PRESIDENT LORIMER

Today capped off an amazing week here at Mormon Handcart Historic Sites!  

First we had a wonderful block of Sunday meetings with inspiring talks and lessons, and a delicious Pot Luck lunch.  Then we had the opportunity to return to the Trek Center and listen to President and Sister Lorimer speak about their personal experiences with President Hinckley.

He called them often, stayed in their home, ate with their family, and drove all over what is now known as Mormon Handcart Historic Sites.  President Lorimer, more than any other person, is responsible for the acquisition of all those sites, for which President Hinckley and all of us are truly grateful.  We were so glad to have been able to visit most of those sites this past week so that our missionaries were familiar with the places he talked about.

Everyone was spellbound as we listened to President Lorimer's personal experiences with not only President Hinckley, but with all of the First Presidency, many of the Apostles, and countless other general authorities who came to visit and stayed with his family.

After the fireside the Fetzer family repeated what they had done in Sacrament Meeting earlier today and sang Hark All Ye Nations to President Lorimer since he had served his first mission in Germany.

We took the opportunity to get a couple of pictures, first with the Lorimers and a beautiful set of marble bas reliefs they received when he was honored with the Junius F. Wells Award given by the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation . . .

  . . . and again by the handcart in the corner of the Trek Center.

President and Sister Lorimer have been called to serve a mission this coming October in Scotland and Ireland with the Young Single Adults of that area.  But before they leave they compiled many of the important documents and pictures into 2 large binders for us to keep here at the offices of MHHS so that we will always have that information.

Also included are many DVDs of the activities that occurred here as these sites were acquired and prepared.   We owe a debt of gratitude to the Lorimers and especially to members of the Riverton Stake who worked so hard to make these sites what they are today so that visitors and youth could come here to partake of the sweet spirit of the handcart pioneers. 

 The information he has given us is a priceless history of these sites.

We will guard it well!