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<\/a>As aways on these out-of-state Becoming Brigham<\/em> expeditions, I\u2019m here with our core film crew\u2014Mark Goodman<\/a>, James Jordan<\/a>, and Russ Richins<\/a>\u2014and with my fellow hosts, Camrey Bagley Fox and John Donovan Wilson. \u00a0(See them in Witnesses<\/em> [2021] and Six Days in August<\/em> [2024]<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Filming on these short autumn days after the change back to \u201cstandard time\u201d is a bit of a challenge, but we tried to use our time well on the way from the airport in St. Louis on Monday by doing some shooting (as long as it was still light).<\/p>\n On Tuesday, we filmed mostly in and around the \u201cHistoric Nauvoo Visitors Center,\u201d arriving really early (before it officially opened for the day), but we also worked on the flats down by the Mississippi River and along the Great River Road. \u00a0This is a photogenic place, and we\u2019re here at a very photogenic (and relatively quiet) season of the year.<\/p>\n Today, Wednesday, we started our work very early in the morning in the Smith Family Homestead<\/a>, down toward the Mississippi River, and we concluded the day at sunset with filming outside the Webb Blacksmith Shop<\/a> in another part of the Nauvoo flats. \u00a0It was a beautiful and serene evening as the sun slowly went down across the Father of Waters.<\/p>\n I also managed to have some sutures removed from the side of my left thigh. \u00a0(No further medical details will be provided at the present time.) \u00a0I had been growing a bit concerned that I might not be able to get them out before next Monday, given our work and travel schedule. \u00a0But, guided by the kind recommendation of Elder (Dr.) Quinn at the Visitors Center, I secured an appointment with Tony Wasielewski, FNP-C<\/a>, at the\u00a0Memorial Medical Clinic Nauvoo, at 1370 Mulholland Street, the main drag, not far to the east of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple. \u00a0I appreciated his help. \u00a0He is very cheerful and personable, his staff are efficient and good to work with, and he did a good job. \u00a0I didn\u2019t even cry! \u00a0If you\u2019re ever in Nauvoo and \u2014 perish the thought! \u2014 you need some basic medical help, I can recommend him and the clinic. \u00a0And there\u2019s a pharmacy that\u2019s located almost directly next door. \u00a0(Here you thought that I only did restaurant<\/em> recommendations!)<\/p>\n For particular reasons, we used a portion of today to discuss Brigham Young\u2019s conversion to the Restored Gospel, even though that actually happened in Mendon, New York, rather than in Nauvoo, Illinois. \u00a0And, in the course of our conversation, I was struck by a particular reminiscence of Brigham\u2019s about his first encounter with the Book of Mormon and the message of the Restoration:<\/p>\n If all the talent, tact, wisdom, and refinement of the world had been sent to me with the Book of Mormon, and had declared, in the most exalted of earthly eloquence, the truth of it, undertaking to prove it by learning, and worldly wisdom, they would have been to me like the smoke which arises only to vanish away.<\/p>\n But when I saw a man without eloquence, or talents for public speaking, who could only say, \u201cI know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of the Lord,\u201d the Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me. I was encircled by them, filled with them, and I knew for myself that the testimony of the man was true.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There are several facets of that expression of memory that seem significant to me. \u00a0But I want to bear my own personal witness to Brigham Young\u2019s in one particular regard. \u00a0Thinking about his recollection that \u201cthe Holy Ghost . . . \u00a0illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me. I was encircled by them, filled with them, and I knew for myself,\u201d it suddenly occurred to me that he had described with remarkable accuracy my own<\/em> experience when I finally came to grasp the plan of salvation to at least some small degree. \u00a0That experience was powerful. \u00a0It lasted. \u00a0And it remains distinctly memorable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n If you can access the Facebook page of the Cody Wyoming Temple<\/a>, prepare yourself for a horrifying shock. \u00a0Virtually since its announcement, opponents of the planned temple for Cody (the exterior of which is now essentially complete) have lamented the way it will loom over the city and how it will conceal the night sky and hide the surrounding mountains. \u00a0And, sadly, their warnings have been proven all too accurate. \u00a0The mountains are no longer visible. \u00a0Residents of the city live in despairing Angst<\/em> under what has justly become notorious as the temple\u2019s soaring \u201cTower of Terror.\u201d \u00a0And now, while the citizens of roughly two dozen of these United States are enjoying unaccustomed views of the Northern Lights, the aurora borealis<\/em>, the unfortunate residents of Cody are \u2014 as demonstrated by recent images of the Cody Wyoming Temple (some of which are also available here<\/a>) \u2014 unable to see the Northern Lights at all<\/em>. \u00a0Rumor has it that refugees are already beginning to flee Park County into surrounding jurisdictions, and even northward and westward into the neighboring states of Montana and Idaho. \u00a0Various charities are said to be mobilizing to provide the fugitives with food, shelter, and trauma counseling.<\/p>\n It seems, by the way, that the Media-Powers-that-Be are treating the American public to yet another balanced, informed, insightful, and very well publicized discussion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>. \u00a0And that an investigator who is known for her deep learning and her unimpeachable moral authority has been chosen to guide and present \u00a0it. \u00a0In a time of widespread incivility and mutual incomprehension, it\u2019s inspiring to see the resources that the mass media are devoting to a desperately needed effort at improving inter-religious understanding:<\/p>\n In the meantime, here\u2019s something relevant from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122: \u00a0 With a report on my adopted home state of\u00a0Utah \u2014 aka \u201cUtard,\u201d the state in which the infamous \u201cchurch\u201d of the Morgbots has its headquarters \u2014 U.S. News and World Report<\/em> has cast a pitiless light on the evils wrought by Heather Gay\u2019s former religion: \u00a0\u201cBest States Rankings<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n But the U.S. News<\/em> report doesn\u2019t even begin<\/em> to exhaust the inexhaustible Hitchens File<\/em>. \u00a0The evils flowing from this vile cult aren\u2019t merely local. \u00a0They\u2019re global<\/em>:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
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