A FACELIFT FOR OUR MURAL

As a teenager, one of my favorite books was The Agony and the Ecstacy, by Irving Stone. 

The Agony and the Ecstasy (1961) is a biographical novel of Michelangelo Buonarroti written by American author Irving Stone. My favorite part of the book tells of Michelangelo painting his famous mural in the Sistine Chapel.

Recently we had our own "Michael" painting a mural here in Palmyra.

Missionaries serving here at the Church Historic Sites love our "Christus" statue.  It is especially fitting that the background for the Chritus statue in our visitors' center is a mural of the Sacred Grove. 

Unfortunately, after 9 years of afternoon sun shining into the Christus Room, the mural had become faded.  It was decided that it needed a facelift. 

 Beginning in April, Michael set up his scaffolding, mixed his paints and began his work.

 It took many hours to bring the mural to life and it was fun to watch the process.  Michael worked as we gave our tours. He estimated that he heard the Christus room tour over 300 times!

We all enjoyed watching his progress as he worked patiently on the trees, leaves, grass, sky and ground.

Finally, 4 weeks later, Michael was finished with his mural masterpiece.  Below is the final result; this picture of the mural and Michael was taken on the day he returned home to Utah.  He stayed up all night to finish in time to catch his plane home.

                                                                   

Our Site Directors (below) were a great help to Michael, setting the building alarm after hours so he could work late and helping him clean up when he finished.

                                                            

Michael said the caretaker of the Sacred Grove was a great inspiration to

him.

The caretaker took him onto the Hill Cumorah and showed him various types of trees and how they grow.

Michael added details we all love about the Sacred Grove, like leaves,

grass and rocks,

young saplings

and of course, majestic, towering trees.

These two sister missionaries were teaching Michael in the Christus room one day as he was painting. They needed to practice teaching and asked to teach him.  He agreed and said his favorite Gospel topic was "Faith" so they taught from 

Alma 32 comparing the "word" (Gospel) unto a seed.  It inspired him to paint this seedling, so the sister missionaries could always remember they taught the lesson:  ". . . but behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good." 

We love our Christus and we love our new mural.  Thank you Michael. To learn more about the Christus statue, originally crafted by Danish sculptor Bertel Torvaldsen, click here:

Bertel Torvaldsen's Christus Video

THE MOVE!!!

Last week was the big move.  Well, not really a big move, since we only moved 3 miles and didn't have to move dishes, furniture, etc. . . just our clothes, food, and personal items.  Using these trusty moving tools: scissors, marker and tape, along with boxes, we packed our belongings from our cute little apartment on Stafford Road.

Below you see our packed boxes placed in the back hallway of our Stafford Road apartment.

On Monday, November 2, we left this very nice missionary apartment in the basement of this white house on Stafford Road in Palmyra . . .

 . . . with this beautiful view of the Sacred Grove out our back window . . .

  . . .and this view of the Palmyra Temple from our front yard.

We packed our boxes in our little PT Cruiser, just about 9 months after we packed them to move from Oregon, and moved to State Route 21 in Palmyra.  We had almost all of our belongings in our car when we left Oregon (a few boxes were shipped later - well, maybe more than a few) But, it took us six trips to move all of our belongings this time.  So, here is the million dollar question: "How will we get it all home?"

Until we could unpack we stored our belongings in the garage of our new apartment on State Route 21.

Then we unpacked into this very nice missionary apartment in the basement of the left wing of the Hill Cumorah Visitors' Center. . .

  . . .with this beautiful view of the Hill Cumorah out our back window . . .

  . . . and this view of the Christus in the Hill Cumorah Visitors' Center from our front yard.

So, why did we move?  Elder Watts was called to be the assistant director to Elder Lenker who is  Director of the Visitors' Center and Historic Sites, and Sister Watts was called to be the finacial secretary to Elder Lenker.  Elder Watts is also now the site supervisor of the Hill Cumoroah Visitors' Center.  It is easier to fulfill our new responsibilities in this new apartment.  We will continue with our previous assignments as well: Working at the four historic sites here in the area, working with members, investigators, and new converts in the Rochester 2nd Ward, and working in the Palmyra Temple on Friday evenings. 

We feel so blessed because of the wonderful experiences we are having as a result of serving as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We recommend serving a mission to all senior couples who can possibly go.  It is worth the sacrifice!

Here is a powerful quote by President Monson about senior couples serving missions:

"And now to you mature brothers and sisters: we need many, many more senior couples. To the faithful couples now serving or who have served in the past, we thank you for your faith and devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. You serve willingly and well and accomplish great good.

To those of you who are not yet to the season of life when you might serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when you and your spouse might do so. As your circumstances allow, as you are eligible for retirement, and as your health permits, make yourselves available to leave home and give full-time missionary service. There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full-time service together in the work of the Master."
                                     General Conference Address - October 2010

FIFTEEN MILES ON THE ERIE CANAL - Part 2

When our children were in grade school, they had a yearly musical program where they performed songs that they learned in music class. I was especially impressed by one song that they not only sang, but also added actions. It was the Erie Canal song and when they sang, "Low bridge, everybody down" all of the students ducked as they were singing. Little did I realize those many years ago I would be living so close to the Erie Canal later in my life.  The song was written in 1905 by Thomas S. Allen to memorialize the canal's early heyday when barges were pulled by mules.  Listen to the song at this link.

We have learned while serving our mission here in Palmyra to love and appreciate the Erie Canal.  In fact, each time our family members come to visit we take a ride with them on the Erie Canal.  As you view the pictures of the Erie Canal and our family (narration typed in black), I will explain some of the history of the canal and why it is so important to New York and to the beginnings of our church (typed in blue).

We like to ride the Sam Patch Erie Canal boat that leaves from the Village of Pittsford.  It is a replica of an early canal boat and is run by a non-profit organization.  The Erie Canal was began in 1817 and completed in 1825, opening shipping lanes from the east coast to the Great Lakes.  It was originally 363 miles long, spanning from the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo.

Our daughter and her family from Oregon came to visit us in May.  They wait on the bank of the Erie Canal to begin their boat ride.  The boats are now powered diesel engines, but originally they were pulled by mules, horses and oxen driven along a towpath by a young boy called a "hoggee".

When it was under construction it was called "Clinton's Big Ditch" named after New York Governor, Dewitt Clinton, a strong supporter of the project.

The Erie Canal was an engineering marvel when it was built.  It was dug by men using shovels.  Originally it was 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide.

Elder Watts and our newest grandson enjoyed their ride on the canal.

Isn't the canal beautiful? (above) These two grandsons came with another daughter and her family to visit in August. (below)  When first constructed one of the beauties of the Erie Canal was that it cut transportation costs by 95% and fostered a population surge in Western New York State.  New York City became the chief US port.

Our granddaughter (above) and her entire family (below) pronounced the ride a great success!  The canal was also a great success, recently recognized as the most successful and influential human built waterways and one of the most important works of civil engineering and construction in North America.

Below are more beautiful pictures of the canal, now called the barge canal after it was enlarged to carry barges in the early 1900s.

These next five pictures show us going through lock 32.  It is quite an experience as the boat enters an area enclosed by doors on both ends.  When the boat is working its way upstream, as in this case, the lock water is poured in at an amazing rate to bring the water level in the lock up to the same level as the water on the other side of the lock.  Once the water is the same level, the door is opened and the boats continue on their journeys.

The original canal had 83 locks to help the boats navigate up and down the river.  There is a rise of 568 feet from the Hudson River to Lake Erie.

Our two granddaughters from Minnesota (below) came to visit in September and they enjoyed their ride on the canal.  Their ride wasn't as long as Governor Clinton's ride in 1825 when he sailed from Buffalo to New York City.  On that occasion, the opening of the totally completed canal, he ceremonially poured Lake Erie water into the New York Harbor to mark the "wedding of the waters".

Our daughter and her husband enjoyed the ride too, and our granddaughters enjoyed their grandpa.

The building (below) is an original barn from the horse, donkey and oxen days of  the Erie Canal.  The animals would walk for 15 miles on the towpath, a 10 foot path along the banks of the canal.  After 15 miles they were allowed to rest in the barn and new animals were brought out to pull the boat.

Each time we have been on the Erie Canal we have enjoyed the beautiful wildlife.  This blue heron was fun to watch land and sit on the post.  Another one was busy looking for dinner.

This family of ducks were quick to swim out of the way of our boat as we moved through the water.

Lost of ducks make the canal their home. 

The Erie Canal also played an important role in early church history.  As you can see from this map below, Palmyra was an important city along the route of the Erie Canal.  In fact, the original canal was very near the E.B. Grandin bookstore, bindery and print shop where the first copies of the Book of Mormon were published.  Because of the fact that the Erie Canal was finished just 4 years before Joseph Smith approached E.B. Grandin to ask him to print the Book of Mormon, it made it possible for supplies, including Grandin's new press to be shipped to Palmyra for a fraction of what the cost would have been prior to the canal being finished.

It is also believed that Alvin, Joseph Smith's older brother helped build the Erie Canal to make a payment on the family farm. 

One of my favorite miracles in early church history also involves the canal.  Lucy Smith, the prophet Joseph Smith's mother, was helping a group of Saints move from New York to Ohio.  They rode the canal to Buffalo, being stopped on the way because of a break in the canal. When the group arrived in Buffalo, they found that ships were unable to move on the lake because large pieces of ice jammed the harbor. Lucy had faith that the Lord would help them. When the Saints got on board a ship the next morning, she persuaded the group to unite together in faith and pray to the Lord to break the pieces of ice. She explained, “A noise was heard, like bursting thunder. The captain cried, ‘Every man to his post.’ The ice parted, leaving barely a passage for the boat, and so narrow that as the boat passed through the buckets of the waterwheel were torn off with a crash. … We had barely passed through the avenue when the ice closed together again” (Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, pp. 204–5).

This miracle and many others blessed the early Saints as they strived to live the principles of the Gospel.  Learn more about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ by going to http://mormon.org/.