Nauvoo
Week 34 (1 – 7 August 2016)
Another
week has quickly sped by and the crowds in Nauvoo have definitely thinned due
to the pageants ending last week. On
Monday, Kristy, Miles, Tom and Sharon attended a Temple Session and took a
little tour of the Nauvoo Temple. They
thought it was wonderfully beautiful with a very special spirit. They then went to the homes and shop of the
Community of Christ Church (Mansion House, Nauvoo House, Smith Family Homestead,
the graves of Joseph, Hyrum and Emma and the Little Red Brick Store), they
loved seeing these places but recognized a difference in the presentations of
these homes versus what is felt in the rest of Nauvoo.
On
Tuesday, Kristy, Miles, Jenacee, Porter, Fischer and Phoebe left for Lake
Zurich, IL to visit Scott, Malia, Corban and Ruby. This is their second visit, but the first
since Ruby was born and they are really excited to see little Rue! Tonight we served in the Baptistry and it was
surprisingly busy with outside patrons from many areas of the country.
On
Wednesday, we attended some Temple Missionary training at the stake center and
then served in the afternoon/evening in the Temple.
On
Friday were served in the Temple during morning hours again and then had the
privilege of attending a Missionary Conference with Elder M. Russell Ballard of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He
spoke to us and encouraged us all to be who we really are (sons and daughters
of God) and full-time missionaries. He
told us that everybody in the church wanted to serve a mission in Nauvoo, but
there just wasn’t a place for everyone, so be happy and glad that we are
here! He was here as part of the Smith
Family Reunion that was being held in Nauvoo this year. He explained that there were around 300-400
participants this year. Later, we went
to Angelini’s (Italian Restaurant) in Keokuk, IA with our Baptistry Team and
had a wonderful evening sharing memories and special experiences that we had
during the month of July when the heavy crowds were here. Following dinner, we returned to Nauvoo to
watch “Vocal Point,” an acapella men’s group from BYU sing and perform at the
outdoor Nauvoo Stage. The program was
wonderful; they sang many familiar tunes with all the accompanying instruments
(made by one of the performers) – you would have sworn there was an entire
orchestra accompanying them.
Saturday
was a special day for Madelynne Shaw; she was baptized and confirmed a member
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by her father. We are so proud of her and her decision to be
baptized a member of the only true and living church here upon the earth. Kellie sent some pictures of the day and she
was beautifully dressed and had a very special look and appearance. We love her so much and wished we could have
been there in person instead of just in spirit.
We know that she will live up to her commitments with her Heavenly
Father and continue to grow into a beautiful young lady. We
later served in the Temple on the afternoon/evening shift.
Sunday
was a special day. We started by
traveling to Mount Pleasant Branch in Iowa; President and Sister Hansen (Second
Counselor in the Temple Presidency) asked to accompany us to Church. It was great and we were able to spend some
special time with them.
It
was a wonderful week and we realize how blessed we are to serve in beautiful
Nauvoo. The Lord is truly blessing us
and all of our family. We are grateful
for your support, patience and love. We
love you with all of our hearts and want you know of our testimonies of this
Church, IT IS TRUE! God is our loving
Heavenly Father, His son Jesus Christ has taken upon himself all of our sins,
infirmities and all else so that we may return and live with them again. We have a living Prophet today, Thomas S.
Monson, the Book of Mormon is TRUE and was written for our time. All Priesthood keys have been restored to the
earth and the Lord has declared this Church as TRUE and living.
Love,
Mom
& Dad/Nana & Papa/Elder & Sister Shaw
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