Hegsted's Mission Week 79

 28-January-2024-Sunday

A new week began with our trip to Rutland. We had some rain, and the traffic seemed to be lighter as a result. Even as we came to Pico mountain, it was still misting, but the hill was filled with skiers. Last year, the mountain was bare, so even if the snow was not great, it was skiable.

It was not a stellar day on the organ, at least the final hymn. It should have been the easiest, and I struggled with it. Sad to make the congregation suffer. I am not improving because I am not practicing enough. Perhaps when I get home, I can play again in the temple. That hour of playing in the temple really helped. I doubt I will get to play in church again. Primary was fun again. Watching children sing and enjoy the gospel is purely delightful.

We left the Church and drove north and west to Benson, Vermont. The building above was a church for the Free Will Baptists before most of the congregation was baptized by the Carter Brothers, and it became a "Mormon" Church. It was the first Church building in Vermont.  The brothers were from the Town of Benson and had over 100 converts. After the members left, it became a school and sat empty for many years before it was bought by a man and restored and added upon. He wrote a history of the home, which is supposed to be good, but copies are selling at $45, so I will probably just need to believe.

Driving South from Benson by way of New York State, we passed through Poultney, Vermont, where Oliver Cowdery lived from age 3 until moving to Manchester, New York, to teach school and board with the Smiths. We did not know where he lived, so I took a picture of the library. Vermont has more libraries per capita than any other state. Partially because each town has at least one library and sometimes more. Some are very small, but many are some of the more prestigious buildings in the Town. Poultiney had a beautiful college campus, but a few years ago, the president announced the school was out of money and would close. The lawns are still well-kept, and the buildings looked occupied. I cannot imagine the financial pressure this put on the Town.

Continuing South brought us to Wells, Vermont, where Oliver Cowdery was born. We had driven to his birthplace site in the past but did not stop in the Town Center at the library, where there is a map and picture of Oliver Cowdery. It is nicely done by the Town of Wells with help from the church. A collection of buildings 1.8 miles North of the Town Center, represented by the third building below, is where Isaac Hale lived. Isaac is Emma Hales's father, who moved from Vermont to Pennsylvania. This was the area where Emma Hale's father, Isaac, was born. Her mother was from Wells. Isaac moved to Harmony, Pennsylvania, when Joseph Smith Sr.'s family moved to Tunbridge. Emma was born in Harmony. These sites are all close to the New York border and within 30 minutes of the Rutland Church building, so visiting them in conjunction with our Church meetings was convenient. It amazes me how many early Church members and influencers came from Vermont. Isaac Hale never joined. Three of the four authors of anti-bigamy acts represented Vermont. It is almost as if God allowed equal time for the Devil to oppose the Church after raising up so many good men in Vermont to lead his Church. It amazes me how many capable people are from Vermont. Even the anti-bigamy men were capable leaders and probably very sincere. Truly, Vermont's primary export is her children.

It occurred to Dede and me that we have diligently visited historical sites in New England, knowing we have merely two years to serve here. We have committed to seeing the sites of interest in Idaho when we return home. We have visited many but have ignored others because there is always tomorrow.

29-January-2024-Monday

Good meetings this morning. Dede gave the Buswell a picture of the monument for all the missionaries to sign on the mat around the image. It will look great and hopefully be a fun remembrance. Sister Buswell announced a "clean the freezer party" for Sunday. It is not a going away party; it is just a time to cook a turkey and some pork, leave the freezer clean, and empty it for the next Site Leaders. Any excuse for a party is a good excuse.

When we arrived at the site this morning, the wind was blowing. With the thick trees, we get much less wind than Pocatello. It was gusting and swirling the new snow. Suddenly, the crab apple tree above the resident's building seemed to explode, with snow flying in all directions. It was a small whirlwind, but it looked amazing.

We shoveled our friend's ramp, and she came out to visit. Her cell phone broke, and she was cut off from the world. We were glad to see her and know she was okay.

I finished reading Erekson's Master's Thesis about the site and S. Royalton and spent much of the day adding to the document before returning to editing again. I promise not to read other sources and get it finished. I am through most of the things I would use in my document, so I can keep my word.

As we arrived for our shift, a car had pulled in. A man jumped out and asked where to take an iconic picture of the site to send to his member friend. I showed him several and managed to give him and his wife an abbreviated tour. It was good to have visitors at the site today.

30-January-2024-Tuesday

Ironing done! Some editing is done! The car service is done! The blog will be short!

The two S. Royalton missionaries came in to visit. Elder Karchner has his visa and leaves for Brazil this week. We gave them a tour. He is excited to go but nervous because he has not used Portuguese for several months. It was fun to provide them a tour and say goodbye. The other couples see them more often as they are not in our ward, but we were lucky to see them doing their farewell circle around their area. 

Since we were near Lebanon, we filled the car with gas at $2.97 per gallon and bought a steak for dinner! Life is good!

31-January-2024-Wednesday-PDAY

It is PDAY, and readers are expecting pictures from great adventures. Our temple trip was fun. The Endowment session was nearly full. I knew 11 or the 16 other men in the room.  The Vermont Stake had 11 people in the session. What a great day. We also did initiatory, and I have nearly memorized the words for the last booth.  These words have changed the most since I came on my mission.

We picked up prescriptions at Costco. Vermont is too far from us to be convenient if we do not visit the temple bimonthly. We also had our car washed near Costco. This was our first experience in towing your vehicle through a carwash.  We were "pulling out all the stops" for this exciting PDAY. I am sure you are nearly exhausted, but there is more. We stopped and hiked Prospect Hill. This is a nice park; we could take pictures of Boston from the top. I know you are breathless with jealousy. Photos below. Just before taking the selfie, Dede pointed out I was still wearing my tie. I did loosen it for the picture, but I must admit, I forgot I had it on. Another blessing of serving a mission.

We stopped in Manchester, New Hampshire, to eat dinner at Stark's Tavern. John Stark is a famous Revolutionary War Leader who won a significant battle outside of Bennington, Vermont, during the war, leading to France joining the war effort against Great Britain.  He said, "There are your enemies, the Red Coats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night, Molly Stark [his wife] sleeps a widow!" There are statues of him in several states. Interestingly enough, Molly Stark was more than an equal to John, her husband; she had her own statue honoring all she did.

1-February-2024-Thursday

After "writing off" yesterday as a dull day, I must return to it and talk more about the "joy of understanding" that came yesterday at the temple. We had hoped to attend the 12 pm sealing session, but it was full, and we were blessed to find out why. A man, we know, was being sealed to his parents, who are both deceased. He is a convert; his father, an alcoholic, left the family when he was about five years of age after destroying his parents' marriage with his drinking. It is an example of the complexities of this earth life. However, in the temple, he was all smiles. He was being sealed to his parents. He was doing all he could and putting it into the Savior's Hands to be worked out. During my prayers in the temple and again this morning, the Spirit testified that this is how the Plan of Salvation works. It is too complex for my understanding. But that does not matter; nothing is too hard for the Lord. It provided another way to think of Nephi's words. "For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" 2 Ne 25:23. Our friend has done all he can do and has surrendered everything else to the grace of God and was filled with joy. What a simple solution to a complex question. 

I spent the morning, most of the shift, and part of the evening working on the document. I hope to finish the last edit and submit it to the Church Historians next week. From there, who knows what will happen. However, as I read it, I was impressed with the amount of "new" material and the clarification on "known" issues. It is good work, and I hope others read it.

We did not get anyone on the site today. After our shift, Dede went to the Hoopes for dinner and games while I returned home and to the document. I promised Dede I would finish and go and play games with her in the near future.

2-February-2024-Friday

I love Groundhog's Day. The entire concept is so ridiculous that I always look forward to it. This year, I learned that many leave their Christmas lights until this day, marking the day Mary could go with Jesus to the temple after her 40 days of purification.  It seems like a great excuse to keep the lights burning through the long nights of January. In Vermont, people do leave their lights on during January.

We had two men from Utah visit the site. They did ice castles in New Hampshire and tried to do one in Lake George, New York. It's too warm there, so they are trying a light show.  They have lights in Utah, Idaho, and Colorado. We will probably go to NH this Friday to see their ice sculptures. It was a great tour because they brought a great spirit with them.  

After our shift, we met the Buswells at Simon Perce's restaurant for a delicious lunch. It is a swanky restaurant, but the lunch menu was reasonable, and we enjoyed the view of the waterfalls and the company. It is hard to believe the Buswells have less than one week in their missions.

After shopping in Lebanon, I went home and worked on the document.  Shocking!

3-February-2024-Saturday

Hopefully, our loyal readers will not die of shock. I finished the document today, making my last edits and adding my last endnotes. I saved a copy to my desktop and backed it up as a Word document and a PDF. The primary copy is saved to the cloud. I will buy a thumb drive and back up there as well. I then shared it with Aaron and Gary at the Historic Department.  I know you are worried I will be bored. I have found many people who helped with the monument, and I want to research them and do Family history and temple work for some of them. I find I am related to many people in this area.

We had a busy afternoon. First, a couple from Lake George. They are not members but love history and museums. I loved her statement, "One feels the peace the moment one gets out of the car." They were followed by a family of 6 from Virginia. They were great, especially at the Restoration Board.  Great testimonies from all 6 were shared. The mom shared two fantastic experiences. Finally, Dede was out walking and caught 4 people trying to sneak by without being noticed. She shared the monument story and her testimony.  What a great day! I felt no pressure to edit my document since it is finished. That made it all the better.