October opened with more flower pulling, this time at the place called Exodus, because it is at the end of Parley street where the saints left Nauvoo for the West.
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| Digging them up. |
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| All gone. You can see the Mississippi in the background. |
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| Dumped flowers. |
It's really hard to dig up blooming flowers. At home we all let our flowers stay until frost, but we have to plant 40,000 bulbs before the ground freezes, so we have to pull up the gardens now.
Monday night we had a Farewell to Nauvoo dinner. Every month that missionaries leave there is a dinner and the missionaries each get to say a few words of good-by. Right now there are a whole lot of missionaries leaving. Nauvoo needs a lot of missionaries in the summer, so now they are going home. Even though I didn't know these missionaries very well, their thoughts capitvated me. I kept thinking, in 17 months I will be saying these same things. Right now so many experiences lay before us, experiences that they all say will stay with them for the rest of their lives. All expressed increase love for their spouses. I know I'm enjoying this experience mostly because I'm sharing it with Dee. I asked one sister who sat at our table what she will miss most. She said the feeling of having the Holy Ghost bear witness of the truth of what she was telling people. I thought that was a great answer.
You can have that constant feeling with you. It makes me sad when people talk about missing the companionship of the HG when a certain calling in the church ends. There is a mantle that accompanies callings/missionary work that provides perception and insight needed to serve, but the companionship of the Holy Ghost is given to all members of the church. If we set up our day and position ourselves to do exactly what God wants us to do that day, we can each experience that constant feeling that what we are saying and doing is true and right before God. Even if that action is holding a persons hand who needs comfort, smiling at a stranger, or doing our best at completing a spreadsheet for an employer. The HG will be a companion and testify during those times as well as when doing missionary work.
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