Apologies for my absence over the last few weeks. I have had time off to recover from some illness and then time with my family during the summer holidays. Below is a brief update from the last month or so and I am looking forward to sharing some more stories with you again soon.
BYU Study Abroad
My wife and I had the opportunity to meet with a study abroad group from BYU in Berwick-upon-Tweed. They were in the country to visit sites relevant to their family history but also broader Latter-day Saint history. Before meeting and speaking with them, I was able to scout out a few relevant church history sites in the town. Berwick is remarkably preserved and has had countless missionaries pass through over the years as they travelled between Scotland and England. We enjoyed a late-night walk along the Elizabethan walls and explored some of the peculiar sites, including the sally port, which they seemed to love.
British Pageant
I am actually going to provide a separate post and review of the British Pageant that has been held at the Preston England Temple site in Chorley, England. It runs for the rest of this week (until Saturday 12th August) so either book tickets in person or watch it online on 11th August using this free link: https://www.youtube.com/live/0Ab1q637GYE?feature=share
Church History Tour
I had the opportunity to join a lovely group of Latter-day Saints on a tour of Church History sites here in the British Isles. I’ve been a tour guide on this route a number of times but never with quite this many people! Still, it was great to be with them and to share some extra insights into the Latter-day Saint experience in the nineteenth century.
Improving local police officers’ understanding of Latter-day Saints
Recently two police officers from our local force visited an open house event at our branch chapel. They shared a document that had been used for a long time by their police officers to understand more about the Church and how to interact with members. I was surprised by how empty it was and there was a complete misunderstanding of who Latter-day Saints are and what is important to them. I was able to weave in some history of the Church in Northumberland and the UK generally to help them better know how to work with a Latter-day Saint if they happen to interact with them.
Family History
Finally, I had the opportunity to gather some new family history photographs from my relatives. Some dated back to the nineteenth century, and others were more recent. Here is one from one of the earliest days when my family met Latter-day missionaries in Weston-Super-Mare in the late 1990s.
Anyways, expect some more Church History posts starting again soon with some detailed articles about the Church in a number of different countries and a series on Latter-day Saint recipes for you to try!