Can't Think of a Place I'd Rather Be...

The bend of the river will be very lonely each summer without over six hundred performers, hundreds of stagehands, tech workers, etc., and thousands of spectators to keep it company. Since 1976, The City of Joseph pageant has been performed in Nauvoo, Illinois, and after 28 years and 196 performances, it will be no more. My parents were there to see the first run, and my family was there to see the final one. The man who originated it was my mom's bishop.
We would always go up and see the dress rehearsal. It was less crowded and just as good. It would have been nice if they would have waited two more years. It could have been given a 30-year run. Oh well, such is life.
I had always thought it would be neat to be in it. As a matter of fact, my sister and I thought it would be neat to be in it, but found that they take families first, and our folks probably couldn't get the (at least) month or so off to practice, so we never did. But it still would have been neat. I did get to meet one of the original cast members, though. In one scene, there's a girl named Amy and at my very first Enrichment meeting, she came to speak on the life of Emma Smith. That was neat. Almost as neat as having an LDS author as a seminary teacher (Becky Paget, author of The Belle of Nauvoo and Romancing the Nephites). ^_^

On another note, a sad one, we've lost another Apostle. David B. Haight died early this morning. My condolences go out to the family of the once oldest living apostle (97!).

Called Home

Elder Neal A. Maxwell passed away after a battle with leukemia. Here's some information from the  church website:
http://www.lds.org/newsroom/showrelease/0,15503,3881-1-19712,00.html

Apologetics: So there!

It's not often that I read apologetics, but recently, I have found some good ones.
What? You've never heard of apologetics? Well, neither had I until a month or so ago. Let me put it this way: It's a way of saying, "So there!" Basically, people do research on topics that people may have questions on, like where we get the idea of baptism for the dead, and answer them. FAIRLDS is a good place to start. Jeff Lindsay posts ap's on his blog, but also has a website for them as well.
Yes, LDS.org and Mormon.org (see links) are good places for beginning investigators to see what we believe, but for those who are hard core enthiusiasts, these sites are probably good places to search as well.

Called Home

My mom's friend's mother passed away about 3:15 Saturday morning. My siblings and I called her Auntie Ree. Her daughter was like another sister to my mother, and we consider her our aunt.
I thought her funeral was tomorrow, but it turned out that it was today! I thought only the viewing was today. I called my mom and left a message on her machine apologizing for not making it. I was sure she told me that the funeral was tomorrow... I wasn't able to get a hold of her (her cell was off), so I checked the obits of the local newspaper online, and there it was. Drat!
She was married to her husband for almost 50 years. Here's an excerpt from her obit: "...loving sister-in-law, 'Auntie Ree' to her nieces and nephews and all who adopted her; a mother to Madeline N. of C*********, Sandra P. of St. J***** and Colleen B. of St. L**** C*****.
She worked many years as an election judge and gave joy and happiness to all who have known her. She lived fully and bravely through overwhelming trials and seven decades. Her humor, love and friendship will be missed by all."
God be with you 'til we meet again, Auntie Ree.

I've been linked!

I have a new link in the sidebar to a website that started a week or so
ago. And guess who has their link on the site. Yep, me!

The webmaster posted in the LDS section of Beliefnet looking for
pro-LDS stories and testimonies. Just on a lark, I posted a bit about
me and a few experiences I have had in my life. It's neat to see your
name and story on a website other than your own or a friends' or family
members'. He put up a link to my blog, along with that of another guy
that I frequently read. (He's in my links, too.) I'm pretty excited.

A Little LDS Humor

I figured it was about time to put a bit o'humor into this blog o'mine. Here's some for ya:

How many Mormons does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Would you believe, at least ten? One to conduct, one to play the piano, one to lead the singing, one to give the opening prayer, one to bring the lightbulb, one to bring the chair, one to give a thought on changing lightbulbs, one to do the job, one to give the closing prayer, and one to bring refreshments.

If you've ever been to a party and spiked the punch with Mountain Dew, you might be LDS.
If at a wedding, the bride's not pregnant, but her mother is, you might be LDS.
If most of your tupperware has your last name written on it on a piece of tape, you might be LDS.

Some more humor can be found at this website. Have fun!