3 Months

Statue depicting Joseph and Hyrum as they leave for Carthage.  This is a statue at the temple.  "In life they were not divided and in death they were not separated!" - D&C: 135:3

It has now been almost 3 months since we began our service here in Nauvoo. As I have mentioned to many people, it seems as though we have been on an endless vacation.

Don’t misunderstand me. When we work, we work very hard and spend at least 7 hours each day in the temple. Our day starts by getting up at 5:00 am and arriving at the temple at about 6:25 am. By 6:30 we have already climbed 91 steps to get to the 4th floor, where we change our clothes into our whites (White shirt, tie, pants, socks, shoes, and suit coat for men; white dress, socks, shoes for women). As a side note, a lady who is not a member of our church came to the front desk the other day and, after discovering that we offered no tour, said that she had a question. I said that I would be happy to answer if I could. She then asked…”is it true that you all wear white inside the temple?” I responded in the affirmative and then she asked…”also is it true that you all have white hair?” I had a quick laugh and then said that it was not a requirement, but by the time a person could afford the time to work here full time he usually either had white hair or no hair at all.

We work in the temple 5 days a week. Bonnie and I work the morning shift on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and the afternoon shift on Thursdays and Saturdays. Our day off is Friday. The temple is closed on Sunday.

The work can be very exhausting. Now that the pageant has started, (July 6th thru July 31st) our work load has grown much heavier. One of the ordinances that are performed in the temple is “Baptisms for the Dead”. (See your bible: 1 Corinthians 15:29) Young worthy members of the church are eligible to perform this ordinance who are 12 years and older and they show up here in droves. Generally over 200 per day show up during this month of July. All of the work in the temple is very exciting and my testimony of our Savior and his role in the Eternal Plan of Salvation has grown many times stronger.

After our shift in the temple, we still have plenty of time to explore the many activities that are found in the Nauvoo area. I shall take a few lines and update you with some of the activities that we have been involved in.

View from our house

View of the back of our house

Guest Lectures:
Susan Easton Black, a well known professor of BYU has spend many summers here in Nauvoo researching the people who lived here in the 1840 era. She has also researched land records and identified many locations where both prominent and non-prominent people lived and owned properties and now provides this information for free to ancestors of these people who come looking for this information for genealogical research. We have attended 4 of her lectures.

Bruce H. Porter PhD and Wayne N. May, Also professors of BYU have spent many years studying the evidences of the North American setting for the Book of Mormon. The evidence they have compiled is overwhelming as a witness not only to the setting of this book of scripture, but also to the reality of the Book of Mormon as a historical record. As I understand it, they have tied DNA of the early Hopewell Indian Culture back to the 600BC Israel. This corresponds to the claims in the Book of Mormon of the history of these people.

Visiting Entertainers:
The Hughes Brothers, a well known group from Branson, Missouri spent two weeks here performing each evening.

The BYU Young Ambassadors, formed back in the 1960’s also spent two weeks here with performances each evening.

The BYU Vocal Point, a group of 9 BYU male students who recently received a national singing award also spent two weeks here with performances here and in neighboring cities.

Local Activities:

“Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo” – a daily evening performance put on by the Site Missionaries providing some comedy relief of the life in Old Nauvoo.

“Sunset by the Mississippi” – a daily summer evening performance put on by the Site Missionaries and the Young Performing Missionaries providing music and dance in a somewhat comical setting.

“Just Plain Anna Amanda” – A production by the Young Performing Missionaries for the children visiting the area.

“High Hopes and River Boats” – Also a production by the Young Performing Missionaries performed twice daily in the afternoon.

“Nauvoo Brass Band Concert” – This group of volunteer performers arrived in June and has captured the hearts of everyone for their musical ability. Not only do they have this concert, but they ride around Nauvoo in a Horse-drawn wagon making music throughout the whole city. They also perform in the Rendezvous and Sunset productions.

Other nearby sites:

Carthage Jail – Where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum were martyred

The two of us with Bonnie's brother Richard and his wife Sandy at Carthage

Montrose – City across the Mississippi where the saints landed after being driven forcefully out of Nauvoo in February 1846. From here they moved on by foot and wagon to Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Pageant - This production tops it all off. With a core cast that remains throughout the whole month and a volunteer cast of 100’s, which changes each week, the whole story of Nauvoo from the first arrival of the Saints to the building of the temple, the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the eventual evacuation of the residents forced by mobs is portrayed.

And finally, this afternoon we attended a short performance given by the young man who plays the Lead Role of Joseph Smith in the Pageant. He gave a 17 minute recreation of the famous speech given by the Prophet Joseph Smith at the funeral of King Follet, an 1840 resident of Nauvoo who died in an accident while digging a well.

We are enjoying ourselves.  We would love to hear from you.  We appreciate your love and support during our time serving the Lord.