We have been encouraged to look for "Nauvoo miracles," so here goes. Some may seem mundane to you.
1. Getting hooked up to the Internet.
The first few days we were piggybacking but it was so weak I couldn't even index. So in disgust I called the rep who had left her card. She was one house away so came right over to sign us up. She said we'd have to wait until Saturday to have it installed, but the next day I saw the truck at the next apartment so I asked if they could do ours too, and they did! I am so happy to have the Internet again!
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| Grackle |
2. The birds of Nauvoo.
We have seen robins, Canadian geese, grackle (a type of crow with an iridescent blue head that is a ground feeder), red winged blackbirds, and most special, cardinals!
3. Memotts.
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| The back of Memotts' car |
We've been getting acquainted with various nice couples but the one that inspired me most was the Memotts. They are on their second marriage and they each had 13 children when a mutual friend lined them up. His wife had died of cancer and her husband had been excommunicated for wanting to practice polygamy. When they married their youngest were both 13 years old and exactly half of their children had married, so they built a 6-bedroom house with a huge family room to accommodate the remaining 13 children.
4. President Condie.
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| Spencer and Dorothea Condie |
What an amazing man, and so down to earth. When he quotes President Hinckley, he does it in President Hinckley's voice. He has taught us to not correct the patrons or each other, but to think that they're each doing their best. He said to look to Christ for the model of acceptance. When Peter cut off the soldier's ear, he didn't get released, and that act should have been good for 10 to 15 years in any state! He doesn't want the temple to become a support group for those with OCD! He says we should have "the best of feelings" in the temple and in our homes. He said this mission could be our MTC for serving a mission on the other side. He calls us "high mileage models." He said we'll look back on Nauvoo with fondness like the pioneers did when they were driven out of it. He calls his wife Angel instead of Dorothea!
The world calls miracles coincidence. But miracles are God's way of remaining anonymous!
8 comments:
The Memotts sound like the real-life Brady Bunch. I'll bet they have never-ending stories to tell.
The internet AND cardinals. Life is good. : )
Spencer J. Condie - big bells from my past but hard time getting them to "ring". I took a class from him at the Y, I'm pretty sure, but seems like there's more than that.
So then I'm thinking music and realize that would be Richard P. He's famous for directing MoTab w/Eugene Ormandy's Philadelphia Orchestra conducting Handel's Hallelujah Chorus - and the album of that is downstairs.
Don't think they're related, other than that they both worked at the Y, but this is interesting:
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/12/handel-and-the-gift-of-messiah?lang=eng
He should have made them use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJagS32f5Fs
Or not. :-) Hard to beat Wilberg.
Love and miss you!
Sounds like you're doing great! Have tourists started coming by?
Isn't Spencer Condie a general authority and author?
He is or has been a Seventy. Don't know if he's written anything.
The temple has been closed for two weeks for cleaning and opens next Monday. There aren't many tourists yet, but a few.
He got his PhD in Medical Sociology, and taught soc and ancient history at BYU. Was a GA fro 1989-2010.
... and he served a mission in Germany where his future wife was also serving (she was a local). So you should sprechen sie deutsche with them.
When he was working long/late hours getting his dissertation done, he came home at 1 a.m., flopped into bed, she thumped him on the chest and said, "You forgot to say your prayers." So he credits her with his lifelong faithfulness.
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