Before we left for Nauvoo – our TV broke (Mitsubishi WD52631) w/ a Thermister Error “TV will shut off in a few seconds. Please check to see if your air flow is blocked” . Grrr… well, we were leaving anyways – so no problem. Maybe it will fix itself while we’re gone?please oh please oh please!!!
We did attempt to clear out the surrounding vents to clear the ‘air flow’ issue, but it still shut itself off. We then searched the web and found this to be a popular error – in fact Mitsubishi has extended by 2 years the warranty on this very model and that means… FREE SERVICE REPAIR!!!! I called our local TV repair guy and he’s scheduled to come and fix (for free) our TV tomorrow morning. It’s a bummer though that we had to miss the opening ceremonies of the Olympics But, what can you do?… patience… We have gone out more and read more since we’ve been back, haha… when I told Clark that we are scheduled to have someone come over tomorrow afternoon he said:
Me: [On the phone] “Friday? Wow, why so long, do you have any earlier? … No? Uh…”
Clark: [Chiming in from the office] “Today! Today!”
Me: [On the phone... pleading] “Well.. we have some other repair shops who are willing to fix our TV earlier, I was hoping you guys could come over today.” (A lie, I know -but ya gotta try! ) “Tomorrow? That would be great!”
Clark [Chiming in from the office] “Today! Today!”
Me: [On the phone] “Ok, between 2 & 4? Ok, we’ll see you then! Thanks!”
Clark: “Ah man, tomorrow is going to seem like a week having to watch our TV!”
Me: “HA! We’ll be fine.” (Silently I feel the same way)
Clark: “Try calling just a few more places, see if they can come over today.”
I called, we have an appointment for tomorrow at 10AM.
On keeping records of our individual kingdoms, Elder John A. Widtsoe wrote:
“As I view it, in every family a record should be kept of the immediate family: the father, the grandfather, the great-grandfather—at least of those of whom we have a memory. That record should be the first stone, if you choose, in the family altar. It should be a book known and used in the family circle; and when the child reaches maturity and gets out to make another household, one of the first things that the young couple should take along should be the records of their families, to be extended by them as life goes on. It does no harm if there is duplication. There is a strength, an inspiration, and a joy in having such a record near at hand, to be used frequently, the story of our ancestors, their names, the times in which they lived, and something about their lives and accomplishments. Each one of us carries, individually, the responsibility of record keeping, and we should assume it.” (Church News, Oct. 31, 1942.)
In the October 1975 New Era, President Spencer W. Kimball emphasized to the youth of the Church the importance of keeping a journal. After carefully explaining what a journal should contain, he summarized in this way: “Get a notebook, my young folks, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity. Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. Remember, the Savior chastised those who failed to record important events.” (Pp. 4–5; see also 3 Ne. 23:7–13.)
This is only one of several recent reminders to keep records of our lives. In stake conferences for the first half of 1976, emphasis was given to the importance of preparing and keeping another kind of record—a personal history. Many of us have tried to find written material on our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on. Generally, the earlier the generation, the less information about their lives we can find. Will our posterity meet with the same frustrations we have experienced when they search out information about our lives?
Do we want our posterity to make the same mistakes we have? Or do we want them to know of the testimonies we have of the gospel and what experiences gave us those testimonies?
We already have much of the information needed to begin compiling our personal history. We may have such things as a personal journal or diary, annual calendar books, a written history or biography compiled earlier, scrapbooks, photographs, tape recordings, records of Church activity, letters, and much, much more. All we have now been asked to do is to organize this material and write a history of our life that summarizes all the important events in our lives, especially those events which would be of use in teaching our posterity. When the writing of this personal history is completed to the present, then it only remains for us to review and update it regularly (perhaps every two to three years).
In some cases, it may be easier to tape record a personal history, rather than write it, since not all persons are adept at writing. Perhaps a child or spouse or someone else could transcribe it later.
The purposes behind record-keeping in both are, after all, somewhat the same. Nephi declared that the people needed the records in order to keep the commandments of God; without them, they would “dwindle and perish in unbelief.” (1 Ne. 4:13.)
President Spencer W. Kimball reiterated Nephi’s declarations when he said that “those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives.” (Ensign, May 1978, p. 77.)
By contrast, I find an arresting thought in Chemish’s summary of the record-keeping practices recorded in the book of Omni. All four of the first four record-keepers recorded very little on the small plates of the religious events that occurred during their lifetimes. In fact, Chemish makes it clear that his brother Amaron recorded his five verses on the very day that he turned the records over to his successor: “And after this manner we keep the records.” (Omni 1:9.)
Perhaps the day will come that the Savior will point out the experiences of my life and ask, “Wasn’t that important? Significant? Sacred?” And when I agree, perhaps he will say, “Why are these things not recorded in your journal?”
With all the inspiration that the Book of Mormon has given me over the years, it has now also become a prime motivator for me to keep a personal journal. Besides enjoying the soul-satisfying feeling of doing what I have been asked to do, I have felt a constant spiritual witness that what I am recording is important not just for me, but especially for my children. I have found great comfort in President Kimball’s words:
“What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved?
“Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity.
“Get a notebook … a journal … and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity.” (New Era, Oct. 1975, p. 5.)
“Having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.
“And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge.” (1 Ne. 1:1, 3.)
Wilford Woodruff—“There is one subject I wish to speak upon and that is the keeping of a journal. … When the Prophet Joseph organized the Quorum of the Twelve, he counseled them to keep a history of their lives. … I have had this spirit and calling upon me since I first entered this Church. I made a record from the first sermon I heard, and from that day until now I have kept a daily journal.” (Wilford Woodruff, pages 476–477.)
Joseph Fielding Smith—“Every important event in our lives should be placed in a record, by us individually. … If you have accomplished something worth while during the day, put it down; it may be of use to posterity.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:204.)
Gordon B. Hinckley—“May I suggest that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper. … You will bless the lives of many—your families and others—now and in the years to come.” (Ensign, November 1984, page 91.)
John H. Groberg—“There is something eternal in the very nature of writing, as is so graphically illustrated by the scriptures themselves. In a very real sense, our properly written histories are a very important part of our family scripture and become a great source of spiritual strength to us and to our posterity” (Ensign, May 1980, page 48).
Hartman Rector, Jr.—“I personally believe that the writing of personal and family histories will do more to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to children than almost anything we can do” (Ensign, May 1981, page 74).
Spencer W. Kimball—“Your story should be written now while it is fresh and while the true details are available. …
“Write [about] your goings and your comings, your deeper thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. …
“Those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives.”
I leave you with my strong belief that Journals are SO important. They are vital to our posterity’s life in helping them find themselves through life and to learn from our past mistakes and our learning and revelations! If our past ancestors didn’t believe that Journal keeping was important – where would be today?Just because it has been SO many years down the road- it doesn’t make it any less important to keep a record of our lives.
Here are some ideas to get started on record keeping:
Blog. It’s both a form of journaling and socializing while keeping in touch with Friends & Family
If you prefer to write in a book: start with 1 paragraph a day and build up from there. Don’t overwhelm yourself with feeling you have to write your whole life in 1 day.
If you’re not interested in blogging, don’t like writing in a book, try using a Word Program on your computer and keep your journal digitally (A safer way of keeping historical documents in my opinion – as long as you back up your documents on a CD/DVD)
If you dislike both computers & books, there’s always audio recording available.
Also, home videos & taking pictures are ultra important. For instance, Clark and I want to remember these sweet moments of our Kitties:
If in life, it’s too hard to pick things up… lay on them! :
Life gets stressful at times, and we miss our Mommy’s… there’s no shame in ‘kneading’ something/someone to hold onto:
Link back to the person who tagged you (their name linked to their blog)
Post as many pictures as it takes to reveal all the sources of food in your house. Also, just for fun post a picture of what your refrigerator looks like
Tag as many people as you want.
Items in photo: Whole Wheat Bread (For Clark), Gluten Free Bread (For me), Cage-Free Brown Eggs, Soy Milk & Rice Drink (For me), Craisens, Strawberries, (In Meat Keeper): Goat Cheese (for me), Cheddar Cheese (for Clark), Lean Turkey Burger, Sliced Smoked Ham, Carrots, Organic Lemonade, 1% Milk (for Clark), Green Onions, Cucumber, Corn, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Apples, Oranges, Apple Sauce (Sugar Free), Organic Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce, and other staples (in the door)
Items in Photo: Canned Green Beans, Canned Corn, Trader Joe’s O’s, Spaghetti Noodles, Gluten Free Pasta Noodles, Canned Beans, Gluten Free Pancake Mix, Oatmeal, Steel Cut Oats, and other items… Cupboard is pretty bare, but soon it will be more full Above this cupboard is our food storage which is packed with these types of foods + more.
1) Link the person who tagged you. 2) Mention the rules on your blog. 3) Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours. 4) Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them. 5) Leave a comment on each Tagged blogger’s blogs, letting them know that they have been Tagged.
Here goes my 6 quirkies:
I love to vacuum. LOVE IT! I enjoy cleaning/ doing household chores- but I LOATHE outdoor chores.
I can’t stand when people chew gum/food with their mouth open or anything of the like (i.e. smacking). I’m sure it tastes good, but… I don’t want to HEAR how good it tastes!
I can’t stand to hear someone pick their nails
I have a hard time leaving things ‘undone’. When I work on a project – I have a strong desire to just get it done NOW so I can play longer later. Sometimes that leads me to staying up ALL NIGHT so I can just get it done… I’m getting better at, letting it go for now.
I hate shopping for clothes with someone accompanying me, but I LOVE shopping for clothes when I’m by myself. I love shopping for anything unrelated to clothes with someone else though.
I’m picky about my ‘fancy (non-alcoholic) drinks’. They MUST be in a fancy glass or I don’t like drinking them. I mean, what’s the point in getting those types of drinks if you can’t drink them in the fancy glass? I’m annoyed by the rule of most restaurants that “We can’t serve you the drink in those glasses if it doesn’t have alcohol in it”… that’s a crazy rule.
All the adults woke up early and attended a session at the Nauvoo Temple. AMAZING! The temple had a BEAUTIFUL spiral staircase and each room was beautiful. The wonderful part of this experience was seeing the entire Cooper family together in the Temple. So symbolic of the purpose of the Temple : Family Together for not just Time, but for ALL Eternity.
After the temple we went back to the condo & had lunch. Right after lunch we all piled in the car and made the 30 min journey to Carthage IL. Here, was an eye-opening experience seeing the grounds where our Prophet Joseph Smith was martyred by the mob. His brother Hyrum Smith lay dead in the very room, below our feet and we walked to and touched the window that Joseph fell through and looked down where his body hit the ground.
All the adults composures were quiet and the older children were stunned. To realize that Joseph & Hyrum willingly went to Carthage – knowing full well what was going to happen. The Testimony of this event is about as compelling as what Jesus did for us on the cross. Joseph Smith & Hyrum Smith died to seal the truth of the Gospel for us. They knew without a shadow of a doubt that this is the true and living Church – they knew so solidly that they were willing to die for the Church and for us. We ARE the Church! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They could have easily backed out and said ‘ Uh, we take it all back – it’s not true‘ because that is what the mob and the state wanted. You have to REALLY know something is true to die for it.
The courtyard outside of the jail had several quotes on stone from the Prophet Joseph Smith. I really loved this one:
“Patience is Heavenly, obedience is noble. Forgiveness is merciful, and exaltation is Godly, and he that holds out faithful to the end shall in no wise lose his reward. A good man will endure all things to honor Christ, and even dispose of the whole world, and in it to save his soul. ”
–Joseph Smith & Hyrum Smith (1844)
***
The last day we started with a guided tour of Joseph Smith’s homes & Red Brick Store. I loved seeing where the Prophet Joseph Smith lived, where Emma stood and lived for so many years. It was an incredible experience to look over the graves of Emma, Joseph & Hyrum. To literally be only feet away from their bodies was incredible. The entire area was so historic and so real. It was exciting to see how authentic and carefully preserved the artifacts were that the Prophets family had in their home. Everything was so beautiful.
After the tour, Clark and I branched off from the group and walked over to a few other places we hadn’t been to yet. We went to the Blacksmith shop, the Brickyard, The Stovil Bakery, Lucy Mack Smith’s home, the Print Shop & Post Office.
For Historical Purposes and for the sake of sharing with all of you – I took some handout sheets that give a description
from the sites. I didn’t get them all, but here are the ones I did get:
I have some other pictures form these sites that I will be adding to this post very soon…
LUCY MACK SMITH HOME
Lucy Mack Smith, mother of the Prophet Joseph Smith, lived in this lovely little home, built by Joseph Noble, for several months in 1846. She was seventy one years old and suffered from severe arthritis.
Lucy was born in New Hampshire in 1775, and married Joseph Smith Sr. in 1796. They were the parents of eight sons and three daughters. Early in her married life, Lucy made a covenant with the Lord to serve him throughout her life. This she did as she followed her son, Joseph, to Kirtland Ohio, Far West Missouri, Quincy IL, and finally to Nauvoo. Here she lost her husband and four sons. She desired to go west with the Saints but due to ill health and other considerations, she remained in Nauvoo with her daugther, Lucy Millikin.She died and was buried here in 1856, at the age of eighty.
Lucy was a strong, faithful woman whose loyalty to her prophet son never faltered. Her husband paid tribute to her before he died, by saying, “Mother, do you not know that you are one of the most singular women in all the world?”
In this home, you will learn more about this remarkable woman, and view beautiful antique furniture and dishes. The carriage house once contained the fine carriage given to Lucy by Church leaders before the Saints left Nauvoo.
PRINT SHOP
As in our day, the printed word in Nauvoo was an essential element of the community. The Nauvoo Neighbor and The Times and Seasons, Nauvoo’s two newspapers, kept folks informed of current events and conveyed ideas and information. The Nauvoo Neighbor, a weekly publication, included local, national and world news, practical advice, and advertisements.
The Times and Season’s, the official publication of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, came out twice monthly and featured counsel from Church leaders, letters from missionaries, and revelations received by the Prophet. A printing office was once located at the corner of Bain and Water Streets, with Don Carlos Smith, brother of the Prophet as publisher of The Times and Season’s. Later, John Taylor became the editor of both papers, and operated the business in this shop, beginning in May 1845.
The printing presses in the shop today are similar to those used here in Nauvoo in the 1840’s. The process used for printing newspapers in Nauvoo was utilized for many years, well into the twentieth century. Printers worked very hard, setting all the type by hand, and printing only one copy at a time. The time required to produce one printing of 600 copes of The Nauvoo Neighbor, was about 150 hours. In this shop, you’ll learn various printing terms and see the process of printing a newspaper in Old Nauvoo demonstrated from beginning to end.
POST OFFICE
At this site, you’ll get two tours for the price of one. Sidney Rigdon was a well known postmaster in Nauvoo and the post office was located in the kitchen of his home. Later, Elias Smith conducted the postal business in his printing office. This current, restored post office shares space with the Meryweather Dry goods store.
Mail arrived in Nauvoo at least three times a week, coming up and down the river by steamboat or overland by coach or stage. Because mail was sometimes lost or stolen, folks often sent two or three copies of important correspondence. Postage was very expensive, and recipients were frequently asked to pay for the letters they received. Since cash was scarce in Nauvoo, many letters went undelivered. The post office features a mid-1850’s era mail-sorting box that was found in the Nauvoo vicinity.
Frederick Merryweather opened his dry goods store in the early spring of 1844. Being a comparative latecomer to Nauvoo, he had to compete with more established businesses, so he advertised his goods at Cincinnati prices. These were apparently the best prices to be had. In this store you’ll see a variety of pottery similar to that produced in Nauvoo in the 1840’s. The store houses unique household items, including a seven pound sad iron, cabin candelbra, and a ceramic canteen to hold “Haymaker’s Switzel”. Also many items of nineteenth century farm equipment.
SCOVIL BAKERY
The Scovil Bakery was one of the several such establishments in Nauvoo in the 1840’s. Lucius Scovil and his wife, Lury, built and operated this bakery. They supplied Nauvoo residents with break; a variety of jams, jellies and confections; and marriage cakes from one to twenty-five dollars. They also catered banquets and parties held in the Masonic Hall.
The Scovils were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, and were baptized by Joseph Smith. They traveled with the Saints to Missouri, to Quincy IL, and finally to Nauvoo. Lucius buried four family members before departing to serve a mission in England at a very difficult time. You won’t find his name in any history books, but Lucius’ courage, faith, generosity and ingenuity set him apart as one of the great and noble Saints of the Restoration.
In the reconstructed bakery, you will see one of the original “Temple Plates”. You will learn how the Saints baked their bread in their “bustle” ovens, and see many interesting and unusual items used for baking during the Nauvoo period. If you are very good, you’ll be treated to one of Nauvoo’s famous gingerbread cookies, baked by missionaries serving here.
Ginger Bread Cookies Recipe:
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Sorghum or Molasses 3/4 Cup Oil or Lard 1/2 Cup Hot Water
COMBINE
Rinse Sorghum from cup with hot water. Add: 2 Eggs
Mix together the following:
1 Teaspoon Soda 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 2 Teaspoons Ginger
6 or 7 cups of white Flour Refrigerate dough overnight Roll out and cut with cookie cutter Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes
To roll out the dough we use Pam in place of flour
Cookies freeze well and are softer and more flavorful after freezing
***
Not all, but about half of us went to go see Emma Smith: My Story at the local Theatre. We all came out of the movie puffy eyed and sniffling from tears of such strong emotion. This movie not only helped to strengthen my testimony but give me a tremendous amount of appreciation for Emma Smith. I admire her so much and she thoroughly inspires me. You are able to relate to Emma and Joseph at so many points of their life, Clark and I especially felt a connection to them and he swears that he could feel my emotion during certain parts of the movie without hearing what I had to say or looking at me. Amazing movie and a MUST SEE!!!
School starts for me on Aug 20th. I am taking online courses at SLCC and I CAN’T WAIT! I *LOVE* School! 
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But, what can you do?… patience… We have gone out more and read more since we’ve been back, haha… when I told Clark that we are scheduled to have someone come over tomorrow afternoon he said:
) “Tomorrow? That would be great!”
Above this cupboard is our food storage which is packed with these types of foods + more. 
