Nauvoo and Nana

We had been counting down the days for Nana to come visit and it finally came last Saturday. After picking up Nana at the St. Louis airport, we drove another two hours to make our way toward Nauvoo. All of us were excited to see Nana and also to see historic Nauvoo. Ron served his mission in Illinois and spent some time in the the Nauvoo ward and I was excited to visit for the first time. Sunday morning we went to church. I loved the experience of hearing the missionaries tell of their time spent serving in Nauvoo.

We stopped by the temple and took a couple of pictures. (Hyrum and Joseph on their horses leaving for Carthage, looking back over their city.)

The Nauvoo Temple is beautiful. We counted nearly 100 stars on the exterior and thought we had done pretty good. But, we googled how many stars are on the temple and there are 399 stars. It is amazing to think of the sacrifice that was made to build the original temple structure. After seeing the temple, we made our way to Carthage and toured the jail where Joseph and Hyrum were killed. I expected to feel immense sadness, but was surprised that I felt hope and gratitude to a prophet and a brother who loved the Lord to do the service that was asked of them.
Back in Nauvoo, we saw a few of the restored buildings like Seventies Hall, the blacksmith shop, the Sarah Granger Kimball's home, the shoe shop, and then called it a day. All the kids were jealous because Casey got to keep the horseshoe from the blacksmith shop because his birthday was the closest.

One of my favorite tributes in Nauvoo is the Trail of Hope. Markers inscribed with journal entries lead the way to the point where the Saints left Nauvoo for the west. As you look back, the most prominent structure is the temple. I can't imagine the feelings of loss and sadness that I would have felt. I really don't think I could have done it.

On Monday, we toured more homes, the printing press, the gunsmith, and the brickyard. The kids loved the pioneer pastimes and experiencing some of the games and fun the pioneer kids had.

We all loved learning more about life in Nauvoo and our gratitude and awe increased for those who came became before. I am so glad that we were able to visit.