Sunset to Sunrise

We have posted several sunset pictures over the Mississippi River.  But on Monday we were treated with a sunrise over the temple on our way to work.  It is always such a beautiful view of the temple as we round the corner coming up the hill, but on this particular morning it was breathtaking.

We had a 'see you later' potluck on Monday evening for the couples going home in the next couple of weeks.  We love these people.  Sister Hendrick says she has already asked Heavenly Father to put all the Nauvoo Temple Missionaries together in heaven. They are the sweetest people and we have learned so much from them.  Giants, all of them.  The Peterson's, the Lyman's (family search missionaries), Hendrick's and the Simons.  With sad hearts we say 'see ya later'.

Here we are back at the Nauvoo Pageant.  

Dallyn Vail Bayles played Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith and Robert Laird.

One of our favorite parts of the pageant is a point they make more than once...

"When you are here, we are here also." 

A line that Parley P Pratt gives.  

You certainly can feel the spirits of those that built up and loved this city.

We went to a little vignette of Joseph and Emma's letters in front of the Mansion House. 

There was something about seeing them portrayed with that back drop. Their house. 

They did live here.  They did walk these streets.  That is really special.

On Friday we went to the British Pageant again.  It was first put on in Preston England a few 

years ago and is entitled "Truth Will Prevail".  It tells of the early reformers and the 

missionaries that went to England and converted thousands to the gospel. 

And then they sailed across the ocean to join the Saints in America.

This is Sister Thompson's great grandfather James Wilkinson.  He was born in Lancashire England in 1840.  He was baptized into the Church on July 3, 1865.  He became the Wigan Branch President  in England and later became the Hindley Branch President.  Both Wigan and Hindley are just south of Preston England.  "He was desirous of gathering to Zion and preparations were being made for his immigration when he was taken ill and died at Hindley, Lancashire, England December 4, 1891."

The finale has all the missionaries march up singing Called to Serve.  

It really is a special moment.  And one that is very special to participate in. 

The pageant are really fun. And it is really fun to have so many people in town. 

 The temple has been super busy this last week with patrons.  So fun to be so busy.  

But we are tired and ready to go back to the non July schedule.

We have seen several friends from Mesa, so that has been fun.

Oh, and this is back in our driveway...our very own car, new engine and all!

Pageants

It is pageant season in Nauvoo.  Which is part of the reason we have been so busy in July.  

Our shifts in the temple are longer because of all the visitors that come to Nauvoo to see the pageants and attend the temple. Also we are now the Wed PM shift coordinators and the Sat AM baptistry

 coordinators in addition to still being endowment coordinators on Mon AM.  Also this past week, one of us may have had to prepare a sacrament meeting talk, and we worked on our Pday so another missionary couple could spend time with family that was here.  Whew!

The baptistry is so busy!!  One week we started at 4AM.  It is inspiring to see the youth 

come in with their own family names to perform baptisms for their own ancestors. 

It was a treat to have some of the pageant cast also come in with their own family 

names to perform sacred ordinances for their own family members.

President Nelson (temple presidency 1st counselor) shared this quote with us last week:

Elder Neal A. Maxwell has written:
 “Though we have rightly applauded our ancestors for their spiritual achievements (and do not and must not discount them now), those of us who prevail today will have done no small thing. The special spirits who have been reserved to live in this time of challenges and who overcome will one day be praised for their stamina by those who pulled handcarts”
(Not Withstanding My Weakness, 18).

We are able to witness everyday tender mercies from the Lord.  Serving in the temple gives us the opportunity to see the hand of the Lord in everyone's lives, but most especially our own.  Since we spend most of our time in the temple we have had wonderful and sacred experiences.  Our testimonies have grown of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the restoration of the Gospel and of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.  We are grateful for these sacred experiences.  

Above is a picture of the start of the Nauvoo Pageant with the Bagpipers and

 the Brass Brand playing the National Anthem.  This view of the temple is so beautiful.

The pageant is visually stunning.  And unlike the Mesa Easter Pageant, 

the parts are done live, no sound track here. 

During the show they actually build this temple on stage.  You can see why we have to be out of the temple by 8:00PM.  All the lights in the temple are turned out until the finale of the pageant.

But at the end they turn the flood lights on the temple.  It's a great pageant!

The lily pad's have bloomed on the Mississippi River.

And there continues to be beautiful sunsets by the Mississippi.

Visitors

This was a blessed week.  We had Jeff & Lyndsie come to visit us in our humble 

abode here in Old Nauvoo, 440 Partridge.  It was so good to see them and 

show them the sites.  There is a spirit here that we get to feel each and every day,

 and we wanted them to be able to feel of that as well.  

We did not hold back, we packed a few days with all the sites and performances we could!  

A highlight for us was to have them in the temple.  And they said the highlight of the trip

 for them was to be in the temple.  On Saturday we work in the baptistry.  

They came in and did some baptisms for family names.  Pretty special.  

"Perfect morning in the Nauvoo Temple Baptistry with Matt and Joan Thompson."

On Monday they did an endowment session and some sealings.  

Where else in America can you go to the temple on the 4th of July!?  

Here in Nauvoo, we are open on holidays.

This is on the top floor of the Cultural Hall.  It is the original floor.

The second floor has a beautiful antique quilt display.

We went on the wagon ride.  We had some rain during the weekend, some drizzles, and really cool weather.  The hot and sticky are back now, but 4th of July weekend was unseasonably cool.

We rode down Parley Street to the Mississippi River.

We saw a barge. 

And rode past our house!

We saw Sister Miller at the bakery, and here at the Tin Shop.  

We seemed to follow her around to all the sites all weekend.

The Print Shop. 

We had a lovely walk one evening to the Old Pioneer Burial Grounds.

There is a beautiful bronze statue in the cemetery.

Around the base is a quote by Joseph Smith, 

"The place where a man is buried is sacred to me."

BYU Noteworthy was in town for 2 weeks.  They are so entertaining.  They put on really fun shows.

Saturday night we drove over to Montrose.  We got barged going and coming home.

 Here we are on the bridge, you can see the barge coming behind us.

On the bridge were some of the cars from the car show.  

These were jeeps made for the Jurassic Park movie.

 There were suppose to be fireworks.  They got cancelled because of the weather.  

But we had a beautiful sunset and view of the temple.

We attended the Nauvoo 2nd ward Sunday.  It was so crowded!  It was like stake conference.  Chairs  all the way back filling the cultural hall and even on the stage.  They are used to summer around here, and were well prepared to pass the sacrament quickly and efficiently to all that were in attendance.  

Separate sacrament tables were set up in the culture hall.

This is the Wilford Woodruff home.  This was his box that he took on his mission to England.  

He was able to use it to sit on and he stood on it when preaching.  What a treasure!

His home is beautiful.  He wrote in his journal that he personally picked each 

brick for the front wall of his home.

In 1843 Elder Woodruff wrote, "I desire to have a house for my family to abide in and be 

comfortable in my absence."  In an attempt to ensure that his family was comfortable he

 built a working fireplace in each room.

Lucy Mack Smith home has the steapest stairs in Nauvoo.  You can really feel the spirit here.  She was not well enough to travel west, so lived here before moving in with Emma before she died.

We went to Carthage Jail on Sunday afternoon.  It was a real treat to be on Sister Lynn's tour.

We know Heavenly Father had this jail built to last so that everyone who comes could feel the spirit of this sacred place.  It really is a blessing to have the original jail here to come to.

We went to see "Be Still" before driving to Carthage and listening to the Brass Band play hymns.

After the murders, Williard Richards wrote to the people of Nauvoo, "Be Still.  Be Patient."

Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation

 of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it.  In the short space of twenty years,

 he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, 

and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise 

documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain.  He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord's anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum.  

In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated! 

--Doctrine and Covenants 135:3

This is some of us waiting to rehearse the finale of the British Pageant.  The missionaries come up at the ending singing a "Called to Serve" medley.  

The Nauvoo Pageant Bagpipe Band are now in town.

Here is Elder Thompson with the Bagpipers.  

He has completed his profile on Mormon.org, check it out.