As mural missionaries, our prayers often expressed the hope that those whose hearts would be touched by seeing the mural will be guided to it. Former neighbors of ours came to Cody this summer for a family reunion and stopped to see the mural. Their son told us that on his mission he had baptized someone who had visited the mural. He felt that this man had first been willing to listen to the gospel message because of the spirit he had felt there.
We had
the opportunity to show the Mural to a senior couple from Green Valley, AZ. The husband didn’t seem very interested. He casually
walked around as he patiently waited for his wife, who was interested in my
telling of the stories the panels portrayed. Mark was busy with other visitors,
but when they left, Mark began to visit with him. He told Mark that nearly all the men in his
wife’s family were ministers – her father, brothers, brothers-in-law, etc. He lightheartedly
told Mark that his wife was bound to be preaching to me, and that she had
probably converted me to Lutheranism. However, when we came around the corner
returning to the mural area from the Big Horn Basin room, Mark observed, “Well,
it looks to me like your wife is now carrying a Book of Mormon.” This man just laughed out loud because the
joke was on him and he was surprised.
We greeted a very receptive couple who
came in about 5:30 and told us that they had family members who were members of
the church. They wanted to visit these family members and get to know them
better, so they wanted to learn about our church. They mentioned that divisions in the family had
occurred when a nephew had joined the Church and married a young woman from
Ogden. This young man’s parents, non-members, were not able to attend the
temple wedding. We asked our visitors
what their time restraints were. They replied, “You close at seven, we
understand.” What a choice opportunity
to talk about the gospel. We exchanged hugs and handshakes at seven as they
left taking a Book of Mormon with them.
They are currently traveling and living in a motor home. Before purchasing it, they spent four years
living in a forty-foot yacht of the coast of Florida.
We had a delightful family from Idaho
Falls come into the mural. They were not members of the church, but had Latter-day
Saint friends who had suggested they visit the Mural while in Cody. They had a
polite nine-year-old son, Geoffrey, and a cute little three-year-old. The mother just had her breath taken away
when she walked into the mural area. She
thought it that amazing. As I
told a little of the early history of the church, she would nod. You could sense her empathy as I talked about
the persecution. Later she said, “I
wonder what comes first, faith or perseverance?” I thought that an excellent observation. Geoffrey was asked to be the one to leave a
comment on the visitor cards. He took
that opportunity very seriously and wrote, “I thought the mural was really
amazing and the history of this church is so rich.” The mother stated that she had learned much
she hadn’t known.
We had two men from England visit. They had flown into Salt Lake City and rented a car for a three-week trip. They would fly back to England from the Midwest somewhere. They had become somewhat familiar with Church history while in Salt Lake, but they still lingered for over a half hour. While they were there, two men from Cedar City joined us. The people from England were interested in hearing from these men about a friend who had come to the Big Horn Basin with a group of LDS setters in 1900. He had been seven at the time.
Several
years before his death in 1998, someone had brought him back to visit the
Basin. They had found the house he grew
up in. This man commented about the
little tree they had planted and wondered where the huge tree they saw in the
yard had come from. He said that the
little tree had been planted close to the wire fence that had run around their
yard. Looking carefully at the tree, they found wire protruding from its
trunk. Their friend could hardly believe
such a huge tree had grown from the little one they had planted.
In
addition to the mural, we showed a room of wonderful paintings and other
displays, including a topography map of the Big Horn Basin. This room tells some pretty interesting
stories of the settlement here. The two
men had come specifically to see that room.
Mark’s
family from the Johnson side came to the Big Horn Basin in 1903. They were trying to escape the grief of
having two daughters, a two year old and seven year old, die from a type of
diphtheria, during the same night. They had been living in southern Utah. This
was Grandma Ilene Dover’s mother’s family. Her mother, Naomi Johnson Brown, was
10 at time they came.
Above
the door, high on the domed ceiling, one sees, as he leaves the Mural
area, strong, solemn faces representing
the Mormon pioneers who blazed a trail across a trackless desert to a desolate
valley. They display the same spirit
which characterized the founders of this nation. They gave the world an example of initiative,
of cooperation, of endurance and of faith. Faith in God and steadfast loyalty
to their country were the ideals and cornerstones with which they built our
heritage. These are the characteristics upon which Mormonism was founded; these
are the principles of freedom everywhere.
True principles are eternal and unchanging. These same characteristics must be enshrined
in our hearts if freedom is to be preserved.
Tomorrow and the future are ours.
Lest We Forget from The Cody Mural
A pictorial history of Mormonism
We especially loved showing this Mural to those whose first glimpse of it brought an audible catch in their breath -- for these were the visitors most likely to sense the testimony of Christ and restoration of truth that Edward Grigware painted into these panals.
Thomas
S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has
said, “Too numerous to mention are the
examples of individuals who have faced difficult circumstances and yet who have
persevered and prevailed because their faith in the gospel and in the Savior
has given them the strength they needed.”
While
sitting alone one day in the mural area, the thought came to me that art is a
representation of experience, and that great art magnificently conveys the
noblest of strivings within that experience.
When first shown this area, Mr. Grigware at one point ceased listening to the discussion of how this space might be used. It is reported that he said, “It has no beginning and no end. It goes to Heaven. If you would let me, I could paint the masterpiece of my life here.” He did consider it his masterpiece.
Mark and I, with so very many others, consider this mural truly to be great art. It has been an inspiration to us. It has been a joy to see it become an inspiration to many, many visitors who see it during their stay in Cody. A visitor from Fort Myers, Florida signed a comment card saying, “ My heart was lifted by my visit here. Thank you for sharing the beauty and inspiration of your church and artwork.
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| 2009 Mural Appreciation Dinner Back to Front Vaughn and Cheryl Cook Mark and Merrillyn Dover Bill and Yvonne Nielson Mel and Doreen Weeks Ken and Pam Taylor |
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| 2011 Mural Appreciation Dinner Back to Front Marilyn and Peter Hansen Barbara and Dee Stephenson Merrillyn and Mark Dover Yvonne and Bill Nielson (Patsy and Veldon Seymore were unable to join us that night but are featured in the next photo) |
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