More on Nauvoo

The pageant script has so many wonderful quotes that one can not help but build their testimony and increase their faith while being entertained.

At one point after the arrival of a new boat load immigrants, Parley P. Pratt states, "You'll find that here in Nauvoo the arrival of every new neighbor is an occasion to open our hearts. The Prophet Joseph taught that friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of everything we are. We tray to carry one another's burdens, literally. To give what was needed, we gave all we had, and to give more than we had, we gave of ourselves."

Robert Laird, not a member of the church, arrived on that boat with his wife Becky, who joined the church in Scotland. They lost a three year old son on the boat ride over. Grieving the loss of his son, he storms up to the Prophet Joseph and says, "What do you think you are doing?" He describes the hardships of the journey, and says, "There are fourteen more that you'll never meet, because their graves are at the bottom of the sea. And one of them is our own little boy; our little Jaimie. He was barely three. He smiled up one last time at his mother, then gave-up the ghost. "

He then asks the prophet, "You can stand stand there and tell me that your god accepts such terrible sacrifices from children He supposedly loves?"

Joseph responds, "Yes, I can. Because I know that He also knows what it means to loose a son."

At another point in the pageant when Joseph Smith is organizing the Relief Society, he states, "This society shall rejoice, and knowledge and intelligence shall flow down from this time. If you will live up to your privileges, the angels can not be restrained from being your associates."

Parley Pratt tells Robert Laird as Robert is beginning to accept the gospel, "If it's good, it comes from Christ, and He gave His life so you could have it."

At another point while speaking of the passing of King Follet, Joseph says, "They are only absent for a moment. Life on earth is fragile. It is a blessing to be cherished." Moments later he says, "This is the purpose of the temple. To bring together those who dwell on earth with those who dwell in heaven. That the hearts of our family members may be bound together for eternity. "

Such powerful doctrine. I think everyone should see the pageant at least once.

I have had time to post more photos from the Nauvoo Pageant. These were taken by our good friend Theresa Junkunz.

Nauvoo Pageant - Online Slideshow Creator

Announcing Hannah Ray Foister

Hannah was born Friday, August 27, at 6:54 p.m. weighing 8 lbs 11 ounces. That makes Hannah the heaviest of all the children at birth. She has quite a bit of black hair.

We are so grateful she arrived healthy and safe. Shortly before the birth, Anna had received a blessing promising her that angels would be present to assist. I asked her afterward if she had felt their presence, and she said yes.

Here is the whole gang. Our new family!

Mother and daughter.

Maryann is so excited to have a little sister. We have to keep a close eye on how loving she is.

This was the children's first time to meet their new sister. Look at her hair.

Nauvoo Pageant

This past month we had the opportunity to participate in the Nauvoo pageant. It was a lot of work, but tremendously rewarding. We really enjoyed every aspect of participating from the heat and humidity, to the chiggers and mosquitoes. Most of all, we enjoyed the wonderful people we met, and the strong spirit felt participating in such an event in such a place. It was a blessing to our life we hope to repeat in future years.

Nauvoo is such a beautiful place!

Participating in the pageant can be very tiring. How did the pioneers do it?

Boy was it hot and humid. Especially if you are eight months along. Anna is such a trooper!

Maryann enjoyed all of the new sites. Here she is with her security badge.

The children in costume waiting to begin.

At the sack race preparing for work.

Bethany with the Laird's. She had the largest part of our family. She was the daughter of Robert and Becky Laird, main characters in the pageant. What a great thing for her.

Here is a close-up of Bethany with the Laird's.

The finale! If you see the dots in the upper left-hand section, that's us!

Saint Louis

Earlier this summer Wesley, Emma and I took a trip to Saint Louis for the day. We enjoyed being together, and seeing the sites. We went to the temple, and took the tram to the top of the arch. Peering out the little windows made Wesley very nervous.

View from the top of the arch.

Beneath the arch looking up.

The museum and the tram are both located underground beneath the arch.

The base of the arch is massive

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Wesley and Emma in front of the temple.

Struggles and Charity

I was reminded recently of a story Elder Quieten L. Cook told in General Conference regarding difficult times. He said,

Last winter my daughter had a white-knuckle experience driving in a severe snowstorm. She reminded me of a similar situation I had with my two sons many years ago. My youngest son, Joe, was three years old, and my son Larry was six. We were traveling by car from San Francisco to Utah in June. The weather had been very good.

As we started our ascent to the Donner Pass summit in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, suddenly and without warning an enormous snowstorm hit us. None of the drivers was prepared. A semitruck in front of us had jackknifed and was spread across two lanes. Other trucks and cars had slid off the freeway. One lane was open, and many vehicles, including ours, were desperately trying to gain traction to avoid the other vehicles. All traffic then came to a halt.

We were not prepared for this blizzard in June. We had no warm clothing, and our fuel was relatively low. I huddled with the two boys in an effort to keep us warm. After many hours, safety vehicles, snowplows, and tow trucks began to clear up the massive logjam of vehicles.

Eventually, a tow truck hauled us to a service station on the other side of the pass. I called my wife, knowing she would be worried because she had expected a call the prior evening. She asked if she could speak to the two boys. When it was the three-year-old’s turn, with a quivering voice, he said, “Hope ya know, we had a hard time!”

I could tell, as our three-year-old talked to his mother and told her of the hard time, he gained comfort and then reassurance. Our prayers are that way when we go to our Father in Heaven. We know He cares for us in our time of need.

As we were talking about hard times with the children, trying to help them recognize suffering around us, and have a desire to do something about it, Wesley remembered the video portraying Elder Holland's experience as he attempted to move across the country. I posted it below for your convenience. Yes hard times do pass, but if we have the ability to eliminate any about of suffering someone feels, we are obligated to do so. I think the entire gospel can be summed-up in one word, charity. Charity is how we feel and act towards each other, and this determines who we become. I think the video of President Hinckley's talk, Lessons I Learned As a Boy, portrays this point very well.

Hot Air Balloon at Camp Timberhill

The cub scouts were able to help inflate and pack away a hot air balloon at camp this month. It was exciting to handle such a neat thing.

Inside the envelope.

Wesley stretching it out.

Fishing

Spencer with his seaweed catch!

Wesley's first catch ever!

Board of fishing.

Happy Emma.