June 16 - 22 - Sunday to Saturday

Manti Temple - taken June 20, 2019

Sister Tolman and I traveled to Manti on Thursday June 20 to attend the temple in Manti and also the Mormon Miracle Pageant which started in 1967 and ends this year.

Sunday June 16

Today is Fathers’ Day.  I received cards, texts, or phone calls from all my daughters.  I am so blessed to have my family.  I received cards from Michelle and Angie, a gift card to Dairy Queen from Christina, a book by Jerry Borrowman and a tie from Sister Tolman and a card and a tie from Grandma and Grandpa Senior.

We attended Music and the Spoken Word and enjoyed the music and the message about fathers.  We enjoyed our Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School.

Elder Tolman left for Island Park, Idaho at about 4pm for a fishing trip with Elder Don R Clarke.  Sister Tolman went to her sister Jayne’s for dinner and took mom and dad Senior.  They didn’t notice that I wasn’t there until Sister Tolman started driving the car.  

Monday and Tuesday

Sister Tolman attended the Monday morning mission devotional which is always good.  She took advantage of being alone by getting her haircut, went shopping, rearranged the bed in our second bedroom to make it easier when our daughter Janny and her family members visit the first week of July. and a few other things.  She fixed dinner and invited Sister Stratford from our MTC group over for dinner and had an enjoyable visit with her.

During the time Sister Tolman worked in the library she was able to obtain tickets for us for the Pioneer Concert in the Conference Center on July 20 with the Tabernacle Choir and the singer who goes by Sissel.  We attended a concert in the Brigham Young Park on Tuesday evening starting at 7:30 in the evening after Elder Tolman returned from Idaho.  The group was “Molly in the Mineshaft”

Elder Tolman’s trip to Island Park, Idaho

Elder Don R Clarke, a General Authority Seventy Emeritus, invited me several months ago to go fishing with him.  He said that we weren’t going fishing but going catching since we will catch a lot of fish.  I have been helping Elder Clark most weeks on Tuesdays since the beginning of the year.  I had told him that a Monday and Tuesday would work the best for me with the library schedule since Monday is P-day and I would only need to request one day off which I did on the Tuesday the 11th.  I had let the Elder and Sister Dahlin know that this trip was coming up and they gave permission to go outside of the mission. 

Elder Clark sent me a text last Monday June 10 letting me know that Monday and Tuesday the 17 and 18 would work best for him and that fishing would be good.  We left at 4pm Sunday after church and stopped in Rexburg, Idaho and had a spaghetti dinner with their daughter and her family.  Elder Clarke’s wife, Sister Mary Ann Clark, stayed there to spend two days with them.  We arrived in Island Park at about 8:30pm and stayed at the Eagle Ridge Ranch.  We stayed in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on the property.  We read and discussed chapters in Alma (chapter 47 on Sunday night and chapter 48 on Monday night).  We had kneeling prayer together in the evening and the morning alternating between Elder Clarke and me.  It was enjoyable spending time with Elder Clarke. 

On Monday after a prayer we ate breakfast consisting of cold cereal with rice milk and avocado toast (wheat bread with half and avocado spread on top).  We then packed sandwiches for lunch.  We traveled by car to the stream where we fished from 8am to about 5pm.  

The snow-capped mountains in Island Park seen from where we fished

 

The stream where we fished

We drove right through cattle on the way to the fishing spot.  Fortunately there was a fence that kept the cattle from the fishing stream

Fly fishing with a fly rod and a wet fly is challenging and something that I had not done before so it took me about two hours to learn how to fish this way.  We fished in two different spots on the stream and caught fish in both places.  We had about three feet of leader between a small bobber called a strike indicator and the fly.  The idea is to float the fly down the stream in a natural way through holes where the fish are.  To do this you have to keep the line ahead of the strike indicator as it floats downstream so the fly looks like it is just floating along with the current.  The fish don’t bite for very long so when they strike the fly and you see the strike indicator go under you have it react immediately to set the hook.  Elder Clarke could do this technique way better than I could.  I finally got better and was able to hook the fish.  Since they were so big, it took some patience and sustained effort to get the fish to shore.  We helped each other by netting the fish once it got tired. 

The fishing and scenery is amazing.  On Monday I caught five large rainbow trout.  These were the biggest trout that I have ever caught.  

Elder Tolman with first fish caught on June 17

Elder Clarke with one of the many fish that he caught

In the evening we went to dinner with Steve who manages the ranch and made all of our trip arrangements.  Steve's wife needed to stay at the ranch to help guests so we took a meal back for her.  Elder Clark had halibut, Steve had wild boar and I had a bison burger and sweet potato fries.  The bison burger was too tall to eat like a regular hamburger so I cut it in half.  It was tasty and was plenty to eat.

On Tuesday we fished early starting at 7:30am until just after 11am.  We fished in the spot where we fished on Monday afternoon.  We caught more fish in three and a half hours than we did all day Monday.  We caught a lot on a certain type of fly but when we changed to a different fly for the last 90 minutes or so the fish really started hitting that fly.   I probably caught between 5 and 10 fish.  Elder Clark must have caught between 30 and 50 fish.  Below are two fish caught on Tuesday.

This definitely was an enjoyable fishing trip.  We left at just after 11am.  I had to remind Elder Clarke that it was 11am and that we needed to leave per what he had said earlier.  We reluctantly left and traveled to Rexburg to pick up Elder Clarke’s wife. We ate lunch at the Red Rabbit Grill where their granddaughter worked.  Elder Clarke and I both had a delicious salmon salad.  We arrived home at 4:30 pm.

Wednesday June 19

We attended the monthly Mission Conference.  President and Sister Fenn talked about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith as this month on June 27th is the 175th anniversary of their deaths.  Their message was very inspiring and it strengthened my testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith.  We finished the meeting by singing “Praise to the Man”.  When I sing this hymn, I always receive a witness of his divine calling as a prophet in these last days.

We both worked and helped in the library.  I helped Sisters Chabries and Homer understand a little more about how the Temple function works and the various options for sharing temple names with others.  I showed them the training on the subject on my blog and they asked me if they could have access.  I showed them how to find it.

I helped Kenneth from Virginia for over an hour.  I had helped him a little on Saturday.  I taught him more about how familysearch.org works.  He was very interested as his background is in IT.  We discussed how the site has changed and improved over the past seven years.  I showed him the Memories function and how it operates and he was very impressed.  We added a photo of his father from a yearbook that he had found.  I showed him the mobile apps.  He has a friend with whom he had been discussing FamilySearch.  I showed him how to add his friend’s father to the tree and then connect him to his paternal grandparents and the grandmother was already on the tree.  He plans to help his friend get a FamilySearch account and get started. 

We had a going away luncheon at 2pm.  Sister Bucher and Sister Rose are leaving.  See the picture below taken at the luncheon. 

 Sister Bucher, Sister Dahlin and Sister Rose

During the luncheon I had a conversation with a new missionary, Elder Olsen.  I ended up helping him afterwards.  He hasn’t had much experience with FamilySearch.  I showed him one way to find individuals to add to his tree.  Within 10 minutes we found two people to add to the tree.  After he left to pass off more of his training, I found a family to add to the tree.  I will share this information with him this next week.

Thursday June 20

We talked to our daughter Laura first thing in the morning.  We missed talking to her last week as she was in Denver with her gardening group.  We left for Manti, Utah at about 8:30am with the plan to attend the temple there and enjoy the Mormon Miracle Pageant.  We arrived in Manti at about 11:10am with just enough time to be able to join the 11:30am Endowment session. The Manti temple was dedicated in 1888.  

In the Salt Lake, Nauvoo and Manti Temples there are rooms representing the Creation of the world as described in the book of Genesis, the garden of Eden, and the World. The murals in these three rooms in Manti are unique and very well done.   You can read more at this link.  

We left Manti for our hotel in Gunnison (about 14 miles).  We enjoyed a Turkey dinner sponsored by the City of Manti and it was excellent:  BBQ turkey (this was really tasty), mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and a roll with a brownie for dessert.  The dinner was in a hall in a National Guard armory

  

Hall in the National Guard Armory 

The setting for the pageant is really spectacular with the seating below and the action taking place on the hillside in front of the spectators and below the temple.  You can see the seating area and the hill in front and the temple in the background.

We parked in a good location about a five-minute walk from where the pageant is held in order to be able to leave quickly.  We waited for over 3 hours.  It rained off and on but there was very heavy rain in the surrounding area.  We purchased panchos and used our umbrellas which kept us dry and we dressed warmly so we managed to be able to wait and then enjoy the pageant which lasted just over an hour and finished just before 11pm. We were glad that we decided to attend. We saw a beautiful rainbow while we were waiting.

The Mormon MiraclePageant is a Pageant held in Manti, Utah. It is an annual outdoor theatrical performance produced by an amateur cast of over five hundred members of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The nightly program takes place on the south lawn of temple hill at the Manti Temple in June. The two-week pageant typically draws an average of 15,000 people per night over an eight-night performance.   This year will be the last performance after over 50 years.  

Friday June 21
Our motel in Gunnison was maybe one star but we were able to sleep alright.  We traveled to Manti for breakfast of eggs, pancakes, ham and milk or juice sponsored by the local Stake Young Women and held in the city park.  Below is an usual site on the highway between Gunnison and Manti.

We stopped in Santaquin on the way home and had an enjoyable visit with my sister JoAnne and her husband Craig.

Our shift at the library was fairly busy.  I helped the father of a family of three who lives in San Antonio.  He only had a short time so I focused on what he wanted to find out and we found out a lot about his grandfather’s family.  We ended up getting him a FamilySearch account so he could connect to all the ancestors we found on the tree.  We saw 1940 census for his grandfather.  We downloaded the Memories app and we uploaded a picture of him and his wife.

I helped Don Attridge.  Starting next week, he will visit on Tuesdays again instead of Fridays.  We printed some temple names including one person that I found last week and added to his tree.  We reviewed the book that he gave me as the last time we visited he talked about a house he had seen in France.  He showed me which picture.  He gave me two CD’s that he published containing songs he recorded.

I helped a husband and wife who were looking for information about ancestors. Found his father and other relatives on the tree.  He decided to get a FamilySearch account and connect to these ancestors and add to his family tree.  I helped another man who was here with his wife. He didn’t have much time so I showed him what was on FamilySearch about his family and he will likely get a FamilySearch account when he gets home.

After dinner from 5 to 6pm, I worked at the desk for most of the next two hours so that the other missionaries could continue to help the guests that they were helping. 

During this time, I helped a man who was here with his wife and daughter.   His grandparents were active church members.   We were able to find information about his father who was a Quaker and his father’s parents.  His mother was not active in the church but had this man blessed in the church as an infant.  He was noticeably touched when we found the information about his father.  He said that he imagined we see a few tears here when we are helping people.  This family went away very excited about what they found and what they can do at home.

Saturday June 22

Today is our early shift for Saturday so we worked from 7:30am to 5pm.  We were really busy between 8am and 11am.  I was at the desk as the floor supervisor and matched guests with the missionaries during most of the three hours.  I have helped a lot of guests this week so I didn’t mind. 

I did help several people today and I will share information about two of them.  One woman came to the desk and said that her tree just disappeared so I went to help her.  I did some investigating to see what had happened and we were able to get her tree connected to her again.  She was really happy as she thought all of her efforts had been wasted.

I helped a woman from the bay area in California who was here with family members including a grandson who will be attending the University of Utah.  Both of her parents are still living and were born in the mid 1930’s so we found them both on the 1940 census which really excited her as we reviewed the details from the census. With the 1940 census and other records we were able to extend her line several generations.  She recognized a lot of family members as we found them.  We added the mobile apps and took a picture of her and her husband and added the photo to FamilySearch using the Memories app.  She was excited to understand the possibilities of what she can do including adding audio recordings of her parents.

Saturday input from Sister Tolman

Today was an interesting day.  The young elders were all going to the Manti pageant and so that cut our numbers by 6-8.  That is a really big chunk of helpers.  So we knew we would be shorthanded and the way it worked out we all kept very busy all day. 

I helped a man that was doing research for his friend and was stuck.  I was able to help him with some research and found what he was looking for.  He was very grateful and then dismissed me.  Then I helped two young women get accounts.  One of them was 13 and the other 10.  I helped the 13 year old first and then her dad started helping her by giving some information.  The account for the 10 year old took a little more time because she didn’t have an e-mail but we did it and she started on her mom’s line which will be a challenge because her mother was born in Bogota, Colombia.  They were both excited to add family, pictures and stories.  The girls were the ones that wanted to do something and when the parents saw what could be done they were also excited.

I was asked to help a couple that just wanted to do some research and they didn’t want to have to get an account so we got busy to find if any of their family was on the tree and then to look beyond that to see what we could find.  The difficult part was that on the man’s line it went to grandparents that immigrated from Lebanon.  They did have a first name and had a possible last name and another name that they didn’t know if it fit in.  We found a social security application record and their names were listed.  She was so excited she grabbed her phone and took pictures of the records that we had found.  They left totally happy and excited.

The last woman that I helped wanted to learn about how to add her family and find information and she was serious.  They had started out on a bus tour and had added on a week just to stay in Salt Lake.  She and her husband only had one cell phone and one e-mail account and they couldn’t remember how to get into that so we set up one account and they were able to share it.  We were able to find lots of records for her family but we also found some duplicates because the last name had so many different spellings.  I showed her how to search and she was getting the hang of it.  I showed her how to merge and she was doing it by herself.  Last I showed her how to add memories and she was really excited about that.  She asked me how they could donate to this wonderful organization and I told her it wasn’t necessary but she wanted to so I told her how she could do it.  I then left her to just look around on her tree while her husband finished working on his.  I went up to the desk and they both came up and thanked me again and then she asked if she could give me a hug.  I gave her a hug and then took a picture of them with me which is shown below.  It was a really cool experience and I know they were truly touched.  Actually I felt that with everyone I worked with today and that isn’t always the case.  There was kind of a sweet spirit in the library today. 

We attended a concert at 7:30pm featuring the SaltairesBarbershop Chorus.  They were excellent and the harmony unbelievably good.  We are glad that we went.  You can watch and listen to a sample of their music on the above link.