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.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

The weekend slipped away from me so I will try to catch up. Sunday we had a wonderful Testimony meeting as I am sure all of you did. I stayed for choir practice and then at 2 pm we went to the temple for some new ordinance training. We spent the next four hours there. What a wonderful day. We serve with such great people. It is always a joy to be with them.

Saturday morning we were in the temple for the morning shift. We had full sessions, the baptistry was busy and so it was a great time. The temple closed at 1:00pm so we could attend the services for President Gordon B. Hinckley at the Stake Center. President Siebach said it best "remorse, rejoice, and reunion". What an impact he has had on our lives. So many special things to remember about him. We were pleased to be able to be in attendance. Saturday evening we had dinner with the Cederlofs, the Amsdens and Zsemberys. Sister Cederlof made us a typical English dinner. She grew up in England with her parents who were mission presidents there. We had a wonderful time sharing conversion stories.

Wednesday evening the Lockwoods invited us to their home in Canandaigua for dinner. They have lived in this area for many years and are converts to the Church. They served on the temple committee when the Palmyra temple was being built, he was Bishop and served in many leadership positions. She worked for the FM group at the Hill Cumorah for 20 years and so they had many stories to tell us. The picture behind them is of the Joseph Smith Frame House before restoration.

Wednesday during the day we had lunch with Bro. and Sis. Glenn Ellis. Glenn came with his family to Palmyra in 1939 with his family when they took over the Smith Farm after Willard and Rebecca Bean left after being here for 25 years. At the same time my great uncle, Owen Anderson, also came with him and he ran the "Samuleson Farm" which was behind the Hill Cumorah. It was great to hear many of their stories living here in Palmyra. He has a written booklet of many of the stories and has pictures of Uncle Owen and Aunt Bessie. Sister Ellis grew up in Palmyra and didn't know anything about the Church. She joined when she had a young family. Bro. and Sister Ellis married six years ago after meeting at the Temple. They have served two missions since marrying.

Monday evening it was our pleasure to have the Sister missionaries for dinner. What a wondereful group of sisters. They serve at the sites and also proselyte. Sister Cataluddi, next to me, is from Italy, Sister Lyman, Sister Smailes and Sister Barton, they are Spanish speaking missionaries. They bring such a sweet spirit with them.

Our fellow temple missionaries, Bill and Beth Harmon, left for home on Friday during a sleet storm. They should be arriving in Utah today. We enjoyed them so very much and will miss them. We also heard that our former missionary friends, Spence Stoddard, was having triple bypass surgery yesterday. We pray all is well with them.

January 27, 2008

What a glorious week in Palmyra. We have been very busy in the Temple with lots of patrons. Saturday we served in the Baptistry and had two large groups. It was just wonderful to be so very busy.

Thanks to the Taylors, our landlords who are serving a mission in Washington, we have a lovely home to invite friends into.

Today, Sunday, after Church we invited the Harmons to dinner and then took a tour of the Smith Farm. See our beautiful temple in the background? The Harmons are temple missionaries who are going home on Friday. We have loved serving with them. He is sealer and they live in Sandy, UT. We will be very close to them when we get home. The Harmons are on the left and the Crumps were our site missionaries. They are from SL and have been out a couple of months. We are on the old Stafford Road walking down to the Smith Frame House.

This is the 4th floor of the Grandin Bldg. Sister Saxon and Porter gave us the tour of where the Book of Mormon was published. We see the hand of the Lord in its coming forth.

We stopped at WalMart after the temple on Saturday and we had this nice snow storm going. The flakes were so very large. It was all melted by today. In fact I believe it is suppose to be in the 40's by Tuesday

Last Wednesday the Rikers invited us to dinner at their home in Rochester. We serve in the temple with them. She also works in the office with me on Tuesday evenings. They just received their call to the SL Family History Center where they will serve for a year. They are so excited and report to the MTC in March. Their daughter, Donna, will stay in their home while they are gone. We have met such great people and made so many friends here.

Thought for the week: King Benjamin taught that "never-ending happiness" comes from keeping the commandments of God.

January 20th

Monday evening we were invited to the Winebrenner's home in Pittsford for dinner and games. The Harmons, Sister Harmon is on the left, Bro. Harmon took the picture, Brother & Sister Winebrenners, Paul and I, and Sister and President Siebach. The Winebrenners have a lovely home built in the 1830's. They both grew up in the Pittsford area and are converts to the Church. They served in the Palmyra Temple Presidency when the temple opened in 2000.

Wednesday evening we attended the Site Missionary meeting and heard the Potters give their life sketch. Elder and Sister Potter are the Directors of the Sites and are going home this week. They spent most of their lives in Washington, D.C. but have since moved to Park City close to their children. They have served as Mission President of Toronto Canada Mission and in the Washington, D.C. Temple presidency and here in Palmyra. Sister Potter was one of our walking partners.

Friday evening at the temple we had full sessions. It was so fun to have so many people in the temple. Saturday was also a great day. We were there from 8-5. I was able to help with a sister receiving her own endowments and having a baby sealed to them. What fun. Sunday we attended the Palmyra Ward where Paul stood in the circle for the confirmation of Sister Amy Dalykas who he baptized last Sunday. We then left and went to the Fayette Ward, Peter Whitmer Farm, for Sacrament meeting. Elder and Sister Beal were speaking. They are going home this Thursday to Hyrum, UT and then there was a baptism of a young man. The Sister Missionaries invited us out for that. Brother and Sister Rotz invited us to Sunday dinner and we had a lovely visit with them. Their home was also built in the 1830's. It's a beautiful home. They are our coordinators in the temple on Thursday nights.

Our thought for the week: "A kindness put off til tomorrow becomes a bitter regret."

January Second Week

Sunday was a wonderful day for Paul. We had a convert baptism for a mother and son, Amy and Mike Dalykas. Paul was asked by Amy to baptise her. He had met her Sunday mornings when she came to Church. He waits outside the buildng and greets people who come in. She just loved him and wanted him to baptise her. What a great experience for us. He also assisted in passing the sacrament with some of his seminary students.

The baptismal water was a little chilly. The 2nd picture is one we took on the Erie Canal. We understand Joseph did a lot of baptisms in the Senecca Lake.

Paul completed his first full week of seminary. All is going well and he is enjoying it. He's looking for goofy things to get their attention and keep them awake. They are really great kids. I am practicing the piano every day during seminary. Sister Buck has been helping me and has me in the green hymn book. No one can sing with me yet, but it's getting better and more importantly, it is fun.

We helped at the Bishop's Storehouse and helped clean the temple on Tuesday and Friday. Friday we we visiting the Harmon's in the John Young home in Mendon as we got a call that the temple needed some extra help cleaning so we also helped. What a special blessing to help clean the house of the Lord. Thursday we had a storm which stirred up the water supply so for three days we could not drink or use the water for culinary purposes. A good wake up call for being prepared.

We have been studying the historical sites more this week. We received information on the log home and the Whitmer log home from Bro. Victor L. Mylroie, temple sealer & patriarch, and Elder Blackhurst gave us the booklet on the Dead Sea Scrolls which are being displayed at the Vistor Center until March. It has generated a lot of activity from the commuity at large.

Have a great week. The gospel is true, share it with someone, and get yourself to the temple for some extra blessings.

Our New Year-2008

New Year's Eve we spent the evening with our wonderful friends, the Amsdens. They have been so kind to all the temple missionaries. We have had lots of fun times at their home. We had a wonderful steak dinner and then some great guitar music and sing along.

New Year's Day Pres. & Sister Jones invited many to their home for waffles, strawberries and ice cream. What a fun time. Pres. Jones is our dutch oven specialist and makes the best salsa around. Sis. Caton, on the left is our Friday Evening coordinator.

We spent a little time at the EastView Mall and had to check out the double decker carousel again.

On Wednesday, January 2, we celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary. We went to dinner and a movie. We can't figure out where the years have gone. All we know is that we are very happy and life has been so very good to us. That's because the gospel of Jesus Christ is a main part of our lives. We love serving here in the Palmyra Temple and being close to the restoration sites. What a blessing for us.

We are having the strangest weather. On January 1st it was zero degrees in the garage. Today, Monday, it is 54 degrees. The snow is practically gone. However Saturday, while we were in the temple, it started to snow these huge fluffy flakes. It was beautiful looking down towards the grove. By the time we got out at 6 it was all over. Saturday morning in the temple we were coordinators for the Hughes.

Paul has done three days of seminary now and is still enjoying it. They haven't run him off yet. Actually he is really enjoying it. It's keeping us on our toes.

Have a wonderful week and remember "I must never forget that I am a child of God."

Happy New Year!!

The Temple in December. It's beautiful any time of the year. Our snow is just about gone and some of the pansies that have been under the snow are still in bloom.

Today, Sunday, we attended Church in the Fayette Ward. We saw many friends we have made and serve with at the temple. After the meetings we had Sister Beal take us on a tour of the Whitmer Farm and visitor center. We invited Dr. Lowry's, our chiropracter who has been very good to us, daughter to come with us while she waited for her tithing interview with the Bishop. She is 8 years old. This is a replica of the log cabin the church was organized in on April 6, 1830. Joseph and Oliver also completed the translation of the Book of Mormon upstairs.

We stopped to visit Nancy Bassett in the care facility. She is our home teaching sister and has undergone hip surgery. We took her an amarillo bulb which should grow into a beautiful plant. Paul's mother, Marge, always loved them. On our return home we had a call from our Bishop's counselor, Bro. Ingold, to see if he could come over to visit with us. Paul is now going to sub in seminary for a few weeks. He gets to teach 14 youth and they are studying Old Testament, Deuteronomy. Keep him in your prayers.

Christmas afternoon we drove down to Harmony, PA. We stayed overnight in Johnson City, did a little after Christmas shopping at the Mall across the street from where we stayed and then on down to Harmony.

It was a little too icy to walk down to the river so we will save that for summer. These are Emma's parents graves and Emma and Joseph's first son, Alvin, is also buried here.

Christmas Eve we were invited to Bishop and Sister Hill's home for a very nice dinner with family and friends. We then went over to the church where they have a Christmas Eve devotional which was very nice. The choir sang and we had several other Christmas numbers and Bishop Hill spoke. Christmas day we got up about 7:30 am, read the Christmas story, opened some presents, and we especially thank the Christenots for their fun package. We then went over to the Hill Cumorah visitor center where we joined the site missionaries, sister missionaries and friends for a Christmas breakfast and program. It was held in the basement and was lots of fun.

We had to get a picture of my walking partners. Sister Burris, Taylor, Potter, Black and me. We walk at the Community Center most mornings at 7 for an hour. The three in the middle are going home at the end of the month.

Elder and Sister Potter are the Directors of the sites and they are going home at the end of the month. They live in Park City now. Elder Young, an FM missionary, made them a replica of the box Joseph hid the plates in. He used wood from the Hill and the Palmyra area. What a treasure. We then went over to the Amsden, our friends from the temple, for lunch and visiting. After that we headed for Harmony.

It has been a wonderful holiday and we appreciate so very much your cards and gifts. The Lord has been so very good to us and your friendship and love is most treasured.

Merry Christmas 2007

Today at Church we had our Christmas program. It was wonderful. It was written by our talented choir director, Mary Harris. The theme was love. The choir sang four songs, "Little Babe", "There Was Peace in the Manager", "The Jesus Gift" and "Peace, Peace--Silent Night". We heard the story "Christmas is for Love" "The Worth of a Soul" a"Marvelous Good News" and some remarks from our Bishop. The congregation also joined us in several hymns.

After Church we drove out to our home teaching families and dropped off a little Christmas gift and then we attended the Palmyra Canal Choir performance at the Methodist Church. It was suppose to be last week but was cancelled because of the weather. They performed some fun numbers and also the Hallelujah Chorus.

It's been raining today and in the 40's. Just about all the snow is gone and what's left is dirty and ugly. We are suppose to get snow tomorrow so things will be beautiful again.

Twas two nights before Christmas and Paul is snuggled in his chair, reading stories about the historical sites. Mar Jean is at her computer working on the blog for the week.

Friday and Saturday we were able to complete some temple work for our family names. We felt it was a great Christmas present to them and us.

Last Monday evening we invited the Sister Missionaries for dinner. What a fun evening we had with them. They work at the sites half and day and proselyte half a day. There are actually six of them in our area and the village is divided up amongst them. Sister Stowell is from Gilbert, AZ; Sister Cataluddi from Italy; Sister Lyman, can't remember where she was from; and Sister Payne from Holiday, UT.

At the Hill it almost looks like a ski hill. At the base they are working on a new building for the pageant administration. They pulled out the trailers and other buildings and are building new ones.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and send our love to each and every one of you. We will miss being with our children and grandchildren but know they will have a great time. There's always next year.

1 Week till Christmas

Woke up to the storm this morning. We ended up getting about 12 inches. Paul shoveled snow on the driveway about every three hours.

We have had a busy week at the temple. The missionaries have been coming every shift and it has been wonderful having them. They bring a special spirit with them.

We went to the Bishop's Storehouse on Friday to help fill orders and bag produce. Saturday evening after our day in the temple we had our Temple Christmas dinner and program at the Stake Center. It was a lovely evening, great food and nice program. Sister Johnson and Sister Bell wrote the script "Musings From Mary" along with music and singing from the audience and a couple of solos by Sister McCooee. Paul was the narrator and I was Mary.

Our big storm hit late Saturday evening and dropped snow through the night. They called us about 10:30 and said Church was cancelled. We did drive over to the Church, we are within a mile, and shoveled the entrance and met three cars of visitors who wanted to know why Church was cancelled. Later in the day when we had cabin fever we drove to the Hill Curmorah and walked to the top in the snowflakes. The Sisters were at the Visitors Center visiting the Potters and went out to make snow angels.