For the Beauty of the Earth

It has been three months since I last posted here.  It has been a challenging time, concluding with some life changing news.  Now, with the coming of Spring, as the earth awakes from her slumber, I feel ready to post again.  During this time of year, many feel inspiration as they look upon the beauties of this planet.  They might even feel like singing.

For the beauty of the earth

 For the beauty of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies,

 

 

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

 

 

 

Hill and vale, and tree and flow'r,

 

 

 

Sun and moon, and stars of light,

 

 

Lord of all, to thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise.

 

 

Hymn: For the Beauty of the Earth 

 

 

The Bountiful Tabernacle

 

The Bountiful Tabernacle turned 150 last year (the above photo is from 1905).  Located at Main and Center Streets in Bountiful, Utah, the tabernacle was dedicated on March 14, 1863.  Construction on the Greek Revival structure began in 1857, but was interrupted briefly when President Buchanan sent Johnston's Army to the Utah territory.

This is how the tabernacle looks today, with the additional wings of a modern LDS chapel built around the original structure.  The spires atop the tower were designed to create a sun dial effect throughout the day.

The Bountiful Tabernacle is the oldest chapel in the LDS Church that has been in continual use since it was first dedicated.

The walls of the original structure are of adobe, the roof timbers are fastened with wodden pegs, and the lumber came from Meetinghouse Hollow in Holbrook Canyon.

The tabernacle serves as the stake center for the Bountiful, Utah Stake of the LDS Church, one of several in Utah's second city -- Bountiful was the site of the second settlement in Utah, after the settlement of Salt Lake City.

The Things I Do

 

A year ago, on the day of New Year's Eve, I stood on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, near the causeway that takes you out to Antelope Island, taking photographs.  It was a bitterly cold day, with temperatures in the 20s (Fahrenheit), and overcast.

The water levels of the lake are low after years of drought, and the snows of more recent and wetter winters have not raised the levels much.  Because of this there is no water near where I stand, only lake bottom covered with snow.

But there, to the west, the sun is trying to break through the clouds.

Perhaps, if I wait long enough, the sun might join me here on the shores of the Great Salt Lake.

"The things I do for a photograph," I say, "no, the things I do just in the hope of a good photo."  And I can't help but smile, for though I am freezing in the bitter cold, I am happy because I am doing something I love to do.

Then I wish that I could bottle this happiness so that I could feel it again later.

Christmas Street

Every December, Glen Arbor, an ordinary cul-de-sac at 1735 South 1500 East in Salt Lake City, Utah, becomes Christmas Street. 

One holiday season, when I was still young, my family went on a drive to see the lights, and Christmas Street was one of the places we went to.  I always remembered that street, and wanted to go back each year, but it was not until I was older, after I got married that I was able to go back.  My wife and I made it a tradition on Christmas Eve to take a drive to see the lights, and Christmas Street was a place we went each year.

Christmas Eve at Christmas Street is usually packed with cars, each driving slowly in and out of the cul-de-sac.  One year I wanted to get out of the car and walk around, and we did, despite the cold night air.

 

Fortunately, it was not a very cold night when I visited Christmas Street in mid-December last year to take pictures of the lights.

About a block to the west of Christmas Street is Christmas Story Street.  On this U-shaped street there are sign boards on the front lawn of each home with a verse or two of the Christsmas story.

To include each house on Christmas Story Street, some homes have the Beattitudes on their sign boards.

Family events on Christmas Eve have sometimes made it difficult to visit Christmas Street and Christmas Story Street.  Those years that we were unable to visit these streets, we have felt that something was missing from our celebration of Christmas.  At least I've got the pictures.

The Lights on Temple Square

Every year, during the holiday season, thousands visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City to see the Christmas lights.  "The lights have been a tradition for 48 years and have grown considerably since their introduction," according to the Deseret News.  In 1965, then LDS Church president David O. McKay asked J. Leland Behunin to take on the project of stringing lights on Temple Square.  "From 1965-1982," reports the Deseret News, "Behunin and his son, wrapped the Temple Square trees in Christmas lights, and in the beginning they did so without ladders or many tools."

15,000 people crowded Temple Square on the night in 1965 that the lights were first turned on.  “Our minds tonight should be on the Babe of Bethlehem whose coming into the world Christmas morning reminds us all that we each should have in our hearts the love of Christ," said President McKay in his remarks before he pressed the button that turned on the 40,000 lights.  The crowd responded with “a mighty ahh”.

When my wife and I were first married, we made it a tradition to visit Temple Square on Christmas Eve, to take in the lights and the nativity scene accompanied by a narration of the Christmas story and music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  In trying to accomodate the family events of the holiday season, it has not always been easy to make it to Temple Square.  Last year, on November 29, I made a special trip of my own, with my camera and a tripod.

Source:

http://www.deseretnews.com/top/2108/0/Christmas-lights-on-Temple-Square-in-pictures-from-1965-2013.html