We have a complimentary Nauvoo Pageant soundtrack available for friends who are not of our faith.  This soundtrack is a wonderful way for you to experience the sweetness of our experience for yourself.  The music is uplifting and powerful. If you have enjoyed hearing our story and would love to hear more, please send us your contact info and we will have this beautiful soundtrack delivered to your home.  If you are of our faith, we would love to send CDs to your friends and family of other faiths.  Please consider sharing the sweetness of the gospel and the story of Nauvoo with those you love.

We will need this information from you:

Your Name:

Your Phone #:

Your Email:

Your Friend’s Name:

Your Friend’s Phone #:

All contact information will remain confidential and will only be shared with those responsible for organizing the distribution of the CDs.  You can send us your contact information by entering it in the comment section.  If you have commented on the blog before, however, the info will be visible to the public.  If you have not commented before, your contact info will remain hidden and unseen by the public.  You can also send me (Trista Weibell) a private message on facebook or contact me through email (moxiefoto@gmail.com)

Our lives are more tender and sweet because of our participation in this pageant.  We hope that you will choose to invite the spirit of the pageant into your life and share its sweetness with your friends and neighbors.  We love our Savior very much and are filled with gratitude for His light and love that we cherish in our lives.  May your lives also be filled with His peace.

]]> http://www.themoxieblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=644 0 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=615 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=615#comments Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:18:13 +0000 admin http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=615 Christian, Tucker and David arrived in Nauvoo on Sunday.  It’s so good to be with them again!

Monday morning we registered with the rest of the Sunshine Yellow Cast.

All my boys were fitted for their costumes.

We played crazy Getting-to-Know-You games and learned the Country Fair dances.  Mostly I took a lot of pictures and edited them.

We received our Frontier Country Fair assignments and went to work on them Tuesday night.  Christian, Taylor, and Tucker are playing in the Frontier Country Fair Band.  Tucker plays acoustic bass guitar. Christian plays guitar and Taylor is on drums.  They play a speedy round dance, a mach-speed Scottish Highland Fling, a melodious waltz, and a wicked polka.  David marches around on stilts.

During the day, we are on the sweaty hot stage learning our moves.  Taylor’s got some good ones.  Tucker does, too.

Sometimes we get to practice in the air conditioned junior high gym.  We also get to practice finding our place in four concentric circles that are spinning in opposite directions without leaving any lone satellite people in the middle.  Suzie conducts us like an orchestra to get all of our spins and twirls and hops down just right.

We practice a lot.  We sweat a lot.  We smack a lot of bugs and drink a lot of water, and we love every minute of it.  It’s the people who make this experience completely memorable.  As we practice each scene of the pageant, we group together and talk about the principles we are teaching and the events we are portraying.  We talk about how life is short and how we are all here for a reason.  We talk about the fact that people come into our lives for a purpose.  We talk about taking Nauvoo home with us, and we share our stories of faith.  Next week when we take the stage (Yes, that’s really only one week after arriving), we will be prepared to light the stage with our spirits.  The pageant will be as beautiful as it always is.

As a surprise ending to a wonderful week, my parents came for a visit to Nauvoo.  It’s nice to be together with them, also, in this beautiful place!

]]> http://www.themoxieblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=615 3 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=581 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=581#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2011 03:59:26 +0000 admin http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=581 Last night, I sat on a metal chair in the dark, shadowy front wing of the stage, photographing the Saints in Zion.  After a week of watching the pageant, I was beginning to wonder when the tears would flow.  That moment came as our narrator, Parley P. Pratt, stood on stage and described what the Saints experienced in the early days of Nauvoo.  As they looked over what would soon become Beautiful Nauvoo, they saw mosquito infested swampland that brought disease and sickness. They saw death and heartache.  The Prophet Joseph, himself, was very ill.  One day, he rose from his sickbed, gathered the apostles and miraculously healed a multitude of people.  “From this experience,” Parley said, “we learned that each day is a gift.”

On this muggy, dusky night, my breath caught in my throat as I thought back to the struggles in my own life.  In 2003, as a young mother of three boys, the youngest of which was barely a year old, the doctor delivered the news that I had Hodgkin’s disease, a form of cancer.  I am completely cured today, but the experience was a very difficult one for me personally and our family as a whole.  I would not wish to have that particular trial again, but I cannot forget the beautiful perspective on life that it has given me.  Each moment truly is a gift.  Eight short years later, I still have not forgotten that fact.  It lives in my heart.  I celebrate birthdays as if they might be my last. I try say kind words when I think them, and I try to listen to the spirit so that I can seize the moment and live without regret.  What a great blessing it is to have been given this perspective in life that will influence how I live the rest of my life, and what a better life it will be because of it.

Last night, as the tears flowed from my eyes and down my checks in my shadowy corner, I realized that not only is each day a gift, this day is a gift.  It is such a gift to not only be here on this earth, but to be gathered with my family and the Saints in Zion.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “And that same sociality which exists amongst us here will exist among us there only it will be coupled with eternal glory…”

Through my lens, I have seen the hearts of the Saints.

I have seen real, raw, tender emotions, both of joy and of grief, and my heart yearns to be with them, not only here and now, but always.

Red Cast has come and gone.  We made wonderful friendships, and said sweet goodbyes.  I love Red Cast’s spirit.  They have such a spirit of patience, which is much needed when we are all practicing on the first cast to get it right with the others.  Their patient, willing smiles were such a blessing in our lives.  Red Cast has returned home as Blue Cast and their powerful spirits take the stage this week.

Yellow Cast arrived yesterday with their sunny smiles and contagious enthusiasm.

Each week I think my heart will burst as I grow to love these people and then send them on their way home.  Last night as Blue and Yellow Casts stood onstage, shoulder to shoulder, and sang The Spirit of God, I realized that my heart was bursting with love for all those people on stage – people that I knew, but more surprisingly, people that I didn’t even know, yet.  The spirit has truly enlarged my ability to feel and quickened my spirit.

It truly is a gift to be here at this moment!

This particular cloudy morning I came, sleep deprived or not, to record the story of the early Saints who left their homes and beautiful temple in the dead of winter.  They made the long walk down Parley, crossed the Mississippi, and headed west.  I have often pondered the change of title for this location in Nauvoo.  It seemed that Trail of Tears more adequately described their sorrow and heartache.  I, too, felt a weight on my shoulders as I walked Parley Street this particular morning.

I decided to walk Parley in reverse order, so that I could photograph the cast members before the crowds arrived.  I walked to the end of Parley Street and found the pipers.  Joseph played If You Could Hie to Kolob beside the softly rustling trees on the banks of the Mississippi.  I was there to work, but paused for a moment to let the spirit work its way into my heart. I’m not sure the pipers know what a soothing effect their music has on the soul.

I snapped a few piper pictures and headed back up Parley, feeling just a bit more rejuvenated.  I stopped next to chat with Darren Hill, who was leaning across the fence in the diffused morning sun.  I imagined that this is how it was in Nauvoo, neighbor passing neighbor on the streets, pausing to chat and uplift.

As I worked my way down the rest of Parley Street, I saw tender scenes of sorrow, humor, comfort, and love – many of them unstaged.

I saw Alex, pausing to shake hands, hug, and share words of testimony with her fellow friends.

I saw tears slipping down the faces of role playing men and women, as they described their feelings preparing to leave their City Beautiful.

More importantly, they shared their testimonies with us through those tears, often accompanied by resolute smiles.

There were also humorous moments, both scripted and unscripted.  Kelson Davies described being a young boy when he left Nauvoo.  In the snippet of laughter I caught as I passed his place on Parley, he described having to dress as a girl to cross the Mississippi.

I quickly gathered all the pictures I needed, and then made my way to a quiet bench at the end of Parley.  I took a moment, even if it was just a small one, to pause and reflect upon the brief moments I had just experienced.  Come, Come Ye Saints played sweetly and tenderly in the distance.  In the matter of a short few minutes, while I hurried from station to station, working, the spirit, chose to enter my heart and give me strength and comfort.  My Heavenly Father blessed me with a much needed abundance of His Spirit this early morning.

I marched up Parley comforted, smiling and, rejuvenated.

I now understand why the Trail of Tears was changed to the Trail of Hope. There is a powerful spirit on Parley, one of tender sadness, but also one of profound hope.  I am quite certain the early saints experienced the same spirit I felt this day on Parley.

Our Heavenly Father loves us.  Of this, I am sure.  He loved me enough to lift me on this beautiful morning, and He loved the saints enough to give them strength to make their long trek west.  We do have hope through our Savior and His miraculous Atonement. May we all find our quiet moment on Parley to reflect upon the marvelous blessings we have been given.

The Midwest is steeped in down home goodness and Americana tradition.  As we stood on the old church corner with the pipers, farm boys rolled past on their tractors, a little miss baseball team (cute as pie) waved at us from a truck, and people stopped, lingered and talked.

The parade took place in old downtown, and marched past the breathtaking courthouse in the center.  The crumbly brick buildings and vintage cars rolling down the street really had my heart in a flutter.

I’m totally going to own this sky blue Volkswagen Bus when I grow up.  Just sayin’!

Entry #47, the Nauvoo Bagpipe Band, marched down the street midway through the parade, causing a stir of excitement! Parade goers jostled their neighbors to get a better view, and children, with an amazed glitter in their eyes, asked, “Are those bagpipers?”

And once again, this time in greater numbers, and making a more impressive sight, they marched past cars and buildings.

People moved in close to the caution tape to photograph and film them.

This young man got his pipes for Christmas last year, and this year he’s marching with the band.  Way to go Brighton!

The pipers marched around the last corner block as I chased them down, alternating camera clicks and video!

Taylor looked especially good in his kilt, marching next to the pretty little lady in Irish dress.

The parade wound past a senior citizens center and came to a stop.  The pipers walked back to the city center in groups of twos and threes in the sweltering heat.  We were lead inside the historic courthouse for water and a freezer stocked with yummy frozen ice cream treats.  The stained glass windows and rotunda were so beautiful!  I sweet talked Ian into momentarily dropping his ice cream and water and posing for a portrait for me.

I can’t decide which one I like best!

Then Ian’s brother, Robbie, wandered over, and as is often the case, the two began to play a duet.  As you can imagine, the rotunda acoustics were amazing!

I think the kilts really make this courthouse look distinguished!  And of course, Robbie got his own portrait.

After cooling off for a few minutes, the pipers went back out into the hot, humid day to perform on the city center stage.  In the usual pattern, they had them laughing and crying.  There were solos and duets, beautiful singing by the Irish girls, a drum major playing bass drum, and a funny story. They ended on the sweet tune of  Amazing Grace.  I’m growing very much to love these pipers, their amazing smiles, wonderful spirits, and talented gifts.

Before we left Carthage, this pretty little picture caught my eye, reminding me of all that is good in America.

I ended my 4th of July celebration in the pipers’ cozy kitchen with pizza and prayer for such a wonderful day!

]]> http://www.themoxieblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=493 1 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=459 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=459#comments Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:33:07 +0000 admin http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=459 Sunday evening we gathered to the Outdoor Stage under a cloudy canopy of sky to watch the Core Cast perform Our Story Goes on.

Each of us has a story.

We’re mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, grandparents and siblings.

In each of our lives we find meaning in our remembered stories, and in the common threads that run through them all.

(words from the program)

And the story begins!

A beautiful baby girl is born into the world to nervous, but adoring, parents.

Grandma arrives to meet her new granddaughter.

Then a little boy takes his first steps as his father cheers him on!

Somewhere along the journey there is a farm.  Alex’s cow face just about sends me into fits of hysterical giggles every time I see it!

The boy becomes a teenager whose light begins to shine!

Then boy meets girl in the elevator,

and the elevator comes jarringly to a halt.

Boy and girl fall in love.

Boy and girl marry.  Life seems to be bumping along just fine, until the girl’s mother grows old.  “Please don’t go,” the girl pleads.  To which her mother replies, “I’m not going.  I’m coming.”  She is coming to her mother and her mother before her in a place we all lived before we came to this earth.  It’s a story that began before birth and will continue after death.  It is the story of all our lives, of where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going.  Every moment is a gift.

As I sat in my front row, right-on-the-grass seat, I had, admittedly,  the best view in the house.  From this vantage point I caught glimpses of tears brimming the eyes of those on stage as they stood and bore their testimonies to us through song and story.  My heart filled with gratitude for the story of my life, for the amazing talent I just witnessed, and for the light that enters our lives through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I have been greatly blessed.  We all have.

]]> http://www.themoxieblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=459 1 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=418 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=418#comments Sun, 03 Jul 2011 04:14:26 +0000 admin http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=418 Meet the fabulous

Red Cast

Nauvoo Bagpipe Band!

They march up Mulholland every noon with skirts kilts a swinging,

lead by their fearless drum major.

They march past buildings and cars,

playing a rousing rendition of Scotland the Brave.

They cross Mulholland at the Nauvoo Temple intersection.

And they march back down the other side of Mulholland.

Everywhere they go the pipers attract attention.  People ask for photographs and even autographs.  They park their pick ups in the middle of the street to request songs.  They poke their heads out of stores to listen, and some even get a little misty-eyed when the pipers pass by.

In the muggy heat of the morning, I climbed on my beach cruiser with my family names in hand, and determination in my heart to find my Nauvoo roots. After asking for directions to the Land & Records Office, I arrived at my destination to the sound of the YPM Brass Band playing music from a horse drawn carriage.  One of the missionaries waved at me, and I stopped in the shade to listen to them.  Our favorite snare soloist, Elder Busath, played a drum set on his own section of the carriage.  It was so hot outside that I decided to go inside the building.  I wove myself through the small entryway and settled in at a chair in front a computer in the corner.  I had just pulled up the search menu when the brass band appeared inside and made their way to the front desk where the senior missionaries were serving Otter Pops.  Elder Busath recognized me and headed my way, Otter Pop in hand.  We had a pleasant conversation about Taylor and a variety of musical topics.  He said he would be willing to teach Taylor some tricks if we run into him again, and he offered some helpful suggestions for drum books we might find useful.  It’s fun running into people we know all over Nauvoo!

I spent at least an hour researching my ancestors and pulling their files.  Several times, my eyes nearly overflowed as I uncovered journals and family relationships and unknown talents.  I contemplated my family, and where they had lived.  I learned that:

1. Elias Gardner was a tenant at Scovil Bakery yum, and led the New York Brass Band before he came to Nauvoo.  It’s safe to assume he was also a member of the Nauvoo Brass Band (a band I had just seen perform on the steps of the Land & Records Office).

2.Ezra Chase (an uncle of mine) rented space to William Spencer Covert

3. Esaias Edwards lived on the shores of the Mississipi and wrote poetry that he was asked to write and deliver for various church meetings

4. William Willard Hutchings owned land by Hyrum Smith

5. Thomas Thornton had 30 acres of farmland and Ezra Chase had 160 acres

6. Edwin Hamblin (my direct ancestor) was also called to be a missionary and peacemaker to the Indians.  I knew that Edwin’s more famous brother, Jacob, had been called to the same service, but I had no idea that Edwin, who is my direct line also had that same privilege.  When added to the knowledge that several of these men were listed as being part of the quorum of the Seventy, I determined that missionary work is in my blood.

I scoured record after record and saved it all to a CD.  Several of my ancestors’ files were over 100 pages long, detailing all land and record purchases, journals, news articles, church service, ordinance work that had been performed, and other details about their lives.  The image of them living their lives in Nauvoo, associating with the prophet Joseph, helping build the temple and living near it, and serving missions as members of the Seventy began to crystalize for me as I studied the records.

After leaving my chilled space in the Land & Records office, I walked into the 97 degree muggy, so-hot-you-can’t-breathe heat, and climbed aboard my beach cruiser once again.  I spent a good 20 minutes riding up and down the streets where my ancestors lived, finding their properties.  Then I rode to Seventies Hall.

Seventies Hall was built to accommodate the growing number of missionaries in Nauvoo.  Because they were going into the world to preach the gosepl, they felt it was important to have a place to receive training and learn how to be good missionaries.  They didn’t have money readily available for the building, so they earned and saved what they could and began to build.  When the outer wall was  nine feet tall, a tornado tore through the area and demolished it.  The discouraged missionaries decided to move forward.  Brigham Young said that it was a good omen the wall had been destroyed, because it meant that the devil was very aware of the good that would come from it. The missionaries were about to cause a great upset in the devil’s plan. After learning a bit about Seventies Hall, I climbed the steep staircase to the museum of  Nauvoo artifacts at the top.  Beautifully crafted abalone buttons and clay marbles adorned the glass cases.  A quiet room lay off to one side.  The sister senior missionary lead me into that room and we started searching the books for my family names.  Once again, tears brimmed my eyes as I imagined my family members in the hustle and bustle of Nauvoo and engaged in missionary service.  I wish that their records detailed where they served.

Tonight Taylor skipped off to Fort Madison to tune with their band and had a good time bonding with the pipers, especially during dinner afterwards.  He is really enjoying the tight-knit friendships with this small group of people.  How can you go wrong with a band full of handsome bagpipe boys and one lucky girl?

I spent the evening at the pageant stage.  Paul Walstad was kind enough to do all my photo work for me, so I could sit back and relax.  A sweet little curly blonde girl joined me while the sun set on her dancing mother and father. Once again we had a magical sunset!

P.S. It was too hot to ride my bicycle and carry my heavy camera bag, so the blog is a little photo light today.  The above image is of our family when we were in Yellow Cast 2009.  Photo Credit goes to my mother, Kriss Russell.

]]> http://www.themoxieblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=406 2 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=378 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=378#comments Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:53:11 +0000 admin http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=378 Yesterday morning began with District Meetings in the beautiful grove with light filtering through the trees.  We studied the Preach My Gospel section on inviting others to come unto Christ.  I love these District Meetings, because I learn so much about how to be a good missionary.  Today we learned that invitations can be big or small.  They can be as simple as a smile, a handshake, or an offer of friendship.   They can also be as large as an invitation to be baptized.  There are so many steps in between, and often just loving a person is that first small step to bringing them to Christ.  We talked about how we are rarely good at anything the first time we try, but if we let our fear get in the way and don’t try, we will never be any better.  People who are talented at certain skills arrived there through hours of practice.  It’s the same with missionary work.  It might be uncomfortable and awkward at first, and we might not be any good at it in the beginning, but if we keep trying, we will be better missionaries.  The key is relaxing and allowing the Spirit to lead us.

In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to hang out with the pipers as they attended a senior center luncheon at the Nauvoo Fire Station.  I loved mingling with the people!  They all have such wonderful stories to tell.  The pipers marched into the room bathed in sunlight from the various windows.

Each of them introduced themselves and then played a solo (with the exception of the tenor drum).  I love that these boys are not very old, but have the ability to stand and relate to a crowd of people, and have them laughing and crying and loving them by the end.  Joseph played his Johnny Bagpipes that is always a crowd pleaser, and I heard it for the first time today.  It started with a story about how he was assigned the task of bringing his pipes to scout camp to wake the boys each morning.  He then played on his pipes a series of tones, including an emergency broadcast note, a police car siren, a blaring repetitive fire horn, and shouted FIRE in the middle. I’ve probably described it a little differently than it happened, because it was my first time seeing it, but you get the idea!  There were a lot of loud, blaring, non-bagpipish sounds coming out of that set of pipes with a very funny story.  The crowds love him!

Taylor introduced himself last.  True, the people came to hear the pipers, but Taylor did compete in PAS this year with a snare solo, so we kept nudging him to throw it in there.  He introduced himself to the crowd just perfectly, and then Liz and I encouraged him to perform his solo, which wasn’t on the plans and he’d never done before while here in Nauvoo.  He was bashful and shy about it, but all those Grandmas and Grandpas talked him into it in the end!  He had those sweet little ladies swooning.  With a sigh, they said to me, “He’s so adorable!”  I must agree.  He is quite adorable.

After the performance comes the best part.  I’m sure the boys were thinking the food is definitely one of the perks of being a piper.  Everywhere you go, people feed you, which has got to be pretty awesome!  But my favorite part was then mingling with these pipe loving people!

I spent the rest of the afternoon getting caught up on sleep.  In the evening, Taylor wandered over to the pipers’ house for a District Meeting on the second principle of service – Listening.  I’m sorry I missed it.  I bet it was wonderful!  I, on the other hand, hopped in my mother-in-law’s suburban for a ride down to the pageant stage. As we rounded the corner by the temple, we ran into a yellow taped off road, and my mother-in-law said, “Oh, that’s right.  The Catholic Church is blessing their new stained glass windows tonight.  They invited the Core Cast to attend.”  It took me all of less than a half a block to decide I wanted to go.  She stopped the car at the corner and let me out, and I walked up the street toward the Catholic Church. The outside bustled with a flurry of activity as they set up for a picnic after the ceremony.  Timidly, I entered the front door.  I had never been in a Catholic Church before, and it was breathtaking!  It is an absolutely beautiful historical St. Peter and Paul Church!  It is painted a light pink with ornate trim and moldings.

I took my seat in the back, looking for a familiar face.  After a few moments, I noticed a few of the Core Cast sitting a few rows up in the middle.  I walked down the aisle and joined them.  The ceremony was wonderful, all spoken and sung with rays of light streaming through the beautiful stained glass windows.  When the choir started singing, I couldn’t resist craning my neck back to see where they were.  It turns out that they had angels singing in the rafters.  It was nice to see Father Szydlik leading his congregation.  (He is the same man that said “Hello” to me as I walked my bicycle past his church.)

It was a happy ceremony filled with gratitude, and I enjoyed singing hymns with Brannon Kilgo to my right.  There was something wonderful about joining the Catholic Church in their expression of faith and gratitude on this night.  I can certainly share in their joy that we have these beautiful windows in Nauvoo.

After the ceremony, I walked down the hill to the stage, with a feeling of thoughtful reverence for the beauty I just experienced. I know our faiths are different, but I enjoyed reflecting on the spirit of gratitude and beauty and light as I walked down the hill.  In the golden glow of evening, I captured a few images of the children playing pioneer games in the sunset.  The world seemed to be filled with light!!

When the last of the rays set, I walked over to the other stage for another, almost completely different, performance by Vocal Point.  This time I got close enough to capture a few images.  Taylor really liked how they sweet talked a girl from the audience into joining them onstage for a Michael Buble song.  I, on the other hand, think it is most amazing that this entirely acapella boy band performed Michael Jackson’s Beat It.

I ended the evening with my thoughts drifting to the line in the pageant that says, ‘”There’s a little light coming into you, too!”

]]> http://www.themoxieblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=378 2 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=357 http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=357#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:47:58 +0000 admin http://www.themoxieblog.com/?p=357 Today I found myself off the beaten path as I took a detour from the Red Cast Missionary Morning Side, and veered my bicycle toward the Country Fair, instead.  I was on the hunt for the YPM’s (Young Performing Missionaries), because I heard they might be practicing on the stage in the early morning light.  As I rode my beach cruiser I glimpsed a bright orange flicker in the trees.  To my delight, I discovered a bird as orange as a fluorescent orange highlighter!  Now, any of my bird friends or Cub Scouts can testify that I am a bird fanatic, so this will come as no surprise to them that I was watching the treetops like a hawk!  What pretty little birds they have here in Nauvoo!  My little orange friend was a Baltimore Oriole.  I also saw a Downy Woodpecker pecking away at the side of a tree with a hidden nest, I’m pretty sure, and I had a Red Cardinal whistle me a tune from the treetops, too.

I eventually ended up with the Country Fair work group in the middle of the field.  As we were standing there, a friendly little red fox leaped playfully into view.  We watched it skip across the field in the beautiful sunshine!

I then worked my way over to the stage to get some shots of the YPM’s practicing their dance moves.  This one is of Mr. & Mrs. Balser showing them how it’s done!  Highland Fling, anyone?

I stopped and talked to two sister YPM’s, one of which had done something wicked to her big, fat, swollen ankle, which is why she wasn’t dancing on the stage.  It was fun to get the scoop on the YPM’s story.  They serve as missionaries for about 4 months.  There are Band YPM’s who play various musical instruments, and there are Performing YPM’s who do several shows, including High Hopes and Riverboats, Just Plain Anna Amanda, Sunset by the Mississippi, and Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo. They also perform in the Nauvoo Pageant with the Core Cast and Family Casts.  I think it’s awesome that all the shows and activities here in Nauvoo are free.  You can go back and visit your favorite show or shop or missionaries as often as you like.

After Red Cast finished their morning side meeting, everyone met in the grove for District Meetings.  Before they began, though, I took a quick shot of the temple through the trees, because I promised someone special a beautiful picture of the grove if I ever got the chance.  I’m not sure this is what I’m looking for for that shot, so I will probably keep trying, but this one made me happy anyway.

In our District Meetings, we talked about a quote by Brigham Young that discusses good fruit and bad fruit.  It is found in the Journal of Discourses, 5:351-352.  I’m going to edit a bit in the middle, but here’s some of what it says.

” If you feel evil, keep it to yourselves until you overcome that evil principle.  This is what I call resisting the devil, and he flees from me…When you are influenced by the Spirit of holiness and purity, let your light shine; but if you are tried and tempted and buffeted by Satan, keep your thoughts to yourselves – keep your mouths closed; for speaking produces fruit, either of a good or evil character……..But when you have joy and happiness, light and intelligence, truth and virtue, offer that fruit abundantly to your neighbors, and it will do them good, and so strengthen the hands of your fellow beings.”

This quote is a pageant motto.  I think it’s interesting that we often focus on the DO NOT’s in the list: We shouldn’t murmur and complain. But the flipside of this quote is also true. Our words have power.  They have the power to call into existence and create the very experiences we desire .  If we are more proactive about seeking to say uplifting, positive words, we can create powerful experiences here in Nauvoo.

While the adults were having a safety meeting in the grove, the children toured the pageant stage.  This young man on the work crew proclaimed, “Ah, you’ve entered my lair!”   Normally, we don’t get to see the underside of the stage, because the work crew is down there using their muscles to lift various portions of the stage at various times throughout the performance, so this was a fun opportunity for the children.

After District Meetings were through, I decided to sneak in my Thighs of Steel workout cycling the long hill up Young Street and past the Catholic church.  When I got back to the house, I put on the hat of Bagpiper (Snare Drum) Mom and helped Taylor add all the various pieces to his ensemble.  I then drove him over to meet the pipers for their first parade down Mulholland Street.  This fantastic opportunity provides the pipers a chance to mingle with members of the community.  Indeed, the chief of police stopped to chat as well as the lovely lady behind the counter in Annie’s Custard.  I didn’t get pictures today, but I’m going to sneak over there sometime later this week.  I’m sure it’s a sight to behold!

This evening the pipers gathered at a house to receive instruction on one of the five principles of service.  These principles are outlined on a hand with each finger detailing a different principle.  Tonight we talked about the the thumb, or LOVE.  Love is important in life and missionary service.  It takes our love of the gospel and our love for people to be able to reach out to people, talk to them, love them, and share the gospel with them.  Brother Gudmundson, (who has been an institute teacher for many years, and therefore has an arsenal of powerful stories up his sleeve, and a wonderful way of telling each of them) told a story about how Stephen Covey found himself on a subway in New York one quiet Sunday.  He was enjoying the peaceful nature of the ride until a man stepped on the subway with his rather busy and noisy children.  The man sat down next to Stephen and was seemingly oblivious to the racket his children were causing as they bothered the other passengers, throwing things, rattling their newspapers, etc.  Stephen leaned over and said to the man, “Your children are disturbing some of the passengers.  Don’t you suppose you should control them?”  To which the man responded, while looking around, “Oh, yeah, I suppose I should.  We just left the hospital where their mother died, and I suppose they don’t know how to respond to that.  I don’t know how to respond to that.”  Stephen Covey’s attitude changed in an instant.  He went from being annoyed at the passenger to feeling deep empathy for him.  He said in  a whisper, “Oh, how can I help?”  The thing is, every person we meet has a story.  We may not know that story, but everyone has one and is in need of our love.

After our meeting, the piper group headed on down to the Cultural Hall to catch the evening performance of Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo. Sister Gudmundson’s mother is a missionary here in Nauvoo, so I passed my camera down the aisle to the middle so we could get a shot of her (pretty little lady on the right).  This scene is where they sing about the numerous Ashby boys.  We had been wanting to see this play forever, because Taylor is a direct descendant of Nathaniel Ashby, and therefore, an Ashby boy. Boy are they ever numerous, even today!!!