Is that awesome or what!!!
Now with that said I have to also stop and thank Beth for getting this Blog up and running for us. We could not have done this without her. Thanks so much Beth. The real test will be if I can finally use this for updates instead of docs and albums. We shall see. :)
June 1—Sunday—this was Break the Fast Sunday—along with the Anderson’s we decided that on the first Sunday of the month we would stay in Nauvoo and attend church here. The Anderson’s had the assignment of hosting this month and were assigned to go to their home along with the Tanner’s (Salt Lake City Temple), the McKechnie’s (Mt. Timpanagos Temple). The McKechnie’s know the Glavinic’s as I mentioned earlier. Brother Tanner is a sealer and actually lived in the Los Angeles area and was a dentist to many Hollywood stars, one he mentioned in a story was Raquel Welch. He was actually driving with Elder Wickman and received a phone call and asked Elder Wickman to take down the number which he did. Elder Wickman asked Elder Tanner who his patient was and he said Raquel Welch which was a surprise but both of them laughed about it. To truly understand the story you would have to know who Raquel Welch is, which we do. Sister Anderson prepared Hawaiian Haystacks and they were yummy.
We attended the Nauvoo 1st Ward that morning and
was impressed with the sizable crowd.
This ward meet s at 10 am and so many tourists come to this wards before
going to visit the sites which are open on Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. The testimonies that were given were all from
the Nauvoo 1st Ward. 2
sisters who bore their testimonies were truly inspiring. Both were older sisters but bore such pure
and sweet testimonies. One of the
sister’s testified how grateful she was for the Lord “pulling her out of the
gutter” at a very sad time of her life many years ago. Her mother happened to be with her that day
and she is not a member. The sister said
she had never born her testimony to her mother publicly and wanted her mother
to hear her testimony. She testified of
her divine nature as a daughter of God.
The other sister echoed some of the same thoughts and feeling and was
just as inspirational and felt she too had been “pulled out of the gutter” at a
very low point in her life. This sister
began each statement with “I testify that”…which truly brought the spirit as
she spoke of those things she testified of.
One of the things she testified of was regarding obedience. She said we would all be more obedient if we
understood the blessings the Lord has in store for us. The thought came to me that these two sisters
were able to bear these testimonies like they did “because of Him.”
In Sunday School the brother teaching the Old Testament
Sunday School lesson #21—God Will Honor those Who Will Honor Him—gave a good
lesson. He actually stuck close to the
manual and gave most of the quotes that were in the lesson. One of which is as follows and is something
parents have the responsibility to do:
President Joseph F. Smith taught: “There should [not] be any
of us so unwisely indulgent, so thoughtless and so shallow in our affection for
our children that we dare not check them in a wayward course, in wrong-doing
and in their foolish love for the things of the world more than for the things
of righteousness, for fear of offending them” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939],
286).
As taught in the lesson, all of us must choose each day whom
we will honor. Whatever our choice each
day it will either lead us closer to our Father in Heaven, keep us farther from
Him or keep us frozen on the path so that we move neither forward or backward. We testify that the blessings of following
God’s plan brings true peace and joy with the blessings that are received or
will be received in the Lord’s due time.
This just seemed to be a Sunday full of inspiration. In Relief Society it was no different. The teacher that day was Sister Angie
Espinoza, a counselor in the Relief Society Presidency. She chose as her topic Elder Uchtdorf’s April
2014 Conference message, Grateful in Any
Circumstance. She chose a visual to
help her teach that day of making lemonade.
She referenced the well-known quote, “When life gives you lemons, make
lemonade.” She also talked how many
times you need to be like a duck and let little irritating things and offenses
roll off your back allowing you to keep in the proper spirit to be
grateful. As she taught the counsel of
President Uchtdorf she also mentioned the following: Her sister taught her 3 things about having
an attitude of gratitude. 1) If you are
comparing yourself to another or 2) if you are complaining or 3) if you are
coveting it is very difficult to maintain an attitude of gratitude. She ended with the counsel from D & C
59:21 “21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath
kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his
commandments.” What we become is our
great gift of gratitude to God!
This inspiring Sunday also brought to mind 3 classic talks
that have come up in conversation in our experiences here in Nauvoo as we have
visited sites or gone to activities:
Elder Bednar’s Tender Mercies talk, Elder Uchtdorf’s Forget Me Not talk
and Elder Eyring’s, O Remember, Remember talk.
These three themes are seen in the lives of our Nauvoo brothers and
sisters. Many tender mercies came their
way, let us never forget them and their sacrifices and examples of committed
disciples of Christ’s and let us be grateful to them for their recorded
journals so that we can learn from them and then take that example of record
keeping into our lives by recording in our journals and histories the Lord’s
hand in our lives.
June 2, Monday--one
of other things that is being reinforced here in our mission is how the times
and seasons of our lives show that change is a constant, natural part of our
life experience. Certainly the pioneer
saints experienced their fair share of change just as we do in our lives
today. But whether it is the pioneer
saints or the saints in these latter-days one thing that never changes and is
always evident if we pause and long enough to recognize it, is that the Lord is
always there in any given situation where change has taken place, expected or
unexpected, recognized or unrecognized.
Today, as we visited Main Street in “Old Nauvoo”, we saw how
a people expelled from one state came to another and with their faith in God
built a bustling city from a swamp with a main street that would rival any
other main street on the frontier of America.
Did they let change get them down in that time and season of their
life—no. They began again and the again
no matter what.
As we visited the Print Shop where the Times and Season newspaper
and the Nauvoo Neighbor were printed we found a place where daily or weekly
changes were recorded as the times and seasons of the saints marched on.
The Nauvoo Neighbor was a weekly publication with current
events which included, local, national and world news, practical advice and
advertisements.
The Times and Seasons was the official publication of the
church which came out twice monthly which was like the Ensign of our day
publishing the words of the prophets and other revelations and significant
teachings of the day.
As change came again to John Taylor’s family they embraced
it with the faith and commitment born of an abiding testimony of the gospel of
Jesus Christ,
In his home upstairs in the children’s room we learn of a
story about John Taylor and the love of a father. The family was busy preparing for the exodus
to the west. Young Joseph Taylor was
helping but he knew once the wagon was loaded they would have to leave. He had been told that the wagon would hold
only so much. When that fact finally
settled into his heart he ran upstairs to be with the wood rocking horse his
father had carved for him. He realized
he would have to say good-bye to it forever.
How could he handle that change in his sweet little life? He was brave as they shut the door, tied the
canvas cover over their wagon left their beautiful brick home for the last time
to begin a new season in their family’s life.
John Taylor noticed that evening after the camp was set up
after crossing the Mississippi, that his son Joseph was sitting by the fire
trying to keep warm with a trouble look in his face. He went over and place his hand on Joseph’s
shoulder and asked his son to tell him what was wrong.
Joseph felt foolish because he knew everyone left important
things behind and he was trying to be so brave about it. He started to cry and said, “I miss my horse,
I love him so much and I’ll never see him again.”
John Taylor pulled his son close and said, “I
understand. You shouldn’t feel ashamed
for missing something you love.”
That night after the camp was hushed in darkness, John
Taylor, and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle who had been injured
in the Carthage Jail and who witnessed the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith,
stole back across the Mississippi river, risking being caught by angry mobs, and
got his son’s horse.
When Joseph saw his horse tied to the outside of the wagon
next day he ran to his father’s outstretched arms.
How could young Joseph handle that change? In this instance, the Lord’s love and the
love of his father helped ease the change of a young child by rescuing a
beloved rocking horse.
How the Lord will help each of us with the changes we face
in our lives may not be the same as young Joseph, but He will help us of that
we are sure.
As we have mentioned, the Lord’s gospel truth does not
change in any of the times and seasons of our lives and we fully recognize that
which is one of the most beautiful parts of the gospel.
Visiting the other sites that day were we learned ways in
which we can handle change.
At the Post Office and Mercantile we had a dose of how the
saints loved to communicate with their families far away and how they too, had
to shop for goods just like we do.
Communication is just as important for us today in its many and varied
forms. They only had one way, a
letter. We have several choices. It was very expensive to send a letter at
that time. They devised a way to write
as much as they could on one piece of paper.
Communication was a way to let their families know of changes in their
lives just as email, texting and phoning is our way. The lessons on communication are many but the
one we know to be the most important is our communication with our Father in
Heaven through prayer.
The other two shops on Main Street are the Stoddard Tin Shop and the Browning Home and Gunsmith Shop. We learned here in these two places that the way to truly handle any change in the times and seasons of our lives is to follow the prophet and the pattern of our savior Jesus Christ.
John Browning was a gifted and inventive gunsmith. He and his family went to live near his brother in Quincy, Illinois. Here they heard of Joseph Smith. They went up the river to investigate and were converted to the gospel. They left with the saints in 1846 in one of the first groups and got as far as Winter Quarters expecting to continue on West with the first group. Brigham Young told the Browning’s they were needed to stay and help assist the saints coming behind them. He did as directed by the prophet and ended up not arriving in Salt Lake until 1852 because of his commitment to follow the prophet.
Sylvester Stoddard was one of many tinsmiths in Nauvoo. He was among the many tinsmiths who supplies
the growing need of tin ware in Nauvoo.
A good tinsmith had to have a good pattern so he could cut the tin
correctly so the pieces could fit together exactly as needed for whatever item
he was making. Just as pattern’s used by
the tinsmith needed to be followed exactly
we need to follow the pattern of the gospel and savior Jesus Christ
exactly to be able to receive whatever help the Lord will give us as we meet
the challenges and changes in our lives.
Sylvester
was no stranger to change in his life when his wife Charity died of consumption
in 1844 leaving him with one daughter.
We are also seeing or hearing how our fellow temple workers
or patrons face changes, whether it is health struggles, family issues,
accidents or just the aging process, these faithful and committed saints meet
their changes just as our pioneer saints did.
One example is 2 stroke victims we have met or seen in the temple.
One brother has had 3 strokes and has survived with some
residual effects but does remarkably well but is on medical disability. The other brother is a patron who comes as
often as he can to the temple. He was in
one of our sessions and to see him struggle to keep his independence yet be so
happy to be there is just such a sweet experience. Each brother credits their temple attendance
as the reason they can function as they do with the change they were suddenly
faced with.
So Monday our testimonies were once again infused and
strengthened by the examples and reminders of how change is a constant, natural
part of our lives but if we follow the prophet, communicate with our Father in
Heaven in prayer and continue to patter our lives after the Savior we can meet
these changes with the help of the Lord.
June 3, Tuesday—today I sent out an email about
John Edward Middleton.
Today is June 3, 2014 and on this day in our family history
35 years ago, John Edward Middleton passed away. For some of you he is your father, for some
of you he is your grandfather, for some of you he is your great-grandfather,
for one of you he is your father-in-law, for me he is my dad. Although some of you may not have known him
personally just take it from me you would have enjoyed his winning smile and
sense of humor. Even with all his health
struggles he always kept his sense of humor and winning smile. His love for me, my mother, Marilyn, Linda
and his parents and sisters was unwavering.
I look forward to being with him again someday. His funny stories and funny faces are always
to be remembered with a laugh and a smile.
When he passed away that day I felt a peace in my heart that his burden
of pain that he had suffered with for so many years was finally gone for which
I was truly grateful. June 16th will be his birthday. He died just 13 days before his 74th
birthday, if he were still with us today he would be 108 years old. I know where he is today--he is walking my
mother and Granny and Grandpa Middleton, Aunt Aline and Uncle Jim, Aunt Julie
and Uncle Ned, Aunt Ann and Uncle Mick, Aunt Carrie and Uncle Herb, Aunt
Blanche and Uncle Bud and the rest of our precious ancestors and I am sure he
is keeping them laughing too. He would
want all of us to keep smiling and laughing as we continue on this mortal
journey.
We talked with Jeff, did the budget, Nancy got a haircut and
I talked with Marilyn. I decided to stay
home from the lecture on Joseph Fielding Smith and caught up on some rest and
journaling.
June 4, Wednesday—our
normal AM shift, lunch at Pete’s that opened for summer—not that great, but
eatable, we had hamburgers. We had
dinner at the Steve and Terri Wilson’s a temple missionary couple from Portland
Oregon who invited a few couples over to have chicken enchiladas because she
wanted to make them and she only knows how to make a large batch. The Stanley’s, Cottrell’s, Marshall’s, and
Roger’s were there. Very nice. That evening we went to the Trail of Hope
Vignette’s with the Young Performing Missionaries. They portray stories of the saints who left
Nauvoo late in the evening 3 times a week.
The Trail of Hope used to be called the Trail of Tears until President
Hinckley suggested the name be changed to the Trail of Hope to represent
looking forward to a new home in the west.
It was very well done and the performances were very good.
June 5, Thursday—in
the morning we went down to Main Street again and saw the Young Performing
Missionaries do what is called The Youth of Zion where they sing and dance and
tell stories of what the youth of Nauvoo did at the time the saints were living
here. We then went to our temple PM
shift.
June 6, Friday—today
we went to Keokuk to buy a hanging plant for out front. We were told that the planters our front
would be maintained by other people this year instead of the temple
missionaries. That was “changed” and we
were told we could plant flowers and maintain the beds. Sister Bass took the lead and planted flowers
in the beds with the Hepworth’s help. We
contributed a hanging plant for a plant pole that was already there. It looks very nice. This was the day I also finally, finally,
finally got into the Lucas to Nauvoo Blog Beth set up for us and actually
posted something which was very exciting.
Of course this was just minutes before our Friday PM shift so I couldn’t
give it my all, but I was excited to get started to say the least. We learned this week that Megan received her
patriarchal blessing which we were so glad to hear about. Awesome Megan, just awesome! What an example Megan is to all of the Lucas
posterity.
June 7, Saturday—this
past week they were doing what they call fire hydrant flushing and we were
given a warning that it may not be a good idea to wash whites, so today I had
to get caught up with the laundry before our temple shift. I was well under way with the laundry when
the PM shift coordinator called and asked me to be a guide for someone coming
to the temple for the first time which meant I needed to be there 2 hours
earlier than usual. Chuck dropped me off
and went to the Family Search Center and then came at the usual time. This turned out to be a very special
experience for me because the young woman who was recently called to be a
missionary in the San Diego Mission.
Yes, that is our mission. She was
very sweet and I could tell she will be a wonderful missionary. Which brings me to the end of another great
week in the Nauvoo Illinois Temple Mission.
Chuck's Nauvoo Moment--June 7, 2014
79 STEPS
Chuck's Nauvoo Moment--June 7, 2014
79 STEPS
The Nauvoo Temple has a magnificent spiral staircase that
goes from the basement to the top of the temple. (5th floor) Every day when I
arrive at the temple I take the 79 steps up the beautiful staircase to the
dressing room on the 4th floor. I accomplish this climb more cheerfully on some
days than others. It is a good symbol to ponder that a climb is necessary to
prepare to labor in the temple each day.
As you all know, most of life for each of us is a climb up
our “79 steps.” No matter what time or season in life that we find ourselves
there are steps to climb. Some days they are steeper and longer than others.
Some days (like in the temple) there is an elevator available for our
convenience and comfort.
Not all days are created equal. The challenges and
opportunities each day presents can’t always be expected or certain. This world
was designed to require each of us to work and sacrifice for what we need and
want as we look up in faith.
No one has the same “79 steps” to climb each day. The steps
are tailored to our talents and capabilities but they always go up toward Him.
I know our Heavenly Father lives and that he loves us. I
know His Son made it all the way to the top and that He has a plan to get each
of us up those "79 Steps" every day of our lives.
One scripture:
Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow me—Mark 8:34
One quote: When Jesus
said, "Come, follow me," it was an invitation, not a taunt—Neal A.
Maxwell
