Utah Salt Lake City Utah Temple Square Mission

August 3, 2014

Time is marching on and Taggart is down with his neck.  In going to the doctor this week, he found that his neck is not healing and the doctor has required him to stay home and rest.  Hopefully by next week the pain will have diminished and he will be back on the Square.  I certainly miss my companion and best buddy.

We learned this week what sisters will be going outbound.  Twenty of them will be leaving for two transfers.  Because we have only two transfers left ourselves, we will not see them again so it is bitter sweet.  We love these sisters and are so grateful to have gotten to know them.

The organ recitals have been wild this week.  Because they are refinishing many of the doors in the Tabernacle, our traffic lines have been changed and it is difficult to control the people coming and going.  There have been so many attending these recitals that the numbers are reaching the 600 range and without Taggart it is hard to do it without him.

As always we have had many hospitality tours.  This week I took a group over to the Conference Center.  It was a great tour and I enjoyed myself tremendously.  We had an excellent tour guide and there were many questions asked.  One man came up to me, apologized before he asked his question, and said, “How can you justify the expense of this building when the money could be used to help those in need.”  I explained our humanitarian efforts and welfare program and then a lady who was listening to the conversation spoke up.  She testified to this man of the goodness and charity of the Mormon people.  Apparently, she had been in need at one point in her life and the Mormons stepped up and helped her without being asked.  She said she is forever grateful to the Church.  After her comments he said nothing else.  It was great to have a non-member testify and be a second witness of what I had been saying.

Our Weber State Friends in the Park

On Friday our friends from Weber State came for dinner and a concert in Brigham Young Park.  Unfortunately, Taggart was unable to go but I enjoyed myself.  They are such good people so it was fun to see them again.  I vowed that in November I would have them all to dinner at our condo.  I look forward to entertaining again.