May 31, 2015 - Sunday

Mom and I had this Sunday off from the Visitors Center, and we had a restful afternoon after our early morning meetings.  The day began with us driving the van pool of two additional couples to our Church Meetings in Nauvoo this morning.  We had three wonderful meetings and enjoyed the lessons taught on service, Family Home Evening, and the 5th Sunday combined lesson on wayward children. 

There are so many senior missionaries who have children who have separated themselves from the teachings of the Church,  and the Mission President felt he needed to address this issue.  So many members of the Church feel that if they stay true to the faith and fulfill their duties and responsibilities in the Church, that their wayward children will automatically be saved.  That is a false and misleading train of thought.  

Every person has their agency and they can choose the paths they wish to follow.  Heavenly Father lost 1/3 of His Children due to that agency in pre-mortal life.  It is such a sobering thought and yet with patience, love, prayer, service, and giving them their time and space to make course corrections, they can change.  We can't give up on any of our family members, ever, but we can be better at praying for them and helping them feel our love for them and giving them time to make those changes.

Mom and I made regular comments throughout the meetings on how grateful we are for our precious children and grandchildren.  We are so excited to see part of our family this coming week!  I have so many hugs built up inside me for this much anticipated reunion!!!

The Carthage missionary senior couples then quickly gathered back to Carthage for a potluck dinner together before those scheduled today had to report to the Visitors Center.  We all had a wonderful and quick dinner, but what a great feeling of camaraderie we felt!  I went over to help Elder Hansen open up and mom helped Sister Hansen clean up her kitchen.  It was a fun time together and we all had a great meal!  

Then, after the center closed, we all car-pooled back to Nauvoo for our Zone conference.  We had our monthly slideshow of all the missionaries out working the sites and preparing the mission for the summer crowds.  We then had our Zone meeting based on lessons learned from General Conference. 

We have had a wonderful day of instruction.  Mom and I have felt that the two trips into Nauvoo today were well worth the time spent.   We were able to get back home by 9:00pm, and that seems to be an early time now as we enter into the summer schedule.  Mom is doing so well with the new bedtime and she is still up at 5:00am or earlier each morning.

May 30, 2015 - Saturday

Mom and I first heard about the condition of L. Tom Perry yesterday when his cancer returned and caused him to be put on terminal hospice care.  Then, during our Sunset pre show, we were told he had passed away.  We considered it a blessing for him not to have suffered long, and his wonderful service had a direct impact on me.  In 1978, I was hired at Deseret Industries as the Las Vegas Sales Manager.  After mom was released from her commitment to the Army at Ft. Hood, Texas, we were looking for retail employment that would eliminate Sunday work.  We found that working for the Church and my first assignment was as the Sales Manager in Las Vegas.

I was excited!  I would be able to use my retail experience at Longs Drug Stores to my advantage in this setting.  I worked hard developing the guide for Sales Managers throughout the system then, and tried to make the sales floor in Las Vegas, the standard.  During our pre opening inspections, L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve, came for one of the tours.  I didn't know him very well since I was a convert to the Church.  He had been a member of that Quorum since 1974, and he was so friendly and complimentary of my work.  It gave me such a boost to have his approval of my work there!  I found out later that he had been in the retail business before his call to the Twelve so that was an even better compliment coming from him that day...

Here is a note about his passing from the Church News;

Elder L. Tom Perry, who had served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since 1974, passed away on May 30, 2015. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Virginia Lee, who passed away in 1974, and their daughter, who passed away in 1983. Tom and Virginia Lee are the parents of three children. He is survived by his second wife, Barbara Taylor Dayton, whom Elder Perry married in 1976, and two children.

Our cast members were all in agreement.  We were grateful that his terminal care did not have to last very long.  He, I am sure, was welcomed back home with open arms and I am so thankful that I had a few minutes of precious time with him back in Las Vegas during my "growing" years in the Church.

Today, at the Visitors Center, we had some cold and misty weather.  It did not seem to slow down the visitors at first.  However, as the afternoon progressed, it was apparent that all of us were not needed. So, Helen and I went home and prepared for our Sunset play tonight and began our weekly fast. What a blessing it is to serve here in Carthage.

I had two marvelous tours today.  One, in particular, gave me the opportunity to testify to a newly ordained Deacon and a very sensitive Mia Maid.  They were both with a family group who had come from the Temple in Nauvoo after a brother had been married and sealed in that temple this morning. I love the youth of the Church!  They are our future leaders and what a blessing it is to come here and experience the Spirit of Carthage.  

There are so many pre conceived emotions that people bring into the Visitors Center, but the most frequently expressed emotion after the tour is the feeling of gratitude.  That feeling is magnified by just being in the Martyrdom room and experiencing those last few hours of the Prophets life.  Then, as these feelings unfold in this setting,  our guests are exposed to the amazing 24 years of the Prophets life where he was mentored, trained, tested and tried though extreme highs of visits and teaching from Heavenly Beings, to the absolute worst opposition and persecutions imaginable.  And through it all, Joseph never denies his testimony, but sealed that testimony with his blood along with his brother Hyrum.

When the groups and individuals complete their tours, I have found that they have a very difficult time leaving.  The Spirit of the Carthage experience is potentially life changing.  It has been for me and I have seen the affects of this change on hundreds of guests so far.  It is such a precious privilege to be here!

May 29, 2015 - Friday

We had a light rain falling this morning that shortened our morning walk but did not dampen our Spirits.  We had a longer morning preparation time since we are on the expanded summer schedule. We were scheduled to be at the Visitors Center at 11:30am so it was a nice leisurely morning.  We had our morning devotional after I slept in until 6:15am.  What a lazy guy, but oh did that feel good after a long night last night that got me to bed at 11:15pm...

Since we can see the cars coming into the Visitors Center from our back door, we could see that we were pretty steady today.  However, we had everyone scheduled today and this gave us some additional time to train and make community contacts.  We had the Heningers take some flyers around town and they were very successful in  making some inroads to the local businesses.  The Hardee's fast food restaurant, (Carl's Jr in California), gave us some discount coupons.  The Ben Franklin pleaded with the Heningers to send buses over to their store so they could get their Carthage souvenirs, and our friends at the Kibbe museum right across the street from us had several of our guests go and visit after our tours.  I even sent the sister missionaries over, two at a time, to get acquainted with the folks at the museum, and take the tour.  We made some great contacts today.

Then our BYU-Idaho tour group arrived and we had 39 of the best students come for the tour.  The first thing I had them do was assemble in the history room and discovered they had several piano players where they sang hymns of praise about Joseph Smith.  That was a special few minutes as we waited for the movie room to become available.  Then we got to show them the movie, "Impressions of a Prophet", and then we divided them up into two smaller groups and gave them a nice tour of the jail.

The tour group leader is their professor as well as their Stake President and when he asked me about a place to have a short presentation, that was prepared by one of the students, after the tours were completed, I suggested the Martyrdom room.  He was thinking somewhere on the Visitor Center grounds, but since we had no pending tours, it was such a special treat for them to have the access to that room.  I also had the young sister missionaries accompany them, as Carthage missionaries, and for the choice experience with their peers.  Things worked out very well.

They were all very gracious and thankful for the special treatment, but the Spirit managed this group. It was such a pleasure to have them experience the movie, the hymn singing, the jail experience, and then their own prepared program in a setting that is so special to Church members everywhere.


And then, mom had a special family tour on our last tour of the day.  You could just see on their faces that they loved the Gospel and were living it.  They moved from Utah to Iowa about 6 years ago because of an impression the father had to move out into the mission field.  They have had influence on so many people with their 10 children and they brought with them a young sister whom their daughters have befriended and who joined the Church less than a year ago.

They have a son on a mission and a daughter preparing to submit paperwork for a mission.  He has served as a Branch president and is now in the Stake Presidency.  Their 5th child was married in the Nauvoo Temple this morning and they made this their last stop as they were heading home tonight.

It is experiences like these that strengthen my testimony as to why we are out serving this mission. We have met so many wonderful people and every day is a tender mercy for us to have the privilege of serving here in Carthage.

May 28, 2015 - Thursday

We just got back from our Rendezvous Play in Nauvoo.  It has been a busy day, (again), and we seem to be rushing between Nauvoo and Carthage every day.  It's all good.  My part as "Pa", went well tonight.  Jimmy and Marie have so much energy and it just lifts me to heights I have not felt in a long time!  There were compliments from our cast on my efforts, and it was such a good feeling to be involved and participating. Mom got a picture in since the audience did not fill the hall, but it did not turn out very well...... So Tom and Josie will need to sit on the front row and take lots of pictures!  (No one will ever believe I have done this unless it is documented and notarized!)

We started off the day with our morning devotional and exercise and were able to get a walk in before breakfast.  This morning we had a tour group come in from Salt Lake City, and they were visiting all the Church history sites.  We were ready for their 9:00am arrival!  They were such a great group and the tours went without a hitch.  

As I was talking to one couple from the Salt Lake area, he was telling me that they wanted to go on a mission when he could wrap up some of his work duties.  I asked him what he did and he told me he was a lawyer.  I could not help but tell him that it would be pretty hard for a lawyer to get a mission call since they had "raised the bar".  That was fun and he was so gracious with my teasing.   

Somehow, I felt impressed to tell him about our initial trip to the Philippines.  He indicated to me that he knew the Area President and had recently spoken with him.  He then told me they were visiting Elder Banks in the Philippines and found out they, too, were intimidated by the driving conditions. He also knew the IFR there in the Philippines, Elder Mark Ferin.  Elder Ferin helped mom and I get our reassignment and was so gracious to us with that experience.  We told this guest how kind we were treated by Elder Ferin and how we wanted to treat people as a result of Elder Ferin's example.  He said he would let him know he saw us here in Carthage.

Again, do I have to ask the question; does Heavenly Father know us and does He take care of our needs in some of the most remarkable ways?  He helps a retailer become a stage show sensation, and connects those senior missionaries with some of the most wonderful people.  It was a good night to make that connection.  The lift did me good!

May 27, 2015 - Wednesday

Mom and I got a part of the day off for shopping and having dinner together.  We had to be at a weekly morning meeting this morning in Nauvoo at 7:45am, and then we attended the 9:00am temple session.  We then drove to Quincy for shopping errands and getting ready for a special family visit next week.  We are so looking forward to our visit!

We got back from Quincy at around 1:30pm and we had dinner together before leaving for the Sunset show this evening.  We left Carthage at 5:30pm and got back home at 8:30pm.  The show went really well and the young performing missionaries continue to be impressive.  The Sathre's will have a huge treat when they see them!

As I have been studying and research the men who were closest to the Prophet Joseph during the last days of his life, I have enjoyed the history of Dan Jones.  He was with the Prophet on the night of June 26, 1844.  We was these to help insure the Prophet was protected as best he could and there is every indication that he would have traded places with the Prophet had that been possible.  Here is a brief story about him the was published in the Friend Magazine in October 1987;

Dan Jones -

As the Maid of Iowa docked in Nauvoo to unload its passengers—more than three hundred British converts—Captain Dan Jones, also a new convert, anxiously searched the crowd of greeters for the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Captain Jones had never seen Joseph Smith, so he was startled when a “large, comely man” approached him and shook his hand, saying “God bless you, brother.” When the man returned a little later, Dan Jones realized that this was the very person for whom he was looking.

Born August 4, 1810, in Halkin, North Wales, Dan Jones was the sixth of Thomas and Ruth Jones’s eight children. He grew up in a land rich in poetry, music, and rolling hills. Unfortunately a journal for him has not been found, so little is known about his early life. But during his adulthood he was a zealous missionary and defender of the Church.

When he was about sixteen, Dan became a mariner and traveled all over the world. Later, after his marriage, Dan and his wife, Jane, immigrated to the United States, where he became the captain of the Ripple, a steamboat on the Mississippi River. After the Ripple struck a rock and sank, he built another steamer, the Maid of Iowa.

The Maid of Iowa carried many English converts from New Orleans to Nauvoo, and mobs often tried to get aboard to harm the boat and its passengers. Once a mob even set fire to the boat, but it was put out before much damage was done. Sometimes Joseph and Hyrum Smith preached from its decks; it was also used to haul freight for the Nauvoo Temple. And at one time the steamboat was used in an attempt to rescue the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was illegally arrested.

Dan Jones had been baptized into the Church in the spring of 1843, and he was with Joseph Smith at Carthage Jail the night before the Prophet was killed. As they lay next to each other on the hard floor, the Prophet asked his Welsh friend if he was afraid to die.

“Has that time come think you?” Dan asked. “Engaged in such a cause I do not think that death would have many terrors.”

The Prophet then gave what would be his last recorded prophecy as he told Dan, “You will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed you ere you die.”

The next day Dan Jones left Carthage to deliver a letter from Joseph Smith to a lawyer. A mob, thinking that Dan was going for help from the Nauvoo Legion, went after him, firing bullets all around him. Fortunately Dan accidentally took a wrong road, and the mob did not catch him. The next day he learned of the death of Joseph and Hyrum.

Even then the Welshman’s life was in danger. He hid on a steamboat belonging to a friend. A mob, intent on hanging him, went aboard but could not find Dan, who had hidden under a mattress. His life was again spared, and two months later he was sailing for his native Wales to fulfill a four-year mission and the prophecy.

The first year of Elder Jones’s mission was discouraging because of the lack of baptisms. Church membership in Wales at that time was about 250. Near the end of that year he was called as president of the entire Welsh Mission.

During his mission he was able to use the priesthood to heal people. One time he blessed a convert, William Hughes, whose leg had been broken while he was working in a mine. The leg was immediately healed, and witnesses were amazed at the miracle. This resulted in a lot of persecution, however, from a minister who published bitter articles against the Mormons.

Unfortunately most newspapers would not publish anything that Mormons wrote in reply, so Dan decided to publish his own periodical, Prophwyd y Jubili (Prophet of the Jubilee). The name was later changed to Udgorn Seion (Zion’s Trumpet). In addition, Dan published a Welsh hymnal, a history of the Church, and at least sixteen pamphlets.

Though a small man, about five feet six inches tall, Dan Jones was a powerful and colorful speaker. Fluent in Welsh and English, he would often preach for hours, despite pain from lung ailments.

His vigorous writing and preaching brought a great deal of attention to the Church. As the opposition increased, so did the baptisms, and when he finished his mission in January 1849, the members in Wales numbered nearly four thousand.

Dan Jones and his wife returned to America with nearly 250 converts. Many became seasick during the trip, and President Jones lovingly helped care for them. Though all but two of them reached the United States safely, many later died, victims of a cholera epidemic.

The remainder made their way to the Salt Lake Valley to join the main body of Saints and were the first group of foreign-speaking Mormons there. Among these converts were talented members who brought with them the music of their Welsh homeland; many of them were members of the original Tabernacle Choir.

Dan Jones was called to be an explorer and locate sites for future Mormon settlements. He and a group of Welsh converts were called to settle Manti, the fourth Latter-day Saint community in Utah. Dan was elected as the first mayor, and he was influential in keeping peace with the Indians in that area.

Other Welsh communities were established in Wales (Sanpete County), Willard, and Spanish Fork, Utah, and in Malad and Samaria, Idaho. Many of the people made their living by coal mining and dry farming.

In 1854 Brigham Young called Dan Jones to return to Wales as mission president. Again persecution and hatred toward the missionaries was everywhere. But through the untiring efforts of President Jones and the other missionaries, almost two thousand more members were baptized, and at the end of this mission, he returned to the West, crossing the plains with a handcart company.

Back in the Salt Lake Valley, Dan Jones captained theTimely Gull on the Great Salt Lake. This vessel, owned by President Brigham Young, was used to carry salt, cedar wood, and flagstone.

His last years were spent in Provo, Utah, where he died in 1862 from the lung ailment that had afflicted him for so many years.

Well, I hope you have had a great day as we have!  Thank you for checking in with us and we so appreciate your notes of encouragement!

May 26, 2015 - Tuesday

The week continues to press forward and now we are already nearing the middle of the week after Memorial Day weekend.  We had a rainy day for most of our day.  There were about 170 visitors today and we were training two new sister missionaries.

Mom and I started off the day with our morning reading and scripture study.  The morning was wet but the rain stopped long enough for us to get a morning walk in.  Today was our first late day schedule with the shift beginning at 11:45am and ending at 7:15pm.We were able to talk with some family members this morning and we had a great lunch together, and got some chores done,  and then headed over to the Visitors Center at 11:30am.

I enjoy the opportunity to train the new missionaries assigned to Carthage.  They were so receptive and ready to learn.  They were both ready to take their own tours early this afternoon and they were feeling very comfortable with their efforts.

We also had the Nauvoo Brass Band perform their first program here this afternoon at 3:30pm.  The crowd was small so we were able to work out some flow problems and will try those out on their Thursday performance.  They will be here in Carthage on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays through the month of July and into the first week of August.  I was able to snap some pictures of their first performance....

One of the members of this Nauvoo Brass Band just graduated from Idaho Falls High School and is a regular at the deli.  That was so fun to make that connection!!  We seem to be able to do that every single day!

It is interesting to note that we had rain most of the day.  I got a call from the band leader at around 1:30pm and he asked me if the rain was falling here in Carthage.  He was coming from Nauvoo.  I looked out the window and the skies were clear and blue.  Within 10 minutes of his call, the skies darkened and we got a downpour for about 5 minutes.  Then it completely stopped at around 2:00pm and the rain stopped for about 4 hours.  Then, as mom and I got into our home after the shift ended at 7:00pm, it began pouring down again!

It has been a good day.  Mom and I have the evening off and that is why we were closing tonight.  The other senior missionaries all had play assignments tonight in Nauvoo.  So goes the mission!

Then I took this picture and sent it to Zac and Hayley and asked if they would like to play a song for Granny and Grandpa on this during their upcoming visit:

I think I might have some takers!  How sweet will that be???   Thank you for checking in with us tonight!

May 25, 2015 - Monday - Memorial Day

We started off this Memorial Day with our morning devotional together and enjoyed a nice start to the day.  We had the assignment to clean the jail and went over about 6:30am with a light rain falling.  By the time we got done cleaning, we decided the rain was not coming down hard enough to prevent us from taking a shortened walk.  The air was fresh and we enjoyed the time together.

We had to be at the Visitors Center earlier today, at 8:30am.  The summer hours began today and we open at 9:00am and close at 7:00pm, Monday through Saturday, and the hours remain 12:30pm to 5:00pm on Sunday's.  There were no scheduled tours today but we got there early just to be ready.  However, the guests were slow coming in on this Memorial Day, and by 3:00pm we had only seen about 50 visitors.  Not quite like yesterday's 433 for sure!

Sister Hansen is part of our Carthage team and plays the piano.  She has given concerts in Canada and is quite accomplished in her abilities to play the piano.  It is such a treat to hear her play.  She reminds me so much of Mary.  We had a group of Primary aged children come in and we were not quite ready to start their tour, soooooo, Sister Hansen gathers up the children and takes them to the piano room, and begins playing a medley of Primary songs.  The children immediately respond to her playing and I could not help but take an action shot of the children's response!

She played two Primary favorites.  "Families Can Be Together", and Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree.  The children sang and played right along with her.  

Then, tonight we had our Rendezvous performance where I made my big debut for the 8:15pm show.  My vignette only plays at this time so the 7:00pm show was just a warm-up without Pa and Jimmy!  When I finally got to my part I was very surprisingly calm.  The part went well and Jimmy was such a great participant!  Marie and Jimmy are two Young Performing Missionary parts of dozens of parts these college kids perform.  They are absolutely amazing and what a pleasure it was to kick off our summer season with them!!

It has been a wonderful day and I felt the prayers of all our families tonight!  That sure helped me remember my lines!!  Thank you so much!  Now, where are those audition offers............ I might win an Oscar.... you can never tell!

May 24, 2015 - Sunday

This was a wonderfully challenging day for mom and me here in Carthage....  Today was the opening day of the "Be Still" vignette here at the visitors center and we had over 400 people in attendance.  It was a matrix managers dream!!  We had to coordinate tours as well as take tickets from those who had reserved seating for the two vignettes.  It went remarkably well and the Spirit was such a comforting blessing to all in attendance.

The Young Performing Missionaries put on this vignette that is a special tribute to Joseph and Hyrum.  They do such a great job in each of their performances and today's effort was exceptional.  I found out that they have no P-day.  They work every day and they always have a smile on their faces..  What a privilege it is to work with them.

We had 5 senior couples and one young sister companionship to work with today and I think we needed two more couples.  However I was told by the couple that works with the young performers, that in their 6 years of doing these types of performances, they have never seen the flow of people so well managed.  I was grateful for their kindness and for the great people we have to work with here in Carthage.  That was over 100 people an hour we were able to accommodate in tours and overseeing the vignettes.

Our morning meetings were excellent and we left our home at 7:00am this morning and carpooled with the Heninger's who worked with us today.  We left the visitors center at 5:15pm and I returned there tonight at 8:00pm to have an orientation meeting with our six new sister missionaries.  Elder Hansen joined me for the training and we were done by 9:30pm.  We ended up taking them on a tour of the jail and right at the end of our tour we set off the alarm.  Now we know the alarm works!

It has been a full day and I am ready for bed.  The blog has taken me over an hour to do this post tonight due to a very slow internet connection.  At least that is what I think is happening.  I hope it is not my computer!!

May 23, 2015 - Saturday

The day dawned bright and sunny with temperatures around 50 degrees.  It was a very pleasant morning as we exercised and took a long morning walk.  Elder Hansen joined us at about the 1/2 mile point and we continued on together with him for another 2 miles.  Mom and i were ready to go over to the visitors center by 8:35am.  We saw a car enter the parking lot at around 8:15am so we were able to start our first tour by 8:45am..  

The first tour was from a family from Mexico and we were able to give it in Spanish with the papers we had translated.  The next ours was done in Japanese in a similar fashion.  I am working on getting as many different languages translated from our English version as we prepare for the summer crowds.  We had given over 200 tours by 3:30pm and still had until 5:00pm for others.  Mom and I had to leave at 3:30pm for our opening night of Sunset.  The emphasis here in this mission is the stage show.  We have been asked to make sure our senior missionaries are at the Rendezvous and Sunset plays on time with no exceptions.It is an interesting requirement but we want to be obedient.  However, it is still hard to turn people away from Carthage if they arrive too late to have a tour.

Speaking of stage shows, we opened tonight with the first showing of Sunset.  Here are a few "action" shots of some people in their "sunset" years trying to be young again!!! 

Here is an action shot of the opening day crowd at our Sunset show.  They proved to be a great audience and the Young Performing missionaries did an amazing job tonight!  They take their acting classes very seriously and they sure seem to love the stage!

 Words cannot describe the action seen here with the men's part.

 Oh brother!

Oh sister!! (left,  on the end) - Quite a learning curve for two senior missionaries for sure.  However, the opportunities to teach about Joseph and Hyrum definitely make up for what we lack on the stage for sure.

May 22, 2015 - Friday

Here we are celebrating another Friday here in the Nauvoo, Illinois Mission!  We are definitely staying busy here in the mission field.  Mom and I were up early this morning and got right to work with our devotional and Scripture studies.  We had about 30 minutes to exercise before going over to the jail to clean.  Actually, mom was over there first, and got things done just as I was finishing up my exercise routine. We then headed off for a 3 mile walk.  The Hansen's were just coming out of their apartment as we were walking by at 6:40am and they joined us.

We got over to the Visitors center by 8:45am and we hit the ground running.  It was a very steady day as we really began the Memorial Day weekend.  Guests from out of state came flowing in and we were able to keep up with the tours.  I kept busy working with the scheduling office for the senior missionaries and the young single sister missionaries.  They aren't quite sure how they want to schedule us out here and there are several voices involved in the scheduling process.  That makes the ability to cover the needs of the center very challenging and I spent most of the day expressing my concerns and offering my suggestions to managing the matrix.  

Meanwhile, I took this picture of Elder and Sister Price's grandson who is a piano prodigy.  He turns 12 this year and is playing the piano like a professional.  He reminds me of you, Jacob!  Look at that red hair and he is so shy until he begins playing the piano.  He lets his fingers glide over those keys and I could not detect any errors in his recital!  To all my grandchildren:  Please do not give up those piano practice sessions!  We need talented pianists in every ward and every stake and every mission!!!  You will bless the lives of so many people, including your own, if you don't give up!!  The Price's have been anticipating the visit of their family for several weeks and they were so happy when they finally arrived this afternoon!

Mom and I are in that state of "anticipation" right now!!

We attended a birthday party for one of our cast members tonight.  It was a nice Italian restaurant and there were 8 couples that came.  It was a very nice evening and it marked the first time mom and dad have gone out to a restaurant since we arrived in the mission field.  We prefer to eat at home and save the money so we won't be doing this very often!

We hope that you each have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  We are so very grateful for the men and women who have fought in wars to protect our freedoms and who have given the ultimate sacrifice for these freedoms...  We salute them and those currently in that service to us!

Granny and Grandpa got some wonderful news this evening from Facebook!  We discovered that our grandchildren had opened up a snow cone stand to help finance Granny and Grandpa's mission.  Thank you precious children!!  We were so touched by your thoughts and actions!!!  What a great use of the Coke Wagon!  We love you soooooooooooo much!

May 21, 2015 - Thursday

We certainly had a warmer day today here in Carthage.  We had a strong group of missionaries serving today, but the visitors were minimal.  We had a good start to the day with a nice tour group stopping at the Church History sites from New York to Winter Quarters, but it slowly tapered down and the tours were small and spread out during the balance of the day.  I just have to guess that most of our visitors coming for this Memorial Day weekend are still on the road.  I am expecting some big groups this weekend, but there are no tour reservations until next Tuesday.

Since I had one more rehearsal tonight for my vignette part that begins for me on Monday, I had an extra senior couple join us today.  Elder and Sister Orme joined us from Nauvoo and I have enjoyed working with Elder Orme in the sites in Nauvoo.  He is the mission veterinarian, so it was a real treat to have him come out and join us with his wife today. 

Mom and I were able to get our full workout in this morning and then an extra long walk.  We got home by 7:30am and were able to be at the Visitors Center by 8:45am.  Here are some pictures I took today and some were wonderful surprises!

Here is a picture of Lisa and Richard and their family.  Lisa was from the Lindow family fame and she was just coming into the Mutual program as I was serving as Bishop of the Creekside ward back in Fremont in 1994.    I remember well our youth interviews and I so enjoyed our time in those interviews.  Lisa had such wonderful insights and we could talk well beyond the 45 minutes I would schedule for these youth interviews.

This was the first visitor we have had that we have known and worked with personally!

Lisa reminded me that I would not give her the Young Women medallion before she played a piece of music in our Sacrament Meeting.  She played a beautiful song and she and her parents are responsible for my love of the song, "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing"..

Here she is playing a duet with her daughter in the History Room of the Visitors Center on the Grand Piano.

And, here is the final rehearsal for "Pa" and "Jimmy" for our Rendezvous play coming up on Memorial Day!  I am sure all the talent agencies have been duly notified and I should have a contract signed and active by the end of the holiday.  I am still debating on what signing bonus I will accept.....

So, there is your view of old Nauvoo from the eyes of this Carthage assigned missionary.  This Memorial Day weekend should be very interesting for mom and me.  We love serving here in Carthage and seeing family and friends and making new friends every day.  What a blessing it is to be able to serve here with my eternal companion!  She has helped me nail the lines for my vignette and I am so very thankful for her help and especially for her encouragement!

 

May 20, 2015 - Wednesday

We woke up to a cold and rainy day this morning.  Even though this is our P-day, we had our weekly missionary training meeting in Nauvoo at 7:45am.  Mom was up early doing some laundry and I got up a little past 5:00am just for a little exercise before we had to leave Carthage for the early meeting.  We also made the 10:00am temple session and mom had a hair cutting appointment at 12 noon.  Busy morning for sure!  

We then made our way to Keokuk for some groceries and then back to our house in Carthage.  I had some soup and some fresh baked bread from the Family Living Center in Nauvoo for the new young sister missionaries who are moving into Carthage later today.  They will add 3 new companionships for the summer along with our 4 sets of senior missionary couples.

Here is an action shot of mom getting her hair cut from Robert.  He does a great job on her hair, but I was not happy with his work on mine.  So I found a barber in Carthage and he does a great job for me!  It also gives me a chance to interact with the Carthage people.  When I got my hair cut this afternoon, he started asking me more questions about what mom and I are doing in Carthage.  Since he speaks to most of the men in Carthage, I am hoping to create a good image for the Church here.

This was part of the early morning training.  It was to let us know the different things we can do in this area on our P-days.  This is our mission president and his wife debating between golf and tennis!  Mom and I barely have enough time to do laundry and buy groceries....

We had our last Sunset practice before our debut on Saturday.  The temperature on stage tonight was about 46 degrees.  I thought we might have a good chance for snow!  Just two days ago it was in the high 60's!   I am amazed that we are already at the Memorial Day weekend.... Gas prices here in Carthage are at $2.59 per gallon.  However, when we shopped at Keokuk earlier today in Iowa, we got our gas at $2.47 per gallon.  

I am not sure what to expect for this weekend as far as visitors in Carthage goes, but we are gearing up for some big crowds.  I will have a full set of missionaries at Carthage for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  We also have the young performing missionaries debuting in Carthage on Sunday with the Nauvoo Brass Band making their first appearance on Sunday as well.  We are excited to get this season going!

We are also very excited to see who will make their way to Nauvoo and Carthage this summer that we know!  Our first visitors from Rigby will be our precious Sathre Family and we can't wait to see them!  Granny and Grandpa have already reserved tickets for them to see us in the Rendezvous Play on Friday June 5th... and then we will be at the outdoor stage on Monday June 8th.  Thank goodness I can make the schedules at Carthage and thank goodness we have missionaries who will trade with us to have this time off!

May 19, 2015 - Tuesday

Today we celebrated Mia Sathre's birthday.  She turned 6 years old today and she and her family are coming to visit Granny and Grandpa here in Carthage in just a little over two weeks!  Happy Birthday Mia!!

Then we got our Tuesday morning call from Bob and got to talk with him for a few minutes.  We absolutely love hearing from our family and friends and keeping in touch with the home front activities. It keeps us right in the loop with those that we love and cherish!

I didn't get to bed before 11:30pm last night due to a very slow computer.  My friend, Dave, is trying to set aside some time to check it out from his remote location.  It is great to be able to call for help like this!

Mom and I got an early start at 5:30am this morning and I was so tired!  I did get some exercise in before our brisk walk with the Hansen's.  Then our day at the Visitors Center began in earnest at 9:00am.  We had a steady stream of visitors through out the day but   things got really quiet after 4:30pm.  Mom and I then came home at the closing time of 5:00pm and were able to relax the rest of the day..... No place to go!!

Well, we did some house cleaning and had a very quiet time here tonight, and we are ready to relax and retire early!  Sweet!

May 18, 2015 - Monday

We were up and ready to begin our day this morning by 5:45am, but mom had already been up and working on the laundry and her personal study time well before that!  We had the cleaning duties this morning at the jail and then we were off on our morning walk by 6:50am.  What a great way to begin the day!

The day started off very slow at the Visitors Center, with our first tour around 9:30am.  The couple pictured below came in for a tour and we discovered they are from Rigby.  They were on a trip to the east coast and stopped by Carthage and Nauvoo.  We told them to say hi to everyone there in Rigby!

Since it was a slower day, mom and I were able to leave the Visitors Center by 3:00pm for a nice dinner together before we went into Nauvoo for my first rehearsal with Jimmy and Marie, two of the Young Performing Missionaries here for the summer.  I met them Sunday with their tour of Carthage, and it was good to work with them!  It helped me get the routine down.  What was really fun tonight, was that I knew my lines a little better than my Jimmie (Elder Rosenberg), but he was so quick to ad lib!  Here are some action shots and a little pre show publicity!  My debut is Monday May 24th!

 Taking the stage and getting ready for the vignette.  This is the next part of the show after the audience is welcomed to the show.

 I have a brief part with the lead actor of the play in this shot before the full focus falls on Jimmie and me..... but mostly Jimmy.  He is so full of energy and the combination of old and young is hilarious!

"Pa Robbins" is just greeting Jimmy who just came running up the aisle to get my attention and let me know he needed to talk to me... in private.  Exit lead man and now all lights and cameras on on Pa and Jimmy.

Now, Jimmy is trying to tell me about his feelings for Marie.... but those feelings can't be easily shared and that is what makes this vignette so funny!

Look at that intense "Pa" focusing on his next line!  His preparation is complete and he is on the cutting edge and ready to deliver!  I'm seeing Oscar in my future.....

More focus and catlike preparation to deliver his next line with exactness and fixed determination not to blow it!

And then, Jimmy and Marie complete the scene. These two work so well together.  This was so much fun to rehearse together tonight, and now, to  look forward to at least 35 shows!

Jimmy and Marie finishing up the scene.

Here we are!  One small happy stage family!  This will be a fun show.  I must say that after tonight, my confidence shot up about 100 points on the stage show scale!!.

The Rendezvous play went very well tonight after this rehearsal.  We had just one show at 7:00pm and mom and I had a lot of fun.  I had three parts with one very small speaking part that got lots of laughs!!  Also, mom and I were in a dancing scene and we kind of made up our own little part and it got lots of attention when the audience loved it.  So fun!  We are getting just a little tooooooo comfortable on this "stage"!  Well, like I have said so many times.... you will get the full measure of the price of admission when you see Granny and Grandpa on the Rendezvous or Sunset stages!!  Guaranteed!

I do have one prayer that I keep in my heart about all these added duties and responsibilities that I received from the "Good Clean Funny Laughs";  It comes from random thoughts as we age.....

"Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, (putting on these plays...), the courage to change the things I can, (trying to remember the lines and the songs and the dances and, and, and....???), AND the friends to post my bail when I finally snap!"

And that is a wrap for today!  Thank you for checking in with us, and don't forget to plan your next vacation to come to Nauvoo!!

May 17, 2015 - Sunday

This was a wonderful Sabbath Day.  Mom and I were up early to get ready for our Sunday Meetings in Nauvoo.  We left Carthage about 7:10am so that we could be in Nauvoo by 7:45am and ready for the start of our Sacrament Meeting.  Our opportunity to renew sacred covenants was wonderful and the messages were excellent. 

This is our Sunday that we are on call at the Visitors Center so we took our time after the meetings and visited with friends we don't normally have time to visit.  We then headed back home to break our fast and enjoy the afternoon.  I had two responsibilities today.  The first was giving a tour to the Young Performing Missionaries, and to conduct my first District Meeting as the District Leader here in Carthage.

The tour with the young missionaries was an exceptional blessing for me.  There were 30 in the group who are all here for the summer to perform on stage in the Sunset play and in the Rendezvous play.  They have a tremendous amount of energy and are a pleasure to be around.  You can somewhat understand my privilege to give this tour and this choice opportunity to give them this sacred view of the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum.  They were so receptive.  

The Spirit in the Martyrdom room was so special.  In the process of giving the review of the unfolding events, I used two random Elders in the group and they were precious.  They both were filled to the overflowing of their emotions of those events I was demonstrating .  The entire group was very emotional and I was so touched by their tender reactions.  

After the presentation, they sang a tribute, Capella, to both Joseph and Hyrum and the talent they had in the singing was heavenly.  I have never heard this song before, but it stopped the following tour group in their tracks and filled all levels of the jail with such a warm and precious Spirit.   Needless to say, this was a choice experience for me and I was grateful for the opportunity to be with them in this sacred setting.

Then, after the Visitors Center closed for the day, I held our first district meeting together and my first as a district leader.  Mom and I both agree that we have a great group of senior missionaries to work with.  This next week we will add 3 sets of young sister missionaries to our district.  That will give us four sets of senior missionaries and three sets of young sister missionaries to serve together this summer. 

This has been a wonderful day for me and one I will cherish having spent that time with this wonderful group of missionaries both young and old!  I love giving these tours and I love working with these precious missionaries!

May 16, 2015 - Saturday

I was pretty much worn out after yesterday's activities, and it was hard to wake up this morning.   Mom was up early this morning and tried getting me up at 5:15am and I had to finally force myself to get up at 5:40am.  We had our morning devotional and then our exercise time.  By 6:50am,we were on our way for a brisk walk around Carthage.  When we got back to the house I was able to plant some flowers in our front porch containers and then have breakfast while mom was showering.  We got to the Visitors Center by 9:00am and had guests there within a few minutes.  

We had some interesting guests come to the Visitors Center today and I got to take some wonderful people on tours.  The couple pictured here were not members of the Church and she was not real happy to find out they were going to see a movie about Joseph Smith.  To my surprise, she and her husband stayed for the entire movie and then came with me on the tour of the jail.  

As I was teaching them about who Joseph was and the reason the members of the Church come to Carthage Jail, she visibly softened up and they both became very attentive to the discussion and presentation I gave them.  I shared my testimony with them in the martyrdom room after rehearsing to them the process that Joseph took from the time he entered the Sacred Grove up to the time he was martyred here in Carthage on June 27th, 1844. They were both moved by the experience and since they were from Joliet, Illinois, I invited them to come back again.  

My next set of visitors came walking up the brick walkway and they seemed like they were interested in a tour.  However, they just had a question for me.  They asked me where the 4:00pm "mass" would be.  Of course I let him know that the Church he was looking for was right behind the Visitors Center.  But I told him to come back sometime when he had an extra hour so that I could let him know about the history of this Carthage Jail!  I was even able to give his wife a portion of the 1st discussion while he attended to duties in the restroom.  Ah, good times!

Next we had Sunset practice tonight in Nauvoo.  I got some great pictures of mom fully engaged in the choreography of her dance steps with the other senior sister missionaries.  Have we indicated how much we "love" being on the stages of Nauvoo???  Especially when it interferes with mom's bedtime???  Watch for that "look" on mom's face.  That look and a plea from mom got us excused to head back to Carthage after only 2 hours of practice.  Most of the sisters wanted to stay even later!  Crazy ladies!!  Check out the pictures;

 And the final picture is another magnificent shot of the clouds we were driving toward as we went into Nauvoo tonight for the Sunset practice......
 

May 15, 2015 - Friday

I promised some great news about a special tour held today.  I was pretty anxious to get things started so mom and I were up early to have our morning prayers and devotional.  We got our exercise in and were out on our long morning walk by 6:30am.  The temperature was about 64 degrees and the humidity was close to 90 percent.  But what a great workout!

We got home by 7:15am and I was ready to meet my appointment by 8:20am.  When I got to the jail I discovered that the custodian had not shown up so I quickly did a cleaning of the lobby area and had that done before they arrived at 8:40am.  I presented a tour and then participated in a filming session with Lloyd Newell and a group from the BYU-Provo History Department on Church History and specifically on Church historic sites.  What a treat this was to participate in this effort!

I was first asked to give the group of 7 adults a complete tour of the jail.  One of the seven had not seen the jail before and what a sweet experience it was.  I was giving the tour to 2 BYU professors, Lloyd Newell and their wives and the camera crew.  Talk about intimidation!  But not really.  I could not believe how calm I was and how much I enjoyed the opportunity.... best part about it I was not corrected!  During the filming, they even had me review the script to double check for accuracy, and I found a couple of those informational items that they acknowledged were not accurate, and corrected.  Go figure....  

Of course I had to take pictures!

As you can tell, this has become our "picture" set.  Brother Newell is a little taller than I am and was very kind and complimentary to me.  I told him that my son had registered for one of his classes but I wasn't sure if he ended up taking the class. His daughter had served a mission here in Nauvoo about a year ago.

Here we are outside the Visitors Center and filming the outside of the jail.  They had prepared dialog for each area they filmed in, but that dialog was made on the spot and the lap top was used as the teleprompter.  We received some rain this morning and the brick patio was looking really good.

 This is a picture of a young single adult ward from Lansing, Michigan.  They had a tour scheduled today.  Can you imagine the excitement they felt when they found out Lloyd Newell was here on location?  Brother Newell was so kind and the group was so receptive to him.  This was a very special group of young single adults with several in the process of applying for and receiving their mission calls.

Although it is a little fuzzy, here is Brother Newell in the dining room of the jail.  It is here that I was able to offer some suggestions and corrections to the dialog. 

This was filmed in the martyrdom room and Brother Newell was acting as the teleprompter.  I got this picture just before I was called upon to assist in the teleprompting process... I got to hold the lap top and Brother Newell got to scroll the words!

Brother Ostler is on the right and this is his project.  He was writing the script and speaking in parts to get this ready for production.  This entire piece will be on the BYU internet within the next year and covers the history of the Church from Palmyra to Salt Lake.  Brother Ostler has written several books and gave me a copy of his latest book on the last days.  Here is a brief description of his book:....
"Armageddon. The end of the world. The Second Coming of Christ. Among the most compelling gospel topics is that of the last days and the multitude of events surrounding this crucial period of time. A wealth of gospel literature has addressed the subject, but the question still remains: How can we spiritually prepare ourselves to navigate life in the last days without becoming encumbered by the myth and speculation that often accompany end-of-the-world discussions?
Craig James Ostler, professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU, addresses the answers to this and other questions in his treatment of one of the most profound and perplexing doctrines of the Church. In this insightful book, Dr. Ostler takes a straightforward approach in his examination of the great joy and anticipation — as well as the challenges — that accompany the last days and the Second Coming of Christ. Citing scripture and prophetic counsel, Refuge from the Storm explores the historical and modern fulfillment of prophecy and signs of the times and suggests ways to prepare and thrive spiritually in the midst of wickedness".

Lloyd Newell had another assignment after lunch so guess who filled in with the teleprompting?

Here is the filming crew as the work wrapped up around 3:30pm today.  What a sweet privilege it was to "hang out" with this distinguished group!

Brother Ostler is on my right here in the martyrdom room along with another BYU professor who came along to assist in the project.  He is a former Stake President and Mission President and he and his wife report to the Philippines, Manilla Mission in three weeks and will work in the Manilla Temple.  I did not have the heart to tell them what to expect.....

To complete the last of the filming with Lloyd Newell, we had to hold up a tour of the Priest Quorum from the Aberdeen Ward in Pocatello.  There were about 20 Priests in this group and 3 have received their mission calls.  Since we delayed their tour, I had Brother Newell come into the Visitors Center after the filming, and talk to them.  It was a huge hit!  I was able to pull the Bishop of this ward aside and tell him about the mob members that "stood" for what was right and put their rifles down and left the proceedings before June 27th.  I suggested that he might use that at an appropriate spot in his discussion with his Priests on this tour.  Later in the afternoon, he came up to me and thanked me for the opportunity that this suggestion presented for him...

You might be wondering why there is a package right in the middle of this picture.  Well... one of the newest senior missionary sisters accepted this package while I was in the jail busy filming with Lloyd Newell.... (not this beautiful missionary - FYI), we don't accept packages here and this one was for the Carthage "real" jail!  I decided to call them and let them know we had the package here for them.  Why not have them come into the Visitors Center and pick it up over here?  It might just be the first time, ever, that one of the jailers will come to the historic jail!  And then we can expose them to such a wonderful place!








Well, this has, by far, been a great day!  To all my grandchildren that will be able to hear me give this tour at this sacred historical site; I am practicing and perfecting my ability to present this information to you on your visits here.... I can't wait!

Thank you for checking in with me tonight!  If anyone knows how to download a picture that got sent to me on my phone as a text message, please send me a text on how to get it from there unto my blog!!