Praise to the Man

Today was our first day of hitting the rehearsals with full force. We were up early with a few quick breaks for lunch and dinner, then back to work again. I've been amazed with our directors and how they continuously praise us, no matter how badly we perform. They pick out the few things we did right and then quietly help us no how we can do it even better the next time. I realize that I can be such a better parent by applying the same principles. It truly brings more meaning to the phrase, "Praise to the Man." We see it in the scriptures as well. Everytime we hear the voice of the Father, he says, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."

Tonight during the rehearsal, we learned the scene where Joseph and Hyrum left for Carthage, knowing they were riding to their deaths. They bore powerful witness of the Savior, Jesus
Christ as recorded in the Book of Mormon (Ether 12: 38-41). We began to first hum the tune to "Praise to the Man" and then sing the words to the song as Brigham Young stood, prophetically, accepting the keys of the presidency and exhorting us to build the kingdom of God. The spirit of the Lord filled our hearts as we all, in unison bore testimony of Jesus' work. The director initially had given a signal to stop the scene at the point of singing the song, but none of us listened and no one would stop. The spirit of the Lord would not be restrained and would not be quenched. What a glorious experience to share as a family! We are loving this experience.

I Stand All Amazed

Day two in Nauvoo was certainly notable. We started the morning with a
powerful "morningside" at the Nauvoo Ward chapel. The closing hymn was
sung by both the core cast and us in the audience. Our director is so
gifted in bringing out the beauty of the song and the meaning behind
the words. We truly could feel the Lord's love as we sang praises to
him. My goal of being able to sing through the whole song without
getting emotional will have to wait till tomorrow.

We practiced on stage for the first time today. It was fun to be right
there under the shadow of the temple. In addition to learning
different scenes, we were taught about levels. As we move on and off
the stage we are to be moving at all times, up and down, side to side
in a most animated manner. After Karalee and Gina made an effort at
this, the director calls up our whole family before the entire cast to
"demonstrate our technique." Not only was this way out of our comfort
zones, we were to do this to a song that none of us knew the words to.
They, of course, praised us and told us how great we did. Mostly, we
just stood, all amazed!

The Saints in Nauvoo

We have now officially started our Nauvoo experience. Up at 4:30 thisAM, we still left late but managed to arrive at our destination justin time. We have already had a great day. One of the things that wasemphasized to us is that the pageant is to tell the story of thesaints that lived in Nauvoo but we need to keep in mind that we arethe saints in Nauvoo now. We are writing our own stories. The Lord hasa work for us to do just as he has those that went before.

Note: the reference to saints is different than that used in other religions. Instead, it is in reference to members of Christ's church who are trying to follow him, used in the same way as did the apostle Paul. His letters were directed to the Saints in Corinth and Thessalonia, etc.

Sneak Preview

Word has it that the Fuller Family is planning quite the number for the Nauvoo talent show. What could they have in mind? Inquiring minds want to know. Any guesses?

Preparation

One of the cool things about going to Nauvoo is being set apart for two weeks as missionaries. That is a pretty unique experience. The Lord blesses his missionaries abundantly. Helping is prepare for the experience, Elders Christensen and Smith came to our home last night and taught our family a discussion on the "restoration." This included an opportunity for Devin to role play a door approach. We appreciated having them in our home and for the spirit they brough to our family. We will be giving up two weeks to go have fun. They give up two years of their life, totally dedicated to the Lord. What great young men they are and great examples to my children.

The Challenge

With just a short four weeks left till our adventure begins, Rachael decided to follow Ansley's example of reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover within four weeks, to prepare for our Nauvoo experience. We were very proud of her decision but our stomach did some flip flops when she invited the rest of us to join her. We can now all be found, during any spare moments, tucked in a corner reading. Sterling has taken to using his ipod, having downloaded the books from the internet. President Hinckley promised: that by reading the Book of Mormon “there will come into [our] lives and into [our] homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.” I can clearly see that promise take effect in our home. Thanks, Rachael for the challenge. I have no doubt that it will prepare our hearts for a great experience ahead.

Our Journey Begins

Last fall not only did we pose for our silly picture but we put in our application to participate in the Nauvoo Pageant for 2010. Out of the millions of applications (ok, maybe a few more than a handful) we were selected to participate! We are pretty sure that it was on the strength of Rachael's singing and boys who can fiddle.

Here is a link to our family's informational page from the pageant. It includes lots of information about what we will be doing. http://www.invite.nauvoopageant.net/2010/Invitations/2010_Red/Fuller.htm


As we have been getting closer to the date, we have been receiving lots of inspirational thoughts and messages from the pageant directors. We are letting our hair grow longer, looking for old brown shoes and practicing our number for the much anticipated talent show. Some family members have called for a remix of "If You Are Not From the Prairie," but we have another remix in mind. More details to follow....