David Lewis - Pioneer Forefather

David Lewis, and his first wife Duritha Trail.
Photo taken about 1850.

As part of our Memorial Day weekend trip, we stopped in Parowan to visit the grave of David Lewis. He was one of Dawn Anns ancestors, and an early member of the Church. He, and his brothers had settled at Haun's Mill, Missouri. On October 30, 1838, anti-Mormon mobs (In The guise of the Missouri Militia) descended on the small Mormon villiage. Just two days before, the mob/militia had demanded that the residents of Hauns Mill disarm themselves - which they mostly did. (You can read David's own account of the Haun's Mill Massacre here. This is a sworn deposition he wrote to petition for redress to the State of Missouri for damages he suffered at Haun's Mill.)

Now the armed mob/militia came with a force of 300 men and surrounded the men and boys of the community in a blacksmth's shop. They then began firing upon the men and boys - taking great delight in killing and wounding the men, and even took delight in killing the little boys.

David and 2 of his brothers were present in that blacksmith's shop. David's older brother, Benjamin was criticlly wounded, and died later that night.

Another older brother, Tarleton Lewis was shot multiple times. One wound was in his shoulder, with the bullet being lodged near his spinal column. He would survive Hauns Mill, and later come West with the Mormon Pioneers. Later, Tarleton would be called as the first Bishop of Salt Lake City.

At the time of the Haun's Mill Massacre, David Lewis had been sick for some time -- possibly with Cholera. He had just regained enough strength to walkwhen the mob descended upon their villiage. David, found himself along with his these two brothers in the blacksmith's shop. They all realized that they had to get out of the blacksmith's shop if they were going to have any chance to survive. Tarletonand Benjamin took off on the run. David, because of his recent illness could not run, but only walk. He left the blacksmith's shop and headed for a fence, the other side of which was a forested area that would provide some cover.

As David made his wayto the fence, numerous shots were fired at him. David had been blessed with a comforing spirit by the Holy Ghost that he would not die of a bullet wound. So in faith, he made his way accross the open area toward the fence. He heard several shots go whizzing past his head, but he kept on going. The commanders of the militia were cussing out their men because they couldn't seem to hit him. Later, an examination of his clothing would reveal numerous bullet holes, but there were no wounds to his flesh.

David made it over the fence, and hid in the woods. Eventually, he was taken prisoner by the militia. The next morning, he asked the militia if he could go check on his family, and that afterword, he would return and surrender himself to them again. Atfirst the militiamen scoffed and mocked him at the idea that he would ever return. hDavid gave his word of honor yhe wouldin fact return.

They let him go, not really expecting him to return. However David did just as he said he would. He found that Benjamin had died that night of his wounds, and that Tarleton had been seriously injured. He checked his wife, and is own familh, and then returned to the camp of the militia.

For a short period of time, David fetched wood, hauled water, and cooked meals for the militia men. After that he asked if he could return permanently to his family. By then, the hearts of the militiamen were softened toward David. They gave him a permission slip to move about the area, signed by the commander of the militia, which would prove to be a blessing to David and his family.

Later on David, like his brother Tarleton, would come west with the Mormon Pioneers. He was instrumental in the settlement of communities in Southern Utah. He also was a missionary to the Indians and helped with developing diplomatic relations with the Indians in the Southern Utah area.

You Can Read more accounts of David Lewis' life after arriving in Utah below:

The Early Settlement of Utah's Dixie
The Southern Indian Mission
A Mystery In The Desert


David Lewis' Headstone at Parowan Cemetery
Click on Photo for Larger Image

David passed away in Parowan, Utah, possibly of a stroke of some kind. It was an honor to visit his grave, and to remember him and the sacrifices he and his family made for the Gospel's sake.

I wish I were in Dixie!

We are heading out of town tomorrow for Southern Utah, and Northern Arizona. It's going to be hot down there (temperatures in the 100's). We would like to have gone down there earlier this Spring, before the temperatures got so high, but this was the first break in our schedule when we all could get away for a few days. We have been working really hard in the yard, and at work, and at school, and in church callings. It will be nice to get away for a few days.

I skipped lunch today so that I could get away from work a little early. I got the truck lubed and oiled, gassed and washed. I got a few other things to get ready for our trip, including an infrared keyboard for my PDA. That way I will still be able to do some writing at night in the motel rooms along the way.

When we travel, everyone else usually goes to bed before I do, and it seems like I do my best writing when I am away from home. Maybe it has something to do with being away from many of the normal responsibilities and distractions, and actually having some time to think about life, and my thoughts and feelings. I probably won't be able to post what I will write until we get back on Monday. However, I find that my writing is much more fresh, and rich with detail if I can write about things as they happen.

The next three nights we will be staying in motels. First night: St. George, Utah. Second Night: Page, Arizona. Third night, St. George, Utah again (but in a different motel). We plan on leaving as soon as we can in the morning. I plan on taking plenty of photos too. A good portion of our time will be spent visiting with the in-laws, and for the kids to play with their cousins. However, part of the trip will also be most pleasing to me, because we will be in my element -- Redrock Country!

Sunshine From Behind The Clouds

After Sunday's bombshell, things have quieted down a bit. For one thing, mama is recovering from her Cold. (Its a good thing too, because we plan on heading to Southern Utah and Northern Arizona for the Memorial Day weekend.) Overall we are both feeling better about the educational situation with BJ. A little bit of sunshine is peeking from behind the clouds. Although nothing has yet been solved, and no final decisions have been made, we feel like we have a little better grip on the situation.

BJ has been better about getting his assignments completed. He knows he's not going to get away with not turning in his work. Isn't accountability a wonderful thing!

BJ is also taking piano lessons. He has been blowing off practicing as well. For now, mama has to sit with him in the living room to help him stay on track with his practicing. His tendency is to practice for a little while, and then drift into playing songs that are not a part of his current lesson. Or, alternatively he may suddenly think of something else besides piano that that he has to do RIGHT NOW! Unless he is being monitored, it may take a couple of hours for him to get in the 30 minutes of practicing he is required to do.

BJ is taking piano lessons for several reasons. The first reason is obvious, to learn music, and to one-day be able to play church hymns, if called upon in his future church service. The second reason is a little less obvious: Occupational Therapy. BJ is has some disabilities in his motor skills and coordination. Piano is a way to develop the fine kinds of motor skills that he needs to improve upon. A couple of weeks ago we had BJ tested by an independent (non-school district) Occupational Therapy evaluator. BJ has made great strides in the last year with his fine motor skills, and coincidentally enough, he has been taking piano lessons for the past year. It is also true that he is another year older, and he may be naturally developing some of these skills as he matures.

Finally the least obvious, but possibly the most important reason for BJ to take piano lessons is to help in his overall mental abilities. At an educational conference a few years ago we had the opportunity to hear from a professor of music, Michael Ballam, of Utah State University. He believes that the study of music is able to help in overall mental development, and in the ability to organize and sequence tasks -- which is the very help that BJ needs most. You can read more about the effects of musical instruction and listening to good music on intelligence here. Professor Robert Cutietta, of The University of Arizona also advocates the ability musical instruction to enhance learning in other areas.

Mama is feeling better about things now. She is seriously considering the homeschool option for BJ again. She is currently looking at a curriculum from The Calvert School, in Baltimore, Maryland. They have a placement test to help you target the student's level (or where to begin) in the various subjects. They are an accredited institution, with a proven track record (100 years in the business). It is a bit pricey: It will cost about $800.00 for the curriculum. We haven't made a final decision yet, but its a good possibility.

Part of what makes us feel so anxious, is the lack of control in Bryan's education. By the time the schools jump through the hoops of No Child Left Behind, and other federal legislation geared at providing education services for those with learning disabilities, not to mention state laws, and school district guidelines, the education plan can get pretty convoluted. Even when all the hoops have been jumped through, and a plan is agreed upon, there is often times little follow-up, and follow-thorugh on the part of those who are to be providing the educational services. We have found that the specialists seem to do pretty well: The resource teachers, school psychologists, Occupational Therapists, etc. Where the let-down generally occurs is with the classroom teacher. Even with having an aide for part of the school-day, the teacher is either totally overwhelmed with other responsibilities, or is sometimes simply disinterested or too lazy to follow the IEP (Individual Education Plan). In the 3 school years that BJ has had an IEP, we have yet to see the classroom teacher really do their part as the plan states. Unfortunately, the regular classroom is where the bulk of the plan is to take place. Hence, our frustration when we have been assured that this is a good plan, and that it will work -- and find that it is essentially ignored by the classroom teachers.

Homeschooling gives us the option to make sure that things happen. It gives us ultimate control in BJ's education. It also means that we take upon ourselves the responsibility as well. We would most likely lose the services of the school district specialists as well. Aside from mama's health problems in 2003, the main reason we have stayed with the public schools since mama has recovered her health has been to take advantage of these specialists. After 2 1/2 years of trying, it just hasn't worked out as we had hoped.

The public schools, outside of time spent with the specialists, are unable to give BJ the kind of individualized attention he needs. They often to not take his special needs into consideration (although they are required by law to make accommodations). He invariably gets lost in the busy shuffle of the classroom. At one time earlier this year, BJ was actually hiding underneath his desk on the floor of the classroom to avoid the noise and confusion of the classroom that was overwhelming him.

It may well be that homeschooling is the way to go. We will making this a matter of fasting and prayer.

Homeschool for Bryan Again?

Since Sunday, Dawn Ann has been fighting a cold. She was downright miserable on Sunday and Monday. Yesterday she was feeling much better. (Its a good thing, because we are planning on spending some time in the St. George, and Page, Arizona areas for a 4-day Memorial Day weekend.

We have had some serious concerns about the progress Bryan has been making in school. We received a student progress report at the end of last week, and found that many of Bryan's assignments were missing. We have two problems there. One, that Bryan was hiding the fact that his assignments were missing, and two, that even though we send daily communication back and forth from his teacher, that none of these missing assignments were mentioned until we received the computerized report. The teacher is supposed to let us know if any of Bryan's assignments were not complete for a given day -- so that we would know that there is homework to be done, and so that we could help him get it completed.

We would ask Bryan if his assignments were complete, and he would say that he got everything done in class. With the student progress report, we quickly became aware of both problems. We sat down and had a long talk with Bryan on Sunday. At first he continued to maintain that he had turned everything in. We knew, of course, that this was not true. Eventually Bryan admitted the truth behind his facade. We then proceeded to have a long talk about honesty, and how, in-fact, we were more disappointed in the dishonesty than in the missing assignments. Missing assignments can be dealt with, but a person's character and integrity are far more important.

Bryan's teacher does not get off the hook either. Dawn Ann visited with the principal to express her concerns about not being informed about the missing assignments, as had been previously agreed to. Bryan's teacher is pretty much a Laze Faire sort of guy. He's nice enough, but he doesn't really take it upon himself to help Bryan stay on track. We really should have been informed long ago (at least 2 months ago) about the trend if missing assignments. Also, the weekly planner sheet that both the teacher and parent sign (as part of Bryan's IEP - Individual Education Plan) indicated that there was not outstanding homework to be completed.

As a result of all this, we are seriously considering the homeschool option for Bryan again. Dawn Ann is currently looking at a curriculum from The Calvert School, in Baltimore, Maryland. They have a placement test to help you target the student's level (or where to begin) in the program. They are an accredited institution, with a proven track record (100 years in the business). It is a bit pricey: It will cost about $800.00 for the curriculum. We haven't made a final decision yet, but its a good possibility.

Part of what makes us feel so anxious, is the lack of control in Bryan's education. By the time the schools jump through the hoops of No Child Left Behind, and other federal legislation geared at providing education services for those with learning disabilities, not to mention state laws, and school district guidelines, the education plan can get pretty convoluted. Even when all the hoops have been jumped through, and a plan is agreed upon, there is often times little follow-up, and follow-through on the part of those who are to be providing the educational services. We have found that the specialists seem to do pretty well: The resource teachers, school psychologists, Occupational Therapists, etc. Where the letdown generally occurs is with the classroom teacher. Even with having an aide for part of the school day, the teacher is either totally overwhelmed with other responsibilities, or is sometimes simply disinterested or too lazy to follow the IEP (Individual Education Plan). In the 3 school years that Bryan has had an IEP, we have yet to see the classroom teacher really do their part as the plan states. Unfortunately, the regular classroom is where the bulk of the plan is to take place. Hence, our frustration when we have been assured that this is a good plan, and that it will work -- and find that it is essentially ignored by the classroom teachers.

Homeschooling gives us the option to make sure that things happen. It gives us ultimate control in Bryan's education. It also means that we take upon ourselves the responsibility as well. We would most likely lose the services of the school district specialists as well. Aside from Dawn Ann's health problems in 2003, the main reason we have stayed with the public schools since Dawn Ann has recovered her health has been to take advantage of these specialists. After 2 1/2 years of trying, it just hasn't worked out as we had hoped.

The public schools, outside of time spent with the specialists, are unable to give Bryan the kind of individualized attention he needs. They often do not take his special needs into consideration (although they are required by law to make accommodations). He invariably gets lost in the busy shuffle of the classroom. At one time earlier this year, Bryan was actually hiding underneath his desk on the floor of the classroom to avoid the noise and confusion of the classroom that was overwhelming him.

It may well be that homeschooling is the way to go. We will be making this a matter of fasting and prayer.

Piano Lessons: A force for Spiritual and Intellectual Development

Bryan has been taking piano lessons for the past year or so. He sometimes doesn't want to practice -- (nothing too unusual there!) For now, mama has to sit with him in the living room to help him stay on track with his practicing. His tendency is to practice for a little while, and then drift into playing songs that are not a part of his current lesson. Or, alternatively he may suddenly think of something else besides piano that that he has to do RIGHT NOW! Unless he is being monitored, it may take a couple of hours for him to get in the 30 minutes of practicing he is required to do, unless he has help to stay on track.

Bryan is taking piano lessons for several reasons. The first reason is obvious, to learn music, and to one-day be able to play church hymns on his mission, if called upon. Playing Church Hymns also can be a source of spiritual strength and inspiration. I have found this to be the case in my life, on many occasions. Sometimes when I am troubled, or have had a rough day, I will sit down at the piano, and play the hymns. In so doing, my perspective improves. The clouds of doubt tend to dissipate. The sweet quiet confidence of the Spirit of the Lord returns to my heart. In short, playing the hymns is a form of worship, and invites the Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds.

The second reason Bryan is taking piano lessons is a little less obvious: Occupational Therapy. Bryan is has some disabilities in his motor skills and coordination. Piano is a way to develop the fine kinds of motor skills that he needs to improve upon. These skills are necessary to help him to write better. A couple of weeks ago we had Bryan tested by an independent (non-school district) Occupational Therapy evaluator. Bryan has made great strides in the last year in the development of his fine motor skills, and coincidentally enough, he has been taking piano lessons for the past year. It is also true that he is another year older and he is another year more mature, and he may be developing some of these skills naturally.

Finally the least obvious, but one of the more important reasons for Bryan to take piano lessons is to help in his overall mental processing abilities. At a BYU Education Week a few years ago we had the opportunity to hear from a professor of music, Michael Ballam, of Utah State University. He believes that the study of music is able to help in overall mental development, and in the ability to organize and sequence tasks -- which is the very help that Bryan needs most. You can read more about the effects of musical instruction and listening to good music on intelligence here. Professor Robert Cutietta, of The University of Arizona also advocates the ability musical instruction to enhance learning in other areas.

Trouble At School Again

Saturday
We had a good day on Saturday, we spent 8 hours working on mama's project to re-landscape the front yard. She likes to come up with rather ambitions projects, and sometimes she has bitten off more than we can chew. We made a lot of progress, and installed an irrigation line to attach drip lines. These drip lines will water our shrubs and flowers. After working all day (from about 8:00 am to 5:00 PM) on Saturday, we got the line in and buried, and several shrubs planted around the perimeter of the front yard.

The kids worked really hard too. My twelve-year old son, Bryan, worked really hard. He ran the power cultivator (a mini roto tiller) to stir up the soil and mix in mulch together. Meanwhile, I dug trenches for the irrigation line. Mama and Sammy (my soon to be 10-year-old daughter) distributed the mulch throughout the flowerbed.

Anyway, We worked hard all day on Saturday. The kids wanted to go swimming at the local recreation center. After finishing our work for the day, and gathering up all of our tools and supplies, we put on our swimsuits, and headed for the pool. The kids had a lot of fun swimming around, and going down the water slide at the pool. My wife (mama) and I spent some time in the water together, playing with the kids some, but also just kind of dancing together in the water. Later mama and I spent some time in the hot-tub next to the pool. It was really nice and helped soothe our stiff and sore muscles.

After swimming we went to a new Japanese Seafood Buffet that opened up in our area. It cost about $40.00 for the four of us. The food was really good. I believe we'll go there again sometime.

After coming home, we found that we were really tired. Previous thoughts we had of having some "extra-curricular activities" were now long gone. We got the kids off to bed, and watched a couple of home improvement shows on HGTV, and then went to bed.

Sunday, Part 1
On Sunday, I had early church council meetings (starting at 6:30 AM!) -- so I had to get up at about 5:00 AM to get ready. My meetings let out at about 8:30 AM, and I came home to see if anyone was out of bed yet. They were all in our bedroom, watching TV - well at least everyone was up.

However, I soon discovered that mama was not feeling well. She was stiff and sore from all the work the day before, but now she also had a COLD as well. Her head was really stuffy, and I could tell that she really felt lousy. I asked her if she planned on going to church, and she said no.

I had to tend to some church business at a different congregation from our own, so the kids couldn't come with me. My business would take place at the same time as our main worship service. Since mama wasn't going, that meant that the kids weren't going either. I felt bad about that, but there was nothing I could do to avoid it.

So I went off to my meeting, and took care of the business I had to attend to, and returned home. The last hour of our worship service was still about 1/2 hour away from starting. I got Bryan ready so that the two of us could attend the last hour of the service. I also needed to go to our local congregation, because I needed to give my monthly financial donation to the local leaders as well.

Meanwhile, mama and Sammy stayed at home.

After the services were over, Bryan and I came home to find that there was trouble in the air. Mama was not happy, and as the saying goes, "If mama ain't happy, ain't no one happy!" It turns out that we had finally gotten Bryan's progress report from school. In much of his writing and math subjects, he had only turned in roughly 50% of his assignments. In social studies, he had turned in the first couple of assignments, and nothing after that. The problem with all of this is that all along, Bryan had been claiming that he was completing and turning in all of his assignments at school, and thus did not have homework to do.

We had to get the house cleaned up because we were expecting some visitors later in the afternoon. As we walked in the door coming home from church, mama was in the progress of what I would call "Aggravated Vacuuming". There was a grimace on her face, a bark in her voice, and a dark cloud over her head. I knew that all was not well, and the rest of the day was going to be pretty rough.

The Youth Choir
After completing hour housework chores, I had Bryan come and sit down next to me on the living room couch, and we discussed a previous commitment for Bryan to sing in a large youth choir. The only problem, the choir was in 4-point harmony, and he was placed with the tenors. The reality is that his voice hasn't changed yet, and he is still a boy soprano, musically. However, singing with the sopranos is not a option, because the sopranos, naturally are all girls, and he must sing with the boys. He simply could not reach all of the notes. He can get down to an A or G below middle C, but that's about hit. Meanwhile, he can hit a high A or B above middle C, which many sopranos would love to be able to hit.

At first the rehearsals for the choir were with our local church congregations. However, from now on they will be at various locations quite some distance away. In fact, last night was a mandatory rehearsal. One big problem was that it was also at the same time as my Dad's 70'th birthday dinner celebration.

I could tell that the choir thing was not working out, musically, and also it was not working out practically. I wanted Bryan to be able to go to his grandpa's 70th birthday celebration. I also didn't want to have to transport him to hither and yon for the next two months until the choirs performance. And frankly, he is too young and immature to be off to these locations without close supervision anyhow.

So I sat Bryan down on the couch next too me, and asked him how he would feel if he didn't get to sing in the youth choir. His answer was, "It would be a big relief." Frankly, it was a big relief for me to know that he didn't want to continue with the choir, because I was about to tell him as gently as I could that I thought it was best if he did not participate. Having it be his own idea made it much easier. For him it was a relief, rather than a big letdown.

Meanwhile, mama came down the hallway, and I waved her into the living room to let her know what our plans were with the youth choir. I explained some of the reasons why it was just not going to work out for us.

School Troubles - Again
Then mama said that she had something we need to discuss as well. That's when she dropped the bombshell about Bryan's homework assignments. Now before you judge that Bryan is a total slouch, you must first understand that he has some learning disabilities. His whole school career has been a difficult struggle for everyone -- for Bryan and his mom and dad as well. He has an IEP (Individual Education Plan) and time spent in "Resource", what we used to call Special Ed. His biggest problems have to do with short-term memory, being able to plan and prioritize his work, being able to stay on track with a task to completion. Because of all of these difficulties, he has a great deal of trouble with writing and composition. He has a team of experts working with him, his Resource Teacher, a school psychologist, an Occupational Therapist (for handwriting skills) and a part-time aide that works with him in the regular classroom to help him with his writing tasks.

We also made a big argument with the school district a year ago to "retain" him in 5th grade. We transferred him from a year-round school to a new school that would would on a traditional schedule (continuity works better for Bryan rather than all of the stops and starts of the year round schedule.) Right now Bryan is completing is second go round of 5th grade.

Even with all this help, school is still a difficult problem for him. And, hence, a source of great concern for his parents as well.

Mama confronted Bryan about his class assignments. It took quite awhile to get the truth out of him. He kept insisting that he had been turning in his assignments. What was really disappointing is that he would look at mama right in the eye, and lie through his teeth about the assignments. We new better, and eventually he caved, admitting that he hadn't been turning in his social studies assignments. But its not just social studies. His math comprehension isn't very good, and his general language skills are not very good either.

In reality, we are more disappointed in his untruthfulness, both yesterday's lies, and hiding the truth about his school assignments, and the need to do homework for the past few months as well. If he would have told us that he was having trouble getting his assignments done, then we would have helped him at home after school so he could get them completed. I suspect that he just didn't want to have to do homework - and hence the cover story that everything was being done at school. We were thinking that finally the aide situation was really working, and that great progress was being made. So this has been a real letdown.

We have some big decisions to make -- Whether to keep him in the public school, or to home school him. Private school would be great, but we can't afford the thousands of dollars per year in tuition costs. We were hoping that private school tuition reimbursement would pass in the state legislature this year, but that hasn't happened for us yet. If that ever comes to pass, we may be able to get Bryan into a private school that will give him the attention he needs.

We, or mama, I should say, has home schooled him in the past. After having kindergarten in the public school, Bryan was homeschooled for all of his 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade years, and for the first half of his 4th grade year. Sammy also was homeschooled for kindergarten, and all of 1st grade, and the first half of 2nd grade. Mama had some health issues in late 2002, and throughout 2003 which made homeschooling impossible (3 times in the hospital, for various problems, including two surgeries!) She had health issues basically throughout much of the year 2003.

We could homeschool for Bryan again, to try and get him ready for Jr. High. Sammy does really well in the public school (she did well in homeschool too.) However, its Bryan that really needs the individualized attention.

So there is trouble in school. Again! Every year there are heart-wrenching issues that we have to confront. The public schools just never seem to be able to get it right. Even the programs that the school district comes up with for Bryan don't have the follow-through that they should have. It seem like all you get is lip service. In the end, it is Bryan who pays the price. He is not being served well by the school system.

Meanwhile the concern for Bryan's future remains strong for both mama and me. We worry about what will become of Bryan. Not only in his academic career, but also in the kinds of career opportunities that will be available to him. Will he be able to provide for himself and his family one day? Will he ever be able to get himself organized, keep on task, and follow through on projects to the end -- without constantly having to be reminded to stay on task? We are as much concerned for his life skills, as we are for his academic skills.

At this point, I can't see him going to a regular 4-year college. I think he could do well in sales, if he can get himself organized, and be able to plan, make goals and accomplish those goals on his own. He also would do well with things that he could do with his hands. Like some kind of repair work, like heating/AC, or electronic repair work. I would suspect that sales, or a job in one of the trades would be the best fit for him. And the truth is, there is good money to be made in those fields, if he can get through the training process. In fact, some of these jobs are more plentiful and are better paying than many jobs requiring a 4-year bachelors degree.

So there is hope that everything will work out alright. But for now, as it has been for the past few years, it is a challenge, and a great source of worry and concern. It shows on mama's face, and it shows in her mood. And it weighs me down some as well. But we have to have faith. We need to trust in the Lord, that in His time and in His way there will be a way for Bryan to succeed. So our thoughts and prayers will be especially focused on Bryan the next little while.

Talk On Personal Priesthood Responsibility

Last Sunday I gave a talk on the Subject of Personal Priesthood Responsibility. This was my regular monthly speaking assignment on the 3rd Sunday of each month. The talk was given on May 15, 2005, which coincidentally was 176 years to the day when John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry to restore the Aaronic Priesthood. You can read my talk, if you would like, over on the Gospel Study Page.