RULES:
Connect us to the Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith Family
Use a relatable picture
Keep it uplifting
Ages 12-18
PRIZES:Â
$50, $25, $10
DEADLINE:
Winners will be announced on the Facebook page and at the 2018 SLC Reunion.
ENTRIES:
Post your meme to https://www.facebook.com/groups/JSSR.LMS/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups/126771836337/?ref=br_rs
By Daniel Adams
Father and Mother Smith knew as well as anyone what it meant to be refugees. But their trials had also allowed them to glimpse eternity. They saw their heavenly home and what their family could be, and this knowledge, like that of the saints before, gave them the strength to endure, to continue to dream of their heavenly home.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of Father and Mother Smith being driven from their home, and having to rebuild once again, in a tiny log cabin in Palmyra, New York. Here they would find a short refuge until they would be forced again to leave. Here Father and Mother Smith read the Bible to their children and plead for divine protection. Here, Joseph Sr. told his children of his remarkable dreams of the restoration. Here Lucy would tell her children how God answered her desperate prayers in a grove of trees. Here Joseph would read the invitation of the Apostle James and determine to ask of God
what he should do. Here the heavens would rend and the Angel Moroni would descend to reveal a mighty work and a wonder. Here, the family gathered nightly to hear Joseph recount his remarkable visions of the ancient inhabitants of this continent. Here the Smith boys and girls grew
strong in faith and work, believing that God was watching over their family. This place, more than any other, symbolized what can be ours – no matter the coming persecution, trials and difficulties – when we dream of our heavenly home.
On this 200th anniversary, the Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith descendants have the opportunity to gather in Salt Lake and help current refugees who
have been driven from their homes and lost their worldly possessions. We will be building bunk beds for refugee children and their families. We would like them to know that God is aware of them, that our family understands to some degree what it means to be refugees, and now with this gift, perhaps they too can dream of a heavenly home.
By David Adams
Sometime between the fall of 1829 and March 26, 1830, while the Book of Mormon was being printed, a curious visitor came to the Smith home in Palmyra.
Solomon Chamberlain set out from home carrying copies of a tract with information about his own visions. He started out to go to Canada, but when his boat stopped in Palmyra he had a distinct impression to get off the boat. The Spirit directed him to travel south, which he did for some three
miles until evening where again the Spirit directed that he stop at a farmhouse for shelter.
In the morning the family was talking about a gold Bible. Solomon said,
“When they said Gold Bible, there was a power like electricity went from the top of my head to the end of my toes. This was the first time I ever heard of the Gold Bible. I was now within half a mile of the Smith family where Joseph lived. From the time I left the boat until now, I was wholly led by the Spirit …. I said to myself, ‘I shall soon find why I have been led in this singular manner.’â€
At the time the Smiths were accustomed to intruders of various kinds, arriving unannounced and seeking to stop the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon.
When Solomon Chamberlain arrived, he found Hyrum pacing the floor. Solomon entered with the greeting, “Peace be to this house.â€
“I hope it will be peace,†Hyrum replied, astonished.
“Is there anyone here that believes in visions or revelations?†Solomon asked.
Hyrum responded, “Yes, we are a visionary house.â€
“Then I will give you one of my pamphlets, which was visionary, and of my own experience,†Solomon said.
Hyrum, Father Smith, and some of the Whitmer boys gathered and took turns reading from Solomon’s pamphlet.
“I began to preach to them,†Solomon said, “in the words that the angel had made known to me in the vision, that all churches and denominations on the earth had become corrupt, and [there was] no church of God on the earth, but that he would shortly raise up a church that would never be confounded nor brought down and be like unto the Apostolic Church. They wondered greatly who had been telling me these things, for said they we have the same things [written] down in our house, taken from the Gold record, that you are preaching to us. I said, ‘The Lord told me these things a number of years ago.… If you are a visionary house, I wish you would make known some of your discoveries, for I think I can bear them.’ They then made known to me that they had obtained a gold record, and just finished translating it here. Now, the Lord revealed to me by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost that this was the work I had been looking for.â€
Solomon took pages of the Book of Mormon, continued on his journey, and preached to all who would listen. He joined with the saints and traveled from Kirtland to Missouri to Nauvoo and then west with the saints.
Solomon Chamberlain’s life demonstrates the value and relevance of personal visions and spiritual experiences. So did the lives of Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith and their children. It is good to seek for and find the hand of God in our lives. That’s what Smiths do. We are a visionary house.
– Read full article at http://avisionaryhouse.blogspot.com
We are looking for musical numbers for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at our Reunion.
If you have a musical number you would like to perform that would work
with our theme (Dreaming of a Heavenly Home), please contact
Frances Orton at ortonfrances@gmail.com.
Father and Mother Smith have been so busy moving and trying to plant crops, they haven’t had time to plant trees, flowers, or decorate their home in Palmyra New York. How would you help them decorate their home? Print and color the picture. Pictures will be displayed and prizes will be awarded at the August 2018 Reunion. Submission Deadline: July 15, 2018.
Send pictures to J. Maddox 875 N 140 W American Fork, UT 84003 by July 15, 2018.
This year we would like to collect pictures of family treasures and heirlooms that we can share through slides and post online. By sharing these treasures, we will gain additional knowledge of our family history.
As you send these pictures, please explain important information about the item and how it came to you. This would be the ideal way to send it. If there are concerns about safety and protection, we can post photos o f treasures anonymously.
Quoting Doctrine & Covenants 21:1, noted LDS Historian Marlin K. Jensen said, “’Behold, there shall be a record kept.’ There are many ways to keep that record, and one of the ways is to preserve a place, a building, an artifact that represents history.”
He noted that an artifact can be powerful “because it is tangible, tactile, something that can be lived and experienced.”
Quoting Alma, who taught that records “enlarged the memory of this people,” Jensen explained that it can also deepen and solidify our faith.
“There’s something very fundamental about reflecting back on where we’ve been in God’s economy of things,” he said. “If we have the stability of history, if we can enter into the peace of the Lord, the rest of the Lord, that can come from a knowledge that our history is secure and solid.”
To share an heirloom with the family or ask questions, contact Frances Orton (ortonfrances@gmail.com).
Emma received a lock of Joseph’s hair during a reburial at the Homestead. It is possible Mary Fielding also received this lock of Hyrum’s hair [hair at the top of the book] at the same time.
The 2016 Reunion marks 25 years since the Smith Family Nauvoo Cemetery was improved, beautified, and dedicated. It also means that for the last 25 years, Smith family members have helped pay for cemetery maintenance and upkeep. What a blessing it is for us to care for this hallowed ground and honor our beloved ancestors. Each year many thousands visit our sacred family cemetery. Meet your Smith family cousins this year in Nauvoo for a wonderful reunion that includes socializing, presentations, historical insights, sightseeing, service projects, food, and fun!
Register online at www.JosephSmithSr.org/reunion/registration
