NAUVOO & AUSTRALIA

What an incredible year the last 12 months have been! Challenging no doubt, for everyone that I know it seems, but for Nashville Tribute it has been a wonderful ride. We did several of Sheri Dew’s TIME OUT FOR WOMEN conventions in some wonderful cities and met some incredible women. We did NTB shows all over the country, from Sarasota, Florida to Sacramento, California. We had the honor and pleasure of being invited to Nauvoo in July of 2008 to perform for all of the missionaries who were currently on assignment in Nauvoo and we also had the pleasure of doing a show especially for the talented staff and crew of The Nauvoo Pageant. We sat with joy and amazement as we watched them perform for us the night before. Then the next night we were in the Nauvoo Visitor’s Center theater sharing our show with them. Man, we love you cast and crew!

Brother and Sister Widsonet were so kind and helpful to allow us the privilege of spending some quiet time in some of the church owned tourist spots in town, and we express a special “thank you” to Lachlan Mackay and The Community of Christ who were so helpful in allowing us onto their properties for some very special experiences.

Nauvoo is a special place. I must stop and say that I am sitting in the parking lot of a soccer complex right now, my daughter is getting ready to play another game in 30 minutes. I have a sweatshirt rolled up in the window to block the sun so I can see my laptop. My heart is pounding as the Spirit is filling this car to the point where I can’t help smiling. Why, because I am thinking of the thoughts and feelings of Nauvoo last year and I once again am reminded that I am a member of a blessed dispensation. Halelujah! (There’s my grandmother’s Baptist coming out in me :o)

While in Nauvoo, we met Kim Smith, the great, great granddaughter of Emma and Joseph. What a treasure she is. We had previously met Gracia Jones, the first direct descendant of Joseph and Emma’s to join the church since the martyrdom. Through them we ended up meeting Michael Kennedy, another direct descendant who is currently the director of the Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith Family Society. Through a miraculous series of events, me and Ron Saltmarsh, Brad Hull, Tim Gates, Matt Lopez, Darren Dixon (our tour manager for the trip), and Greg and Sharon Farmer (our incredible sound and road crew for the tour) got on a plane in September of 2008 and flew to Sydney, Australia to do three weeks worth of shows. Unfortunately, Dan Truman was out with Diamond Rio and couldn’t join us over there (We missed him!) Elder David Osborn and his wife Robyn, who were in the church’s PR department in Sydney at the time, helped us with contacts to set up some shows in various locations in New South Wales. We played and testified to some people we will never forget. We performed in many locations in and around Syndney, New Castle, Tamworth, Tuncurry/Forster and probably a few more towns that I am forgetting at the moment. We also performed at three of the Australian premiere’s for the movie Emma. The highlight, without question, was spending a few days with Robyn Mah, one of Joseph and Emma’s many descendants who now live in Australia, and her family. Alexander Smith, son of Joseph and Emma, had a daughter who married a young Australian man in 1870 in Independence, Missouri and move to settle Tuncurry, Australia. Robyn and her family were a delight. They are not members of the LDS church and they shared with us many family stories and history. They took us on a breathtaking riverboat ride into the bush where we enjoyed cooking by a wonderful Balinese lady. We shared with them our testimonies and our appreciation for their relatives who restored the fullness of the truth in the 1830s and 40s. Then we did a show for their family reunion in Tuncurry. Life changing experience for us! We will never be the same. The people of Australia were gracious and kind and we loved every minute of it!

Special thanks to Darren and Jenny Dixon who helped sponsor the Australian tour and who made that experience possible. And most especially, thank you to all of the Nashville Tribute Band members who made the trip, and to their families, for they took a month off of work, free of compensation of any kind, to share their testimonies. I love you guys forever for that! - Jason Deere

Brad, Jason, & Matt playing "Emma" on the steps of the Mansion House in Nauvoo

Jason, Matt, & Brad on the front steps of the Mansion House


Nashville Tribute Band - Nauvoo

Nashville Tribute Band - Nauvoo

Dan Truman at the end of Parley Street playing "Farewell Nauvoo"

Boomerang Beach, New South Whales

Brother & Sister Mike Kennedy and Robyn Mah (standing) are descendants of the Prophet in Australia

Kim Smith and her children. Kim is a great great granddaughter of Joseph & Emma

Matt & Tim in Sydney

Performing for the missionaries in Sydney

Matt, Tim, & Brad at the Opry House

Tim, Ron, Brad, & Jason


Tim jammin' with the natives

The Sydney Opry House


The Sydney skyline

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