Week #32, 17 - 23 July 2017

They call it hot here, but we call it muggy.  Oh my, it almost broke 100º!  But, the humidity was sticky.  We were happy to stay in most of the time.  We had rain in the early morning on Saturday with clouds lingering throughout the day.  By the time we got out of the temple at 7:30 p.m., most of them were gone but our glasses fogged up.  We couldn't see a thing.

We enjoyed our trip and time in Washington Branch today.  Dad taught the High Priest lesson and I was at the piano in Primary.  Sister Lingard played "Sing or Dare" with the children.  When one was picked they could choose a song card or a dare card.  One of the dare cards was choose a silly hat for your teacher to wear.  Brother Brigance was a good sport and donned the pink head band with giggles coming from the children.

It was an ancestor temple week for us.  It all started with Isabel, Pearson, and Nelson coming in Monday morning to do baptisms and confirmations.  They were then off to Arkansas and home.

We were in the Arrival Center on Tuesday where we assisted baptism groups and families coming and going.  We stayed busy the whole time and enjoyed being there.

 Back in the temple for Wednesday - Saturday, we participated in more ordinances for ancestors.  We did initiatory, endowments, and sealings.  It was neat to do the work and know "someone" is happy.  Our sifts were busy as well with more patrons in the temple with pageant going on.  It is fun to see patrons in this time for their first time and see their wonder and awe of being here.  It reminded me of when we were here for the first time several years ago.  It really is inspiring to consider this is where the early saints lived and where the prophet and apostles walked,  and taught, and served.  It is the spirit of Nauvoo.

So that was our week.  When we were not in the temple we were at home, scanning at Brother Shurts', me at Sister Swing's for a lesson, or doing laundry, cleaning, family history, and other tasks around the house.

Beautiful Temple Ground Flowers

Temple Fact: As the time neared for the Saints to leave Nauvoo, there was a hurried atmosphere in town as the members of the Quorum of the Anointed finished preparing the temple for the giving of the endowment under the direction of Brigham Young.    Joseph Smith had charged him to "take this in hand and organize and systematize all these ceremonies."    Brigham Young was actively engaged in the Temple from the last week of November through the second week of December 1845 in preparing the various rooms for administering endowments.  The Saints willingly gave of their substance as needed.  Heber C Kimball records, 29 November 1845:  "At 10 in the morning I met the brethren at the Temple in the attic story to lay down the carpets in the sealing rooms, as it was set apart for that purpose......  We had carpet in plenty to lay down in all the rooms.  The carpet was lent by different ones for the present."