Our first full day in Nauvoo was on a Sunday. We noticed that most of the activities at Nauvoo were closed on Sundays so we decided to head over to Carthage first. Carthage is about a half hour away from Nauvoo and you drive right along the Mississippi River to get there which was a great view. The River was so full of driftwood and stuff like that though. At one place, there was a whole section near the bank that was full of lily pads. At one time during the year, all of the lily pads bloom for like one day. It is suppose to be the most amazing sight. Unfortunately, it was not during our stay...
Anyway we were on our way to Carthage.
Like Nebraska and Iowa, Illinois is really flat and full of corn fields. So once we turned up away from the River, this is what we saw. Then we got to Carthage.
While at Carthage, we went to the Carthage Jail. This is the place where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred. This was an amazing place and the Spirit there was amazing.
We arrived a little early so the site was not quite open yet. Because of this, we spent some time walking around the beautiful grounds and reading and looking at all of the plaques and statues.
The life-sized statue of Joseph and Hyrum was amazing. We also loved reading all of the plaques and hearing all of the tributes to the Prophet.
It was also great to talk to the kids a little bit about Joseph Smith and his life as we walked around these grounds. Especially as we showed them where he died and how and why he died.
The top window in the jail is in the room where Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor and Willard Richards were imprisoned when the mob of 200 men came and attacked them. Joseph was shot and fell out of this window and landed near the well we are standing by.
The feeling at the grounds of Carthage Jail was really sacred. We were in awe to be standing at the same place that the Prophet had been. The grounds were very beautiful as well. I don't know what I expected the grounds and the jail to look like but I was surprised at it and it was not what I expected.
While we waited for our tour, we had lunch in the truck. The kids were being kind of crazy...
Then it was our turn for the tour of the jail. Before going in the jail, we watched a video about Joseph Smith and his life. The video was based on a general conference talk by Elder Holland and it was awesome. Elder Holland truly bore his testimony of the truth Joseph Smith restored and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon he was able to translate. It really set the mood for the tour.
The tour started in the downstairs where the jailer lived. Then the missionary walked us upstairs to the dungeon room. The dungeon room had the jail cell with the bars. This is where Willard Richards took John Taylor after the attack to hide because they thought the mobbers were coming back. Then we went into the actual room Joseph and Hyrum were in. This door still has the bullet hole in it from the bullet that was shot in and killed Hyrum. There is also still the bullet hole near the lock that the mobbers shot to break the lock on the door and get in.
While we were in the upstairs bedroom where Joseph and Hyrum were killed, we had a moment of silence for the two men. We also listened to a short recording of the last few moments of their lives before the mob arrived. Joseph asked Willard to sing and he sang "O Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." They also studied the scriptures, prayed, and wrote letters. Then at 5:00 on June 27, 1844, they heard the mobbers break into the jail and charge up the stirs. They tried to keep them out by blocking the door. That's when the bullets started flying. One shot went through the door killing Hyrum. More bullets flew hitting John Taylor in the ear and pocket watch. He rolled under the bed and was left there. The door was forced open pinning Willard Richards behind it. More bullets flew as Joseph fled to the window. There he was hit from both sides and fell out of the window dead. The mobbers hearing that Samuel Smith and the Nauvoo Legion was coming, fled the scene and left the bodies of the Prophet and his brother.
As we listened to this recording there was a solemn feeling in the room. We all knew what a horrific day it must have been. But also as we listened, we heard the testimony of John Taylor as he testified of the great men Joseph and Hyrum were. He said they lived great and they died great in the Lord. In D&C 135:3 it states: "Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it."
There was a distinct feeling in that room and we were so glad that we were able to be there and share this Spirit with the kids.
After leaving this room, we were very quiet and reverent. We continued to walk around the grounds enjoying the experience of the place.
While we were there, Emily met a new friend named, Synevie. She and her parents, Janet and Jim Mein were from Cardston, Alberta, Canada. They were a really fun family and we ended up meeting up with them quite a bit while we were in Nauvoo and have since kept in touch with them via Facebook and video chats.
We drove back to Nauvoo after Carthage and spent some time walking around the sites.
First we went to the Nauvoo Visitor Center.
There were a lot of cool things to see at the visitor center including a large map of Nauvoo, the original Book of Mormon and other scriptures, as well as the Sun Stone from the Nauvoo Temple and an awesome statue of Joseph Smith's First Vision. There were also a ton of other cool things to see.
While at the Visitor Center, we were able to attend the Sunday Concert put on by the Young Performing Missionaries.
This concert was AMAZING!! The missionaries performed a lot of hymns and other beautiful songs. They also gave great messages in between each song. It was similar to "Music and the Spoken Word" they do before general conference. Then on the last song, all of the missionaries came together, including the band members, to sing "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." This song was so powerful! It truly felt like we were in the conference center and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was singing! I could not believe that a group of this size (probably 30) could sound so powerful. It was an awesome concert and a perfect thing to do on a Sunday. We also met back up with our Canadian friends, the Mein's, and attended the concert with them. They also said the concert was amazing.
After the concert, we still had a couple of hours before the historical homes closed for the day so we decided to see a few of them. We started at the Brickyard.
Traci's in-laws (Sean's mom and step-dad), Janet and Phil, are some of the Nauvoo missionaries and they were working at the Brickyard that day. This was a pretty fun experience actually seeing someone we knew at Nauvoo. Janet was able to give us the tour of the Brickyard and told us all about how they bricks were made for the homes and the temple. We learned that when they cooked the bricks, there were three types of bricks that came out. The ones closest to the fire were hard and burned black so they were not very pretty, the bricks in the middle were the perfect ones that were cured just right, and the ones on the top were fired but not as well as the middle ones. The ones on top were the prettiest bricks but not the strongest. So when the pioneers built their homes, they did the walls three bricks thick. The outside bricks of the home were the bricks that were in the middle of the fire, they were strong enough and still looked good. The inside layer of bricks on the homes were the burnt black bricks so that no one could see them. And then the third layer was the bricks seen from the inside of the home. These bricks were the ones on the top of the fire. The prettiest bricks but not the strongest. That way nothing was wasted and the homes were strong and insulated. Pretty smart right?
Janet gave each of us a Nauvoo brick souvenir to take home. They were pretty fun. Then Janet invited us over for dinner the next night. We gladly to accepted.
After leaving the Brickyard, we headed to the Lucy Mack Smith home.
This is where the mother of the Prophet lived while in Nauvoo and until she died. She did not head west with the Saints when they left Nauvoo because she was too old and her Arthritis was really bad so she could not travel. During this time, she stayed with and was cared for by Emma.
Her little house was so cute. Because she was a little woman, the bed and other things in the house were pretty small. One interesting fact about her house is that the stairs in her house are the steepest stairs in Nauvoo! Here is Emily climbing up the steep stairs. And yes they were steep!
Next we went to the Pendleton Home & Log School:
This was the school house the pioneers used. Here we learned about the school teacher Calvin Pendleton and his family. Pendleton lived in this house and the school room was on the back of the house. At the school, the kids learned how the pioneer kids did their homework and learned how to write. They loved writing on the slates and pretending to be pioneer students.
By this time all of the historic homes were closed for the day so we decided to head up to the beautiful Nauvoo Temple and walk around the grounds.
This is definitely a beautiful temple and it's story is especially inspiring. The Saints knew how important it was to build a temple of the Lord that they worked on it even before they had homes of their own.
Portions of the temple were finished and dedicated at different times so that temple endowments and work could be done. The mobbers warned them not to finish the temple because they would come and destroy it but the saints desire to receive the saving ordinances of the temple motivated them to finish the temple. It was in this temple that Joseph conferred all of the keys and ordinances of the priesthood to Brigham Young and the rest of the Quorum of the Twelve. This was shortly before his death. From December 10, 1844 and the time of the great exodus on Feb 4, 1845 about 5,600 saints received their temple ordinances. Even the night before they left, 295 people received their ordinances. The temple was later dedicated on April 30, 1846. Then in October 1848 it was burned by arson and later a tornado destroyed the rest of the temple.
The grounds were also very beautiful like those of other temples. Charlotte loved smelling all of the flowers.
This temple was rebuilt and dedicated on June 27, 2002 at 6:00 pm. The same date and time as the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum.
It was awesome to walk around this temple and learn the history of it. There were so many sacrifices that were made in building this temple. Even though it was destroyed just a few years after it was dedicated, it served its purpose in providing a place in which the Lord could restore His saving ordinances and all of the priesthood keys.
Just below the temple is this exquisite statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith:
The statue is a tribute to Hyrum and Joseph and it shows them on horseback as they were leaving Nauvoo to go to Carthage. The statue faces the temple with its back to the city of Nauvoo. It is called "The Prophet's Last Ride."
The plaque on the statue says, "On the morning of June 24, 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum left their families, homes, and fellow Saints for the last time. Travelling on horseback, they paused on this bluff. Joseph looked admiringly at the unfinished temple and the city of Nauvoo and declared, 'This is the loveliest place and the best people under the heavens, little do they know the trials that await them.' Joseph and Hyrum then continued on to Carthage, Illinois, where they faced legal charges and eventual death at the hands of a mob."
I think that is the perfect description of this statue.
From this point on the bluff, you can see all of Nauvoo and the beautiful temple as well. It was the perfect spot.
That night, the Young Performing Missionaries put on a special program along the Trail of Hope.
We met the Mein's again and they went down the Trail with us. Emily was excited to see Synevie again. The Missionaries entertained us as we waited for the Trail of Hope to begin. We got to meet a lot of the missionaries and we found out that there were a lot from Utah and a few from Cache Valley. That was fun to make that connection.
The missionaries once again blew us away with their talents.
What the Trail of Hope is was the road down Parley Street that led to the ferry crossing for the Mississippi River. When the Saints were driven out of Nauvoo and made the great exodus on February 4, 1845, they lined their wagons up along this street waiting for their turn to cross the River. It was originally named the Trail of Tears because I am sure there were many tears shed as they looked back on the beautiful city they had built and especially the beautiful Nauvoo temple standing as a beacon on the hill. President Hinckley later renamed it the Trail of Hope because the Saints leaving this city and walking this trail had faith in the Lord and hope of better things to come. As you walk down this trail to the waterfront, there are plaques to read. On each of the plaques are journal entries or quotes from various Nauvoo saints depicting their actual feelings about Nauvoo, about having to leave, about their testimonies of this gospel, and their testimonies of following the prophet. Each plaque gives you a little glimpse into their lives and also strengthens your own testimony of this gospel.
While we walked down the trail this night though, we were able to listen as the Performing Missionaries acted out and depicted the Saints that each plaque was about. It was really like you were listening to the actual person talking. It was amazing to walk at dust and dark with only lantern light and listen to these amazing testimonies of these Saints. You could totally feel the Spirit and feel what these Saints must have felt. It was an awesome experience. As we got to the water at the end of the Trail, we just looked over the mighty Mississippi and wondered what it must have felt like at that time to be leaving everything you had worked for over the last 6 years and go off into who knows where. But they had the faith and hope in the Lord that everything would work out somehow. What an amazing faith! Also at the bottom of the Trail near the water is a large monument to the Pioneers. On this monument are the names of all of the Saints that left Nauvoo and headed west. It was cool to see all of the names and read the ones we knew.
As we were walking down Parley Street and near the water, there were fireflies everywhere. There were so many that the kids had a blast just catching them.
Colby caught the most. I think he had three in his hands at one time. One of the fireflies must have really liked Colby because he was able to hold it all the way back to the car. Then it wouldn't fly away when we tried to let it go. Finally we set it on a tree and it crawled away. Later we found out that it must have been a female because they don't fly. They were pretty fun to catch though and so cool to watch as they lit up and blinked their lights at us.
The next morning I went for a run down Parley Street and the Trail of Hope because I wanted to see it in the daylight. These are both pictures of the Trail:
The first is of the waterfront where they waited to cross the Mississippi. The second is the view of the temple from Parley Street. From this view, they could look back and see their city and their temple but with faith and hope and the knowledge and saving ordinances they received in that temple, look forward to the future as well.
What an inspiring first day we had at Carthage and Nauvoo. I am so glad we went on this trip and it has only been one day!
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