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| South-facing Temple Clock |
True to the design of the original temple, the tower houses a bell (not to be confused with the Nauvoo bell in Salt Lake City) and four cocks, one on each of its sides. Integrated with the computerized clocks, the bell has an electronically driven striker and is pitched to sound a near F sharp on the music scale.
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The summer schedule and busy has begun at the temple. That means we go earlier on one day and 30 minutes later on another, but stay later as they have now added more ordinance times for each. Wednesday we had 110 new graduates from Highland and Alpine, Utah on a tour to do baptisms. The endowment sessions have been full. Those are telltale signs.
Our tours this week:
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| Lyon Drug and Variety Store |
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"The Saints' Walmart," the Lyon Drug and Variety Store truly sold something everyone needed. This was Windsor Palmer Lyon's second and larger store. He purchased goods from barges on the Mississippi and required cash only--no bartering! (He was more successful than Joseph Smith, who allowed credit for everyone.) Lyon bought a book to learn how to mix botanical medicines to see or he would sell customers a book and they could mix their own.
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David and Patty Sessions' home was a typical temporary cabin--not very big. David was called on a mission; Patty was called to serve as a doctor and midwife. She was known as Mother Sessions; she nurtured young and old, delivered nearly 4,000 babies, and served in the Relief Society and the Nauvoo Temple. She said, "My greatest desire is to live my religion, trust in God, and follow the prophet." Because of her gardening skills, the Sessions Plum Tree is named after her.
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Riser Boot shop, owned by George and Christiana Riser who came to America from Germany as children with their families. He apprenticed as a shoemaker Ebenezer Kerr, who George said "was a better worker than a Mormon." After marrying, the Risers began studying religions, moved to Nauvoo and listened to Joseph Smith, and were baptized. He set up a 16' x 16' shoemaking shop. It looks tall and narrow (they lived upstairs), but his shop was bigger than the typical 12' x 12' shops. He allowed many to work for him and taught them shoemaking skills. Later when they went west with the Saints, he set up the first shoemaking shop in Utah.
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| Mansion House |
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The Reception Room was used as a registry for the Mansion House (hotel). It originally had 22 rooms and was planned to house 300 guests. Jane Manning was greeted her after walking 800 miles with her
family. After telling Joseph and Emma her story, Joseph told her, "God bless you. You are now among friends." Jane told them it was the first time she had been allowed to enter a white person's living space.
The Parlor was where Joseph gave his children blessings on June 23, 1844, before leaving for Carthage. At that time Emma also asked for a blessing, but Joseph did not have time as his captors were waiting for him. He told Emma to write down what she would like in a blessing and he would sign it when it returned. He never returned.
The first two bedroom pictures were large and spacious, and Joseph and Emma knew that they could be rented to guests for a good price, so they moved to the smaller bedroom.
Friday evening the temple missionaries were invited to the monthly Hello/Goodbye pot luck dinner hosted by the historic site missionaries. I think they were planning on 300. This town is full of missionaries of all ages.
Disclaimer: This blog is always a work in progress. Because I am more than a bit technologically challenged, my wonderful daughter-in-law has set up the blog format and answers my emergency calls. You will see that the margins have been increased and the font enlarged a bit, but the photo margins did not take--yet. Hopefully, next week. . .
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