September 25, 2014,

Our final blog entry!

The Nauvoo summer has been beautiful and uncharacteristically cool. The local townsfolk fear that the winter will be beyond brutally cold and they have begun to discuss this topic, almost daily. The beautiful Mississippi River is calm and peaceful and its' waters appear as a sheet of glass.

Barges going up and down the Mississippi

Overall, this time of the year is beautiful and spiritually uplifting. The Nauvoo Temple captures the afternoon sun, as it radiates off of the west face of this beautiful edifice. Gorgeous!!

Our Beautiful Nauvoo Sunset

Our mission has sadly come to an end! It seems like yesterday that we left our home and traveled to the Training Center, in Provo, Utah and then on to the Iowa Des Moines Mission. Our first two months of service found us in Manchester, Iowa. The people were wonderful and that little Branch flourishes in the spirit of love and service. Then, on June 1, 2013, we were transferred to Nauvoo, Illinois! The City of Joseph is spiritually uplifting in every way and we have felt peace and joy as we have served in this historic town. Nauvoo has been our home for 16 months, but will be our memory forever. We have been blessed beyond measure to serve as full time missionaries! We have walked the streets that Joseph and Hyrum and Brigham and so many others walked, as they built the Kingdom and defended the faith. We have traveled the trail that Joseph and Hyrum took to Carthage, in June of 1844. Several times, we have found ourselves in that dreadful jail and we have basked the spirit of the Lord, as He testifies of the reality of the martyrdom. Time and time again I have replayed in my mind, that fateful night of June 27, 1844 when the Prophet and the Patriarch gave their lives in defense of truth and justice. I have seen this event over and over again! It was real, it IS true!! I am so thankful for these two great men who shed their blood so that Christ's church could continue to grow and flourish. The mobs might have physically taken these two prophets, but they will never stop prophetic spirits from reminding us of their sacrifice!! Truth always prevails and the spirit always testifies of truth! We have learned so much on our mission! I cannot fully described every life changing event that has taken place as we have served. If I had to mention just one thing that we have fully learned, it would be; the Lord is in charge, this is His mission, it is His plan,  

Hyrum and Joseph at the NauvooTemple

We are grateful for the love and support of family and friends. A special thank you to our daughter Kelly and her family! They have held the home front together in miraculous ways and have made it possible for us to serve others. Thanks goes to Darlyne Tarver for making this blog possible. She often reminded me of my responsibility to share our mission with others. We will be forever grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime!! I miss my Dad who passed away this past May, but he is near. Finally, I am grateful for my missionary companion-my eternal companion. Sister Warner is a wonderful missionary! She is full of love and compassion and is ALWAYS close to the spirit. She has captured the true essence of  missionary work as she has loved the people that we have served. I am so grateful for her loving patience that so many times made up for my deficiencies. May she be blessed for her goodness and for the tender mercies of her heart.

We leave Nauvoo on September 28th and return home to a new journey. Our "homecoming" talks will be given on October 19th at 1:00PM. Come and see us, we have missed you!!

Our mission has been wonderful!!

Stand Strong and Be Bold!!

With love,

Elder and Sister Warner