Our first Sunday in the mission

It was a little colder and we had light rain for most of the day; we used our umbrellas and wore our overcoats to go to the tabernacle for the Spoken Word. We saw the rehearsal and then the live broadcast.  It was such a delight to actually be there and "feel" the music totally surround you. Interesting fact that you might not know; Lloyd Newell, the voice of the choir, actually stands in the back balcony opposite of the choir to do his announcing. Between the completion of the rehearsal and the live broadcast there was a volunteer who introduced special groups that were visiting the broadcast that day. There was a group from Libya, Jerusalem, and a Muslim group, in addition to other special groups from around the US and elsewhere, and one group who had flown in from a foreign country for a special wedding. The volunteer told us some interesting facts about the tabernacle and also gave us instructions about the importance of remaining quiet during the broadcast in addition to giving anyone who needed a minute to cough or clear throats before the broadcast started : ).   When we left the tabernacle there were sisters from all over the world who would step up to a microphone to speak in their native tongue and invite guests to join them in a tour of the temple grounds.

We walked back home in the rain (about a 10-minute walk) and put our dinner in to cook and then returned to the tabernacle at noon to attend the Stake Conference of the other branch of missionaries that our friends, Boyd and Dot Williams attend. They were excited to be singing in the choir and sitting in the same seats as the choir does.

Our branch started at 2:15 so we walked across the street and attended our block (again wearing our overcoats and gloves). Today was Fast Sunday in the branch.  To keep neither the seniors nor the young elders from dominating the meeting, those bearing their testimonies were invited to sit up front and rotate from the young to the senior missionaries. We especially enjoyed the sweet, humble testimonies of the young elders. There are about 72 young elders in the mission and about 1200 senior missionaries. The Temple Square Mission is a separate mission.

Tomorrow, Monday, March 4 will be our first day of training with a devotional starting at 7:30 am in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (affectionately known here as the JSMB).