The Picture on My Office Wall

A few years ago, during the time when the Nauvoo Temple was under construction, I was pondering on how to keep a daily journal. I had not been able to get excited about such a demanding project. I was feeling especially guilty about my journal writing habits, or better said, my NON-journal writing habits. I felt prompted to use the scriptural pattern like Nephi on the small plates. That is, keep a record of instances when I felt prompted or guided by the Spirit. In other words, I needed to put an emphasis on recording my spiritual experiences as opposed to "what we ate for dinner" (an old family joke relating to me and Family Home Evening journals). I have always been fascinated by conversion stories (or any stories of non-members, including comments and ideas they have expressed about the Church). So, my very first entry was made during the time of the construction of the Nauvoo Temple, as follows:

"Friday, February 2, 2001 - I had purposely hung a nice picture of the Nauvoo Temple in a beautiful frame on the wall in my office at work. I did so not only for my personal enjoyment, but also to draw others attention to the temple and hopefully draw questions. I was serving as Bishop of the Peoria 2nd Ward at the time and wanted to use the pictures to encourage attendance to the Temple Open House.

The artist, who painted it, did something very unusual. He always painted, within his paintings, a hidden portrait of a person. In this painting of the Nauvoo Temple, he had painted a picture of Joseph Smith, his head and upper body in its upper right hand corner. Above the painting, I had hung an explanation of the temple, its history, the artist, and something about the hidden person.

Toni Culbertson (now Smith since her marriage), came in my office with some claims items I had requested. She worked in our Surety Claims Department as a claims adjuster. I was on the phone at the time. So while she was waiting, she saw the picture and was drawn to it and read the explanation above the picture. When I got off of the phone, she pointed to the picture and asked where the picture of Joseph Smith was in the painting. After I showed her, she made a comment that really stunned me. She remarked that she had seen the temple on the very last week end. I thought to myself, how in the world could she have been in Nauvoo? After all, unless some member takes you, it’s not very common for someone to travel through there. I then learned how it was that she happened to be there. Toni’s parents lived in Dallas City, which sits along the Mississippi River 18 miles north of Nauvoo on Hwy 96. We are very familiar with Dallas City, since we travel through the city on our way to Nauvoo and generally stop there for gas. She told me that her grandmother's sister was a Nun at the Nauvoo Convent, which was a part of the old Nauvoo Academy that the Church had purchased across from the temple site. So as the story went, last week end while Toni was visiting her parents, she went with her family to visit her great aunt in Nauvoo And of course, while there, noticed the new temple under construction. I then went over with Toni some additional history of the temple, it's purposes and mentioned some things about its construction, noting that it would be completed early next year. I also commented that once it’s dedicated, only members would be able to enter inside. Toni repeated in the form of a question that only members in good standing who are elders would be allowed in? I suspect she got that term "elders" from her great aunt. I told her that not only Elders, but all worthy members of the Church would be allowed inside. I also told her that before it was dedicated, they would hold an open house when the general public could go through on tours. Toni said that her great aunt had been invited on a special tour. She commented that her great aunt's new facility would not be completed on time and that our Church had been nice enough to work with the delay, allowing them to stay on at the convent until which time they could move. As I mentioned before, part of my strategem was in recruiting as many people to go to the open house as I could with my Nauvoo picture. So I felt really good that Toni had shown so much interest and that we
had had this conversation. She was one whom I had been hoping would go back and visit the temple's open house."

(In the future, I plan on sharing additional journal entry items.)

Mel Peel