Author: theDesertShadow
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Where Am I?
I came into this morning thinking I had one fairly simple question. The funny thing is, I couldn’t seem to get to it. Every time I started explaining why I was here, another thought appeared that seemed necessary before I could explain the first one. Before long I was talking about my Master Timeline, OneNote,…
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Finding the Trail Again
October 21, 2026 I awoke this morning with the uncomfortable feeling that I had become lost again in time and space. It was not that I didn’t know where I was. Rather, I had lost my place in my own story. I returned to my JBJeppson blog and began reading through the entries, trying to…
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“The Story That Reached Me, and Now Reaches You”
By your father and grandfather, Joel Bruce Jeppson My dear children and grandchildren, There are moments in a person’s life when the past reaches forward and touches the present with a warmth that cannot be mistaken. I want to tell you about one of those moments — a moment that shaped my understanding of who…
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Whence Comes My Name
🍀Fanny’s Irish Beginning A lass from the green Irish shore,Held stories and songs evermore.With a heart full of grace,She crossed to a new place—And opened a Parrish‑Smith door. 🍀Samuel and the Two Joels Old Samuel, a Parrish by trade,With two Joels in the family braid.A father and son,Whose names carried on—Till the riddle of lineage…
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“The Chuckle Through the Ages”
In the early hours of a quiet morning in Toquerville, Joel awoke not to silence, but to a sound — a soft, warm chuckle. It was not loud. It was not startling. It was familiar, as though carried on a breeze from a place he had known long ago. It felt Irish. It felt kind.…
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Letter to My Children: Finding My Way Through the Clutter
My dear children, This morning I feel the need to speak from a place that isn’t polished or strong, but real. My life has been shaped by a belief I learned early: if something needs to be done, then do it yourself. Don’t impose on anyone. Don’t ask for help. Just shoulder the load and…
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📜 The Transmission of Memory:
How the Nauvoo Story Reached Me The Nauvoo Temple story of the Parrish, Smith, and Ricks families did not remain in the 1840s. It lived on — carried forward by the descendants who remembered, recorded, and taught it. In my own life, that transmission came through two remarkable women: my grandmother, Rubie Parrish Jeppson, and…
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Finding Relief in Purpose
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve felt myself slipping into a familiar pattern — one I’ve known for years but never fully named. When life becomes busy, when unexpected tasks pile up, when technology misbehaves, or when Dianne is away, and the house feels just a little too quiet, I tend to drift. My…
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Morning Reflection: Building a Life in Phases
Lessons From a Lifetime of Building—Now Applied to the Soul July 4, 2026 — Toquerville, Utah This quiet Saturday morning arrives on the heels of my Friday fourth shift in the St. George Temple. The house is still, Dianne is resting, and I’m sitting in a newly reorganized space — the network center now moved…
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To My Children, and to Dianne’s Children,
Today I turned seventy‑four, and the Lord gave me a morning I will never forget. I want to share it with you because it taught me something important about life, marriage, and the covenant path. Early this morning, as I opened the windows to let the cool desert air into the house, I unintentionally woke…