2 posts tagged “mormon”
today we went through provo (also heber city, park city, orem, and parleys canyon, but i didn't take pictures in any of them). i saw all kinds of places -- where my grandmother grew up, where my father grew up, where my great-grandfather grew up -- and also the cemetary where much of that branch of the family is buried, which was incredibly interesting. guess why? yep! polygamy! everyone's favorite topic. best way ever for me to convince someone that my family is weirder than their family.
so, take a close look at that gravestone on the left. HARRISON -- Wm. Harrison, born London, England (1828-1895); wives, Hannah Adams Harrison, born London, England (1832-1891) -- Janett Gallacher Harrison, born Scotland (1834-1939).
but wait. yes, oh yes, there's more.
Sarah E.W. Harrison, born Hull, Yorkshire, England (1852-1909).
and that doesn't even include william's first wife, who died before he came to the united states.
janett is the one i'm related to.
there was a to-do when the gravestones went up, apparently, because sarah got top billing. then again, she doesn't have her own headstone, but janett and hannah do. so i don't think, over all, anyone was cheated out of their rightful place as one of many wives. but who knows. this is a good reason not to practice polygamy: then no one has to fight over who gets the better gravestone!
so, the first real day i spent in utah.
i got up at a ridiculous hour so that i could get ready, eat breakfast, and meet dr. stan larsen, who is a special collections librarian at the university of utah. it was awesome. i was expecting someone intimidating, but he was extremely friendly and helpful, and even offered to help me figure out where to publish the results of my research -- no one i know is familiar with journals that would take an interest in mormonism, though i guess i could play the theory of religion aspects of it (note to self: research if anyone's done theories of falling away from religion).
i spent pretty much all day in the library, with a break for lunch. then it was back to the hotel for some decompression, and then we went out to dinner and to see the mormon tabernacle choir practicing.
strange but true: everyone is nice in utah. i thought it was exaggerated. i thought, well, portland is a really nice city; utah can't be that much nicer. wrong! wrong, wrong, wrong. everyone, everyone, everyone is so nice in utah that i might just slip into a diabetic coma. also, i am the only woman under the age of thirty who has a haircut shorter than four inches. it must be some kind of secret dress code that only i am not privy to.
anyway, it looks like tomorrow, we'll wander around temple square some more, and i'll get in some more time at the library. saturday we're driving to provo to see grandma's hometown, and on sunday, we're going to get up to watch the tabernacle choir's sunday morning broadcast (longest continually-running radio show in the world!) and see everyone going to church in their sunday best. i hope we can find a coffee shop to hang out in.
today, i didn't take pictures -- it was too dark for good ones by the time we made it to temple square, and the library obviously didn't allow any. we weren't even allowed to bring our own paper in; we had to use theirs because it was yellow and therefore difficult to get mixed up with the stuff in the collections. (i wonder: what about collection stuff taken on legal pads? i'm sure there's some.) tomorrow, though, many a picture will be taken.
