Temple Service, New Friends, and Waterfalls

Our mission just keeps getting better and better.  We are feeling comfortable in our temple service and continue to be blessed with amazing experiences with patrons and the Lord.  We are loving the Penn Yan branch where we attend and have been blessed to be involved with some of the "friends" of the sister missionaries, an answer to our fasting and prayers.  We felt right at home in our stake conference meetings with Elder Allen Haynie, including a temple worker devotional.  Because of our interaction with so many temple workers and patrons from this area, we feel like we are home, surrounded by friends. When we can't be in the temple, we are able to enjoy God's marvelous creations. Our last two preparation days we have seen some of the most magnificent waterfalls at Niagara Falls and at Watkins Glen.  Our children are also being incredibly blessed in our absence.

Photo taken just outside the recommend desk

We are in the temple nearly everyday that the temple is open.  We generally serve either in the morning shift or in the later shifts.  On any days that we are not serving we are able to participate as patrons for our ancestors.  On one day when special endowment sessions where being held for missionaries of the Syracuse New York Mission, Debbie and I served at the recommend desk.  In between the two sessions, we had no new expected patrons at the temple.  As such, the temple leadership told us we could take a photo of ourselves in our temple worker clothing in the foyer, with the doors closed between the outer doors and the recommend desk.  As a result we were able to have photos taken in this foyer area, facing the recommend desk area and also facing the entry door.  This has been one of my dream photos.

Photo taken just inside the entrance to the temple

We continue to love interacting with the patrons in our temple.  Continuing with this "patron friendly" temple, I share a few more special experiences:

• From my May 19 journal entry: "I want to recap yesterday’s temple shift which was absolutely inspiring. I started serving at the recommend desk with Debbie during prayer meeting. Many of the patrons coming in were there to participate in the 6:00 pm endowment session in which Debbie and I were officiating. Our roles were also to serve in the name issue booth. Therefore we meet people when they come in and then see them again at name issue. We then spend the next hour and a half with them and often are able to present some of them at the veil. It truly makes it a patron-friendly temple. One couple that we met yesterday had just reunited in Palmyra three weeks before their planned wedding. He had just finished his year of university studies in Arizona. They will be married in Palmyra, where she is from, and then move back to Arizona. He is a return missionary that served in Salt Lake City. She served a mission in Hawaii. Of course they were the first couple up in the prayer circle. We saw them again as they left the temple.  After the endowment session I was able to be the lead in the initiatory ordinances and receive at the veil for another endowment session. As I received individuals through the veil my mind went to the Book of Hebrews that says that the veil is a representation of Jesus Christ. As I pondered the promised blessings of the temple, I felt the Spirit strongly teach me about the Savior’s role in bringing to pass each of those blessings.   What a wonderful day in the temple!"
• A few weeks ago, a convert of one year was coming to the temple for his own endowment.  Sister Rueckert greeted him as he came into the temple and interacted quite a bit with him as he was waited for his endowment session. He was so excited, he could hardly contain himself.  He had many members of his ward there to support him.  Last Friday night, as I organized the initiatory patrons, this same young man came in to do initiatory work for the dead for the first time.  Both of these interactions were positive as we felt the powerful spirit of this young man.  This past Sunday we invited a few investigators  and the Sister Missionaries of our branch to lunch after Stake Conference (see below).  Right after stake conference one of the members who was coming to lunch with us, asked us if they could have a "plus one", which we agreed to.  When this additional friend arrived in our home, it was Bryan, the very same young man that Sister Rueckert and I had interacted with in the past few weeks.  We were privileged to hear his conversion story in our home, after first meeting him in the temple.  What a joyful experience!

Building Friendship:

A few weeks ago, we were invited by one of our shift coordinators, Brother Wilson, to have lunch with he and his wife on a Monday.  We agreed to come and to bring Elder and Sister Bobo with us.  We had a delightful time with this consecrated couple.  We learned their conversion stories.  She had come from Yugoslavia soon after the war and was converted in Albany, New York.  He lived in his great grandfather's home which was built about the same time that Joseph Smith and his family moved to Palmyra, but about 45 minutes outside of Palmyra (by automobile).  Brother Wilson was baptized while serving in the navy in Florida and later was persuaded to return to the family home.  As new young adult members, they met in a young adult activity and were married.  They are representative of so many of the members in this area. Many are converts and each of their stories is different, but they are all dedicated members and are often in the temple. They listened intently as we shared some of our experiences.  The food was delicious and the company was special.  Now every time that we see Sister Wilson, she treats us with such kindness and love.

A delicious lunch with Brother and Sister Wilson and Elder and Sister Bobo

Enjoying hundreds of fruit trees and apple blossoms in the Wilsons' yard

By their beautiful blossoming tree in the front of their home

Meeting William (From my May 6 journal):

The past weekend I chose to fast for opportunities to share the gospel or have a personal experience with investigators or new members.  Before the fast was even over, we arrived at the Penn Yan Branch for our Fast and Testimony Meeting.  As we sat down, we were greeted by a few individuals who were sitting behind us, Katie and William.  Katie is a member whose official calling in the Church is as a greeter.  She is bold and open about her testimony of the gospel and invites all to participate.  She immediately said, "Hello, I am Katie and this is William." William then asked us about our missionary badges.  “Why do you wear them?”.  We learned that he was an investigator who was attending our Church for the first time.   He said, "I am 52 years old, but I guess it’s not too late to change."  Apparently he had been receiving texts from the Church.  I don’t know why.  But he followed the texts and ended up with the Sister missionaries of our Branch.

It was an answer to my prayer.  Debbie shared with him a YouTube video about an individual who had visited 52 churches in 52 weeks and was finally baptized into our Church.  To do that she needed his phone number which he shared.  I was able to set him up in my contacts.  In the Fast and Testimony meeting, Debbie and I both shared our testimonies.  During Sunday School, we were reading from the Book of Mosiah.  I could see that he didn’t have any scriptures, so I moved my chair next to his and let him look at my iPad while we followed the discussion.  It was a delightful experience which continued after the meetings.

When we got home, Debbie received a thank you text from him for the video link that she had sent.  I found a quote from Joseph Smith that I shared with him and told him how much I had enjoyed meeting him.  He texted back, thanking me for sharing my tablet with him in Sunday School.  I feel like we have started a relationship of trust with him.  Today he called me and asked for help with a ride home from a scheduled colonoscopy on Thursday.  We will be in the temple, so I texted the branch president who entered into contact with him and helped him get a ride from a ward member.  It feels like we are able to be friends with a real investigator.  I feel like it is an answer to our fasting and prayers.

Stake Conference Weekend:

This last weekend was our stake conference.  We were privileged to have Elder Allen D. Haynie, the North America Northwest Area President as our visiting authority.  We were able to attend the Saturday night session (focus on the family and Come Follow Me), Sunday Morning session (focus on Jesus Christ), and a Sunday Afternoon devotional for Temple Workers.  What a privilege that was.  Elder Haynie shared powerful stories and testimony as did the other excellent speakers.  One thing that stuck with me was his testimony of the Savior as our Advocate.  He compared that to his grandmother who also stood up for him when he made mistakes as a young boy and got in trouble with his father.  It helped us understand the role of the Savior as our Advocate with our Father in a very personal way.

Attending these stake conference meetings was like a homecoming.  We saw so many friends that serve as temple workers and also many who come as patrons.  Add to that members of the Penn Yan branch and our fellow missionaries and temple presidency, we felt totally at home.   I was in awe to see this large stake center, totally filled, all the way back to the stage, on Sunday morning.  I compare this to just 70 years ago when there were almost no members of the Church in this area.  Now there is a thriving stake filled with consecrated members.  William and the missionaries sat with us and he told me how amazed he was to be present with so many members of the Church.

A photo that I took during. a rest song, looking back into the completely filled cultural hall, including on the stage

We knew that the Sister Missionaries in our branch would be taking William and other "friends" to the Smith Farm and Sacred Grove after stake conference.  Since they are all far away from their homes near Penn Yan, we decided to invite them to lunch before their tours which didn't begin until 1:00 pm.  In total we had eight, including Sister Rueckert and I, for lunch.  We weren't sure how it was going to work out, but it was wonderful.  We felt such a great spirit there and were able to strengthen our relationships with the Sister missionaries, our friend William, and the others.  Katie came and she invited a "Plus One" which was our friend that we had met in the temple earlier in the month (see above).

Our stake conference lunch with Elder and Sister Rueckert, Sister Smith, William, James, Bryan, Katie, and Sister Prall.

On Monday of this week, I received a phone call from William asking if I would be willing to perform his baptism on June 16.  I told him that I would be honored.  This opportunity to connect with a sincere seeker of truth is an incredible bonus to our temple mission.

Weather Patterns at the Sacred Grove and the Temple:

The greenness of spring is all around us.  It came on quickly in about a week's time.  The Sacred Grove is full of foliage and still keeps its serenity and peace.  Most days start out sunny and often turn to rain in the afternoon.  Our temperatures have hit 86 degrees and we are missing the coolness of April.

One beautiful day as we went to the temple

A few days later as we were in a strong morning fog

April 22

May 2

May 7

Full Greenery on May 7

Even green at the top of the trees, with a pillar of light

Remembering Elder Cook:

We received the sad news of the passing of Elder Richard E. Cook.  He was my direct boss for almost 10 years while I worked in the Perpetual Education Fund.  I am so glad that we were able to visit with him on his 93rd birthday last September.

From the Memorial Page of Elder Richard Ernest Cook

The following is from my journal on May 11, 2024:

Today we watched the funeral of Elder Richard E. Cook.  It started at 11:00 am, Utah time and we were working at the temple until 1:00 pm, NY time.  Debbie arranged for us to leave a little early so that we would not miss any of the funeral.  I am so glad that she did.  It was a joy to listen to the talks by each of Elder Cook’s 4 children.  Their memories and comments reminded me of so many wonderful characteristics of this man.  At the end, Elder Neil A. Anderson of the quorum of the twelve apostles spoke.   I wanted to put some of my thoughts about Elder Cook in my journal.   I first met Elder Cook in 2003 when I interviewed to become the controller of the Perpetual Education Fund.  He was kind but very direct.  After I began working with him, one of our first challenges was to put the PEF loan system into a new tool developed by Brad Jacox, the previous controller. He asked me to make sure this would work.  I remember him telliing me, that if this didn’t work he would throw my chair out the window and myself with it.  He was that kind of direct.  Much mention was made about his direct approach, including in Elder Neil Anderson’s comments. He said that when he was the Area President in Brazil, Elder Cook was very “direct “with him and left him wondering what they needed to fix about their administration of the PEF program.  He also told of a recent interaction with Elder Cook, when a very special Mognolian lady was sent on a mission to Mongolia with her husband.  Elder Cook was asking Elder Anderson to promise her the same position in a Church owned entity when she came back.  Elder Anderson explained that this was outside of the policies of the Church.  Elder Cook still pushed him to make a promise to do the very best possible for this sister.

This is how Elder Cook operated.  He knew what he wanted, what he felt was best, and would do everything in his power to accomplish the desired result.  Fortunately, Elder Cook and I got along very well and he developed a high level of trust in me.  At one point in my career, I was struggling with our financial situation.  Debbie and I had decided that we would pursue an international assignment with the Church to receive additional financial benefits to remedy our situation.  The controller of the Church was proposing that we be sent to Samoa to be the Finance Manager there.  This seemed to be in our best interest and benefit.  Once Elder Cook understood the situation, he fought for me to stay with the PEF Fund as the director of finance at that time.  He told the Church that they could not send me to Samoa.  When I shared with him my financial struggles, he offered to refinance a second mortgage that I had which was quite expensive.  He paid off my loan and I made repayments to him on much more favorable terms.  He would do what we could to help things work out for good for all involved.  I kept making payments to him until  the loan was paid off, a year or two before I retired.  My finances were always manageable after that.  This allowed me to remain with the PEF Fund and eventually the Self-Reliance initiative for the rest of my career.  This opened doors to working with Elder Robert C. Gay and Mike Murray and the implementation of the Self-Reliance initiative to the entire world which was an incredible experience at the end of my career.  This also led to our self-reliance mission in Europe and the discovery of thousands of our German Ancestors.  As normal, Elder Cook was correct.

Elder Anderson shared the rest of the story of Elder Cook and Mongolia where he and his wife were the first mission leaders.  We have learned that he and his wife, Mary, have funded hundreds of scholarships for Mongolian members of the Church to study at BYU Hawaii. He has done so much for education in Mongolia, that he was recognized with the “Order of the Polar Star” presented to him last October.  This is Mongolia’s highest honor given to a foreign citizen.  It was presented on October 13, 2023 at BYU by His Excellency Batbayar Ulzidelger, Ambassador to the United States from Mongolia.  Earlier that month, President Nelson had announced the building of the first temple in Mongolia which was the fulfillment of Elder Cook’s greatest desire. Elder Anderson told us that despite the temple being announced there were still significant challenges in getting permission to build this temple in Mongolia. During the visit of the ambassador to give this award to Elder Cook, he met with Elder Anderson for the first time.  Elder Anderson is the first contact from the Quorum of the Twelve for the Asia North Area.  In the days after giving the award to  Elder Cook at BYU, the Ambassador continued communicating with Elder Anderson. He decided to once again stop in SLC in a future visit to the western U.S. and, with another government official, spent more time with Elder Anderson.  Based on the incredible example that Elder Cook had been to Mongolia, doors have been opened for the construction of this temple in Mongolia.  One more example of how Elder Cook’s unfailing efforts to help the people of Mongolia has resulted in governmental approval for this temple to be built.

Watching the funeral on Zoom

Elder Niel A. Anderson speaking at Elder Cook's funeral

Around Town in Palmyra:

We served our first time at the Bishop's storehouse on a Friday morning.  Our role is to bag fruit so that it will be ready for recipients.  We weighed and bagged bananas, oranges, and broccoli.

Debbie bagging oranges

Our mother's day activities were nice.  I had one more box of See's Chocolates for Debbie and she received some roses and a new book about Joseph Smith.  More importantly, she was able to communicate with most of our children during that day, including several by Zoom, 

The last box of See's candy that came with our anniversary chocolates

Zoom with Beckie and her kids, Debbie showing her book of Joseph Smith

An amazing fold out card from her Pennsylvania grandkids.  Each fold revealed new images and the last included their signatures.

One of the missionaries was offering a beautiful commemorative throw rug from the Palmyra Area years ago (when there was not a temple and there was a pageant).  It was being donated by her sister so we accepted.  It fits well with our furniture and will be a keepsake of these sacred places.

We enjoyed a nice spontaneous luncheon with President and Sister Clay of the temple presidency and E/S Rasmussen and E/S Lamoreaux.  We went to the nicest restaurant we have seen so far, Adelia's Mexican Restaurant in Victor.

The group of missionaries with the Clays (on the right)

We enjoy animal sightings as we drive around.  Right here in Palmyra we always see squirrels crossing the road.  We have also seen a deer and a fox!  No photos because we aren't fast enough, but it is fun.  This is part of being in the country side.

Family Matters:

We also have had a rash of good news from our kids.  Jared started a new job in an advanced position and salary.  Danny, Gina's husband, just accepted a job with a nice salary increase to teach at the University in Fargo, North Dakota beginning in July, so their family will be moving from hot Texas to cold North Dakota.  On the same day that Danny received his offer, our son Dan also received a significant offer for new employment.  He is still negotiating with his current employer.  We know that the end result will bless Dan and his family.

We also had some tough but not unexpected news. Our grandson, Caide, has now been diagnosed with the HDL2 (Huntington Look alike) disease that killed our daughter Camila, his mother.  Caide is only 21 years old and will most likely be in a care center facility for the remainder of his life.  Unfortunately, we know how this disease functions.  This chromosome imbalance is possible for all of her 4 children. Caide is the oldest.

Caide, in the hospital after receiving his diagnosis

Waterfalls, waterfalls, and waterfalls:

The last two Mondays (our P-days) we have checked out waterfalls in our preparation for our teenage grandchildren retreat in July.  First we went to Niagara Falls, an iconic landmark and beautiful site.  These falls are formed by the Niagara River, which drains water from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario.  It forms the boundary between the U.S. and Canada.  This is near the city of Buffalo, New York, almost two hours from our home.  After the visit, we stopped in Buffalo for lunch, eating Buffalo wings.  This is the home of Buffalo wings, named after the city where they were first offered.

American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the Horseshoe Falls (left to right)

View from the Observation Deck

The Falls with Canada on the other side of the Niagara Falls River

Debbie eating Buffalo wings in Buffalo at 

America's Best Wings

Last Monday we checked out another highly recommended location, Watkins Glen, near Seneca Lake.  It has 19 waterfalls of different sizes.  We were able to see this marvel of nature in a hike down a beautiful gorge.  The gorge is full of moisture that seeps through the walls.  We decided to give this a chance since we could walk the 1.5 miles down hill, including 832 steps. The plan was to hike to the bottom and then for me (Tom) to walk back up the hike and get our car and bring it back down to pick up Debbie.  As we stopped in the visitor's center at the bottom and mentioned the plan to an employee, he told us that he would be off in 20 minutes and would give me a ride back up, which he did.  What a tender mercy for me! We survived this beautiful hike, but two days later our legs are still hurting.

One of the scenic views

Coming down about 20 of the 832 steps, most were moist and slippery

Multiple water falls behind Debbie.  Notice the wet walkways

With one of the waterfalls behind us

Another Scenic View

And a chance to wash my hands

An opportunity for Debbie to sit and ponder the majesty of God and his creations

We even found a lovers lane alongside the gorge

Views from many angles

Coming out of an underground tunnel

Walking behind the falls

And it drops a long ways

Another view of multiple falls

After we finished this adventure, our new friend from the visitors center suggested we drive about 3 miles further and see a falls in the middle of the city call Montour Falls, which we did.

We only had to walk 100 feet from our car to take this picture of the She-Qua-Ga (Tumbling Waters) Falls