Love From Elder & Sister Freestone

[Pat Freestone]

Can it really be Monday again? It has been an amazing week start to finish! Start, we were able to spend a few days with Colette, Cooper, Taylor, and Tilly. Tuesday (10/28) Colette and I figured out how to make date candy, a half batch at a time, in a makeshift candy pot with dates from Sam’s Club and it turned out just dandy! Wednesday in Naperville (10/29) was windy and cold. Colette assured us that we have no clue what lies ahead and tried to prepare us by insisting that we buy reliable winter wear. I was reluctant, however I have worn them everyday and been grateful for her practical wisdom. That evening we got to go to granddaughter Tilly’s band concert and she is the cutest little trumpet player there, were there other kids in the band? Thursday morning (10/30) we headed out to Nauvoo, Woohoo! Thirty minutes into our travels we hit fog, the Scarlett O’Hara kind, and white knuckled it for, Chris says 30 minutes, I say an hour but he was driving so…🤷‍♀️. For the most part the drive was beautiful through quaint Midwest towns and immaculately groomed farms. When I saw the Amish buggy signs I felt like I was in God’s country! And then when I saw the “Welcome to Nauvoo” sign, I was sure of it! Because we had let our host couple, Michelle and Dan Skinner from Gilbert know our ETA, a small army of missionaries were waiting at our apartment to help us unload. Chris’s innate packing skills wowed the crowd and in no time we were unpacked and settled in our darling red brick house just down the street from Lucy Mac Smith and Heber C Kimball. It is actually a missionary four plex that the Church has built to match all of the historic homes down on the flats by the river and historic Main Street. Because it is off season we are the only residents right now and thanks to the Skinners we have the primo apartment. Elder and Sister Skinner had our keys and missionary tags waiting for us as well as fresh flowers and snacks on the table and a delicious dinner in the fridge. They are sooo amazing and we are sooo blessed!!!

Friday (10/31) we drove south along the Mississippi River then crossed over it to Keokuk where we stocked up on essentials and groceries for the week. That evening Nauvoo Temple President Thurman and his wife hosted a come get acquainted and enjoy cinnamon roll. Their historic home is right across the street from the temple and has been restored to its former glory!

Saturday (11/1) was our first day to start our exploration of the city. We stoped to watch the majestic Nauvoo horses being groomed and dressed in their fancy harnesses and bridles. They are beautiful animals! We also stopped at the visitors center where sight missionaries, dressed in period costumes escorted us to the Hiram and Sarah Granger Kimball Home. It is the original home where the idea of Relief Society originated. That evening we read the Nauvoo Temple dedicatory prayer delivered by Gordon B Hinkley in 2002, it was so powerful! Sunday (11/2) we attended the Nauvoo 1st Ward and you can just imagine what it was like to study D&C 124 in the very place where the revelation was given to Joseph Smith. That afternoon we were back in the temple to be set apart, me as temple worker in the Nauvoo temple with a special assignment to be an assistant sealing office coordinator on my Saturday afternoon shift. Chris received a letter signed by President Oaks informing the Temple President that his sealing authority was now activated in the Nauvoo temple. He was then set apart as a volunteer assistant recorder for the Saturday afternoonshift. We both have a lot to learn. Today, Monday (11/3) we were in the temple early for our orientation and training, our heads were spinning, like drinking out of a firehose! After the meeting we were given a seek and find list to help us get better acquainted with the temple. It has 5 stories plus the basement so it is pretty confusing at first. It will come! There was a wonderful catered luncheon across the street at the welcome center, the building where big groups of youth come before going to the Temple to do proxy baptisms. It also accommodates travelers who would like to freshen up, they can even shower, before they enter the Temple. Tomorrow the Temple will be back open after two weeks closure for cleaning and maintenance and we will be there every day learning “Nauvoo Way!” 

Final thoughts, these are President Hinkley’s remarks just before he announced the rebuilding of the Nauvoo Temple, something I never imagined would happen in my lifetime.

“Let us be a people of honesty and integrity, doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances.

Great are our blessings. Tremendous is our responsibility. Let us get on our knees and plead with the Lord for direction. Then let us stand on our feet, square up our shoulders, and march forward without fear to enlarge among people everywhere the righteousness of the Lord.

In closing now, I feel impressed to announce that among all of the temples we are constructing, we plan to rebuild the Nauvoo Temple⁠… And the new building will stand as a memorial to those who built the first such structure there on the banks of the Mississippi.”

Wishing you all the best the Lord has to bless you with, and that is a lot of good things!!! 

Love you all,

Chris and Pat

 Sent from my iPhone

[Elaine Fort]

I loved your mission report! 

Here are some of our people who lived in Nauvoo;

              Chapman side:              *Joseph/Hyram Smith-5th cousin 5 x removed.

*Emma Smith: 5th cousin 5x removed

*Brigham Young: 5th cousin 5x removed

*John Taylor: 9 cousin 4x removed

*Willard Richards: 4 cousin 6x removed

*Heber C Kimball: 5 cousin 5x removed

*Wilford Woodruff: 5 cousin 5x removed

*Eliza R Snow: 6 cousin 3x removed

                    Crum side

*Parly P and Orsan Pratt: 3 cousin 4x removed

Remember 'removed' means a different generation where there were children on one line but the other line stopped having children.

These are just a few and you'll be walking the same streets they walked and looked over the Mississippi as you do.❣️