Worm Fencing

In Joseph Smith's day and on the Smith Family Farm, they used "Worm Fencing".  It was and is made from the limbs of trees.  First they make an "X" using the limbs.  The "X"s become the posts.  They place the "X" on rocks instead of directly on the dirt..  This is to keep the wood off of the dirt and thus preserve the wood longer by keeping in free from rotting.  Then they carefully place other limbs between the "X" posts making a fence.

To preserve the feel of 1800, we still use the worm fencing today.  This fencing needs to be readjusted twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall.  Here you see pictures of the worm fence and pictures of us doing the fall adjusting. 

As you might imagine, these fences have a tendancy to move about.  This stretch of fence sits on a gently sloping hill and tends to "walk" down the hill during the winter.  The women help too by holding the lever while the men adjust the limbs.

Elder Poulson working on the fence

Sisters helping with the fence

This is the same type of fencing that Joseph talked about in Joseph Smith History 1:48.  After spending an entire night receiving instruction from the Prophet Moroni, he said, “ My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home.  I started with the intention of going to the house; but, in attempting to cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a time was quite unconscious of anything.”

Kirtland, Ohio

September 13, 2012

Kirtland Temple

A powerful spirit is evident in these historical sites. We first visited the Kirtland Temple which is owned by the “Community of Christ Church”, formally the Reorganized Church. I have taught about Kirtland to young seminary students and to Gospel Doctrine adults, but being there brought it all to life. To stand where I know that Moses, Elijah, Jesus Christ and others revealed precious truths to Joseph Smith and to Oliver Cowdery, was a very special time for me. Sadly, the tour guide didn’t mention these events, but I know they happened there and I am so glad to be able to visit the Kirtland Temple.

At the Whitney Store

We also visited the Whitney Store where in the upper room the School of the Prophets was held. The sister missionary guiding the tour called it the first MTC. Gave me cause to ponder. Downstairs, where the store looks the same as it must have looked in Joseph’s time there, we found a copy of the ledger of those who shopped there so many years ago. There on several pages was the name of Bill’s great grandfather, Nathan Cram Tenney. Fun things to experience in Kirtland. 

Morley Farm

A little ways out of town, we visited the Isaac Morley Farm. There we climbed a hill to the spot where Isaac constructed a school house for his and neighboring children. In that schoolhouse were held more meetings and on that property Joseph and Emma lived for a time and much work was accomplished there. We gathered a couple of “gratitude rocks” from the hill where the schoolhouse used to sit. I am grateful for Isaac Morley and for his constant charity to everyone he met. It was Isaac Morley who befriended my “gold seeking” great grandfather, William Black, as he landed in Salt Lake City in 1849 on his way to the Gold Rush in California. Because of Isaac Morley, William Black stayed in Salt Lake, never went on to California and joined the Church. He became like a son to Isaac Morley and took his name to become William Morley Black. I am forever indebted to Isaac Morley and the spirit on his farm says it all. It is Sacred Ground, indeed.

At the schoolhouse site, Morley Farm

Perrysburg, Ohio

September 12, 2012

Another long day on the road but we planned it that way. It will give us time to visit Kirtland, Ohio…”the Ohio”. The Lord told Joseph Smith to “Go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high.” D&C 38:32

Winter Quarters

September 11, 2012

This morning we are refreshed and excited to reach the far side of Nebraska where we hope to find the burial place of Bill’s (several greats) Grandmother, Rebecca Mangum.  Nebraska is flat and different for us with its corn fields one after another after another.  But, we are rewarded when we arrive in Florence, Nebraska along the Missouri River.  This is the stopping place of our early LDS ancestors.  Here they waited out the long, bitter cold winter before moving on toward their new home in the Rocky Mountains.  We know that Rebecca died and was buried here in the pioneer cemetery that sits beside the beautiful, modern temple.  We had heard that the cemetery was not plotted out and that we would not be able to find the actual grave, but we were delighted to find that, indeed, a previous missionary had discovered and plotted out the entire cemetery.  We were, with help from a sister missionary, able to determine Rebecca’s final resting place and take pictures.  We were also able to obtain a couple of family histories on the Mangum and Adair families.  I read the histories to Bill as he drove us on to our next stop.

North Platte, Nebraska

We left our home in Cedar Hills early Monday morning, September 10, 2012.  Tears begged to flow as we left the driveway and again as we bid the city lights of Salt Lake City good-bye for 2 years and drove into Parley’s Canyon.  I hadn’t expected such sadness at finally leaving.  We are, of course, returning in 2 years.  This is not a final good-bye like my ancestors experienced time and time again.  This is a trip and a calling of a lifetime.

And, it is an adventure, an adventure of travel across our great nation and an adventure in appreciation for all who have gone before us and left for us this great legacy of faith and endurance and service and love.  We will not fail them or this great legacy.

Eleven hours and 700 miles later we arrive in North Platte, Nebraska.  We decided early that we would travel I-80 east, much of it along the pioneers’ trail.  We traveled through north east Utah and then southern Wyoming and finally arrived 1/3 of the way across Nebraska.  We stopped along the way to stretch our legs, purchase gasoline and eat our meals.  We planned this long travel day so that we could enjoy a short day of travel on our second leg of our trip.

The MTC

We entered the MTC the morning of September 3, 2012.  What an amazing experience.  There were 2750 young elders and sisters and 118 senior missionaries, mostly couples but we had 4 single sisters among us.  The Spirit is so, so strong here it is like nothing I’ve experienced before.  Yes, I’ve felt the spirit in many places and in many circumstances but this is ever present and unending.  Everyone here is here for the same purpose, to prepare to serve our Lord and Savior in whatever place and position we have been called to serve.

We have met missionaries from around the world who are called to serve all over the world.  This is a mighty army, mostly of young, strong, dedicated men and women.  This is the largest group of senior missionaries that anyone here can remember.

There should be lots more of us as willing to serve as these young people are.  It is hard, harder than I ever expected, to leave home and family and friends and to venture out into the unknown.  But I think of the many, many Saints who have gone before us, how they left their homes and family and friends and never looked back and never returned, but trekked miles and miles and more miles…buried loved ones along the way, suffered unspeakable hardships and kept on going into the unknown.  Were it not for them my life would be very, very different.  And so, we leave the comfort of the MTC behind and trek east in our air conditioned truck loaded with every conceivable item we may need or want.  We will stop along the way and rest in clean, well-supplied hotels and eat meals 3 times a day which we will purchase.  Certainly we are very blessed to travel somewhat the same trail as our ancestor pioneers traveled, but in very different circumstances and in the opposite direction.  I need to count my blessings more often and on my knees.

And so it begins...

Where we are....and where we are headed!

Brother & Sister Beesley
The Beesleys are serving in their home stake in "reactivation" in Midvale, Utah 

Brother & Sister Childers

The Childers are serving in Sumara, Russia with CES

Brother & Sister Haws

The Haws are serving in West Africa as church auditors

Loving the MTC!

Our district with Brother Pearson our trainer

In the mornings we studied with Sister Reese and in the afternoons we had Brother Pearson.  We love them and feel so blessed to have had both of them as trainers

Our district with Sister Reese our trainer

We loved our trainers at the MTC.  They taught us many wonderful things, one of which is that we teach people.....not lessons.

The fall colors were in great display the day we left the MTC, a reminder of the time of year we began serving

The cafeteria at the MTC.  So much fun to eat together will all the young Elders and Sisters serving The Lord.

Elder Poulson's 'Ammonite'.  Much like a gratitude rock, this stone reminds him that people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. It reminds him to love the people like Ammon loved the people he taught.

We felt so strongly as we visited with these young people from all over the world, that our world is in good hands.