Douro Valley-Pinhao & Amarante + Bingo Party

On Sunday, October 2nd we watched General Conference at 5PM (Portugal is 7 hours ahead of Utah). Prior to this we ate lunch with President Hugo and Kaline Nascimento. After lunch President Hugo drove us to a spectacular spot to view the Douro valley looking down to the city of Pinhao.  

This is the most spectacular view of the Douro Valley we have seen so far!

Lunch with President Hugo’s family.

On Tuesday, October 4th we visited the beautiful city of Amarante which is only 30 minutes from our apartment. In the background is the Church and Convent of Sao Gonçalo in which construction began in 1543!

Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Portugal and from April 18-May 2, 1809 the Portuguese held their position and Napoleon’s army was not able to cross this bridge!

These next 3 photos were taken in the Church of Sao Domingos also known as the Church of  Nosso Senhor dos Aflitos which was built in 1725. It is located in the city center and is adjacent to the Church and Convent of Sao Gonçalo.  

This Church and adjacent museum had numerous (perhaps 50+) bloody and gruesome images of Christ on the cross and laying down. We asked the caretaker if there was any artifact representing the resurrection. After thinking about this he said the only thing was a bloody image of Christ laying down prior to being taken to the tomb. Too bad because “Christianity is founded on the greatest of all miracles, the Resurrection of our Lord. If that be admitted, other miracles cease to be improbable.” (Bible Dictionary-Miracle) “To obtain a resurrection with a celestial, exalted body is the center point of hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection of Jesus is the most glorious of all messages to mankind.” (Bible Dictionary-Resurrection)

This depicts the unknown/limbo situation of children that die without being baptized. Notice the distraught look on the woman’s face. In her right hand she is holding the result of  justice. However in the child’s hands the ribbon represents mercy. The three (3) children at the bottom of the statue are in Limbo. Nossa Senhora do Carmo, is the title given to Mary, Mother of Jesus. Baptizing little children is “denying the mercies of Christ” (Moroni 8:23)

A funeral had just ended when we arrived at this Church.

This fountain next to the Sao Gonçalo church is dated 1545!

On Wednesday, October 5th we were in Braganca for a District meeting and saw Paulo.

Lunch in the Braganca mall after District meeting

On Wednesday, October 5th Kim held a Bingo Party for her English class. In the crock pot is pulled pork. Everyone had a great time.

BINGO!

While we were at the butcher buying meat for the English class Bingo party we saw Manuel & Vanessa Dias. 

                              SCRIPTURE POWER

 How do we “sufficiently retain in remembrance” the great things God has done for us! 

 

The angel that appeared to Alma the younger interestingly told him: “Now I say unto thee: Go, and remember the captivity of thy fathers in the land of Helam, and in the land of Nephi; and remember how great things he has done for them; for they were in bondage, and he has delivered them.” (Mosiah 27:16) 

 

Earlier his father Alma “did exhort the people of Limhi and his brethren, all those that had been delivered out of bondage, that they should remember that it was the Lord that did deliver them.” (Mosiah 25:16)

 

Mormon comments: “For behold, I will show unto you that they were brought into ​​​bondage​, and none could deliver them but the Lord their God,” (Mosiah 23:13)

 

The word remember or a form of remember  appears 220 times in the Book of Mormon. Almost every other page. 

 

Among the fifty (50) questions that Alma asks the members in Zarahemla are: “And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God. And behold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them... And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?” (Alma 5:4-6)

 

Alma’s soliloquy: “And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me. Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage. Yea, I have always remembered the captivity of my fathers; and that same God who delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians did deliver them out of bondage.” (Alma 29:10-12)

 

Alma to his oldest son Helaman: “I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it was the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.” (Alma 36:2)

 

“Yea, and he has also brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem; and he has also, by his everlasting power, delivered them out of bondage and captivity, from time to time even down to the present day; and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity.” (Alma 36:29)

In Moroni’s letter in which he “censured” Pahoran (Alma 61:9) he says: “Have ye forgotten the commandments of the Lord your God? Yea, have ye forgotten the captivity of our fathers? Have ye forgotten the many times we have been delivered out of the hands of our enemies?” (Alma 60:20) 

 

Alma speaking to Shiblon: “I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites. For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.” (Alma 38:3-4)

 

He continues to counsel Shiblon: “Do not pray as the Zoramites do,…Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.” (Alma 38: 13-14)

 

King Benjamin taught: “always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come” (Mosiah 4:11)

 

 

Both sacrament prayers include the charge to “always remember him” (Moroni 4:3,5:2; D & C 20:77,79)

 

Helaman chapter 5 contains the word remember or a form of the word more than any other chapter. Fifteen (15) times “remember” is mentioned (Hel. 5: 5-14). Here we are taught that to remember means more than simply calling something to mind, it implies action. The last time it is used we learn that to truly remember we must act.

 

“And they did remember his words; and therefore they went forth, keeping the commandments of God,” (Hel. 5:14)

 

Similarly, as Lehi counseled his sons: “wherefore, my sons, I would that ye would remember; yea, I would that ye would hearken unto my words.” (2 Ne. 1:12)

 

Remembering is a form of worship. A spiritual process in which we recall God’s past blessings while we look forward with faith, hope and trust in the future.

 

Elder Marlin K. Jensen said: “If we pay close attention to the uses of the word remember in the holy scriptures, we will recognize that remembering in the way God intends is a fundamental and saving principle of the gospel. This is so because prophetic admonitions to remember are frequently calls to action: to listen, to see, to do, to obey, to repent….Coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him is, I believe, the ultimate purpose of all remembering.”(“Remember and Perish Not”, Ensign, May, 2007)

 

President Henry B. Eyring said: “You will at times have your faith challenged by Satan; it happens to all disciples of Jesus Christ. Your defense against these attacks is to keep the Holy Ghost as your companion. The Spirit will speak peace to your soul. He will urge you forward in faith. And He will bring back the memory of those times when you felt the light and the love of Jesus Christ.

Remembering may be one of the most precious gifts the Spirit can give you. He will “bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever [the Lord has] said unto you” (John 14:26). The memory may be of an answered prayer, of a priesthood ordinance received, of a confirmation of your testimony, or of a moment when you saw God’s guiding hand in your life.” (“My Peace I Leave with You”, Ensign, May, 2017).

 

Elder Henry B. Eyring said: “..one of the effects of disobeying God seems to be the creation of just enough spiritual anesthetic to block any sensation as the ties to God are being cut. Not only does the testimony of truth slowly erode, but even the memories of what it was like to be In the light begin to seem…like a delusion.” (“A Life Founded in Light and Trust, August, 15, 2000, BYU)

 

 

“Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;” (Duet. 4:9)

 

As we thank God each day for the great things he has done we can “sufficiently retain in remembrance” our many blessings including the “one thing which is of more importance than they all—…the Redeemer” (Alma 7:7)