 |
Amusement and Kirtland |
|
To see the now, ex-Elder, Guiler was like jumping into a cool fresh pool of memories. We had an amazing 3 months together that affected the rest of both our missions. It was neat to hear how the end of his mission went and to think that I had a small influence on everything he did after Trento.
In his homecoming talk he put a bunch of inside references that only he and I understood fully... there were 2 musical numbers: "Come ye children of the Lord" and "Lead Kindly Light."
On Monday we drove all day out to an amusement park called Cedar Point. It cost a bit of money but it was worth it... every once in a while you've got to splurge. We rode all the rides. The most memorable were the water ride and the Wild Cat.
The water ride was memorable because as we were riding in a giant inner-tube we passed under 2 waterfalls and were soaked through 100%. That made the rest of the day fun. Every once in a while I'd look down to see small bubbles of water squish through the holes in the top of my shoes from my eternally steeped socks.
The Wild Cat, though, will live on in the annals of memory for a different reason. It was a simple ride... just a little car that rode on small rails that went up, down, and around a few times, then came to an abrupt stop... almost a child's ride. Well, Jason and I rode it and walked down the ramp together back to the main park floor. I was used to feeling a little queasy after the rides, but there was something different about how I was feeling in that moment.
I felt like my eyeballs had been forced into the back of my head and twisted around to stare out the back, somewhere near my ears. I had this insistent need to swallow continuously and the urge to burp. I tried to let the burp fly, but instead of a light clean gas bubble, the back of my tongue met the slick salty front of my throat. The swallowing continued and a cold sweat broke out of my head. Finally the points in the centers of my temples, that had been slowly expanding, burst out of my ears seeming to leave slowly fading concentric circles of shock waves radiating from my head.
Then my lunch made its way up my throat and splashed onto the ground between my feet - I continued walking with a slight burn in my throat but an incredible feeling of peace and comfort.
Later I witnessed a park attendant examining the puddle and turning some of the pieces over with his broom before he swept it into his trash bin.
Tuesday we went to Kirtland. It was a neat experience... mostly just to see the difference between the re-organized church/The Community of Christ and our church. We went to the Kirtland temple first which is owned by the Community of Christ. Their missionaries gave us a tour and showed us a video. The temple was old, and didn't seem very well kept-up, but it was neat to imagine the old Saints gathered there to worship, not understanding what kind of heritage they were starting. Not to mention that Christ appeared to Joseph and Oliver upon the pulpit there.
I learned that the different pulpits are for the orders and offices of the priesthood... one side for the Melchizedek and one for the Aaronic. I also learned that there were veils or curtains all over the place back in the day on the bottom floor of the temple.
Then we went to our visitor's center and saw the Newell K. Whitney store and home. It just felt like coming home as our missionaries gave us the tour and bore their testimonies with the Spirit. Their countenances were definitely different. Circle and I talked a bit afterward about whether we'd be able to recognize the truth and feel the Spirit coming from another church, whether we'd be open enough to leave behind our traditions. Interesting questions.
Then we visited the Morley and Johnson farms. They are 2 unsung heroes of the restoration who played important supporting roles to Joseph and Emma. At the Johnson farm we met the only tour-giving Elders in the world, it was different, but cool.
|
|
