April 17, 2016 - Sunday in Nauvoo

Our Holy Sabbath Day began early this morning as mom and I had our morning devotional and prayers.  We needed to be at the Stake Center by 7:00am to help with the Sacrament.  We got there and helped with the set-up and then I assisted in the blessing of the Sacrament.  I did pick up a thought from one of the speakers today.  He said something to the effect, "never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved".  I had to think about that for a few minutes....  

Then I tied that into, how do you make the most impact of problem solving with the least impact on personal relations??...  Makes sense to be sure to have sensitivity on how we treat each other in a variety of circumstances that will maintain positive relationships in the family, at work, in our congregations, and even while serving a full time mission! 

Mom and I served together at the Blacksmith's shop.  It was mom's first time serving there with me!  We had about a dozen tours over the 4.5 hours we spent there.  We even had some folks come into the shop who had seen us at Rendezvous last night!  I took a picture of one of those guests;

"Nina"

Nina came to Rendezvous last night with her two daughters.  She was coming down the stairs from the play last night, with a lot of care, and moving very carefully and deliberately.  I went over to help her, and thanked her for coming.  She then told me that she had come to celebrate her 90th birthday!  I turned to our cast members and asked them to join me in singing to her the "Happy Birthday" song.  She was delighted with the extra attention!

They then came to the Blacksmith shop today and Nina stayed in the car because she was plain "worn out".  So I took her a horseshoe, and a Prairie Diamond ring, to the car and told her the Prairie Diamond story complete with our precious "Mary" version.  I had the daughter snap this picture.  Happy 90th birthday Nina!

We were also surprised with a visit from a friend from Fresno, California.  She had been married to Fred Jr, and came to Bob and Mary's wedding reception in Fremont in 2006.  We did not recognize Shannon until she told us who she was.  She also insisted on video taping the tour to show my sister Jackie and my brother Doug!  Maybe this will spark their curiosity to come to Nauvoo before we are released in November!  Here is our picture with Shannon;

Shannon Donovan with Mom and me!

We closed our day with three investigators from Ft Madison.  They were all working together at the fertilizer plant and elected to come to Nauvoo, for their first visit, on a Sunday afternoon.  We had a great time telling them about the faith of the pioneers and the history of their struggles here after being forced out of Missouri.  Then mom offered them all a copy of the Book of Mormon which they graciously accepted.  

As we shared our thoughts and testimony about the Book of Mormon, I was grateful for the messgaes it contains for those who are seeking a happier life.  What a sweet opportunity it is to offer the blessings we so abundantly enjoy, (and sometimes take for granted), to others!  That is the message that Bonnie L. Oscarson shared with us in conference and I have included the summary of that talk I copied from the Church website;

 Bonnie L. Oscarson
Young Women General President

Do we sometimes become so accustomed to the blessings we have been given as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that we fail to fully comprehend the miracle and majesty of discipleship in the Lord’s true Church? Are we ever guilty of being complacent about the greatest gift we can be offered in this life? …

We believe that this Church is more than just a good place to go on Sundays and learn how to be a good person. It is more than just a lovely Christian social club where we can associate with people of good moral standing. …

We believe that [the Church’s] distinguishing features can be found in no other place or religion on this earth. …

We have a knowledge of these things, but do we believe them? If these things are true, then we have the greatest message of hope and help that the world has ever known. Believing them is a matter of eternal significance for us and for those we love.

To believe, we need to get the gospel from our heads into our hearts! …

We all need to seek to have our hearts and very natures changed so that we no longer have a desire to follow the ways of the world but to please God. True conversion is a process that takes place over a period of time and involves a willingness to exercise faith.

Once we finally get this message of hope from our minds to our hearts, we want to share it!  Others won't necessarily accept the message right away.  However, if they see the love we have in sharing this precious message, and they can witness the affects it has had on our lives, then they will want to know more about what we have!  

And they will certainly be more receptive to what we have if we truly cherish this precious Gospel, and show it in the ways that we live our lives, in the ways we love our families, and in the ways we talk about our beliefs to all those that we come in contact with.  We, personally, have nothing to lose in sharing this precious message, and those we talk to have everything, eternally, to gain!