For the last 11 weeks I've served 5 - 6 days on sites. Before I leave to go back to FM here are the highlights and what I've learned.
Missionaries are given a site guide that is full of stories about the people who lived in the homes, a little history of the home, and a key message we should share. Except for the key message we are to individualize our tour to the group.
We have been taught to have a conversation rather than giving a monologue. For this reason I love taking individuals through the sites rather than groups. One of my favorite memories is taking Sister Cook through the Heber C. Kimball home. Sister Cook is a temple missionary from England. She had just arrived and was visiting the sites before her shift at the temple. We had never met, but it was so comfortable sharing with her the information about the house and telling the stories, some of which she already knew and could help tell. The fact that she was from England made it perfect, because Heber C. Kimball was the first to bring the message of the restored Gospel to England. He served two missions to England, so I was glad I got to take her through his house. Now Sister Cook and I are both assigned to be part of the Burlington Ward, and are becoming better acquainted with each other. I'm so glad.
I loved the day I worked in the Visitor's Center. It was unusually busy, sometimes requiring even the counselor in the Mission presidency to join us.
A funny experience I had that day was when I tried to give a father and son pair the tour. The father was a retired farmer and really wanted to tell me about his life. After listening to his stories for awhile, I encouraged them to go see the town, but they just hung around the visitor's center, not really looking at things. I never figured out why they came to Nauvoo. Maybe it wasn't what they expected.
While they were still there, a family of 7 came in. A bright, cheery mother, her husband, and 5 children from teen down to young elementary. This was my first real tour. It was clear they were active members of the church. I asked the mother if she just wanted an overview of the visitor's center? "I want you to say whatever you usually say," she beamed. Since there was nothing I "usually say", I just commenced to find out what that might be. We do have some guidelines, as to where to start. I took them over to the First Vision Statue. I let the children tell the story. The next exhibit is the Book of Mormon. At first I had to stop and think, what can I say here? Then I heard myself explaining that people didn't join the church because of Joseph Smith's personality, or great charisma. People read the Book of Mormon and recognized the truths that were contained in the book, and felt the spirit of the book. It is truly a second witness to the Bible that Jesus is the Christ. The Book of Mormon is also a witness that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. After the spirit converted them, the early converts wanted to meet the Prophet Joseph and gather to where he was, to be taught more truths as they were revealed to him. I thought that was pretty good - and thanked Heavenly Father for giving me those words.
We are taught to make the tour relevant. We do this by comparing their challenges to ours and by inviting them to do something and then make a promise. The inviting is easy, the promise isn't so easy, because it has to be individualized as prompted by the spirit. At the John Taylor home we tell the story of his conversion. He said that he didn't join the church lightly, but studied it, and counted the cost. I tell every visitor there that I was impressed with that phrase, and have asked myself, as a convert, did I count the cost? Then I invite each of them to count the cost of their membership in the church. The promise varies, but often has to do with the deepening of their appreciation of their membership in the church.
The difference between this sort of teaching and what I did as a proselyting missionary is feedback. We never see these people again. We are a drop in a very large bucket of their Nauvoo experience. But taken as a whole each visitor hopefully gains something from having been here.
One cold day, I was serving at Brigham Young's house. No one had come all day. Finally in the last hour, a man in his mid-fifties came in who had been in Nauvoo for two days already, so we were one of the last places he came to. He was in no hurry and so we were able to tell him more than we sometimes can. Did he want to also see the boot making shop? Yes. Neither of us could tell the story there very well, but I did know how to make a boot. I didn't feel like we'd done a very good presentation, but he was very kind and in no hurry to leave. So I asked him what he'd learned in his time in Nauvoo. He didn't think very long before he started sharing. The sacrifice people made was his strongest impression. All they gave up to gather with the saints. He'd taken all the stories he'd been told and come to that conclusion. I hope as he continued on this trip that he continued to ponder that question. And I'll keep asking myself that question, as well.
I had a couple of experiences that weren't so positive, but were instructive. A grandfather brought his granddaughter, who was leaving on her mission soon, to the printing house. After our presentation he asked if we had a minute - which it being winter, we had several minutes. He proceeded to tell us about a book he'd read, that contained all of these miracles that happened in the printing of the Book of Mormon. I found it interesting that in all of my BYU religion classes, church history reading, and just conversations, I'd never heard these stories. So when I got home I looked the book up and found a review by some BYU professors which showed how the book was based on a false assumption that the printing of the book was done consecutively rather than several people working on it at the same time. The good thing that came out of it is that I added to my tour in the print shop the fact that there was lots going on at the same time - while the printers were printing, the compositor was putting together the next page, and the apprentice was cleaning up the last galley.
My very last tour, before going back to the greenhouse, was the hardest. I was in the Lucy Mack Smith house. Looking out the window we saw a family over at the brickyard so we knew there were 5 of them. I asked my companion for the day if I could do the tour because I would soon be back at FM. Sure enough, in a few minutes the door opened, but only the mother and two daughters came in. The mother said they really only wanted to see the school house, but were waiting for the father and son. "Well while you're here let me tell you a little about Lucy Mack Smith." No response, no smile, no encouragement. Ok, keep this really short. I gave the key message, "Throughout her life Mother Smith was a stalwart defender of her son and his mission as the prophet called of God to restore the Church of Jesus Christ." No reponse, nothing. The teenage girl glared, the mother looked impatient. Then the younger girl started studying the painting of Lucy Mack Smith. "Do you know who that is?", I asked. "No." The mother reminded her of visiting the grave of the Smith family and that this was Joseph's mother. I explained that Mother Smith was 78 years old when that painting was made. She'd lost her husband, 4 of her 5 sons, any wealth she'd had, which was never much. What do you see when you look at her? Does she look defeated?" The little girl studied her a little closer and said, "Brave." End of tour. I didn't invite and promise, but I felt she had taught us sufficiently. Then we took them to the school house, learned they were home schoolers, and they seemed to enjoy the tour there. They wanted to go to the Patty Session's cabin, and as I learned from another missionary the mother was a mid-wife. So they had their agenda and limited time. We respect that. Other missionaries had the same experience with this family, some not as positive as we did. They wanted to see the insides of the homes, but not necessarily hear about the stories that go with the homes. It was a challenge, but if I ever do another tour I hope I'm more flexible and accepting of whatever the visitors want. I sort of panicked when they were so grumpy and could have done better if I'd stayed calm.
I'm so glad I had the chance to work on the sites. I can't imagine what it will be like when the crowds start coming and the missionaries have to hurry you through because there is a line outside. I think I'll be glad to be working in the quiet of the gardens, but I do hope I'll have a few conversations with people as they wander around Nauvoo. If you ever come, and want to talk more about a place, ask the gardeners. We know the history here and have time to tell you more. We'd welcome the break from pulling weeds.
