Popular Post JLHPROF Posted February 20, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted February 20, 2019 About a year ago I was expressing how superficial the tour of the Beehive House I took felt. I had the opportunity today to go on the tour again. To my pleasant surprise the tours are now being conducted by the Church History department instead of missionaries and slightly longer. My guide was knowledgeable and provided a bunch of information. And he was open about Brigham's family situation. I asked him if this was a permanent switch. He said yes. I chuckled when he said visitors didn't want a 15 min rush through focused on the restoration and Book of Mormon when visiting Brigham's home. Such a breath of fresh air. 14 Link to comment
Tacenda Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 10 minutes ago, JLHPROF said: About a year ago I was expressing how superficial the tour of the Beehive House I took felt. I had the opportunity today to go on the tour again. To my pleasant surprise the tours are now being conducted by the Church History department instead of missionaries and slightly longer. My guide was knowledgeable and provided a bunch of information. And he was open about Brigham's family situation. I asked him if this was a permanent switch. He said yes. I chuckled when he said visitors didn't want a 15 min rush through focused on the restoration and Book of Mormon when visiting Brigham's home. Such a breath of fresh air. Good to know! Did they put back up the family photo of BY and his wives that I remember seeing as a child? I'm excited to go check it out! Link to comment
JLHPROF Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 1 minute ago, Tacenda said: Good to know! Did they put back up the family photo of BY and his wives that I remember seeing as a child? I'm excited to go check it out! Not that I saw. But he spoke freely of Mary Ann, Lucy Decker, Amelia Folsom and Brigham's many homes. 1 Link to comment
bluebell Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) Awesome! The last time I was there in 2012 it was pretty disappointing and lackluster. The sisters pretended that BY only had one wife the whole time. Edited February 20, 2019 by bluebell 2 Link to comment
JLHPROF Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 3 minutes ago, bluebell said: Awesome! The last time I was there in 2012 it was pretty disappointing and lackluster. The sisters pretended that BY only had one wife the whole time. You assume they were pretending. When I went last year they knew nothing not in their scripts. This was so much more enjoyable. 1 Link to comment
bluebell Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 31 minutes ago, JLHPROF said: You assume they were pretending. When I went last year they knew nothing not in their scripts. This was so much more enjoyable. I know they were because I asked them where his other wives slept and they mumbled something about other houses and then changed the subject. 😆 1 Link to comment
Ginger Snaps Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, bluebell said: I know they were because I asked them where his other wives slept and they mumbled something about other houses and then changed the subject. 😆 Similar to my experience 2 or 3 years ago. I asked as well and got pretty much the same reply. The tour was *awful*. The missionary guides barely spoke English and were not equipped to handle any questions that went off-script. They were also apparently instructed to bear testimony at nearly every pause on the tour, which was weird and awkward. I’m glad to hear it has changed. Edited February 20, 2019 by Ginger Snaps 3 Link to comment
JLHPROF Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 5 minutes ago, Ginger Snaps said: Similar to my experience 2 or 3 years ago. I asked as well and got pretty much the same reply. The tour was *awful*. The missionary guides barely spoke English and were not equipped to handle any questions that went off-script. They were also apparently instructed to bear testimony at nearly every pause on the tour, which was weird and awkward. I’m glad to hear it has changed. 😂 My experience exactly. My favorite is still when the sweet little Korean missionary bore testimony to my wife and I that we could be bondaged together for eternity... My guide today talked about the usage of adobe bricks, Brigham leaving a cat sized hole into the cellar because Brigham refused to have mice, he knew which chairs belonged to Lorenzo Snow, which area of the house Joseph F. Smith received D&C 138 in. He spoke of Mary Ann moving to the White house and Lucy moving in to run the official residence. He mentioned ordinances were performed there. John Willard Young renovating it. And so on. 3 Link to comment
JLHPROF Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) Apparently this was announced a while back. I just missed it. https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900030970/want-to-be-a-beehive-house-tour-guide-applications-due-sept-21.html https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900054095/the-beehive-house-reopens-with-minor-upgrades-new-tour-guides-and-greater-focus-on-the-homes-history.html ETA - Googling this a bit more: It looks like our prior experiences were pretty much the norm for a few years but it used to be better. https://bycommonconsent.com/2015/12/08/whats-missing-from-the-historic-beehive-house-tours-history/ This 2015 article recalls a former tour "A former tour guide shared that each guide was given the book Brigham Young at Home written by one of his daughters that was full of facts about the house." My docent today mentioned this book as well. Maybe it's being used again. (But he failed to mention the article's claim that "Brigham had each wife sit in the snow so he could hand carve a wooden dining chair to custom fit that wife. Children visiting the house could then sit in the various chairs to see how different each one was." 😂😂😂) Edited February 20, 2019 by JLHPROF 3 Link to comment
Hamba Tuhan Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Interesting. I've only been there once, in the 1990s. I think our tour guide was an elderly volunteer, not a missionary. She absolutely talked about Brigham's wives. Link to comment
Jeanne Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 I haven't been there for a long time...sounds like it is time to go back...is it me or does it seem like the smell of old places seem to transform you ? I love history! 1 Link to comment
bluebell Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 14 hours ago, Ginger Snaps said: Similar to my experience 2 or 3 years ago. I asked as well and got pretty much the same reply. The tour was *awful*. The missionary guides barely spoke English and were not equipped to handle any questions that went off-script. They were also apparently instructed to bear testimony at nearly every pause on the tour, which was weird and awkward. I’m glad to hear it has changed. I remember that our tour ended with the missionaries teaching about FHE. It was kind of embarrassing just because it felt like a bait and switch, where people were lured in with a promise of a historical tour but really they were being forced to listen to a spiritual message about the church. Link to comment
Tacenda Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 36 minutes ago, Jeanne said: I haven't been there for a long time...sounds like it is time to go back...is it me or does it seem like the smell of old places seem to transform you ? I love history! We should go! I love church history sites, and could go over and over, and other historical sites as well, but more the LDS ones, haha. When my kids were young I would drag them to all the places, even on vacation. The BY home in St. George, the Jacob Hamblin home in Santa Clara, the "This is the Place Monument", Church Museum, Beehive home, etc. Poor kids hated it! But I could go over and over. I am definitely going to check out the Beehive home again! Link to comment
Garden Girl Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 19 hours ago, bluebell said: Awesome! The last time I was there in 2012 it was pretty disappointing and lackluster. The sisters pretended that BY only had one wife the whole time. Considering he had 50+(?) children, how could they be so ignorant, or even allowed to put that forward? I always knew about his wives and children when I was a young girl because of an article in Life(?) magazine I think it was... GG 1 Link to comment
Tacenda Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Garden Girl said: Considering he had 50+(?) children, how could they be so ignorant, or even allowed to put that forward? I always knew about his wives and children when I was a young girl because of an article in Life(?) magazine I think it was... GG Did it surprise you when they took out "wives" in a quote, and put "wife" in the Brigham Young's Teachings of the President manual? I think it was very disingenuous for the curriculum department. Link to comment
Scott Lloyd Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) 18 hours ago, JLHPROF said: Apparently this was announced a while back. I just missed it. https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900030970/want-to-be-a-beehive-house-tour-guide-applications-due-sept-21.html https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900054095/the-beehive-house-reopens-with-minor-upgrades-new-tour-guides-and-greater-focus-on-the-homes-history.html ETA - Googling this a bit more: It looks like our prior experiences were pretty much the norm for a few years but it used to be better. https://bycommonconsent.com/2015/12/08/whats-missing-from-the-historic-beehive-house-tours-history/ This 2015 article recalls a former tour "A former tour guide shared that each guide was given the book Brigham Young at Home written by one of his daughters that was full of facts about the house." My docent today mentioned this book as well. Maybe it's being used again. (But he failed to mention the article's claim that "Brigham had each wife sit in the snow so he could hand carve a wooden dining chair to custom fit that wife. Children visiting the house could then sit in the various chairs to see how different each one was." 😂😂😂) One of the reader comments attached to the second article linked above reflects some ignorance on the commenter’s part, to wit: “...the best cafe and food in Utah.” There is no cafe in the Beehive House. The commenter is probably confusing it with the adjacent Lion House, also a former residence of Brigham Young, which does have a restaurant. Unlike the Beehive House though, it is not a museum, but rather, an eatery and reception center. Edited February 20, 2019 by Scott Lloyd 1 Link to comment
Anijen Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 22 hours ago, JLHPROF said: About a year ago I was expressing how superficial the tour of the Beehive House I took felt. I had the opportunity today to go on the tour again. To my pleasant surprise the tours are now being conducted by the Church History department instead of missionaries and slightly longer. My guide was knowledgeable and provided a bunch of information. And he was open about Brigham's family situation. I asked him if this was a permanent switch. He said yes. I chuckled when he said visitors didn't want a 15 min rush through focused on the restoration and Book of Mormon when visiting Brigham's home. Such a breath of fresh air. Good to hear. When I visited (long time ago) it was just as you described. I thought the best part of the Lion House was the food. Link to comment
Scott Lloyd Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 On 2/20/2019 at 3:52 PM, Anijen said: Good to hear. When I visited (long time ago) it was just as you described. I thought the best part of the Lion House was the food. But JLHPROF is talking here about the Beehive House, not the Lion House. They are adjacent to each other, but they are not the same thing Did you perchance miss my post immediately prior to yours? Link to comment
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