Burns in Nauvoo: Did all of this really happen in just one week?

The wagon we rode on with Mike and Matt,

our four-legged missionaries!

We started the work week off with a bang! Lots and lots of planting! We planted a lot of flower beds in the Women's Garden and mulched them. They are so pretty! In the Women's Garden, the pavers are being replaced. Many of them are cracked and broken. They will look beautiful when they are done. Isn't that like us in life - sometimes we feel cracked and broken, like we can never return to our Heavenly Father because we've strayed from the path, because we've done something wrong, because we feel unworthy - whatever the reason is - those "broken parts" can be healed through our Savior and we can be made whole and beautiful again!

We also planted the Weeks garden, the Smith Family Cemetery flower beds, the Browning Gun gardens and Carthage. For those who don't know, the Smith Family Cemetery is where Joseph, Emma and Hyrum, along with other members of their families, are buried. This is owned by the Community of Christ church but we work with them in taking care of the grounds. Our FM group made a new fence to go around the homestead and cemetery and we take care of the grounds. It was a humbling experience for me to be able to care for these sacred grounds. There were a few minutes where I was working on a garden bed by myself and I was able to ponder on those who are buried there and feel of their spirits. They sacrificed so much for me. I know I say that a lot, but I am humbled to be a guardian of the sacred grounds that they walked, talked, lived on and are buried in.

I went on a wagon ride this week! It's been fun to see people actually on the wagons and was even more fun to go on the ride!

This week, Elder Burns and I were also blessed to be able to clean the Exodus Memorial. This is at the bottom of Parley Street, where the Saints gathered to cross the Mississippi, as they were forced from their beautiful Nauvoo. On this Memorial are the names of those who left Nauvoo but never made it to Salt Lake. There are names of our relatives on the Memorial. As I cleaned each name, I thought of how each one of them are known by our Heavenly Father, just as each one of us are known to Him.

One of the names on it is Ezekial Johnson. He is my 5th great-grandpa. From what I've read about him, he never joined the church and fought his wife and family in regards to them joining the church. He drank a lot and spent a lot of time in the bars. After his family moved to Nauvoo, he eventually followed. He would sit in the bars at night and hear the mob's plans for the following day. He would then report those plans. He eventually gave up drinking and had a change of heart about the church. He was very upset when Joseph Smith was killed. He became a one man army of defense. He carried his double-barreled shotgun "Old Bess" and held off a company of soldiers by hiding behind a tree and stepping out pointing the gun at the captain when they got right on him. He told them to leave or he would shoot. They left and tried to sneak in on another street, but he was waiting for them and did the same thing, this time he told them if they did it again, he would just shoot. This gave the saints enough time to escape. This incident led to his death. He became a marked man. On a trip into Nauvoo, a mob captured him and tied him to a wagon wheel where he was whipped to near death. He never recovered and died shortly after. He had asked for baptism but because of his sudden death, never received it. President Wilford Woodruff gave permission for his descendants to do his temple work and seal him to his family. President Woodruff said that Ezekiel "was one of the first Martyrs to the cause of the Church in this dispensation." I am grateful for my ancestors and look forward to meeting them again.

A few weeks ago, Elder Burns received the Covid shot. Since he received it, he has had headaches that are getting worse and his asthma has increased. We had a couple of the Elders come over this week and give him a blessing. I won't go into the details of the blessing, but it was a beautiful blessing. He was able to sleep better than he has in a while. He still has the problems and will be making appointments Monday to see a doctor. Prayers would be appreciated. Doug being Doug, he's not letting this slow him down and he is working through the pain and doing what he was called to do.

Wednesday night, late (around 9 - that's late for us! Haha), we were called and asked if we could take a YPM to Chicago the next day. He had just arrived to Nauvoo that day, traveling from Idaho. His dad was in Chicago on life support from an accident that happened earlier in the week. Long story short, his dad died during the night and we were blessed to take this Elder to his parent's home in Chicago. Another YPM accompanied him and it was actually an enjoyable ride with them. They are strong and I was amazed at the way prayers were answered, questions were answered and the testimonies that they have. This young Elder's dad had fallen off of a ladder a week earlier. He is in our prayers.

Friday, Elder Burns was asked to go pick up sod so he had another long day of driving. Nine hour drive on Thursday, 5 hour drive on Friday.

A highlight of the week - our neighbors, the Hamptons, from Ivins came and are visiting Nauvoo!!! It was so great to see them! We visited with them at their campsite, then they came over for game night! It did my heart good to see them!

Guys, today in church, we popped the bubble! Since we resumed meeting in person for church, the YSMs and the Seniors have met in separate rooms for Sacrament Meeting. Today, we all met in the same room, along with all of the YPMs! So, we had the YSMs, YPMs, and Seniors all under the same roof, in the same room and....we were able to sing an Opening, Sacrament and Closing hymn! This was huge and something we've looked forward to for a long time! Also, one of the YPMs is Austin and Sydney's friend, Rachel! It was so good to see her and get a big hug from her! Also, Elder and Sister Poll were at church today. It was so good to see them again. I wish they could stay! They were missionaries here and Elder Poll became very sick and they had to return home. The good thing is that they live in Utah so I will see them again when we return! I love them and I'm glad that I was able to serve with them!

We also helped a new couple in our district move in - The Macfarlane's. We also had a Linger Longer after church with our new Zone! It was fun to get to know everyone better. If you can't tell, I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! With all of the ups and downs and being totally exhausted, I wouldn't trade it for anything! If you've ever thought about serving a mission - just do it!!! It's the best!

Love and blessings to all!