Thursday, July 7, 2016 – Storm aftermath, Hughes Brothers

This morning Sis. Johnson and I were hurrying to get our work done because we knew a large storm was headed our way. Well, it hit at 8:30AM and it was a dozy! Vertical rain caused limbs and tree branches to be torn loose and strewn everywhere. When it started to rain, Sis. Johnson and I headed for our house to get out of the deluges but in the short distance we had to run, we were both soaked to the bone by the downpour. 

Later, after the rain stopped, Scott Higley, my boss arrived from Nauvoo. When he saw the debris everywhere he jokingly asked if it was a tornado that hit us? Then he told me about the same storm that hit Nauvoo. He said he had a crew of men working on the temple grounds fixing sprinklers. He said they saw the storm approaching, they heard the thunder in the distance but they kept working. Then, all of a sudden they saw the flash of light and a simultaneous clap of deafening thunder. They all looked up in time to see the angle Moroni on top of the temple being hit by lightning! 

Scott said that there was no damage to the Angle Moroni on top of the temple. In fact there is a lightning rod coming out of the top of the statue’s head which is intended to take a direct lightning strike and channel the bolt to ground without hurting the statue or the building. But when it happened, Scott’s work crew high tailed it out of there and headed for the safety of their vehicle. 

This evening Sis. Johnson & I (along with 22 other Senior Missionaries) attended a show called “The Hughes Brother’s Show.” The Hughes brothers and their families all live and perform in Branson, Missouri. They have their own theater there and are a very successful “Song & Dance” group.

And, WOW . . . What a great show. The five brothers put on a wonderful show but they also include their wives and kids. And talk about great little performers they have for children, they were astonishing. Sis. Johnson and I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Interestingly, the director of our “Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo” is Sis. Lowe is from Branson, Missouri. She is good friends with and has worked with the Hughes family in the past. Also, the Hughes brothers and their families are all LDS and originally from Utah. They have been living in and performing in Branson, MO. for 22 years now.

There was a “Pre-show” performance by local students that lasted a half hour before the Hughes Brothers and Family came on the stage. They were good and very entertaining. As I watched I kept saying to myself, I know that boy there on the right. As it turned out, I was correct. His name is Hyrum Hallman and for his summer job he works in the lawn mower shop at FM in Nauvoo! I get to see him often there. I had no idea he was so talented and such a great singer. As it turns out all but one of the teenagers in the “Pre-Show” show are LDS.