Week #41, 18 - 24 September 2017

The tree saga continues.

We got'er down! 

Grinding down the stumps.

The weather was warm by Nauvoo standards, some days in the low 90's.  I am sure at home in Yuma, they would be happy to have 90's temps.  I guess it is all relative to where you are.  Many of the people here complained how hot it was.  I would reply:  "Where I come from today would be cool!"

These are two different early morning pictures of the temple from the same view.  Our time in there this week was great.  We were patrons on three sessions and filled other line positions.  We had two sisters in the baptistry on Monday and that kept us busy for about an hour.  I was back in the baptistry on Saturday when a youth group came in.  They are locals and knew just what to do and that freed me up to fold clothing in the laundry for a period of time.

The highlight of our shifts was being guides for a family on Friday.  They have a 4-year-old daughter and were having a 7-month-old daughter sealed.  Both little girls are adopted and are as cute as can be.  They make a special little family and what a blessing they are to each other:  The parents to the children and the children to the parents.

Our surprise of the week came in the mail on Monday.  We got an invite of some type from Jeanna.  We thought if a kid was graduating, getting married, or what.  We could not believe what we saw when we opened an invitation to our 50th wedding anniversary party!  Our children want to relive memories of snow skiing trips when they were young.  It certainly will be a great time together just after we get home from our mission.

Saturday was the Women's broadcast.  The Sisters gathered at the Arrival Center for a potluck meal before viewing the broadcast.  It is always amazing at all the food that shows up to these events.  This was also a good time to get pictures as so many of the sisters are six month missionaries and they go home the end of October.

Left, back to front:  Sister Peterson and her daughter Jennie who is visiting.  Right, back to front:  Sister Cordova, Sister Morrison, Sister Cline, Sister Droste, Sister Dean, and Sister Steel.

The menu included salads, soups, breads, and plenty of desserts.  The brothers came afterward to eat and then clean up.

Left, back to front:  Sister Callister, Sister Emang, Sister Burkhart.  Right, back to front:  Sister Hurst, Sister Fetzer, and Sister Cline.

Left, back to front:  Sister Sorenson, Sister Earl, Sister LeDuc, Sister Elkins, and Sister Hall.  Center, Sister Adams.  Right, back to front:  Sister Borrowman, Sister Bartschi, Sister Mabey, Sister Beer, Sister Despain, and Sister Taylor who has been here one week.

Left, back to front:  Sister Dean, Sister Cline, Sister Cole, Sister Tait, Sister Cordova, Sister Irion, Sister Emang, and Sister Udall.  Center, Sister Humphreys.  Right, back to front:  Sister Steel, Sister Morrison, Sister Fetzer, Sister Hurst, and Sister Callister.

Sister Peterson and her daughter and Sister Cole.

Sister Udall, Sister Irion our Matron, Sister Cordova, and Sister Kelly in the front.

 These two came in later and I had to get their poses:  Above is Sister Hansen and below is Sister Smith, Assistant Matron. 

Bob spoke in Sacrament Meeting about D&C 76.  We learned some of the history about the revelation and how it impacted the saints.  The gospel was new to all of them.  He did a great job and kept some awake.

Temple Fact:  This fact is about the current Nauvoo Temple.  On Wednesday, we had a missionary meeting where President Durell Nelson, a counselor in the temple presidency, spoke on from the announcement to rebuild the Nauvoo Temple to the dedication.  He and his family have lived in Nauvoo for over 40 years, was the Nauvoo Stake President at the time of the temple, and was heavily involved with all that went on.

History:  In 1939, there was a celebration of members in Nauvoo marking the 100th year since the saints first arrived.  President Hinckley's father came for that and proposed then, that at some future date the temple would be rebuilt.  Plans were announced in the late 60's to build a working temple on Inspiration Hill, to the north of Nauvoo.  The area would also include an airport, hotels, restaurants, etc.  A facade of the original temple would be built on the original site and would include the tower where visitors could tour and look out over the area.

Time moves forward and then on 4 April 1999, during General Conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley announces the rebuilding of the Nauvoo Temple.  President Nelson's family was sitting in the stake center when the announcement was made and he says the congregation actually "cheered."

Plans were in motion to get a building permit and work with the local community in the rebuilding.  Parking was an issue in the beginning with a plan to have patrons park at the Cultural Hall in the flats and walk to the temple.  It didn't take long for the committee to figure out that was not a workable solution with handicap concerns being paramount.

Ground breaking was held 24 October 1999, with 5,000 in attendance.  It made an impact on the little town, not to mention when the cornerstone was laid in November 2000.  President Nelson laid the northwest cornerstone as Stake President.  The hymn, "How Firm A Foundation," was sung reminiscent of when the first temple was built and the workers in the quarry would sing it as they labored to cut and move the stones to the temple site.  Those working in the fields close by would hear them singing and join in as they passed by.

In planning the open house in the beginning, the committee, made up of members as well as locals,  thought there would not be many coming to attend.  President Nelson assured them there would be more than they thought as he had already started receiving letters from saints in Europe saying they were coming to Nauvoo and asking:  "How do we get there?"  There was a member couple in Chicago of German descent.  They would pick up Saints coming from Germany at the Chicago airport, house them in their home, and then bring them to Nauvoo for the open house, and then back.  In the end, there were 700 volunteers who manned the two daily shifts, accommodating over 300,000 visitors to the open house.

With all the challenges, logistics, concerns, doubts, and effort, the Nauvoo Temple was rebuilt.  Through faith and the Lord taking up the slack, another Holy Temple was erected and dedicated to Him for the perfecting of the saints.

Week #40, 11 - 17 September 2017

Our week has been a good one with shifts in the temple each day.  Patronage is still slow but just being in the Lord's holy house is special.  We continue to complete our own family file cards.

We have had very nice weather.  The sun has shone, the wind has blown, and the clouds seem to nudge across the sky.  We usually see beautiful clouds and sunshine when we go into the temple at 7 a.m.  I think of what the saints must have felt watching the temple being built when they lived here.  They were so anxious and desirous to have temple ordinances.

Monday was family home evening with author Lee Nelson.  He is a teamster missionary here at present and wrote The Storm Testament series.  They are an historical novel about the saints when they lived in Missouri, moved to Illinois, and then on to the west.  I really enjoyed them and was excited when I saw he would be doing family home evening.  He shared many more insights into the early saints living here and traveling west.

P-day was quiet.  Bob headed to Normal, IL, to have the tires rotated on the car.  He then went to Peoria and got the oil changed.  I opted to stay home and spent the day cutting quilt squares and doing family history.  It was great getting the family I am working on more together.

We didn't take many pictures this week, which amounted to only ones of three ash trees being cut down just past our apartment.  We can see the spot right out our kitchen window. Bob enjoyed watching the progress of the two day event.  They are cutting the trees down because they have a disease.  

The end result and view from our window.

A local temple worker texted me on Saturday that they were at the Mule Festival in Kahota, MO.  Now, I never knew about mule festivals, but we have decided they have festivals for just about anything here in the midwest.  They are fun.

Now here's a real cowboy tryin' to get that ornery cyoose to jump the rail.  Supposedly he will.

He's a pretty good looking' mule.

We enjoyed our Sunday trip to church with the McBride's.  With them being from Arizona and knowing some of our family, we seem to always find plenty to talk about.  Meetings went well.  Sad news was 10 year old Hattie Jackson passed away.  They were in the branch at the first of the year and I remember her coming to Primary.  They moved to Iowa City.  Last Sunday when her parents went to wake her up for church, she was dead.  How hard that must be for the family.  The Lord's timing certainly is not our timing, but his marvelous plan and love does soften the heart ache.  We stayed for the potluck and enjoyed good food and visiting with branch members.

Temple Face:  The administration of the endowment to the general adult membership began after the dedication of a fully furnished space in the attic council chamber of the Nauvoo Temple.   The work began on December 10, 1845 with 1,000 being endowed by the end of December.    The saints were broken up into companies and one by one they entered the temple for the ceremony.   Designated church authorities and their wives, together with others, guided the members through the ritual, using a variety of teaching techniques - lectures, representations, and symbols.  Brigham Young and other members of the Twelve directed the work.  All who entered the temple were expected to be physically, morally, and spiritually clean.  Candidates for the ordinances were expected to bathe before entering the temple and to arrive in a spirit of fasting and prayer.  The endowment administered in Nauvoo pertained only to the living recipient.  It was not until 1877, in the St George Temple, members were permitted to participate as proxies in endowing deceased ancestors.

From Home:

We celebrated from a distance, the wedding of Saranie and Ty.  Kendal was sweet enough to send us a photo at the reception.

Nick saying hello to Uncle Spencer.

Week #39, 4 - 10 September 2017

Not too much more than our shifts in the temple filled our week.  There was the regular house cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, and I got in more family history research.  I am making headway on the Farar line and excited with the research.  We are thinking we need to make a trip to Tennessee during temple shutdown in November.

P-day came and we took a road trip through the villages of Van Buren County Iowa, where the saints had gone on their trek west.  It was a beautiful day with clear skies, pleasant temperatures, and a very fresh breeze a blowing.  As usual, we passed cemeteries every so often and had to take a picture to send Halie.  We have enjoyed exploring cemeteries with her.

Our first stop was the village of Bonaparte.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places as the smaller Main Street community in the nation.  We stopped at a pottery shed but it was closed.

The antique shop, which was also closed, had a fun side to the building.  I think the summer season is over.

Bonaparte sits on the Des Moines River.   The saints stopped here long enough to have their grist processed at the local mills.

The sign sits at the entrance of the bridge.

Bentonsport had a few sights to see.  This historic iron truss bridge was built in 1882 for horse and buggy use, but is now used only as a foot bridge.  It is the oldest and longest original bridge across the Des Moines River.

The Mason House was built in 1846

Notice the marks on the outside corner.

The Mormon pioneers camped at Richardson's Point from March 7 - 18, 1846, as they waited for weather conditions to improve before traveling further.

The first and second of hundreds of deaths on the Iowa Mormon Pioneer Trails occurred here.  A marker is at each end.  James M Tanner, age 15 months, and Edwin S Little, age 30.

In Keosauqua we stopped at the Van Buren County Courthouse.  It is the oldest courthouse in Iowa, and was built in 1843.  It has remained in continuous use since then.

I hopped out of the car and took a picture of this church.  I was fascinated with it's architecture.  

We journeyed on to Yoder's furniture store.  We had a great time and I loved the smell of all things wood.  When we made our purchase they gladly took a personal check as they do not have electricity.   There are huge skylights to let in the light.

On one of our trips to Burlington, we were amazed at all the clouds being blown across the sky.

We came home one night from our shift at the temple, and as Bob turned to back in, look what we saw on the lawn!  They just stayed there watching us get out of the car and go inside.

Friday we were in Burlington and had dinner at The Drake.  It is on the river by the bridge.  We enjoyed the meal and the outing.

Brother and Sister Christensen had invited us and the McBride's for dinner on Sunday after church.  We had a delightful meal and enjoyed visiting with them.  They moved to Washington, IA a year ago with a job change.  We all shared family details and various happenings.  At dusk that evening we saw flocks of geese across the street.  We have watched them grow from babies, to toddlers, on to teenagers, and now young adulthood.  They are pretty fun to have around.

Temple Fact:  In the fall of 1840, the First Presidency paid eleven hundred dollars to Daniel H. Wells for a four-acre site that would command the attention of residents and travelers from all approaches.  The October 1840 conference approved Joseph Smith's proposal to build a House of the Lord by appropriating the labor of all willing men every tenth day.  The conference appointed a three-member building committee, and within a week a team of stonemasons had opened a temple quarry at the north end of Main Street.  (When Bob & Becky came to see us, we went to the quarry.  It is overgrown and filled with water.  It is not used today.)  Digging of the basement began in earnest in mid-February and foundation stones were laid during March to be ready for the April 6 placement of the cornerstones.  (Now, it is cold here during those months.  I am amazed they could work in the cold and accomplish so much with the tools and equipment they had.)

From Home:

Wyatt just a chillin'.

Great Grandson Clark, taking it easy.

Dakotah decided to buy a bouncy ball with his birthday money from us.