A Modern Apostle

I had a rough day Saturday. I was as discouraged as I have been in a long time. Going to church, I felt much better. I was quite nervous to teach Sunday School today as I was not feeling very positive. I prayed that the Lord's spirit would be there and I was not disappointed. I felt so uplifted by the lesson and the comments that were shared in the class. I love being able to teach from the scriptures, what a blessing in my life.

One of the patterns that Jesus established when he walked on the earth was to call twelve men to be his apostles. Holy men that knew him and were special witnesses of his name to the world. The restored gospel message is that Jesus still calls men on the earth today and reveals to them his will. We have today, twelve men-apostles-who know and testify of the Savior. Gina and I were privileged to attend a meeting this evening where one of the twelve, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, presided. Having such an experience is a pretty rare occurrence. He spoke to us of where Jesus has been known to walk but then explained that to know Jesus, we don't need to walk where Jesus has walked but rather to walk as Jesus walked. There was such a calm peaceful spirit about him. At the end of the meeting he said that he would be honored to have us come shake his hand. We briefly did so. Someone watching said that she noticed that all who came down after greeting him had a smile on their face. I had to agree. As discouraged as I felt yesterday, I felt equally hopeful tonight. I am grateful to feel of the Lord's love, to know that He lives and will guide as today as he has in the past.

Joseph

I have been thinking a lot about Joseph, the man called on to raise the Son of God. I've been carving a figure representing him and had the opportunity to do so at our church's annual "Creche and Carol" event last weekend. It has given me time to contemplate the little we know of him. I truly believe he was a special man and a good father. We do know that he came from the house of David since they had to travel to Bethlehem to be accounted. His lineage was royal. I can imagine that learning that his espoused wife was pregnant came as a great shock. I think he understood and accepted that early on, receiving the angelic visitation explaining his situation. I imagine that his family and friends were not so accepting. I am sure he must have had family in Bethlehem with accommodations and yet he and Mary traveled on donkey and could not find a place to stay. He stood by Mary even taking her and Jesus out of the country to Egypt when his life was in danger. I love Joseph and hope to know more of the man some day.

His very name reminds me of another Joseph who was ridiculed for having claimed to received angelic visitations and being led by God. Is it so crazy to think that God would act today just as He did when announcing the coming of his Son to the earth? I have read that one definition of an angel is a messenger sent from God. I am surrounded by angels and am grateful for the influence of good people inspired to bless my life. I have felt the protection and guidance of others, yet unseen by my eyes. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is their message, a message that rings as clear and true today as when it was declared by angels to the shepherds of old.

How Beautiful!

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isaiah 52:7)

My Sunday School lesson this week includes this scripture. I've been thinking about it a lot. When the prophet Abinadi in the Book of Mormon stood in front of the wicked King Noah and called him to repentance, one of Abinadi's chief priests ask him, "What does it mean in the scriptures when it says "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings..." What followed is a beautiful sermon on the savior. I am convinced that it was the future prophet Alma who must have been touched by Abinadi's words who asked this question. I think it was his way of telling Abinadi that he had received a witness of the Lord and that he loved and appreciated Abinadi. At the time, Abinadi may have thought that his words were for naught. Shortly after this, his last sermon, he was put to death by fire. He was secure in his relationship with His Savior but I imagine he knew a thing or two about discouragement. What he did not know was that his words would not only save Alma but through him the gospel would be preached to three nations. Thousands and thousands of lives were changed in the Savior, and through recorded scripture, many more continue to be even today. I am grateful for a man that held true to the faith even when it seemed that all his efforts were for no effect. I am grateful for a man that knew the Savior, and that made all the difference.

My Nauvoo Memory Stick

For those of you who saw me at the pageant, you probably saw me carrying around my large walking stick. This is a certain hobby of mine, to carve on walking sticks. I usually don't ever finish carving them, but they are fun to hike with and always have something to do while resting. I thought it would be fun to do a walking stick while in Nauvoo, so prior to going I found a good cedar pole. I never quite know what I'll do on these sticks but started on the bottom, carving the words, "Red Cast" and "Nauvoo" up the sides vertically, rimmed horizontally with "2010." In Nauvoo, I had the idea that it would be fun to have everyone sign my stick, so I carved groups of five sided flat spaces up the stick. It was a great way to meet and talk to everyone in the cast. I believe that I succeeded in getting a family member to sign the last name of all the families in the cast as well as the first names of the core cast. In between these groups of names I decided to carve in the Nauvoo temple stone symbols of the sun stone, moon and the star. Amazingly enough there was a perfect number of spaces to have three sets of those up the stick. Lastly, I carved the temples bell tower/spire on the top (without the angel). I have finally finished and wanted to share the pictures with you.

One of my endearing memories of Nauvoo was the spirit of togetherness that we felt together as a cast. This spirit of "Zion," of being of one heart and one mind was an experience that we don't often get to feel. For me, the time we shared in the temple as a cast and then symbolically building it every night on stage represents our efforts in building the kingdom of Jesus Christ on the earth. My stick reminds me of all the cast and how the temple binds us together as one in the Lord.

Isaiah 25:18

"He will swallow up ^adeath in ^bvictory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the ^crebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it."

This is one I came across for an upcoming Sunday School lesson. I chose it after I had a conversation today with someone who told me that she wouldn't ever want to be made comfortable at the end of her life. She wanted to live as long as possible. Death was too scary. I told her that it was not so scary. It was just a new beginning. The knowledge of the Savior's victory over death brings such great peace to my life. I am so grateful to Him and will continue to strive to follow in the paths that He would have me take.

Isaiah 1:19

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

I have always loved the imagery of this verse. It is nice to know that the Lord is not only always there for us but has paid the ultimate price for anything we could ever do. By following his plan for us, he will clean us and make us pure. It is that process which will bring true joy to our lives. It is that joy which we are asked to sure with those around us.

Isaiah 4:5-6

•"And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory [of Zion] shall be a defence.

• And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. "

A few years back I was reading this scripture, trying to understand what it meant. I read it a few times and then it was as if the curtain was opened over the window of my mind and I could see clearly. I realized that the Lord was telling me that my own home could and should be as sacred as a temple. It should be a place where my children feel safe, where the spirit of the Lord could reside and through which he could reveal his will for us. It can be a struggle to keep such a spirit in our home all the time, but we keep trying. If we rely on the Savior, he'll make it happen.

Doctrine & Covenants 19:23

"Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me."

Rachael used this scripture today as her devotional in seminary. What greater blessing can there be than to have peace in the Lord? Truly, then we will be happy. Today I had some good moments of patience and others that were lacking. Walking in the meekness of His spirit is certainly harder for me than it seems it should be. I need to be a listener, especially to my children. I tend to tell them what I want them to do without much thinking about what they are thinking, feeling and struggling with. Certainly the Lord doesn't lecture me much, but he is always there to listen. I will work on being a better listener.

Jeremiah 16:16

"Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them. And after will I send for many hunters and they shall hunt them, out of the mountains and out of the hills and out of the holes of the rocks."

Just one I picked out of a pile this morning. It had me thinking that no matter where we are, what we have done, the Lord will send someone to find us. We are never alone and he knows what we are doing. He knows our thoughts, are struggles and will help, even when we may not want it. I am grateful for his love in my life.

Scripture of the Day

If you are anything like me, it is hard to do all that we know we should. We have been much better as a family about praying together lately and it has been a huge blessing. We have not done so well with scripture study, so I though I would use this format to share a brief thought about a scripture a day.

Today I read James 1:5-6. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him, but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like the wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.

My thoughts turned to my parenting skills, or lack thereof. I get frustrated with myself and know that I need to be a better father, but don't always know how. I was reminded today to get on my knees and ask for help and then be willing to listen and respond to the answer. We'll see how it goes.

Happy Birthday, Gina!

Having celebrated our 22nd year anniversary this month and now both of us being 44, we have now been married for half of our lives. Big whoop? Well, we are excited about it. To celebrate Gina's birthday, the boys and I decided to make her a nice dinner. Sterling, our Norwegian Pancake maker was very enthusiastic about doing a crepe dinner for her. Devin wanted to have several courses and they both volunteered to be waiters and servers for our dinner for two. Stopping by the store on my way home from work, Sterling gave me the shopping list. We had to figure out what pimentos were but then couldn't get the lid off so we never used them anyway. A few other items were secured and I was on my way home. The boys were already hard at work. Sterling had the crepes going and Devin was busy making cookies. I started in on the filling and in about 5 minutes we received a phone call that Rachael had been hit with a stick at field hockey practice and needed stitches over her eye. With some trepidation in my heart, I left Devin and Sterling alone with three active burners on the stove, a crepe maker in action and not a spare inch on any of the counters. I pretty much stayed in constant phone contact with Devin. Rachael indeed needed stitches so I took her to the hospital. Gina went back home and took Sterling to soccer practice so Devin was left to finish up. By the time Rachael and I got home the boys had everything ready. The table was set for two, complete with sparkling cider, candles, cloth napkins and servers in dress shirts and ties. Our first course was a very nice strawberry salad. We were then given broccoli cheese soup (which I didn't even know was on the menu). A most delicious chicken and pea crepe dish was our main course, followed by strawberry chocolate crepes for dessert. It was extremely well presented and tasted fabulous. Great job boys! The hour it took me to do every dish that we own in the house was worth it.

Our Forever Family

Yesterday was our anniversary, or as Gina and I like to call it, "Our family's birthday." It is hard to believe that we have been married now for twenty two years. Where did the time go by? I was scheduled to volunteer at the Spanish speaking clinic last night and we are planning on going out to eat tonight, but when I arrived for my shift the building was dark, locked and vacant. I was a little miffed as I had confirmed my shift just a week ago and this is the second time they have done this to me now. As I started to drive home, I looked at the clock and had the thought that I could take Gina to the temple and we could do sealings together.

You see, in our temples there are those who have the authority as did Peter to bind in heaven what is bound on earth. There are no limitations of mortality on us. When we were married it was not "until death do you part," but "for time and all eternity." As this authority is not limited by mortality it is able to be offered to those who left this life without having the opportunity to have done so while here on earth. It is the same principle as baptizing for those who have died as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:29. When Gina and I went to the temple, we kneeled across the altar to each other and the same vows that we took twenty-two years ago were spoken, only we were doing so in the name of a couple that had lived previously. They as spirits still have their free agency and are able to choose whether or not to accept our gift to them. That said, I certainly felt a spirit of love and gratitude in that room and look forward to some day meeting them. We now have something in common, we now share the same anniversary!

Looking in Gina's eyes, thinking of eternity, was a powerful experience. Parley P. Pratt, one of the early apostles who lived at the time of Joseph Smith and whose character was the narrator of our pageant, said the following on learning of this wonderful doctrine, "It was from him [Joseph] that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the fountain of divine eternal love…I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved–with a pureness–an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul from the transitory things of this groveling sphere and expand it as the ocean. I felt that God was my Heavenly Father indeed; that Jesus was my brother, and that the wife of my bosom was an immortal, eternal companion; a kind ministering angel, given to me as a comfort, and a crown of glory for ever and ever. In short, I could now love with the spirit and with the understanding also.”

A Refreshing Return

We could not stay away! Being in the red cast, we performed first but that meant we did not have the opportunity of watching the other casts perform the pageant. We decided we would drive up on Friday for one last Nauvoo experience. Karalee had to work early the next day and we have sent Sterling off with Grandpa to Lake Powell for the week, so Devin, Rachael, Gina and I headed up after work. We drove through torrential rain most of the way. No matter, a little rain was not going to stop the pageant, nor our enthusiasm for seeing it. When we reached the Iowa border, the road was shut down due to flooding. No matter, we'll drive up to Fort Madison and cross the river there. As we got closer and closer to the river, we became more and more antsy and anxious to be there. Nearing the bridge, Gina commented, "let's hope the drawbridge is down." We payed our fee and within seconds of getting on the bridge, alarms sounded, the barrier came down right behind us preparing to lift the bridge for a coming barge. It was quite a bit up river and we would have been sitting, waiting for a long time. Whew! That was a close one.

By the time we drove past the school, by the condos and through town we could hardly sit still. There was standing puddles of water everywhere, the skies were dark but there were just a few drops falling. The weather held, even clearing by the end of the pageant. It turned out to be one of the least humid and most pleasant evenings we have seen in weeks. Perfect.

As we neared the parking lot, we spotted Devin. Oh wait! That would be another cast member in Devin's costume. Later, looking for Rachael in the crowd I realized that the reason I couldn't find her was that I was looking for a pretty young pioneer girl in a red dress. After the pageant was over, Devin said he found himself coming up to a complete stranger and asking them how they enjoyed it. It felt so natural being there. We could have easily stepped back into our old roles.

Best of all was seeing some of our friends. Rachael and Devin were so excited to see the Wadleys, the Shirtliffs and others. Gina and I found Charly right off and loved visiting with her. While talking with her, I turned to find Brad (who plays John Taylor and was my partner for the healing scene) staring at me with his jaw dropped in amazement. He could not believe what a shave and haircut would do to my appearance! We all got a good laugh out of that.

The pageant was wonderful. There indeed were many scenes that we never saw and even more that we could appreciate even better, being farther back watching the whole performance. We were touched by the message portrayed on stage, reminded of the warmth and joy that comes with knowing God, his son Jesus Christ and following His plan for our happiness.

We Went Joyful

It has now been almost a week since leaving Nauvoo. Despite coming home to a mountain of work and its accompanying stress, I found myself surprisingly content and happy. I have found myself striving to do as many little things as I could this week to keep that feeling with me all the time. I know that I am not the only one. I came home a bit early Thursday to find Karalee and Sterling creating music videos on the computer to the the Nauvoo soundtrack. I love it! Rachael spent four hours "talking Nauvoo" with her friend Annaleah on their way to EFY (Youth Camp). This truly has been the greatest thing we have ever done as a family.

As I prepared my Sunday School lesson for tomorrow, I feel like I found the answer. The lesson is about Solomon and the temple that he built to the Lord. After the Israelites dedicated it to the Lord, the account reads, "On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people." (1 Kings 8:66). We, too, have been blessed by the Lord. We are so grateful that He has blessed us to once again have temples in our midst. Through His holy priesthood power, our families are knit together-sealed-for this life and all eternity. What a great blessing!

Thank you all for letting us share this experience with you through our blog. The music soundtrack is available to anyone that would like a copy. If interested, let me know by email (mpf9973@gmail.com) and I can arrange to have it sent to you. P.S.-Who is that young guy with Karalee and Sterling at the ball game?

Our Trail of Hope

What a glorious day! Low humidity, clear skies, a wonderful way to complete our Nauvoo experience. I woke early and took Dad down to see the Trail of Hope vignette we had done on Thursday. When we arrived at the station where Charly was, it hit me that this was my last day in Nauvoo. We were leaving under much better circumstances than did the early saints, certainly, but we have grown to love this place and love the people we have met. Like them, we face an uncertain future but will do so with faith and the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our hearts made firm by the covenants we have made in his Holy House.

Charly portrayed a person with the name of Sally Randall. Dad and I wondered if she could be related to our Randalls. Dad's grandmother's maiden name is Randall. Well, we headed to the Land and Records center and started looking up names. We found my triple great grandfather, Alfred Randall. All of a sudden we found histories that we had never known before. He was baptized early in the history of the church by Elder Orson Hyde. He recalled helping to clear the ground in Kirtland for the temple and helped build the one in Nauvoo as well. He was ordained an elder and assigned to be in the Qurorum of the Seventy by Heber C. Kimball, another of the twelve apostles. We then read how he accompanied Joseph Smith when he was taken to Carthage. He heard the threats of murder from the crowd and went to the Governor, to no avail. It recounts how he was forced out of the jail, down the back steps on the point of a bayonet. I recalled the feelings I had personally of standing as a witness to this event and realized that my ancestor had actually done the same. I recall the words of the pageant, "When you are here, we are here," and I felt close to heaven and close to family.

In the afternoon we went to another vignette portraying how the early saints left to go on missions all over the world. A powerful spirit of love and dedication came over us. With such feelings in our hearts we headed to the chapel for our cast testimony meeting. I knew I needed to express some of what I have been feeling inside. I stayed relatively composed, thankfully and then sat to be fed by our new dear friends and my family. Sterling, Devin and Rachael gave the most inspiring testimonies. As Rachael told of the ways in which she feels the Savior's love and how special that makes her feel, I cried tears of joy, knowing many of my prayers were being answered. Devin spoke of being humble and teachable and Sterling discussed how he was told he would be given strength in the blessing given by our bishop prior to our experience. He said that he didn't at first understand what that meant but felt he had gained understanding these last two weeks. I felt that I was the richest man in the world. What more could I want in life than to see that my children love the Lord and have felt his guiding influence?

With joy in our hearts for the experience we have had here, we performed for the last time. We stayed and talked long after, exchanging hugs, tears as well as emails. We knelt together as a cast thanking God for our blessings and in a blink of an eye, our experience was over and yet it is not. In the words of Robert Laird, "I've got a feeling, this is just the beginning." We will return home with a renewed determination to live life more fully, to love each other a little better, to be the Lord's disciple more fully. "Nothing can erase what Nauvoo has given us."

Praise to the Man

In the morning we went to the Visitor's Center with my parents and watched the Joseph Smith movie. It is a very touching depiction of his life and role as a prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ. It outlined many of the trials that he and the early saints experienced but more importantly the faith and resilience they showed in their convictions. I've seen it before but was touched even more so this time as we depict many of the same scenes in the pageant. We stand as witnesses to the role he filled in restoring the church of Jesus on the earth and are honored to do so.

The much anticipated Cast Talent Show occurred early in the afternoon. We were definitely more the comic relief as we sang our rendition of "Peanut Butter and Jelly" in harmony with our hand painted cardboard costumes. We had fun with it and looked past being embarrassed. Good job you guys!

In the afternoon, my parents and I went to "The Grove" to hear Jeff portray the "King Follet Address." He does so such a great job in his character and we have loved getting to know the great person that he is off the stage as well. The address discusses the eternal nature of our souls, that we lived before we came to earth and will continue to exist for eternity after we leave this existence through the mercies of our Lord. We learn that God is our very Father and that we are truly created in His image. He talks of mothers having their children again and of families that are eternal. Wonderful truths.

We had wonderful weather for the pageant. We loved visiting before and after the show. It is so much fun to see my children scattered throughout the fair ground mingling with our guests and having a great time. We can't believe that we only have one more performance. How we will miss this wonderful experience.

And We Went On Our Way, "Rejoicing!"

Our day in Nauvoo started early but in such a beautiful way. We gathered down on Parley's street at 8 AM for the "Trail of Hope." Along the way the core cast portrayed various journal entries describing the feelings of those that were forced to leave behind this beautiful city. They carried with them their faith in God and a hope for better things to come and the knowledge that they would be sustained in their trials.

We went to the temple with the cast youth in the afternoon. It is so beautiful to see their faces, full of the same faith as those who came before. It has been so much fun to see these young people get to know each other. It is like we are now a family of 125. We'll be sad to leave our new friends but hope to stay in touch as well as we can. After the temple we visited Gina's friends, the Brimhalls who also are working in the temple. They fed us root beer floats (can't get too many of those) and then we scooted off to have our family portrait done in costume.

For our cast meeting, Rachael and I sang "I Need Thee Every Hour" with the choir. I have loved participating in the music here. Our leaders are so good at bringing out the best in us. We had a great district meeting where most of the kids shared some of the feelings they have felt while being here and off they went, "Rejoicing!"

The preshow visiting was especially fun since Mom and Dad arrived. What a joy it was to see them. We also were thrilled to see Dayna, Brynne, Braden and Megan. Two members of our home ward came as well. Devin commented about how he was a little more nervous, knowing people in the audience! I'll have to admit I felt a bit the same myself. It was an absolutely beautiful evening and all went well.

The night ended back at the Jr. High School for a cast dance at 11:30 PM. Way past my bed time but the kids had an absolute blast. It was a full day, a day of rejoicing all around.

Just Like Noah?

This week is fun because we are now performing nightly. Not only that, we actually have free time. After an early breakfast with the Wadleys, Devin, Sterling and I went on a long bike ride that took us past the pioneer cemetery. We found a tombstone with three "Fuller" names on it. We had rootbeer floats for a midmorning snack (isn't vacation great?) and went through a lot of corn fields. We then packed a picnic lunch and met both TJ, Ansley and Cohen as well as Gina's old college roommate, Kristi Aase and her girls down across from the Mansion House. The Core Cast members who portray Joseph and Emma performed a vignette about letters that they had written to each other. They were awesome. We think Jeff is the perfect Joseph. Kristi's youngest, Kate is still trying to find out if he is on Facebook! We visited several other sites and then rushed to dinner so the girls could rush to get their hair done in time to rush on down to the church for our cast meeting. Elder Evans, one of our General Authorities from Salt Lake, spoke to us. He focussed all that we were doing on the Savior, promising us that if we put our whole heart into it, we would receive a personal witness of his reality.

Finishing our meeting we headed for the stage area. It started to rain. Nothing horrible but it kept up a steady pour for the rest of the night. Like Noah, we had prepared, and were ready. Very little of the audience left. We enjoyed visiting with them after the pageant was over. Though wet on the outside we felt a common bond and warmth of brotherhood and love.

Opening Day

Our first performance after a week of lots of hard work! We were able to practice on stage on the morning without any rain. It was a quick run through, skipping a few parts and we left excited, knowing we were ready to go. We couldn't wait to meet our audience and hear their stories and to tell their stories on the stage.

Many of us, adults from our "Red Cast" of the pageant, went to the temple together in the afternoon while the kids played whiffle ball in the mud. They came back with very muddy clothes and great big smiles. As we walked into the waiting chapel for our session in the temple we were greated by Dale's cousins, the Walters. They asked us to be the witness couple for our group, which was really nice. The temple is so beautiful. It wasn't hard to imagine what the early saints felt as they were able to make these same sacred promises to the Lord. Before entering the Celestial Room of the temple, signifiying entering into the prescence of God, some gather in a prayer circle. Just about all of our group decided to get up. Whenever it seemed that it might be a little crowded, some would naturally move to the side. There was always room for one more couple. The spirit of the Lord was so strong as we stood unitedly as a group who have only known each other for a week. There was so much love and acceptance. It struck me that though we will all be greeted, individually by our Savior, we don't reach Heaven alone. Indeed, as I listened to God's promises to me, I also thought of my family, my children and all that would ever come. The blessings we receive from Heavenly Father's in the temple knit us together for eternity as both family units as well as brothers and sisters, children of God. This is the story of Nauvoo. It is not "their" story, it is ours.

With that preparation, we anxiously gathered for some last minute instructions, heading to the stage and fair grounds. For the next hour, we talked with our guests, preparing and inviting them to feel what we have felt and to share that with others. I was able to meet a family who traveled from Arizona to see the pageant. They have six children and arrived four days early, not realizing that the pageant was not yet open. They had money to stay in a hotel one night, but not four. They cancelled their reservation, bought a pup tent and waited till last night (remember the storm the night before?). They were so happy and glad to have seen our show. Gina and I talked with a woman whose son would no longer speak to her. We promised that we would pray for her and for him, embraced. Another family was from Magrath, Alberta, the tiny little town my mother grew up in. The mother of this family was doing work in the temple for one of her ancestors and told of four episodes in the temple where that family name was brought up. In the pageant, the opening and closing lines say, "When you are here, we're here." It was clear that this relative was with them in spirit. Heaven was near at hand. What a wonderful night!

Tempest Tossed

I woke up to a muggy, grey day and went for a run down to the school where we rehearse. It has now been a week since we reported for duty there at the school. In some ways it seems like it was a month ago. We have learned so much and grown so close together. In other ways it seems as if it were just yesterday. My thoughts turned to the new group which was reporting that morning and I thought of our pageant and about the Welcome Dance. In it the existing Saints welcomed the arriving Saints. As this new group has been arriving, we have some feelings of selfishness (we don't want to share the core cast with them!). As I thought of this, the thought came to my head, wouldn't it be great to do the welcome dance for them? I thought of the scripture in 4 Nephi 1:17, changing it slightly--There were no red casts, nor blue casts, neither were there gold casts, nor any manner of -casts; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God. Well, the muggy day turned into a good old midwestern thunderstorm. Our practice was moved from the stage to the school. I talked to our dance director about my idea and she loved it. We started our practice in the gym and then at 9 AM when the blue cast came to report, we showed them the circle dance once and then everyone grabbed a blue cast member, we doubled our size and did the dance. We had an absolute ball. All the timidness and fear that we had from last week we saw in their eyes, but soon melted away in our enthusiasm.

Due to the rain we had some time to talk to David Warner, the man who was behind the creation of the pageant and the first director. We had a question and answer period with him, which was fascinating. As we left, sitting in the hall was a large group of girls. Karalee had brought her boon doggle craft supplies with her and she taught everyone how to make them. It was so neat to see them all working together like a big family.

In the afternoon we spent some time at the visitor's center and the gardens there. Our family had fun taking pictures looking like the statues. Gina looked up her father's cousin who is currently serving a Temple mission in Nauvoo. We went and visited him and his wife. The evening was spent getting ready for our last dress rehearsal. We got to the grove-again all hot and muggy. Thunder cracked on the river and before you knew it all 200+ of us were gathered under a large tent. Rachael and a group of girls started singing hymns ("There is sunshine in my soul" etc). The whole group joined in. As the rain passed we practiced the very last scene where the blue casts joins us, filling the stage. We were told another storm was on its way and to head for our cars to wait about 30 minutes. It never let up and the rehearsal was cancelled. I got completely soaked getting our stuff back in the car, we gathered with the Brands and they came to our place for ice cream. The kids had a racous game of Catch Phrase till too late at night but had an absolute ball. Through the whole day, the rain didn't let any of us down. I loved seeing how the youth especially just turned it into a fun experience. We'll get to practice this morning and tonight will be our first performance. Wish us luck!

A Sterling Celebration!

Hapy Fourth of July to everyone. We had a nice relaxing day. Everyone slept in. We had a family birthday celebration for Sterling in the morning. He loved getting the case of Sprite best! It was also fast Sunday. Each month, on the first week we go without food for two meals to bless us spiritually and also give offerings to the poor to help feed them. Having church at 2 pm was a bit rough but we know we will be blessed for it. We made a bee line for the cafeteria after church. You can see that one of our new friends didn't want to leave! We had a fun time with the Bundersons last night, playing games and eating Sterling's Turtle Pie and going outside to do sparklers with all the neighboors. We were a little nervous when we locked ourselves out but the old timers in the cast new exactly how to break in!

Costume Craziness

We were informed yesterday morning that we would be doing a full dress rehearsal in the evening for the first time. We were also told that the afternoon rehearsal was cancelled so we had an extra long break! We headed off to Fort Madison with the Brand family for lunch to celebrate. It has been really fun to have them in our cast along with the Bundersons from our stake. It is like having instant friends and we have loved getting to know them better. The afternoon was very relaxing and the early evening was full of braids, bobby pins, and hair spray as the girls worked very hard at getting the prescribed pioneer look down. Devin, Sterling and I just put on our hats! All in all, it was fun to see everyone in costume. As the stress of remembering what we are suppossed to be doing and where we are supposed to be lessens, we are now just having fun up there. In a recent district meeting we talked about what it was that we do on the stage. One person said that we are telling the story of the Saints in Nauvoo. That pertains to both the ones who lived here in the 1800's as well as the ones right now-us. As I thought about it, we are also telling the story of all of those who come watch as well. We all have our own stories, but we all need the Savior who has given us prophets and the priesthood authority to bind us as family units in the eternities. Along the way we have struggles and trials, but the joy of living the gospel of Jesus Christ carries us through.