FIRST EDITION BOOK OF MORMON

On April 17. 2013, we went with Elder George and Sister Sunya Osborn to Dartmouth College to see a First Edition Book of Mormon.  It is in the Special Collections Library.  We went into a room and asked to see the Book of Mormon.  They brought it right out and said it was the most requested book in their collection.  We expected to have to put on white gloves or something but they put it on a special frame thing to keep it from falling open and told us we could handle it and take pictures if we wanted to.  I couldn't believe it.  We were a little hesitant to pick it up but  eventually we did.  We felt a reverence for the book as well as for its contents.  It is hard to believe it is that old.  It was in remarkably good condition.  There was a folder with the information as to how they came to have it.  It said a man wanted to own a First Edition Book of Mormon because it was the most famous book that was published in America at that time.  He obtained the book from someone who found it in a box of old school books and donated it to Dartmouth.  We came away from this experience with our testimonies strengthened about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.  It was an amazing experience that I will always remember.

It was bigger than I expected it to be.

We looked on line and found out that the last First Edition Book of  Mormon that was sold went for $180,000.  WOW

Title page, not sure what the spots are.

Brent holding the First Edition Book of Mormon

Sally holding the First Edition Book of Mormon

Read this page and see if it is familiar

MAPLE SUGAR TIME IN VERMONT

We have become big fans of Vermont Maple Syrup.  We hope to share it with our friends and family when we get home.  All we can say is "We have been converted!"  We have learned some things that were all new to us so I will share what we have learned. 

1.  It takes 40, I repeat, 40 gallons of maple sap to make 1 gallon of REAL Maple Syrup.

2.  The sap production is all dependent on the temperature in the spring.  It has to be below freezing at night and above freezing in the day for the sap to run.  It usually runs for about 4-6 weeks. 

3.  Most of the producers use tubing that runs from tree to tree and to a central tank to collect the sap.

4.  Some still use the buckets that hang on trees, but they have to be emptied every day because the sap does not keep.

5.  The way to make syrup is to boil the sap.  It boils it down to syrup. 

6.  There are strict regulations in Vermont about the quality of the syrup.  The lightest is called Fancy and then there are grades down to C grade which is dark like we expect it to be.  I have tried all of the grades and actually prefer C.  Most of the grade C goes for commercial use for making things like baked beans and ham.  

7.  Probably the most shocking thing we have learned is how much it costs.  It is $60-$80 a gallon. 

These trees are along the road on our way to work

This is a very large tree and it can have 3 buckets on it

This is President Goodrich.  He is in the Missionary Presidency.  His sugar operation if one of the  3 largest in the state.  He produces 20,000 gallons of syrup a year.  This is the stainless steel "cooker" where the sap is boiled.  It was really huge.

Pres. Goodrich gave us a tour of his facility and also showed us some history of maple surgaring and some old  buckets and things that used to be used.  There were some photos that were very interesting.

Sister Goodrich fixed "Sugar on Snow"  for us.  It really is snow in the pans.  She cooks the syrup to 230 degrees and then pours small amount on the snow and it cooks and then your pick it up with a fork and eat it.  It is delicious.  It is very popular.  Everyone kept telling us about it so we were glad to taste it.  The surprising thing is that everyone that told us about Sugar on Snow said that it is served with pickles!!!!  and donuts.  Sounds good to me.

This is a "SAP SHACK" just down the hill from JSBM.  We  pass it every day on the way to work.  One day when we could see that they were Boiling we stopped and talked to the man.  He was more that happy to show us his operation.  He produces 200 gallons of syrup a year.  It was pretty down home compared to Pres. Goodrich, but he made some really good syrup.  I went back to the next day and bought some of what he was boiling that day.  

Albert Knudsen, the man we watched and then bought syrup from.

Lights, Lights, Lights

At Christmas there is a big light display at the JSBM.  They (this year we will) put up 180,000 lights.  Now we are taking down the lights.  It is quite a process.  They rent a big man-lift which goes up to

Getting our harnesses on for the training

70 ft.  We had to be trained in the lift.  I have been trained but I have yet to take down any lights.  Brent and Bill have been working for several days in the lift taking lights out of the tops of tall trees.  I, on the other hand sit day after day folding lights. Judy and I have to test them all and replace any burned out lights.  If you have ever worked with Christmas lights, you know how frustrating this can be.  Anyway, we visit and watch old movies to pass the time while we work.  It seems like it will never end.

Driving down to the parking lot for our training

Tim training Brent on how to run the lift.  You drive it from the bucket.

This is me in the bucket.  This is zoomed in, I am actually pretty high in the air

Me at the highest point, about 70 Ft.

Brent at the highest point

Sometimes they have to use a long poll to reach the lights and unwind them.

We passed the training and filled out the paper work and now we are ready to take down and put up lights.  I don't know if I will take down lights or not.  I will probably just check and put lights away.

Brent and Bill taking down lights by the residence.

They finished taking down the lights for Christmas 2012 on March 30.  Now it is time to get them checked and put away.

They bring the lights into the shop in these bins.

We have to plug them in and change any lights that are burned out and then fold them up and put them back into the bins and label the bins.  There are different colors and types of lights and we have to keep them separate.  Some of the lights have faded so I am told that after we get all of the lights tested and folded we have to color the lights with markers.  Sounds strange to me too, but I guess that's what we'll do if we are asked.

Judy doing lights across the table from me.  There are bins and bins of lights.

"I WILL GO, I WILL DO..."

We have officially been at the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial for 5 full weeks.  We have been blessed so much while we have been here.  We have settled into a routine which is what old people and missionaries do.  We get up every morning at 6:00, make lunches, eat breakfast, get ready and do scripture study and leave by 7:45.  We arrive at the shop at 8:00 and have our morning meeting with us and the Shefchiks and any of the employees that are there when we meet.  We sing a Hymn (we started at the first of the Hymn book and are finding out how many hymns we  have never heard and we skip them), have a spiritual thought and prayer.  It is nice to sing and pray with those we work with.  After  our devotional, Tim, our supervisor tells us what needs to be done and then we do it.  Sometimes, we plan 2 or 3 days in advance.  We usually work until 3:30 and then do whatever we want to do.  We have done several things in the evenings, but that will be in the next post. I have taken photos of some of the things that we have done at work in the last 5 weeks, so here they are.

PEOPLE WE WORK WITH

Joe Mendor, the Sharon, Vermont, FM Group Director
He is over all 25 buildings in the Mission
He is a great person and our Boss.

Tim Packer the JSBM Supervisor
He is our supervisor and helps Joe with some other buildings.
He knows a lot about a lot of things and has really helped us.

Dawn  Gross
She is the secretary and is on top of everything.  She keeps the whole
FM Group running.  She is so nice and kind to everyone.

Melanie
She works part time and is able to do about anything.
She is a great worker and a pleasure to work with.  

THINGS WE HAVE DONE

Taking down lights.  Brent is in the tractor this time.

Removing the Poinsettias from the Visitor Center.  This is the Gator that we  can drive around on

We put the flag up at the Visitor Center

Concord, New Hampshire Stake Center about 80 Miles south east.  We went
there 4 different days to help get the building ready for a special Stake Conference.
One thing we did was put pads on the bottom of chairs to protect the new gym floor.  

Essex, Vermont Stake Center about 75 miles north.  This is our Stake Center
We went there twice to put carpet cove around the walls.
The building was flooded by a broken pipe and they were putting everything back together.

Hauling chairs from Concord to St. Albins.

St Albins, Vermont, Chapel,  It is about 20 miles from Canada.  It was a
fun trip hauling chairs.  It was new chapel and very nice.

We clean the Visitors Center every morning.  We vacuum, dust, empty garbage and
clean the bathrooms.  I really enjoy this.  There are 2 rooms so it really isn't too hard.

MISSIONARIES

 Elder and Sister Dyches
When the sun is just right it reflects off the monument.  I wanted to get at least one picture of it.  At the right time of year it reflects right off of the top.

Elder and Sister Shefchik 
They are the other FM Senior Couple.  We work very closely with them.  The have been here since October so they know the job.  He was baptized in a river in Viet Nam and she was raised a Quaker.  They have helped us a lot since we arrived and we have been several places with them.

Elder and Sister Johnson
They are the Directors of the Visitor Center.  He is retired from the military.  He has been a Mission President in Germany and just left the Missionary Department.  They are great people.  She is so much fun and hugs everyone.  We hold home evening and socials in their home which is next to the Visitor Center.

Elder and Sister Osborn
They are missionaries that give tours at the Visitor Center.  She gave us our tour on the first day were arrived.  They are from Salem, Utah and live in the same Stake as Eric.  His family owned the Osborn Sewing Plant in Mt. Pleasant many years ago so they know some people in Mt. Pleasant.  We enjoy them and visit with them when we can at Home Evening and when we clean the
Visitor Center.

Elder and Sister Petersen
They are from Mesa, Arizona, and have been here longer than any of the other senior couples.  She is an excellent cook.  She and I hung some pictures in the Residence. It was nice to have help from someone who knew how to do the job. He was a high school baseball and track coach so he and Brent have a lot to talk about.

Elder Peterson and Elder Barfuss
These are our Elders.  Elder Peterson (left) is from Tusan, Arizona and has  served for 10 months.
 He is being transferred March 26, when the new Sisters come.  Elder Barfuss is from Tremonton, Utah, and is going home on March 26.  They are a lot of fun and very hard workers.  We drove them around on Sunday.  We helped teach a lesson to a less active man and Brent helped give a blessing to a man in the hospital.  We drove all around to places we haven't gone to before.  We were gone for 4 hours and it was a good experience.  We will miss them when they leave.

Elder Peterson, Elder Dyches and Elder Barfuss

NEW HAMPSHIRE MANCHESTER MISSION

We were called to serve in the New Hampshire Manchester Mission.  Our Mission President is David Wilkey who grew up in Mt. Pleasant and went to North Sanpete High School.  He played on the State Basketball team that his father, Mack Wilkey coached in 1969.  He was a good friend of my younger brother, Karl, who passed away in 1978.  He spent quite a bit of time in our home with Karl.  We were able to meet with him and Sister Wilkey on Feb. 21.  We were so glad to see him and he was glad to see us.  I couldn't help but wonder what Karl would be doing at this time in is life if he were still living.  During our visit with him, we talked about old times,  missionary work and our families.  It was such a great visit and we really felt of his spirit.  As we finished, his wife joined us and we prayed together.  He blessed us and our family with many wonderful blessings.  He is an amazing mission president.  All of the missionaries really love and respect him.
We will be getting a new Mission President in July.  His name is President Stoker.

Elder and Sister Dyches with President and Sister Wilkey

JOSEPH SMITH BIRTHPLACE MEMORIAL

On our first day we went to our work.  We had a meeting with our supervisor, Tim, and our boss Joe.  They talked to us about being missionaries and volunteers and what to expect.  We meet every morning with the Shefchiks, and Tim, Dawn and Geraldo, who are paid employees of the Church.  We sing a hymn and have prayer and then Tim tells us what needs to be done and we get to work.  We are welcome to do whatever we feel comfortable doing.  We work from 8:00-3:30 every day with a break in the morning and lunch.

The building that where we have our meetings, eat and do some of our work,

The first thing we did after our orientation was go on a tour at the Visitor's Center.  Sister Osborn, one of the site missionaries, took us on the tour.  We watched the film of Joseph Smith that is in Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake.  This film is new and is almost the same as the old one, but there are some interesting changes including the ending.  Lucy Mack Smith talks about her son  at the end.  It is a really nice addition to the movie. 

 After we finished the movie, we went through the tour.   The Center has 2 rooms.  We listened to the information in the first room and as we walked through the door into the next room there is a statue of Joseph Smith.  As we walked into the room it was as though he looked right at us and acknowledged that we had come.  It brought tears to my eyes because I really felt like he knew we were here to help take care of this special place.  When we shared this experience with President Wilkey, he told us that  the Prophet Joseph Smith is very interested in his birthplace.  This quote has been shared with us.

We feel very bless to be able to serve here.

"Next to Bethlehem where the Savior was born, this site, the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith is one of the most sacred spots on the face of the earth, and if we were worthy, we could see the angels that hover over the trees, protecting this spot and those who are here." Joseph B. Wirthlin

Front Gate going into the JSBM before the snow was plowed

Maple Lane leading up the the JSBM

Monument in the Snow

My favorite picture of the monument.  It really is beautiful in the snow.

Look closely and see Brent shoveling snow

South Royalton Chapel on the grounds of the JSBM

Our only day of sunshine