(Total threadjack: That is a lovely article on the Liberty Bell that you link to on the side bar. We were just in Philadelphia last week to see Richard Elliott, the Tabernacle Organist, playing the Wanamaker Organ at Macy’s by City Hall and happened to drive past the Mint and I repeated to my family Curt A.’s comments that he made here on Keepa about the building of the mint. Lots of interesting connections you make possible through your blog!)

One bit of good news noticed today is that the patriarchal blessing office is in its own room down a hallway. That will lessen the traffic in the research rooms, especially the disruption from flocks of bored little kids who so often accompany their parents to make those requests. (I know this feeds the “babyhater” accusations that have been made against me in the ‘nacle. I don’t hate kids. They do not, however, belong in research libraries. Especially when their parents don’t bring anything to amuse them with, and don’t care when their precious darlings run wild at the tops of their sweet little shrill voices. Thoughtless parents. Very, very thoughtless parents.)

Even more people were there today than yesterday. When my friend asked oen of the librarians what people were saying, he told us that most people wanted to know how they could learn about their ancestors. There’s going to be some demand for this library, at least until the novelty wears off.

Oh, and the story dramatized in the orientation film was that of Joseph Millett, whose neighbor came to him because the neighbor family was out of flour. The neighbor had tried several other houses without success, but after prayer, he said, “the Lord told me to ask Joseph Millett.” Joseph Millett gave him the flour, despite his own family’s short supply, and told him that he needn’t repay it — “it is good to know the Lord knows Joseph Millett.”

S., the Church seems determined to replace professional staff with missionaries as much as possible, so it would be to everybody’s advantage to have a missionary with your skills and experience. Bring ‘em up on your application and in every interview you have, including those in Salt Lake before you’re actually assigned anywhere. Make yourself a nuisance; don’t be modest. Also, cast your experience as “historical research” or “archival work” or something like that, not “family history” — they’ll think all you know how to do is use NewFamilySearch and they’ll stick you helping tourists at the Family History Library.