Family and Church History Headquarters Mission : September 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Snow Has Arrived

Does the arrival of snow mean that winter is officially here? (So far just on the tops of the mountains.) I always kind of thought it came with the winter solstice which will officially be on Saturday, December 21. BUT it was cold here this week for those of us from warmer climates. The Utahns tell us that it isn't cold but my blood disagrees.

I have probably shared before that we have a social group (the missionaries who started the same month as we did) who meet about once a month for an activity. We had a fun potluck with them here in our apartment complex social room on Sunday, September 22. We had homemade soup, rolls, and pie which was perfect for a rather cold day.

Missionary social group

The week at the library was great as we had fun helping the patrons as they search for their ancestors. It is so rewarding when helping a patron and they find an ancestor they've been looking for. We had Friday off so worked on Saturday. I helped a couple of ladies who were only in the library for a couple of hours as they were on their way to St. George to participate in the Huntsman Senior Games. We were able to print a marriage certificate for one of them from scotlandspeople. gov.uk. As many genealogists know, being able to find a marriage certificate is like panning pure gold. With that certificate this lady was able to learn the names of four grandparents which she didn't have before. This opens up many more avenues for her to search. When you're able to participate in those experiences it is really great.

On Friday night we drove to Orem (took almost 2 hours to get there; 40 minutes to get home, BAD traffic) to attend the wedding reception of Byde's great niece, Nicole Fisher. The mother of the bride and 2 of her sisters were there from out-of-state so we had a fun visit with them. The bride was on the stairs when she threw her bouquet and it ended up in the chandelier.

The new bride and groom, Nicole Fisher & Justin Bell

Ida, Byde, Pam, Bea (mother of the bride), and Maria

If you look carefully you can see the bouquet in the chandelier

The annual women's conference was held on Saturday night. I had tried unsuccessfully to get tickets, but on Saturday afternoon in the library there were 3 sisters there working who had been there all day and were just too tired to go so they gave me the tickets and I was able to share them with 2 other sister missionaries. We had great seats in Section 10 on the Plaza level. I liked the way our granddaughter, Jessica Phelps expressed her feelings about the conference: "I loved the Relief Society Broadcast that was tonight! It was uplifting and just what I needed!! I am grateful that we have loving leaders who listen to the Lord and shared the messages that they did! I know that their words will be helping many heavy hearts feel lighter. And I know it inspired me to continue working on my own rough edges and become a better person!" Thanks Jessica for sharing.

If you'd like to listen to the talks you can go to the following website:
https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/archive/general-relief-society-meeting/2013/09?lang=eng.
I felt so privileged to be in attendance and to hear our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson deliver a wonderful message of hope. Each of the talks from the General Relief Society Presidency were equally inspiring.

To top off our week we attended the Tabernacle Choir Broadcast this Sunday morning; what a special treat it is each Sunday for us to be able to be in the Tabernacle with the choir and watch Mack Wilberg direct. This morning the theme was more about children and so the beautiful children's songs were wonderful to hear by the choir. The ending comments by Lloyd Newell were as follows:
"Perhaps you've heard this saying, written by another person who made a difference in the lives of young people - a Boy Scout Leader of decades past: 'A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different, because I was important in the life of a child.'"

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Fireworks Display!!

Winter is in the air!! I wore a jacket to work this week on 2 mornings but carried it home in the afternoon. The days are beautiful!

One day this week at the library while I was working at the computer I glanced up and there was my sister, Lucille Webb and her husband Wendell. They brought us some delicious home-grown, Arizona, fresh garden tomatoes - YUM!!! They live in Snowflake, Arizona and were just passing through Salt Lake on their way to Idaho to see a special Dr. and visit their daughter and her family there. They also have a daughter in Wyoming they were going to visit. We enjoyed a nice visit though it was short.

We had our Branch "Hail and Farewell" on Monday night with entertainment by a string group from BYU that included 2 champion fiddlers. On Wednesday noon we did the "Hail and Farewell" for our Zone at work. (That is a welcome for the incoming missionaries and a farewell for those going home). There never seems to be any lack of a party and food. There always seems to be a party going on!!


Mountain violinists from BYU

Getting set up for the Hail and Farewell dinner

Waiting for the dinner to start (Draughons in the middle of the crowd)

Young elders lining up for dinner (they get served last after the single sisters and couples

Elder Snell

Elder Perkins waving (Byde's nephew Greg Horton is his Bishop in Idaho)

Departing missionaries line up and we sing the farewell song to them

The Draughons fom Arizona are returning home

Elders always sing "Called to Serve" for the closing number

Elder Snell from our Stake in Arizona

Saturday, September 21, was Byde's birthday (Happy 71). We started our day with a 6 am endowment session at the Salt Lake Temple, did some laundry, sewing, baked a cake for Byde's birthday and went to the Salt Lake City Cemetery to look for President Hinckley's grave (we were unsuccessful - next time a better map!!). The cemetery is GINORMOUS! We also visited the pioneer memorial and Brigham Young's grave. We ended the day at Cafe Rio (Byde's choice for his birthday dinner) and I managed to make a German Chocolate cake for him.

Plaque on front of Pioneer Family statue

Byde in front of bust of Brigham Young

Statue of Brigham Young reading to children

Flowers surrounding the memorial

Marker as you enter the Brigham Young Cemetery

Byde's birthday dinner - pork salad at Cafe Rio

The Assembly Hall concert on Friday night was"Families Making Music" featuring the Oliverson Family who call themselves "Moon Light." The 3 children Aubree (15), Andrew (12), and Lily (9), all play the violin and their dad, Stephen plays the piano. Aubree has won competitions internationally and has been a soloist at Carnegie Hall. She played most of the numbers but brother and sister contributed on several as well. Needless to say, the concert was delightful.

Stephen Oliverson, Aubree, Andrew, and Lily

The flower gardens on Temple Square are far better than any fireworks display so I am again going to take you on a tour of the gardens while they are in the height of their glory. It won't be too much longer until frost bites them and the gardeners start pulling them and putting in the tulips and other bulbs.