In our combined meeting on Sunday our teacher, Elder McMinn played a video of the stakes of Zion that have come into being since the restoration. Of course it started our very slowly. One Stake in Nauvoo and then gradually some in Utah. The Spirit of God was playing in the background softly and kind of slow. Gradually it sped up, the first stake out of Utah was in Hawaii then South America started going then Canada, it was all kind of slow with a light flashing for each new stake and then a red dot to show where it was. As the dates flashing at the bottom got closer to the present, they started coming faster and faster until large areas were flashing all at once and several areas were all red. The music got louder and faster and at the end it was like a huge lightening storm. It was very exciting. Then Elder McMinn had one of the missionaries read "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

There were few dry eyes by the end of the video and maybe none at the end of "The Standard of Truth. What a thrill is to be part of such a great work. We are so grateful to be here in Nauvoo. We miss you all, especially at this time of year, but we pray for the Lord's choicest blessings to be with you and that you may feel the joy that comes from living the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true and the greatest thing in our lives. Love you all!!!!

Those of you who saw Sunset by the Mississippi this summer will remember Sister Ora Mae May. She is a single sister and played the marimba for the walkerette routine. I like to tell you about her son. When he was 14 her husband died. Soon after this son started with the rodeo crowd and picked up the habits of chewing tobacco and drinking. He was ordained a Priest, but that was the end of his activity. He married out of the church and had several children who weren't members either. Sister May said this son, wife and children came out to Nauvoo to visit her in July. They were here the first 3 nights of the Pageant. The first night, even though it was quite rainy and coo., they stayed for the whole performance. They came the nedxt two nights also. Sister May asked her daughter-in-law at the end of her stay, how did you like Nauvoo? The lady said: "it is the first vacation that I ever went on that I cried every night and loved every minute of it. Sister May told us that the son, his wife and the children were taking the missionary lessons. The son was trying to live the word of wis dom so he could baptize his wife and children. Sister May later told us that her son had been interviewed to b e ordained an Elder. He was so excited because he was going to baptize and confirm his wife and his children.
Sister May said that she will forever be grateful for the Pageant and what it had done to bless her family. Her greatest blessing from serving this mission is that it brought her son here so that he could have his family with him in the gospel.

B-day surprise

So here I am, dusting at the Brigham Young home when I here the door open. I hear voices, but concentrate on finishing the dusting before anyone gets where they can see me. The next thing I know beautiful voices are singing Happy Birthday to you. I look up and there in the door are Lisa, w/Michael, Shanna, and Abby; and Laree, w/Emma and Johnathan. I was so overwhelmed, I could hardly contain my joy and excitement at seeing them. It was the last thing I was expecting. After giving hugs and kisses and finally calming down my thrill, I gave them the tour. Then they went to other sites, saw Grandpa some where in there; and by the time we got home at 5:00 p.m. they had a wonderful birthday dinner prepared and even a Banana Cream Pie!!! I would never expect that kind of birthday on a mission, but it was wonderful. Today we went out to dinner with dear friends E/S Toone & E/S Jones. It's been a terrific two days. Life is great, the gospel is true what more could we ask.

I havn't blogged for a while, life just seems to carry us along with few opportunities for the non-essentials. We are happy, healthy, and having the time of our lives. I wish all of you could have this opportunity some time in the future. In our prep meeting this morning they announced that there have been 29 documented baptisms from referral cards at the pageant. There may be many others that have not been traced to the pageant, but that started there. What a thrill to be part of such a wonderful work. Some days we give tours all day long and don't think any thing special has happened and then you connect with one person and know that they are feeling the spirit . What a joy that is! I do believe that anyone who comes here will not slam the door in the face of missionaries when they come to their home.

Yesterday we served at Carthage. The first time we have had that priveledge. What a joy it was to feel the wonderful spirit of that place. We have come to love the Prophet Joseph Smith as never before. What a tremendous example he is to us all. If I work the rest of my life, I could not measure up even 1/200 th of what he has done; but I hope I can know and commune with him when I leave this life.

The spirit here in Nauvoo is so wonderful. We find such joy and satisfaction each day as we serve at the various sites. The gospel brings happiness to those who live it. May you all find that joy in your lives. We love you all so much

On Thursday while I was serving in the Brigham Young home, a middle aged couple and their son came in. I was impressed with their happy nature. In fact, the son never seemed to stop smiling. The only change was in how wide the smile was. After bearing testimony and sharing some personal things with them, the son asked if he could share his story.

At the age of 17 he was diagnosed with brain cancer. The tumor was between the lobes of the brain and it was impossible to remove more than a small portion of it. Removing that portion did help his headaches, but after several more surgeries they told him there was nothing more they could do. They said he should go home and enjoy what short life he had left.

While he was still in the hospital, two men in suits came in and asked if Elder ...... (his name) was there. He said "my name is ........" One of the men said he was Elder ....... of the seventy and he had been sent there by Thomas S. Monson to give a blessing to the future Elder ....... He received the blessing and was promised he would live to serve a mission and would have good health. He was not able to serve a regular mission because he has no short term memory, even though his long term memory is perfect. He did serve a full time mission in his own area and worked in the mission office helping with the records. It has been 17 years since that diagnosis and he enjoys really good health, and I believe his smiles show his gratitude for being alive.

We all cried together as he shared his story. I was really grateful that we were not busy that day or I could not have taken time to listen. It was one of those wonderful experiences that we are blessed with occasionally. I am sooooo glad to be here.

We had a great preparation meeting today. Sister Romney, a single sister whom I have come to love and admire gave the thought. She told of a friend of hers who was not a member, but who was impressed with the standards of her member friends and was baptized on her 18th birthday. (her parents made her wait until then) She loved the church, married in the temple and tried to do every thing she could to be obedient, including family history work. She made a trip from her home in California to Salt Lake to visit the Family History library. She checked out a microfilm and started searching, but it appeared to be a blank tape. She kept rolling through the tape and finally found one entry, the women she was searching for. She went to the desk to get the appropriate card to fill out and the woman suggested that she fill it out right there. She said, "Oh I can just go back and do it from the screen. The women said, "It won't be there, that is a blank tape" The friend assured her that it was on the screen, but was told "It often is but it will not be there when you go back, that Is a blank tape." Of course she finished the work right then, and continued working very hard doing family history. Sometime later she was in an accident with a drunk driver. She said that just at the moment of impact, she saw a group of people in earlier period clothing standing around her. Even though she was injured, she survived what should have been a fatal crash. She said she did not know if those were people whose work she had done or ones who still needed her to complete their work, but it did not matter. She would continue to do all she could. What a great way to start out our day.

Two of our very favorite missionaries have gone home. They added so much to our cast and to the mission. They are from Canada and have always done everything the very best they could, with total cooperation and positive attitudes they will be greatly missed. They are standing in the bottom right hand corner. Elder and Sister Hardy, we love you!!!