June 26, 2016 - Sunday in Nauvoo

We had a marvelous Sabbath Day today.  The commemoration of the Martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, will be tomorrow for the 172nd anniversary.  The mission has planned the gathering for 5:00pm June 27, 2016.  The time of day is the almost exact time that the mob rushed the stairs of the jail, forced the door, and fired their black powder rifles, that murdered Joseph and Hyrum, and severely wounded John Taylor, and spared Willard Richards with just a grazing wound on his left ear lobe.  

Others had been with Joseph and Hyrum and John and Willard, the evening before, and, the morning of the Martyrdom.  They were Dan Jones, Stephen Markham and John Fullmer.  The last prophecy spoken by Joseph Smith involved one of these faithful men, Dan Jones....

Dan Jones, a Welsh convert, joined the Prophet in the Carthage Jail. On June 26, 1844, the last night of his life, Joseph heard a gun shot fired at around midnight, left the bed he was sharing with Hyrum, and lay on the floor near Jones. The Prophet whispered, “Brother Jones, are you afraid to die?” “Engaged in such a cause I do not think that death would have many terrors,” Jones replied. “You will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die,” Joseph prophesied. Thousands of faithful Latter-day Saints enjoy the blessings of the Church today because Dan Jones later served an honorable and successful mission to Wales.  He was also a rescuer to the Willie and Martin Handcart companies of 1856.

The Sacrament talks were all centered around Joseph Smith, as probably many talks were throughout the Church.  I was especially impressed with the thought that, "the Gospel prepares us for the worst day of our lives".  That, to me, was a profound insight as to, who we are, and who we can become.

That thought is so appropriate for the life that Joseph led.  He had spent the last 20 years of his life introducing, testifying and sacrificing his days in laying the sure foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He, along with his brother Hyrum, spent the worst day of their lives, together, to cement their testimonies of the truthfulness of the Gospel.  And we are the latter-day benefactors, and we have a work to do to share our testimonies to the world!

While the Gospel may prepare us for the worst day of our lives, how many marvelous and "best" days have we had in developing and strengthening our resolve to live the Gospel to the fullest?  Today was a good day to prepare ourselves for the commemoration tomorrow....

Mom and I came home after our meetings to enjoy a Sabbath Day of rest.  We invited Sister Goodman over for our breakfast for lunch and had a wonderful time with her.  It has been a real treat getting to know her and being able to serve with her.

My nephew, Jack, was just sworn in as a firefighter for the Merced Fire department in California.  With the state literally on fire, he was one of the volunteers from the Merced force to head to Kern County to help fight the blaze in that area.  Here is a somber picture of several square miles of that fire;

Kern County Wild fire - late June 2016

I cannot imagine the terror that these residents must feel for the uncontrolled destruction in their area of the country.  Over 150 homes have been lost so far and the death toll is still being calculated.  Our prayers go out to the thousands affected by this natural disaster.

On a much lighter note, Amy and Josh have an all new definition of "date night".  This picture is worth a thousand words in this blog......

"Don't mind me.... I will just lay here quietly while you have your date...

Nothing quite like cuddle time!