One thing we wanted to do on this trip East was to go to some of the Church historical sites. We made a bit of a detour to our next park, which was in Missouri. We wanted to get close to Carthage and to Nauvoo, Illinois, so we decided to go that way and stay a couple of nights in a Walmart parking lot, just across the Mississippi River into Keokuk, Iowa.
On our way to KeoKuk, we actually went through Carthage, IL, so we just parked our RV in the Carthage Jail parking lot and took the tour. Carthage Jail was the site of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum on June 27, 1844. Joseph and Hyrum, with two companions, were imprisoned here. A mob broke into the jail, killed Joseph and Hyrum, and severely wounded one of their companions.
This is the outside of the jail. The upper window on the right is the one that Joseph fell from after he was shot.
The jail who befriended Joseph Smith actually lived in the same building, with his family. This is part of their living quarters on the first floor.
This is the room where Joseph and the others were put into the first night.
Then, the second night, the jailer had compassion on them and let them stay upstairs in his bedroom. Joseph and Hyrum slept on the bed and the others slept on the floor.
This is the bedroom door that still has the bullet holes in it from when the mob attacked them that night. We watched a movie about all of this before we went on the tour. Our guide was really good and made you feel like your were right there as it happened. I have a testimony that all of this happened and that Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints, sacrificed his life for the restoration of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
Saints, sacrificed his life for the restoration of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
After we left Carthage, we crossed the Mississippi River and parked at the Walmart in KeoKuk, Iowa. We had time to get ready and to into Nauvoo that afternoon and go to the Temple. It was amazing--to think that we were in the Temple (rebuilt) that was being built during the time that Joseph Smith was there. The original Temple was completed after his death, and just a few months before the Saints left Nauvoo. The inside was gutted by fire in 1848 and then a tornado destroyed most of the outside two years later. The Church rebuilt a temple on the original site whose exterior is a replica of the first temple.
This stature is on the Nauvoo Temple grounds. It depicts Joseph and Hyrum Smith riding away from Nauvoo with the men taking them to jail in Carthage, with a last look back at their "Beautiful Nauvoo." The Temple site overlooks the flatlands of Nauvoo, where their homes were, and the Mississippi River.
The next day, we went back to Nauvoo and began at the Visitor's Center where there is a beautiful garden dedicated to women. It is filled with beautiful flowers, plants, and statues of women in all aspects of their life--youth, courtship, motherhood . . .
. . . and, yes, even being a grandmother!
From the Visitors Center, after watching a movie about the settlement and eventual departure from Nauvoo by the Saints, we went on a buggy ride through the country where we heard stories about many of the people who had lived there.
Next, we went on tours of some of the historical buildings still left and restored in Nauvoo. The tours are given by senior missionaries of our Church, all dressed in period clothing. It was a pretty slow time, so some of the Sister Missionaries were out stepping on chestnuts that had fallen from the trees, to get the pretty nuts out. We all talked abut roasting and eating them. They gave us a couple of chestnuts and I said I might take them home and roast them. Later on, one of the the Sister Missionaries caught up with us and told us not to eat them because they had looked them up on the Internet and found out they would make us sick! She was so relieved when she found us!
We went on tours of the Print Shop, John Taylor Home, Post Office, and Browning Home & Gunsmith Shop first. Terry was really impressed with the Browning Gunsmith Shop. The guide showed us how to make a rifle barrel. It was really interesting.
The Brownings actually bought their homesite from Benjamin Bird, who was Terry's g-g-g-grandfather. The original Bird restored home is still there, and Terry was asked to sign a journal of Bird descendants. I wonder how many times G-G-G-Grandpa Bird stood in this same doorway!
At the Blacksmith Shop, the Brother Missionary showed us how a horseshoe was made (miniature style) and then he gave it to me. He also gave us each a "prairie diamond" ring, made out of a horseshoe. He said that he had proposed to his wife with this same kind of ring!
We really hadn't allowed ourselves enough time to see everything we wanted to--the tours all ended at 5:00, but we did walk around and see the outsides of some of the homes and buildings. Brigham Young's home said "Open" on it, but it was really closed.
All of the Joseph Smith properties are owned by the church that broke off from the original LDS Church after Joseph Smith died. They are now called "The Community of Christ" church. They charge a small fee for their tours (all of the LDS tours, wagon rides, shows, and exhibits are all free).
Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store that he owned and was proprietor of, was still open so we did get to go into it. They sell snacks and souvenirs and not much is original on the bottom floor, except a few cases. The original building was deteriorated so badly it had to be torn down and reconstructed. There was an office in a back room where Saints would come and pay their bill and also pay their tithing to the Church.
Upstairs in the Red Brick Store was the office of Joseph Smith and a large meeting room.
The meeting room is the place where the first "Women's Relief Society" was organized. This is the women's organization of the LDS Church. It was fun to see that.
Part of this home was the first original home of Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma. It was later added onto by his son.
A lot of Joseph Smith's family are buried in a little cemetery next to their first home. Hyrum, Joseph, and Emma are buried next to each other.
The Prophet Joseph Smith's headstone.
This is a replica of the original home of Joseph Smith's parents, Joseph Smith, Sr., and Lucy Mack Smith. It was used as a summer kitchen when Joseph and Emma lived here.
This is the Mansion House, the second home of Joseph and Emma Smith. It is the home where they lived when Joseph was martyred.
After watching the films and seeing all of the homes and other places, it was a good time to go down the "Trail of Hope." This is the way to where they crossed the Mississippi River after they were made to leave Nauvoo, mostly without being able to sell their homes, and only taking the few things they could carry in an oxen-pulled wagon.
The first group left on February 4, the middle of the winter, crossed the Mississippi, and started their journey to Salt Lake City, Utah. Many of them didn't make it to the end of their journey.
Some of their wagons were ferried across the Mississippi on a "wagon raft."
There is a monument at the end of the "Trail of Hope" depicting Joseph Smith showing Brigham Young (who became our prophet and the President of the Church after Joseph Smith) a map to the place where the Saints should go. Joseph had seen it in a vision and had given a copy of the map to Brigham Young, before he was killed. What courage all of the early Saints had.
At the end of the day, we stayed for a performance by all of the Nauvoo Missionaries. They told us that everyone participated--whether you have talent or not! It was called Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo.
There was lots of singing and dancing and laughing.
It was a great show and everyone did very well, even though some professed to not have any talent! It was great!
We had such a good time in Nauvoo--only not enough time. A person needs at least two days to see and do everything. It really brings to life the early Saints who lived there. The Senior Missionaries of the Church do such a good job and all look like they are really enjoying what they do. Hmmm. . .it would be a great place to go on a mission!
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