Message 6 January 2013

Dear Family & Friends,

This has been a great week with many varied experiences.  Monday was New Year’s Eve day.   We had our Monday Mission Office Staff meeting at 9am.  In the meeting Elder Ellis shared some pictures they took the previous week when they visited the brother of Elder Ellis and his wife in Bainbridge NY.  This is the town where Josiah Stowell lived in 1825 at the time Joseph Smith went to work for him to earn some money to help pay for completing the construction of the Frame home on the Smith farm in Palmyra.  While working for Josiah, Joseph also met Newell Knight; and he also met Emma Hale from Harmony PA.  The brother of Elder Ellis has a sister-in-law and her husband who also live in Bainbridge and she and her husband have the keys to the home of Newell Knight.  Elder Ellis had taken pictures of these homes, both outside and inside them; and he also shared with us the history of the two homes there and the Knight family and the Stowell family.  It was very interesting to see these homes and learn some more details of the families.  Newell Knight is the great-grandfather of Jesse Knight who had the financial means to do so much good for the church and helped save BYU from financial ruin.  After the staff meeting we stayed and accomplished a number of essential things and then we went home around 3pm and spent the evening together.

Tuesday, New Year’s Day, Sister Jensen went to the President’s home to help Sister Christianson and Sister Servoss provide a meal for some missionaries who were returning home on Wednesday morning early.  While she was gone I worked on putting some books and other items in boxes and taping them closed so we could send some things home in the mail that we do not have room to take with us in the car.  When Sister Jensen arrived back home we finished boxing a few more things and got all the boxes taped and ready to mail home on Wednesday.

Wednesday we put the nine boxes of things in the car and took them to the Office with us, and then during lunch we went to the Post Office and paid for the postage to send them to April, who will take them over to our home for us.  Wednesday I also went to the McClouth Chev Dealer in Macedon and picked up the needed paperwork to take to the NY DMV Office to obtain an interstate transit permit for a 2013 Chev Van that was delivered here to our mission instead of being delivered to the Cleveland Ohio mission.  The purpose of the permit was to make it possible for Elder Jacklin to come and get the van and drive it to Cleveland and register it in Ohio.  We did not want to register the vehicle in NY and then one week later also register it in Ohio.  The transit permit only costs $12.50; the registration cost to register it in both states would have been around $400.00.  When I went to obtain the permit, the Church Insurance Co. had not yet sent proof of insurance to the NY DMV; so I could not get the permit on Wednesday.

We have nine Subaru Legacy’s in our fleet of cars for the mission; and I had received a recall notice for all nine of them to have the engine control module corrected to prevent a possible problem.  So I had to call the missionaries who drive these cars and find out when they could take the cars to have this warranty work done; and then I had to make appointments with the Subaru Dealer.  Then I had to call the missionaries back and tell them the day and time they had to take their cars to be done; and also give them the address where to take them and other insturctions.  Wednesday evening we went to the Site Meeting at the Hill Cumorah to take some mail Sister Jensen had for some missionaries.  I also took care of a few items on some vehicles.  After we got home I received a call from some Elders that they had an accident and had damaged their car when they hit an ice chuck in the road.  I told them to call me Thursday morning and I would fill out the online accident report.  I also arranged for them to come to the office at 2pm so I could get pictures of the damage and also so we could go get a repair estimate so I could send both the pictures and the repair estimate to the insurance.

Wednesday and Thursday I had a number of the monthly car reports the missionaries sent in that I had to check over and get recorded.  Thursday morning first thing I had to take a Subaru over to the dealer for the warranty work I mentioned above.  This Subaru was parked at the mission office because it was not being used for a week until transfers next week.  Then I had to go pick it up when it was done and pay for it and another Subaru that was also done at the same time.  At 2pm the Elders who had the accident the night before came and I took pictures of the damage to their car and then we went and obtained a repair estimate.  Later in the afternoon we went back to the NYS DMV with the insurance card that came Thursday morning for the new van.  This time I succeeded in obtaining the transit permit for the new van.  We then went to the McClouth Chev dealer and picked up the van and drove it to the Mission Office and left it; then we made it home about 6:30pm.  I called Elder Jacklin in Cleveland to let him know I had the van and the transit permit, and asked him when he wanted to come and get the van.  He said he would make a few calls and then call me back.  When he called back he said his mission president had instructed him that he and Sister Jacklin and Elder & Sister Holley, an MLS couple in their mission, would come on Friday, the next day, and then go back to Cleveland on Saturday.  We had talked earlier and we had offered to take them to the Church History sites while they were here if they wanted.  We offered to have them stay with us Friday night.  Since neither couple had been to the Church History sites here we made plans to take them.  So we worked things out to take them to a couple of sites Friday evening and then to the Palmyra Temple Saturday morning for an endowment session.  Then we would take them to the Sacred Grove on Saturday after the temple session, and then they could go home Saturday afternoon.

Friday morning we both tried to catch up on things that were not done so we would be ready to go with the Jacklin’s and Holley’s when they arrived.  Sister Jensen helped get some things, including some snacks, set up for the President to train some missionaries who he had called to be the trainers for the new missionaries who will arrive next week.  Friday afternoon the Jacklin’s and Holley’s arrived about 4pm.  When I saw Elder Holley I knew exactly who he was, he is Dennis, a son of Mac Holley; and Anne’s nephew.  The Holley’s have almost completed their mission in the Cleveland Mission; they have done an MLS mission in Canton OH and have done wonderful things there.  They will leave for home the week after we leave.  What a great privilege to spend time with these two couples who have Mapleton UT ties.  We decided to first go to the Book of Mormon Publishing Site since they closed at 5pm; then we would get some dinner and go to the Hill Cumorah Visitor’s Center after dinner because they were open until 9pm.  Sister Jones and Sister Gillespie provided the tour at the Grandin Building; but they had to leave for an appointment before we were finished, so Elder Fuller, a senior missionary and also the site supervisor for the Grandin builing, finished the tour.  He shared some additional things with us that most people would not get to hear.  He told us that recently, Elder & Sister Howell were at the Grandin building and two men came in.  One of the men said to Elder Howell, I am Bruce Grandin, a great-great grandson of Egbert Grandin who published the Book of Mormon.  We have a ledger here with us that my aunt had which belonged to Egbert Grandin.  The ledger has in it the names of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris and some other names that are probably something to do with your church.  We are wondering if the church would be interested in the ledger.  After Elder Howell got his mouth closed, he said I am sure they would be interested.  Contacts were made and arrangements were made to have Bruce meet with Elder Snow and other Church History people this Tuesday, January 8^th.  Elder Fuller had been on the phone with Bruce for about 40 minutes Friday afternoon before we arrived.  In their conversation they became well enough acquainted that Bruce is going to come to Preston ID when Elder Fuller gets home in September and elder Fuller is going to take him snowmobiling.  I would love to be a silent observer to the meeting on Thursday.  What an awesome thing to discover and to have non-members of the church bring it to the very place where in the ledger had been used and written in; and offer it to the church.  Watch for some kind of news report about the meeting; it may not be made known until later, but I think it will be in the news before too long.

After the six of us left the Grandin Building we went to the Yellow Mills Restaurant just west of Palmyra and had a nice dinner together.  We then went to the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center and spent an hour or so.  We then drove to our home in Mendon.  Since we only have one extra bedroom, Elder and Sister Jacklin stayed with us and Elder &Sister Holley stayed across the street with the Servoss’s.

Saturday morning we had a nice breakfast, Sister Jensen made some quiche, and I helped a little with some French toast.  We had maple syrup we purchased from a maple syrup farm about a mile and a half from where we live.  We also had fruit, and the Servoss’s had brought some venison bacon someone had given them, it was pretty good bacon.   After we ate we went to the Palmyra Temple for the 9:30am session.  We had a wonderful temple session together.  We saw three temple workers who are members of the Brockport ward who were helping that day.  One was Ed Westphal, and the others were Brother and Sister Griffin; it was nice to see them.  Before we left the temple we looked out the west window where we could see down in to the Sacred Grove; what a great experience we had together.  After the temple session, we went to the Joseph Smith Farm and the Sacred Grove.  Sister Green, who finishes her mission on Tuesday, took us on a tour of the log home and the frame home where the Smith family lived.  The six of us were blessed to be the people in the last tour she will give on her mission.  It was a very spiritual experience to go from the Palmyra Temple to the Sacred Grove, and have Sister Green provide her last tour.  The Spirit was very strong, Sister Green had a difficult time and shared her testimony in pieces along the way; then at the end of the tour by the Cooper Shop she shared a very powerful and spiritual witness of the truths she has been teaching for the last 18 months.  Heavenly Father was so good to us while we were together in these sacred places.  We then walked out in to the Grove and I shared some of the things I have been taught and learned about the Grove while we have been here.  We then drove down Stafford Rd. so I could show them where Porter Rockwell lived and where the saw mill was located that provided the timber and lumber for the log home and the frame home back in the 1820’s.  Then I also showed them where the school was in which Oliver Cowdery taught before becoming the scribe for Joseph Smith during the translation of the Book of Mormon.  Then we drove over to the top of the Hill Cumorah and took a few pictures and I shared some additional information about the Hill that I have been taught and seen.  We then drove up to the Martin Harris Home and took a few pictures.  We then drove to the Mission Office so they could get the new van to return to Cleveland.  After they had their things moved in to the new van, Elder Jacklin gave me the keys to the old van.  I asked him why he was giving me those keys and he said I am supposed to leave it here so someone who has purchased it can pick it up here.  I did not know anything about this, but I trust Elder Jacklin, so I now have the old van they had.  Elder Holley invited us all to go have dinner together before they headed back to Cleveland; so we went to the UNO Chicago Grill and had some dinner together.  They then left for Cleveland in the new van and are safely back in Cleveland.  We arrived home and did the dishes from breakfast since we did not have time to do them before going to the temple.  Elder Servoss brought over some chicken for Sister Jensen to cook that is for chicken enchiladas for next Friday for Zone Leader Council.  We watched an old movie and Sister Jensen did some washing and drying of our clothes.  We watched some of the local news and the weather and went to bed.

Today was the first Sunday of the first month of a new year.  It was a great testimony sharing meeting.  In the High Priest’s Group we had a good lesson and discussion using the conference talk given by President Monson in the October 2012 Priesthood Session.

This coming week is transfers; we have 11 new missionaries coming.  This will be our last transfer of our mission; we are pretty sure we get to stay together as companions for this last transfer.

It was a marvelous and spiritual blessing and privilege to be together with the Jacklin’s and Holley’s in the places where Heavenly Father and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith; and where Moroni appeared multiple times.  There is also a special feeling in the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was published.  There was divine intervention to bring together all that was needed to have the Book of Mormon published where it was.  We know with absolute certainty by the power of the Holy Ghost that the sacred events that took place at these sites actually happened.  We can feel that witness every time we go to these places; we know it is all true and that through studying, praying about, and living the truths restored in the Book of Mormon and through the Prophet Joseph Smith; we can find the joy and happiness Heavenly Father has to offer all of us.

We love you and pray for you every day; we know you are all receiving many blessings in your own lives.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Maxine & Richard