Nauvoo Trip

This was a week of discovery. For example, we discovered that Nauvoo is only about an hour away -  by car.  Nauvoo, Alabama, that is.  

There are a lot of pictures and two videos to share this week that will prove to be very educational. 

Nauvoo Town Hall

Of course Nauvoo, Illinois was founded by Joseph Smith and has strong ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, so how did Nauvoo, Alabama get it's name?

From the Encyclopedia of Alabama:

"The town of Nauvoo began as a small agricultural community known as Blackwell's Crossing. The construction of the Northern Alabama Railway through the area in 1888 led to increased exploitation of the area's abundant coal and timber resources. Coal mining, in particular, became the driving economic force behind the town's growth. Though the area had been known unofficially as Blackwell's Crossing for a number of years, local citizen Joshua Blackwell declined to have the town officially named after himself. Resident Tom Carroll reportedly suggested the name Nauvoo because he had admired the town of Nauvoo, Illinois, in his earlier travels through that state."

See, we told you it would be educational.

Apparently there is a car show here in June every year, but whether it happens this year or not remains to be seen.  

Another amazing discovery was this road just south of Nauvoo.

 This has to be one of best road names in the US. Imagine telling folks you live on Slicklizzard Road, Alabama. 

Not far from Nauvoo is Natural Bridge.

On the trail to Natural Bridge is a rock formation called Indian Face (for obvious reasons), 

and the Natural Bridge itself.

With the water coming down from the roof it was a cool and refreshing place to be. It would be wonderful on a hot summer day.  

On the underside of the arch are some really neat patterns in the stone.

There is also a nice picnic area by a stream where we broke out the portable barbecue and cooked hot dogs. The surprising thing is that we have yet to see a mosquito here (hope I don't regret saying that).

 

It was nice to get out for some sunshine and fresh air to a really beautiful place with no crowds. On the way home we passed an area on the freeway where a tornado came through not long ago. It gave us a sense of awe, respect, and gratitude that we weren't driving by when it happened.

It was so impressive that we drove back by to capture a video showing how localized and complete the path of destruction was. Impressive indeed.

Mission Miracle:

"The amazing thing with the isolation is how many less actives have reached out to us to see how we are; which has turned into amazing lessons and discussions. It's amazing how we have had more success with the less active members isolated than when we could drop by and see them. We are excited to continue working and learning. This time in isolation has not always been easy, but we both agree how much it has been worth it. I have grown so much. The master truly knows what we need. I'm also excited for the new facebook initiative and our mission wide devotionals."

Deja Vu

There is another storm watch again this Sunday with wind, hail and flood warnings and the possibility of more tornadoes - exactly one week from the last round. Of course, if we were in Utah, it would be earthquakes about once a week.  And then there is the virus that is everywhere, except maybe Wyoming, and on everything except take out food.  It doesn't really matter where we choose to live, there is always the possibility of a sudden life changing event hitting out of the blue like a bug on a  windshield.   

So what is it that allows us to continue living our lives when the threat of disaster is everywhere and always just around the corner? Is it detailed planning, meticulous preparation and an abundance of caution? Is it our intelligence, strength, or cunning?  We might think so, but we'd be wrong, because there is absolutely nothing we can do to reduce all risk to zero and deep down we all know this.

The one and only thing that keeps us going is faith. Some people have the misconception that faith is nothing more than blind belief. Faith is actually a principle of action and is more akin to trust. A belief may be the catalyst to faith, but only if it leads to action.  Where we put our trust is usually a mixture of experience and hope. Any blindness is often in the person not sharing those experiences and hopes, not in the person acting on them.

Another misconception is that faith is a religious principle; that intelligent, enlightened people have no need of faith. Not so. Any voluntary action done by a person is done by faith. The only question is in whom or in what the faith is placed. We cannot so much as flip a light switch without demonstrating our faith.  Anyone who says that they don't operate by faith is really saying that they don't believe in God, that their faith is placed somewhere else.

Back to the question of  how is it we can operate in an uncertain, often unfriendly world? It is because we are free to act and in order to act we have to decide every day where we will center our faith. This is one of the primary reasons we are here to begin with.

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." 

2 Nephi 2:27

Sharknado!

Have you ever noticed how the headline to a news story is sensational, but miss-leading and only distantly related to the story itself?  So have we.

In the spirit of full disclosure, there have been no sharks spotted that we know of, but sharks sure make for a good, attention grabbing headline. This should in no way detract from the actual story, which is that we are hunkered down tonight monitoring our second round of tornado warnings. 

Notice Fultondale at the very bottom of the TV picture above. That's right where our apartment is and according to the news reports, at least one tornado touched down just to the north of us. Gardendale is where the local church building and temple is located.  So far, the only weather here has been some moderate wind and rain. More weather is reportedly coming this way, so we'll see.

After all this excitement it seemed best to include a calming picture of the local landscape without threat of severe weather to remind us that storms will pass and someday we will again be able to enjoy nature without wearing a mask.

Someone sent a hug this week in the mail. We want them to know that we really do appreciate it.

We end with a quote from last week's general conference:

"We do not come to the temple to hide from or escape the evils of the world. Rather, we come to the temple to conquer the world of evil. As we invite into our lives the “power of godliness” by receiving priesthood ordinances and making and keeping sacred covenants, we are blessed with strength beyond our own to overcome the temptations and challenges of mortality and to do and become good."
Elder David A. Bednar

We haven't come this far only to come this far...

We still venture out occasionally to buy groceries, get some exercise or do our part to keep the local eateries open. This sign at a local jewelers puts into words what everyone is wondering - how long?

We took a drive north about 20 minutes to Rickwood Caverns State Park. The cavern tour was closed so no one else was around making it easy for us to social distance. We took a short hike and just enjoyed being outside on a beautiful spring day. There were certain dangers, however, which added an element of risk above and beyond a global pandemic.

This is the only snake we saw.

Be careful - a cave may sneak up behind you.

 After many years of intense study of the natural world, with a laser like focus on attention to detail and precision, holding to the highest scientific standards, we were able to identify and photograph a few of the natural wonders we observed and now share these in the interest of furthering human knowledge.
 

Mini-cave surrounded by Rocks and Moss

Flower

Tree

Another Tree

You're welcome.

We are grateful for the opportunity to (still) be here and rub shoulders (at a distance) with the wonderful missionaries in Alabama.  Lately we've been able to do apartment checking with them over the phone and are amazed at how up beat and energetic they are even under these trying circumstances. We can see how they were prepared to serve here at this time as they use technology in some creative ways to still contact and teach as much as possible.

General Conference was certainly one to be remembered. Maybe it's time for us to sit up and really pay attention.

Mission Miracle:

It truly blows me away at how blessed Sister Smith and I are right now. We average about 2-3 phone lessons per day with investigators, plus more with less actives and returning members. We are so lucky to be able to share the gospel via technology!! Heavenly Father has set us up for so much success lately, we can't believe it. When our families call us, they typically ask how in the world we're so happy amid being trapped in our apartments. We just explain to them that through the help of the spirit with our area and our friends, we are surprisingly happier than ever, because we are actually teaching more lessons to friends in a day than we could have possibly fit without technology!! Our area is big, so we could never teach all our progressing friends or returning members in the same day, but now we can! Here's the miracle. Sometimes THEY call us. We nearly cry, our hearts get so full. Technology has enhanced our work and allowed us to teach and teach. Our Father in heaven has truly graced us with so many people to teach and reactivate, all in the few weeks before this all happened. We count our blessings each night. This would never be possible without the constant help of his spirit. This is what this generation was prepared for, times like these! Thank goodness you and Sister Allred are so tech savvy!! How lucky for us.