Day 9 - On The Way to Independence, MO

Mount Pisgah
We left Nauvoo early in the morning because we had a lot of stops ahead of us.  We first stopped at Mount Pisgah, which is a memorial site for those pioneers who died along the Mormon Trail.  The reason we stopped there, however, is because my sister-in-law's (Erin) brother passed away while on his mission along with 3 other Elders.  There is a memorial at that site for them as well and Erin wanted to take flowers to put next to the memorial.

Adam-ondi-Ahman
We then traveled to Adam-ondi-Ahman.  There really isn't too much out that way except prairie/farmland.  Luckily there were signs to help guide us.  Other than a few signs though, there really isn't too much to see.  Maybe in the future we'll all understand more of its significance. ;).

Spring Hill

This gives a brief explanation of Adam-ondi-Ahman

This is Tower Hill

This is the view from Tower Hill

Far West Temple Site
We stopped at the Far West Temple Site that Joseph Smith dedicated and there are actually 4 corner stones that are laid there to mark where the temple is supposed to go.  It's quite a small lot to build a temple on, but I imagine a temple will be build there someday.  The LDS Church does own this site, thanks to Joseph F. Smith. 

The size of the temple plot

Information about the Temple Site

Liberty Jail
This is where Joseph Smith Jr. and a few other men were incarcerated for a few months, which happened to be a few of the darkest months in Joseph's life, but also where Joseph received some of the most powerful revelations which are now found in D&C 121, 122, and 123.  The original jail does not exist anymore, but the church has built a replica in the place where it used to stand and built a visitors center around it.

An inside look at the Liberty Jail.

Day 8 - Nauvoo

Today we spent all day seeing the sites that are owned and operated by the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized LDS Church) which is the same church that owns the Kirtland Temple.  The sites they own that we saw today were:

• The Homestead, Mansion House, Red Brick Store, Nauvoo House, and the Smith Family Cemetery.  

The Homestead is where Joseph and Emma lived first in Nauvoo.
The Mansion House is where Joseph and Emma lived which gave them more space for their family and also room to accommodate guests who would come to town.
The Red Brick Store is important because in the upper room is where the first endowments were received  and where the Relief Society first met.
The Smith Family Cemetery is right along the Mississippi River and is where Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith are buried, as well as the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr., Emma, and Hyrum. 

Grave site of Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum.  It had just rained, that's why it looks funny.

The Mansion House

The Red Brick Store

Day 7 - Nauvoo

In my last post I listed off a bunch of sites to see in historic Nauvoo.  We spent yesterday and today seeing a bunch of those sites.  Like I mentioned, I didn't take any pictures, sorry... but we did get a HUGE rain storm in the late afternoon - early evening that literally dumped sheets of rain.  After it stopped raining, though, there was a beautiful rainbow that happened to frame the temple perfectly.  Here are some pictures of it.

Me, obviously

Sunset taken by Tim.

Awesome picture of the rainbow over the temple.

Day 6 (Afternoon) - Historic Nauvoo

Historic Nauvoo is full of many rebuilt homes and shops to recreate how they probably looked.  Most of the structures are in the original location or on the original foundation, but are reconstructed to how they probably looked, along with period furniture added as well as a few original pieces.  Senior missionaries give presentations and tours of each building and recount why that building is significant.  A quick list of the different sites:

• Blacksmith, Browning Gun Shop, Lyon Drug Store, Pendleton Log School, Post Offic, Print Shop, Riser Boot Shop, Scovil Bakery, Stoddard Tin Shop

• Brigham Young Home, Heber C. Kimball Home, John Taylor Home, Lucy Mack Smith Home, Wilford Woodruff Home.

I didn't take really any pictures of any of these sites, mainly because a lot of it looks the same.  That's not a knock to them by any means, I just didn't think it would be that interesting without having been there to hear the presentations.
 
There are probably some sites I left off, but that pretty much covers most of them.  We also took a wagon ride and a carriage ride through Nauvoo.  There are also a few shows in the visitors center put on by the YPM's (Young Performing Missionaries) who are students, mostly from BYU, who must tryout and then are called to perform either theatrically or musically for the summer months.  The performances they put on were pretty good.

This is a performance called Rendevouz put on by all the senior missionaries.  It was pretty entertaining.  No previous theatre experience is required.

Day 6 (Morning) - Nauvoo Temple

Today we all went to the temple.  We had to go in shifts to accommodate the wee one, so Erin, Eric, Mom, and Dad went to a session early at 8:00am while Tim, Heidi, and myself stayed in bed with Alli.  Then we switched and the rest of us went at 11:00am.  The Nauvoo Temple was definitely near the top of my favorites list from the trip.  It is such a beautiful temple inside and out and it's perched up on a hill so you can see it from pretty much anywhere from historic Nauvoo.  It's awesome too because Nauvoo is right on the Mississippi River, so when you are walking out of the temple you get a great view of the river.

Nauvoo Temple taken by Tim.

Just after the session.  It was a beautiful day!

View of the Mississippi from the steps of the temple.

Day 5 (Afternoon) - Carthage

We left South Bend and headed for Nauvoo.  We decided to go a little backwards and see Carthage Jail first.  I don't think there is really a reason why we did, we just did.  We watched a movie on a compilation of what people who knew him thought of Joseph Smith and the kind of man he was.  We then took a tour of the jail.  The walls of the jail are 3 feet thick and actually serves as the go-to tornado shelter for those in the area.  The jail had three rooms: A "waiting" room for those who are going to trial within a few hours or maybe a day; the "dungeon" that is your typical jail cell - no real windows, just slits in the rock, iron bars and straw on the ground; and the jailer's bedroom.  The bedroom is where Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor, and Willard Richards were staying because the jailer felt that they were innocent and wrongly accused, so he did what he could to make them feel comfortable.

The bullet hole on the edge of the door
was used to break the lock.   The bullet hole
 in the door was the hole that hit and
 killed Hyrum almost instantly.

The bedroom where the Prophet, Hyrum, John Taylor, and Willard Richards.
And the window that Joseph fell out of after being shot multiple times in the
front and the back.

Memorial to Joseph and Hyrum with the jail
in the background.

Day 4 - Notre Dame

The drive from Kirtland to Nauvoo is over 10 hours so we decided to break it up into two sections.  South Bend, Indiana seemed like a nice midpoint, so why not stay at Notre Dame and soak up some college football tradition.  Too bad we weren't there this coming November so we could cheer on BYU in person.  I guess I'll just have to settle for tele-cheering.  Everything was pretty much closed with graduation and the semester ending a few days earlier, and also the weather being kind of gloomy, but we still walked around campus and the football stadium and got some fun pictures in front of the famous "Touchdown Jesus" mosaic.  It was a nice relax-day to take a break, hit the indoor heated pool, and do some laundry.  

The Fam

Not quite sure what's going on here...From left to right: Touchdown, YMCA??, Heisman, confused/frustrated/befuddled.  ...Our communication skills may need work.

We did it.  Do the Heisman, baby.