Nauvoo

Nauvoo was by far the highlight of the trip for Larry and I. The kids would disagree, as they think Niagra Falls is one of the best places ever, but the spirit in Nauvoo was so strong. We started out with a wagon ride that toured through old Nauvoo, and took us out to inspiration point where Joseph made the comment about "being taken as a lamb to the slaughter." It overlooks the Mississippi and was an interesting, fun ride for everyone. You can see the kids were excited to see the horses, and Rhyan had fun riding in the wagon. It was quite bumpy though, and she insisted she wanted to stand up. It was great fun trying to keep her from falling over the whole time.

After our wagon ride we drove out to Carthage to see the jail. It is definitely a place to visit, but it is very sad to think about what happened here, and that you are truly standing where the prophet died. When Joseph and Hyrum were shot, they were in the upstairs room, the window is the one above our heads. When the mob started shooting throught the door, Joseph went for the window to attempt an escape, was shot from the window, shot again from behind in the room and fell through the window to the ground by this well we are standing at. Its sad to think that you are truly standing where he was at when he died. Below you see a picture of us in the Dungeon Cell. This is where they were held for a short time when they were first brought here, but were not left there long because it was extremely hot due to being upstairs and a lack of ventilation, and was primarily used for the worst of criminals. As the jailer realized that these prisoners did not fit that, they were moved into the jailers bedroom to stay, which is where they were later killed.

As you can see, this is the door to the room they were in. The door still holds the mark of the bullets that went through to where Joseph, Hyrum and the two other men were. As you sit in this room and listen to the story of how the events unfolded, there is definitely a very solemn feeling. As much as we have heard of these events all our lives, it is different when you are actually sitting where it happened. Below is the statue of Joseph and Hyrum that sits in front of the visitors center at the jail.
There are many plaques on the grounds that have different quotes from and about the prophet. You can definitely feel the spirit here.

This is the mansion house, where Joseph and Emma lived and entertained for a portion of their time in Nauvoo, and where the bodies were brought and laid for the wake after they were martyred in Carthage. Below you see a picture of the graves for Joseph, Emma and Hyrum. The bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were originally buried in hidden graves for fear that the mobs would try to desecrate them. This is actually where their bodies are buried now though, for they were dug up from their previous site during some restoration efforts by the Community of Christ Church which owns the area. The bodies were then identified and reburied here in these marked graves. They also have Joseph's mother and father here, as well as other members of the family.

This area is called the crossing, and is where the saints crossed the Mississippi in February when they were driven out of Nauvoo. It is really neat to walk all the way down the hill, and read all of the signs that have journal entries on them from these early saints that were driven out. Reading their words really helps you to connect with what they must have been feeling when they reached the river and knew that they were leaving everything behind.

The temple in Nauvoo is absolutely beautiful!! It sits up on the hill overlooking the Mississippi River, and you can actually see it sitting there from the other side of the river in Iowa. It is an amazing temple with the wonderful spirit that you feel in Nauvoo. We got to watch the Nauvoo Pageant our last night there, and it was great. It gave such a sense of what these early saints must have felt and gone through. Below is a picture of the statue of Joseph and Hyrum that sit out in front of the temple. The other key thing about the temple in Nauvoo is the way the angel Moroni faces. He does not face east the way he does on the other temples, but faces west to watch over the saints as they traveled to the Salt Lake Valley. President Hinkley has commented on the temples being bookends, where Joseph's temple in the east faces Brigham's temple in the west. If anyone ever gets a chance, this is definitely somewhere to see.