Happy Pioneer Day!

In celebration of Pioneer Day, Andrew and I attended a special tour of the Kirtland Temple and Historic Kirtland geared especially to the cast children of This is Kirtland. It was a great reminder of the faith and sacrifices of our pioneer ancestors long before they made the trek West to Utah.
Andrew at the Chagrin River where many of the early Saints in Kirtland were baptized. Andrew was amazed that people even got baptized in the dead of winter when the river was frozen over.

The children listen to a sister missionary at the original N. K. Whitney store.

We were reminded of the opening scene of the show when the Whitneys prayed to know the word of God. Joseph Smith then arrived at the Whitney store and uttered the famous words, "Newel K. Whitney, thou art the man. I am Joseph the Prophet. You prayed me here, now what do you want of me." It was so exciting to see "the lights come on" when the children connected the things we portrayed on stage with the actual events and places where they occurred. There were a few moments like that including an especially sweet one in the School of the Prophets when Jon and the children sang, "He Lives." We also got to sing "Coming to Kirtland" on the steps of the Store and the children sang "Education" in the old schoolhouse.

Andrew and his stage dad, brothers, and sister, "the Rigdons."