Spanish Fork's Icelandic Pioneer Monument

Two unlikely monuments 4,000 miles apart honor the same 410 Mormon pioneers

“When I saw that Mormon Pond,” says one tourist, “I was like, ‘What are the Mormons doing all the way out here?’”

Spanish Fork • A Mormon historical marker in, say, Salt Lake City or Nauvoo, Illinois, or Palmyra, New York, is hardly surprising.

But in Iceland?

And with a companion memorial in Spanish Fork?

The two locales, though separated by 4,000 miles and half an ocean, share a connection and a heritage that has endured for more than a century.

In the North Atlantic, on the coast of the volcanic island Vestmannaeyjar, rests a monument at a place known as Mormon Pond. 

According to the nonprofit Ensign Peak Foundation, Mormon Pond received its name from the hundreds of Icelanders who were baptized at the site and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Dedicated on June 30, 2000, the memorial features a sculpture of an 8-foot-tall angel, titled “The Messenger.” Below the angel are two panels listing the names of 410 Icelanders who came to the U.S. and founded the first permanent Icelandic settlement in North America — in Spanish Fork.

The center pedestal, in both Icelandic and English, reads: “In honor of the Icelanders that heard the call to build Zion and moved to Utah — 1854 to 1914.”

Although it rests in a remote location, the monument still receives visitors to this day.

Josh Smith, a Latter-day Saint graphic designer and filmmaker, posted a video on Instagram about visiting the monument at Mormon Pond on last week’s Pioneer Day.

Smith was camping on the coast of the Westman Islands in Iceland and saw a site on Google Maps named “Mormon Pond — LDS Church monument.”

Smith told The Salt Lake Tribune he was shocked when he first came across the monument and read the words “Spanish Fork” inscribed on its surface.

“When I saw that Mormon Pond,” he said, “I was like, ‘What are we doing here? What are the Mormons doing all the way out here?’”

Smith lived in Utah for part of his childhood and said it was a special experience for him to honor those Utah immigrants all the way across the Atlantic Ocean on Pioneer Day.

“You’re there on this little island in Iceland, and you think about these early Saints who hear about the gospel and they hear about this church all the way in Utah,” Smith said. “And you think about what it would take to cross the North Atlantic.”

As for Spanish Fork, the Utah County city pays homage to its Icelandic ties with its own memorial. Located at 800 E. Canyon Road, the monument rests in a small park with a decor that honors those Icelandic pioneers.

The lighthouse sculpture at Icelandic Memorial in Spanish Fork reflects the heritage of the seafaring Latter-day Saint settlers.

It features a twin wall of honor tallying the same 410 Icelandic immigrants who journeyed to Utah. At the center of the memorial stands a 1938 lighthouse topped by a small sculpture of an Icelandic ship, designed by John K. Johnson, to reflect the seafaring settlers.

The monument’s plaque calls Spanish Fork the “first settlement of Icelanders in the United States.” 

It continues and explains that Icelander Leif Eiriksson ventured to America in A.D. 1000 and that eight centuries later, 16 pioneers from Iceland came to Utah and settled in Spanish Fork.

The links between the two monuments stretch even further.

 In 2005, a rock from Mormon Pond was brought from Iceland and added to the Spanish Fork memorial.

And locals continue to celebrate an annual Iceland Day, hosted by the Icelandic Association of Utah.

This year’s celebration is set for Saturday, Sept. 12.

Corn for Family and Neighbors

Just like his father did, Sam likes sharing the corn he raises with others.  His dad would take corn and vegetables from his garden down by the river and take to town to give to the ladies in the Senior Citizen Center in Martin. 

Sam picks the corn from our garden, puts the ears in the trunk of the car,  drives around the neighborhood, and gives the corn away to families who would like some - ward members, families no longer in our ward, and even families we don't know but are in their yard as we drive by.  If they would like to have some corn, he offers a grocery sack for them to fill.

The only time this activity didn't turn out like it was intended was the first year we lived in Spanish Fork.  I have shared this story before of the experience of having the trunk full of corn to give away and having a mother writing down our liscense number as she was preparing to call the police to report us when she saw us stopping the car to ask her young son if he would like some corn.  Fortunately, I saw the mother as we heard the nervousness of the young boy reply he didn't want any - and I correctly guessed he thought we were trying to pick him up.  We drove to his home and before his mother could finish calling the police to report us, we reassured her we were just there to give away corn to those who might want some.  Yes, she did take some corn, and all ended up okay.  That family had just recently moved to the neighborhood from Salt Lake City.

          We like sharing the corn with family, friends, and others.

We enjoy eating corn on the cob, too, which is a treat each summer.  I used to spend hours cutting corn from the ears and preparing for the freezer using a special recipe for creamstyle corn, but I don't do that anymore.  It was a messy job, but resulted in yummy corn that is way tastier than what you can buy.

Every Soul Has Great Worth = Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Every Soul Has Great Worth

Elder Gary E. Stevenson 

Two Baby Blessings - Piper Jen Smith and Charlie Brooks Staten - July 25, 2026

Two Baby Blessings

Piper Jen Smith and Charlie Brooks Staten 

July 25, 2026

Megan with Piper & Haley with Charlie

Piper Jen Smith, Charlie Brooks Staten, & Julia Mae Lontine

Piper Jen Smith held by her mother, Megan

                      Sarah & Julia Mae and Haley & Charlie

                                   Grandma Marla with Julia

                                        * * * * * * * * * * * *

Another family baby blessing on July 20, 2026 - 

Erik & Michelle Metcalf Wilson's baby

(my brother's great-granddaughter)

    Baby blessing - Parents: Erik and Michelle Metcalf Wilson;     Karalee & Dave Metcalf' (Grandparents)

Family - Erik & Michelle Metcalf Wilson

* Day 5 - The Family Proclamation – One Sentence at a Time

Day 5 of The Family Proclamation – One Sentence at a Time

“In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”

This sentence pulls back the curtain on the life we lived before we were born. It is one of the richest single statements in the Proclamation because it explains why we are here and what the entire plan is for.

First, it affirms that we existed as spirit sons and daughters in a premortal realm. We were not created at birth. We already lived, already knew God, and already related to Him as our Eternal Father. The word “knew” is personal. This was not distant theoretical knowledge. We had a relationship with Him. We worshipped Him. That worship was voluntary and real.

Second, the sentence tells us we accepted His plan. We were not forced into mortality. We chose it. In the council in heaven we understood the terms: we would receive physical bodies, enter a fallen world, face opposition, and gain experience that could only be obtained here. We saw the risks and the rewards, and we accepted the plan. That acceptance still matters. It means our presence in mortality is not an accident or a punishment, it is the result of a deliberate, premortal choice.

Third, the purpose of that plan is clearly stated: to obtain a physical body, gain earthly experience, progress toward perfection, and ultimately realize our divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. Each phrase builds on the last. A physical body is essential, not optional. Earthly experience, with all its difficulty and beauty, is the classroom. Progress toward perfection is the ongoing process. And the final goal is not merely to return to God’s presence as forgiven servants, but to become heirs of eternal life, participants in the kind of life God Himself lives.

This sentence sits at the heart of the Proclamation’s logic. If we already knew and worshipped God, if we willingly accepted His plan, and if our destiny is to become heirs of eternal life, then the family relationships we form in mortality take on eternal significance. Marriage, children, and the sealing ordinances are not simply earthly arrangements. They are the very means by which the premortal plan reaches its intended end.

It also reframes the challenges of this life. Difficulty is not evidence that the plan has failed. It is evidence that the plan is operating as designed. We came here to gain experience that could not be gained any other way. The same divine destiny described in Day 3 is here given its full trajectory: from beloved spirit children, through mortal experience, to heirs of eternal life.

When you face hard things today, how does it change your perspective to remember that you once stood in God’s presence, understood the plan, and still chose to come? What does it mean to you that your ultimate destiny is not just survival or forgiveness, but to become an heir of eternal life?

American People Deserve Answers - Damage to Our Children Caused by Fauci

Anthony Fauci’s testimony – or lack thereof – in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee was a disgraceful new chapter in one of the great scandals in modern history. 

Fauci’s invocation of his Fifth Amendment right over 100 times was a telling and shameful response to a critical inquiry, and he deserves to be held in contempt for failing to cooperate. For a man who once described himself as “Science” incarnate, what could he possibly have to hide, and why would he not wish to share his knowledge with the American people?

The reason is simple, and well-established by the evidence collected over the past six years. Dr. Fauci and his close associates at the NIH deliberately misled the American people about numerous matters in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic – including the origins of the virus itself.

As Secretary of State, I was one of many in the government who strongly suspected that the virus came from the CCP-run Wuhan Institute of Virology, given what we knew about the lab’s well-known coronavirus research program, as well as the gain-of-function research conducted at that facility. (“Gain-of-function” refers to the dangerous practice of altering viruses to make them more virulent and contagious for the ostensible purpose of developing more effective vaccines. Thankfully, President Trump’s second Administration has prohibited federal funding for this kind of research.)

As early as January 2020, Fauci wrote in his private diary that the virus appeared not to have been transmitted directly from animals to humans in a Wuhan wet market, saying, “[W]e know the market was not the source, it was the amplifier.” Early emails between Fauci and his colleagues in government and close collaborators in the field of virology show that they were fully aware that this risky research was going on, and that a lab leak was entirely plausible.

But suddenly, the direction of inquiry took a sharp turn away from hypotheses outside of animal-to-human transmission. At Fauci’s prompting, a group of scientists published a research paper in March 2020 dismissing the lab leak theory and asserting the zoonotic transmission theory – a paper subsequently cited by Fauci and his allies as Gospel.

Aided by a compliant and politically biased press, Fauci and his gang colluded to suppress any credible discussion of the lab leak hypothesis. They dismissed anyone who sought to investigate the lab leak theory as conspiracy theorists – from Senator Tom Cotton (AR) to eminent experts in the field – and declined to push for answers from his Chinese counterparts.

As Secretary of State (and facing serious headwinds from the NIH), we conducted our own investigation, and in my final days in office put together a fact sheet based on those assessments. We did not claim to know with certainty whether the virus had leaked from a lab or not, as we did not have access to the CCP’s closely guarded case data and information surrounding the virus. But we gave the American people the transparency they deserved: laying out the facts, encouraging continued investigation by the incoming Administration, and demanding transparency from the Chinese Communist Party.

As soon as President Biden took office, that investigation was shut down – but the effort to get to the truth continued in the House and Senate. Over the past six years, the accumulated evidence not only validated our position, but it also became increasingly clear that Fauci and his allies had more mendacious reasons for suppressing discussion of the lab leak hypothesis. Emails revealed that Fauci not only knew that the Wuhan lab was conducting gain-of-function research on coronaviruses, but that this very lab had received funding from the NIH without proper oversight.

As one of his final acts as President, President Biden issued a pardon of Anthony Fauci covering the years 2014 to the date of his pardon in January 2025. Why would such a measure be necessary if the good doctor’s conduct was above board, as his defenders have always insisted? Could it have anything to do with the substantial documented evidence indicating that Dr. Fauci knowingly and intentionally suppressed information relating to the origins of this virus and the NIH’s funding for dangerous gain-of-function research in China on his watch?

The damage caused by Fauci’s lies and hubris to our children and to our society is incalculable. Trust in public health institutions has cratered and will take years to rebuild. What’s more, critical evidence that would aid us in holding those responsible for this devastating pandemic – and preventing the next one – has been suppressed or destroyed.

The American people deserve answers. We must not rest until we get them.

* Day 4 - The Family Proclamation – One Sentence at a Time

The Family Proclamation – One Sentence at a Time - Day 4

“Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.”

This sentence is one of the most direct and consequential statements in the entire Proclamation. In a single line it addresses identity, purpose, and the eternal nature of gender.

The word “essential” is important. Gender is not described as a secondary trait, a social role, or a temporary condition of mortality. It is essential, fundamental to who we are. It is woven into our identity at the deepest level.

The Proclamation then stretches that truth across three stages of existence: premortal, mortal, and eternal. Gender did not begin at birth, and it does not end at death. In the premortal realm we already existed as male or female spirits. In mortality our physical bodies correspond to that spirit identity. And in the eternities, gender continues as part of our exalted identity and purpose. This is a sweeping claim. It means gender is not something we invent, choose, or outgrow. It is something we are.

Notice also the pairing of “identity and purpose.” Gender is not only about who we are; it is about what we are for. Our male or female nature shapes the eternal roles and relationships God has designed for us—most especially in marriage and parenthood. The complementary nature of male and female is not a cultural arrangement. It is rooted in the way God organized His children before the world was and intends for them to continue forever.

This sentence builds directly on the previous three. If marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God (Day 1), if male and female are both created in God’s image (Day 2), and if each of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and destiny (Day 3), then it follows that gender itself is an essential and enduring part of that divine design.

In a culture that increasingly treats gender as fluid, self-defined, or optional, this sentence stands as a clear counter-claim. It does not argue from sociology or politics. It simply declares what the prophets understand to be revealed truth: gender is real, it is eternal, and it matters for both identity and purpose.

This truth also carries quiet comfort. For those who feel confusion or pressure around identity, the Proclamation offers a stable foundation: your gender is not a puzzle you must solve or a performance you must perfect. It is an essential part of the eternal being God already knows you to be.

How does seeing gender as an essential, eternal characteristic, rather than a temporary or changeable one, affect the way you understand yourself, your relationships, or God’s plan for His children?

Utah County Fair, Spanish Fork Fairgrounds July 29 - August 1

Utah County Fair - Spanish Fork

July 29 - August 1, 2026

           Utah County Fair at the fairgrounds in Spanish Fork, Utah

Competitive Arts:  

Foods, Baked Goods, Canning, Preserves; Handicraft and Hobby, Woodwork, Metalwork, Kits, and More; Quilting; Photography; Fruts and Vegetables, Gardening and Gathering; Flowers and Arrangements; Sewing; Fine Arts; Needlework, Knitting, Crochet, Embroidery; Fair Theme - There's Magic at the Fair! - 2-5 yr. olds

Tuesday, July 28:  Individual Horse Show

Wednesday, July 29:   4-H Dog Show, 4-H Small Animals Show, Western Rodeo

Thursday, July 30:  Kids Corner Activities, 4-H Market Goat Show, Country Music at the Fair, Competitive Arts Exhibits, Scales and Tails, Country Music - Act 1 "James Gault, 4-H Market Beef Show, Magician, 4-H Market Sheep Show, Country Music - Act 2 "Magnolia Bloom," Scales and Tails, Country Music - Act 3, Country Music - Act 4, Scales and Tails, Monster Truck Show, Magician, Country Music Headliner - Susie Brown

July 31:  4-H Market Hog Show, Scales and Trails, 4-H Beef Showmanship, Magician, Competitive Arts Exhibits, Vocal Competition, Scales and Tails, 4-H Goat Showmanship, Magician

Battie of the Bands, Scales and Tails, Demolition Derby, Hypnotist

Saturday, August 1:  4-H Hog Showmanship, Competitive Arts Exhibits, Scales and Tails, Car Show, Magician, 4-H Sheep Showmanship, Tractor Pull, Scales and Tails, Classic Rock - Act 1, Classic Rock - Act 2, Classic Rock - Act 3, Classic rock - Act 4, Magician, Demolition Derby, Hypnotist, Classic Rock Headliner

Clint Eastwood Shattered Our Comfortable Illusions About Growing Old

At 96, Clint Eastwood shattered our comfortable illusions about growing old, refusing to sugarcoat the harsh truth.

In a recent speech, he explained how the body changes over time. Bones become less flexible, movements slow down, and bright light can bother the eyes. Even breathing can take more effort. And that was just the beginning.

He brought his trademark grit to a topic most people prefer to avoid. He didn't offer comforting platitudes about senior years being full of endless serenity.

Instead, he painted a stark, unflinching picture of what happens when a human being approaches a century of existence.

"The light hurts your eyes, and even breathing can feel like hard work," Eastwood shared, describing the constant friction of a fading physical frame.

"Your body just doesn't cooperate the way it used to, and every step requires a strategy."

But as he pointed out, the structural decline of the skeleton and muscles is merely the surface of the issue.

The real weight of extreme old age is emotional and psychological. Once you cross into your nineties, your social landscape undergoes a profound and often painful transformation.

You look around and realize that the majority of the people who knew you when you were young, who shared your history, your inside jokes, and your life struggles, have vanished.

The circle of familiar faces shrinks down to almost nothing, the phone stops ringing, and the pace of the days slows down to a crawl. The bitterest pill to swallow isn't the physical pain; it is the sudden absence of someone who genuinely wants to listen to you.

When the present moment becomes quiet and isolated, the human mind naturally seeks refuge in the past. Eastwood explained that navigating through old memories isn't a sign of mental weakness, but a vital search for continuity.

This is why older people frequently repeat the same anecdotes, adding minor details and revisiting old grounds over and over again. They aren't trying to boast or dominate the conversation. They do it to anchor themselves to a reality where they were active, loved, and relevant.

"You find yourself repeating stories, adding details, not to convince anyone, but just to feel like you’re still connected to something," Eastwood admitted. "You try to pass things down to the younger generation, even when you can see the boredom in their eyes."

We live in a culture that treats longevity like a trophy, congratulating people simply for surviving, while totally ignoring the crushing loneliness that accompanies that survival.

We praise the shiny, the fast, and the hyper-connected, leaving absolutely no space for the slow, repetitive rhythm of the very old.

Clint Eastwood may be a cinematic giant, but his words speak for every anonymous 90-year-old living down the street or sitting at our family dinner tables.

They are the living libraries of our history, carrying stories that shaped the world we walk in today. When we choose to slow down, put away our distractions, and truly listen to them, something magical happens. We bridge the gap between generations.

Ultimately, the wrinkles on their faces aren't just signs of aging—they are a beautiful roadmap of a life fully lived, and it is a privilege to sit by their side and listen to the journey.

At 96, Clint Eastwood shared a truth about aging that left the world silent… because the hardest part of growing old isn’t losing strength — it’s realizing how many people and memories you’ve lost along the way. Read the powerful message he left behind before time takes away the chance to truly listen. https://ifeg.info/.../clint-eastwood-at-96-breaks-his.../

Brain-Healthy Food Pairings

Brain-Healthy Food Pairings

While a magic two-ingredient recipe does not exist, combining certain nutrient-dense foods supports overall cognitive wellness:

Blueberries and Walnuts: Packed with anthocyanins and plant-based omega-3 fats to reduce inflammation and support memory.

Green Tea and Lemon: Provides powerful antioxidants combined with Vitamin C to help maximize nutrient absorption.
Olive Oil and Leafy Greens: Delivers healthy monounsaturated fats and vitamin K, which are core elements of brain-protective diets.
Brain-Boosting Blueberry Smoothie 

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen blueberries
2 medium ripe bananas (best when its frozen, chopped)
3 cups baby spinach
1 avocado
1⁄2 cup walnuts (AIP - omit) 
3⁄4 cup pomegranate juice (no sugar)
11⁄4 cups coconut milk or almond milk
Directions
Add all ingredients into a blender. Combine on high speed for about 30 seconds, or until creamy and smooth.
Pour the smoothie evenly into two glasses. Enjoy cold.