Day 9

First we went to a little monument down by the river where the saints crossed the frozen river to Quincy. Now there is a beautiful bridge.

We stopped in Warsaw in front of the inn where the mob gathered before the martyrdom and where they met afterward. Ken did a reading about that.

Then we went to Nauvoo and went to the visitors center first and watched a film. There is a beautiful statue of the First vision.

We enjoyed the women's garden.

Our tour director, Mike Vielstich with his daughter, Andrea

One of the surviving sunstones from the original temple is there.

We visited the Wilford Woodruff home as a group.

The visit to the temple was a highlight. It's beautiful. Eldon and Ken and the girls participated in baptisms and confirmations. The girls and their husbands and I went on an endowment session. The temple president gave us a tour up to see the sealing rooms. Some even went to the top and saw the bell tower. It was a wonderful experience to be in a temple together.

At night we congregated at the temple and sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives."

Day 10

Nauvoo the beautiful! First we toured the sites the Community of Christ own--the Nauvoo House, the graves of Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum.

Then we could visit where we wanted. Sheryl and I went to the Cultural Hall and saw the beautiful quilts. There was even one from the 1830's. We visited the Family Living Center and learned about weaving and breadmaking and candle making. Eldon went to the Browning gun shop. We also visited the boot shop and brickyard.

Later in the day we went to the red brick store where in the upper room the first RS meeting was held, the first endowments given, and the council to leave Nauvoo was held.

After supper we drove to the Nauvoo Cemetery to the grave of Laura Clark Phelps and heard her story. There was a beautiful sunset.

We ate all our meals in Nauvoo at the Nauvoo State Park.

Day 11

We drove to Carthage Jail. Mike, the tour director told the story of the martyrdom and sang "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" which put us in a somber mood. The room where they first were put was dark and claustrophobic. It was sad to think about. Afterward Robin wanted to sing "Praise to the Man" on the bus, which we did. Mike then talked about how we are willing to die for the gospel, but an even more difficult question is, are we willing to live for it!

We drove back to Nauvoo for lunch. They surprised Eldon with a birthday cake. The kids got him a book called "Bones in the Well" about Haun's Mill from the Community of Christ bookstore.

Eldon and I went on a carriage ride. The driver reminded us of Eldon's Dad. 

 Then we spent some alone time in the Women's Garden.

While Eldon paid a visit to the blacksmith shop, I went in the post office with Sheryl and Jonathan.

Then we walked the trail of hope down to the landing where the Pioneers got on the ferries to cross the Mississippi. On the way we said goodbye to the beautiful temple on the hill.

On the bus to Garden Grove I read a part about how the Saints were moving to an unknown destination to establish an even better place where they could gather in peace. Sheryl led us in singing "Come, Come Ye Saints."

At Garden Grove the Community Club had prepared supper for us. They have named their high school the Mormon Trail High School and their mascot is the Saints! There are no Mormons there, but they are proud of the Mormon Trail and how their town got its beginning.

Day 12

The last day of our trip! We drove to Mt. Pisgah and met Farmer Brown. He owns a lot of land where Mt. Pisgah once was located and has done extensive research on it. He showed us how to find out where things were located by using divining rods that move when you cross earth that has been disturbed at least 18". So you can tell where graves and cabins and wells used to be.

Mt. Pisgah is significant because that's where the Mormon Battalion was mustered in, of which our ancestor,  Sam White was a part. 

Then we went on a wagon ride around his property and he pointed out where things used to be. It was cold so we could empathize with the Pioneers who spent the winter there in dug outs, cabins, or tents. We had a short testimony meeting and Jonathan represented our family by urging us to share the great gospel message we have with others.

We went to lunch which the Afton Methodist Church ladies made for us--probably the best of the whole tour. Hamballs and many salads and a variety of homemade pies for dessert! it was memorable.

Then we drove to Winter Quarters. The visitors center right next to the temple is very impressive. We walked up the hill to see the cemetery. We saw a touching movie about the pioneers. We appreciate what they went through for us.

On the way to the airport we sang "God Be With You" led by Sheryl and Eldon said the last prayer for the group. Although the trip home was long and tiring, it was nothing at all compared to the Pioneers' trip out west!

Uncle Glen's artwork

I was inspired by Aunt Gail's tribute to our Uncle Glen's artwork.
     http://grandmagailaliasgg.blogspot.com

I'd like to share the two pieces we have of his:

First, our wedding present. It's of the Great White Throne down in Zion's National Park in southern Utah.
     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_White_Throne_%28mountain%29

Our version of it is a watercolor and has always hung in our home, although in later years it has a beautiful new frame made by Pam and Neil.

The second one was commissioned by Neil and Ruby when they built the big house on the hill. It's an oil of a scene down by Utah Lake. It hung over the fireplace in the living room and had a light colored frame. Then when they moved down to the house my grandpa built, now owned by Aunt Gail, it hung over the fireplace downstairs and was changed to a dark frame. It survived the fire, but had to be cleaned of smoke damage. Then I asked Norma if I could inherit it early and she graciously gave it to me. It now hangs above the couch that stayed with this house when we bought it in 2005 and I think it goes well with it. I love it.

Thank you, Uncle Glen, for your artistic talent which generations on down will enjoy.

The veil is thin

I'm going to teach the lesson every other time in DUP this year. This first lesson tells about a pioneer named Jeremiah Willey. It ends with an interesting story about his death. He died at age 63. He'd been having fainting spells and one day he was crossing a bridge near his home in Bountiful, Utah and fell into Barton Creek and drowned. His family had to wonder if he'd had a fainting spell or tripped or threw himself off on purpose! So the day of the funeral two of his friends were walking to the church. He appeared to them and explained that it had been an accident and he did not want them to think he had jumped in on purpose.

Robert Wilson McKell and Emma Eliza Jex McKell, parents of Effa McKell Williams

So I'm going to ask the sisters if they know of similar experiences where people who've died have come back to comfort or instruct the living. The experience I know of is when my Grandma Williams died, my Grandpa saw her parents come for her to escort her back to Heavenly Father. This was comforting to him to know she was in their care.

When I was in San Diego I received this insight: our ancestors are waiting in the wings, watching our lives, cheering us on, anxious for our return. On the other hand, our descendants are also waiting in the opposite wings so to speak, anxious that we do our best so they will be able to come to good circumstances.

Where's Waldo?

Today Neil is running the ultra marathon at Waldo Lake. It's a grueling 62.5 miles long of difficult mountain terrain! They started at 5 am and right now (9:23 am) he's in 6th place.

Last year he missed this race because of our reunion at Heber Valley. Quite a sacrifice I think, as he probably wanted to defend his record from the year before when he earned the course record for masters in 10:02:39. Most of us were there to support him. The Dodges, Andrei, and we were camping at Waldo Lake. Here's a picture of him crossing the finish line which I didn't actually see because as usual, he came in earlier than he predicted he would!

I'll post the results later. Right now, I'm just keeping him in my prayers.

Postscript: He came in 13th overall, 10th in the men, 3rd in his age group. 11 hours and 37 minutes. Hope he gives us details in his blog.