Sunday, June 30, 2019

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

I have been thinking about the blessing it is to be born in a free country where we are able to worship and act according to the dictates of our conscious.  We, in Canada, are not only blessed with these freedoms (that we take for granted) but are also blessed with a beautiful country of diverse scenery.  For the record, I  am grateful for these blessings!   I have also been thinking of the fun and family associations that come with Canada Day and all the celebrations in Raymond.  Enjoy each of these things !!  I plan on doing some Canada Day decorations on our outside fence today and giving a plate of red & white cookies out to our neighbors.  Not sure that it will be appreciated but oh well....

Enjoy the pictures , as I take you through our week here in Beautiful Nauvoo:

 We received a storm on Tuesday that had some wind (not quite as bad as we get at home) but because the trees do not have a root system that goes very deep, it results in lots of trees going down.  The ground is so full of moisture that the roots do not go very deep and the excess water also contributes to the roots being rotten.  Anyway, this would have been frightening to have fall onto your house !! 

Thursday, was June 27...the 175th commemoration of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith Jr. and his brother Hyrum.  We helped set up chairs for the service by the Community of Christ at the Smith Family cemetary at noon.  Their theme was based on the hymn, A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.  They sang each of the seven verses (each to a different tune ) with narration in between,  It was nice.   After that ceremony, we took the chairs down and transported them to Carthage where there was another service at 5:00 p.m. by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  They (the FM group) had already set up 1000 chairs the day before but needed the additional 300 chairs and the podium.  It was a beautiful service with prelude music by the Nauvoo Brass Band and music by the Heritage School Choir from American Fork, UT.  They were outstanding !  They also put on a musical presentation on Friday night with music and narration about being a disciple of Jesus Christ that I really enjoyed.  The keynote speaker at the Commemoration was Mark H. Taylor (great great grandson of John Taylor)  John Taylor survived the wounds he received in Carthage and became the 3rd President and prophet.  He and Willard Richards were surviving witnesses to the events leading up to and the day of the martyrdom.  John Taylor kept a detailed journal and Mark H. Taylor has written the book "Witness to the Martyrdom" from the entries in that journal.  

 As we were setting up the chairs for the service at the Smith Family cemetery, on Thursday, this is the view of the river.  It is of a barge moving its load up the Mississippi.  It is one of the first that I have seen this season because the river has been too high.

This guy was in the middle of the parking lot, trying to make his way across the it.  Look at those claws and he actually snapped at the foot of Elder Nelson who put his foot in his face to try and get him to turn around.  He had his work boots on, but I am told that they are able to snap a good size tree branch in half  with their strong jaws.  This turtle probably just ended up with a headache from trying to snap steel toed boots....haha!! 

Friday, the weather again played a trick on us.  No rain was forecast but at about 11:00 I heard thunder and we got a real downpour for about an hour.  It quit and around 2:00, I was driving home from the FM compound when a REALLY bright lightning bolt (just one) hit really close and the thunder sounded like a cannon going off !  Anyway, come to find out that the statue of the Angel Moroni on the top of the Nauvoo temple took a direct hit.  

You can see his face looks black

Here is a close-up. Actually his face and arm were burned as well as the trumpet closest to his mouth.

Another view.  You can see the lightning rod that is attached to the top of his head.

Friday, as well, we said goodbye to a dear couple.  Elder & Sister Baker from Idaho.  He developed a real problem with his back and has been out of work for 3 weeks.  They arrived here just before Christmas and are an example of faith and dedication.  Sister Baker has never been able to work in FM because she is not very mobile but Elder Baker has worked faithfully at the Condos everyday...which is very hard, physical work. 

They are receiving their flag from Marcus Allen (second in command).  As you can see, Elder is in a wheelchair and Sister can not stand very long.  They are alot older than most of us and  have 13 children.  One daughter came out and helped them pack up their things and their car.  They flew home but left their car packed and a son will be out to pick it up and drive it home. 

Finally, a picture of one of my favorite scenes...  sunset over the Mississippi river as seen by the temple.  The statues of Joseph and Hyrum entitled "The Last Ride" as they leave Nauvoo to go to Carthage is really a tender scene.  I admire the strong and true bond that Hyrum had for Joseph and for his willingness to have "his back" when they both knew that the outcome would probably be death.  Hyrum was 6 years older than Joseph but always supported his little brother from the time that he came home and shared the fact that he had seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and received direction and council from them. It is an example of brotherly love and kindness that I hope to emulate in my family and home.

Have a great week....know that you are thought of daily and that we are grateful for each of you in our lives.