At the end of July, I went to Nauvoo, Illinois with some of the other YSAs. What a cool opportunity! I'm so glad I got to go. I'll share some pictures, and I'll try to keep my writing to a minimum. I know I tend to be a bit verbose sometimes.
This is the sister missionary who gave us our tour of
Carthage Jail. Carthage was my favorite part of this trip. The Prophet Joseph was kept here unjustly with others who volunteered to stay with him. What a special and solemn place!
Me at the window of Joseph Smith's martyrdom. He was shot at from inside the jail and from without its walls as well.
An angry mob burst into the jail. That bullet hole is big enough to fit your index finger through. I think another bullet broke the lock as well.
The window that Joseph fell out of upon being shot by the mob.
Beautiful outside view of that window. I kept an acorn that fell from the tree that is right outside that window.
Angela, Dave, Alberto, Tim, and me at the Carthage Visitor's Center
Me, Jaclyn, and Lori on a covered wagon in Nauvoo. (Apparently I missed the sunglasses memo.)
A gorgeous shot of Nauvoo at sunset. This was on our way to the Nauvoo Pageant.
The Nauvoo Pageant--singing, dancing, and acting out stories of the early Saints.
Waiting for the Pageant to start
The Pageant with a backdrop of the Nauvoo Temple that was gradually built during the program. At the end, they lit up the real Nauvoo Temple in the background and we heard a recording of President Hinckley talking about the Nauvoo Temple facing west and the SLC Temple facing east. It's cool that the Nauvoo Temple faces west, the direction of the early Saints' journey to a home safe from angry mobs and unfair governments. The Salt Lake City temple faces the opposite direction--almost like it's observing the journey that was taken and everything that happened along the way. Now there are so many wonderful temples all around the world!
A statue of Hyrum and Joseph. I think it's of them as they were leaving Nauvoo for the last time--headed to Carthage where they would be martyred. I wish that I could go back in time and meet the wonderful people of Nauvoo!
(As a side note, I just love Hyrum! Like Nephi's brother Sam in the
Book of Mormon, Hyrum was a faithful companion and a very righteous man.)
It is super pretty! It was rebuilt in 2002 on the same property as the original Nauvoo Temple. The original was destroyed by fire and a tornado after the Saints left Nauvoo.
We walked along the Trail of Hope--the trail taken by the Saints on their way to cross the Mississippi toward the west.
Along the trail, you can ready quotes in stone from the people of Nauvoo. Some tell of the freezing winter conditions that the Saints had to endure as they crossed the Mississippi.
In this picture on the Trail of Tears, you can see the Mississippi River. It would be interesting to be here in the winter when you could get a better feel for the conditions the Saints had to endure. This is absolutely beautiful, but I don't think they had the same July weather on their side when they left.
They had to leave the Temple they had worked so hard on.
Here's me--my first time being at the Mississippi.
The whole group in front of the Mississippi.
I'm grateful for the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was the first prophet of the latter-days, called to restore the Gospel of
Jesus Christ to the earth in its fulness. He truly testified of Christ. He taught that Jesus Christ is the center of our faith, and that everything else is an appendage to that core belief. Joseph could not have made up the things that he taught--he was instructed by God and was given the authority act in His name. He was followed by many other wonderful prophets. Today the Lord's prophet is Thomas S. Monson, and I look forward to hearing from him at General Conference in October. In spite of the challenges that our world faces right now, there is a lot of good going on as well. I hope to contribute to that good. What a great time to live on the Earth!
