We hiked to Delicate Arch and enjoyed the park all day Saturday. I loved it so much that I woke up early Sunday morning (my birthday) wanting to get back their ASAP. I contemplated heading over as the sun was coming up all by myself, but waited, wanting to spend the morning and day with my family. One by one, my kids woke up and headed downstairs for the motel breakfast. Dax and I had previously talked about attending an LDS sacrament meeting on Sunday, and everyone had brought their church clothes, but we kinda lost our steam and thought hiking church sounded nice. Something inside me couldn't stop thinking about going to sacrament meeting. It was my 35th birthday and God has blessed me with SO much. I couldn't bear to not worship Him on this birthday Sabbath and thank Him for all I have and the life He has given me throughout my 35 years. I kept putting it off until finally I started getting so hot and my heart started beating so fast that I began stripping off layers of clothing. Getting hot is not common for me. I spent the 2 evenings before in two pairs of sweats and bundled in a blanket watching my kids swim in the motel's outdoor pool. Finally at 8:20am, I said, "I think we need to go to sacrament meeting." We had 20 minutes to get dressed, pack up and check out in order to make it on time to the 9 o'clock meeting. But as soon as we started down that path, I felt calm and my head was clear. We drove into Moab and found the church and were in our seats by 8:58am. Then the urge to call my Mom came over me. I hurried out of the chapel and into a classroom and called her. I love calling home because Mom always answers. This has been the case my entire life. It is so comforting to know that anytime I call, I will hear her voice. I know someday that will change.
I asked Mom if any of our ancestors are buried in Moab. She told me the names of 2 sets of my great-great grandparents that were buried there and their birth and death dates. Then told me a few cool stories about them. I hung up and re-entered the chapel. I felt the Holy Ghost so strong and knew I had to get to the cemetery after sacrament meeting. I thought about texting Dax about the feelings I was having, but I just sat and enjoyed them. I looked up Moab Utah Cemetery on my phone; there were 2. Not close to each other. After the meeting (which was wonderful), we got in our car and I said, "I want to go to the cemetery." Dax said ok, and I went back in the church to ask an old timer which cemetery would likely have my ancestors' graves from the dates I had.
We headed to Grand Valley Cemetery and found both sets of my great-great grandparents' graves. Plus a dozen other relatives' graves. It was so fun to find the headstones of people from my own family history. I told my kids about John Carlos Wilcox, who was my grandpa's grandpa. When my grandpa Richard was a boy, John would rock him and his pegleg would come up in the air as they would rock back. My grandpa loved him and was there when John was on his death bed. John's wife Eliza had passed away 13 years prior, but my grandpa saw John stretch his arms out and say, "Eliza!" and then his arms dropped and he died. Eliza came to get John and take him Home. At age 16, my grandpa Richard buried his grandfather, John. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done- shoveling dirt onto his grandfather's casket to bury it.
We found the old headstone of Myron and Elvira Lance. The Lance family was one of the families sent by Brigham Young to settle the Moab area. My older brother Lance is named after this family.
After our visit to the cemetery, we changed and headed back to Arches. We ate a picnic lunch and explored. We hiked to Landscape Arch. This is such a beautiful part of the world, and it's only 3 hours from my house. It made me want to explore more of the places around me.
We made it home that evening and I called my Mom to tell her all the graves we found. She was so excited. Mom told me something cool that happened to her that day, too. She told me that during the sacrament at her church, she got the feeling that many ancestors were joining the Mangus family in Moab today. Both of us cried. The rest of the night, I felt intense warmth in my chest and such love. I know these ancestors and relatives that have gone before love us and are cheering for us. They have overcome great trials and have many stories. Those stories are apart of us. I am so grateful for this special experience. I am so grateful that I decided to attend sacrament meeting! I have always been a fan of following your guts, heart, the Spirit, whatever you want to call it! It ALWAYS leads you the right direction.
