Heartfelt Thanks

Last Wednesday evening.  Makes my heart happy :0)

"We give heartfelt thanks to the pioneers who were valiant, strong and true."  It's a line from one of the songs we sing in "Sunset by the Mississippi."  I really do give heartfelt thanks to the pioneers. I just can't adequately describe how full my heart is with love.  I have learned so much from them about dedication, focus and obedience. We are just beginning the busy season and things are gearing up.  There are thousands of people who have planned a summer vacation to come here.  I hope they don't just "come" to Nauvoo, but that they "feel" Nauvoo.

Last week Scott and I went with the Thatchers to the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois.  It is a military installation that produces ammunition and artillery.  The museum has a collection of examples of all of the ammunition/artillery that they have produced over time. It’s a pretty fascinating collection. After the arsenal we stopped at the National Cemetery before leaving Rock Island.  I’m not sure what happened, but as soon as I stepped out of President Thatcher’s truck I felt overwhelmed with feelings of love for those who were buried there, for their sacrifice.  I looked out over the rows of headstones with the small American flags flying next to each one. Each of those headstones represented not only a person whose life was lost in a war, but also a family who felt the pain of losing a loved one.  Some of the soldiers had served in multiple wars, like WWI and again in WWII.  I thought of my dad who served in Vietnam.  Growing up in a military family I was always proud of what he had done and how he served our country.  I wondered though if I had expressed enough gratitude and appreciation to him for his service. He passed away two years ago this month.  I hope now he understands my gratitude.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the heart.  The Bible dictionary says that the heart is a symbol of the mind and will of man and the figurative source of all emotions and feelings.  There are some great scriptures that describe what the state of the heart should be.  They describe how we should feel towards God and the things of God.   There are times when I don’t feel like my heart is very holy and I love the things of the world more than I love the things of God.  But that’s not what I want.  I want to love the Lord with all my heart, to have clean hands and a pure heart and to seek him with all my heart.  It’s a work in progress and I am ever so grateful for the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I am grateful for scripture that teaches, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Making my heart right IS possible and I know that if I will have a broken heart and contrite spirit, seek to have an understanding heart, prepare my heart to receive personal revelation and fill my heart with love, that I can have peace and happiness, knowing that I am trying to have a clean heart before God.

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks:

Cleaning the statues of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young
that are at the end of Parley Street with our mission district.
 What a combination those two men are!

After cleaning the statues we had a little district barbecue:
E/S Jensen, E/S Baker, & E/S Julander

What a view from Sarah Granger Kimball's home.

The home of Sarah Granger Kimball.

Rock Island National Cemetery

The Mississippi River has flooded at the end of Parley.  Over the last
 few weeks it has rained so much that the ground is saturated and
there's nowhere for the water to go.  All up and down the Mississippi
there are bridges closed, streets under water and buildings damaged. 
Thankfully, here in Nauvoo, we haven't experienced those same issues. 

Civil War battle re-enactment at Pittsfield, Illinois.