Conference and Rain

Conference weekend was busy and great.  We worked extra long to help all who came have an opportunity to visit the Square.  The Sister Missionaries started one hour early and took only 15 minutes to eat lunch.  We all had a special meeting Sunday after the square was closed.  We were then able to share any special spiritual experiences.  We had a Sister from Tonga who told about a special girl.   The girl was from out of town.  She said that She was looking for our Sister from Tonga to tell her that She took a Tour with her six months ago.  She has joined the Church and had brought some friends with her to Salt Lake who are scheduled to be baptized soon.

We were able to go to the Sunday afternoon Session of Conference.  We had a pretty good seat if you want to see the sides of all the speakers.  Mom was trying to keep notes but was falling asleep all of the time.  We got to see most of the sessions.  They set up the computer at West Gate so we could watch on streaming video.  While we greeted guests.  I was standing in the rain most of the time.  

Sunday Evening from 5 pm to 9 pm we were taking care of the Beehive House. There was a lot of people coming to learn about Brigham Young.  The tours the Sisters take need to be spaced ten minutes apart.  My job is to tell about Brigham to keep the peoples interest while they are waiting for the tours.  So I was talking non stop for four hours.  My voice was just about given out.   Elder Holland told a story about Blyn Barrus who in Moms second cousin.  

It rained and rained and was very cold.  The Sister Missionaries all have matching umbrellas to use as they stand in the Rain.  We have several who are from Tropical Countries and this was their first time in the cold rain.  President Hinkley told the Mission that the Church doesn't want them to look like Nuns.  They are to wear as bright of colors as they have.  They look very good in their matching umbrellas and bright colors.
People who came were not prepared for the cold and rain.  We had a lot who were in white short sleeved shirts or summer dresses.  We have a overhead heater by the gate where people can get out of the rain and get warm.  We had a lot of people who needed to take advantage of our location.  

I went to the Priesthood session. It was so neat so be surrounded by priesthood holders from all over the world.  Ever third man had a translator head set on. 

It was great to be involved in helping many people from all over the world become  acquainted with Temple Square.

Sister Missonaries

Sunday is a great day for the Sisters on the Square.  Sister Wilson, one of our favorite Sisters is leaving for home.  This Sunday is her last day here.  She had permission to hug some of the Senior Elders.  Elder Glad was so thrilled to be able to hug her.  One of the Rules is that the Elders only get to shake the hands of the Sisters.  The Elder Sisters get to hug a lot. 

 
When Music and the Spoken Word is over the Sisters Temple Square Choir stands out side of the Tabernacle to share some of their favorite hymns.  It is really special to hear them every Sunday.  They are really great.  

Once a Month the Sisters put a special program, "Come unto Christ" where they sing and share their testimonies.  We are going to attend tonight again.  Next week the Spanish Sisters will also put on the same program in their language.

 
The Sisters meet the Guests out side of the Tabernacle to give them a opportunity to attend a Tour.  They hold signs up and greet the guests in the language they speak, and invite them to go on Tours with that language.  The Sisters are able to speak up to thirty five different languages. Their are many Sisters that can speak many languages.  We have a new Sister from Mongolia who can speak English, French, Russian, Japanese and of course Mongolian.  There is a Sister from Switzerland who can speak English, French, and Italian.  Most of the Sister Missionaries have to learn a new language when they come here, English.  
We have made a new friend on the Square, Jamone Pili.  He has received a Mission call to serve in Somoa.  The the original land of his family.  He had been a Member of the Church for only a year.  His Father is a Minister of another Christian Church and is opposed to his son going on this mission.  When he submitted his papers for the mission he received a reply that he was too over weight to go, that he needed to loose a least forty five pounds to be able to go on a mission.   This special young man met the mark, lost forty five pounds and is going next week.

Mom was thrilled to get a yellow Rose yesterday.  The was a group of young people on the square who were going to a dance at their High School that night.  They were on the Square as a part of a group to do some thing special before the dance.  They all brought Roses here and gave they out to some one who had a special experience that they would share.  We told them about the Nauvoo Mission.  We got a Rose.  The young people then spent time sharing with each other the stories they heard.  Our young people are very special.

Wedding Bells and Birthday Parties

Saturday was our son, Todd, and our new daughter-in-law, Shelly's Wedding.  We had all of the family here so it was not only a great event to have a new member of our family but also to be able to  see Roy and Angel and her family. 

We had a Wedding luncheon at our Condo Social room.  Todd and Shelly were having a great time "eating".  Shelly is a good sport and will add so much to our family. 

 
The reception was later that night with every one there.  Shelly was beautiful In Her gown .  The girls had great time.

While every one was here for the Wedding we had a "Big Birthday Party" for Bruce, Todd, Allison, Angel, Mom, Aaron, Nathan and Megan.  We have a lot of Birthdays that come close to the same time of the year. Roy and Angel were  here for the Wedding we decided to have a party while they were here in Utah.  Todd helped to pass our the Gifts.

Roy and Angel spent some time with us on the Square seeing the sights.   It was so nice to introduce our Grand kids to the Sister Missionaries.  
Grandma and Grandpa took the grand kids around the square.  We stopped at the Seagull Monument where Grandpa got to tell the story of how the Gulls saved the Saints.  

It was a really good week doing really important things like being with our Family

September on the Square

The Church has started a new program of inviting members of the church to come to Temple Square and see the sights and hear the testimony of the Sister Missionaries.  The first day of this program was Thursday the 11th.  There was more than 200 members of the Church that came to be involved  in the program.  We had some nonmember guests that thought the tours were the normal tours and followed them.   They came in to the testimony meeting that was held in the North Visitors Center after the tours were completed.  It was a error for them to be there but several came up to the Sisters to thank them for the special experience of being able to be there and see how important the Church was in their lives.   Some times we don't know what we do to touch others lives if even by accident.

We had a Missionary reunion on September the 8th for all of our friends that served with us in the Nauvoo Temple Mission.  It was held in the Lion House, in our back yard.  It was a very special event to see all of them.  It was also a great way to celebrate our 47th wedding anniversary.   We had a great day serving on the Square and then being with our friends on our special day.   

More on the Clark Family

I found this very interesting information on a blog. I was trying to found out if the Clark family story about John Alexander Clark being buried in Israel had anything to do with the church being able to construct the Jerusalem Center there.

I then went to the travel sites for LDS tours in Israel. I found that one of the sites they visit is at Hebron on Mt Carmel where two missionaries are buried. The the grave marker read that John Clark was a Missionary f0r the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. This fact was used to show that the Church was there prior to 1948, which was the criteria that the government of Israel required to construct the Jerusalem Center. The old head stone has been placed in a new granite marker.

Jimmy went in for his latest MRI. He is still free from and Cancer. The longer that he is free the less likely the that the it will come back.

We will be going to a Missionary Reunion for the Nauvoo Temple Square Mission Monday at the Lion House. It will be nice to see all of our old friends there. It will also by our 47th wedding anniversary, so we can kill two birds with one stone. We took Mom's wedding ring in to a Jeweler to get it repaired. We had 4 new diamonds put in the ring and the center stone reset so it would be more exposed. It was set two low to see the stone well. The ring looks great!

It has cooled down a lot. It was very nice last night while we were working at the Tabernacle to sit and enjoy the cool evening. Life is good.

March of the Apostles and other nice Neighbors

We just got in from the Patio where we were watching a major front come it to the valley. It was something to see it as it came from over the Lake across the airport and into Salt Lake City. The Temperature in Salt Lake Valley is suppose to drop from the 90s today to the low 60s tomorrow with snow in the mountains. This is Utah, if you don't like the weather just wait a while and it will change.

We were in the Tunnel system the other day walking from lunch in the Church Office Building Cafeteria back to The Joseph Smith Building when we came across the "March of the Apostles".
The Elders where going back to their offices in the Church Administration Building from their weekly Meeting in the Temple through the tunnel. There were four of them riding in a cart, Elders Packer, Ballard and Wirthin. Elders Holland, Oaks, Perry, Cook and Scott were walking in front. They went by so fast with their security that we could not see all of them. Mom was able to step in and shake the hand of Elder Oaks. It is nice to see all of the Apostles in some other setting than sitting up front at General Conference.

We are working in the Tabernacle on Sunday this transfer. Music and the Spoken Word is moving back to the Tabernacle next week from the Conference Center now that the heavy tourist season is over. Mom is excited to be assigned to the building when the Broadcast is going on.

We were walking down the hill the other morning to start our working day when we ran into Orrin Hatch and his wife. We had a short talk with him he is worried that the Bad Guys may get control of the Senate this next election. We told him that we lived in Zions Summit on the 8th floor and found out that they live on the 7th floor just under us. It is a small world.

Baptism and Bad Guys

It is hard to believe but we have had a Baptism. Damian our friend was Baptised a member of the Church last night the 23rd of August. Mom and I were there along with some of our Missionary friends, the Ownbys.

We met Damian while we were working at the Legacy Theater. We were visiting with the guests while we were waiting to start the movie. Damian told us that he had just arrived from Arizona, that he did now why he came to Utah. He said that he thought that he had come here for a special reason. He was looking for a place to stay and needed a job. I told him some about the Church and invited him to see the film "Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration". We met him at the exit of the movie to see what he thought of the film. He said that he felt like Joseph Smith in some ways. We gave him a "Book of Mormon" and the number for the Church employment office.

We thought that would be the end of the story as we were not able to get his phone number or place of residence. He had no phone and was looking for some where to stay. Several days passed and we were at the South Gate greeting guests, when who should walk by but Damian taking a short cut though the Square. We had a nice visit. He was still looking for a job but had found some where to stay for the short time. I told him to read 3rd Nephi 11 and Moroni in the Book of Mormon that we had given him. He still did not have a real address or phone number. More time passed when he appeared again as we were working at the Tabernacle. He said that he now had a Cell Phone and had had some part time jobs in construction and was living at a Hostel. I got his phone Number and and address and sent it to the Referral Center for the full time Missionaries to contact him. Several days later he came back looking for us. He said that he had some good interviews for a job with some call backs scheduled. I asked him if the Missionaries had been in touch with him. He said that he was disappointed because he had not yet heard from them. I took his Phone Number and Name to President Leech and asked him to contact the Mission Leaders in person. Damian Then came looking for us again with the news that he had a job and that he had the lessons and was committed to be baptised. Very few of the Missionaries on the Square get to see a Baptism because the referrals are sent to the full time missionaries in other missions or countries.

Mom was working at the at the East Desk of the South Visitors Center when a Man came in with no shoes on. He said that the Church was the cause of all his troubles that they had taken away his wife and kids. He then told Mom that if he did not get help that he would have to rob or kill someone. Mom then called security and he ran away. Security was able to catch him and escort him off the square. We found out that he then went to Welfare Square and made the same threats. He was then arrested and taken to Jail. Mom did such a job in being able to stay calm and call security. She was really upset after the event. The mission leaders said they did not remember anything that bad before.