Old Paradise Church – Replanting

Some good friends of ours bought all of the bushes and trees that surrounded the Old Paradise Church.  They asked for our help in removing the plants. John took his Bobcat down to the church and dug up the bushes.  After they took all they wanted, there were still quite a few bushes left.  We hate to see living things die, so we decided to save the remaining plants.  We didn't take the juniper bushes; junipers get scraggily. 

 

Our yard is fully landscaped, and so we needed to find a place for the trees, bushes, and plants that came from the church.  We love to work outside and enjoy a new project. As a result, we keep expanding our yard and making the landscaped area of our property bigger and bigger.  There’s always room for more living plants.

Last year we planted an old lilac bush that was uprooted from Mom Willis’ yard.  It was in the way, and she didn’t want it anymore.  After spending a day on the trailer and surviving a wild ride through the canyon, the bush was replanted. We are happily surprised that it stayed alive and is growing.  We decided to make a place for these other plants around this orphan lilac bush. 

Our children loved playing in the curly trees each week after church.  The stake president said they were keeping the ones in the yard, so we only took the two trees that were right up next to the foundation of the Old Paradise Church.  

 

 

These are also curly trees, but haven’t had the space to grow like the ones in the yard. For being an older tree, they don’t have a very big root system.  We hope and pray we can transplant them successfully.  We planted them on each side of the orphan lilac bush; they form a beautiful arch. 

 

A hedge of bushes lined the backside of the church.  The bushes are fully mature and quite large.  It took the backhoe to dig them out.  We tried to be careful, but they were still traumatized by the move.  It is a lot easier to move young, small bushes than big bushes with strong roots.  We loaded them on the trailer and took them home. We made several trips to transport all of the plants.

 

One of the beautiful trees had rotten roots.  The Bobcat barely touched it, and it fell over.  We discovered that the roots were decaying and missing. We can't transplant this tree.

 

We were amazed at how much garbage was hidden in the bushes.  We left most of the garbage back at the church, but we were still finding garbage while replanting.

After a long day of digging and moving bushes, we were tired. We only had time to plant the trees.  We thought they were the most sensitive and needed to be replanted immediately.  We waited until morning to plant the bushes. 

After digging holes for the bushes, we positioned them in their new home.  Jared and John had to work together to move these big plants.  The Bobcat was used to put the bushes in the holes, but John and Jared had to use their manpower to twist and turn the plants and get them positioned just right.  We have some black, rich soil on another part of our property.  We hauled in this dark, nutrient rich soil to fill the holes. The children shovel dirt in and around the plants and used rakes to smooth the area. We’re doing what we can to encourage the plants to take root, survive, and flourish. We also gave them a big drink of water and have watered them regularly since their arrival. 

 

  

Jonathan found a set of old, steel wagon wheels out in the field.  We made a wooden box out of scrap lumber. The lumber came from a junk pile that a neighbor was getting rid of.  The slats on the bottom of the wood box are spaced for good drainage.  Since straw doesn’t rot easily, we put a layer of straw in the bottom of the box to keep the dirt from falling through the slats. 

 

 

 

 

Using the Bobcat, we filled the box with a load of dark topsoil.  We have a small bucket of marigold seeds that John has collected over the years.  There are thousands of seeds, and we planted all of them in the wagon box.  Probably way too many seeds, but it should look pretty this summer.

Some lilies were growing in the corner by the chapel and relief society room.  We dug them up and replanted them around the wagon box.  We’re told that they like to spread their roots and take over a flowerbed.  That's great.  There is a lot of room for them to spread and grow.  

As we spent several days rescuing these plants, some thoughts went through my mind:  We took what no one else wanted.  We have the machinery that allows us to accomplish this huge project.  The items salvaged from the inside the building were dead.  If they were scarred during the removal process, they will remain scarred.  We took the living things from the church.  In time, they will grow, regenerate, and flourish in their new environment. 

I am grateful for this living reminder of the Old Paradise Church. They make a beautiful addition to our expanding yard.

Old Paradise Church – Building Ransacked

On Monday, April 9, 2012, at noon, members of the community came in and salvaged materials from the Old Paradise Church. The DI was responsible for the sale.  I wasn’t there, but heard about what happened.  There were tags on the different items. People took the tags, paid for their purchases, and then went home to get tools and trailers so they could remove the things they had paid for. 

  

A couple different friends reported that there were a few tense moments as people scrambled to secure items they were determined to claim.  There were those who made it known to their neighbors that they would be fined if they didn’t remove their purchases according to code.  I wasn’t there. I heard it all secondhand.

Some people stayed away.  They didn’t want to go back and see their beautiful church torn apart. There are a lot of good memories made in this beautiful old church.  Memories are held in the heart.  To some, it brings too much heartache to see the building rummaged through and ransacked.  They want to remember it the way it used to be.   

Still others were clueless as to what was happening in the Old Paradise Church.  As the demolition process has progressed, everyone in the community has been made aware that it’s coming down.

I didn’t walk through the condemned church until Friday, April 13, 2012.  The doors were open for those who were still salvaging their purchases.  If I didn’t know better, I would have thought a bunch of vandals had been through the building.  I guess it really doesn’t matter since the church is going to be torn down anyway. 

We were at the church removing bushes and taking pictures of the plants that were being transplanted to our yard. I hadn’t planned on taking pictures of the inside of the church.  I didn’t even know I would be able to get into the building, but the doors were wide open, so I went in to see the aftermath. I had a camera in my hand and took pictures.  This is what I saw.

Resource materials were left in a heap.

The hardwood flooring on the gym floor was gone along with basketball hoop. The wood panels that covered the walls were not there.

They took everything but the kitchen sink. Maybe someone is coming back for that.

Fixtures, doors, cabinets, and drinking fountains were gone. Rubble was left behind.

 

 

It looks like someone tried to take the carpet, but that probably didn’t turn out too well.

The safety railing going up the stairs was removed.

Furniture, pictures, and benches were gone.  The only thing that remained in the chapel was the podium and some wooden walls that surrounded the area.  I guess ordinary people don’t have much use for a podium.

 

After walking through the church, I walked around the outside of the church and took pictures from many different angles. These two pictures are taken exactly 45 minutes apart (April 13 at 5:50 p.m. and 6:35 p.m.).  The sky was blue when I started taking pictures on the south side of the church.  By the time I moved to the north end of the church, the sky had turned dark and gray. Storm clouds appeared, and it threatened to rain. 

 

On our second trip back to the church, Crystalynne came with us.  She asked if she could walk through the church and see what had become of it.  I kept her close by my side because it was no longer a safe place to be.  As we were walking out of the building, we saw a bunch of butter knives scattered in the hallway.  I told her it was okay to pick them up and take them with her.  It didn’t look like anyone was going to claim them.  On the way home she counted her knives.  She counted sixteen.

As I walked out of the Old Paradise Church for the last time, a man was locking up.  I jested, “You better lock the doors; someone might take something:)” He responded with all seriousness that he needed to lock up for liability reasons.  I guess that’s a concern.

Old Paradise Church – How it Used to Be

On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012, church services were conducted in the old Paradise Utah chapel for the last time.
The chapel is seen here with an east addition that was added at around the turn of the century. 

"One of the oldest Mormon chapels in Utah will soon be demolished to make way for a new church. The 133-year-old Paradise 2nd and 3rd Ward church in Cache County will be leveled [May 2012]. Church historians say the chapel, located in the heart of Paradise, was completed in 1877 and features limestone walls. The landmark structure has been added onto multiple times over the years.

“While there's no evidence of cracking in the original building's walls, the chapel is not in compliance with seismic codes and has problems with its roof and foundation.

“Church leaders said while some members wanted to save the chapel, most preferred a new church because of the high cost to renovate.

"Given the fact that the structure was in the shape it was in, it wasn't logical to try to restore it," said Hyrum Stake President Steve Miller, who presides over the four wards in Paradise.

“Miller said he and other stake leaders have asked if original elements of the old chapel could be incorporated into the new church. Original rock will become part of a stone facade, he said, and plans call for a modified steeple that doubles as a bell tower, housing the original bell from the 19th century church. 

“The original chapel features architecture and construction techniques shared by earlier LDS churches and temples, said Garth Norman, a contract archaeologist for the church.

"Some of these early settler-builders had worked on the Nauvoo temple, and could have naturally incorporated their knowledge of temple architecture into the design and construction of the new rock church," he told The Herald Journal.”  Deseret News

“Paradise never was a wealthy town. In the early days, people with money built on Center Street in Logan. They didn't build out in the boonies. Paradise was a pioneer farming community. The church was the crown jewel.

”The Northwest part of the church was built stone by stone, timber by timber in 1877.  In those days church members paid for much of the building and did all the work. They built onto the building in the 1950's and this chapel was added then. Notice the lovely color of the chapel.

”How many LDS churches built today are graced with hand-painted borders and lovely flowers--each one different? The man who painted these was in his 80's when he did it. He had worked on temple murals.” Carol Warburton  

We are newcomers to Paradise and have only been here since 1999.  This chapel is very different from many of the standard LDS church houses.  It was built piece by piece.  New additions were added throughout the years as needed.  It has a second story with classrooms as well as a cry room that looks down into the chapel. The chapel has large windows on both sides, lighting the room with natural light.

Our children used to love to play in the curly trees after church.  As we waited for everyone to gather after meetings, the little ones would climb the trees in dresses or white shirt and tie. 

This used to be the only chapel in Paradise, until the new red brick church was built on 9400 South a few years ago. The old church is a unique chapel and holds a lot of memories for many people. 

We’ve been attending at the new church for some time, but we will always have fond memories of the Old Paradise Church. 

Parables Veiling the Obvious

Using parables, Jesus can teach us so much with so few words. He puts the mysteries of God on display for everyone with eyes to see. Christ has many things to teach us.  How fast are we ready to learn? 

“All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Matt 13:34-35  

Why did Christ only speak to the multitudes in parables?   How does he speak to you?

“And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.” Mark 4:33-34 

Why did Jesus expound things unto his disciples but not unto the multitudes?

“This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.” John 10:6 

Why didn’t they understand the parable?  Why did Jesus need to explain it to them?  Will he explain the parables to us?  Have we asked him to?

 “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

How do we open our ears? Why do some have ears to hear and some don’t? Would it be wise to listen and understand?

“And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”

Who are His disciples? How do we qualify as one of Jesus’ disciples? Would a disciple be converted to the doctrine of Christ? Why are the mysteries veiled to non-disciples?

“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”

Does this have reference to the parable of the talents?  Matt 25:14-30 Why is more understanding given to those who act upon the teachings they’ve already received? How do we obtain an abundance of knowledge? If we choose not to listen, how can the Lord give us further light and knowledge? D&C 50:24

“Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”

Why do many look but not really see? Hear but not really listen? What would happen if the unconverted opened their eyes and ears?

“And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:”

What is required to perceive God’s message?  John 7:17, Luke 12:47 What does diligence and obedience have to do with perceiving the word of God? D&C 130:18-21   Many Jews missed Christ’s first coming, how are we doing? Do we recognize Him today?

“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”

Why do many harden their hearts and close their eyes? What would happen if we softened our hearts and opened our eyes?  What gets in our way? Are we preoccupied with the things of Babylon?

 "But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.”

What is the significance of the Lord calling his disciples blessed?

“For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.” Matt 13:9-17 

Do we want to see? Do we want to understand the mysteries of God? Are they hiding in plain sight? So much can be revealed in a simple story. 

Heaven speaks in symbols. God has created parables for us. There are parables that happen right before our very eyes every day. You might even call them living parables.  They are designed to teach, inform, edify, warn, instruct, expound, and comfort. God treats each one of us like an only child.  He isn’t about mass production. He doesn't send us through an assembly line.  Each experience is custom-made for me, perfectly made for you.

Garden, Cleanup, Work, Family, and Fun

Saturday was such a beautiful day and many energetic and able children were home and available. We did our normal Saturday routine and cleaned the house, bedrooms, bathrooms, vacuuming, mopping, etc. Then we went outside as a team and worked hard.

 

Each family member gets a daily assignment during the week and on Saturdays we usually have more to do. This week, we have been weeding the garden, mowing grass, planting blackberries, and building wire fences to support grape vines and blackberry canes. Others are assigned to house duties such as making lunch, caring for and watching baby Emma, doing dishes, and keeping the house in order. They all take turns on the various assignments, but some naturally gravitate to certain jobs.

 

 

Joshua enjoys using the lawnmowers and keeping them full of gas. He has taken on most mowing assignments and is very capable and enthusiastic in doing so. He gets up early while it’s cool and mows with a smile on his face. This week he has mowed so much area; I’m nearly out grass. It looks great, and he’s done a wonderful job. Grass grows back fast though.

Rachel and April like to work inside, make lunches, and tend little Emma. They take their turn weeding and doing other outside chores. Jared can also make some pretty tasty food and enjoys cooking. 

Everyone pitched in together and weeded most of our planted garden. At this point we have onions, garlic, rhubarb, peas, spinach, lettuce, raspberries, strawberries, and grapes. They just turned on the irrigation water, and we are in the process of planting carrots, potatoes, beans, kohlrabi, green peppers, and beets. About the first week in June, we will plant tomatoes and many types of squashes - pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.

This past week, Jared and the boys helped me plant blackberries, tear down an old fence, and salvage some of the steel posts. We used the posts and some extra wire to support the grapes vines and blackberry canes. It’s all coming together, the plants are growing, and we are excited.

 

After work, we played, rode four-wheelers and motorcycles, jumped on the trampoline, played basketball, and added on to the clubhouses. It’s great to work together and play together.