Hested's Mission Week 84

 3-March-2024-Sunday

We love the Sabbath Day. We love the drive to Rutland, meeting with the saints, and hearing their testimonies. It is a beautiful branch. The testimonies born get better and better, partly because we have grown to love those who gave their testimonies. Karie wanted to play for primary, so I attended Sunday School. That was new for me. Dede went to Primary.

As we left Rutland, we drove in heavy fog for miles.  The mist was gone at the top of the hill, and we enjoyed mostly sunny skies all day.  The temperature got up to 55 degrees.  Looking ahead, we are supposed to get our next snowstorm on Sunday. The prediction is 10.5 inches of snow.  It will be warm, so the snow will be very wet. I wanted President Lao to know that we would probably not drive to church if we got that much snow in the morning.  We will attend the S. Royalton Ward if they do not cancel.  A week is a long time, and I assume the weather forecast will change before then. I believe Vermont could use the moisture.

We had 11 people visit the site today. That is an excellent number for March. We had members and nonmembers.  Two young men from Dartmouth came over.  I suspect Dartmouth has a World's Religion Class, and our Church is next to be studied. Dede had a young lady from another school who said that was the case at her college. We had two young men yesterday, two today, and a couple from Dartmouth who came and took pictures but did not seem to want a tour.  We will take them all.  Today's two young men desired a 15-minute tour but asked questions for another 15 minutes. It was fun.

Our last visitor is in the Stake Young Women's Presidency at a Connecticut stake.  They will come up for the girl's camp in June, and she has not been to the site, so she drove up alone. She carried a wonderful spirit with her.  We gave her more information than others because we wanted her to know how to use the site to teach young women.  We discussed hikes, activities, a tour of the foundations, etc.  She was a great example of magnifying a calling.

Today's first visitors will be the camp missionaries this year.  They hope to get the word out to more stake leaders and encourage more people to use the camp.  They want to add a page to the JSB website.  I think they need to work directly with nearby stakes. Most people from Utah do not have camping equipment and cannot use the camp.  However, we see people from surrounding stakes, and they would be a great target.

I am reading a book, The Year Without Summer: 1816.  It discussed the volcano of Indonesia, which changed the weather worldwide and helped drive the Smiths from New England to New York.  It is written by a historian and his son, a weather researcher.  I like the style. It is written like the book Saints, with vignettes that describe the impact on different parts of the northern hemisphere. The writing is good, but I am amazed at their scorn for people who turned to religion or the current science to explain what was happening. They write 1.5 pages on the Smith family leaving Vermont just so they can use Joseph's quotes on the excitement of religion in New York. Beyond criticizing religion, they scoff at "scientists" who thought it might be caused by earthquakes, clearing the forests, sunspots, or similar things.  One would think these people were mere idiots. However, they admit that today, scientists disagree with their theory, and their models do not accurately predict the weather patterns as they occurred. However, anyone who does not believe their science is a buffoon. Still, the history is fun to read.  I often forget that a single point of history does not exist in a vacuum.  Other things are happening simultaneously, and they are good at presenting the multiple things happening worldwide during this fateful summer. And how it has impacted different levels of society.  If they want me to believe their science is infallible, they do not need to criticize all other views. Likewise, he mocks religion and prayers in general. Still, while functionally correct, his definition of what is happening leaves only hopelessness, as science, in this case, can explain but not provide a solution or even a hope of a solution. Science can explain what, but religion defines why and how to have hope. Having dabbled in history with my document, it is apparent that he struggled with finding sources. The rich wrote letters and left a record, so they are included. Newspapers leave a record, so they are included.  The Smith family, rare among poor people, left a record, so they become part of the book.  I must admit that he makes his characters come to life so that one experiences the misery of living through the year 1816, and I would recommend that the book be read.

4-March-2024-Monday

It was a tranquil day. We enjoyed our meetings. Dede gave the spiritual message for the entire group using the primary song about children gathering around Jesus and talking about how we can teach about Jesus at the site and that we are His ambassadors. It fits well with the training earlier that morning.  

Took time to research the families that helped with the monument.  With Lovejoy's history, I have been able to correct or add dates and locations. When a person has historical information in the book, I transfer it to FamilySearch. I will have a chance to do temple work for some of the relatives, although most of the people whose names are on the list I received have their work done. As I progress, it is interesting to see the interrelationships between these people.  Royalton is a small town, and when there are large families, they will intermarry often.  Thus, unsurprisingly, I am a cousin to many of the people I am finding.  I have not researched this closely, but there are probably 2 or 3 common ancestors through whom I am related to everyone here.

Neilsons came over to talk about our release date.  Officially, it will be the 25th of June.  However, we must vacate our apartment in time for our replacement.  They also discussed having the FM missionaries clean the apartment after we leave.  It would be good if they cleaned the carpets.  On the 25th, we are scheduled to have a CES tour bus, and we do not want to leave them in a lurch.  We will probably know soon. At this moment, it does not seem real that we should even be discussing a release date.

5-March-2024-Tuesday

I will bore my reader with something that strikes me in the BoM. If you are not interested, skip to the ****** below. Because I read the BoM one chapter at a time, I failed to realize how the stories of Mosiah/Benjamin/Mosiah overlap those of Zeniff/Noah/Limhi in time.  I should have learned this, but I did not.  Zeniff will lead his people away from King/Prophet Mosiah(1) within a very short period after the people of Nelphi leave the original lands of Nelphi.  Mosiah(1) was directed as a prophet of God to lead this migration.  They will find another group of people with ties to Mulek and Jerusalem, and Mosiah(1) will become king over all of them.  However, many newly arriving Nephite refugees want to return home to their original promised land.  The BoM does not state the reasons, but I assume two driving forces. (1) they were suddenly mixed with people who were not "pure" descendants of Lehi. [Note the irony of this statement; the Nephites had come to a populated land in the Americas and would have previously mixed with the indigenous peoples and thus were not pure Israelites, fulfilling Nephi's words aided by Isaiah that the promised people are those who believe in Christ and follow His prophets and not a lineage.] (2) God's covenant with His people includes a promised land.  These people felt they were leaving their promised land (i.e., the prophet Mosiah(1) was wrong) and that they should return to "their" promised land.

The first returnees destroyed themselves in a civil war, and then the follow-up group suffered hunger and deprivation. In hindsight, it is easy to see the Lord's displeasure with this move, but they were focused on their objective. Miraculously, in their eyes, they were given their land of inheritance, although they will later realize that the king of the Lamanites set a cunning snare to entrap them. When trying Abinidi, their prophet, they will point out that God is blessing them to have their land of promise, "How blessed are the feet of those who bring peace." as evidence that they were the people of God and not the people they left behind following the misinformed prophet, Mosiah(1).  Not only will they kill Abinidi, but they will attempt to murder Alma(1) and his followers, driving them away.

We know the story of their travails and their return to Zarahemla and their prophet/king, also named Mosiah(2). They will be united with the High Priest, Alma(1), whom they rejected and will be baptized by him.  Eventually, Mosiah(2) will relinquish his family's right to kingship, and the ruling family will become the family of Alma(1&2). Meanwhile, Mosiah(2)'s sons will become the High Priests to the Lamanites. They will return to the lands Zeniff attempted to control with arms and convert the Lamanites by preaching the Gospel of Christ and love.  

Thus, Momon compares two "righteous" people. One follows the prophets' and the other their fathers' traditions mingled with scriptures. We see three kings, Mosiah(1)-Benjamin-Mosiah(2), who were both prophets and kings, compared to three kings Zeniff-Noah-Limihi who were not prophets.  The wickedness of King Noah and the wickedness of the kings of the Jadeites, whose records were translated first by Mosiah(1) from a Stele and then from gold plates made by Ether by Mosiah(2), were a catalyst causing Mosiah(2) to change the government to judges rather than kings.  As a result, the leading political family will become Alma's, and the priestly family will be Mosiah's.  

It seems evident that God's hand is in all of these issues. Mormon wrote the Book of Mormon to make the comparisons and results evident to his readers. I am grateful that others pointed out these things to me, as again, I tend to read each chapter in isolation from others.   

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The book about the Summer of 1816 is helping me see how weather impacted the Smith family, the nation, and the Western Hemisphere. Many would leave New England to open new territories, and these adventurous people would be ripe to hear the gospel preached to them some 14 years later when it was restored.

When we left for the site, it was overcast. I walked down to the traditional Solomon Mack Foundation and the Old Stone Bridge before it started to rain. The woods at the site called to me, and despite the icy road, I was glad to make the trip and take pictures for Dede, who maintained a presence at the site. We both walked around the site in the rain. Unfortunately, we did not have visitors for the second shift in a row. After writing this dismal report at 1 pm, a sister member came in for a tour. She was delightful, and we were grateful to have her. We gave her half the tour and turned her over to Neilson to finish due to our shift change.

Due to heavy rain, we did not go anywhere. We talked and watched the Jazz's highlights from last night.  I laid down for 10 minutes and was awakened by my watch to see that the Church had purchased the Kirtland temple and other properties and artifacts.  Further research shows they got nearly everything from the Community of Christ in Kirkland and Nauvoo.  Buildings, land, pictures, documents, etc. The list is overwhelming to me. I am so happy.  We will need to stop in Kirtland on the way home and see the temple tour from our missionaries.  However, I doubt we will have a better experience than we had with the former owners. We met the most affable, sincerest people in Kirkland and Nauvoo, who enhanced our experience as visitors there.  In fact, although I am thrilled that we have these properties and artifacts, I am saddened by the thoughts of disappointment for the members of the Community of Christ who must feel abandoned by their own Church with this transfer of properties.  Our Church has the means to restore the buildings and keep them open to the public, but I met such kind people in both towns. I am, however, excited to see what the Church plans to do in the future.  

6-March-2024-Wednesday

We drove through Vermont and New Hampshire in fog. We could still travel at highway speeds, but it was sometimes eerie.  I feel so at home in the Boston Temple as I know many workers and people who come to the Wednesday morning sessions. In the sealing session, we sealed couples from family members of those who worked on the monument.

We thought it would be rainy after the temple, but after eating and visiting Costco, we walked the trails near the Old North Bridge.  We have been there twice before, but I love the history there. In the Revolutionary War, the first shots were at Lexington, but the British shot fleeing colonists. At the Old North Bridge, the colonists, for the first time, fired on the British soldiers as a result of an order from a commander. The shot heard worldwide, as Emerson stated, came from the battle at this bridge. The colonists surprised the British by fighting in an organized manner. And why not? They were trained by the British.  I love the statue there. It shows a citizen soldier hanging his coat on his plow while picking up his gun to fight in the war. I will forever be amazed that a citizen army defeated the British Army.  Obviously, God's hand was involved in this situation.  

After a quick stop at Walmart, we came home in a drizzle, which did not turn into driving rain until we were nearly home. It was a great day for us.

7-March-2024-Thursday

Another fun day in Zion. I am glad Zion can be anywhere in the world. I returned to the Sharon Town office to do some research. I searched for any record of Daniel G. Mack owning land in Sharon.  I did not expect to find it, as other researchers have combed these records, but I did find more Solomon Mack's land records.  He bought the land in 1804, and it is recorded twice in the deed book. He sold the land in 1807 and then received it back a few months later. He gave the land to the heirs of his son Jason in 1810 and then sold the land in 1811, leaving the home and the property and returning to Gilsum, NH, to live with his son, Solomon Jr.. If Daniel G. Mack bought land in Sharon, it would be in this same period.  I believe he did not purchase land in either Sharon or Royalton.  Perhaps he rented, but it is hard to track where Lydia may have been at her death if she was with Daniel, and there are no records.  

I also looked for a record of Joseph Smith's birth without results. Again, I am unsurprised, Richard Lloyd Anderson combed the records carefully in his research and found nothing. But I had to look. It appears that the Smiths recorded the births of Alvin, Hyrum, and Sophronia, but none of the remaining children,  Glad Lucy, recorded them in her book.

The people in the Town Office are kind. They were reelected Tuesday, so they were happy to have jobs. I took Galen a copy of his ancestors, starting with his father and going back 7 generations.  I have not made a connection between him and John Mudgett with the same last name.  The Town Clerk is a cheerful, kind soul.  While researching in the back room, I heard a familiar voice ask about the Sweet property. I recognized the Sweet property as land the Church was given in the last decade and the voice. Bob Arnold, our FM manager, was surprised when I walked out, but he asked me a few questions to help him get his information, so it was all good.

We had five visitors at the site: a couple from Michigan, a couple from Utah, and a man repairing the plumbing in the visitors' center. He had questions about the monument and Joseph Smith. We did not get much walking time, which is a heck of a deal to have tours interfere with walking. Haha. The husband of the couple from Utah grew up in Grace, ID, and we knew many of the same people.  Both couples were terrific, and the man had good questions.  

I finished the book about the Summer of 1816. The weather was poor in the USA, but the lower population density appears to have allowed the USA to escape much more effortlessly than Europe. Many people starved in Europe, and the upheaval of people was more significant. I have always thought the USA had it bad, so it was good to read about the global impact of this volcanic disaster.  

The heavy rains and the warmer temperatures caused the White River to rise. It was very high as we drove to the site, and the breakers were fun to watch.  As I walked home from the town clerk's office, I could hear the waterfall on Faye Brook, so I walked up and took pictures.  It is much easier to see and hear without leaves on the trees. After work, I took Dede to see. We had noted the White River had dropped while we were at work, and so had Faye Brook and the falls, but it was still a powerful site. The sound of rushing and falling water is memorable.  I understand why Joseph Smith used the words; his voice was like the roar of rushing waters. There is power and majesty in a waterfall. Also, each waterfall and former mill site reminds me of people who lived and worked near the falls and fed their families with the profits made from the falls. I wish I had known more stories about the various falls we visited. 

I'm off to ride the stationary bike. I need to get used to that. With warmer temperatures, there will likely be more days when I cannot get enough steps in during my shift, and riding the bike will be obligatory.

8-March-2024-Friday

It was an absolutely gorgeous spring day in Vermont. Clear skies and temperatures reaching 50 degrees. Surprisingly, however, no one visited the site all morning. At the end of our shift, we decided to walk down past the foundations to the cascades on White Brook. It was the correct decision.  The brook was running high with the snow melting, and the cascades were magnificent. It is stick season, so getting good views of the cascades from the road was easy. We also saw a mink along the brook. The woods around the site call me in an almost audible voice. I was so glad Dede walked down with me. Bob Arnold saw us walking, so he drove down in a gator to check on us. It should not be long before we can again take visitors down to this part of the site.

Dede came home to cook for our missionary potluck. Dede does this so naturally, but it is evident that this is her talent, which is not shared by everyone. How lucky I am to have married her. I am unsure how it happened; I must have snuck up on her, catching her surprise, so she accepted my clumsy offer. 

I will include pictures from our day:

The first blooms of spring. The monument reflects sunlight backed by a blue sky. The stone bridge is almost visible through the snow.  

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Cascades on our property.  The little spring near the traditional Daniel Mack home and a distant view of the cascades off the property.

The lower and upper cascades are just off our property. Her husband has named this last little waterfall Dede's Falls. It flows year-round but is usually a tiny, single trickle. Today, the 18-inch falls were "roaring."

9-March-2024-Saturday

Another week is finished. They fly by so fast. Dede went to Lebanon this morning. We had planned to go right after work, but we are under a winter storm advisory after 7 p.m. tonight. According to the forecasters, we are to have 13 inches of snow between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. I have mixed feelings. We had such a mild winter that I would love to see a good snowstorm before leaving Vermont. However, I do not want to drive to Rutland tomorrow in a bad storm.  Theoretically, it should be over before we go at 8:30, so perhaps we can have both.  I am a little curious about the weather forecast and daylight savings time. Will it end at 7 am or 8 am because we spring ahead tonight night and lose an hour? I guess we will be able to attend Church in Rutland, but we will see.

I started working on a short biography of Moroni Johnson, who provided me with much information about the Joseph Smith Birthplace site. He is such a kind soul. His history should be written, and his wife told me he dislikes writing. Dede worries that I am enabling him by writing his history; she is undoubtedly correct, but I feel compelled to do it. I enjoy writing without creating footnotes, but I fear I am not an exciting author. If he keeps my biography on FamilySearch, his descendants may think he was boring, which is invalid.

We had six visitors in two groups. They wanted short tours. The first was a group of 4, but only the father wanted to visit the site. The wife did not get out of the car, and the kids did not listen to anything. I felt bad. He would have enjoyed a more extended tour but kept it short out of respect for them. The second group was even more interesting. Mom had been a member, and Dad had lived in Utah and knew the Church. The daughter was not interested at all. We gave them a more extended tour than the first group. Mom took pictures for her friends and relatives. Mom was from Spain, where she was baptized. It is hard to have mixed-faith households.

As we left the site, it was raining ice pellets. Even with the clouds, it was still light, and after today, we will gain that extra hour of light each day. I would be thrilled if I did not lose an hour for that privilege.