Every year in May the Mormons embark on a mass migration, well not entirely mass, as only the men and their sons attend an overnight camp to commemorate the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. This year my father, my brother and his son, and me with my two sons attended the 26th Ward's camp out.
We traveled to Burraston Ponds. Where, in the year the thirteen colonies were declaring Independence, a Spanish group of explorers led by Father Escalante called the large spring the "ojo de San Pablo" (27 Sep. 1776).
The event was enjoyable. My father cooked up a delicious dutch oven dinner. BBQ chicken, potatoes, carrots, and above all his scrumptious cobbler. (I won't be revealing his secret recipe here.) The boys had a fun time shooting cap guns and going on adventures through the underbrush.
When the sun went down about 40 men and boys gathered around the campfire to have a Priesthood commemoration fireside. On May 15, 1829, Joseph Smith and his scribe Oliver Cowdery went into the woods to inquire of the Lord concerning baptism. As they prayed, "a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light." This messenger was John the Baptist, the prophet who had baptized Jesus Christ centuries earlier. With this event, Mormons believe the authority to baptize was restored directly to them. This is one reason members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe their church is a "restored" church as opposed to a "protesting" church (in other words, those churches that broke away from other churches because of the way things were run).
The next morning, the Bishop of the ward prepared a breakfast of pancakes and sausage. Then we packed up and headed for home. I look forward to next year's Priesthood Commemoration Fireside.
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