Poison Ivy!

One thing we don't have a lot of where we live in Utah is any of the poison family of plants such as Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, etc.

Well, they do have those in abundance here in Ohio! Sister Caldwell can (unfortunately) attest to that!

This is a shot of her arm about 10 days after she apparently played in a nice patch of Poison Ivy! Not fun!

Attending a funeral

The mother of one of the men who actually works at the historic sites, passed away unexpectedly a couple of days ago. We are at the lunch following the services right now.

It's been an interesting experience. Have not attended a non-LDS service before. It was conducted in what appeared by name to probably be a Jewish funeral home, by a Catholic Priest. The lunch is in a Methodist Church but provided by an LDS Relief Society. Wow!

Johnson Farm Part 2

The Johnson's had a rather large pantry in their home. It was right off the kitchen and would likely be stocked mostly with things produced right on the farm. Additional storage was had in the basement (which were seldom used for living space then) where it was cool and moist.

The second picture is of the "Master Bedroom" on the main floor, where grandma and grandpa Johnson would have slept. It is just to the left as you enter the front door and is also where we think Joseph and Ema slept during the year they stayed here.  There is in reality some disagreement as to which room was actually theirs, but this seems the most likely to us.  It is also the room as determined by Karl Anderson, who wrote "Joseph Smith's Kirtland'. As we have spoken with him, we agree that there is no other place where grandpa and grandma Johnson would have put Joseph and Ema.

This, then, is where they were when a mob came, dragged Joseph from the home and tarred and feathered him.

The floor has an interesting pattern to it. We know it was the original pattern used by the Johnson's.  Care was taken during restoration, to peel through the layers, down to the original.  Under the bed, in the corner, still remains some of the original paint, left unrestored.

In the next post, the 'Revelation Room'.

Johnson Farm

Realized we really haven't posted much about grandpa Johnson's farm, for some reason. Just sort of slipped by us somehow!

The Johnson farm holds a very special place in the history of the Church -- much of it good, some of it not so good.

We travel to the Johnson home once each week to clean, repair help maintain the inside and also prune, weed, plant flowers, etc. on the outside. It is something we quite enjoy and look forward to each week.

Grandpa Johnson was one of the most well-to-do (if not the most well-to-do) farmers in the entire area. And he was quick to share when it seemed needed.

And it was at this home that more recorded revelations were received than in any other single place - at least until the saints reached the Salt Lake Valley. Those revelations were received during the year that Joseph and Emma lived here the Johnsons (Sept. 1831 to Sept. 1832).

The inside picture if of the kitchen and is quite large, especially for that time.  The curious finish around the fireplace and in other areas of the room, is . . . interesting.  But it is apparently how the Johnson's had it when they lived there.  If you look closely at the open closet door, you can see that same painted finish.  It is from the inside of that and other closets, that we know what much of the house was originally like. The insides of the closets were apparently left unaltered over the years.

Interestingly, we are told that taxes were at least partly accessed based on the number of closets a home had. The Johnson home was not lacking in closets.




They also had a rather nice and separate dining room - something not often found in homes of the time. Another indication of their success as farmers.

We are headed there again tomorrow morning (Wednesday) to make certain things are in good order.

Visitors From Mexico

At least some of you know that in addition to our duties taking care of the grounds here in Kirtland, we also help as tour guides on Sunday and other days when they have an unusual need.  Last Sunday, a bus load of people from Mexico showed up without letting us know they were coming. So, we helped both because it was Sunday and because there was an unexpectedly large crowd all of a sudden!

We took half the group. Most did not speak English but there were a couple of them who did speak good English and were able to handle translation during the tour.

All the regular site missionaries were a bit flustered, trying to work out just how to handle the sudden influx.  And this was the last day of the busiest weekend of the year (they are always busy here during the Cumorah Pageant run). But, we did good!

Sister Caldwell and I lead the second half of the group, so we were last.  And we had a really good time! Just sort of took us back to our time in Mongolia when we always had to speak through an interpreter.  These were wonderful people and we made some new friends that day!

After they left, Elder Caldwell ended up taking over a small group as they finished the last half of a shortened tour later in the evening.  One of them was a non-member, which we do not really see here that much. Most are members for whom we are committed to providing a testimony strengthening experience.

This non-member lives about 6 miles from Kirtland and decided he would finally stop and see what all of this was about.  And he had a lot of very good and very thought out questions.  It was fun to be with him, too.  He very much wants to come back to visit the parts he missed this time (it was later in the evening so it was cut a little short).

The opportunities we have to share the Gospel while we do tours are our favorite.  We do like helping with the landscaping but it is even better to help with tours sometimes.

Oh, the forecast for Thursday is for the hottest temps in 16 years!!  About 97 degrees and 75-80% humidity! Ouch!  Lucky us!

Happy Birthday Emma

To celebrate Emma Smith's birthday, the Community of Christ Church (i.e. RLDS) invited us to join them in the Kirtland Temple this evening.  It was called the Emma Hale Smith Bidamon Hymn Festival.  They had prepared a program telling the story of her life intertwined with music from her first hymnal.  Our Sister missionaries were invited to sing a couple of numbers (and believe me, they can sing!).  They sat in one of the corner choir sections and sounded like really accomplished singers!

They also asked several of our senior missionaries, our site director and our mission president, along with other missionaries, to participate in the program along with their own members.  It was well written and well presented.  We sang songs we had never heard before, but all of them were sang to music we were familiar with, so we just joined in. 

The first hymnal Emma prepared was printed with words only.  There was no music.  Apparently they had several favorite tunes and they fit the words to the music.  For example, we sang "Now Let Us Rejoice" to the tune of "The Spirit Of God".  Our closing number was the familiar tune and words to "The Spirit Of God".  The Sisters joined in with a beautiful descant on the last verse.  It was so beautiful!  What a privilege to sit in the Kirtland Temple and be part of meetings there.  That would not have been possible just a couple of short years ago.

When we left the temple, people were outside, looking upward and pointing to the top of the temple.  I looked up, expecting to see angels, but it was only a wasp nest!

What a great way to end of busy Sabbath!