Church in the Canyon

Sunday, July 18, was our second annual participation at “Church in the Canyon” with Marc, Frances, Alice & Claire. They live in the Emigration Canyon Ward, and the Sunday before Pioneer Day every year, they hold their church services at the “Cold Creek Camp,” where all of the Mormon pioneer handcart companies camped their last night before entering the Salt Lake Valley.The main speaker this year was a man who (while not Mormon) was hired to be the trail master for a reenactment of the pioneers’ journey to the West. He told of some of his experiences on the trail, and some of the stories he heard. During the time of the reenactment, he became so touched by the story of the pioneers, that he wanted to learn more about the church that so many sacrificed so much for. He ended up joining the church, and was baptized in the font at “This is the Place Heritage Park,” at the mouth of Emigration Canyon. It was neat to hear his testimony, especially some of the things that so many of us take for granted.

Of course, we enjoyed our refreshments after. (However, it wasn't as humorous as last year.) The flowers blooming around our meeting site were beautiful, and the kids looked so adorable – we couldn’t resist a few pictures!