On Sunday 12 April we enjoyed attending the Sevierville Ward in Sevierville, Tennessee.  It was a challenge as it was not where it was supposed to be.  We found where it was and got there in time for the water portion of the sacrament.

The first speaker was a recently returned missionary and she bore her testimony.

The next speaker was Bishop Cole who spoke about President Uchtdorf's talk in the priesthood session of general conference about façade's and Potemkin Villages.  He spoke about a widow and her gruff exterior because her husband died before she did. He spoke of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and her passing. She had requested that her nephew, a minister in another faith, give the eulogy at her LDS funeral. He spoke of who we are as Latter-day Saints.  We are not maintaining a façade but are truly followers of our Savior Jesus Christ.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The intermediate hymn was #2 "The Spirit of God" text by William W. Phelps (1792-1872) and music by anonymous, ca. 1844.  It was included in the first LDS hymnbook in 1835 and was sung at the Kirtland Temple dedication in 1836.

The concluding speaker was the stake president, President Clapp. This building is the new one although the phone number associated with it online didn't work. He spoke of his days before he joined the Church when his wife was a member though not active as he was not supportive. Encouraged the members to reach out to the many less-active and bring them back to church, to fill up this new building. 

I found a Sunday bulletin later and learned the names of the speakers and that today was their ward conference.

Closing hymn was #153 "Lord, We Ask Thee Ere We Part" text by George Manwaring (1854-1889) and music by Benjamin Milgrove (1731-1810), arranged by Ebenezer Beesley (1840-1906).

Gospel Doctrine was taught by the stake Sunday School president.  He was told that he could teach on whatever topic he would like. He spoke of one of the greatest learning experiences in his life.  He was short, stocky, and slow, but he wanted to be a high school basketball star.  So he worked as hard as he could to develop his abilities as best he could.  He was on the high school basketball team for four years, though never a star.

He spoke about working really hard at studying the scriptures, not just reading them. We discussed Proverbs 3:5-6. How do we lean on the Lord and not on our own understanding? He told how he and his wife wound up in Salt Lake City from Columbus, Ohio, via a job interview in North Carolina and joined the Church. How they adopted a child, trusting in the Lord that his wife would know the children were for them. They adopted another girl and later he dreamt three nights in a row that a little boy was to be part of their family.  That came to pass as they drove from Tennessee to Michigan and the little baby had brown hair just as he had looked in his dreams.

This ward is part of the Knoxville Stake and he and his wife are temple workers in the Nashville Temple.

"Don't give up. Don't quit. Keep walking and keep trying. There is happiness and help ahead. Trust God and believe in good things to come." Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

The hymn in priesthood meeting was #243 "Let Us All Press On" text and music by Evan Stephens (1854-1930).

A member of the bishopric conducted and when I said where we were visiting from, he said that he had lived eight years in Dawsonville.  A counselor in the stake presidency led the combined high priests/elders meeting.  As part of the ward conference the priesthood leaders were sustained. He discussed "hastening the work of salvation." He quoted from the Handbook of Instructions about the goals of the Church.  He talked about the roles of the ward mission leader, the ward high priests group leader, and the ward Sunday School president.  D&C 88:73. He quoted Elder Russell M. Nelson about this latter-day work.  D&C 133:10. One of the ways that we can see the work hastening is in the increased number of temples.  I mentioned about the Internet and the use of social media and the effect on doing family history work. 

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

After church we went on a four-hour drive through the Smoky Mountain National Park and Cade's Cove within it.  It appears that the road followed the Little River almost the entire way along the two lane road. Very nice! Eileen read to me from the Cade's Cove guide.

Back at the resort Eileen watched "Music & the Spoken Word" on her phone. We had some sugar-free candy and then supper to break our fast.

Eileen and I began working on our latest Church Service Mission assignment researching England Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers and England Stories, Memories & Histories.  We spent an hour each.

We watched some of the Yankees - Red Sox game and hit the hay with the Yankees ahead, 10-3.  (They won, 14-4!)

I finished reading to Eileen "The Plan of Happiness" by President Boyd K. Packer from the Saturday morning session of General Conference.

President Boyd K. Packer 

On Monday 13 April I finished reading the first three sections of Elder John A. Widtsoe's "Evidences and Reconciliations" which were "The Approach to Truth," "The Godhead," and "Revelation."

Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1872-1952)

While waiting for the trolley into Gatlinburg I began and finished "The Cornish Mystery A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

We took the purple trolley to the aquarium.  We walked across footbridge to Aunt Mahalia's Candy Store and got sugar-free chocolates.

Ben and friend

Ben and bears

Aunt Mahalia's Candy Store

Eileen and friend

Tickets will be forthcoming for the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge when we attend the spiel at the Capital Resort there tomorrow. I took Eileen's picture in front of Pucker's Sports Bar & Grill for her brother Russell.

We rode the Sky Lift to the top and enjoyed the view of the town. 

We had our picture taken with the Times-Courier at the top and then at the bottom with Ripley's Believe It Or Not behind us.  There are also pictures on our way down the Sky Lift.

Ben and Eileen with the Times-Courier

Sky Lift building at the bottom

Eileen and Ben with the Times-Courier

 We returned to Pucker's Sports Bar & Grill for a tee shirt for Eileen's brother, selecting the only one without sexual innuendos.  

Inside Pucker's Sports Bar & Grill

We went into the Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen for sugar-free chocolates and taffy.

Inside Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen

Taffy machine

We went into Kilwin's for sugar-free ice cream which was a delicious caramel cashew flavor.  I asked the fellow that we had spoken to earlier about the Titanic Museum tickets my two Book of Mormon questions and he said "yes". We returned to the aquarium and rode the purple trolley back to the resort, then the shuttle to our unit 511.

After returning to our unit I finished "The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

I worked 40 minutes finishing up our latest Church Service Mission assignment researching the collections in Ancestry.com where we had entered "indexed but no images" as Eileen had pointed out to me that some of them should have been "indexed with images."

After supper I began and finished "The Double Clue A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie, then I began and finished "The King of Clubs A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.  I certainly enjoy Poirot!

We watched some of the Yankees - Orioles game and changed channels when the score was tied 2-2.  Later we turned it back on when the Yankees were ahead, 6-5.  We learned that Steven Drew had hit a pinch-hit grand slam home run and that was the first for the Yankees in 15 years!  They won, 6-5.

Later I began and finished "The Lemesurier Inheritance A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

When we hit the hay, I pulled open the drawer of my night stand and found a Bible from the Gideons.  It was the King James Version which was very nice as that is the version the LDS Church uses.  The Gideons is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Gideon's logo

On Tuesday 14 April our blood sugars were up so we need to watch the sugar-free chocolates in the evening.

I began and finished "The Lost Mine A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

In the early afternoon we visited the Capital Resorts location in Pigeon Forge.  We had agreed to listen to their spiel to get free tickets to the Titanic Museum plus $60.

Well, their spiel was good!  We are getting a timeshare with them and will be gotting rid of our two Oak Plantation timeshares, which will save us money every year on maintenance fees.  There are other benefits as well such as no exchange fees when staying at one of their resorts.

Julian Sanchez gave us the spiel and he already has a Book of Mormon but the closing officer Kelly Hall said "yes" to my two Book of Mormon questions!

After supper I finished reading "Murder Must Advertise A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery" by Dorothy L. Sayers which I began on 6 April.

Nearing bedtime I published the 22 February edition of my blog!

On Wednesday 15 April we leisurely got up and caught the shuttle to the trolley stop, just missing the purple trolley again!  We caught the next one and went to the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg.  It was very enjoyable! 

Then we walked to nearby Cooter's Place and enjoyed the Dukes of Hazzard ambience.  We took pictures of the General Lee and got an outfit for Weston and a shirt for Liam.

General Lee

Ben inside Cooter's

General Lee and Eileen

Back on the purple trolley and the shuttle to our unit.  While Eileen napped I finished reading "Cards on the Table" by Agatha Christie, a Hercule Poirot novel that I began yesterday.

After her nap we went to the resort's Smokehouse Grill for supper.  We rode the Westgate "railroad train" shuttle for the first time.

Back in our unit we enjoyed the jacuzzi there for the first time this week.

I researched how I am related to the Durhams in Grand Turk as a relative down there is inquiring.  In trying to add a name to my temple ordinance list I discovered a new update to Family Tree that requires a lot more information if someone has been born within the last 110 years which requires permission.

I finished the 2 November issue of the Church News.  I especially liked 'An Area of Strength' about the Church's growth in Mexico; 

Elder Neil L. Andersen speaks at the conclusion of the October 19 Mexico City Xalostoc Stake conference.

the talks in the Sidney B. Sperry Symposium at BYU last October, which focused on the theme “The Ministry of Peter, the Chief Apostle,” by Elder Bruce C. Hafen (“Peter, the Priesthood, the Temple and Christ’s Atonement”) and Brothers Robert L. Millet (“Make Your Calling and Election Sure,” a phrase drawn from 1 Peter 1:10) and Brent L. Top ("Fallible but Faithful: How Simon the Fisherman Became Peter the Rock"; 

Brother Robert L. Millet, emeritus professor of ancient scripture at BYU

Elder Bruce C. Hafen, emeritus General Authority

In painting by David Lindsley the resurrected Christ is depicted as asking Peter
"Lovest thou me more than these?"

Brother Brent L. Top, dean of religious education at BYU,
delivers Sperry Symposium lecture October 24.

"Returned missionary pitches for Kansas City Royals,"

Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie

"Worth of Souls an important focus for families," and "Legacy of the fair" in a Missionary Moment.

On Thursday 16 April we went to Pigeon Forge and had breakfast at Reagan's House of Pancakes courtesy of Capital Resorts, stopping first at Sevier County Bank to cash the check from Capital Resorts.

Reagan's House of Pancakes

Then we went to the Titanic Museum, again courtesy of Capital Resorts, and it was marvelous!! We got Titanic postcards, a Titanic tie, and a fridge magnet.

We then went to the Hollywood Wax Works which was very nice although we didn't know half of the actors and actresses. 

King Kong at the Wax Works

King Kong inside the Wax Works

Ben and Clint Eastwood

Ben and John Wayne

Lucille Ball

Eileen at NASCAR

Ben and Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)

Ben with Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, Elvis Presley, and James Dean

Ben and Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)

Ben and Sean Connery

Ben and Rocky (Sylvester Stallone)

Barbara Eden

Ben on the transporter platform

Eileen and Pierce Brosnan

Ben and Marilyn Monroe

Ben and Dolly Parton

Ben and Charlie Chaplin

Now that our odometer has passed 100000, we will have a palindrome only once every 1100 miles, that is, 101101, 102201, 103301, etc.  So I'll just indicate when we reach the occasional readings such as 100200, which was this morning.

We went back toward Gatlinburg and stopped at the Welcome Center across from our resort.  We got several books for the Cubberley grandsons.  

Eileen at the Welcome Center

We drove into Gatlinburg and I dropped Eileen off at the store where she had seen a handbag that she would like.  I went around the block a couple of times and picked her up.  She had gotten a nice one.

We were going to play putt-putt at Davy Crockett's Mini-Golf but it was too expensive and it started to rain soon after.

So we returned to Pigeon Forge as the resort is closer to Pigeon Forge and got some groceries at Food City. We enjoyed some yummy sugar-free ice cream at Baskin-Robbins!

Inside Baskin-Robbins

In the evening I began and finished "The Plymouth Express A Hercule Poirot Short Story" and "The Chocolate Box A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

I finished reading to Eileen "The Parable of the Sower" by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from the Saturday morning session of General Conference.

Dallin H. Oaks

On Friday 17 April we enjoyed breakfast at the Smokehouse Grill.  We checked out and headed north through Pigeon Forge and Sevierville to I-40.  Gas prices have shot up and we were lucky to fill up for $2.099.

We were back in Ellijay by 2 pm and Eileen paid for her next art class at the Gilmer Art office.  We picked up this week's Times-Courier at the newspaper office.

Times-Courier Office

We shopped at Ingles and headed home where all was well.  The power hadn't even gone off in our absence.  We unloaded the car and put everything away.  I went through all of our mail; the week's mail all fit in the mailbox. 

After supper Eileen enjoyed "The Great British Baking Show" and it's down to three contestants.

The Great British Baking Show contestants

Then she watched "19 Kids and Counting" followed by "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Bride by Design."

I wrote reviews for Trip Advisor for all the places we had enjoyed in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

I began and finished "The Submarine Plans A Hercule Poirot Short Story" and "Double Sin A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

On Saturday 18 April we drove to Cherokee Toyota in Canton as we had passed the mileage for the 100,000 mile service and oil change.

I began and finished "The Market Basing Mystery A Hercule Poirot Short Story," "Wasps' Nest A Hercule Poirot Short Story," and "The Veiled Lady A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.

We were there two hours and another customer complimented Eileen on her shoes!  We stopped at Hallmark for some greeting cards.  Then on to Ellijay.  Our odometer read 100500.  We got a couple of things, mainly bird seed, at Walmart and went to North Georgia Diamond to pick up earrings that they had modified for Eileen.

We dropped a couple of little items at the Goodwill store and got apples and Vidalia onions at R&A Orchards.  Eileen had gotten a lot of art supplies from our son-in-law Tom Dowd in Raleigh before we went to Gatlinburg and today the palette knife that she wanted came from Tom.

We enjoyed watching programs that I had recorded while we were away such as "America's Test Kitchen," "Cook's Country," "Georgia Traveler," and "Georgia Outdoors."  I thought that I had recorded "Who Do You Think You Are?" on Sunday but it was not on the DVR box so we'll have to watch for the rerun.

We enjoyed Harry O'Donoghue, an Irish entertainer, on "Georgia Traveler" singing "Whiskey in the Jar,"  is a famous Irish traditional song, set in the southern mountains of Ireland, with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry, as well as Fenit, a village in County Kerry. The song is about a Rapparee (Highwayman), who is betrayed by his wife or lover, and is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs.  Watch a version of the song by The Dubliners at the link https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hlWTASnnft4.

Harry O'Donoghue

"Georgia Outdoors" was about St. Catherine's Island, one of the Sea Islands or Golden Isles of Georgia.  The island is involved with the conservation of the ring-tailed lemur.  It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1969.

After we hit the hay I began and finished "Problem At Sea A Hercule Poirot Short Story" by Agatha Christie.