Week #13, 5 - 11 March 2017

We began the week with church being branch conference.  The talks were inspiring from the stake leaders and the children had fun in Primary with their sharing time activity.

We joined our group at President & Sister Irion's for our Break the Fast meal.  Dad used his clicker so he barely got in the picture.  We had a delicious meal and great conversation.  It was a fun time together with fellow missionaries.

 Left to Right:  Elder & Sister Beck (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), President & Sister Irion (Temple President and Matron), Elder & Sister Despain (Utah somewhere), Elder & Sister Borrowman (Utah somewhere), and us.  And, you are right, Sister Despain and I have on the same outfit!  They are products of our shopping trip last week.  Who would guess we would come to the same event with the exact same outfit on.

While standing at the Irion's door waiting to be let in, I turned around and took a picture of the temple.  You can see what time we arrived.

As of Monday, we no longer will have a P-day until May.   There are not enough district workers signed up for Mondays so President has asked the missionaries who work Tuesday night to work Monday mornings.  He says our P-day is from 1 p.m. on Monday to 5 p.m. on Tuesday!  I guess that can work.  It certainly makes for a busy week.

We made it out to the Visitor's Center on Tuesday and watched the video, "Remembering Nauvoo," and then taking the carriage ride.  The ride took us through part of the area north of where we live and out to where King Follett had his property when he lived here.  We stopped at a replica of the well that sat on his property and where he died, rocks having fallen on him while he was in the bottom lining it with the rocks.  We had to get a picture since Jeremiah is named after him - Jeremiah King Mortensen.

Dan and Doc were the mighty draft horses that pulled our ride along.  They are Percheons and very powerful animals.  It was a cold and very windy day.  We were provided with as many blankets as we wanted to keep warm on the ride.

A street and two houses sit between the Catholic church and the temple.  Spires rising heavenward together.

Dad took the camera and got some pictures around the temple.  The sky was beautiful and clouds floated here and there.

 The statues of Joseph and Hyrum as they rode off to Carthage for the last time.

 The sunstone capital sits atop a pilaster, thirty in total.  Benjamin Mitchell, a stonecutter by trade, carved the first sunstone and three of the thirty capitals.    The first sunstone, weighing two tons, was raised on 23 September 1844 and the last sunstone, the heaviest, was put into place on 6 December 1844.  One of the original sunstones is on display in the Visitor's Center.  The Prophet Joseph Smith saw in vision the design for the sunstone.

The clock tower and the angel Moroni.

I went to the scanning project on Wednesday at Brother Shurts'.   I put a large file through the scanner and had time on my hands while it fed through.  I told Brother Shurts about our carriage ride and stopping at the King Follett well.   I explained my interest in that our grandson, Jeremiah, is named after him.  When I said his last name, Brother Shurts said:  "Wait.  Did you say Mortensen?"  I told him I did and he then said he had served with Joann Mortensen on a mission in the Church History Museum!  What a coincidence!  He said to tell her hello and I did that with a phone call later.

We were headed to Burlington on Friday for my light therapy when we saw the bridge was opening for a barge at Fort Madison.  We did not see a barge on either side and decided to turned around and traveled up the Illinois side of the river and crossed over at Burlington.  We made the appointment on time and were happy not to be waiting  for the bridge at Fort Madison.

Our time in the temple went well.  We were officiators or patrons on four sessions and that was great. We did not have any patrons in the baptistry Thursday night so I played the organ helped in the laundry helping fold and put away clothes.  I was there on Saturday again with plenty to fold.

Kendal surprised us with the following text:  "Just got done doing Baptism's for the Dead.  Sam's first time.  Can you tell what temple? "

What a neat experience for Sam!  We are so happy for him and to think his first time was in Hawaii!  I told Kendal we were jealous!