has managed high school well thus far.
• He assures us that the time he puts into gaming on his Xbox could pay off in a big way in the future. Given that e-sports seem to be taking over the world, we’ll look forward to the day that we will be driving the fancy cars he promises us. 
• We call him Chef Dominic because he likes to cook and bake. He has mastered the art of grilling meat, and his latest craze is egg, bacon, and cheese croissant sandwiches. Yummy!
• He’s becoming very interested in cars and mechanics and enjoys his auto class at BHS. He has a driver’s permit now. Vickey says the two most difficult practical things to teach a child are 1) Toilet Training and 2) Driving… She’s not sure which is worse. 
• He’ll become a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood this month.

Eliana – age 19

• Ellie graduated from Bingham High School last June. Given all the craziness that the pandemic brought into our lives, we were very proud of this accomplishment. We loved the video graduation program and, most of all, the graduation parade. We got to drive Ellie and her friend, Camery, down the parade route. It was a highlight of 2020.
• She was the Senior Class Vice President and was able to participate in and help manage Bingham’s huge fundraiser called “True Blue.”
• When COVID-19 hit, she had to overcome the challenge of managing Bingham’s traditional ‘Senior Quest’ in a whole new way. Instead of it being limited to Bingham, it became a valley-wide online activity. Ellie handled all the logistics and managed a team of class and student body officers to keep track of all the teams, rules, and tallies. It a difficult task, and she did a terrific job.
• Ellie decided to take a Gap Year this year. She is working and figuring out what she would like to do next. We know that whatever she chooses to do, she will excel in.
• During this year, she has learned how to do her nails. We might be biased, but we think they end up looking better than most of the manicures she has had at professional salons.

Vickey

• She’s still standing after her work (Copper Hills High School in the Jordan School District) required her to transition to teaching online last spring, then, this fall, to a hybrid model and ready to go virtual at any given moment.
• She planned a week-long getaway for Pete’s 50th birthday in April and watched as every part of the trip was canceled thanks to COVID-19. Instead, she helped Pete clean and organize our garage on his birthday (my idea, not hers), and then waited for over two hours for food that was never delivered that evening in the parking lot of The Cheesecake Factory in Murray. Not at all what she had planned.
• Vickey’s niece, Emma, returned from an 18-month ecclesiastical mission to Upstate New York (my high school stomping grounds) in August. She stayed in regular contact with Emma throughout her mission. (Uhm, missions are very different today than they were when Vickey and I served.)
• She’s enjoying teaching the 11 year-olds in primary and keeping tabs on them during the pandemic.
• She was happy for Ellie’s high school graduation and excited for Dominic to begin high school as a 10th grader.

Pete

• He’s been the director of marketing and communications in the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development since August 2018.
• He’s had one of his most stressful years at work, supporting Utah’s economic development during a pandemic. But he received two awards this fall: the Governor’s Award of Excellence for Leadership and a Gold Davey Award for the ‘In Utah’ campaign, for which he’s responsible.
• He was cast in Hale Centre Theatre’s production of The Titanic set for this fall, but it was canceled because of the pandemic.
• He’s been focused on finishing the basement, a project we started in November 2018. We completed the final part of the project, installing bathroom fixtures, during the last week of December. We also replaced light fixtures on our home’s main and upper levels with LEDs, re-painted and re-carpeted the entire house. Our home was a major construction zone for most of 2020. In the future, we won’t choose to do a home remodel during a pandemic.

We’re not sure what to expect from 2021, but we’re moving forward with faith in the Lord’s plan for us and all of our brothers and sisters on planet Earth.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The post Happy New Year 2021 appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

A neighbor of ours, several months ago, introduced us to Danish aebleskiver pancakes. They’re yummy!

My mom’s part-Danish, so we enjoyed hearing about our neighbor’s family and the special pancakes. She was so sweet because she sent us on our way, after filling us up, with an aebleskiver pan and cookbook.

I tried my hand at making them this morning. Here’s the recipe we used, with our modifications and a few photos. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (optional)
6 tablespoons melted butter
Nutella (~½ cup or more)

Instructions

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside

Whisk eggs for about a minute, then gradually add milk and vanilla until combined.

Pour dry ingredients into the liquid mixture, a little at a time. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Finally, add melted butter and fold in.

Heat aebleskiver or frying pan on medium heat, brush with a little oil or butter.

Make sure the pan is warm enough before adding batter about ½ full. Then quickly add a small spoonful of Nutella over the batter in each hole. Add more pancake mixture over the Nutella to cover each hole.

Cook for about 1 or 2 minutes until the bottom is golden brown. On each side, you should see bubbles in the batter. Then push gently and quickly to flip the aebleskiver using a chopstick or fork. You may need a tool in each hand to get the aebleskiver turned over and situated in the hole to cook the other side. Continue cooking on the other side until golden brown.

Repeat this process until you’ve cooked all you need, or the batter’s finished.

Let cool slightly, but serve warm. Serve like pancakes. You can cover with butter, syrup, fresh fruit, dust with confectioner’s sugar, etc.

Makes about 30 aebleskiver balls.

Notes

Instead of orange zest, I reduced the milk by ~¼ cup and added that much orange juice to get 1.5 cups of milk/orange juice.

We also diced fresh strawberries and added them in the middle, along with the Nutella, and served with freshly sliced bananas.

We’ve also had these with applesauce in the middle, instead of Nutella.

The post Aebleskiver Danish Pancakes with Nutella appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

Our family loves this recipe. It reminds us of the pancakes served at Penny Ann’s Cafe, which is owned by a family I grew up with in the 80s in upstate New York.

I added a few ingredients to a sour cream pancake recipe I found online, and after some trial and error, this is now our favorite pancake recipe.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons apple sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Add ~½ cup milk (add a little more to get to the right consistency)
Additional butter for griddle

Instructions

Combine all wet ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Mix with a whisk until blended.

Add all of the dry ingredients to the bowl.

Mix with a large spoon or whisk (don’t over mix, mix just until the ingredients are incorporated).

Heat the griddle to about 350℉. Melt butter onto griddle.

Using a 1/3 cup measure, scoop out the batter and spread a bit with the edge of the cup. The pancake should be approximately 4-5 inches across.

Let the pancake cook until several bubbles appear and then pop. Turn the pancake gently, and let cook for an additional ~3 minutes on the opposite side. Don’t pat-down. Don’t flip more than once.

The pancake is done when poked gently in the middle, and the cake springs back.

Serve immediately with fresh fruit and syrup.

Alternate Ingredients

If you like banana, you may like to try this adaptation:

Use just 1 tablespoon of applesauce (instead of 2)
Add 1/2 of a mashed, ripe banana

The post Sour Cream Pancakes appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

From my home study of the New Testament this year, as part of the Come Follow Me curriculum by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I had an idea…

Why not publish my 1989 to 1991 full-time missionary journals on my blog?

Reading the stories of Paul’s journey spreading the gospel gave me the idea that I could also share my experience sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There may be some personal or private information in my missionary journals — about the family or people I met on my mission — that I may not include, but I can certainly share the majority of my journals.

I wrote in my journal every day, or pretty close to that. It was a commitment I made to myself when I began my full-time missionary service.

I may also share my letters to my mission president — because I’ve got all of them too.

So, we’ll see how long it takes for me to digitize the journals and some photos from those two years.

I’ll back-date the posts, so they’re the day they were initially written, and I’ll categorize them under Utah Ogden Mission.

This will be interesting.

The post Publishing my full-time missionary journal appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

I know this is after the fact, but I figured I ought to post about my experience in Forever Plaid this summer.

I was approached in April by my good friend, Kelly Griffiths, about being one of the four guys in a production of Forever Plaid that West Valley Arts was producing in the Harman Theatre, the old Hale Centre Theatre in West Valley City.

I was hesitant because of our basement finishing project, which I’ve been working on since November, but I ultimately said yes.

Right after Vickey and I were married in 1999, I played Jinx — the first tenor — in a dinner theater production of Forever Plaid at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. I’ve loved the show ever since.

Kelly convinced me the show wouldn’t require too much rehearsal because all four of the guys are experienced performers and three of us have been in Forever Plaid before. But, I was the only one who was in the show who had to learn a new part. I played Smudge, the bass.

That shows you what a difference 20 years make. If you know this vocal score, it’s demanding. And to perform both the first tenor and the bass part is a challenge.

I have to say, it was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed getting to know Mark Gurney and Ben Plowman. Kelly and those guys went to school and graduated high school together. I was the old man of the group, nine years their senior.

Still, we managed to perform from June 19th to the 26th (except for Sunday) with plenty of energy and commitment. It was awesome to sing the songs, perform, do the choreography, etc. I had a blast.

When my family came to see it, from what I’m told, Ellie and Dominic were mostly embarrassed. Dominic told me this would probably be my last show because it made me so tired and I was so old. Ha!

Vickey was a trooper and came to the show a couple of times, including on the night of our 20th wedding anniversary — June 26, 2019. We celebrated by going out to brunch the day before, but we’re still cooking up a trip somewhere to celebrate the milestone.

Forever Plaid has always been one of my favorite Broadway shows. It was a privilege and pleasure to perform in it once more. Thanks, Kelly, for not giving up on me.

Someday, I’ll get back to the basement project.

The post Forever Plaid, 20 years after I was first in it appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

Watching my son experience eighth grade brings back many negative memories and experiences. Why are kids, and especially boys, so mean in eighth grade?

When I was in eighth grade, kids made fun of me because my voice hadn’t changed, because of my name and because I played the trumpet.

Ironically, it was my third year on the trumpet and, thanks to private lessons, I had become one of the best trumpet players in our middle school. It was that competency that brought me self-worth. I was too immature to realize that being a son of Heavenly Father meant He loved me unconditionally and that the praise of my peers was worthless.

I remember coming home and crying about how much I hated my life in eighth grade, how I had no friends and that I didn’t want to go back to school. The kids mocked my parents, my family and my sexuality — just because my voice was higher than most.

It’s not like any of them had a clue either. I didn’t realize that at the time.

Watching Dominic brings back painful memories. People didn’t use the word bully in 1983, but there were plenty of bullies back then.

To add insult to injury, my family moved from Spring, Texas to upstate New York that Christmas. When I went to school in January, I wore my typical cowboy boots, wranglers, belt with “Pete” leather-smithed on the back and button-down plaid shirt. That was a poor choice. I was branded a Rebel (as in being on the wrong side of the Civil War) and mocked mercilessly. Damn Yankees.

One morning, on the bus — the bullies’ favorite playground, unbeknownst to me, they unlocked the latches on my Bach Stradivarius trumpet case. Once we arrived at school, I stood up to leave the bus and everything in my case went tumbling down to the floor of the bus. To this day, I have multiple dents in the bell of my instrument from that humiliating experience, perhaps literally and figuratively.

My son doesn’t seem to have friends. He’s not very interested in school. And he’s dealing with body shaming by his peers, which I didn’t experience because of my average weight. My heart goes out to him.

At least he’s got some excellent teachers this year. That’s no mistake. It’s a blessing thanks to the time Vickey spent teaching at South Jordan Middle School; she knew the right teachers for Dominic this year.

How do you bestow the wisdom of years and support a teenager dealing with all he’s dealing with in eighth grade — the worst year of adolescence?

I hope I can help Dominic understand his divine worth as a son of God and rich potential to become an amazing, caring, supportive and loving human being. I hope he can find some good friends and learn to ignore the bullies.

The post When I was in eighth grade appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

In July and August, our extended family got together to celebrate Peter and Madeline’s 50th wedding anniversary. My parents have achieved a notable milestone. Our family is blessed and fortunate to have both sets of grandparents still active and engaged in our lives.

In July we took an eight-day cruise to Alaska and Canada. In early August we gathered at my parents’ home in New Harmony and from there took outings to Lehman Caves in Nevada and Vickey’s brother’s backyard oasis in St. George where he’s built an amazing multilevel swimming pool, deck and outdoor eating area. He operates Oasis Pools in St. George, so he knows what he’s doing.

My parents paid for most of our Alaskan cruise, so we have their kindness to thank for this experience we wouldn’t have had without their generosity. Our individual families choose and paid for excursions and trip extras.

All 16 of us — grandparents, me and my three siblings and each of our spouses and kids — sailed on the Norwegian Pearl out of Seattle. Our first stop was Juneau, Alaska, followed the next day by Skagway. Then we spent a day on the boat where we experienced the grandeur of Glacier Bay. After that, Ketchikan and finally Victoria, British Columbia in Canada.

We all took the Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip in Juneau where we enjoyed some short Class II rapids. We saw dozens and dozens of bald eagles hunting for salmon. Many of us tried king crab legs, but eating fish isn’t my thing (makes me sick), so I didn’t participate in that.

In Skagway, Vickey’s amazing friend and former BYU roommate, Allyson, who works for White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, met our family as we boarded the train and then led a personally guided car tour of the Yukon. The scenery from the railway was beautiful and stories of the gold rush in the area — the reason the railroad was built — were incredible.

Our afternoon in Skagway was filled to the brim with an awesome excursion — my favorite of the trip — the Grizzly Falls Ziplining Expedition. If you’re ever in Skagway with a few hours to kill, this is a must-do. The zipline was thrilling. So was the ride in the Mercedes-Benz Unimog to get us up and down the mountain. Vickey, who’s afraid of heights, took it in stride and jumped off platform after platform, all built high above the mountainside in the treetops (it felt like we were in the Star Wars Ewok village). We zipped over manmade bridges and babbling mountain streams. The longest stretch of the dozen ziplines took about 30 seconds to traverse. I accepted the challenge of one of our guides to try a flip as I jumped from one platform. But, I didn’t rotate far enough, and my torso flipped back to the upright position quickly, giving my left tricep quite a licking from the harness rope that included a major rope burn and an arm-full of bruising (and there are photos to prove it). Still, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. It was a blast.

The next day we didn’t leave the boat, but we sailed through Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. A few national park rangers joined our cruise to narrate (and lecture) about the glaciers. Even though the glaciers are receding from photos we saw from 50-100 years ago, they were still magnificent and inspiring. As the time in the different bodies of water passed, I found myself a little uncomfortable when a glacier would calve, and people would react in awe and joy. Although the thunderous sound was remarkable, it’s probably not something we should revel in — seeing these giant ice formations shrink and possibly, eventually disappear. (See, I was listening to the lecture.)

The next morning was a stop in Ketchikan, Alaska. There were a lot of tourist shops near the dock, and it was in one of them that we found our best Alaskan cruise memento — a whale tale hand carved from marble-looking stone, uncovered from the edge of a shrinking glacier. We also went on an excursion as a group, which was our anniversary gift to Grandma and Grandpa Codella. We went on the Adventure Kart Expedition through the mountains on old logging trails. It was sunny and warm, so instead of getting into rain gear which most groups do, we were instructed to buy bandanas to cover our nose and mouth from the dust the ATVs kick-up. And sure enough, by the time our 60-minute ride was over, we were incredibly dusty. Those clothes came off as soon as we got back to the ship, where they were tossed into plastic bags inside our luggage for washing when we returned.

After Ketchikan, we spent the afternoon on the ship with beautiful, warm and sunny skies, hanging out by the pool and hot tub. One of my beefs with cruise ships is that they suck up salty ocean water for swimming pools which is so cold, and it’s always way too salty to suit my taste. But the hot tub was enjoyable.

Our final cruise day, we stopped in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and took a shuttle bus to downtown. We explored, shopped and ate some more. While we were there, we happened to see our home LDS stake president and his wife. That was a fun, unexpected encounter and so random that we got to catch up with them in Canada. (I served for four years on the stake high council and was released in May to serve in our ward elders quorum, so it was very nice visiting with President Soffe for a few minutes.)

At midnight, we left the Canadian dock and headed to Seattle. That’s where we said goodbye to the Pearl the next morning. Once we disembarked, I caught a ride to the car rental place, picked up an SUV, went to the dock to get my family and brother-in-law, Vinny, and we left to explore Seattle.

Our first stop was the Space Needle. The new glass around the top of the tower is very cool — and scary for those with height aversions. After that, we spent a few hours at Pike Place Market where we had lunch and explored. Then, we drove to Sea-Tac Airport for us to return home to Salt Lake City and for Vinny to wait for an evening flight to get him back to Vermont.

Other highlights of our cruise included specialty dinners the adults did together, various organized activities and dances, and a few of the entertainment and comedy shows (the ones we could fit into our schedule).

My sister-in-law, Melissa, even managed to win the cruise ship dancing contest with one of the ship’s performers. They thrilled the audience with a lot of awkward dancing and some rolling around on the floor. Her 18-year-old son has a video we sure hope someday makes it to YouTube.

If I went back to Alaska, I’d opt to fly into one of the towns and explore via car, bus, train, boat and plane from there. I found myself feeling a bit claustrophobic and surrounded by too much noise and commotion for eight days on the cruise ship.

And for the record, the most impressive thing about the ship’s food was the quantity, not the quality.

For a 50th wedding anniversary, the cruise was a very nice way for our family to be together, engage in a lot of different activities, and not have to do our own meal preparation or debate for too long about what type of food or which restaurant at which we want to eat. That’s a professional pastime for our family.

Like we told my folks, being married for 50 years is quite remarkable and probably something Vickey and I won’t get to experience — unless we live well into our 80s. I’ve always told Vickey I’ll be ready to go at 70, so…

Alaska is beautiful country. It’s peaceful, majestic and inspiring. I’d love to return someday.

Here’s a photo and video album on Facebook.

The post Celebrating Mom and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

I started graduate school in 2011 to work on an MBA. About halfway into the two-year program, during a conversation I had with my father-in-law, I mentioned how difficult it was to hold down a full-time job, be a good husband and father, fulfill my Church assignments and keep up with my studies.

His response was short and sweet, “If it was easy, everyone would do it” he said. That sentiment applies to many endeavors, and especially to my assigned topic today.

To get started, let’s look at an example from the life of the prophet of the restoration, Joseph Smith when he was just 14 years old. We’ll pick up his story from Joseph Smith History in the Pearl of Great Price, as he explained the religious revival occurring where they lived, in Manchester, New York.

But before we read about what led to the First Vision, I’d like to point out that it was not a coincidence, but by Divine design, that the Smith family lived at that time in that part of the world. Also, our lives and experiences are all part of a loving Heavenly Father’s plan for us. At the moment, we may not see His hand in our lives, but often, looking back, we can see it.

And in that vein, we’re so blessed to have prophets, seers, and revelators guiding the Lord’s Church today.

From the Pearl of Great Price:

In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?

While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.

…I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture” (Joseph Smith History 1:10-13).

The Prophet Joseph had a question, something that was weighing heavily on his mind. He determined the only way he could find an answer was to ask God, and he was encouraged by James’ promise that God would answer and wouldn’t scold him for the asking.

Earlier this month, President Nelson said:

Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph. Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses…. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day… you will “grow into the principle of revelation” (President Nelson).

Is this time in which we live so different from Joseph Smith’s time? We live in a modern, technologically advanced, global culture, yet all of us, from time to time, still struggle with questions of the heart or matters of eternity.

We, or those around us, may ask: Where did I come from? Why am I here? And where am I going after this life?

We may also have questions like: Does God speak to prophets today? Is the Book of Mormon true? And, what difference does it make if I pay my tithing, fulfill my calling or attend the temple?

In our home, our 16 and 12 year-olds have posed questions like: Why do I need to go to church (or seminary)? Why do I need to wear a white shirt and tie to pass the sacrament? And, why does it matter if I don’t go to mutual? I’m sure most of us can relate to these questions from one perspective or another.

For each one of us, we’re forced to either find answers to our questions or, as Joseph Smith explained, remain in darkness and confusion.

No challenge is overcome by wishing, but by acting and doing and persevering.

For example, we purchased a new home here in 2013. As much as I wish the landscaping was done, it isn’t done unless we do it or hire someone to work on it. I can plan and wish and dream all I want, but without effort, time and money, it doesn’t get done.

Life’s sincere questions require persistent pondering.

There’s a reason we’re taught to search, ponder and pray. Just like the recipe for my favorite black forest cake, the recipe for receiving personal revelation has many elements, and with quality ingredients, in the right amount, the result is delicious.

The power that comes from pondering is the power of revelation.

What do we search to find answers to difficult questions? I suspect the first thought that entered many of your minds is Google. And, in fact, I think Google is a great tool for a happy marriage. Perhaps it’s worked for you like it’s worked for me? Whenever there are disagreements, a quick Google search resolves the issue and you can move on. It’s miraculous.

Seriously though, we know where we should look to find answers to life’s difficult questions. We look to the scriptures and words of living prophets and Church leaders.

Never at any time have God’s children had access to His word like we do today. We carry in our pockets and purses more gospel knowledge and resources than the pioneers could pack in a covered wagon train.

We live in the dispensation of the fulness of times, with the fulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and in the information age with an explosion of news, media and entertainment.

One of Satan’s greatest tools in our time is information overload. All he has to do is distract us, so we wander from one thing to another and are tossed to and fro and carried about by every trending story or movie.

I suggest that there’s a good recipe or formula, we can use to search, ponder and pray and receive important personal revelation.

Let’s turn to the last section of the Doctrine and Covenants — a vision given to President Joseph F. Smith in Salt Lake City in 1918. This revelation was the result of President Smith’s sincere pondering. World War One was raging, and the influenza epidemic was spreading across the globe. Many families were mourning the loss of loved ones, including President Smith who, ill himself, suffered the loss of his eldest son due to an illness earlier that year ( Robert L. Millet, “The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead (D&C 138),” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants).

On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures;

And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world…

While I was thus engaged, my mind reverted to the writings of the apostle Peter, to the primitive saints scattered abroad… where the gospel had been preached after the crucifixion of the Lord.

I opened the Bible and read the third and fourth chapters of the first epistle of Peter, and as I read I was greatly impressed, more than I had ever been before, with the following passages…”

President Smith continues:

As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great” (D&C 138:1-11).

From this example — and from the first President Smith of the restoration as well as today’s prophet, President Nelson — here’s our recipe, or the pattern we should follow to receive revelation:

We sit in a quiet place, free from distractions.

We study the scriptures and words of prophets because they connect us to heaven. We have a desire to learn rather than just finishing a chapter.

We ponder, meditate and reflect. We think deeply about what we’re reading. We consider it and think about it again and again.

We engage our mind and heart in an active process.

We pray and listen for the influence and input of the Holy Ghost.

And finally, we write down impressions received and actions to be taken.

We’re talking about an active, not a passive activity. Most often, we have to be actively engaged and take deliberate steps to receive answers.

Remember how Joseph Smith reflected on James 1:5 again and again? It wasn’t a one-and-done experience. He pondered and reflected sincerely, over and over.

There’s a fine line between pondering and wandering. Unfortunately, some of you may be experiencing wandering at this very moment.

You’ve heard the expression, “practice makes perfect?” Every week we have a perfect opportunity to practice pondering when we partake of the sacrament. We know what the sacrament prayers will be. We can memorize them. We can read, study and ponder them.

We can follow all the steps I just outlined each Sunday as we partake of the sacrament. We have to be disciplined to avoid the opportunity for distraction. If we do, the ordinance of the sacrament will bring us closer to Heavenly Father and help us claim the enabling power of the atonement. Each week, it will activate the power of faith and repentance in our lives.

In addition to partaking of the sacrament, we engage in personal scripture study. Studying scriptures is better when we allocate a specific amount of time to the activity as opposed to quickly reading through a certain number of verses or chapters.

It’s also best done when we can sit, not lie on the bed or couch, and be free from distractions, including responding to smartphone alerts — which could easily be identified as today’s most significant distraction.

President Hinckley said: “As we learn to love the scriptures, they not only nourish us; they become delicious to the taste” (President Hinckley).

When I was 19 and a new missionary in the MTC in Provo, I experienced what it was like to hunger and thirst for the scriptures. I recorded in my journal how much I loved reading the Book of Mormon. It felt like a Thanksgiving feast for the soul.

We can think of it this way: scriptures fill our minds and hearts with quality ingredients the Holy Ghost can use to teach and instruct us. Studying scriptures opens the door to personal revelation.

Working diligently to find answers to gospel questions and receive inspiration is an essential part of our discipleship and spiritual progression. It’s an integral part of enduring to the end.

President Hunter taught:

We should not be haphazard in our reading but rather develop a systematic plan for study. There are some who read to a schedule of a number of pages or a set number of chapters each day or week. This may be perfectly justifiable and may be enjoyable if one is reading for pleasure, but it does not constitute meaningful study. It is better to have a set amount of time to give scriptural study each day than to have a set amount of chapters to read. Sometimes we find that the study of a single verse will occupy the whole time” (Howard W. Hunter, “Reading the Scriptures,” Ensign, Nov. 1979, 64).

We each need to know how the Holy Ghost speaks to us. Going back to something President Nelson taught earlier this month: “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”

Does this sound like a promise from the sacramental prayers, “…that they may always have his Spirit to be with them” (D&C 20:77)?

President Nelson also taught: “The privilege of receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God…”

The Church’s new ministering effort will most certainly require personal revelation. With the former regimented in-home visit and reporting structure of home and visiting teaching gone, each of us assigned to look after families and brothers and sisters in our wards will need to rely on inspiration as we seek to meet the temporal and spiritual needs and minister to those around us as the Savior would.

We also need personal revelation to know we’re led by a prophet of God, and to follow him.

Inspiration and revelation come with practice, patience and persistence.

We’ve probably all heard Church leaders talk about how callings are given, through revelation, inspiration and association.

In addition to the scriptures and words of Church leaders, we can talk with loved ones or others in our lives. Sometimes the Lord answers questions through the inspired words of a bishop, family or ward member, or friend.

Our associations can be sources of inspiration, divine direction and guidance in our lives. The Spirit will always confirm truth and let us know when we have the mind and will of the Lord on a specific matter.

Like Moroni taught, “by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5).

Often, Vickey will share insight or observations that hadn’t occurred to me. She’s usually more in-tune with spiritual things than I am, and very helpful when I need extra guidance or direction.

Association is one way the Holy Ghost works, which is why reading scriptures and words of Church leaders is helpful. It fills your mind with words of eternity that can be used to provide answers to difficult questions.

Revelation given to us will be appropriate for our sphere of responsibility, in our home, family, Church or employment. An excellent way to know that revelation is from the Lord is if it applies appropriately to our stewardship.

From President Nelson’s recent remarks at General Conference:

…Whatever our Church calling, we can pray to our Heavenly Father and receive guidance and direction, be warned about dangers and distractions, and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own. If we will truly receive the Holy Ghost and learn to discern and understand His promptings, we will be guided in matters large and small.

I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.”

Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.

I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek. Every blessing the Lord has for you—even miracles—will follow. That is what personal revelation will do for you.

…I exhort you…to “come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift,” beginning with the gift of the Holy Ghost, which gift can and will change your life.”

Again, our recipe for personal revelation:

We sit in a quiet place, free from distractions.

We study and ponder the scriptures and words of prophets.

We engage our mind and heart in an active process.

We pray and listen for the influence and input of the Holy Ghost.

We write down impressions received and actions to be taken.

I know the heavens are open and miracles happen. We are led by a living prophet who holds priesthood keys to administer the Lord’s Church. As we search, ponder and pray, we’ll receive guidance and direction from a loving Heavenly Father to help us return to Him. I know the Savior lives and loves us. One of His strongest desires is to help and guide us. It’s up to us to ask, seek and knock.

Resources

Elder Scott D. Whiting, The Power of Pondering, LDS Business College Devotional, Nov. 7, 2017
President Russell M. Nelson, Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives, General Conference, April 2018
Elder Todd D. Christofferson, Seminaries and Institutes of Religion Broadcasts, Jan. 26, 2018

The post Search, ponder and pray appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.

The older we get, the more it seems like the years fly by in hyper-speed.

We’ve enjoyed the holidays with family and friends, and we’ve enjoyed receiving updates from many of you.

Now it’s time to recap a few of our family highlights from 2017:

Dominic — age 12, 7th grade

• Continues to be an Xbox enthusiast (sometimes, much to his parents’ chagrin)
• Enjoys having our Ausidoodle, Jetson, around and convincing him to sleep in his room instead of Ellie’s
• Received the Aaronic Priesthood in July and serves as secretary in the deacons quorum in our LDS ward
• Likes reading Harry Potter books
• Is in his second year at American Academy of Innovation in South Jordan

Eliana — age 16, 10th grade

• Continues to be an excellent student; she’s on the school honor roll
• Had a blast in Lion King Jr. with Sandy Arts Guild last spring
• Serves as Laurel class president in our ward
• Started dating and driving in 2017 (what?!)
• Loves playing with Jetson and enjoys his companionship

Vickey

• Wrapped up her third year as young women president in our ward and organized a high adventure summer girl’s camp
• Started co-teaching biology at Copper Hills High School and manages 40 IEPs
• Completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University
• Chopped off 12-inches of hair
• Successfully managed the family schedule and activities while Pete was busy with Joseph… for five months

Pete

• Returned to the stage, performing the role of Reuben in the Hale Centre Theatre production of Joseph… last summer
• Also, returned to full-time employment as public affairs manager at LDS Business College and loves his new work environment
• Taught ‘introduction to public relations’ as an adjunct instructor at UVU during the past winter, spring and fall semesters
• Continues to serve on the stake high council, and posts his sacrament meeting talks here
• In his spare time, enjoys working on landscaping and home improvement projects
• Will be in Hale Centre Theatre’s production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in February and March

We are richly blessed. We appreciate the association of good family and friends. Our family is happy and healthy. Sure, we have our struggles, but we can’t complain. The Lord is mindful of us. Each day, we feel His love, guidance and protection.

We choose to live by faith, not fear, relying upon the merits of Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith (Moroni 6:4).

We know our royal birthright and the Savior’s atonement provides the way for us to return to live with Heavenly Father after this mortal experience.

Like the Savior told his disciples, as recorded in Matthew in the New Testament:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

The post Happy New Year 2018 appeared first on Pete Codella's Family Blog.