One of our favorite scriptures is found in The Book of Mormon, 3Nephi 17: 23-24, when Jesus visits the Americas and speaks to the multitude saying:
"Behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes toward heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as if it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them(the little children)."
"Behold your little ones. And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes toward heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as if it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them(the little children)."
In our blog today you will find experiences when we were "encircled about with fire". At times, the fire was powered by the Spirit of God, while other times, the fire consisted of actual, physical flames. As you view our pictures and read about our experiences, we hope you will feel the warmth of our Nauvoo Temple Mission igniting the fire within you also as we share our past 2 weeks with you.
In our last blog post, we told about the blessed opportunity we had of having a special visit from President Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of The 12 Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We gathered on the steps of the Nauvoo Temple for a group photo with him and with Elder Soares of The Seventy and Sister Soares. It was a snowy, frozen morning so we are all bundled up in our Winter coats, but The Spirit burned brightly and "encircled us about with fire."
We are on the back row.
We are on the back row.
Elder Peterson is behind our Temple President, Richard Irion
Sister Peterson is behind our Temple Matron, Sister Irion and President Nelson
March 20, 2017, our Nauvoo Temple Missionary group met in the Red Brick Store to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the organization of the Relief Society. Organized by The Prophet Joseph Smith, under the direction of the Priesthood, it was originally named The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo at the first meeting which was held in the original Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois, March 17, 1842. Some of us participated in a Readers Theater written by Marjorie H. Rice and directed by Sister RuthAnn Smith, our Assistant Temple Matron. Elder Peterson played the role of Willard Richards, and Sister Peterson was Nancy Naomi Alexander Tracy. In corresponding with the writer of this script following our production, I found out that the sister I portrayed was actually Sister Rice's husband's 2nd great grandmother and her lines in the program were taken from her journal. The feeling of being in the place, though rebuilt, where the Relief Society was organized was powerful. We sang,"The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning" as the presentation commenced. That same powerful Spirit "encircled" us all throughout the event.
Artist portrayal of the First Relief Society
Here are the words of Nancy Naomi Alexander Tracy which I spoke, portraying the early Relief Society spirit: What a blessing it was to share her powerful words 175 years later.
"The Relief Society was organized with 28 original sisters, some of whom were not in attendance at the first meeting. At the second meeting, 48 new sisters were added. I, Nancy Naomi Alexander Tracy, was blessed to be one of those sisters! Eight subsequent meetings of the Relief Society were held in this room (The Red Brick Store upper room). Sometimes, Brother Joseph (Smith) would come and instruct us. I remember one very special day when Emma (First President of the Relief Society and wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith) brought Brother Joseph with her. He prayed at the opening of the meeting. He was so full of the Spirit of God! His whole frame shook and his face shown and looked almost transparent. Oh, so many great and glorious instructions were given to us here in this room!"
Inside the Red Brick Store Upper Room
Sister Burgoyne (L) and Sister Udall(R)
"The Society is not only to relieve the poor, but to save souls" Joseph Smith
On Monday, March 27, 2017, we were all planning to attend the annual Prairie Burn here in Old Nauvoo. However, we have been experiencing Spring rain storms, so the event was postponed until Friday, March 31st, when we were literally "encircled about with fire". For our Family Home Evening activity, President Durell Nelson, 1st Counselor in the Nauvoo Temple Presidency, shared a most informative presentation with us about Prairie Fire Burns. He is the Horticulturist for Nauvoo Restoration.
Here are some interesting facts he shared with us about the Prairie and the Burn:
1-Prairie means Meadow in French
2-There were originally 170 million acres of Prairie in the United States, 1/5 of the US
3-There are 60 species of grass in a Prairie
4-They used 5 species of grass in 1992 to start the Prairie here in Nauvoo
5- Prairies were referred to as 'The Lawns of God'
6- 1 acre of Prairie produces 24,000 pounds of roots
7- A Prairie can handle 9 inches of rain per hour without having any runoff
8- In 1830 there were 100 million Bison living on the Prairie eating and fertilizing the land
9- By 1893, there were only 600 living Bison on the Prairie
10-Today only 1% of virgin Prairie is left in the United States
11- The most feared aspect of living on the Prairie were the fires caused by lightening
12- Prairie fires travel up to 100 miles per hour and burn as hot as 700 degrees Fahrenheit
13- Prairie fires are an important ingredient in the renewal of the Prairie
13- The topsoil between Nauvoo and Carthage is 33 feet deep, a result of the Prairie cycle
Here in Old Nauvoo, there is currently a one acre Prairie. It is just a couple blocks away from where we live. We joined with the Site Missionaries and the Temple Missionaries, plus other interested town residents to enjoy a Hot Dog picnic supper and watch the much anticipated Prairie Burn last Saturday night. Due to the wet and very chilly weather of the past week, we experienced more of a Prairie smolder than a burn. Nonetheless, we enjoyed watching as the Nauvoo Fire Department was vigilantly monitoring the situation. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of this year's Nauvoo Prairie Burn.
The Prairie Burn Hot Dog Picnic
Nauvoo Prairie before the Burn
The Temple view from the Prairie Burn
The morning after at the Prairie Burn
We end our blog today by sharing a few pictures of Springtime in our neighborhood.
Purple blossoming "Henbit" It is a weed, but beautiful!
We are grateful for the spirit of Nauvoo which we feel "encircling us with fire" through the Love of The Lord. This is true whether we are serving in His Holy House, The Sacred Nauvoo Temple, or just taking a walk around our sweet neighborhood. May your homes and families be "encircled about" with the Love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We send our love to you!
Elder and Sister Peterson in Nauvoo
And we love you right back! Thanks for coming and adding to the Spirit of Nauvoo
ReplyDelete