August 2014

August was a bit crazy for us. Between visits from Thomas' dad, a summer party I was in charge of for work, etc., it seemed like we were always up to something!

We went to our ward campout:

The highlight, of course, was our trip to California when my sister came home from her mission.

My aunt, cousin & cousin's daughters picked us up from the airport. We got to play with my aunt's dog and it was a joy to spend time with these relatives I don't get to see very often!

The next day, we and my aunt went to a different airport to greet Morgan when she arrived:

That weekend, among other things, we had a special surprise homecoming/birthday party for Morgan:

Thomas & I got to spend an afternoon with Lanessa, hiking around Coloma:

After which we met my family at their ward luau:

We were finally able to go back to the Sacramento temple together (for the first time since our wedding!):

...which was a miracle in itself. The temple had been closed for cleaning/maintenance about 2 weeks prior to our visit (other visits we've made have landed us right in that window). The day of, we decided we had to arrive at a certain time for a certain session due to a commitment later in the day. We were running behind, but arrived with enough time to make the session. After dressing, we were informed we might have to wait for the next session because that one was so full (which would mean not being able to stay)! Miraculously, everything ended up working out. We were able to attend that (extremely full) session and get out in time for the later appointment.

All told, it was a great visit and fun to have Morgan home.

oxox

LDS History Tour (part 3)

This post is a continuation of pictures and commentary from our recent tour of historic sites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can see the first post here; the second post here. If you are unfamiliar with the Church, a great website to explore is mormon.org, where you can learn what we believe, what we are all about, meet members, and find answers to common questions. As always, feel free to ask us questions as well!

We allowed ourselves two full days in Nauvoo, IL on our trip, and I am very glad we did. Even still, we didn't see everything we had hoped to!

Nauvoo was Joseph Smith's "City Beautiful" and a gathering place for the Latter-day Saints from 1839 to 1845. The Saints relocated to Illinois after experiencing persecution, mob violence and eventually an extermination order in Missouri. Nauvoo, along the Mississippi River, started out as a swamp, but through faith, prayers, and a lot of hard work, it was transformed into a bustling community. The Saints even built a temple! More information about the history of the Church in Nauvoo can be found in the Institute manual Church History in the Fulness of Times, chapters 17 and 19.

We enjoyed several really tasty meals in Nauvoo, and had to laugh at the creativity and humor of the business owners there:

"Buy our pizza, we knead the dough"

"Do not block door: violators will have their cars ticketed, towed, sold for parts. What's left will be crushed, melted down, and turned into rebar." The little sign to the right says "Last car parked here. Rest of car is reinforcing Blimpie's parking lot" and is pointing to some scraps of rebar :o)

On an ice cream/custard shop: "Sundae... closed. Mondae...(etc.)". Their vanilla custard was delish.

We were able to see the Nauvoo Pageant while we were there. The pageant plays every summer for about a month. It is extremely well done, and if you ever get a chance to visit Nauvoo, I would invite you to go during pageant season so you can see this magnificent play! It tells the story of Nauvoo, Joseph Smith, and the Saints.

If you've been counting, you know this is the third Church pageant we've seen this year. I would say it was my favorite. It also is around several weeks longer each year than the others we saw. One of my favorite things about it was how interactive the stage was! For instance, the actors "built" this temple during the play:

Another favorite part was the end, when the actual temple was illuminated, on the hill behind where the pageant is held:

Historic Nauvoo is so cool. Visiting there is like stepping back in time. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has basically rebuilt or restored a bunch of important buildings of the time - such as the blacksmith shop, the brickyard, the gun shop, and a few homes - and the public can tour the various buildings. The tour guides are missionaries (young and old), dressed in pioneer garb.

The spirit here is one of gratitude for the early Saints and of faith in God and in His plan for eternal families. I enjoyed the historical information, but even more, I enjoyed the lessons from the lives of stalwart individuals and the applications to our lives.

Most of the rest of the pictures in this post are in chronological order. We saw the pageant on Friday night, and the rest of our sightseeing was done on Saturday and Sunday.

The Family Living Center was one of our first stops. In this building, missionaries narrate and demonstrate various handicrafts of the pioneers. Some skills were common knowledge at the time, and necessary to keep a household running; other trades were learned over the course of years.

Making candlesticks fell into the category of "common knowledge" in the 1800s. Fat was boiled for days and then cotton wicks, tied around small rocks, were dipped over and over again to form tall, straight candles. The rocks were cut off when the candles were thick enough, and the tallow on the rocks was allowed to re-melt in the pot.

Coopering - or making barrels - was a skilled craft, which required apprenticeships of several years in order to master the trade. Barrels were sold with no openings - they had to be drilled in after they were made. The most skilled coopers were able to make water-tight barrels.

In addition to touring the many sites available, we saw a play in the Nauvoo Visitors' Center.

We drove to Carthage to visit Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith, Jr. and his brother Hyrum were martyred on June 27, 1844 (more information here).

Water lilies on the Mississippi River

The upstairs window, approximately centered in this photo, from which Joseph Smith, Jr. fell after being shot by a mob.

Although the events at Carthage were tragic and caused much confusion and heartache for the Saints at the time, the restored jail is a peaceful place where visitors are invited to ponder on the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. We consider Joseph's martyrdom a witness to the truth of his message.

Joseph Smith, Jr., and his brother Hyrum

This is a hole from a bullet in the original door to the upstairs room in Carthage Jail. It was the only thing that separated the mob from the prophet and his friends (his brother Hyrum, John Taylor and Willard Richards) at the time of the martyrdom.

"I never feel to force my doctrine upon any person. I rejoice to see prejudice give way to truth, and the traditions of men dispersed by the pure principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ."--Joseph Smith, Jr. This monument, and several others like it, line the entrance to the jail.

After Carthage, we headed back to Nauvoo. In addition to these sights, we also went on a tour of historic sites owned by the Community of Christ (also in Nauvoo). Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history. It was interesting to note the different spirit there however.

The Homestead

The Community of Christ owns a reconstructed version of the Red Brick Store, where the Relief Society, the world's largest women's organization, was first organized "under the priesthood and after the order of the priesthood."

After our tour, we headed back to the LDS Historic Nauvoo.

We just had to go to the blacksmith shop:

They actually do smithing in this old-time shop!

And the wainwright & wheelwright shop:

Our final stop before tour hours ended was this old-time apothecary/general store:

Here are a couple more pictures from this part of our trip:

Calm as a Summer's Morn, found at the Joseph and Hyrum Smith Memorial, depicts Joseph & Hyrum heading to Carthage (and their deaths)

The original Nauvoo Temple was destroyed shortly after the Saints left Nauvoo. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reconstructed the temple and it was dedicated in 2002. We took the opportunity to attend the temple while we were in Nauvoo and it was a wonderful experience! It is breathtakingly beautiful, inside and out, and holds much meaning for us and many other Latter-day Saints.

One final picture before I wrap up this post. We stayed at Camp Nauvoo while visiting. Tent camping there is really inexpensive ($3/person/night), but for a little bit extra ($9/person/night) we were able to stay in their (air-conditioned and lighted) cabins for 2 of our 3 nights there. They are frequently booked during summer by large groups, but it's a pretty sweet deal if you can manage to get a cabin. It's not like a Marriott or anything by any means, but the showerhouse/restroom building has running water and the showers were hot :o)

oxox

LDS History Tour (part 1)

For much of the year, we researched and planned out a much-anticipated 2-week trip, the details of which became a reality in July. It consisted of flying to New Hampshire, renting a car, and driving back to Utah.

The object of the trip was to visit as many historical landmarks/sites/visitor centers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as we could, as well as to visit some of my relatives in Missouri and to simply experience the United States via the open road.

As a bit of background information, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which we are members, had its beginnings in the United States. So, for us, there are many sacred places in the U.S. We believe that our church has divine authority, stemming from the restoration of the Holy Priesthood-- the same Priesthood held by the ancient apostles. The beginning of this restoration occurred in 1820 in upstate New York, where the 14-year-old Joseph Smith, Jr., received a vision in response to a simple prayer in the woods near his home.

For more detailed information about our church or its history, please feel free to talk to us and to visit the pages linked to above and within the remainder of the post. I will share other information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its history as it pertains to our travels.

**This post covers the first 2 days of our trip. We fit a lot of sites into those 2 days, so it is picture-heavy!**

Lisa & Thomas in Provo, about to leave for the airport.

Our first full day, we left Manchester, NH and drove to Sharon, VT, where Joseph Smith, Jr. was born in 1805.

New Hampshire roads-- all the green was so refreshing!

This is a church in Sharon, VT proper. The houses nearby were a similar style. LOVED it.

We stopped by the Joseph Smith Birthplace monument and visitor center.

This is the site of the home where Joseph was born. The rectangular rock to the left is the original doorstep.

This is a miniature model of what the home may have looked like.

The monument is a 38 1/2 foot granite obelisk, with no marbling, set in a granite base. It was erected here in 1905 (the centennial of Joseph Smith's birth), and transporting the 40-ton shaft at that time required a lot of horses and a few miracles.

The top of the polished shaft reflects the sun with mirror-like brilliance, which can be seen from different locations during the day. The missionaries informed us of this while we were there and found the right spot for that hour.

The visitor center contains the original hearthstone from the home where Joseph was born.

This room in the visitor center focuses on the significance of Joseph Smith's life in the eternal progression of humankind toward the Savior, Jesus Christ.

This LDS Church building is adjacent to the birthplace property. It is a very different style than what we are used to!

We continued our journey after this stop, heading south into Massachusetts...

...and west into New York.

We stayed at a bed & breakfast, and were fed a delicious meal of farm-fresh eggs, hand-picked local blueberries in fresh pancakes, bacon, orange juice, and hot chocolate.

Our second day saw us into Pennsylvania for a brief stop at the Priesthood Restoration Site.

Near here, along the Susquehanna River, the Aaronic (or preparatory) Priesthood was restored by John the Baptist, who appeared to Joseph Smith and his scribe, Oliver Cowdery while they were praying to inquire of the Lord regarding baptism for the remission of sins.

This monument depicts John the Baptist as a heavenly messenger conferring the Aaronic Priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

Susquehanna River

To get to the river, you have to drive a dirt road alongside a train track. According to the GPS we were driving on the railroad.

Following this adventure, we drove back into New York. We stopped at the Peter Whitmer Log Home, a reconstruction of the home where The Church of Latter-day Saints was officially organized on April 6, 1830. It is located in Seneca County, NY (technically in the town of Waterloo, NY).

An LDS church building that shares the site with the log home. Quite impressive, and very lovely inside.

56 people fit into a small room, like this, on the day The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized.

An upstairs bedroom in the reconstructed Peter Whitmer home.

From here, we headed to Palmyra, NY/Manchester, NY, where Joseph Smith spent most of his growing-up years. It was on his parents' farm where Joseph Smith received the first vision, mentioned above.

The Sacred Grove

Reconstruction of the Smith family home where Joseph's family lived when he was 14.

This is upstairs in the Smith home. This & the room through the doorway are where the angel Moroni would have appeared to Joseph.

This is in an adjacent building, a home constructed by Alvin (Joseph's brother) for his parents to live comfortably in their advanced years.

A pantry, also in the home built by Alvin.

Also in the home built by Alvin.

The "four corners" of Palmyra-- the four churches, on the corners of one intersection, testify of the religious fervor and excitement Joseph Smith, Jr. encountered as a teenager living in this area. The churches are not from that time period, but it is an interesting sight to see nonetheless!

The Grandin building, where The Book of Mormon was first published.

Inside the Grandin building.

We attended an endowment session at the Palmyra temple while we were there.

We ended our day with the Hill Cumorah Pageant (its 75th anniversary) and camped at the Wayne County Fairground.