Sunday, July 09, 2017 – Sacrament Meeting Choir, Gary & Julie Burk, Core Cast Vignettes

For the past month we’ve been practicing  a special choir number for today’s Sacrament Meeting. It turned out very well. Our choir director, Sis. Johnson #1, did a great job preparing us and teaching us. It was a special choir number for a very special Sacrament meeting as the talks were all very good and the spirit was very strong throughout the meeting.

We got a big surprise after church today. Sis. Johnson’s brother, Gary Burk and his wife Julie, popped in on us unexpectedly. They have been in Des Moines, IA on business and decided to swing by for a visit. Wow, what a pleasant surprise and fortunately it was on a Sunday afternoon we didn’t have an assignment in one of the historic sites. We got to be with them most of the afternoon.

This was a first time visit for both Gary and Julie so the top priority was to take them to Carthage and the tour of the Carthage Jail. In my mind Carthage is one of the most sacred and hallowed places in our mission. It is a “must visit” for anyone coming to Nauvoo and wanting to see all the Church history available here. To stand in the room were Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred is a powerful and moving experience. We could really feel the spirit as we stood in the very room where they sealed their testimony of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with their blood. 

There is too much to see and do in a single afternoon but we gave it a good shot. After Carthage we went to the Smith Family Cemetery, The Seventy’s Hall, The Trail of Hope and the Pioneer Memorial on the banks of the Mississippi River. We didn’t have much time so Sis. Johnson and I enjoyed giving Gary and Julie a driving tour of other historic sites like the Blacksmith Shop, Cultural Hall, The family Living Center, Scovil Bakery and Lyon Drug Herb gardens.

With only an hour left in the afternoon Sis. Johnson went home to prepare dinner and Gary and Julie continued on with their visits to other historic sites like the Jonathan Browning Home & Gunsmith Shop and the Brick Yard. I guess the best part of the day was just being with family and visiting. It was so enjoyable and such a surprise to have them here for the afternoon.

This evening we attended a special Sociable (Fireside in Nauvoo) put on by the Pageant Core Cast of actors and singers. They performed the vignettes for us that they will be doing on the grounds of Old Navuoo for the next three weeks. These vignettes are put on during the day and evening at several of the historic sites. Since the Senior missionaries are usually working during the day and performing in the evening, they almost never get to see these wonderful productions by the Core Cast. For many of the Seniors, this will be their only chance to see these great shows.