Home

July 7, 2016

We've been home for just over two months now.  It seems like yesterday that we drove into the lane at 3200 N. Morgan Valley Drive.  The time has flown by.  Of course there has been a lot to do.  The house needed to be made our own again.  The yard had to be claimed back from mother nature, and we needed time with our family.  It has been good to be home.  I have loved sleeping in my own bed, having a new bathroom, new lights and switches throughout the house and a newly painted bedroom.  I love being here.

The adjustment has been interesting.  I thought we would get back to normal (normal being like it was before we went to Vermont) but it has been different than I thought.  We have worked really hard; the yard is beautiful now and the house comfortable, but I miss so much of Vermont and the Joseph Smith Birthplace.

I miss the other missionaries that became our dear friends; I miss the the South Royalton Ward members and I miss the visitors that came to see this amazing monument to our loved Prophet of the Restoration.

I miss LDS lane early in the morning.

I miss the different views of the monument as I would take my early morning walks.

I miss taking the golf cart to the Solomon Mack foundation ruins.  This is Roger's favorite part of the tour.

This is the Solomon Mack ruin.  

I will probably miss the beauty of the ice coming from the cracks in the cliffs of granite along highway 110 in Tunbridge.

We loved to take Sunday drives.  We especially loved highway 110 in Tunbridge.  This barn was one of Roger's favorites.  If he had the money he would build a Vermont barn in our yard.

This beautiful flower is a cabbage. I love the flowers at the Memorial.

More than anything I will miss seeing this beautiful monument everyday.  The spirit that dwells in and about this site is real. I love the fact that all who come can feel this spirit and comment on it.

I love the fact that I learned so much about myself, about Joseph Smith, about his mother Lucy Mack, and I found that I am tied to them through my Savior Jesus Christ and His church on this earth. Every time I see this monument the love of God will come through to my heart. I know God lives; I know he loves me; I know he hears and answers my prayers; I know His son is my Redeemer and that some day I will bow at his feet and express my love for Him.

Last Day!

April 21, 2015

Tomorrow will be our last day to give tours at the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial.  I will miss this blessing. I have gained a greater love for the Prophet Joseph and all he was willing to go through to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ back to the earth. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity.

The visitors are starting to come in greater numbers now.  I love being busy.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to give a tour to a family of six.  The mother and father were hearing impaired. The oldest daughter (8 years old) knew all the stories of Joseph Smith's life.  I was astounded at her knowledge.  Her little brother was not far behind her in knowing the stories.  The parents could hear little, but could read lips. To watch this little 8 year old help her parents, when they were not sure what I was saying, by signing it to them was amazing.  I was touched so deeply by this kind of love that I could hardly keep the tears back.  They love the Savior Jesus Christ. I have seen this kind love from children many times while here. 

I have noticed that the testimonies of the youth here are amazing. They pride themselves in knowing all they can about Joseph.  They stand up for who they are and are never afraid to say they are members of the Church. Roger was called to be the "Old Sunday School Teacher" a year ago.  It has been an experience that he will never forget. He has learned to love these youth and who they are in God's plan. He was the "Old Sunday School Teacher" because they have two classes, the "Old" and the "Young," not because he is old. These youth will miss him, but I think he will miss them more.

I am grateful we have had this opportunity.  I will miss the missionaries we have served with; I will miss the beauty of this site. I will miss the wonderful people from the South Royalton Ward who have loved us.  I will miss giving my full attention to missionary work. I will miss giving tours and testifying of the Savior Jesus Christ. I will miss Vermont. I have been blessed.

In the above picture, Roger is waiting by the Monument while I do my walking. I will miss this safe, peaceful place to walk.

Weeks to go

April 5, 2016

We have only a couple of weeks left to serve in this beautiful spot on the earth.  It is difficult to think of it coming to an end, but at the same time it will be wonderful to be in the presence of our family. We have missed them.

One thing I will miss here in Vermont is the association with members of the South Royalton Ward.  They are amazing, dedicated Saints that are humble and stalwart in the gospel.  They travel from many miles to attend meetings and activities, and I will miss them.

I think I would like to introduce some of these wonderful people from our Ward and Family Home Evening Group. This group meets every Monday at the residence.

This is Sister Soule; I love her.  She is my visiting teacher. She never misses a month and her messages touch my heart deeply. She needs a walker to get around, so we visit at church.  She is VT to all the sister missionaries here at the JSBM.

Starting left to right: Margaret Bennett, she is quiet and sweet. Theresa Caswell is next to her.  She makes sure everyone has a birthday card on their birthday.  She has Cowdin's disease and suffers greatly, but is at family night every week. On the couch is Margaret Raymond, a convert of four years; she is the family history consultant for the ward.  Her son owns a bakery here in Sharon, and she provides wonderful bread for FHE.

Left to right again: Jinny McShinsky is ninety two years old; she and her husband were converts early in their marriage.  They served as Temple President and Matron for the Montreal Temple.  She has been a widow for some time.  She loves to write poetry and recite it. Jan Scott is a convert of three years. In January, after we got here to Vermont, she left for a mission to Salt Lake City to work in the Family History library for a year.  We have loved having her back with us just before we leave for home.

This is Lloyd Caswell, Theresa's father.  He is very shy and quiet but has formed a friendship with Roger because of their love for the Galaxies.  He has shared many books etc. with Roger, and their visits can go on for hours.

Left to Right: Shirley Hoyt, sweet, humble constant in her testimony. Her husband is bedridden and she tends to his needs everyday.  She has to get someone to watch him when she comes to church or FHE. Next is Jessie Mundell, a convert of about two years. She lives in an assisted living facility because her trailer house was condemned. She is a sweet woman that loves Jesus.

Here are Jerry and Miriam Kill; amazing, funny, righteous, friends. Jerry is an auctioneer and Miriam is a substitute school teacher. Both were raised in the Church.  Miriam fondly refers to her husband as Saint Jerry.  She said he is so good that he deserves the title.

Here are Sarah Dunkle and her father Bob Dunkle.  Sarah is in Roger's Sunday School class; her dad had us come to their home to watch the sugaring process.

We will miss these people.  There are about 350 members in the South Royalton Ward.  Only about 150 are active.  This seems sad, but one has to remember the great difficulty they have in getting to their meetings.  The ward covers about 100 square miles.  

From Roger:

The other day Susan and I were assigned to visit a sister up past Randolph.  We knew it would be an hour's drive, but we hadn't counted on the muddy roads.  We traveled on pavement for about twenty miles.  Then we traveled on unpaved roads for twenty-six more miles.  The ruts were a full ten inches deep.  I thought the Buick would fall into one of them and never recover.  But we made it.  

Three days ago we visited Gary and Susan Cass.  He's a former Bishop of the Ward and now a High Councilor.  They live about twenty miles out into the forest.  He has 70 acres of maple trees with a fishing pond.  We walked up to the sugar house, and he said, "I don't like living where I can see my neighbors."  The one he could see was half a mile away.

Recently A very rich man in the Church from Provo came to Vermont to build up a city "of Zion."  He's purchased 900 acres and plans to build small 200 square foot apartments.  These are all environmentally friendly.  He plans on having 20,000 people to enter the township.  The neighbors are all up in arms.  He has tied his project to Joseph Smith's Zion Plat.  To say the least the neighbors are a bit angry.  "Ginny" said, "They're thinking of running the Mormons out!"

But it's all good.  We love these people.  And we will miss them.

The Night Sky

March 1, 2016

During these winter months there have been gray tones to everything in the area. The winter always does this.  The earth seems void of color as we wait for spring. I feel a bit of loneliness as I hunker down to experience the winter each year.  The clouds feel like a blanket covering my thoughts and I long for sunny days. Yesterday we had some rain and some sun, but after we had been to Family Home Evening with the empty nesters from the Ward we drove home to mild cool air and clear night sky.  It was beautiful! I was reminded again of the power of God in everything.

From the Hubble Galaxy Gallery

I was reminded of sitting on my front porch in Peterson, Utah, looking at the night sky.  I love the stars and the moon.  I love the massive mountains that surround my home in Utah. I love the wide open sky that seems to go on forever.  

I love the hope of spring.  The FM missionaries are getting ready to spread the mulch and get the ground ready for spring planting.  I love the flowers that will come in the spring.  

This winter has been mild compared to last year.  The snow not as deep, the temperatures not as frigid.  But the gray sky dominates for much of the time.  The sun is shining, the air is crisp but the hope of spring is here.  I look forward to the tulips.

My sweet mother taught me to find beauty in all the creations of God. That each part of Nature holds a special place in His heart. Mom should have been an artist. In a way she was, she did express beautiful images in her poetry. 

Roger and I have lived many places and have visited many parts of the world. God's creations are evident in every good thing I see. I am grateful to be able to spend this time in Vermont.  I love this beauty too.

There is a hymn I love that reminds me of my mother's teachings.

For the beauty of the earth,

For the beauty of the skies,

For the love which from our birth,

Over and around us lies 

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise.

Mouse in the House

February 15, 2016

Our new Directors, the Fuhrimans, have been here for three weeks. They are good people and fun to be around.  Before they arrived Roger and I were asked by the Osborns to stay at the residence just so people driving by would know that someone was at home. One night, after family home evening, Roger had settled in to watching some news on the TV.  I walked into the room and saw the curtains move slightly.  I said "Roger I think we have a mouse in the curtains."  He got up and went over to the curtains and moved them back and forth.  Sure enough, there was a little mouse, now a scared little mouse.  I looked quickly for a trap, but the Osborns had been assured that there were no more mice and the holes in the walls outside were all filled in. So they had thrown away all the traps.  The only other things available were a broom and a mop. So we tried to get it out in the open.  I wasn't sure if we would try to kill the little pest or just what.  But we definitely had it confused. Roger swished his broom and it would run toward me; I would pound the mop on the floor and it would try to run under the couch again. We went back and forth several times until I said "maybe we should open the door and try to get it outside."  That became the goal.  We swished and plopped until we had it in the center of the entry with the door open.  It stopped and turned and looked at us like, "now what do you want me to do?"  I said "just go outside," and it turned and ran outside.  I told Roger "I bet it dies either of a heart attack from our chasing it or from the cold."  He said, "Oh I bet it just runs around and gets back inside some way."  Right after the mouse ordeal, Elder Fuhriman called and said they would be here in the next two days.  We finished the phone call, looked at each other, and said, "lets go home to our apartment." We packed up and left.

The residence and the Visitor center mice were taken care of today by and exterminator.  Hopefully that will take care of the problem.

We drove to Burlington last Wednesday to have our car serviced. We had some trouble with a shimmy in the front end and a burn smell.  We waited while they checked everything out. When it was finished the guy working with us said everything checked out good, but they did find a mouse nest on the engine which was the cause of the burn smell.  Then he said this is quite normal here in Vermont.  I really don't like mice, never have.  I don't love cats, but we have them in Peterson because if you don't like kittens, you will have mice.

It has been really cold the past couple of days.  Valentines day -22 degrees.   This morning -12.  It is supposed to warm up tomorrow and be 50 degrees on Wednesday. This is the bridge that crosses the White River in Sharon Vermont.

 I am looking forward to spring, flowers and more visitors at the Center.

Remember Christmas 2015

January 14, 2016

Christmas is past and I have not taken time to post this amazing season. Comparing what I knew from last year, to this year, was overwhelming.  I thought I knew what to expect, and to a point, I did, but the numbers of people were staggering.  I know that in comparison to Salt Lake Temple Square and the lights there we are small time. But, remembering that this visitor site is very remote, and much smaller than the others, makes this year amazing.

Last year we had almost 40,000 people in cars drive by to see the lights. This year we had 60,284 people in cars drive by.  Twenty- thousand more than last year.  Last year we talked to almost 6,000 people and we served them cookies and apple cider. This year we had 9,314 people come into the Center.  Of that number we greeted and talked to 7,363 who were not members of the Church.

The lights were stunning. The South Royalton Ward Chapel (above) was beautiful. As people drove up the long lane, there was a radio channel they could tune into that was playing the Tabernacle Choir while they drove around the site.

The lights that drew attention first were the multiple trees with bright colors at the beginning of the circle drive.

There were over 150,000 lights in the whole display for this Christmas Season.

The monument was beautiful and Annie the donkey and two sheep kept watch over it.  The kids loved the animals. I'm afraid they were fed too many cookies, carrots, and bread, etc. by well meaning visitors.

Some of these trees are 60 feet tall, and senior missionaries like us did all the stringing of the lights. Elder and Sister Ence and Elder and Sister Broberg worked tirelessly using lifts that would sway in the breeze.

We had two Senior Sister missionaries (Sisters Farr and Edwards) who spent their last five weeks helping put the lights on these lower trees.  They were finished with their missions before the lights were turned on, so they missed seeing the beauty they helped create.

There were a couple of young adults waiting for mission calls and others who were going away to school who helped early in September.

It took the missionaries working every day from dawn to dusk to get these lights up.  They started early October and would do each tree as they dropped their leaves.  There was one tree in particular that was keeping its leaves until just before Thanksgiving; then they dropped and the missionaries hurried to get that tree finished.

Vermont is noted for its covered bridges.  They are always a draw. We had a covered bridge made of lights.  It is always the favorite of our visitors.  Last year a young man made arrangements to propose to his girlfriend under this covered bridge.

This year was, I'm sure, our best year ever. The lights, music, animals, cookies, and, of course, the magic glasses made this an amazing year.  People said "it is our new Christmas tradition" or "everyone is talking about these lights, and we'll be back." Most of what they felt from this beauty was more intense because there is a Spirit about this place.  It offers peace to the harrowed soul, joy to the heart and beauty to the eye.

We were exhausted, a good exhaustion. Some nights we had 800 and 900 people we greeted in just a four hour time. It was definitely a rewarding Christmas Season.

Elder Petersen, Sister Petersen, Sister Petersen, Sister Innes

January 8,2016

Last week in Relief Society our lesson was on making "Resolutions or Setting Goals," for the new year.  As we discussed making resolutions, I reflected on what I have been studying for my lesson in Relief Society this week, "Jesus Christ-Our Only Way to Hope and Joy." One of the scriptural quotes is Matthew 22:42; it states "What think ye of Christ?" My mind was drawn swiftly to a video that Roger brought home many years ago.  It was in the first rough draft stage; we loved it.  There is a beautiful rendition of "Jesus Was No Ordinary Man" and wonderful video of the Savior; then Dalin Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, takes a few minutes to ask: "What Think Ye of Christ."  I loved that video; it was later put on the "Family Home Evening Video Supplements," and we would play it over and over again in our home.  

So I turned inward and decided to explore what I truly think of Christ.  Do I do more than say my personal prayers, or read a chapter in the scriptures each day?  Have I helped anyone in need lately, have I cheered up a sad person and made them feel glad, have I given my all to this wonderful mission? I decided I need to have Jesus Christ in my thoughts and actions more often.  I need his guidance in making decisions, I need to find joy in every day and serve mankind with a joyful heart.  I am sure there are more things that I need, but I decided to start simple.

First I will still do my prayers and scripture study, but I need to have him in my thoughts more during the day. SO, I have set an alarm to go off at two odd times of the day, and when I hear it, I get up from what I am doing and find something that will bring him to my thoughts.  I have read scriptures, played hymns on the piano, watched movies over at the theater, I have even brought Roger into conversations discussing the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

I have loved this week.  What do I think of Christ?  I am learning a whole new dimension of love, patience, desire to do good, and I am finding joy in each day.  Will this last forever? I hope so!

Jesus the very thought of thee

With sweetness fills my breast;

But sweeter far thy face to see

And in they presence rest.

Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame,

Nor can the memory find

A sweeter sound than thy blessed name,

O Savior of mankind!

O hope of every contrite heart,

O joy of all the meek,

To those who fall, how kind thou art!

How good to those who seek!

Jesus, our only joy be thou,

As thou our prize wilt be;

Jesus, be thou our glory now,

And thru eternity.

Bernard of Clairvaux

1091-1153