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.

We Lived After the Manner of Happiness

Yesterday was full of happiness. Each day in the middle of morning rehearsals, we gather for about 15 minutes in "the grove." This is where the Prophet Joseph Smith often gave sermons to larger crowds, before they had a building large enough to accomodate everyone. It sits right next to the stage. We divide into family "districts," which are led by one of the core cast members. Our district leader is Charly, a delightful young woman from England who portrays Leonora Taylor, the wife of John Taylor. She asked me to prepare the lesson for our group today. As I have thought about what to teach my mind turned to the scripture found in 2 Nephi 5:27, "And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness." This is Nephi talking of his own family but it certainly applies to our experience here in Nauvoo. We are so happy and joyful. Our run through last night was wonderful as we weren't just going from place to place but were having fun doing it too! We have known each other for just a few short days and yet it seems like we are all friends for life. We started the day off having the Brands over for sourdough waffles (well, ok, I have known them for life!) and Charly and Alex (our co-director) were able to come as well as our neighboors, the Davies (Molly and her mom). The Marshall's have been fun to get to know. They have seven children who mostly seem to all get along all the time (do you see their nap time photo on the post?). Gina is shown with another core cast member, Christy Turnbow. Karalee and Gina are with Geoff Reynolds. The stage picture is at the very end of the show where we fill the stage/world with joy.

Going back to my lesson-what is this manner that makes us so happy? Part of the answer lies in being taught about the five "L's." From even before we came we have been encouraged to "Love, Listen, Learn, Lift and Lead" in Christ. Some of you may be coming this next week to see us in action. We are not quite ready yet but still can't wait to share this pageant and this important gospel message with all of you.

Building a Temple

Temples are central to the doctrine and theology of what we do as Latter-Day Saints of Jesus Christ. It is the holy place where God's priesthood authority allows us to make sacred covenant promises to Him, teaching us how to live, enabling us to return to His prescence once again. The sacred sealing keys allow those blessings to be extended to the whole human family including those now present as well as those who have already passed on and never had the opportunity. They knit us together as families for eternity, and extending back to our very first parents, link us all together as "brothers and sisters" in Christ.

The Saints in Nauvoo built a beautiful temple, at great sacrifice for those very reasons and that whole effort is beautifully portrayed in the pageant. We arose early in the morning to learn how the physical work of building the props was to be done. It required the work of all of the men-young and old. I am a "pin man." As the beams are put in place, I drive in the iron pins to secure them in place. I love it. Devin is part of a large group of Young Men that bring the structures on stage and put them in place. Karalee and Gina are front and center running up fabric temple panels. The beams get hoisted, the panels are placed and lifted with ropes and a temple appears on stage. It is quite a beautiful site, especially for what it represents.

More than just on stage temple building, we saw temple building all around us. It has been so fun to just plop down next to a complete stranger and begin to acquaint ourselves with someone we feel like we already know. I can see in people all around me, efforts at being praising, positive and uplifting. At lunch time, I went out side our condo to carve on my walking stick. Our neighbor, Molly came over to chat. She will be serving a mission to England in a few weeks and is so excited. Sterling came out and joined us and we learned that Molly is studying violin in college. In a few minutes she and Sterling were playing fiddle tunes on our doorstep together. What fun! We are blessed to be a part of a great work.