Fire on the Prairie

Here in the flats of Nauvoo they annually have a prairie grass demonstration.  

(Thanks Greg for the heads up!) What that means is for a year they have a block of 

land that they let the prairie grass grow.  Then in the spring, they light it on fire.  

The whole town comes out to have hot dogs before they set the fire.  Wow!  

It burns hot and fast!  Glad to see the fire department out because our house is only a block away.

So as fast as the fire starts it's gone and you are left with smoke, lots and lots of smoke.

We all smelled like we have been camping for a week.  Smoky, smoky, smoky.

And now a clean and clear field.  Sad to see all the rabbits running out of the field while 

the fire is burning.  However while Elder Thompson was walking by a few days later he 

saw little baby bunnies in the field.  Amazing they survived.

This week was busy and fun.  

 

On Sunday we had Easter Dinner with the Temple Missionaries at the Arrival Center.

Sister McArthur shared this photo with us.  

It was taken just before we arrived,

 but it includes missionaries who left before the photo was taken of the group in May.

back to front, l to r: 

Lyman, Shaw, ?, Burns, Ludwig, Anderson, Hendrix, Massey, O'Brien, Davenport, Moon, Chapman.

McArthur, Fellows, Segar, Russell, Williams, Simons, Gammell. 

Wright, Baker, Holmes, Russell, Williams, Simons.

We worked in the temple Monday morning and then drove to Montrose, Iowa in the afternoon.  This is where the Pioneers arrived after they crossed the Mississippi River during the exodus. 

 Great view of the temple from here.  

Monday evening was the Prairie Grass Demonstration,

 then we were invited over to the Williams' to play games.

Tuesday we had a lecture by George and Susan Easton Black Durrant about Emma Smith.  

They give 2 lectures a week at the visitors center, but also 2 lectures a 

week for just the temple missionaries. Lucky us!
Unfortunately, they will be leaving Nauvoo mid April.

Tuesday evening we worked in the temple.

Wednesday is our double shift day, working in the temple in the morning and evening.

We worked Thursday morning and then had a lecture by George and Susan Durrant about Joseph Smith's ancestry.  It was so interesting.  She talked about the descendants of John Lathrop;
Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Brigham Young, Parley P Pratt, Wilford Woodruff and others.  

We loved learning about John Lathrop as Elder Thompson is a direct line descendant of him as well.  

Then Thursday evening we drove to Burlington, Iowa and had dinner and got back just in time for another lecture by George and Susan about the days prior to the martyrdom of Joseph Smith.

Friday we worked the afternoon shift at the temple.  Friday is our longest
shift while we are in the winter schedule.

Whew! We are so excited it is General Conference weekend!  We love and sustain

President Monson, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

"See yourself in the temple." --Quentin L. Cook

"If we choose Christ, then we have made 

the correct choice." --Thomas S. Monson

"It does matter which way we go, for the 

path we follow in this life leads to our 

destination in the next life."--Thomas S. Monson

"We need the temple more than 
anything else."--Joseph Smith

It was fun to hear from Elder Kent F Richards of the Seventy at conference.  He spoke to us at our MTC training in Salt Lake City.  He is the Executive Director of the Temple Department for the church.

We love being in the temple everyday! It is beautiful inside and out.  We love to watch people's 

faces as they walk in for the first time.  It truly is holy ground.