Visit to Pine Valley Chapel

At Brigham Youngs house yesterday we started tours at 10 and never stopped until 3 o'clock.  I was able to give three Book of Mormons one to a girl from Slovokia the book was in Russian, another one to a girl from Thailand and one to a man from South Dakota. Had a really good day there were also  great members that came to learn more about Brigham. I hope some day when I come in contact with Brigham that I will feel like I did a good job. At night John Hamblin the great

great grandsom of Jacob Hamblin gave a talk about his grandfather Jacob  Hamblin. Today we had our first Sunday off so we asked the Shumways to go to church at the famous Pine Valley chapel which is 35 miles north of St. George. It was so green up there in the pines. This is a picture of Sister Chinen born in Japan and raised in Sacramento she wanted a picture of Darolyne and I when we were Young so i gave her some prints of us she is a great missionary and friend but is being transferred to Enterprise this transfer. The other picture is a Brother and Sister Flake from Snowflake Arizona. The Rodeo is in town and he is the announcer. He announces Rodeos all over the States, His great great grandfather founded Snowflake.

Rainy Season?

For last 3 or 4  days it has been raining steady and there is alot of street flooding and Virgin is as high as I have seen it in a long time. We really need the rain though. We have been busy again teaching the gospel to those who have never heard the story of the restoration.Amazing experiences we have. We will average about a book of Mormon a day to non members. The other day I gave 7 books to the People from France. kThe mission here gives more books of Mormon to the French than all the  missionaries in Franc in a year. Last year we had over 23000 people from France visit our sites. Total we had over 300 000 people visit our sites.

 We took Sister Guison from Missouri and Sister Avanesyan from Germany out o breakfast at the Egg and I. Sister Guison is going home this week She always calls me Elder Grandfather. Great missionaries. I took this picture of the temple on a rainy night this week. They are working on the temple for 3 weeks and some of the lights were out so I thought it made for a good photo.

Faruk

Yesterday was a great P Day finally we were able to go to Yard Sales. Coral Canyon had their annual sale. We must of went to 20 different homes. We were able to get a few picturer to hang and a table to put by Darolynes chair so she can set her food on it. That is the condition of being away for so long because we are set in our ways because Darolyne has her own chair and I have my own chair. It is funny when someone comes over and sits in her chair, I can see the blood a boiling....kind of. Friday night was the first Lecture of the year, we had a Faruk fellow who is an Iranian who joined the church and now lives in St.George. It was interesting to note that the Moslems do not like to be Christians because of how they believe God is. They like the LDS because our concept of God, that he is our literal Father,,, God the Father is our Father, Jesus Christ is his son and so am I his son, Jesus is my Savior. Today at the Tabernacle we had a few visitors I had a couple from California who were interested only about our history not our  Doctrine, then another couple from Venice California came in they were Hispanics and were interested in our Doctrine I gave them a Book of Mormon and asked where they thought the word Mormon came from, they did not know and I told them the story of Book of Mormon and how their heritage would go back to the Book of Mormon. Back to Faruk, He kept saying over and over again,, I Love the Book of Mormon..If people would read it they would know it is true.

Labor Day Weekend

Great couple of days, Joey and Jamie and kids came down and we had a good time with them. Yesterday at the Visitor Center a lot happened.A lot of people came in. First a couple from France came in and I got Sisters Brenna  and Sordes to teach them because they only spoke French; they spent and hour and a half with them and they left with a Book of Mormon in French. Then Joel Gardner from Orem came in with 30 of his family, then Darolyne gave a Book of Mormon to a young man from New Jersey who is in the Army and a man from Massechusetts. These two individuals were very interested in our Church. Then a man came in and Darolyne helped him he said he was in Prison for 5 years and read the Book of Mormon 7 times, he was recently diagnose with Cancer and wants to be baptized Sister Duval took him through the plan of happiness about the family. he left with tears in his eyes and said he was going to go call his daughter who he had not talked to in 12 years. A young family came in they were from Orem He just got his Doctorate in Hebrew from the University of Texas and is a Religion Professor at BYU. He was at Orem High when I was his Principal. It is interesting this call here in St, George, it seems almost every day we meet someone we connect with from the past.

Weeeeeee!! on P Day

It was a great p day..Governor Herbert called and asked if I would like to go golfing FREE at Sand Hollow  Resort. Yes Yes. I went had a great time. Then we went out to lunch with he and Jeannette. It was fun, Gov is a hoot. kept us in stitches. We did Brighams house and Darolyne was a great missionary working with two Deaf people and taught two couples from Poland giving them Book of Mormons. KC had a bad week being in the ER and worried about a stroke, or MS, turns out he had nerve damage because of all his physical activites, ie marathon, climbing the highest mountain in Idaho, biking etc. Jamie and Hailee took really good care of KC as his anxieties raged. Pictures from top to bottom. Governor Gary Herbert and I at hole #14 Sand Hollow, Hole # 14 at Sand Hollow, Mesquite Beans outside Jacobs house, this is what the Indians subsisted on, My sister Doris and my nephew Steve and his wife Lynnette Olsen at Brighams office building, The Leadership of the Historic Sites Mission,Elder Cannon, Elder Jarvis and Director of the Centers Elder Watkins.

Erastus Saves the Day

Quite the day at the Tabernacle. This is the last week for St.George Live where a bus takes a group of people to the sites and historic characters talk to them. At the Tabernacle it is always Erastus Snow that talks to them. This actor was very good a former Visitor Center missionary from 10 years ago. We had a bus show up and he came back to do his bit on his own in the afternoon. I had a visit from Frances Merrells granddaughter. Frances was my secretary when I was Principal at Naples Elementary. What a fun thing to catch up with her. She lives up north and is in her 80s. I had a couple visit from England, he was Jewish but not practicing. I told him I had Jewish blood in me also. She had no religion and was quite interested in our Church. He was interested in Geneology and I  gave him some material to get ahold of our church geneology department and Ancestor.com. I had a great discussion of where did we come from why are we here and where are we going. Darolyne had a couple from New Jersey and the man was a Luthern Minister. She held her own and actually was able to teach him about the Book of Mormon. Darolyne is becoming quite the missionary. Yesterday was our 47th anniversary. We went to the Mall after we did an afternoon at Jacobs. Also last night it rained . The news said it was the most it has rained for a year and it only rained a half of an inch.

Another Wonderful Day

Today we served in the Tabernacle. I met first with a couple and their young daughter from Germany by way of the Ukraine. They spoke broken English So I taught them a little about our Religion which they knew nothing. I sent them to the Visitor Center where there are German speaking sisters. I told the woman that she could get a Book of Mormon in Ukraine. I pray they made it to the visitor center. Then I worked with 4 single adults from Las Vegas. From them I got 6 referrals for the Sisters to make contact. Then a family from Germany came in for a tour, there was the husband wife and 2 teenage boys. I took them on tour and was able to place a Book of Mormon and other literature with them written in their language of German. Darolyne worked with some non members from Indiana and taught them the Gospel, they said they already had a Book of Mormon, they were interested in our Religion. All in all it was a great day a wonderful day. It rained today and yesterday and the temperature was in the 80s a very nice reprieve.