Nauvoo Part 2

I just realized I have a TON to blog about so I thought I better do the rest of the Nauvoo trip first.

After Winter Quarters we traveled the rest of the way to Nauvoo and checked into the hotel there. We ate dinner and went to bed and the next morning we woke up and drove to Carthage Jail. This was such an amazing experience. The spirit at Carthage was unbelievable. We got a tour through the jail and listened to the history behind it. I learned so much about the history of Joseph Smith and the church through this whole trip, and Carthage wasn't any different. I have heard the story many times growing up but I learned so much more actually being there and standing where the Prophet stood.

Here are some of the pictures that I took throughout the tour. Here are the stairs the mob came up.
This is the actual jail part of the house. This is also where Willard Richards hid John Taylor- under the bed of straw in case the mob came back.
Here is the bedroom that the Prophet was staying in to keep safe while there was a mob outside.
Here is the original door and the bullet holes.
While we were in the martyrdom room, the tour guide played the song "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief." The spirit was unbelievable. Being in the very room and standing in the very spot that the Prophet once stood before he was killed was almost overwhelming. I can't describe anything like it.
President Hinckley said: "So certain was [Joseph Smith] of the cause he led, so sure of his divinely given calling, that he placed them above the value of his own life. With prescient knowledge of his forthcoming death, he surrendered himself to those who would deliver him defenseless into the hands of a mob. He sealed his testimony with his life’s blood."

After Carthage Jail- we went back to Nauvoo and toured the grounds. Mike and I walked over to the temple and took some pictures there. The temple was absolutely breathtaking. It was so cool to be there in person. The next morning we were able to do a session at the temple and that was amazing as well. The temple is beautiful!

We then walked down the Trail of Hope. This is the trail that the saints took down to the river as they were leaving Nauvoo. Alongside the road there were plaques with writings from journals of some of the saints. Along with those there were missionaries that stood there as the characters of these writings and told their stories. The faith of these saints were remarkable. They were so obedient and had so much courage to leave a town that they worked so hard to build to follow the Prophet across the plains. Their faith inspires me.

One good looking man.We toured the rest of the grounds. We went to the blacksmith. They showed us how they would have prepared for the journey to Salt Lake and made us a miniature horseshoe and also some prairie diamond rings made out of horseshoe nails.

We went to the brickyard, the homes of Joseph Smith, Smith family cemetary, and many other places. Here is the grave spot of Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma.It really was amazing to see and learn more about the history of Nauvoo. I learned so much and am so grateful for the opportunity and the experience.

We then went to the Liberty Jail. To see the conditions that the Prophet and others were put through was so saddening but also so amazing. Joseph Smith was such a remarkable man. The faith and love that he had for the saints and the gospel was incredible. The foundation is original in this replica of the jail. The way they presented and built the jail was done very well. You could see how thick the walls were and how the jail was set up.


We also stopped at Adam-Ondi-Ahman.
It was so cool to stand there and look over the valley. The church is farming the land right now. Just thinking about the future of this place and the things that will happen there just gave me goosebumps. It really was amazing! Mike and I brought a rock home.... we don't know if you are suppose to do that or not, but we figured that when we all go back there and start building homes and planting grass, Mike and I have done our fair share of picking up rocks. :)

There is so much more I wanted to post on but I only have so much time and I didn't want the post to be too big so I will just summarize the rest of the trip.

The next stop was Branson Missouri. The only way I can describe this place is as a senior citizen Las Vegas. We, seriously, counted like 3 people that were there in that city under the age of 40. It was pretty remarkable to see so many older people in one place. :)

This is probably one stop that Mike and I would not have made if we had done the trip by ourselves but we are glad we got to see it. We spent 3 days in Branson and went to shows and dinners. There were a lot of really cool shows that we got to see, musicals, dancing, magic, comedy and all different things. For one of the days Mike and I decided to venture out by ourselves and took a cab to an amusement park, that is more our cup of tea. We met some really nice people there that gave us a ride back into town so we wouldn't have to pay for another cab. It was a lot of fun.

After Branson, we headed home. It was an AMAZING vacation. Next time Mike and I would really like to go all the way to Palmyra and do the whole church tour. If you have never gone I would HIGHLY recommend it!