On the way out of church it had started raining heavily and so we wondered if it would last all the home to Nauvoo. We got about a quarter of the way when all of sudden, Chuck said look up and get the camera. I did and was able to capture some pictures of what we saw. We had never seen clouds like this before. They were layered and dark and at one point it looked like a sideways funnel cloud. We kept pushing forward and wondered if we were going to go under it or have it follow us or just disappear we were just unsure. We kept pushing forward and then the wind picked up and then the rain hit hard. It was amazing. We were very fortunate that we had no flooding because it was really coming down hard. We slowed down several times because of how hard it was coming down which made it difficult to see but it never got so bad that we felt we needed to pull over. It basically rained all the way back to Nauvoo and when we came into Nauvoo we saw that the storm had been there also. There were tree branches down in several areas. We came into an apartment without power. We did have flashlights and 2 candles. The pictures don’t do it justice but they give some idea of what it was like.
SPECIAL NOTE: BY CLICKING ON THE PICTURES YOU GET A BIGGER VIEW. PLEASE BE AWARE OF THAT ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET TO THE CARTHAGE PICTURES--THERE IS ONE PICTURE OF THE RIDERLESS HORSE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IN THE BACKGROUND IF YOU MAKE THE PICTURE BIGGER.
“God wants a powerful people. No one better understands that
Satan is real and that he has power. No one better understands that none of us
is smart enough or resilient enough to spar with Satan and survive spiritually.
He is a snake, in every sense of that word."
“. . .Satan is everywhere today. Where there is any kind of
dishonesty, immorality, contention, or addiction, there is Satan. He is in
blatant sin, he is in subtle deception.
Stay away from him. He is “a roaring lion, [who] walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). And he will devour you—unless you “put on the whole armour [or power]of God” (Ephesians 6:11),
for the power of God is stronger than the power of Satan.”
“Indeed, the power of God and the power of Satan are as
different as night and day. Satan’s power is temporary and will end—in fact,
he’s almost out of time. God’s power is absolute and endless. Satan uses his
power to destroy and damn; God uses His power to bless, sanctify, and exalt.
Satan’s arrogance blinds him; God is all seeing and all knowing. Satan abandons
those he spiritually maims, whereas God has promised to make all of His
faithful children “joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17).”
There is only one thing the power of God and the power of
Satan have in common: Neither can
influence us unless we allow them to. The devil can’t make us do anything. Said
the Prophet Joseph: “Satan cannot seduce us by his enticements unless we in our
hearts consent and yield” (The Words of Joseph Smith, ed. Andrew F. Ehat and
Lyndon W. Cook [Orem, Utah: Grandin Book Company, 1991], 65). On the other
hand, although God could manipulate us, He never has and never will. We “are free to choose . . . eternal life,
through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death,
according to the . . . power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27). In short, the kind of power operating in our lives is entirely up to
us. If God wants a powerful people who can withstand the wiles of the
devil—and He does—and if we were born to lead in these latter days—and we
were—then we need to understand how God
makes His power available to us and how we gain access to that power.”
Number 1: There Is
Power in the Word of God
“ ‘Alma
and the sons of Mosiah learned that the preaching of the word—meaning the
gospel of Jesus Christ—has a “more powerful effect upon the minds of the people
than . . . anything else” (Alma 31:5). There is power in the word to heal our
wounded souls (see Jacob 2:8), to help us overcome temptation (see 1 Nephi
11:25), to prompt us to repent (see Jarom 1:12), to humble us (see Alma 32:14),
to help us overcome the natural man (see Mosiah 3:19), to bring about a mighty
change in our hearts (see Alma 5:13), and to lead us to Christ.”
“President Boyd K. Packer taught: True doctrine, understood,
changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will
improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.
[“Little Children,” Ensign, November 1986, 17]”
“In other words, the word of God can transform us.”
“The gospel has the power to cleanse and make new, because
the word “is quick and powerful,” it “divide[s] asunder all the cunning . . .
of the devil,” and it “lead[s] the man of Christ” home (Helaman 3:29). The
Atonement is real.”
“Do you know what we believe? Do you know there is power in
the doctrine of Christ to change and overcome weakness? Do you realize that the
scriptures contain the answer to every life dilemma? A casual understanding of
the gospel will not sustain you through the days ahead, which is why it is
imperative that you immerse yourself in the word of God.”
“This spring I spent two weeks at the United Nations as a
White House delegate to an international commission. As I listened to women from
around the world debate complex social problems, I didn’t hear them raise one
issue that couldn’t be solved by living the gospel. Not one.”
There is power in the
word.
We promise anyone who
would take the time to read, hear or watch this message from Sister Dew an
increase in testimony and help to keep moving forward as Heavenly Father would
desire.FYI-The other 4 ways are 2) Power in the Gift of the Holy Ghost, 3) Power in the Priesthood, 4) Power in the House of the Lord and 5) Power in the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
OR
Monday—June 23—Last Saturday one of the local ordinance
workers asked me if Sister Durrant worked on Saturday. I told her no. This worker is 93 years old and drives down
with a friend from near Peoria, Illinois—about 2 ½ to 3 hours. She is quite a gal. She is sharp as a tack and gets around pretty
well. She asked me if I would give Sister Durrant her phone number. Sister Durrant had written to her and sent her
a book because they have a mutual friend in common. So we took the message out to the Durrant
home before we went to FHE. Sister
Durrant was doing one of her tours but Brother Durrant was there. He asked us in for a minute and then showed
us his water color paintings. WOW!! They were just gorgeous. What a talented man. Here is one of his paintings:
Once again, the blessings of the mission here in Nauvoo include these moments when we can rub shoulders with such gifted and talented brothers and sisters in the gospel.
Well, we had another blessing when we went to our FHE evening event. Brother and Sister Hepworth had arranged for us to have FHE at the home of Tomasi and Irene Tukuafu here in Nauvoo—members of the Nauvoo 1st Ward. We had been told that Sister Tukuafu played the harp and Brother Tukuafu also was musical. Oh, my goodness, not only were they musical, but their home was just unbelievable and their story was so inspirational. There is a Blog that Sister Tukuafu has that shows her talents, home and harp making. On the Blog there is a link to a news cast that was done in Illinois on her home and life. Very well done. The web address for her blog:
http://irenetukuafu.blogspot.com/
It is well worth it to see her house which has an awesome view across the Mississippi.
Tuesday—June 24—Tree Planting Ceremony in honor of Theodore
Turley, first home builder in Commerce, later Nauvoo. Richard E. Turley, assistant Church
Historian, gave a masterful address about his ancestor that not only family
members would appreciate, but that anyone would. He did this by explaining the 3 groups of
people attending the ceremony that day—the family members and descendants, the
intellectuals interested in the history of Nauvoo and the archeological finds
and those seeking to be spiritually uplifted by hearing the story of Theodore
Turley’s life. In June, 1839 Theodore
Turley built the first Latter-Day Saint home in Nauvoo. Though the home does not remain, the spirit
does. Theodore Turley was representative
of so many early settlers who planted roots deep in Nauvoo’s soil. His biography and other articles can be found
by doing a google search online—in particular findagrave.com has a brief
biography and link to a full biography.
He had quite the life.Once again, the blessings of the mission here in Nauvoo include these moments when we can rub shoulders with such gifted and talented brothers and sisters in the gospel.
Well, we had another blessing when we went to our FHE evening event. Brother and Sister Hepworth had arranged for us to have FHE at the home of Tomasi and Irene Tukuafu here in Nauvoo—members of the Nauvoo 1st Ward. We had been told that Sister Tukuafu played the harp and Brother Tukuafu also was musical. Oh, my goodness, not only were they musical, but their home was just unbelievable and their story was so inspirational. There is a Blog that Sister Tukuafu has that shows her talents, home and harp making. On the Blog there is a link to a news cast that was done in Illinois on her home and life. Very well done. The web address for her blog:
http://irenetukuafu.blogspot.com/
It is well worth it to see her house which has an awesome view across the Mississippi.
One of the interesting things that brother Turley mentioned was in regards to the Word of Wisdom. The progression, interpretation and the practice of the Word of Wisdom evolved over time. It wasn’t until Heber J. Grant was President of the Church that it was followed strictly as we do today in the church. The reason that this was being explained was because Theodore had a brewery on his property that was approved by Joseph Smith. Brother Turley emphasized that we can’t impose our thinking and practices of today on the realities of life in the 1840’s of Nauvoo. This illustrates that in studying the lives of the people in the past you have to keep things in historical perspective and not judge them as we would hope they would not judge us. The life and sacrifice of Theodore Turley and his friendship and devotion to the prophet Joseph and his commitment to the gospel is truly inspiring and the spirit of the event added to our testimonies.
As part of this commemoration we were given the opportunity to celebrate Theodore Turley’s life by donating funds to plant a tree in Nauvoo in honor of our ancestors who also have sacrificed their lives in devotion and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of the generosity of family members we are having 4 trees planted in honor of John E. and Martha Middleton, Rondal and Betty Lucas, S. E. and Alice Whitenack and Patty and Mak Vehikite. These trees will be planted in the next few months and there will be a book with the locations of the trees to find on a map whenever anyone visit’s Nauvoo. One last note regarding Theodore Turley that was given by Brother Turley was quoting Doctrine and Covenants 64:33—“Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.” Theodore Turley was a man who was not weary in well-doing, truly inspirational.
Later that evening we went to the last prophet lecture given
by Susan Easton Black Durrant on the life of Thomas S. Monson. What a blessing to have a living prophet
today and to have had prophets who have led the kingdom of God on earth since
it was created. Interesting to have the
lecture on a living prophet in the same week we will commemorate the martyrdom
of Joseph Smith, the first prophet of these latter-days.
Wednesday—June 25—Nauvoo Moment
from Chuck:
Totality of
Circumstances
I just started reading a new book about Abraham Lincoln, Joseph Smith,
& the Book of Mormon. The author is a trained investigator. He uses a legal
concept called Totality of Circumstances to show the reader why it is important
for us to understand their connection.
“This concept promotes the idea that a good investigation gathers all
evidence: direct, indirect, circumstantial, opinion, conjecture – everything. .
. . Although any one piece of evidence by itself may have little meaning, all
of it together – The Totality of the Circumstances – could have powerful
implications.” (The Lincoln Hypothesis – Timothy Ballard)
The Totality of Circumstances of our lives witness to us that our fathers and mothers had powerful reasons for teaching us the gospel of Jesus Christ. They knew the Light they gave us will not go out. Trials and troubles come & go but they can never take the Light out of our life. This knowledge has profound eternal implications for each of us. This Light allows us to experience joy and comfort in the midst of our sorrows and disappointments. Our journey forward is not a leap in the dark – It is filled with Light.
1st Quote:
With celestial sight [light], trials impossible to change become
possible to endure. –Russell M. Nelson
2nd Quote:
I know that the spirit which has been with us in this conference is the
light of the Lord. It is the spirit that proceeds from the presence of God to
lighten the souls of men. It is the light of Christ, the light and the life of
the world, the power of the Lord. It comes from His presence; it fills our
souls with joy and peace; it strengthens us to resist the evils of the flesh
and to overcome Satan and his works, and it will be and abide with this Church
and grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day. --Elder Charles W. Penrose, Conference
Report, April 1904
Today an email came from a favorite website called Simple Truths. Having a few minutes before we were we going to be picked up to go out to dinner with some fellow missionaries we watched this little movie. As we watched the movie the thought came to us that all of the missionaries serving here have made thousands of goals throughout their lives to get them to this point in their lives today. The importance of goal making and achievement in reaching our goals helps us in keeping our hands holding firmly to the rod. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we know the ultimate goal we are all trying to achieve--living exalted lives with all of our loved ones in the Celestial Kingdom. To achieve this desire of a disciples heart, goals--tiny, small, large and gigantic need to be made because this goal of the celestial kingdom can only be achieved one step at a time--"line upon line, precept upon precept".
This little video is only 3 minutes and 27 seconds long--not much time to take to receive some good insight or maybe just to be reminded of the important steps needed in achieving any size goal. Of course, these ideas only work with the added step of calling upon our Savior for the ultimate help in achieving any goal.
This little video is only 3 minutes and 27 seconds long--not much time to take to receive some good insight or maybe just to be reminded of the important steps needed in achieving any size goal. Of course, these ideas only work with the added step of calling upon our Savior for the ultimate help in achieving any goal.
play.simpletruths.com | Store Landing
Thursday—June 26—tonight was the last lecture from Sister Durrant which was on Patriarchal Blessings. We had all contributed to a gift to thank the Durrant’s which was presented this night also. It was a replica of the Nauvoo Temple Bell. Very nice. The Durrant’s have been so gracious and kind to share their time along with their temple service in giving of talents and knowledge in these lectures. Here are some key points she shared as counsel regarding our patriarchal blessings:
Patriarchal Blessings -- Susan Easton Black Durrant
Study your PB – It is Personal Scripture
What are the blessings in your PB? – The blessings follow righteous living, You have to do something to receive them.
Contents of your PB
•Gifts of the Spirit
•For ever blessings are attached to commandments
• Certain commandments emphasized
• Some strengths we brought with us --- some we did not bring with us
• Play to your strengths not your weaknesses
• Warnings “If”
• We all have assignments – but they are different (not all the same)
• The Savior can help us through anything
Friday—June 27—today is the commemoration ceremonies for the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.
The first one was at the Smith Family gravesite near the Smith home put on by the Community of Christ Church. A very nice event with humidity, heat and sun but nice program. Lachlan Mackay gave a nice presentation on the Smith family and events surrounding the martydom and then two of the youth of the CCC sang a different tune of Praise to the Man acapella—very nice. The Young Performing Missionaries sang their signature song—Beautiful Nauvoo. The Nauvoo Brass Band was also there playing. Sister Durrant gave a great message on the martyrdom. Good event.
We then were off the temple for the PM shift that would end early that day so that anyone who wanted to go to the Carthage event would be able to. We got out about 4:15 and went down to Carthage fully expecting to find no parking place and no seats left but standing room only. We did find a place and then when we walked over to the event Brother and Sister Marshall had saved us 2 seats which was just the nicest, kindest thing. This was another amazing event. The Nauvoo Brass was playing when we arrived and then President Gibbons of the Nauvoo Illinois Mission (historical sites) gave an inspirational message regarding the martyrdom. He had 2 empty saddled horses walk from the jail down a path in front of the audience representing the fallen prophet and his brother. Very moving. He talked about the saints of Nauvoo did not go to Nauvoo to plant crops but to build faith and character just as the saints that Brigham Young sent out from Salt Lake to establish communities of saints in obscure places at the time. Building faith and character is what being a saint is all about. His message also included the following:
The faithful of today like those in Nauvoo put:
Prophets before propertyCharacter before Cash
Integrity before investments (Individual desires)
There is a very good website link I have posted that has come wonderful photographs and information on the Martyrdom to help us remember the lives of Joseph and Hyrum. As part of the meeting the young sister missionaries sang Praise to the Man and the Young Performing Missionaries portrayed different people at the time of the Martyrdom. One of the girls portrayed Emma Smith when she received the letter from Willard Richards notifying her of the circumstances:
12 o'clock at night, 27th June,
Carthage, Hamilton's Tavern.
To Mrs. Emma Smith and Major General Dunham, &c.:
The Governor has just arrived; says all things shall be inquired into, and all right measures taken.
I say to all the citizens of Nauvoo, my brethren, be still, and know that God reigns. Don't rush out of the city—don't rush to Carthage—stay at home, and be prepared for an attack from Missouri mobbers. The Governor will render every assistance possible—has sent out orders for troops. Joseph and Hyrum are dead. We will prepare to move the bodies as soon as possible.
The people of the county are greatly excited, and fear the Mormons will come out and take vengeance. I have pledged my word the Mormons will stay at home as soon as they can be informed, and no violence will be on their part, and say to my brethren in Nauvoo, in the name of the Lord, be still, be patient, only let such friends as choose come here to see the bodies. Mr. Taylor's wounds are dressed and not serious. I am sound.
Willard Richards,
John Taylor,
Samuel H. Smith
Carthage and Warsaw were expecting a retaliation. The saints had an army. They did as directed and were “still”.
A very powerful message.
How important to “remember” events such as this to learn from history, to be grateful for the sacrifices of others who gave so much and to be inspired to continue to “Keep the Faith”.
Sunday—June 29—Rock Island Ward—Bishop Luthy had asked us to give a presentation on temple and family history work. Our message included the new emphasis on Family History is about hearts, links and the dash—the dash is the line on the grave marker between the birth and death date—what will your dash represent and what will you do to help fill in the dash of your ancestors by adding stories and photos to FamilySearch.org for posterity and others who will be searching their ancestors and will want to know about these family history treasures which will help the Spirit of Elijah turn hearts. By using FamilySearch.org you are preserving these precious memories in the Granite Mountain Vault forever.
We got home around 6:15 had a little dinner and then went to a performance entitled “Our Story Goes On” performed by the core pageant cast. It was well performed and the singing was good. Basically the story of a person’s life told through stories and song.
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