Kalona

     A small group of missionaries spent our preparation day driving nearly 2 hours yesterday to a wonderful midwestern town and spent time learning more about Anabaptists/Amish/Mennonites. Since it happened to be the first Monday of a month, we arrived during a big auction of livestock and miscellaneous goods. The assortment which you can see a little of in this picture, was unlike any sale I have ever been to.

 Included in the items were lots of used buggy parts as well as a model of a colt and a model of a horse connected to a buggy. (That's Russ in the very front right corner of the picture.)

There were lots of people from all around the area there, some arriving in trucks with livestock trailers, some in cars, and some in horse-drawn buggies. After listening and watching at the auction for awhile, we walked over to the historic village where there was a visitors center behind which was a collection of buildings moved there over the past several decades then set up and filled with authentic furnishings. There was a home, a school, a train depot, a grain mill, post office, small cabin, a Grandpa house, museum, and a large building filled with agricultural equipment and old vehicles.

Later, as we rode in a mini-bus our tour guide explained that Mennonites drive with no rubber on their wheels whether it's powered by a gas engine or animal. The Anabaptists started in Germany a couple of centuries ago then came to America to escape religious persecution. (Boy, is that an old story and not just for their particular faith group.) Their main reason for separating themselves from other Bible studying Christians was a belief that only those old enough to make the conscious choice should be baptized. Hence the name which basically means being baptized again. Then the Amish and the Mennonites separated off when following men named Ammon (Amish) and Menno Simons. Very similar to the separation first of Protestants from Catholics (who had already had splinter groups) then all the Protestant faiths separating according to certain beliefs. We all believe in the Bible as the word of God and Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world. It's all about how to practice the faith and there are lots of different opinions on that. The Anabaptist groups vary in how much they eschew worldly ways. Their greatest concern is remaining down-to-earth, honest, peaceful, and hard-working. They are conscientious objectors as far as military service is concerned and they dress modestly in order to not be flashy or worldly. I found it interesting that they use gas powered generators and engines but don't use electricity from the power grid or phones in their homes despite wanting to stay in communication with loved ones who don't live nearby. The reason for this is the Bible teaching of being in the world but not of the world. They don't want to have any contract that ties them to the world, including utility contracts. They tend to use animal power because animals can be cared for in ways they can produce themselves. 

They barter when possible but will use money when necessary.  They are law-abiding and pay taxes but are exempted from "Obamacare". They tend to be pretty healthy but when they have problems they will turn first to herbs and chiropractors. If a doctor or hospital is necessary, they usually will help each other with necessary financial resources. Their homes and farms are immaculate.

I have seen houses that don't look as good as this barn build over 100 years ago! Even their fields and gardens are breathtakingly beautiful. They avoid having photographs of themselves, especially close-ups, because they consider them like a graven image. In this day of "selfies" I think they have the right idea! After driving around on dirt roads and visiting a wood shop, bakery, and general store, we had dinner in a private home. The food was delicious. The cook has been doing this for over 40 years, since her husband died at a young age. She used to use all home-grown ingredients but to comply with health department regulations, she has to buy USDA or other government inspected foods. The apple butter, peanut butter, tapioca fruit salad, lettuce/egg salad, and pies were my favorite!

It's a small world after all

     Before we left Arizona, we drove down to Mesa to visit some longtime good friends who lived in Dryden, NY for awhile while we lived there. We helped them move in and became fast friends. Merrillee served as one of my counselors in the Relief Society presidency in the Ithaca Ward and Kelvin served on the stake high council with Russ. We found out while there that their youngest daughter, Kellee was serving a mission and would be in Nauvoo this summer. Since arriving here, we have been busy trying to learn our duties and our way around the community. We just hadn't taken the time to look up Kellee.
     For those who are LDS and on FamilySearch, you can access a site called RelativeFinder.org to find interesting matches for people related to you. It was suggested to us Nauvoo missionaries that we could log on and join the Nauvoo2015 group to find out who might be serving here that might be related. I tried it and Lo and Behold! up popped Kellee's name! I e-mailed her mom to tell her and she e-mailed back that Kellee was actually in nearby Carthage (also in the Nauvoo mission). Russ and I took time before our temple shift today to drive over and look her up. Here she is! It's really amazing how small the world can be sometimes.

Heaven and Earth

     As I walked home from the temple today, I had an overpowering feeling of gratitude for the beauty of this Earth which was created for me and my family, friends, and everybody else to have the opportunity to experience life including opposition in all things with the freedom to make choices on our own. The weather was just about perfect! The breeze was gentle and the sun was gentle but bright. The air was just the right temperature and humidity. There were birds singing and it was quiet and peaceful (except when a large grain truck barreling down the hill to the silos by the river had to put on his jake brake to avoid crashing into the back of a tour bus leisurely driving down into historic Nauvoo). I truly felt God's love in creating such pleasant surroundings.
     In the temple today I had a quiet moment. We have a variety of duties as we serve in the temple and sometimes we are a bit rushed but sometimes we get to sit quietly and ponder. Late this morning I had a bit of time to myself, read some scriptures, pondered, prayed, and generally felt peaceful. When we are in the house of the Lord we sometimes feel close to heaven- we explain it as having the "veil very thin". Heaven is not light years away in the universe. It is actually very near. There is only a thin veil that prevents us from seeing heavenly loved ones or remembering living with God before coming here. Today my heart pounded as I felt the presence of my son. It was exciting and comforting. He was sent to us by his choice according to his patriarchal blessing. He was a gift, although there were times we wondered what kind of gift! We even knew his name before he was born when I didn't even know yet that he was for sure a boy.

   He was a part of our mortal life for just about 28 1/2  years and has been absent now for just over 7 years. We are grateful to still have the wonderful woman he chose to marry for time and all eternity as well as his 3 children. We are also grateful for the awesome man who has chosen to love and care for his wife and children. But we miss Ammon. It will be nice to be reunited some day.
     Some days it's hard to get my bearings in the everyday world- war, riots, prejudice, hatred, immorality, selfishness, greed- after being several hours in a place where everyone does their best to be just the opposite. I don't yet understand how God will work everything out. I'm really glad it won't be my responsibility to judge anybody. I'm just glad to know that God is merciful and that Jesus atoned for everyone who chooses to accept His sacrificial gift. It will be nice when we are reunited with loved ones and everyone knows.............

I did it!

 I finally managed to figure out how to get some pictures of where I spend so much time! This first picture is the lobby of the Nauvoo temple and my view when I am looking out of the office where I work 3 days a week answering the phone, adding names of people to be prayed for, taking reservations for people wanting to come to the temple, recording work done, and answering question among other things. The first week I was not able to answer many questions but I am continuing to learn so I can be more helpful but I'll never catch up with the amazing secretary who has been here many years!

 I have mentioned before that there are lots of stairs inside the temple. There are four stairwells, one in each corner of the building. This is the only spiral staircase. Isn't it beautiful? There are 2 elevators, too. Since the Nauvoo temple is patterned after a building built in the early mid 1800's, elevators are not a major feature. This spiral staircase doesn't even go all the way up to the top or all the way down into the sub-basement.
Very few people who come to the temple have the opportunity to go way up into the tower. Russ goes up there once in awhile as a part of his duties as an engineer maintaining the building. With permission from the temple president (usually easily acquired- he's a really nice guy- retired Air Force), Russ can give "tours" to members who are eligible to enter the temple. You have to be able to climb LOTS of stairs though and you want to be sure you aren't in the tower on the hour when the bell goes off!


This last photograph is nearly in the bottom of the temple. Some of my grandchildren will be in this baptismal font in a few short weeks acting as proxy for some of our ancestors. When anything is done for someone who is no longer living, we do it with the understanding that they totally have the choice of whether to honor or accept whatever ordinance has been performed. If they don't want to accept a baptism or be sealed forever to a spouse, parent, or child, they don't have to accept it.

Usual and the unusual sights

I think I mentioned this before but I didn't have a picture. In the back and middle of this picture is a tugboat pushing 15 barges south on the Mississippi River. The area from Nauvoo, IL south to Keokuk, IO is the deepest of the Mississippi due to the dam and locks at Keokuk that replaced the rapids and have helped the river remain more navigable for commerce and safe for property along the river. There are large silos for storing grain (mostly corn) to load onto barges.

 Most of the homes here in the Heartland of the USA are average sized. Some of the farmhouses have been here for 100 years but most are simple ranch homes built within 50 years or so. The River Road that runs south from Nauvoo to Keokuk is a lovely scenic drive right along the water. Most of the homes in this section are on the other side of the road from the river. The picture below is of one of the few between the road and the river. What makes this house most unusual is its palatial size and appearance. It is reportedly owned by a district attorney. There are no cities nearby. Even Keokuk is not what you'd call a "city". It's more like a large town. We were told that the lawyer who owns this house has made a deal with the state in which he will turn it over to ownership of the state in exchange for not paying real estate taxes on it. From what we understand, the taxes are high here but we haven't gotten any specific figures to be able to compare it to anywhere else. The home is lovely to look at but definitely out of place.

 Every Sunday on our 2+ hour drive to the small church group we have been assigned to support, we drive through lots of small towns with populations ranging from 400- 900. In one of those towns is this lovely old stone house. we have been really tempted to stop and ask if we could be shown around the house. We have no idea who owns it but, like the house in the above picture, it sure seems out of place in comparison to all the houses around it.

History

Today (Saturday) we got up at 4:40 am, worked at the temple until nearly 2 pm, then went on  an historic tour. Our tour guide was an interesting man, LDS and originally from Utah. He was recruited to help start a university here but after selling his home and moving out here, the university only lasted a short time. He and his wife decided to stay and he opened a business as a chiropractor which is a skill he had learned years before. He has a love of history and has spent countless hours researching, especially events surrounding the early LDS Church in this area. He became so knowledgeable that people started asking him to ride around with them so he could tell them what he had learned. Now for about 4 years he has been writing books and has purchased a small bus and gives wonderful tours. He has been very thorough in investigating incidents, especially those surrounding the killing of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum as well as researching firsthand accounts and accurate places of events. Russ is standing in front of what is left of the print shop of Thomas Sharp. (The lettering on the window is obviously not original. The very little town of Warsaw, IL has maintained the painting for the benefit of tourists.) The building itself is not maintained at all. In fact, you can barely see through the window (that's my reflection in the window taking the picture!) the ceiling/upper floors that have totally caved in. There is very little roof left and when you look down through the window on the door you can see remnants of a printing business. Thomas Sharp was a man who hated Joseph Smith as well as Mormons in general and printed vindictive articles, first in the Nauvoo Expositor (which was destroyed by Mormons because of its libelous nature) then in the Warsaw Signal.
     As I listened to this man through the 4-hour tour, I kept reflecting on why people hate and develop prejudice. I know I wrote a blog quite awhile ago after having read books about slavery, seeing a movie about WWII prisoners and a movie about a massacre in a southern town shortly after the Civil Rights movement. I was also reflecting on a friend who loves history and posts articles on Facebook nearly every day having to do with archaeology and history. Add to the mix other people close to me, even in my family, who are undying cynics and always question information no matter how recent or old, no matter what subject, and no matter what sources given. I guess I have come to the conclusion that reality is truly whatever you choose it to be. In the New Testament there are several different witnesses of Jesus Christ, his resurrection, miracles he performed, and his teachings. Yet there were MANY people at the time who refused to believe He was the Son of God, the Messiah. There are MANY more people now who refuse to believe. I truly believe that if anyone sincerely investigated the history of the Mormon church, they would come to believe that Joseph Smith was truly a prophet. On the other hand, I also believe that anyone can choose to believe anything they want no matter what evidence or arguments there may be. Suggestions like "in the mouth of two or more witnesses" (doesn't work because there may be conspiracies) or "by their fruits ye may know them" (doesn't work because I have even personally had someone say they thought Mormons are good people but it's so sad they are all so deceived) or statistics (you can eliminate or highlight whichever ones you want to prove whatever you want)- don't provide "proof". People tend to read or listen to things they agree with (birds of a feather flock together). People color what they see or hear according to whatever they have pre-determined. Every human being has a mind of their own, a will of their own, and makes their own choices. Nobody can mislead you unless you let them. Nobody can convince you unless you let them. People have been killed, martyred, because they refused to change an opinion or belief even at the threat of death. People have knuckled under despots or oppressive regimes, appearing to be obedient but having growing hatred and resentment in their hearts.
     The only answer continues to be: YOU are in command. YOU choose for yourself who you want to follow, believe, or emulate. YOU are what you make of yourself. The only exceptions are those who truly have mental illness. Even drug addicts have a choice, although their original choice to start on a drug makes it harder. If you want to choose to ignore standards or morals because you consider them somehow restrictive, you can do that. If you choose to strive to live high standards and be the best person you can be, you can do that. If you choose to envy or resent others who try to be "good", you can do that. If in your heart you covet anything God would call sin, you can do that and justify doing it. There will always be someone who does much worse things or even the same thing so you won't have to feel judged- at least not in this life. History is not black and white. 2+2 is simply 4 but the founding fathers of the United States and how you think of them or the military and how you think of them or people in general of any group can be colored to your liking. I realize I can be colored to the liking of others. I have been misinterpreted and misunderstood. God has, too, and still is. Some day we'll all know more clearly than we do now. I look forward to that.

Sorry- no pictures for this post

     I think nearly everybody has eaten in a restaurant. But not that many have experienced working in one. Or if they did, it was only for as short a time as they could suffer through. We have all read books, newspapers, and magazines. Very few of us have done the work to produce one.
     Today as I watched workers scurry around the temple and overheard planning discussions, I realized how few people who enter temples understand how much effort it takes to make their experience as pleasant as possible. I know I never did despite having gone to lots of temples lots of times. In the temporal world- restaurants, cruise ships, magazines, tv shows- the effort to make things pleasant is for profit. People will only return for your service if it's beneficial to their lives. (You can see the opposite in a communist society where workers are paid no matter how hard they work- same with guaranteed jobs like civil service protected ones where you can't be fired.) In the temple, all the people getting up early, struggling to do things right, scurrying around quietly, etc. are all doing it for love- love of God and their brothers and sisters. None of them are perfect but perfection is their goal. They're on the path headed in that direction. They care about how "good" they are, not about how they perform compared to others or what reward they're going to get. They care that when they come face to face with their Lord, they can hold their heads up and smile knowing He will welcome them with open arms and they know they did their best.
     There is so much to learn in the process of making things pleasant for others. Each temple is structurally unique so procedures are a little different even though the ordinances are the same worldwide. There are lots of stairs in the Nauvoo temple but some temples are only one level or primarily use elevators. (We have 2 but they don't get used by everybody because they're so "reverent"-slow and quiet- that it's faster to use the stairs!) Because of the various aspects of the rooms, we may have to go up and down and around quite a bit to get where we need to go when we're changing stations or running errands. This is what takes so long to learn! At first, I felt inadequate because most of the workers here have worked in other temples. Once I opened up and got to know more people, I'm finding out most of them have moments of feeling overwhelmed, too, because this temple isn't like whatever temple(s) they have worked in before. No matter what problems there are, no matter how tired we feel, the major goal is to be loving and patient. That's how God is.