ckthompson family blog: 2017

Sunday, June 25, 2017

An Outing to Quincy

11 June 2017

Monday is our preparation day so we had a little outing, south to Quincy. You probably remember that when the members of the church were driven from Missouri, most of them crossed over the Mississippi to Quincy, Illinois. They were in destitute circumstances, scattered all over the river bank. The people in Quincy were kind and took them in and provided the things they needed.

On our visit to Quincy we learned about John Wood who was the mayor of Quincy at the time and who strongly encouraged the people to help the Mormons. Seven years later, when the Saints were driven from Nauvoo, it was John Wood who again came to their aid. He was governor of Illinois by this time, heard of the suffering Mormons in Montrose, Iowa, and surrounding areas. He gathered food and clothing and necessities and had them delivered to those early church members.

We visited the John Wood Mansion in Quincy. Our guide had much knowledge in the history of John Wood, Quincy, Mormons, Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln and on and on.

We also visited the Quincy History Museum where a room has “given” to the church to display their story of the Saints in Quincy. We walked through Washington Park which is the area where the Mormons camped and the residents of Quincy ministered to their needs.

Our fourth great grandfather, Isaac Higbee, was among those Saints who crossed the Mississippi into Quincy. He died there 12 April 1839. He was nearly 78 years old and probably completely worn out from the journey and the things suffered in Missouri. His wife, Sophia Somers Higbee died the next year in Nauvoo.

In the John Wood Mansion we saw the desk which belonged to our sixth president, John Quincy Adams. The town of Quincy takes its name from him as does the county, Adams County, in which Quincy is located.

Our guide is an expert on the life and times of Stephen A Douglas and has written a book on the same. The sixth presidential debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A.

Douglas was held in Quincy.

On my bicycle ride yesterday morning, I found a new little group of signs telling more stories of the Nauvoo pioneers. The signs are located along the side of the oxen pasture and barn.

The river near the shore and actually quite far out is becoming covered with large leaves which eventually will have flowers—lily pads or water lilies. As always, some folks like them and others consider them a menace to fish and other wildlife.

Sunset on the Mississippi

4 June 2017

On fast Sunday the temple missionaries are divided into assigned small groups for dinner after church. One of the group has the rest to their home and everyone brings something for the dinner. Today we went to the home of President and Sister Smith, second counselor and assistant matron in the temple presidency. They have lived in Nauvoo for 17 years or something like that. He was an emergency room physician at the Burlington Hospital about 30 miles north of here and is mostly retired but helps out at the hospital on Mondays. They came to Nauvoo for their employment. They have a beautiful home on the famous Highway 96 overlooking the Mississippi. A couple of years ago they decided to move to Boise area—Star--where some of their children live which they did—putting their home here up for sale. Ten months after moving to Idaho, he was called into the temple presidency so they returned to Nauvoo and resumed residence in their home which has not sold. The other missionaries at the dinner were Elder and Sister Steel from the Ogden Temple; Elder and Sister Birt also from the Ogden Temple (Sister Birt identified herself to me as one of Scott’s patients); Elder and Sister Tait from the Redlands Temple in California and Dad and I.

On Tuesday evening we attended the variety show, “Sunset on the Mississippi,” which was totally delightful. There we saw Elder and Sister Finlinson on the stage, “tripping the light fantastic” and singing. The Young Performing Missionaries, a very very talented group of young adults, provide most of the entertainment for the show. Part of them for the Nauvoo Brass Band and the others are dancers and singers. I will want to watch the show over and over and over again, when I can.

We work in the baptistry on two of our work days. It is getting pretty busy in the whole temple now with people coming to visit, but things are especially busy in the baptistry. The other three days we work in the main part of the temple.

I have, for some time, been reading B. H. Roberts’ “Comprehensive History of the Church.” I started reading Volume 6 and have worked backwards and am on Volume two now which just happens to cover the Saints’ expulsion from Missouri and their time in Nauvoo, so it is extra interesting. The following comes from the book. I thought it was particularly interesting since there is so much in turmoil in society today about freedom of religion.

Joseph Smith, the Nauvoo Charter. “Section 1. Be it ordained by the city council of the city of Nauvoo that the Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Latter-day Saints, Quakers, Episcopalians, Universalists, Unitarians, Mohammedans, and all other religious sects and denominations, whatever, shall have free toleration and equal privileges in this city, and should any person be guilty of ridiculing and abusing, or otherwise deprecating another, in consequence of his religion, or of disturbing or interrupting any religious meeting within the limits of this city, he shall, on conviction before the mayor or municipal or could be considered a disturber of the public peace, and fined in any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not exceeding six months, or both, at the discretion of said mayor and court.”

We love you each and all and we are thankful for our opportunity to serve a mission here.

Our Fourth Week

We were invited to speak in Sacrament meeting today in our Keokuk Branch. It is a good thing to look back upon rather than forward to. Dad’s topic was The Restoration and mine was Blessings of Mission Service. There was a bigger-than-usual crowd today due to the Memorial Day holiday.

There is a bigger-than-usual crowd everywhere due to the official beginning of summer---lots more people at the temple and people everywhere walking here and there. The summer programs started officially on Saturday evening so there is quite a bit to see and listen to.

We had a visit today from Garth and Venice (JoBecka’s parents). As you see, we

are all doing well.

With the increased crowds, the temple will “busy-up” quite significantly. Two new couples arrived this past week. They will be serving for a year. Another couple arrived on Friday. They are taking the place of one duo who were unable to come because the husband had a stroke. Life is pretty fragile for us all.

I took a little walk this afternoon about half a mile from our apartment to look at an old stone arch bridge. Here is a little description of the bridge which I found on the internet. At the site, there was a sign telling that it was there, but no explanation.

“The stone arch bridge spans a drainage ditch built by the pioneers of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The bridge was built by a German, Michael Baumert in 1861. It crosses one of the drainage ditches that was dug by the pioneers to drain the swampy flatland so homes could be built.”

It was a very lovely setting down by the little streamlet/drainage ditch with the bridge looming nearby. I thought it would be a good place to go if one wanted to get away to a quiet secluded place for a little spell—until I heard the following. I continued my walk and crossed paths with a Elder and Sister Cole who are also temple missionaries. She said when she went down the wooden steps to get to the bridge and ditch, there was a big snake—3 inches in diameter crawling across one of the steps. Well, if I had seen even a small snake, it would have been the finish of me.

21 May 2017

21 May 2017

This week has been mostly our scheduled temple assignments. We are assigned in different groups—one for preparation day group activities and another small group for various family home evening activities. We had a little picnic with the p-day group at the Nauvoo State Park which is straight east a block from our little home. The park is in the center of town. In the middle of the park there is a big lake. It is rather an unusual setting for a camping park but it is used and useful.

Just now we were able to participate in Spencer’s Eagle Court of Honor via Facebook. We congratulate Spencer on persevering and earning his Eagle Scout award. We also congratulate Anna who is graduating from Seminary this evening. We are thankful that she has been faithful in attending Seminary and progressing in her religious education.

Brother Droste, one of the workers at the temple (he lives in Iowa, north of here, but he and his wife work at the temple all week, the same as us missionaries and they live during the week in the same housing area) has come up with a bike for me. He collects bicycles and then provides them for the missionaries as they come and go. It is pretty old but it will work. It is a boy’s bike and has old style back pedal brakes but it has a very soft seat which is good.

Walking down Parley Street near the river, there are little signs with comments from some of the Saints reflective of life in Nauvoo and being driven from the fair city.

I took pictures of two or three of those and they are shown here.

Our most traveled road so far (State Highway 96) is the route from here to Keokuk We do our shopping there (since there are no stores in Nauvoo) and, of course, we attend church there. It is a beautiful drive, right along the river. Maybe you remember it from our visit long ago since it is also the road to Carthage—part way. It is a beautiful drive, right along the river. The river is so interesting just to look at and look at and look at. Here are a few pictures from this week.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Learning More About Nauvoo

14 May 2017

We missionaries are asked to attend church in the outlying communities rather than attend one of the two wards here in Nauvoo. We have been assigned to attend the Keokuk Branch. Keokuk (Indian Chief name) is a town about 20 miles south of Nauvoo just over the Mississippi into Iowa. It is a small branch. The Primary children sang for Mother’s day—eight children. The seminary students spoke in Sacrament meeting—five students.
This past week we all climbed on a Hancock County yellow school bus and were taken on a short tour of Nauvoo. Our tour guide was a woman connected with the Nauvoo town government. Her ancestry is from the Icarians who inhabited Nauvoo after the Mormons were driven out so she is a native of Nauvoo an her ancestry here dates back 170 years. Her family has been in the grape-growing and wine-producing business in Nauvoo since the Icarians came to Nauvoo in 1846. The 80th annual Nauvoo grape festival will be the first few days in September. The oldest grape vines in Illinois are here in Nauvoo. I also came upon a very old "above ground" grape cellar just south of Mullholland Street on my walk a few days ago.
There are hundreds of Canadian geese all over around here. They must surely like Nauvoo as well as they ever liked life in Canada since there are so many of them here. They seem to stay in their family groups. Kent says they mate for life.

On our way home from church on Sunday, we saw our first barge and tugboat on the Mississippi. They haul corn and other grain. When the Saints first settled Nauvoo, the water in the Mississippi River was very shallow due to the Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo and Keokuk which limited travel on the river. The saints tried to solve the problem by digging a canal along Main Street (which runs north and south like the river) but they weren’t able to get it finished. Later the Keokuk Dam was constructed. So the river near Nauvoo is actually a lake—Cooper Lake—the results of the Keokuk Dam. Now barges can haul goods to and fro on the river.

Family of Geese

Grape Vines

Statue of Joseph and Brigham at the end of Parley Street

Keokuk Branch Meeting House

Large Barge on the Mississippi

Old Man and the River

Families of Geese

Nauvoo House--Doctrine and Covenants 124

Old Wine Cellar in Nauvoo--probably back to the Icarians.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

A Week of Work

We have finished our second full week in Nauvoo. Our time has mostly been spent in the temple working hard each day. Our work schedule is Tuesday morning, Wednesday afternoon/evening, Thursday and Friday morning and Saturday afternoon/evening. We have a different schedule each day with different supervisors and those we work with on a given shift differ from day to day.

When we work in the morning, we have to be in the temple ready for preparation meeting at 7:25 am and we finish at 1 pm. For the afternoon/evening shift, we have preparation meeting at 3:25 and work until 9 pm. As of May 1, the temple is open on Monday morning but since Monday is our P-Day, we won't be working on that day. On Tuesday-Thursday, the temple is closed for a few hours between about 1 pm and 4 pm. On Friday and Saturday, there is no closure in the afternoon. An extra endowment session is added at 7:30 on Friday and an extra one at 7 am on Saturday.

Monday evening we, along with other temple missionaries, attended one of the recurring programs here: "Rendezvous." It was a fun little production with singing and a little story line. We crossed paths with Elder and Sister Daines from Logan. We worked with them in the Logan Temple. They are "site missionaries" and are here for 18 months.

I am enjoying my walks, seeing all the sights. I admit that riding my bike was easier on my knees so I may have to look for a two-wheeled conveyance so I don't put too much stress on my "weak knees." We crossed paths for the first time with Garth and Venice Finlinson (JoBecka's parents) at the temple. We were working and they were temple patrons. They are also here as site missionaries for 18 months.

Walking last Wednesday, I discovered the location of the Visitor Center and Relief Society Garden with the statues--some of my favorite things to see. One of the very special "historical" times for me was when Scott and John, young boys then, presented the pictures of the statues to me as a gift long ago.

In last week's letter, I told you that one of the missionaries (with his wife) is the son of close friends of Grandpa and Grandma Clyde and Viola. He grew up in the same ward as Dad. Here is their picture. They are Elder and Sister Brown and he was formerly president of the Denver Temple

Elder and Sister Brown

Today we attended church again at the Nauvoo 3rd Ward. It was good for me to hear the Sunday School and Relief Society lessons today in that ward which addressed some of my current "wickednesses." Next week we will begin to attend our assigned outlying ward/branch. We are assigned to the Keokuk Branch which isn't very far from here--down the river about 25 miles. Some of the missionaries are traveling two hours one way to attend their assigned branch or ward. They are all younger than we, however. This afternoon we were divided into dinner groups and all met at one of the group member's home for dinner. We all brought part of the dinner. It was a nice time. One couple co-diner were Elder and Sister Vinton who live in the same ward as cousin Lori Thompson Sheranian down in Mapleton. Brother Vinton was their home teacher for five years.

Here are a few pictures which I have taken while on my walks.