Nauvoo
Week 31 (11 – 17 July 2016)
The
weeks keep whizzing by! Monday we worked
at the Temple from 1:00 P. M. to 5:00 P.M.
This is a temporary shift until the end of July. Sadly, I don’t think very many know that it
is open in the afternoon because it is pretty slow except for the Baptistry. Tuesday we had the evening shift, which is
when we are in charge of the Baptistry.
We had a very busy night, the busiest we have ever been. Busloads of kids have been coming from all
over the place and one of their activities is to do baptisms. It is fun to see them and to help them do the
work. Some have done some genealogy and
have family names which they found. The
youth are amazing I think we would all agree with that.
Wednesday
our neighbor from West Jordan, UT Janice King and her daughter Amy came on a
tour bus to Nauvoo. It has been a church
tour and they had been to the Hill Cumorah pageant, to the sacred grove and
other sights. Their bus tour had
reserved time on the 2:00 session which Tom and I officiated. Then at 4:00 Tom did a sealing session for
Janice and her daughter. It was fun to
see her and we had substitutes for our shift so we went to dinner with them and
to “Sunset by the Mississippi.” Nauvoo
was the end of their tour and they were tired and had swollen ankles and were
ready to go home.
Thursday
we went to Burlington to see the animated pet movie “The Secret lives of Pets.” Tom wanted to see it, not to sure why! Tom had been asked to do Spanish translation
for the Nauvoo pageant. They sit in a
little tent and have been given certain parts to say. They really don’t know how many Spanish
people are even in the audience. Before
it starts someone goes through the audience to give out headsets for those who
don’t speak English.
Friday
has been our Preparation day for the month of July. Our group went to a store called the
Dutchman, which is a big store that the Mennonite people work in. They usually have some pretty good deals there
and meat in big bulk. We then went back
through Ft. Madison and ate at a place called The Apron. All their food is homemade and I thought it
was really good. They also had some
delicious deserts.
The
Temple closes by 8:00 P.M. through July.
So our evening shifts are not as long as the normal. Saturday during the day is always busy but
the afternoon evening shift is always very slow. People that live in the temple district have
to come anywhere from one to four hours away.
Of course there are others who live right in Nauvoo which is great for
them.
Sunday
evening we had a short play about some of the Apostles and their Missions to
England. It was quite touching. They portrayed John Taylor, Brigham Young,
Wilford Woodruff, Parley Pratt and women who portrayed some of their wives. When I had the opportunity to talk about my
ancestor Mary Smallman in February, she was living with a family named the Benbow’s. She took care of their children and was a
live in Nanny. They had Missionaries
come to teach them and they had all joined the church including Mary. When Elder Woodruff came to England on his
mission he came to William Benbow’s home and stayed some days there while he
was proselyting. Mary had the
opportunity to wash Elder Woodruff’s feet, which was a great honor for
her. Elder Woodruff was going to go to
another area in England and William Benbow begged him to go with him to his
brothers home John Benbow. He agreed to
do so. He had been associated with a
prominent United Brethren. He and his
family were baptized within a few days and also every man of the United Brethren
also joined except for one person. The group
had six hundred men in it!
Both
brothers went on to Nauvoo. Mary was
asked to go with the William Benbow family to continue taking care of their
children. She left all her family behind
in England as none of them ever joined the church. After being in Nauvoo a couple of years,
William and his wife became disenchanted with the church and left it. Mary still believed and was with them
still. They began to treat her terribly,
some thought it was because she held on to her believe. One day a farmer saw her out in a field that
lived next to Benbow’s; he could tell she was in a bad way. He approached her and told her to come to his
home and never to go back to the Benbow’s.
It was sad that things went sour for the William Benbow, and a shame the
way they treated Mary. Her posterity
certainly has no love loss for that family.
But in the play I realized that even though he was a turkey he was
instrumental in bringing his brother John Benbow and family as well as five
hundred and ninety nine other men into the gospel. They were all quite prominent church members,
who joined with the saints of the church.
Mary Smallman was a very brave women and she remained faithful all of her
life.
We
are so happy to be here, and especially this month we are grateful that we have
been able to see the pageants and some of the other activities that are
here. We feel the spirit of these
wonderful saints who lived here and sacrificed so much to help the church move
forward. Tomorrow, Jeff’s family will be
here and we look forward to spending time with them. Then the following week Kristy’s family will
come. We are so happy that all our
children and their families have been able to come and spend time with us, and
feel the strong spirit of Nauvoo.
Love
to all of you,
Mom
& Dad/Nana & Papa/Elder & Sister Shaw
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