Mr. White's Cabin

Logs for the Peter Whitmer Home

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints decided to rebuild the Whitmer cabin Home in Fayette, New York, they needed to find some very long, old logs to build it with. They had not found any really long logs. Meanwhile a farmer, who lived six miles away, was trying to make improvements to a farm he had purchased. There was an old three story building that had been used to store grain, that he wanted to demolish. He asked a neighbor to use a bulldozer to clear trees along a lane leading into the farm yard. The man worked many hours on the task. He was then asked to bulldoze the old building. As the man drove up to the building his dozer began to push, it stalled and died. He could not get it started again. He had misjudged the sturdiness of the building. When the engine cooled, he restarted the dozer and put its blade up against the building and put the machine into gear. It tryed to push the wall in, but the tracks just spun. The hour was late and it was getting quite dark. The operator stopped, threw up his hands and said, "We will have to do this another day." For some reason he never came back to finish the job. Meanwhile the farmer had time to investigate what made his building so strong. He discovered that underneath the wood plank siding were logs from the original wall, which had also been covered inside with lath and plaster. Sometime later some Cornell University students found out about the old logs and wanted to examine it as part of a study of old log structures. They came with permission and tore off much of the siding and inside walls. The logs remained sturdy and strong. They brought a man who represented the LDS church and he told the farmer that the church had an interest in some of the logs. A deal was negotiated and the farmer agreed to donate the logs if the Church would take them all. For the next eight Saturdays the Fayette Ward Elders and Priest Quorums disassembled the structure and hauled the logs to the Whitmer home site. The Church had acquired other shorter logs for most of the restored cabin home, and used the long logs from the farmer for the top three rows of the cabin walls. They also used an old stairway from the old structure as the stairway to the upper rooms in the cabin. On April 6th, 1980, the 150th anniversary of the organization of the church, President Spencer W. Kimball conducted the opening session of General Conference for the church, via satellite broadcast, from the main room of the restored cabin. The farmer had been invited by Pres. Kimball to attend, but did not think that it was important. On that day the new Fayette Ward church and Visitors Center were dedicated, along with the Whitmer Cabin Home, which occupy the same several acres. Sixteen years later the farmer was visiting a friend in the area and thought it would be interesting to visit the building that had been rebuilt with some of his logs. It happened to be a Sunday, during church services. He was greeted in the parking lot by a Senior Elder. He was asked what he wanted to see. The farmer said he had come to see the logs. The Elder said, "What logs?" The farmer said that he had donated some logs years ago and had come to see what had become of them. As the Elder took the farmer to the Log Home, he asked what he knew about the Church, and would he like to hear more? The farmer said that he had heard about the Church from non-member friends and he really wasn't interested in hearing more. They were soon standing outside the cabin looking at the logs. The farmer pointed to the upper logs, that he had been told years before were the ones he had donated. Two sister missionaries walked up and were introduced to him. They made a fuss over him when they heard about the logs, and asked for a picture of him. They then went on to other duties. The Senior Elder was able to get the farmer inside the building and proceeded to tell him of all the events that had taken place on the farm and in the original cabin that had been there in 1830. The restored cabin was built on the exact spot where the old one had been, so it occupied the same air space. When they got upstairs, the farmer began to cry. He sobbed like a baby. He was embarrassed and apologized by saying, "I don't know what has come over me. I have never felt this way before!" The Elder assured him that he was feeling the Spirit. The man said again, "I have never felt this way before!" The Elder replied, "Maybe you have never felt the Spirit before." Needless to say, before he left, he had agreed to listen to the discussions. The man came to the Visitors Center at Fayette a couple of times a week to be taught. It took an extra number of lessons before he committed to baptism. When he visited the Sacred Grove, he received another witness as he sat alone on a tree stump. He counted the rings and calculated that the tree had probably been living when God the Father and Jesus had appeared to Joseph. He received a witness from the Spirit that the Church was true, and finally agreed to be baptized. He was baptized in Seneca Lake on September 8th, 1996. He was content to be a member and did not pursue becoming an Elder. When the Palmyra Temple was announced, he realized that he would not be able to enter it after the open house. He thought to himself, "When the Temple closes to the public, I do not want the doors closed to me." He talked with his Bishop and began preparing himself. On the day that the Temple was dedicated, April 6, 2000, a former missionary from Wyoming, that was instrumental in his conversion, ordained him an Elder in the Peter Whitmer Log Home. He said that his Bishop, who was attending the ordination, then handed him his temple recommend. Two days later the man became the first person to receive a living endowment in that temple. He was also sealed to his family and was the first proxy sealing of a child to deceased parents. Later he married a woman who had been taught in another city by the same sister missionary who had taught him. She also joined the church. This man, the farmer, is Norman White and he is calls himself, "Norman the Mormon". He is currently serving as a councilor in the Bishopric of the Auburn, NY Ward. He truly had a great story that he gave us permission to share. We were thrilled to have met him and to have learned of his story this past Monday at Family Home Evening with the senior couples.

The Fruit Preparation Party & Sisters & Elders

Our Observations at Our Half Way Point

It is amazing that nine months have already passed since we left home for this mission. We have been looking forward to the Hill Cumorah Pageant since before we left home, and now it is only 2 1/2 months away. This year will be the 75th anniversary of the pageant. This year it will be held on July 12-14 and 17-21. For more information go to the website: www.HillCumorah.org. There you will find some interesting facts. We plan on having some of our family and others visit this summer and look forward to having them visit.

Looking back on the past months there have been many activities outside the office that we have been involved in. Just last week we spent an evening preparing fresh fruit for the Zone Training the next day. The we and the Jensens cut up 13 pineapples, 20 lbs. of strawberries, and 24 lbs. of grapes and added 2 dozen bananas the next day to make a fruit cup mix. We also purchased 13 dozen bagels, and mixed crushed strawberries and honey into respective cream cheese spreads. Then there were the 120 bottles of water that also had to be transported to Batavia and Canandaigua for the meetings. It was a lot of work. It is so great having a wonderful spouse who spearheads those things. I did not mention that we also deliver mail and packages that we receive at the office for many missionaries. We are happy to report that when lunch is served for Zone Conferences, Ward Relief Societies are asked to prepare the meal and are reimbursed for the food costs. That does save us a lot of extra work.

We have mentioned before that there is also time to have some activities. We went to the city museums in Palmyra with other senior couples last week. We also made a visit to a small Amish community. Later this year there will be Erie Canal boat rides, and visits to other historical sites. Almost every Wednesday evening we go to the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center for a Site Meeting. It is an opportunity to see all of the Site Couples and the young sisters who serve there two thirds of their time. We also get to hear comments from Bob Parrott, the arborist for all of the historic sites and temple. Bob is local man, who grew up next to the Smith Farm. He has been very instrumental in restoring the Sacred Grove to its natural forest setting. He takes such pride in it, and has had some very spiritual experiences in the Grove. Visiting the Grove often is a real treat and offers a place for some quiet time to reflect on life and religion. The longer we serve here the more that we realize that, "It is all true!"

Alden's Baptism at Fayette on April 6th

Elders Vazquez and Wilson, a tall combination

Vazquez & a Student's Conversion Stories

We have had some wonderful experiences this past week and would like to share them with you. It started with being able to watch General Conference over the Internet. What a great blessing technology is. We had our spiritual batteries recharged. Then Monday morning we had a new Elder arrive from Mexico, Elder Vazquez. He was supposed to arrive weeks ago, but had visa problems. It was great to meet him and get acquainted with him. He related his conversion story to us. A friend in Mexico City invited him to visit the temple grounds with him. He said that when he saw the beautiful temple he cried. He talked with a woman there and filled out a referral card to have the missionaries visit him. He waited, and waited and finally went back to the temple a year later. He happened to see the same woman there, who asked him if he would like the missionaries to visit him. He then told her that he did that last year, and they never came. Well, the next day the Elders visited him. He was so interested that he had them teach him all of the lessons in one day. He was baptized a week later. He then told his sister and brother about the church and they both joined. His parents were separated and were both living with someone else. They ended up marrying their partners and joining the church. He then started his own business and supported his brother on his mission. When his brother returned, he had also saved enough money to support himself on a mission. So, it was his time to serve. He was delighted to receive his call to serve in New York. However, getting a visa was another problem.

He spent time in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Mexico, and then had to be assigned to a Mexico City mission while waiting for his visa. He was concerned about getting his visa and had been told that it could take up to a year. When he was in line he noticed that many people were being rejected. He prayed and he prayed he said, that the Lord would help him that he might get it quickly. When he went to the passport agency he sat down with an agent who started asking him questions. He thought it was unusual that he was being asked him are you married and will you be dating while there?. He answered that he had a pass-a-long card that he would like to give him, so he could learn more about the church. The agent then laughed and admitted that he was LDS and had served a mission. He told him that he would help him get the visa. He was then referred to a woman agent who looked at him and said, "I know you, are you Carlos Vazquez? I know you, you worked at a resort in Cabo San Lucas and helped me when I visited there. I will help you get your visa." In a few days he had it and our mission was alerted that he would join us in three days.

We were excited to meet him and to speak with him. Unlike many Mexicans he is about 6 ft. 1 inch tall and is 25 years old. He was paired with Elder Wilson who is about 6 ft. 2 inches. They will be working in the Buffalo area. When we asked Elder Vazquez what he thought about his visit to the Sacred Grove that morning he said, "I do not have the English words to explain how wonderful it was."

Another great experience we had was on Friday morning, April 6th, at 7:30 am. We drove to the Fayette Chapel (on the Whitmer Farm site) for a baptism. AL R., a young man of about 20 had chosen that special day, the 182 anniversary of the organization of the restored church that took place at the Whitmer farm in 1830, to join the ranks of the Saints. He is a great student at a local College, which is here in Western New York. It was wonderful to be there with him and others. Our mission president gave the talk on baptism.

That night we drove to the Hill Cumorah Visitor Center for a special fireside. Our Area Authority Seventy, David L. Cook, was the speaker. His release from that calling was announced in General Conference and takes place on May 1st. Since he is also a member of the Pittsford Ward that we attend here, and the former Stake President, we are personally acquainted with him. His talk focused on the life and trials of the prophet Joseph Smith. It was a wonderful, informative talk and filled our hearts with a stronger witness of that great man, who had lived right where we were hearing the message. The audience was comprised of the senior missionary couples who serve here.

So, our week was full of wonderful missionary stories. We hope that each of you can also learn of wonderful experiences like these.