If We Don't Try We Don't Do

Sometime ago, in fact a few weeks before Christmas, my son-in-law, Nathan, was telling me he was going to upgrade his computer. That sounded like something I should do to my computer since it was six years old and I had been told that it was woefully outdated. The more we talked about it, I came to the brilliant conclusion that instead of doing an upgrade it probably made more sense to just buy a new computer. The word got out to my children that this is what I wanted to do and for Christmas they gave me some money to help defray the cost. At Christmas a good friend of mine also gave me the latest and greatest new edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software. I had been using for some time the 10.1 version which worked really well but I was told the 11.0 edition was far superior.

Well, about a week after Christmas Joanne, Nathan, and I went out one evening to shop for a new laptop computer. We first of all went to Micro Center, which is just a few blocks from our home. They carry every computer ever made it seems and every other electronic gadget man has invented. As I rolled into this mecca of electronic wizardry, I became dizzy with all of the choices of computers that were available. Thankfully I had done some homework and the experts I knew told me that the Toshiba laptop worked better with Dragon Naturally Speaking than any other computer. We finally found a Toshiba laptop that seemed to have everything I wanted or needed, but Joanne – the great shopper that she is – insisted that we leave Micro Center and truck on down to Best Buy. Again I was dazzled by both the incredible array of computers available as well as other electronic inventions. What met my gaze rivaled the Liahona the Lord had given to Lehi to guide him through the wilderness. I was secretly wishing I had a Liahona to guide me in making the momentous decision as to what computer to buy.

We again found a Toshiba at a better price than at Micro Center which brought peace to Joanne's soul, who will hardly buy anything unless she thinks it is a real "deal." I asked the salesman what he thought were the two best laptops available on the market and he said the Hewlett-Packard or the Toshiba. On further interrogation he said that if he had to choose between the two he would choose the Toshiba. He said it was a little more stable and reliable than the Hewlett-Packard. Toshiba isn't giving me a kickback to promote their product, by the way.

I discovered that my new computer had a 500 gig hard drive. I was impressed! My old computer only had a 60 gig hard drive. I don't know what a gig is – the only Gigs I ever knew were the old movie star, Gig Young and a young man by the name of Gig Griffith. Please don't write and tell me what a gig is – I wouldn't understand it anyway and it would only confuse me more than I already am. To my mind 500 gigs seemed a lot better than just 60. Then I discovered I now had four gigs of RAM memory. My old computer only had one gig of RAM memory and so it seemed to me that to have three more RAMS must be pretty good. Abraham only needed one RAM to satisfy Jehovah in the incident involving his son Isaac, so having four RAMS in my computer made me feel quite secure.
I had been using Microsoft Windows XP for many years, which worked really well for me but now I had Microsoft Windows 7 operating system that came with my new computer. I had also been using Microsoft Word 2003 as my word processor but now had installed the new Microsoft Word 2010 version. So armed with more gigs and Rams than I ever thought possible, a new voice recognition upgrade along with new word processing software, and a new e-mail system, I was ready to get back to work once again with high hopes and expectations.

Nathan set everything up for me and then turned me loose. The next two days were two of the most frustrating of my life. Nothing seemed to work. I contemplated suicide! The new Microsoft Word 2010 was so different from the 2003 version that it looked like Chinese to me. The updated Naturally Speaking voice recognition software didn't use many of the old commands I had mastered in using the older version. The e-mail was very confusing and I just couldn't seem to make anything work. By the end of the second day I was thinking I had made a fatal mistake in upgrading everything and that why didn't I just stay with what I had been using and leave well enough alone? The old adage, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" seemed to make a whole lot of sense. I thought of the waste of money and that all the gigs and Rams I now possessed didn't seem to be helping me that much. Nathan would help me every night after work but still I was very frustrated.

I think it was on the third day that I finally came to grips with myself. I said "Jack, you can either look at this new computer with all of its gigs and Rams and new voice-recognition software and word processor as an insurmountable problem and stumbling block to your creativity, productivity and happiness, or you can look at it as a great opportunity to learn something new." Thankfully in that moment I chose to look at it as an intriguing challenge and an opportunity to learn and grow. I began to try to learn to do two new things every day and then I would have Nathan help me to gain some new insights into not more than one or two things each time I called on him for help. A few days later I had an incredible breakthrough and everything began to work and to exceed my greatest expectations. It was exhilarating!

My new computer and all the new programs have catapulted me forward and upward into a higher stratosphere of computing. With my new system I am light years ahead of where I was using the old comfortable computer and programs. My word processing is almost 100% accurate now. I am able to use the Internet and edit Word documents much more efficiently than ever before. I shudder to think what I would have missed out on had I not kicked myself out of my comfort zone and tried to master something difficult and challenging

President Monson loves to quote from poetry, music, and movies in his talks. In two consecutive general conferences he quoted the following line from the old Civil War movie "Shenandoah." The words are spoken by Jimmy Stewart as follows, "If we don't try we don't do and if we don't do then why are we here? To me those are words to live by. I believe there are times in all of our lives when we are tempted to give up or give in because things that confront us are just too difficult to deal with. Of course if we quit trying we quit doing and the "why are we here" question becomes very relevant in our lives.

On those occasions when I have been tempted to give up and feel that all is lost and quit trying and doing I remember my Grandmother Halley Wilkin Young. Her example gives me courage to keep trying and doing. She faced an unbelievable challenge as a young mother in her 30s that almost got the best of her. The following is taken from a journal entry she wrote on June 3, 1951.
"A week before Christmas Allen (her husband), Wallace and Herb Taylor went to Cherry Creek for wood and a cedar Christmas tree. (They were living in Abraham, Utah just outside of Delta at the time) They were caught in a big snow storm, It took them four days to make the trip. When they arrived home Allen was sick with a bad cold and pain in the side.
Doctor Broaddus, the only doctor in the community, was away on a vacation.  Christmas morning we were informed about a woman doctor visiting in Woodrow. We called her on the telephone and described his case. She said he has appendicitis, get him to Salt Lake City as soon as possible. There was a terrible snow storm and blizzard raging. The first train out of Delta was 10 o'clock that night, Grandpa Young advised me not to go to Salt Lake City with Allen because I was three months pregnant; He would ask brother Oscar Fullmer to go. Brother Fullmer was a good religious man and knew just what to do. Mr. Cooper from Delta came in his car to take [Allen ] to the train. the train was three hours late on account of the storm. The ambulance met the train in Salt lake City and took [Allen] to the LDS. hospital. There he was operated on as soon as possible. When the doctor made the incision the pus shot to the ceiling. Bro. Fullmer telephoned me about his condition I left for S.LC, on the train that night, Allen was very glad to see me. He had two drains in his side, he had peritonitis. I stayed with him all day at the hospital. At night I stayed with my cousin, Ellen Blondell. The second week, Allen’s condition improved so much I came home for my family needed me. I was home a week when I received a telegram to come at once Allen has pneumonia. When I arrived he wanted me to stay with him all the time. Annie Chaffin, Allen’s sister, came from Provo to be with me The third morning after I arrived, Allen took my hand arid said 'Halley" the Devil has won. I have had a hard fight and lost. I said don’t talk that way Allen, what can I do without you, he said I have been trying to figure that out. I can see the sad look he gave me yet. In the afternoon he tried to get out of bed, “I am going to walk now or never,” it took two nurses and an orderly to hold him in bed. He sank into unconsciousness and passed away at 12:30 A.M. Jan. 12, 1917.

After the funeral I was left with a bitter feeling that was terrible. I couldn’t cry. It seemed the world died for me the day Allen left. The two great things I had fasted and prayed for with all earnestness had been denied me. “To spare the life of my mother and my husband.” In my weakness the devil was alert and beckoning me. I stopped praying and resigned all my religious activities. 

I told the children they could continue to pray and go to church. If there was a God, he wasn’t a just God… The children continued to pray and to attend church; the older ones helped the younger ones. Ten days before my baby was born I was bitten by a deer fly. I was very sick and under care of Doctor Broaddus. He told my folks he was afraid the baby would not survive, and did not give them hopes for my recovery. I heard them talking in the kitchen. My baby boy was born 2:00 A.M. June 23rd 1917

When I heard my baby’s cry it put new life and new hope in me. I began to pray earnestly to the Lord to spare my life and the life of my baby that I might live to raise my family, four sons and four daughters, and teach them to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be true Latter Day Saints."

Grandma successfully raised her eight children, kept the farm going, became a midwife and the post mistress of the little post office in Abraham, and has bequeathed to her posterity a legacy of faith, endurance, and courage.

During some of my dark days I have thought to myself, "If Grandma Halley could keep trying and doing, faced with her seemingly insurmountable challenges, I can certainly follow her example and never give up or give in as well."

One of my heroes is Nephi. I have a small porcelain statue of Nephi that sits above my computer monitor. With the Liahona in his left hand and with a bow in his right hand and a visionary look on his countenance, it is very inspiring to me. I look at it every day and am reminded of the words that, to me, describe the essence of the man, "I will go and do…!" Not a bad example to follow.

Dad/Grandpa/Jack





















"If We Don't Try We Don't Do!"
Sometime ago, in fact a few weeks before Christmas, my son-in-law, Nathan, was telling me he was going to upgrade his computer. That sounded like something I should do to my computer since it was six years old and I had been told that it was woefully outdated. The more we talked about it I came to the brilliant conclusion that instead of doing an upgrade it probably made more sense to just buy a new computer. The word got out to my children that this is what I wanted to do and for Christmas they gave me some money to help defray the cost. At Christmas a good friend of mine also gave me the latest and greatest new edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software. I had been using for some time the 10.1 version which worked really well but I was told the 11.0 edition was far superior.
Well, about a week after Christmas Joanne, Nathan, and I went out one evening to shop for a new laptop computer. We first of all went to Micro Center which is just a few blocks from our home. They carry every computer ever made it seems and every other electronic gadget man has invented. As I rolled into this mecca of electronic wizardry I became dizzy with all of the choices of computers that were available. Thankfully I had done some homework and the experts I knew told me that the Toshiba laptop worked better with Dragon NaturallySpeaking than any other computer. We finally found a Toshiba laptop that seemed to have everything I wanted or needed, but Joanne – the great shopper that she is – insisted that we leave Micro Center and truck on down to Best Buy. Again I was dazzled by both the incredible array of computers available as well as other electronic inventions. What met my gaze rivaled the Liahona the Lord had given to Lehi to guide him through the wilderness. I was secretly wishing I had a Liahona to guide me in making the momentous decision as to what computer to buy.
We again found a Toshiba at a better price than at Micro Center which brought peace to Joanne's soul who will hardly buy anything unless she thinks it is a real "deal." I asked the salesman what he thought were the two best laptops available on the market and he said the Hewlett-Packard or the Toshiba. On further interrogation he said that if he had to choose between the two he would choose the Toshiba. He said it was a little more stable and reliable than the Hewlett-Packard. Toshiba isn't giving me a kickback to promote their product by the way.
I discovered that my new computer had a 500 gig hard drive. I was impressed! My old computer only had a 60 gig hard drive. I don't know what a gig is – the only Gigs I ever knew were the old movie star, Gig Young and a young man by the name of Gig Griffith. Please don't write and tell me what a gig is – I wouldn't understand it anyway and it would only confuse me more than I already am. To my mind 500 gigs seemed a lot better than just 60. Then I discovered I now had four gigs of RAM memory. My old computer only had one gig of RAM memory and so it seemed to me that to have three more RAMS must be pretty good. Abraham only needed one RAM to satisfy Jehovah in the incident involving his son Isaac, so having four RAMS in my computer made me feel quite secure.
I had been using Microsoft Windows XP for many years which worked really well for me but now I had Microsoft Windows 7 operating system that came with my new computer. I had also been using Microsoft Word 2003 as my word processor but now had installed the new Microsoft Word 2010 version. So armed with more gigs and Rams than I ever thought possible, a new voice recognition upgrade along with new word processing software, and a new e-mail system I was ready to get back to work once again with high hopes and expectations.
Nathan set everything up for me and then turned me loose. The next two days were two of the most frustrating of my life. Nothing seemed to work. I contemplated suicide! The new Microsoft Word 2010 was so different from the 2003 version that it looked like Chinese to me. The updated NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software didn't use many of the old commands I had mastered in using the older version. The e-mail was very confusing and I just couldn't seem to make anything work. By the end of the second day I was thinking I had made a fatal mistake in upgrading everything and that why didn't I just stay with what I had been using and leave well enough alone? The old adage, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" seemed to make a whole lot of sense. I thought of the waste of money and that all the gigs and Rams I now possessed didn't seem to be helping me that much. Nathan would help me every night after work but still I was very frustrated.
I think it was on the third day that I finally came to grips with myself. I said "Jack, you can either look at this new computer with all of its gigs and Rams and new voice-recognition software and word processor as an insurmountable problem and stumbling block to your creativity, productivity and happiness, or you can look at it as a great opportunity to learn something new." Thankfully in that moment I chose to look at it as an intriguing challenge and an opportunity to learn and grow. I began to try to learn to do two new things every day and then I would have Nathan help me to gain some new insights into not more than one or two things each time I called on him for help. A few days later I had an incredible breakthrough and everything began to work and to exceed my greatest expectations. It was exhilarating!
My new computer and all the new programs have catapulted me forward and upward into a higher stratosphere of computing. With my new system I am light years ahead of where I was using the old comfortable computer and programs. My word processing is almost 100% accurate now. I am able to use the Internet and edit Word documents much more efficiently than ever before. I shudder to think what I would have missed out on had I not kicked myself out of my comfort zone and tried to master something difficult and challenging.
President Monson loves to quote from poetry, music, and movies in his talks. In two consecutive general conferences he quoted the following line from the old Civil War movie "Shenandoah." The words are spoken by Jimmy Stewart as follows, "If we don't try we don't do and if we don't do then why are we here? To me those are words to live by. I believe there are times in all of our lives when we are tempted to give up or give in because things that confront us are just too difficult to deal with. Of course if we quit trying we quit doing and the "why are we here" question becomes very relevant in our lives.
On those occasions when I have been tempted to give up and feel that all is lost and quit trying and doing I remember my Grandmother Halley Wilkin Young. Her example gives me courage to keep trying and doing. She faced an unbelievable challenge as a young mother in her 30s that almost got the best of her. The following is taken from a journal entry she wrote on June 3, 1951.
"A week before Christmas Allen (her husband), Wallace and Herb Taylor went to Cherry Creek for wood and a cedar Christmas tree. (They were living in Abraham, Utah just outside of Delta at the time) They were caught in a big snow storm, It took them four days to make the trip. When they arrived home Allen was sick with a bad cold and pain in the side.
Doctor Broaddus, the only doctor in the community was away on a vacation, Christmas morning we were informed about a woman doctor visiting in Woodrow, We called her on the telephone and described his case, She said he has appendicitis, get him to Salt Lake City as soon as possible. There was a terrible snow storm and blizzard raging. The first train out of Delta was 10 o'clock that night, Grandpa Young advised me not to go to Salt Lake city with Allen because I was three months pregnant; He would ask brother Oscar Fullmer to go. Brother Fullmer was a good religious man and knew just what to do. Mr., Cooper from Delta came in his car to take [Allen ] to the train. the train was three hours late on account of the Storm. The ambulance met the train in Salt lake City and took [Allen] to the LDS. hospital. There he was operated on as soon as possible. When the doctor made the incision the pus shot to the ceiling. Bro. Fullmer telephoned me about his condition I left for S.LC, on the train that night, Allen was very glad to see me. He had two drains in his side, he had peritonitis. I stayed with him all day at the hospital .
At night I stayed with my cousin, Ellen Blondell. The second week Allen’s condition improved so much I came home for my family needed me. I was home a week when I received a telegram to come at once Allen has pneumonia. When I arrived he wanted me to stay with him all the time. Annie Chaffin Allen’s sister came from Provo to be with me The third morning after I arrived, Allen took my hand arid said 'Halley" the Devil has won. I have had a hard fight and lost. I said don’t talk that way Allen, what can I do with out you, he said I have been trying to figure that out. I can see the sad look he gave me yet. In the afternoon he tried to get out of bed, “I am going to walk now or never,” it took two nurses and an orderly to hold him in bed. He sank into unconsciousness and passed away at 12:30 A.M. Jan. 12, 1917.

After the funeral I was left with a bitter feeling that was terrible. I couldn’t cry. It seemed the world died for me the day Allen left. The two great things I had fasted and prayed for with all earnestness had been denied me. “To spare the life of my mother and my husband.” In my weakness the devil was alert and beckoning me. I stopped praying and resigned all my religious activities.
I told the children they could continue to pray and go to church. If there was a God, he wasn’t a just God… The children continued to pray and to attend church; the older ones helped the younger ones. Ten days before my baby was born I was bitten by a deer fly. I was very sick and under care of Doctor Broaddus. He told my folks he was afraid the baby would not survive, and did not give them hopes for my recovery. I heard them talking in the kitchen. My baby boy was born 2:00 A.M. June 23rd 1917
When I heard my baby’s cry it put new life and new hope in me. I began to pray earnestly to the Lord to spare my life and the life of my baby that I might live to raise my family, four sons and four daughters, and teach them to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be true Latter Day Saints."
Grandma successfully raised her eight children, kept the farm going, became a midwife and the post mistress of the little post office in Abraham, and has bequeathed to her posterity a legacy of faith, endurance, and courage.
During some of my dark days I have thought to myself, "If Grandma Halley could keep trying and doing, faced with her seemingly insurmountable challenges, I can certainly follow her example and never give up or give in as well."
One of my heroes is Nephi. I have a small porcelain statue of Nephi that sits above my computer monitor. With the Liahona in his left hand and with a bow in his right hand and a visionary look on his countenance is very inspiring to me. I look at it every day and am reminded of the words that to me describe the essence of the man, "I will go and do…!" Not a bad example to follow.
Dad/Grandpa/Jack





"If We Don't Try We Don't Do!"
Sometime ago, in fact a few weeks before Christmas, my son-in-law, Nathan, was telling me he was going to upgrade his computer. That sounded like something I should do to my computer since it was six years old and I had been told that it was woefully outdated. The more we talked about it I came to the brilliant conclusion that instead of doing an upgrade it probably made more sense to just buy a new computer. The word got out to my children that this is what I wanted to do and for Christmas they gave me some money to help defray the cost. At Christmas a good friend of mine also gave me the latest and greatest new edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software. I had been using for some time the 10.1 version which worked really well but I was told the 11.0 edition was far superior.
Well, about a week after Christmas Joanne, Nathan, and I went out one evening to shop for a new laptop computer. We first of all went to Micro Center which is just a few blocks from our home. They carry every computer ever made it seems and every other electronic gadget man has invented. As I rolled into this mecca of electronic wizardry I became dizzy with all of the choices of computers that were available. Thankfully I had done some homework and the experts I knew told me that the Toshiba laptop worked better with Dragon NaturallySpeaking than any other computer. We finally found a Toshiba laptop that seemed to have everything I wanted or needed, but Joanne – the great shopper that she is – insisted that we leave Micro Center and truck on down to Best Buy. Again I was dazzled by both the incredible array of computers available as well as other electronic inventions. What met my gaze rivaled the Liahona the Lord had given to Lehi to guide him through the wilderness. I was secretly wishing I had a Liahona to guide me in making the momentous decision as to what computer to buy.
We again found a Toshiba at a better price than at Micro Center which brought peace to Joanne's soul who will hardly buy anything unless she thinks it is a real "deal." I asked the salesman what he thought were the two best laptops available on the market and he said the Hewlett-Packard or the Toshiba. On further interrogation he said that if he had to choose between the two he would choose the Toshiba. He said it was a little more stable and reliable than the Hewlett-Packard. Toshiba isn't giving me a kickback to promote their product by the way.
I discovered that my new computer had a 500 gig hard drive. I was impressed! My old computer only had a 60 gig hard drive. I don't know what a gig is – the only Gigs I ever knew were the old movie star, Gig Young and a young man by the name of Gig Griffith. Please don't write and tell me what a gig is – I wouldn't understand it anyway and it would only confuse me more than I already am. To my mind 500 gigs seemed a lot better than just 60. Then I discovered I now had four gigs of RAM memory. My old computer only had one gig of RAM memory and so it seemed to me that to have three more RAMS must be pretty good. Abraham only needed one RAM to satisfy Jehovah in the incident involving his son Isaac, so having four RAMS in my computer made me feel quite secure.
I had been using Microsoft Windows XP for many years which worked really well for me but now I had Microsoft Windows 7 operating system that came with my new computer. I had also been using Microsoft Word 2003 as my word processor but now had installed the new Microsoft Word 2010 version. So armed with more gigs and Rams than I ever thought possible, a new voice recognition upgrade along with new word processing software, and a new e-mail system I was ready to get back to work once again with high hopes and expectations.
Nathan set everything up for me and then turned me loose. The next two days were two of the most frustrating of my life. Nothing seemed to work. I contemplated suicide! The new Microsoft Word 2010 was so different from the 2003 version that it looked like Chinese to me. The updated NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software didn't use many of the old commands I had mastered in using the older version. The e-mail was very confusing and I just couldn't seem to make anything work. By the end of the second day I was thinking I had made a fatal mistake in upgrading everything and that why didn't I just stay with what I had been using and leave well enough alone? The old adage, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" seemed to make a whole lot of sense. I thought of the waste of money and that all the gigs and Rams I now possessed didn't seem to be helping me that much. Nathan would help me every night after work but still I was very frustrated.
I think it was on the third day that I finally came to grips with myself. I said "Jack, you can either look at this new computer with all of its gigs and Rams and new voice-recognition software and word processor as an insurmountable problem and stumbling block to your creativity, productivity and happiness, or you can look at it as a great opportunity to learn something new." Thankfully in that moment I chose to look at it as an intriguing challenge and an opportunity to learn and grow. I began to try to learn to do two new things every day and then I would have Nathan help me to gain some new insights into not more than one or two things each time I called on him for help. A few days later I had an incredible breakthrough and everything began to work and to exceed my greatest expectations. It was exhilarating!
My new computer and all the new programs have catapulted me forward and upward into a higher stratosphere of computing. With my new system I am light years ahead of where I was using the old comfortable computer and programs. My word processing is almost 100% accurate now. I am able to use the Internet and edit Word documents much more efficiently than ever before. I shudder to think what I would have missed out on had I not kicked myself out of my comfort zone and tried to master something difficult and challenging.
President Monson loves to quote from poetry, music, and movies in his talks. In two consecutive general conferences he quoted the following line from the old Civil War movie "Shenandoah." The words are spoken by Jimmy Stewart as follows, "If we don't try we don't do and if we don't do then why are we here? To me those are words to live by. I believe there are times in all of our lives when we are tempted to give up or give in because things that confront us are just too difficult to deal with. Of course if we quit trying we quit doing and the "why are we here" question becomes very relevant in our lives.
On those occasions when I have been tempted to give up and feel that all is lost and quit trying and doing I remember my Grandmother Halley Wilkin Young. Her example gives me courage to keep trying and doing. She faced an unbelievable challenge as a young mother in her 30s that almost got the best of her. The following is taken from a journal entry she wrote on June 3, 1951.
"A week before Christmas Allen (her husband), Wallace and Herb Taylor went to Cherry Creek for wood and a cedar Christmas tree. (They were living in Abraham, Utah just outside of Delta at the time) They were caught in a big snow storm, It took them four days to make the trip. When they arrived home Allen was sick with a bad cold and pain in the side.
Doctor Broaddus, the only doctor in the community was away on a vacation, Christmas morning we were informed about a woman doctor visiting in Woodrow, We called her on the telephone and described his case, She said he has appendicitis, get him to Salt Lake City as soon as possible. There was a terrible snow storm and blizzard raging. The first train out of Delta was 10 o'clock that night, Grandpa Young advised me not to go to Salt Lake city with Allen because I was three months pregnant; He would ask brother Oscar Fullmer to go. Brother Fullmer was a good religious man and knew just what to do. Mr., Cooper from Delta came in his car to take [Allen ] to the train. the train was three hours late on account of the Storm. The ambulance met the train in Salt lake City and took [Allen] to the LDS. hospital. There he was operated on as soon as possible. When the doctor made the incision the pus shot to the ceiling. Bro. Fullmer telephoned me about his condition I left for S.LC, on the train that night, Allen was very glad to see me. He had two drains in his side, he had peritonitis. I stayed with him all day at the hospital .
At night I stayed with my cousin, Ellen Blondell. The second week Allen’s condition improved so much I came home for my family needed me. I was home a week when I received a telegram to come at once Allen has pneumonia. When I arrived he wanted me to stay with him all the time. Annie Chaffin Allen’s sister came from Provo to be with me The third morning after I arrived, Allen took my hand arid said 'Halley" the Devil has won. I have had a hard fight and lost. I said don’t talk that way Allen, what can I do with out you, he said I have been trying to figure that out. I can see the sad look he gave me yet. In the afternoon he tried to get out of bed, “I am going to walk now or never,” it took two nurses and an orderly to hold him in bed. He sank into unconsciousness and passed away at 12:30 A.M. Jan. 12, 1917.

After the funeral I was left with a bitter feeling that was terrible. I couldn’t cry. It seemed the world died for me the day Allen left. The two great things I had fasted and prayed for with all earnestness had been denied me. “To spare the life of my mother and my husband.” In my weakness the devil was alert and beckoning me. I stopped praying and resigned all my religious activities.
I told the children they could continue to pray and go to church. If there was a God, he wasn’t a just God… The children continued to pray and to attend church; the older ones helped the younger ones. Ten days before my baby was born I was bitten by a deer fly. I was very sick and under care of Doctor Broaddus. He told my folks he was afraid the baby would not survive, and did not give them hopes for my recovery. I heard them talking in the kitchen. My baby boy was born 2:00 A.M. June 23rd 1917
When I heard my baby’s cry it put new life and new hope in me. I began to pray earnestly to the Lord to spare my life and the life of my baby that I might live to raise my family, four sons and four daughters, and teach them to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be true Latter Day Saints."
Grandma successfully raised her eight children, kept the farm going, became a midwife and the post mistress of the little post office in Abraham, and has bequeathed to her posterity a legacy of faith, endurance, and courage.
During some of my dark days I have thought to myself, "If Grandma Halley could keep trying and doing, faced with her seemingly insurmountable challenges, I can certainly follow her example and never give up or give in as well."
One of my heroes is Nephi. I have a small porcelain statue of Nephi that sits above my computer monitor. With the Liahona in his left hand and with a bow in his right hand and a visionary look on his countenance is very inspiring to me. I look at it every day and am reminded of the words that to me describe the essence of the man, "I will go and do…!" Not a bad example to follow.
Dad/Grandpa/Jack





















"If We Don't Try We Don't Do!"
Sometime ago, in fact a few weeks before Christmas, my son-in-law, Nathan, was telling me he was going to upgrade his computer. That sounded like something I should do to my computer since it was six years old and I had been told that it was woefully outdated. The more we talked about it I came to the brilliant conclusion that instead of doing an upgrade it probably made more sense to just buy a new computer. The word got out to my children that this is what I wanted to do and for Christmas they gave me some money to help defray the cost. At Christmas a good friend of mine also gave me the latest and greatest new edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software. I had been using for some time the 10.1 version which worked really well but I was told the 11.0 edition was far superior.
Well, about a week after Christmas Joanne, Nathan, and I went out one evening to shop for a new laptop computer. We first of all went to Micro Center which is just a few blocks from our home. They carry every computer ever made it seems and every other electronic gadget man has invented. As I rolled into this mecca of electronic wizardry I became dizzy with all of the choices of computers that were available. Thankfully I had done some homework and the experts I knew told me that the Toshiba laptop worked better with Dragon NaturallySpeaking than any other computer. We finally found a Toshiba laptop that seemed to have everything I wanted or needed, but Joanne – the great shopper that she is – insisted that we leave Micro Center and truck on down to Best Buy. Again I was dazzled by both the incredible array of computers available as well as other electronic inventions. What met my gaze rivaled the Liahona the Lord had given to Lehi to guide him through the wilderness. I was secretly wishing I had a Liahona to guide me in making the momentous decision as to what computer to buy.
We again found a Toshiba at a better price than at Micro Center which brought peace to Joanne's soul who will hardly buy anything unless she thinks it is a real "deal." I asked the salesman what he thought were the two best laptops available on the market and he said the Hewlett-Packard or the Toshiba. On further interrogation he said that if he had to choose between the two he would choose the Toshiba. He said it was a little more stable and reliable than the Hewlett-Packard. Toshiba isn't giving me a kickback to promote their product by the way.
I discovered that my new computer had a 500 gig hard drive. I was impressed! My old computer only had a 60 gig hard drive. I don't know what a gig is – the only Gigs I ever knew were the old movie star, Gig Young and a young man by the name of Gig Griffith. Please don't write and tell me what a gig is – I wouldn't understand it anyway and it would only confuse me more than I already am. To my mind 500 gigs seemed a lot better than just 60. Then I discovered I now had four gigs of RAM memory. My old computer only had one gig of RAM memory and so it seemed to me that to have three more RAMS must be pretty good. Abraham only needed one RAM to satisfy Jehovah in the incident involving his son Isaac, so having four RAMS in my computer made me feel quite secure.
I had been using Microsoft Windows XP for many years which worked really well for me but now I had Microsoft Windows 7 operating system that came with my new computer. I had also been using Microsoft Word 2003 as my word processor but now had installed the new Microsoft Word 2010 version. So armed with more gigs and Rams than I ever thought possible, a new voice recognition upgrade along with new word processing software, and a new e-mail system I was ready to get back to work once again with high hopes and expectations.
Nathan set everything up for me and then turned me loose. The next two days were two of the most frustrating of my life. Nothing seemed to work. I contemplated suicide! The new Microsoft Word 2010 was so different from the 2003 version that it looked like Chinese to me. The updated NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software didn't use many of the old commands I had mastered in using the older version. The e-mail was very confusing and I just couldn't seem to make anything work. By the end of the second day I was thinking I had made a fatal mistake in upgrading everything and that why didn't I just stay with what I had been using and leave well enough alone? The old adage, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" seemed to make a whole lot of sense. I thought of the waste of money and that all the gigs and Rams I now possessed didn't seem to be helping me that much. Nathan would help me every night after work but still I was very frustrated.
I think it was on the third day that I finally came to grips with myself. I said "Jack, you can either look at this new computer with all of its gigs and Rams and new voice-recognition software and word processor as an insurmountable problem and stumbling block to your creativity, productivity and happiness, or you can look at it as a great opportunity to learn something new." Thankfully in that moment I chose to look at it as an intriguing challenge and an opportunity to learn and grow. I began to try to learn to do two new things every day and then I would have Nathan help me to gain some new insights into not more than one or two things each time I called on him for help. A few days later I had an incredible breakthrough and everything began to work and to exceed my greatest expectations. It was exhilarating!
My new computer and all the new programs have catapulted me forward and upward into a higher stratosphere of computing. With my new system I am light years ahead of where I was using the old comfortable computer and programs. My word processing is almost 100% accurate now. I am able to use the Internet and edit Word documents much more efficiently than ever before. I shudder to think what I would have missed out on had I not kicked myself out of my comfort zone and tried to master something difficult and challenging.
President Monson loves to quote from poetry, music, and movies in his talks. In two consecutive general conferences he quoted the following line from the old Civil War movie "Shenandoah." The words are spoken by Jimmy Stewart as follows, "If we don't try we don't do and if we don't do then why are we here? To me those are words to live by. I believe there are times in all of our lives when we are tempted to give up or give in because things that confront us are just too difficult to deal with. Of course if we quit trying we quit doing and the "why are we here" question becomes very relevant in our lives.
On those occasions when I have been tempted to give up and feel that all is lost and quit trying and doing I remember my Grandmother Halley Wilkin Young. Her example gives me courage to keep trying and doing. She faced an unbelievable challenge as a young mother in her 30s that almost got the best of her. The following is taken from a journal entry she wrote on June 3, 1951.
"A week before Christmas Allen (her husband), Wallace and Herb Taylor went to Cherry Creek for wood and a cedar Christmas tree. (They were living in Abraham, Utah just outside of Delta at the time) They were caught in a big snow storm, It took them four days to make the trip. When they arrived home Allen was sick with a bad cold and pain in the side.
Doctor Broaddus, the only doctor in the community was away on a vacation, Christmas morning we were informed about a woman doctor visiting in Woodrow, We called her on the telephone and described his case, She said he has appendicitis, get him to Salt Lake City as soon as possible. There was a terrible snow storm and blizzard raging. The first train out of Delta was 10 o'clock that night, Grandpa Young advised me not to go to Salt Lake city with Allen because I was three months pregnant; He would ask brother Oscar Fullmer to go. Brother Fullmer was a good religious man and knew just what to do. Mr., Cooper from Delta came in his car to take [Allen ] to the train. the train was three hours late on account of the Storm. The ambulance met the train in Salt lake City and took [Allen] to the LDS. hospital. There he was operated on as soon as possible. When the doctor made the incision the pus shot to the ceiling. Bro. Fullmer telephoned me about his condition I left for S.LC, on the train that night, Allen was very glad to see me. He had two drains in his side, he had peritonitis. I stayed with him all day at the hospital .
At night I stayed with my cousin, Ellen Blondell. The second week Allen’s condition improved so much I came home for my family needed me. I was home a week when I received a telegram to come at once Allen has pneumonia. When I arrived he wanted me to stay with him all the time. Annie Chaffin Allen’s sister came from Provo to be with me The third morning after I arrived, Allen took my hand arid said 'Halley" the Devil has won. I have had a hard fight and lost. I said don’t talk that way Allen, what can I do with out you, he said I have been trying to figure that out. I can see the sad look he gave me yet. In the afternoon he tried to get out of bed, “I am going to walk now or never,” it took two nurses and an orderly to hold him in bed. He sank into unconsciousness and passed away at 12:30 A.M. Jan. 12, 1917.

After the funeral I was left with a bitter feeling that was terrible. I couldn’t cry. It seemed the world died for me the day Allen left. The two great things I had fasted and prayed for with all earnestness had been denied me. “To spare the life of my mother and my husband.” In my weakness the devil was alert and beckoning me. I stopped praying and resigned all my religious activities.
I told the children they could continue to pray and go to church. If there was a God, he wasn’t a just God… The children continued to pray and to attend church; the older ones helped the younger ones. Ten days before my baby was born I was bitten by a deer fly. I was very sick and under care of Doctor Broaddus. He told my folks he was afraid the baby would not survive, and did not give them hopes for my recovery. I heard them talking in the kitchen. My baby boy was born 2:00 A.M. June 23rd 1917
When I heard my baby’s cry it put new life and new hope in me. I began to pray earnestly to the Lord to spare my life and the life of my baby that I might live to raise my family, four sons and four daughters, and teach them to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be true Latter Day Saints."
Grandma successfully raised her eight children, kept the farm going, became a midwife and the post mistress of the little post office in Abraham, and has bequeathed to her posterity a legacy of faith, endurance, and courage.
During some of my dark days I have thought to myself, "If Grandma Halley could keep trying and doing, faced with her seemingly insurmountable challenges, I can certainly follow her example and never give up or give in as well."
One of my heroes is Nephi. I have a small porcelain statue of Nephi that sits above my computer monitor. With the Liahona in his left hand and with a bow in his right hand and a visionary look on his countenance is very inspiring to me. I look at it every day and am reminded of the words that to me describe the essence of the man, "I will go and do…!" Not a bad example to follow.
Dad/Grandpa/Jack