Our First Work Day

We took this picture last year and I added the caption
to put it in my office. But during the winter
the big tree on the right fell during a storm.

The Hill Cumorah Pageant doesn’t officially begin until tonight, and the busloads of tourists don’t come until today so yesterday we had a chance to get accustomed to what we are supposed to be doing without a lot of stress, but we kept busy all day. Our shift ran from 8:30 to 2:00. We began with a devotional and singing, “An Angel From On High” that set the tone for the day. Our first station of the morning was at one of the two entrances to the Sacred Grove where we got to greet visitors and count how many came.


Last year there were guided tours and we had to keep people in groups and make them wait in lines, but that was very distracting from the Spirit of this place and so this year we are letting people go through as they come. The sister missionaries are stationed in the Log Home and in the Frame Home to answer any questions, but there is no formal tour. I like this a lot better. Now people can go at their own pace and "drink" in the Spirit of the place to their hearts content without being herded!

Once again I marvel at the difference in the people who come here. I encountered a man I’d known in high school while walking through the grove who was dressed in a white shirt and tie and his wife had on a dress. I talked to him for a little while and as we parted I commented on the way they were dressed and what a difference it would make in their visit to the Grove and he said, “Yes, I just couldn’t bear the thoughts of entering this sacred place in shorts.”

You can see the difference in the people who come here with that reverent attitude and those who don’t. They do have a different experience in the Grove. There were several families who had gone to the temple to do baptisms and then came to the Farm and immediately changed into casual clothes before they went through the Grove. I wanted to tell them to wait until they gone through the Grove to change, but of course, I can’t. And I do know that some people don’t have dressy clothes with them, but for those who do and can the reverence it displays makes a difference in their experience in the Grove.

After our shift ended, we toured the Grandin building where the Book of Mormon was printed. There are two large portraits there of E. B. Grandin and his wife. The Grandin’s never joined the Church but their lives parallel Emma and Joseph’s lives in that they were about the same age, Egbert died about the same time as Joseph. As I looked at his portrait I wondered if he ever realized what an important part of history he was playing.

After our tour we went out to the Chase Berry Farm and had shortcake with fresh strawberries and raspberries. After that we finally got to see D1 and her family who are in the Pageant. They live in South Carolina so we haven’t seen these grandchildren since last year and they have grown! I think there should be a law that children can’t move away and separate grandchildren from their grandparents!

The climax of the day was watching the dress rehearsal of the pageant. We walked through the visitor’s center before that and one of the Sister missionaries introduced herself as one of my past students. It was so fun to see one of my students serving and doing so much good! I loved it. Being the dress rehearsal, the hecklers and anti-Mormons were not in attendance which made it nice.

This year the young man playing the part of the Savior just returned from his mission a week before rehearsals started and the child who runs to him after he descends from heaven is his little sister so as he gathered her up in his arms he kissed her on the cheek. It was so tender and sweet and so real.

I wish you could all be here. It is an amazing experience to be bathed in the Spirit all day long and to be reminded at every glance of all the miracles and tender mercies and power of God. I hope you can feel a tiny bit of this spirit as I share our experiences. This gospel is true and the Lord’s work is moving forward in powerful, miraculous ways now, just as it did in the beginning.

Palmyra Here We Come

Mr. J and I are getting ready to return to Palmyra NY to be volunteers for two weeks at the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We leave bright and early Tuesday morning and will be there for two weeks. We did this last year and had a wonderful time so we decided to “re-up.” If any of you are going to the Pageant be sure and look us up. We will be at the Smith Farm.

In preparation I have been reading and reviewing Church history in the New York area and have enjoyed it so much. One of the books I re-read was The Lion and the Lamb by Rand Packer. It tells the story of Willard and Rebecca Bean who were called as missionaries in 1915 to live in the Smith frame home and re-establish a Latter-day Saint presence in Palmyra. The mission ended up lasting 24 years and the persecution they encountered during the first dozen years is unbelievable.

One day as Willard, who had been a United States middle weight boxing champion, walked down main street in Palmyra, a man watering his lawn said, “I understand you Mormons believe in baptism by immersion,” and turned the hose on Willard. While jumping over the picket fence, Willard responded, “Yes, and we also believe in the laying on of hands.” Willard was never “baptized” again.

As I return to my roots my heart is full. The feeling in the Sacred Grove is out of this world. I wish everyone in the world could taste of it.

I’ll keep you apprised of my adventures as often as I have Internet access! And thanks again for the kind comments. It is nice to know I’m not speaking into the air!

My Heritage

I can’t stop thinking about our trip to Cumorah. We had such a good time, but it was more than good. There was something almost transcendental going on. I was being tied to my roots in a spiritual way. And I watched as my children and grandchildren were drawn to their roots also. Obviously those roots include our pioneer heritage. So many people gave so much so that we could have the gospel. Martin Harris mortgaged his farm to pay for the printing of the Book of Mormon. Joseph and his family endured intense persecution. Everyone in those days paid a price to belong to the Church and while in Palmyra I felt such a kinship and tie to those people—an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

But there was more. I felt amazing ties to my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. Walking through the Sacred Grove is like being in a temple. The feelings are real, almost tangible, and my grandchildren were feeling those things also.

Luke turned five years old while we were there. His part in the Pageant was to be a Nephite child when the Savior appears. The scene is stunning as suddenly in the dark night, high in the sky, Jesus slowly descends to the earth. Once on the stage, Jesus walks down a flight of stairs, as people eagerly reach for Him and take His hand. Luke was one of those people and the last night we saw the production, he watched the coming of the Savior in awe as he always did, but as the Savior passed Luke looked up into Jesus’ face and said softly, reverently, “My name is Luke.”



That incident summarizes the feelings. When in Palmyra I felt like I was conversing with those who have gone before and with my Savior. While I didn’t say it, the thought was, “My name is Sherrie, and I am one link in this amazing history. This is my story, too.”

Days Four and Five

We arrived home late last night. On day four we found the Sonnenberg Mansion in Canandaigua. This was a slightly different experience than the Church history sights, but wonderful. The Victorian mansion was the 41 room summer home of Mary Thompson whose husband founded what is now known as Citibank. The mansion was built in 1885-87 and was stunning. The house includes 52 acres of imaginative and delightful gardens. My favorite was the Japanese garden that had a Japanese Tea House with bridges and ponds and paths adorning it. My second favorite was the rock garden that consisted of a rock lined maze cut six feet down into the ground that twisted and turned and led into a few nooks. Everything was so magical and beautiful.

That night we attended the pageant again. It is amazing how much you miss if you only go once. There is too much to see! The first night the weather was quite cold, but the second night with jackets and blankets we were comfortable.
Yesterday morning we took Mother to Rochester because her plane left two hours before ours and then we did the “Turn left here. Oh, this looks like a good street. Maybe we should turn here. Go right now. . .” thing trying to find someplace to eat. Suddenly there was a sign telling us that the Susan B. Anthony home was on the next block. So we stopped and went through it. She is one of my heroes and I enjoyed seeing where she lived and the room in which she was arrested for voting. Especially fun was seeing the black silk dress displayed in her bedroom. Women in Utah who raised silk worms made the silk brocade fabric and gave it to Anthony as a gift for her 80th birthday and to thank her for her work to give women the right to vote. Anthony then had it made into this dress. I can’t remember for sure, but I think they said she wore the dress to Utah when she was on a lecture tour.

I am so grateful she hung in there despite all the persecution she encountered. So many rights that women enjoy today are because of Susan B. Anthony. I’ve always thought it interesting that she was born about 50 miles away from the spot of Joseph Smith’s first vision and just two months before it. The Lord send a lot of blessings in 1820!

I'm Off To Adventure

The next few days I may not be able to post. I’m on my way to Palmyra, NY, to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I am excited to see it because it is an amazing production, but also because my oldest daughter, Laresa, and her entire family are in it. I don’t know if I will have Internet access, but whenever I do I will keep you apprised of all the fun.

Hope you all have a great weekend! Tomorrow I’ll be in the Sacred Grove!

My wonderful photographer/husband is going with me, so I'll post pictures as soon as I can.