April 6th 178 General Conference

This was a beautiful weekend. The weather was wonderful, the sun shining and it was in the 60's. Saturday morning we drove out to Wayne High School to watch Collin Lewis, a seminary student, run in a track meet. Conference didn't start here until 12 pm so we got back in plenty of time and watched it at the Stake Center. We were thrilled to be able to sustain our new Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. What a privilege and blessing. We watched the afternoon session at home at 4 pm. Four sister FM missionaries joined me and we drove to Rochester to watch the operetta, The Merry Widow". The guys all went to the Priesthood session and we had a great time at the Eastman Theater. It is a beautiful place and the performance was great.

Sunday morning we got up and took a wonderful walk through the Sacred Grove. We ended up on a few trails we hadn't been on before. We did find the "Apostle Iron Tree" and also met Elder and Sister Weston, the site director and Elder and Sister Judy, FM missionaries.

The Westons from Bountiful, Utah

Elder & Sister Judy from Idaho Falls area

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The Judy's pointed out the first signs of spring in the Sacred Grove.

On our way out of the grove we met Pres. & Sister Hemingway, Rochester Mission President, who reminded us it was April 6, 2008 and they were headed for Fayette for conference. We decided that was a wonderful idea and hurried home and changed and got out to the Fayette chapel in time for the morning session.

After the session Sister James, site missionary, took us on a wonderful tour of the Whitmer cabin where the church was organized. We heard some wonderful stories of the Whitmers and their important part in the church's organization.

We watched the last session of conference at the Stake Center in Palmyra. On our way out Pres. Siebach invited us over for some dinner and to watch "The Other Side of Heaven" with Sister Siebach. What a wonderful day and great people to spend it with.

Our thought for the week is "listen and obey" the great counsel we have been given this weekend by Prophets of God. How blessed we are. We send our love.

March 30th

Friday morning we woke up to about four inches of snow. It was so beautiful. The trees were beyond description.

This is the new pageant building at the base of the Hill Cumorah. They tore down some temporary buildings and put this in their place.

This is Saturday afternoon, 5:30 coming out of the temple after a great day in the temple. We served as followers on the first session, then went to sealings where we completed some names for Cheryl Gershner and Lynn & Deane Nelson. On the afternoon shift we served in the baptistry. We had a wonderful family from Wisconsin. They brought a grandmother, mother, father and 12 year old boy and did family names. The Ward from Liverpole brought some new members. Elder Lewis is doing one of his favorite jobs. Laundry and trash.

Wednesday we joined the sister missionaries for a tour of the Everson Pure Maple Farm. The sap is running now. They tap into the sap for about four weeks. It is usually in March here in this area during warm ups directly after a freeze. They have 80 acres of sugar maple trees. The tree needs to be at least 40 years old before it is large enough to tap. Each tap yields approximately 10 gal of sap or 1 qt. of syrup annually.

This is the fire they have going under the boiler where they cook down the sap. They spend all summer gathering wood for this four week time period

This was Paul's last day in Seminary. He said he had mixed emotions, somewhere between joy and ecstasy. We really did enjoy it and we learned so much studying the Old Testament. We love these young people and admire them for their dedication in getting up so early every morning to start their day out right.

We decided it was time to take a walk up the Hill Cumorah. It's chilly but beautiful. It won't be long until there is some green out there. We also walked around Zion's Camp. Three weeks and our new missionaries will be arriving and filling it up. We are staying in the house.

For FHE last Monday we joined the site and sister missionaries at an open house of the renovation of the sister missionaries home. The home is located on the corner of Temple Road, it borders onto the Smith farm. The missionaries moved out for over a month while the FM missionaries redid the bathrooms, floors, etc. The house was built in 1820's and Joseph and his family had worked on the farm and dug a well for them. A house so old went from one problem to another but when they finished the sisters have a wonderful home, put together with much love by the FM missionaries.

These are a few of the Sister Missionaries. They are terrific. They serve at the sites half a day and proselyte the other half.

It has been a wonderful week. We were able to watch the YW conference Saturday evening on BYU channel. What a great conference. Be sure to study the messages. What great blessings we receive from having living prophets.

We feel especially blessed this week. Kimberly and Gary and family were on their way to Island Park Thursday evening. Five miles out they hit ice and the truck and trailer had a mind of their own. The truck is totaled but the wonderful thing is that all six of them walked away without a scratch and without having to go to the hospital. We feel so very blessed by their safety and know Heavenly Father was watching out for them. Have a great week.

OFFICIAL SPRING

The first day of spring dropped a little snow on us. The second day brought sunshine but it was deceiving outside because it was pretty cool. We had a beautiful weekend and it turned out great for our Stake's Youth Conference.

They went to the Church Girls Camp at Seneca Lake. A great facility right on the lake. They did a service project and workshops on Friday and Saturday then went on a 9 mile trek.

Wednesday we drove up to Sodus Point to see what it looked like. It is on Lake Ontario and this is a shot of the Bay.

Chill N Grill is the local ice cream parlor. It closes in the winter and just reopned, of course it snowed the day it opened. You won't find bigger ice cream cones anywhere.

The temple was very busy this week. The Jamestown Stake filled up three of our sessions on Saturday. Paul and I served in the Baptistry in the morning and did two groups. We also had a tour group from England, Switzerland, Sweden, and Portugal. We added an extra session for them at 4:30 so we were in the temple from 7:30 am until 7 pm. A great day for us.

Easter Sunday the choir sang two numbers. Sister Marilyn Dahneke and Pres. Jones, spoke on the week leading to the crucifixion and the resurrection. Both talks were filled with the spirit. Sister Mary Harris, our choir director, sang "His Hands". It was a great Easter Sunday. We had Elder Fisher, Elder Moffitt and Mark a new member for dinner.

I'm going to include a thought we heard at the temple this week.

The Legend of the First Robin

A small brown bird looked down from a tree and saw a Man standing beneath a heavy wooden cross. A crown of thorns encircled His head and cruelly pierced the skin. Moved by His suffering, the little bird followed along with the crowd surrounding the Man, and suddenly swooped down and pulled one of the thorns from the Man's forehead. The Man lifted His eyes to the little bird and smiled a silent "thank you." As the bird flew on, a drop of blood fell from the thorn and stained his breast a bright crimson. And since that day, the humble robin wears a symbol of His mercy for that suffering Man--our Savior.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

P-Day found us in the Eastview Mall for a trip to the double decker merry-go-round. Always a fun place to visit.

Tuesday we helped clean the temple in the morning and served in the office in the evening. Friday we went to the Bishop's storehouse to help with the produce order then went to Phelps to the dentist and since we were close we stopped at the outlet mall. Just as got there we got a call from the temple that only two people showed up to clean so we hurried back to help.

We served in the baptistry and always have some great youth groups. Paul participated in a sealing session with a couple who did sign language. That was a really special treat. We had several own endowments this week and got to help them receive their blessings. As you can see we still have some snow. This morning, Sunday, we woke up and it was snowing out, big fluffy flakes but by the time we came out it was done.

We attended a musical program that the community choir puts on at the Methodist Church. This is the second one we have attended. Several of our Ward members sing in the choir. We had a 12 year old baptism after Church today and the missionaries have several more coming up. Paul invited the Elders to come to seminary Wednesday morning. That was a nice change for everyone. School is out Friday and Monday and so it is the Stake Youth conference being held out at the Seneca Girls Camp. It's suppose to be a very nice place. We're driving out Friday morning to check it out. It's been a great week and we send our love.

Here is a new picture of Kory and Katie's boys. They are really growing. Kimberly and children are headed for Utah as we speak to spend the week with Katie and Kelly. Have fun, we'll be thinking of you.

A little too hasty!!

I was a little too hasty in wondering what happened to Winter. We had a pretty decent shot of it this week. An ice storm and snow came in Tuesday evening. It was pretty slippery leaving the temple that night. Friday it stormed again and Saturday snow turned to sleet and then froze. It's quite interesting. Cars left out really have a time of it. Doors are frozen and the windshields are frozen over with a sheet of ice. We had a least a quarter of an inch of ice covering our car. It does beautiful things to the trees. I wish you could see these in person, the ice freezes and then the sun hits it and it is like Crystal glittering everywhere. Really a beautiful sight.

In the priesthood lesson we were taught about the prophet Joseph and his experiences so this afternoon we visited the Smith Farm log cabin and frame home and then to the Hill Cumorah. Elder and Sister Sorrenson met us in the Welcome Center and shared their testimony. They are going home to Washington on Tuesday. They have served well and have friendshipped many wonderful people here in Palmyra.

Sister Cataluddi, from Italy, took us to the log cabin and frame home. She has been in the mission field for four months. All these Sisters have strong testimonies of this restoration and the Prophet Joseph Smith. We took some beautiful pictures of the farm.

Today in Gospel Doctrine class Pres. Jones, from Temple Presidency, gave the lesson on 2 Ne 11-24 covering Isaiah. He spoke about going to a high mountain and reminded us that today that high mountain is the temple where we can receive personal revelation and guidance in our lives. Our temple is beautiful and we love serving there.

We have had some wonderful experiences in the temple this week as we always do. Saturday we were the baptistry directors on both shifts. On the first shift we had a family,(father, mother, and 12 year old daughter) who brought their daughter to the temple for the first time. Her grandparents are the Hughes, our Temple Coordinators on Saturday morning. They were also joined by two wards who brought new members to the temple to participate in baptisms. What a special experience we had in the temple with these wonderful members. In the afternoon session we had just one young woman come to do baptisms. We had been having a big storm so it kept a lot of people away. She came with her parents who were on an endowment session. Paul became the baptizer and they were able to do Sister Siebach's family names and also some temple names. Every day we serve in the temple we are able to participate in these special covenants with many families.

We love the gospel of Jesus Christ and testify to you that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored again upon the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Through him the Book of Mormon has been brought forth for us. We have a living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, to guide and direct us through these times. We have the opportunity to be happy and make covenants with our Heavenly Father. We encourage you to attend the temple as often as is possible. Be happy and enjoy your family. We love you and appreciate your love and support of us in this most important work.

Happy March, Where has winter gone?

We have had a wonderful week in the temple. Tuesday evening we were coordinators for the Johnsons who were in Arizona visiting family. We had a storm that day so we ended up with maybe 6 sister and 10 brother ordinance workers. We did have patrons who braved the weather and it turned out to be a great evening in the temple. I believe the next morning it was 2 below when we left for seminary. Today, Sunday, the sun is out and it has been beautiful.

President Siebach gave us a little assignment to see if you can see the temple Moroni from the Hill Cumorah Moroni. We went up that night to check it out but the evergreen trees were in the way. Today we are trying it again but still can't tell for sure.

While up checking it out we ran into Moroni the cat. We had been worried about him but here he is still roaming the hill. Glad to know he has made it through another winter. He doesn't look too bad for the wear.

One morning as we were leaving seminary the sun was just coming out. It was so beautiful
morning.

The Dead Sea Scrolls have been on exhibit at the Visitor Center and this week end they have had a symposium with Dr. Parry from BYU and Dr. Schiffman, from NYU. They have both been working with the scrolls for a number of years. The exhibit is here until the end of March. We were able to attend the lecture this afternoon and last night and will go to the last one this evening. It has been very informative.

We had some great experiences in the temple this week. We were visited by a general authority, Elder Maynes, from the First Quorum of the Seventy. Friday night we were privileged to serve in the baptistry with the Floyd Family. Bridgett is in Paul's seminary class and her brother, Chet, just turned 12. They were there with their parents and both sets of grandparents to do some family names.

Saturday we also served in the baptistry with three groups. Some new members from Owego and Ithica Wards came and the Parry family. They each brought a special spirit with them and we were so blessed so be there with them.

We helped at the Bishops Storehouse on Friday morning. It seemed like a light "produce" day. It's always fun to be there. Brother and Sister Pallo are the new directors, the Chapmans were officially released, however Bro. Chapman still drives on Saturday for them.

Wednesday evening we were privileged to join the site missionaries for a meeting with Elder Maynes. We were again reminded of the special place we are called to serve in.

Kimberly sent a beautiful picture of the newly dedicated Rexburg, ID temple.

Two Grandchildren celebrated birthdays this week. Mallorie turned six on the 28th and Gage turned one on the 27th. Happy Birthday to you both, we love you.

Kimberly has been making strip quilts for the kids. Aren't they cute? I have such talented daughters and daughter-in-law. We are truly blessed. Be sure to check out the March Ensign, it is all about the Savior and is beautiful. We love you.

Two Week Closure for Maintenance & Cleaning

The temple has been closed for two weeks for annual cleaning. We spent some of the first week helping with inventory. We had seminary all week so that kept up close to home.

We spend a lot of time preparing for seminary. We are getting well acquainted with the Old Testament. What a great testiment of the Savior.

This is his seminary class. Bro. Gammon came out to observe one day to see if Paul was on track.

We spent some time at Grant Ingold's basketball game and then went to the Site Missionary Valentine's party. We had a nice potatoe bar and dessert and made cards for our sweethearts.

Friday the 15th we drove to Bath, NY to watch Brandon Salimbene participate in a sectional swim meet. He swam the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke and ended up 15th and 5th.

We left Bath and went to Gettysburg for two days. We took the self guided car tour with a CD. We had never been there before. What a quiet place for such events to have taken place. We then went on to Washington, DC where we saw the Lincoln Monument.

Our favorite place in DC was the Temple. We spent time there each day. They have 44 couple missionaries serving there for 18 months. We were able to stay with a couple who live right around the corner from the temple for $35 a night. They have both served in the temple for many years and he is a sealer at the age 95. We watched the Joseph Smith & the Restoration and Testiments of One Shepherd & One Fold. They have a huge theater, larger than the one at the Joseph Smith Memorial.

This is the WW I memorial. We took a tourmobil around the city. We especially enjoyed Arlington National Cemetery. We saw the changing of the guard at the Unknown Soldier.

Friday we were back in the Palmyra Temple putting the last touches on the temple before it opens on Tuesday, February 26th. Saturday night the Stake Activities Committee put on a wonderful dinner and dance with an 18 piece band. It was a wonderful evening. Today after Church and choir we took a walk around the temple grounds and into the Sacred Grove. We haven't been able to do it for some time, been too cold. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We were just thinking about seven more weeks and the summer missionaries will be here again. We don't know where the time has gone. Have a wonderful week and our thought this week comes from Paul's High Priest lesson, which he taught today, "Quench not the Spirit" and Brigham Young said we often live far beneath our privileges." Let's all raise the bar.

One more thought we found from President Monson. "You develop an appreciation that Heavenly Father knows who you are. And He says, 'Here, go do this for me.' I always thank Him. My only regret is that I don't have more time to do the many things we are called upon to do. I work hard, I work long. I hope I work effectively, but I never feel I have exhausted what I shouldbe doing."

Happy Valentine's Day

Today, Sunday, we invited the Bergesons and Judys to join us for Sunday dinner. The Bergesons are site missionaries from St. George area and the Judys are FM missionaries and are from Idaho Falls area. Wonderful people and we had a great visit.

This is Sister Nancy Bassett. We have been visiting with her since we arrived in Palmyra. She has recently undergone hip surgery. She is a wonderful mother and her children are very devoted to her and visit often.

Thursday evening we had rain and it got very cold and we had what they call an "ice storm". The next day it was beautiful. The trees all were covered with ice, it was gorgeous. The next day it snowed a little and then they looked frosted.

Thursday evening we drove to Waterloo where we watched the Waterloo High School basketball team play. Brother and Sister Lowry's son, Chance played on the varsity team. Dr. Lowry is our wonderful chiropracter. He is so very good to all the missionaries. They live in Fayette Ward.

Friday we helped at the Bishop's Storehouse. This is Bro. Pallo, the new storehouse director, taking it easy. The big truckload, which comes in once a month from SL, just arrived. We helped unload and put things in their places. We try to go over every Friday to help with produce and filling orders. These directors are saints, what a great work they do. We were working with the Chapmans who had been there for 20 months. Great people.

Saturday we were in the temple from 8 am to 6 pm. We had some great sessions. In the morning we were baptistry directors and then were officiators on the 1st afternnon session. We stayed to help cleanup and finish up the laundry. At 8 pm we went to the Stake Center for the Worldwide Leadership Training. We hope you are all able to see it. Families are at the center and how we love and appreciate ours. They are the very best and they bring such joy into our lives. All you have to do is look at our cute grandchildren on this site to know what I mean. Good job Kimberly, Gary, Kory, Katie, Kelly and Rob. Happy Valentines day to you all, we love you.