day six

Grave sites of Joseph and Emma Smith and also Joseph's brother Hyrum.

Nauvoo, Il.

 Day five and we’ve arrived in our forth state…

  Fall is coming a little later here than New England.  Definitely a farming community…lots of combines, tractors, cows and road kill (I’ll spare you the pics).

                                                               
First stop…

Next stop...the Nauvoo temple, completed in the early 1840's and destroyed by arson in 1848.  Rebuilt in 2002.

Our last stop of the day was Carthage jail, the site of Joseph and Hyrum Smith’s martyrdom.

This was, for me, the most sobering and profound experience of our trip.

     

This small house functioned as a prison.

  A family by the name of Stigall lived in the home and the father worked as the jailer.  After a few  days of talking with Joseph and Hyrum, Mr Stigall became impressed with their character and the way they conducted themselves.  He felt pity on them and allowed them to move from the prison room...

 into an adjacent bedroom (which had windows to provide for some ventillation). There were also men on the outside of the house who were sent by the governor of Illinois to guard the prison. Ironically, these men were (secretly) part of the same group who participated in the assignation.

On the day Joseph and Hyrum were killed, these guards arranged for Mr Stigall to be away from the prison.  On June 27th, 1844, an angry mob, with their faces painted black, climbed the stairs to where Joseph and Hyrum (and also John Taylor and Willard Richards) were being held.  The prisoners tried in vain to block the door.  Two shots were fired through the door. These are the actual bullet holes.

Hyrum was the first to be killed…Joseph was then shot. After trying in vain to defend himself,  he moved  toward the window...after another round of gun fire, he fell through a window to his death.

 John Taylor, though seriously wounded, survived and miraculously, Willard Richards escaped without injury.

I really don’t have adequate words to describe how I felt after walking where Joseph Smith took his last steps.  More than anything, I felt a sad, yet peaceful sense of gratitude for this man and his unyielding love and devotion to the Savior.  I was reminded of a talk about Joseph's final hours given by Elder Holland…he always seems to have the words.

After leaving Carthage…we stopped on the bank of the Mississippi and I took this pic of Sadie and Drew.  They’ve always had a close friendship, and my heart was filled with more gratitude for all that’s good in my life from my Heavenly Father.

Kirtland , OH

If you ever take a church history tour, go in the fall.  Yes, you'll miss the Hill Cumorah pageant, but the beautiful weather and your kids increased attention span will make up for it.  We're on day five (Kirtland) and all six of our kids are still engaged.

This has been my favorite day of our tour....the faith of our pioneer ancestors humbles me. In the Newel K. Whitney store you could buy all the basic necessities.  If you needed a new shirt, cloth and thread were available... then you got to sew that new shirt. I hate to sew (just as Ms. Potts, my 8th grade home- ec. teacher).

These sweet missionaries are Brother and Sister Steele.  Sister Steele had a voice tremour (imagine Katharine Hepburn) and we all fell in love with her.  They were both so kind and attentive to each other, and together they gave us an unforgettable tour.

This next pic is a completely candid photo that I took of Gentry.  I had this great idea (before we left) that I would get each one of our kids a journal so they could record their experiences....two of the four really took this idea to heart (the other two shall remain unnamed).  I've been a mom long enough to know that even though some of my "great ideas" don't always pan out the way I'd planned, good can still come of them.  This was one of those times.  Gentry was so excited about everything she learned today.  She kept slipping off to the side and would quickly rummage through her backpack, produce her journal and pen, and write furiously.  It made me happy.

Still loving the fall leaves...

                      

The Kirtland Temple

Downtime.  Next stop...Nauvoo, IL.

on the road

We're on day three of our trek.  One little pic that I forgot to include yesterday...

It was my birthday on Sunday, and when we got to the end of the trail in the sacred grove, Gregg gave this to me. You have to know, growing up in the mid-west, I am a leaf-freak.  As much as I love AZ, there's nothing there in October to compare with the scene in Wisconsin.  So, Gregg said he'd been searching the trail for the very best leaf, and that he thought he'd found it (for my birthday). (ahhhh...)

Before we left Palmyra, we had one final stop...

 This cute gal in the middle (plaid) was our tour guide.  Her name is Sister Vaterlaus and she actually has a missionary blog (sistervaterlaus.blogspot.com).  Our kids loved her, especially since she gave them the shortened "speed pass" tour.

                         The book of Mormon has been translated into over 100 languages...

We left Palymyra and headed to Kirtland, Ohio.  The drive through NY was a plethora of colors (don't you just love that word?) but truly it was soooo beautiful.  We stopped in the little town of Naples for lunch, and came upon a real life "ghost story".   I'm going to save that for my Halloween post.
                                                      
                                                           Views from my passenger window...

The children were getting a little restless....

                                            
                                                           and we finally made it.

                                                            Day four tomorrow...

palmyra, ny

Sunday morning.  Church in this really sweet little chapel.  Family pics (check “Christmas card” pic off my list). 

A trip to the Hill Cumorah…

And what I’ve looked forward to the most, the Sacred Grove…here are the pics…

Now to find the words…

     I loved being in the Sacred Grove. I loved the peaceful, stillness there. I loved the many colors. I loved looking up to see the light extend from the sky through the trees. And, I realized, that although I will be forever grateful for this experience, I didn't need this experience to confirm what I've known in my heart to be true for over twenty years.