Pine Valley Chapel/Mountain Meadows Massacre Site/games/pool

So as I wrote before, over Labor Day Weekend, we headed to St. George with the Smiths.  On Sunday, we visited a nearby ward for sacrament meeting.  Then we headed to Pine Valley to see the chapel there.  It is the oldest LDS building that has been in continuous use.  It was built by a shipbuilder named Ebeneezer Bryce and they get hundreds of people each Sunday in the summer time.  It's tiny and so many of the families bring a blanket and sit outside the chapel on the grass and there are speakers so they can hear the talks, songs and prayers outside.  From inside the ship looks much like an upside down boat.  Some of the things I read online said it actually is but the woman who told us about it didn't say anything about that...so I don't know if it was actually designed to be an upside down boat or not.

See? It looks a lot like an upside down boat!

The Mountain Meadows Massacre Site was only about 10 miles away from the Pine Valley chapel so we went there.  It was heart wrenching to contemplate the awful events that occurred there.  How had members of the Church reached the conclusion that it was okay to massacre families that were just trying to stop and rest on their travel to California?  How could those who had been driven out, threatened and even slain by wicked men turn around and do the same to others?   I can't understand what happened there, but my heart ached for all involved.  It's definitely a dark spot in Church history.

After these visits, we headed back to the hotel.  We swam for a while.  Then we played games and visited.  It was a really fun weekend!  I am so grateful for our friendship with the Smiths!