I have grown quite a bit this week. For the Nauvoo study abroad program, one of the assignments was to pick a person/place/subject to study and then give a 10-15ish minute presentation to teach the class about the subject. I knew about this assignment before I left on this trip and did some research before hand. I wanted to do my presentation on my 3rd Great Grandfather, Hosea Stout. Hosea was the first ancestor my dad introduced me too (if I remember correctly) at a very young age.
(Side story: when my parents took my family to Nauvoo in 2001, something amazing awoke in me. I did not have a particular interest in church history before because I was so young. I remember my dad taking us to Hosea's property and it changed my life. I wanted to know everything about the pioneers and specially about Hosea Stout because he was MY family. My mother bought me a bonnet from the Red Brick Store and I wore that bonnet everywhere. I remember when we got home from the trip I told my brother I wanted to be just like the pioneers.)
Because of Hosea's journal writing, we know so much about him and the events that were happening in his lifetime. I'm not sure if this is legal, but my dad had a copy of Hosea's published diaries and he typed them up. I am so grateful that he did. It is so much easier to search through his entries when you can use Ctrl+F instead of having to search through the book.
At first I had a very hard time deciding on what I should talk about. While here in Nauvoo, I read both of Hosea's autobiographies. This research was so interesting to me because I was learning so much new information. (I have been doing research on Hosea for several years now, but it wasn't until now that I had a better understanding of what was happening. This trip helped me understand what was happening to the saints at the time) The problem was I wanted to talk about all of the new things I had learned about Hosea. I had a decision to make, I could focus on just a certain time period in his life, or I could do my best to give a life sketch. I decided on the latter, that way I could still talk about some of my favorite facts about Hosea's life. I had also been praying asking for guidance as to what Hosea himself would want people to know about him. I am not sure if I did cover what he would have liked, but I do know I shared things that have impacted me greatly.
I had a typed outline/script for myself because I get very anxious when I speak in front of people. I was also quoting many of Hosea's journal entries and I just found it easier to just have it all typed up and in front of me. The night before I gave my presentation I asked the Lord to loose my tongue so I could convey what needed to be said/what I wanted to say. While I gave my presentation, I kind of felt like I was in a fog, not really aware of what I was doing. I was able to give my presentation much more smoothly than I usually do. I am so very thankful that the Lord helped me give that presentation. It gave me the opportunity to trust in the Lord and have the faith that he would help me through it. Living where Hosea walked has really strengthen my love for him. I understand where he walked and met with the other saints. I learned more about the many trials Hosea went through, and he continued strong in the faith. The fact that he was able to stay strong through trails gives me the hope that I can do so as well.
I have been very anxious this week because of my site presentation but now I have a feeling of peace and the feeling that all is well. (Happy day, all is well)
(Now I just need to figure out all of the sources I used for my presentation. I really should have kept better track of where I learned what. Another problem with this is that I have been researching about Hosea for quite some time and I am not sure when I learned what and where I learned it. Good thing I am not a real historical researcher)
(Another side note: I was doing research all over the place on Hosea and kept finding differing accounts as to what actually happened. For example, one source said that Hosea's wife Louisa Taylor died THE VERY DAY Hosea had left on his mission to China. I found that quite depressing because in his journal the day he leaves he writes his testimony that he knew the Lord would provide and take care of his family because he knew it was the will of the Lord that we was to go on that mission. I included it in my presentation at first. I started looking into it a bit more and saw on familysearch.org that Louisa died in January...not October when Hosea left. I probably made Brother Bennett cringe on some of the things I said that I thought was fact. I plan on continuing to research about Hosea's life and to do my best to see what is fact, what is fiction, and figure out what all of my sources were haha)
No comments:
Post a Comment