Church

Church activities, faith, service, and missions.

Historic Nauvoo, IL, Hands on Experiences

History Nauvoo features many re-enactments and hands on lessons.  The kids loved the lessons. Bricks were critical in the building up of Nauvoo.  We learned about the history of making bricks in Nauvoo and how they were made. In the Browning Home, a volunteer taught us about Jonathan Browning

Historic Nauvoo, IL, Part 1

The early members of the Church of Jesus Christ settled in Nauvoo, IL.  The town is now a historic visitors center with volunteer / missionary re-enactments. The town is next to the Mississippi River and from basically everywhere in town, you could look up at a bluff near town and

Carthage Jail, Illinois

In 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother were killed while imprisoned in the Carthage Jail in Illinois.  The building is now owned by the Church of Jesus Christ, so we stopped at the visitors center, watched a brief movie about it, and took a tour of the jail. The rock

Historic John Johnson Farm

About 30 minutes east of Akron, Ohio is a small town called Hiram, Ohio, where the Historic John Johnson farm is found. As the members of the Church settled in nearby Kirtland, and the headquarters of the Church was eventually relocated there, the Johnson's learned of the Prophet

Historic Kirtland Ohio Ashery

Prior to our tour, I had never heard of an ashery and couldn't have guessed all that it did.  During the early to mid 1800's, all towns in the US had an ashery.  Towns people would sell their hardwood ashes at the ashery.  Then the ashery

Historic Kirtland Ohio

Kirtland, Ohio has been on our list of places to see since we moved to DC.  So much of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ took place there.  The Church has an excellent visitors center that includes tours through the buildings, many of which are original. Our guide

Kirtland Ohio Temple

The Kirtland, Ohio temple was the first temple built by the Church of Jesus Christ.  It snowed overnight while we were in Kirtland, so we were able to visit the temple with the beautiful snow cover. Our tour was guided by one of the maintenance workers, who obviously was passionate

Attending Church in Kirtland Ohio

We attended church in Kirtland, Ohio.  As we went out of our hotel to the car, we realized that we had to scape the four inches of snow and ice off of the windows.  It seems like it has been so long since we've had to deal with

Costa Rica Retrospective: the People

The People of Costa Rica were so welcoming and friendly, especially in San Carlos, where we spent most of our time. Our neighbors were thoughtful and welcoming and took the time to get to know us. People you met in town and at stores were generally polite. Despite us being

Farewell at Church

We have really enjoyed attending church in Costa Rica.  In the La Fortuna area, the nearest Church of Jesus Christ is in a town named Quesada, which was about a 45 minute drive.  They were so welcoming.  More than anyone, Carson connected well with the young men in the congregation

Grandma and Grandpa Knight come to visit day one: San Jose

We made a stop at the San Jose Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which is really close to the airport. Next, we went to the Jade Museum in downtown San Jose. It houses many pre-columbian artifacts, and cultural history exhibits. We then went

Gated In

As we pulled up to church on Sunday, there was a narrow, steep, gated driveway with tall walls on both sides.  The gate was open as we entered and we found only four parking spots to accommodate the entire congregation.  Surprisingly, one of them was available for us.  Apparently, very

Church in Quesada

We drove to church this morning in a town called Quesada, which was about a 50-minute drive from our house in Los Angeles (near La Fortuna). The hermanos y hermanas (brothers and sisters) there were very welcoming, there being a group of about 5 men there at the door

The National Cathedral in San Jose, Costa Rica

I always enjoy visiting the Catholic Cathedrals in cities I have visited.  The National Cathedral in San Jose, Costa Rica was no exception.  It was absolutely beautiful inside, which was complemented by the Christmas music and the Nativity scene. It was a nice break from the noise and business of

Attending Church in Spanish

Living in a fairly rural area, transportation for a family of five has been challenging.  Actually, it has been just about impossible.  We have ended up going into town with just two or three people at a time.  So church poses an interesting challenge -- we want be there together and

Rich Blessings

A note from Savannah:

Church Christmas Party

The Oakton Ward throws quite a party.  It was themed after How the Grinch Stole Christmas and included a live performance of the Dr Seuss book.

Trunk or Treat at the Church

The Church hosts a 'Trunk or Treat', where the kids can trick-or-treat at the decorated cars in the church parking lot.  It was nice and quick, and the kids had a great time. We didn't have room to bring costumes, so we used costumes

Savannah's Baptism

Savannah decided to be baptized and wanted to do it with family.  So we flew to Reno, NV where her Grandma and Grandpa Aksland, Grandma and Grandpa Knight, and Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins could be there to support her. It was a beautiful ceremony, which despite only being attended by

Martha's Table Service Project

Keith is the Den Leader for a Cub Scout group at church.  This week, our family helped out with a service project making sandwiches and granola for homeless in the area.  They have a food truck that delivers the food to the Homeless.  Everyone had a good time and was

Susquehannah, PA and Palmyra, NY - Church History Tour

We drove up to Susquehannah, PA to the Priesthood Restoration Site in Oakland Township, PA. We walked down from the visitor's center to some restored homes to look inside. A sister missionary showed us inside both Isaac Hale's (Emma's parents) home, and the house

Chevy Chase Christmas Party

Our church has a nice Christmas party.  Savannah and Tucker were part of the Nativity; Savannah was an Angel and Tucker a Wise-Man.

Halloween Costumes

We participated at our church Trunk-or-Treat and also Trick-or-Treated in our neighborhood. Tucker made his own costume this year: Tucker used copper wire to bind the seams of his helmet.

Portland, OR / Vancouver, WA

We had a great time visiting with Aunt Andrea in the Portland area. Powell's city of Books, bookstore: The Portland LDS Temple: The Columbia River: We hike the Columbia River Beacon Rock with Uncle Brent and Aunt Andrea.  It was a fun little hike, but steep with tall

More lights, at the Washington DC Temple

There was a full moon, so Carson suggested that we take the picture with it as the 'star' on the top of the tree. Inside, there is a room with a bunch of nativities from around the world.