Senior Zone Conference ... the Portsmouth Docks

I have a red velvet skirt on because we were supposed to be

going to the Stake Valentines' Dance after, that we helped

decorate for the night before. With clean up, we never made it 

the dance and the skirt looks out of place without the 

explanation

Last weekend we hosted all the senior missionaries (12 couples), our mission president and his wife at a conference here in Portsmouth. We live about seven miles east of Portsmouth in the town of Havant on the edge of Hayling Island. If we were to be more specific we actually live on the border of Langstone and Havant. I wondered about the location at first because it is hidden off a major road and next to a freeway, but we are tucked away and it is very quiet and it gives us easy access to the freeway, which is nice, because we are always traveling to other areas in our Zone. Four times a year we meet in a Senior Conference and this was our third one.  Our first one was on the east side of the Thames, the second one was in Devon on the west of England and this one was here, so as to spend a day at the Historic Portsmouth Docks. We are not in charge of these conferences, but because it was here we scoped out places to visit and a restaurant for lunch Saturday and even accommodations and we helped prepare dinner Friday evening at the Hamble River Chapel for everyone. So not a  terrible duty as we visited some tourists sites and some wonderful villages. I researched additional close sites that they could visit on their own, including a Roman Palace in Fishbourne a few miles east of us, Jane Austen's house in Chawton Village. Jane often travelled to Portsmouth to visit her brothers, Francis and Charles, who were stationed there with the Royal Navy. From 1809 until 1817 Jane lived in the beautiful village of Chawton near Alton where Jane's brother owned Chawton House. Jane's brother offered Jane, Cassandra and their mother a house in Chawton Village which is now know as Jane Austen's House Museum. Back in the countryside Jane turned again to writing and produced her greatest works, plus revising previous drafts of Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion. In 1817 Jane became ill and moved to a house in College Street, Winchester with her sister to be closer to her doctor. Sadly after a couple of weeks at the age of 41, she passed away on the 18th July 1817. A few days later she was laid to rest in Winchester Cathedral,  which can also be visited.  Charles Dicken's birthplace in Portsmouth, the Portsmouth Museum,with exhibits of Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock  Holmes) and 40 years of Gaming, Porchester Castle. Other close sites we suggested are the 13th Century Great Hall in Winchester. In  the hall is the greatest symbol of medieval mythology, 'The Round Table of King Arthur'. The Great Hall is also one of the filming locations for Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ series, the Museum of Naval Power and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. Portsmouth is also home to the Royal Navy.  It is a huge complex near the Historic Dockyards. We didn't visit all these before the conference, nor have we since, but we did visit the Roman Palace and were so pleasantly surprised. Some of  it's mosaic floors date to 75 A.D., and the little Village of Hamble, is now a favorite and we have returned and taken one of the office couples with us. They have a wonderful shop, small cobbled streets, great restaurants and a pink ferry that crosses the river. As a note, the man (elder) of the couple we took, the Wallace's from Sandy, was a mission companion to our cousin Dave, when he served his mission in Wyoming. So here are the pictures ... not as deep and heavy as my last post.

So we started off Friday evening  with a meeting.  We were all supposed to have  studied the atonement and come with something we would want to share for four minutes. I chose a talk that was given by Thomas B.  Griffith, a missionary with Steve in South Africa and a pseudo- member o f our study group. They lived in Virginia most of their lives,  although they attended BYU. He came back to BYU in 2000 as an Assistant to the President and as the general legal counsel, and after about five years returned to Virginia when he was  appointed to the United States Court of Appeals by President George W. Bush.  My remarks came from one of his devotional addresses called the Root of Christian Doctrine and talks about the atonement. Tom says everything we teach and talk about in Sacrament Meeting we should be able to link to the atonement. I have thought and reread this talk so many times. I have been trying to study Grace and the Atonement for a number of years, partly because I feel it is so important and partly because I am so weak and indebted to Him. So here is part of his thought I used from Christ's appearance to the people in the America's.  I think it i s brilliant!

And it came to pass [that] they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them. [3 Nephi 11:8]

They were in awe and a little confused. The Savior’s first act of communication was “stretch[ing] forth his hand,” showing the symbol and evidence of His sacrifice. Then He “spake unto the people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world” (3 Nephi 11:9–10). Those who were nearby couldn’t help but notice the wound in His hand. He was not timid about that wound. He wanted it to be seen.

He wanted them to understand that He is the Creator of this universe and that by Him the world is sustained today. Do you remember the next thing He wanted them to know about Him? His Atonement: I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning. [3 Nephi 11:11]

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his ascension into heaven. [3 Nephi 11:12]

What followed is, to me, the most sacred part of this experience. Jesus commanded them to come forward one by one and do something difficult: Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. [3 Nephi 11:14] There is a gruesome quality to this command. In our culture we hide scars, we don’t display them, and we certainly don’t ask others to feel them. But Christ wanted these people to have physical contact with these emblems of His suffering.

What had done that? What had turned them from good, obedient people to good, obedient people who now knew Jesus Christ as Savior? What had caused them to fall down at His feet to worship Him? It was physical contact with the emblems of His suffering.

Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him. [3 Nephi 11:16–17] Notice what just happened. The second time these people fell at Jesus’ feet, they “did worship him.” That didn’t happen the first time. The first time they may have fallen to the ground for any number of reasons: fear, awe, peer pressure. I don’t know. But the second time they fell to worship Him. Why the different reaction from the first time? The second time they cried out in unison, “Hosanna!” which means, “Save us, now!” Why were these people, the righteous remnant, crying out to Christ for salvation now? Let me suggest a possible answer. Although they had been obedient, perhaps they had not yet come to know Him as their Savior because they had not yet felt the need to be saved. They had led lives filled with good works. They knew Jesus as God, as Exemplar, maybe even as Friend. But maybe they didn’t yet know Him as Savior. Their prayer wasn’t, “Thank you for having saved us in the past and reminding us of that by your presence today.” No, the prayer was a current plea: “Hosanna!” or “Save us, now!” ”

That suggests to me that they were just then coming to know Him as Savior.

What had done that? What had turned them from good, obedient people to good, obedient people who now knew Jesus Christ as Savior? What had caused them to fall down at His feet to worship Him? It was physical contact with the emblems of His suffering.

The front of Admiral Nelson's ship.  All  the 

windows are actually living quarters, except in 

battle and then they dismantle the living

quarters and bring in big guns.

Well, that was Friday night and we had a dinner of crockpot chicken parmesan over noodles,  with salad and a bowl of strawberries and cheesecake.  I don't think I have a picture. Saturday we met at 10:00 at the Dockyards and went first to Admiral Horatio Nelson's ship the "Victory" HMS Victory, which was first launched in 1765, was Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The battle was one of the most decisive victories for the British against the French and Spanish and confirmed the naval supremacy they had established through the 18th century. We then went on a harbor tour which was better than I thought it would be as it highlighted many of the new, incredibly advanced and technical ships and submarines of the Royal  Navy. We are well defended! One ship had 148 ICBM's in one tower. It was crazy how accurate they are at such a long distance. Who would have thought I could talk ships. After the tour we went straight to lunch at Boathouse 4 next door. Steve and I had checked it out a few weeks before and talked to people to make arrangements for our group. They were amazing and so prepared for us, the food is really quite good and we didn't have to leave the dockyard. The boathouse is amazing because you can volunteer to work on old boats, or if you have old boats you can bring them in and pay for supplies and others can work on them.

Boathouse 4. We had lunch in  the restaurant above overlooking the boathouse.	The navy ship that has 148 ICBMs in  the tower. Don't mess with the Royal Navy
The bunks where the men slept.	Lord Nelson's ship " The Victory" It lead 27 British   ships to triumph over 33 French and Spanish ships
Cannonballs	The Victory side view She was built from 6,000 trees, 90 per cent of which were oak - the equivalent of 100 acres of woodlands. The HMS Victory has 37 sails flown from three masts and it would carry 23 spare sails during battle. The total sail area is 6,510 square yards.  Her top speed was 11 knots, or 12mph.