Blessings from Volcanoes in your life?

[NeedleinA]

Volcanoes, you got to love them!

Years ago in an institute class, our instructor shared with us a story about how the Lord had guided Joseph Smith's family. This is the brief version of it:

Joseph Smith and his family were living in Vermont. The Lord needed to get the Smith Family out of Vermont and to New York instead. With the help of a volcano (Mt. Tambora) in Indonesia, the Lord, was able to convince the Smiths to move where he needed them to be. Because of the affects of the volcanic debris, the Smith family's farm/crop had failed and they decided to move to Palmyra, NY instead. Why get them to Palmyra? Well there is this little known hill there that contained some gold plates that Joseph needed to be by. 

So, curious how you have experienced volcanoes in your life, which appeared at first like a "disaster" had struck (failed crops), but in reality, turn out to be a blessing instead (living near the gold plates)?

[NeedleinA]

An inactive young woman (early 20's) from our previous ward was in a pretty dangerous ATV accident (her volcano). While this was a horrible event, it led to her calling upon priesthood holders for blessings etc. While there at the hospital the doctors ran tests on her and detected early signs of a kind of cancer. Had she not been in that accident, who knows how long it would have gone undetected as she admits to not having been to the doctors in several years, and had no reason to see them otherwise. She underwent treatments and today lives a happy life. Still not active, but that is a different story.

A little experience to help remind me to look for the blessing(s) that could come from a volcano?

[Vort]

My first car was my grandparents' 1979 Ford Elite.

The car had absolutely atrocious sight lines, a back seat so tiny it was almost useless, and a drive feel like a boat in choppy water. But what a great car. I called it "the Hood". One guess as to why. My fiancée (later to be my wife) and I would go to a Provo drive-in* and lay out on the hood, backs on the windshield.

*Those under the age of about 40 might want to brush up on the Wikipedia article.

I got the car because Grandpa bought another car just before Grandma died, to take her around in. A big old Lincoln Towncar, as I recall. He bought that in 1984, and he held onto the Elite for a few years, so it was probably 1986 or 1987 that I got the Elite from Grandpa.

Grandpa did like to drive reasonably nice cars -- not fancy-pants, but big and powerful and nice -- and as a long-time reactor operator at Hanford in eastern Washington, he could afford a nice car every five years or so. But that is not why he got rid of the Elite.

You will recall the Mount Saint Helens eruption in 1980 in southwestern Washington. The prevailing winds were westerly. so the ash cloud ended up passing right over the Tri-Cities, resulting in about an inch or so (maybe less) of ash. That was on May 18, and though it doesn't rain a lot during the summer in eastern Washington, it does rain. And when it rained, that ash turned to acid, which ate the paint right off of thousands of cars -- including the Elite. Grandma got it repainted, but sadly, it was a bad paint job, and it started peeling within a year. When Grandma was being treated for cancer, Grandpa didn't want her to feel bad driving around in a car that looked like a trash heap, so he got the Towncar.

So I ended up with a very nice car with a nasty paint job as my first car. That was the car I brought my soon-to-be fiancée home for Thanksgiving when I proposed to her, when some Idaho kid who had begged me to leave early and drive him home was driving and totalled my car on the bridge between Idaho and Ontario, Oregon. He said it wasn't his fault -- it was icy, anyone could have skidded. Uh-huh. The next guy over the bridge, the one who helped us out and gave us a lift into town, was a Floridian towing a boat who had never driven in or even seen icy roads. So, whatever.

I replaced some sheet metal fenders and drove that car around for almost three more years, until we left Provo for State College and didn't want to drive the gasoline-unfriendly vehicle to Pennsylvania. I asked my cousin to sell the car. I was sure he would get several hundred for it, at least. After trying to sell it for months, he finally took it to the junkyard and got $50. Thus ended the Elite. But what an awesome car. Thanks, Mt. St. Helens!

Edited March 19, 2016 by Vort

[mirkwood]

A casually active police officer suffered the effects of PTSD for nine months after a significant work event.  Post healing (thank you priesthood) casually active started home teaching and accepting callings.  Casually active is now what we would term fully active and squared away (as much as any of us can be in mortality.)

[NeedleinA]

2 hours ago, Vort said:

1. 1979 Ford Elite.

2. totalled my car on the bridge

3. Thanks, Mt. St. Helens!

1. Soon as I saw your picture, it reminded me of my Grandparents Buick (something?). They called it the "Boat". It was used as a starter/drivers ED car for many kids and grand kids, for it's "protection" value of being massive, "The Boat".

2. So, even though your car was totaled, how were the three of you?

3. Ahhh, leave it to Vort to not only have a story about a blessing, BUT an actual volcano was involved! Perfect!!

Edited March 19, 2016 by NeedleinA

[NeedleinA]

47 minutes ago, mirkwood said:

A casually active police officer suffered the effects of PTSD for nine months after a significant work event.  Post healing (thank you priesthood) casually active started home teaching and accepting callings.  Casually active is now what we would term fully active and squared away (as much as any of us can be in mortality.)

Missionary work is hard in our area of the country. We have discussed this at length in various settings...why? The only thing we could collectively agree upon is that people in our area all basically live good, normal, wholesome lives...no real "need" to look upwards or change. The missionaries here have the best success with those that have passed through some experience to either humble/try/test them. Glad the officer is in the "fully active" area now. 

Edited March 19, 2016 by NeedleinA

[Vort]

36 minutes ago, NeedleinA said:

2. So, even though you car was totaled, how were the three of you?

Just fine. No injuries or personal damage beyond a drink in my lap.

37 minutes ago, NeedleinA said:

3. Ahhh, leave it to Vort to not only have a story about a blessing, BUT an actual volcano was involved! Perfect!!

There is a reason that Sister Vort calls me "Mister Literal".

[Blackmarch]

On 3/19/2016 at 1:38 PM, NeedleinA said:

Volcanoes, you got to love them!

Years ago in an institute class, our instructor shared with us a story about how the Lord had guided Joseph Smith's family. This is the brief version of it:

Joseph Smith and his family were living in Vermont. The Lord needed to get the Smith Family out of Vermont and to New York instead. With the help of a volcano (Mt. Tambora) in Indonesia, the Lord, was able to convince the Smiths to move where he needed them to be. Because of the affects of the volcanic debris, the Smith family's farm/crop had failed and they decided to move to Palmyra, NY instead. Why get them to Palmyra? Well there is this little known hill there that contained some gold plates that Joseph needed to be by. 

So, curious how you have experienced volcanoes in your life, which appeared at first like a "disaster" had struck (failed crops), but in reality, turn out to be a blessing instead (living near the gold plates)?

only volcanoes i lived around were dead ones. but hey sure looked nifty. On a geologic scale i'm extremely grateful the earth has them.