Nauvoo - Day Three

Our day started bright and early, 6:30am to be precise, with a visit to the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds. The cemetery was in use from 1839 to 1846, and most of the 1,800 people, mostly children, who died in Nauvoo were buried here. The majority of the headstones are gone, and many of those still standing are unreadable, but there is a peace and beauty there that is undeniable. Orin Rockwell and his wife Sarah, who were Porter Rockwell's parents, are buried there. As we walked through the quiet morning, Chad commented on how lucky those families are whose ancestors still have a marked grave. He hoped they were grateful.

Our second stop that morning was the Trail of Hope. It is the section of Parley's Street that runs straight to the Mississippi River. It is down this road that the Saints drove their wagons, leaving behind their homes and most of their earthly possessions, to cross the river and "find the place that God for [them] prepared, far away, in the West." It is a somber thing to walk in their footsteps and think of their sorrow at leaving their temple and beautiful city. It is more so, however, a truly inspiring thing to think of the faith and courage and strength that burned inside of them. They believed in Christ, they believed in the prophet, and they would follow and build again. At the end of Parley Street stands a statue entitled, "Eyes Westward." It shows Joseph Smith and Brigham Young together, looking toward the Church's future home.

We made it back to the hotel to get ready for the day and then headed out again to tour some of the restored homes and businesses in the Old Nauvoo area. We visited the Lucy Mack Smith home, which Brigham Young bought for her to live in, the Scovil Bakery (yummy gingerbread cookies), the Print Shop, Post Office, John Taylor home, brickyard, tin shop, Pendelton home and log school (Chad and I both failed the math class), Heber C. Kimball home and the Brigham Young home. The Kimball home is beautiful and is the original home built by Heber C. Kimball. It was the first to be restored after it was purchased by his great-grandson, Dr. J. LeRoy Kimball.

We were especially impressed with the home built by Brigham Young. It too is the original structure, and he put all of his considerable talent and skill into making it the best home he possibly could. The home was originally just the middle portion, but the two wings were added in 1844, and the east wing was used as an office/meeting room where church business was conducted. We had the nice sister missionary snap our picture while we were in that room. I have the utmost respect and admiration for Brigham Young, he was an amazing person and truly a prophet of the Lord.

After doing a little afternoon shopping, Chad and I took the drive to Carthage. We wanted to follow the martrydom trail as closely as we could, but a map with adequate road signs is hard to come by. It seems that if it is a country road, it doesn't deserve to be marked on a map. Anyhoo, we followed it for a bit, got lost and ended up south of our destination, but we did get there so all was well. I had been much struck by a quote I had read on the memorial statue in the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds. Joseph Smith stated, "The place where a man is buried is sacred to me." That brief statement came back to me again and again as we toured the site. Of course, Joseph Smith is not buried at the Carthage Jail, but he did die there, and the place is sacred to his memory. We were very fortunate to get to the jail during a lull; we were the only ones on our tour and the Spirit was very strong as we listened to the sweet sister missionary share the events of the prophet's time in Carthage, as well as her testimony. We left feeling as though we had been in the temple, it is a place of peace and a monument to sacrifice and truth.

We finished our evening by giving in to peer pressure from all the cute missionary couples to go to "Rendevous," a musical evening that relives life in Old Nauvoo. It was funny and touching, and the missionaries poured their hearts and souls into the production. I admire all those couples who give up children, grandchildren, comfortable homes, and comfortable lives to serve the Lord as missionaries. (I'm talking about YOU too Mom and Dad!) It is a wonderful thing they do!