Nauvoo, IL
We wanted to go on another fun trip before M'Lynn left us so we decided on Nauvoo, Illinois which is rich in Mormon history. It also is a fun place to teach kids about how people lived in the 1800's.
Our first stop was the brick maker, all the homes built in Nauvoo were made of this clay that they dug out of a quarry nearby. When it was heated up it turned this orangey color.
They had a place called the "Land & Records" where you can seek out your ancestors and see where they lived! I had two sets of families that had lived in Nauvoo and Scott had some ancestors on his side as well.
On the corner of Parley St. and Gordon is where my great, great, great, grandfather Lorenzo Dow Young lived.
It was a very spiritual experience and had me in tears. The sacrifices that they went through, the things they had to leave behind, also their stories of hope for the future and their undying faith that the Lord would help them find a place they could practice their religion without ridicule.
The day after we got their we were joined by our friends the Foxes! We took them to the visitors center, they seemed to gather near the statue of Christ the most.
We visited the Red Brick Store where Joseph Smith's family had a general store and where the Relief Society was organized. The Relief Society is the oldest and largest women's organization in the world. Relief Society was established in 1842 for women 18 years of age and older. Its purpose is to build faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and help those in need.
Genevieve found her inner teacher and pretended to teach! Love her glasses at the end of her nose!
This is the blacksmith shop where they taught us how they built wagons and wheels
and made and shaped metal. They even gave us each a ring made out of a nail, and told us a story about back then some people didn't have money or a jewelry store nearby so some men would propose to their women with a nail ring! How romantic!
Yep it was raining, but it did keep the bugs away! We visited Joseph Smith's home and hotel.
I think the dads had more fun than the kids!
They had dress up clothes but Jillian and Maddy were they only ones that got into it!
and we got to make our very own rope!
Scott's favorite, the Gunsmith
The Nauvoo temple
Maddy and Rylan pointing to the Mississippi River
A statue of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith as they departed Nauvoo
and were led to Carthage Jail.
I love this quote, you really have to depart yourself from the world in order to honor Christ.
Another statue of Joseph and Hyrum, such honorable men
Brett and Scott as we waited for the museum to open, they are honorable too :)
The room that Joseph and Hyrum were shot and killed
The hole of the bullet that killed Hyrum Smith
The top window is where Joseph fell out of after being shot by the mob
We sometimes think that dying for a cause is the purest display of devotion, but living for something is usually much more demanding. Joseph Smith did both. He wore out his life in God's service, suffering derision and violence for the things he believed. He did not die in public with the sympathy of the world; he was shot by a mob while he was locked in a jail on false charges.
He showed his devotion to God in life and in death.
He did God's work until the day his life was taken and we honor him for his faith, humility, and devotion. We are grateful for the Church he helped establish, the scripture he translated, the revelations he received and the things he taught that help us understand the ways of God. (taken from http://mormon.org/beliefs/joseph-smith) I have a new found respect and reverence for these men.
After researching our ancestors we learned that my great, great, great grandparents were buried in the old cemetery in Nauvoo
The Delongs are from my maternal grandmother's side, Ralph and MaryAmanda died while in their 30s. William was their child, but we don't have a record of a Martha Ann in our family history. I don't know if she was a cousin, niece or what.
This cemetery was so sacred and holy, unfortunately their graves were unmarked so we didn't know where they were buried exactly.
It is always wise to start a hike with your feet soaking wet! Ugh!
This hike was really muddy from all the rain, and it was steep and over tree roots, through grassy fields with thorn bushes, rocks, there were a swarm of knats that followed us and flew up our noses, and Rylan started having an allergy attack!
Ian thought it was a fun ride!
We survived! The whole time we were complaining we kept saying, this is only a mile! We can handle it! The pioneers walked over 1200 miles during the winter for goodness sakes! I hope our kids can remember this, and when they start to complain about how hard their life is we can remind them about what they learned about their ancestors who were true pioneers!
The mud stains from falling!
Our first stop was the brick maker, all the homes built in Nauvoo were made of this clay that they dug out of a quarry nearby. When it was heated up it turned this orangey color.
On the corner of Parley St. and Gordon is where my great, great, great, grandfather Lorenzo Dow Young lived.
On our first night there Scott, Madelyn and I went to a Trail of Hope presentation. When the saints were being driven out of Nauvoo by persecutors they walked down a particular street down to the Mississippi River where the had to cross in the middle of February! We had a guide who had a lantern and took us down the trail and we would stop every 20 feet or so and one of these actors (all college students on summer break) would portray a real person who had written what had happened to them as well as their thoughts in their journal.
The day after we got their we were joined by our friends the Foxes! We took them to the visitors center, they seemed to gather near the statue of Christ the most.
This is the room where it was organized, hey Lisa and I are members, we should get a picture!
This is the blacksmith shop where they taught us how they built wagons and wheels
They rained stopped and the kids needed to run around for a while, they had a spot where they had some pioneer games
They had dress up clothes but Jillian and Maddy were they only ones that got into it!
At the family center we learned how they used to make bread, weave, make candles
and we got to make our very own rope!
The bakery
Scott's favorite, the Gunsmith
Maddy and Rylan pointing to the Mississippi River
A statue of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith as they departed Nauvoo
I love this quote, you really have to depart yourself from the world in order to honor Christ.
The room that Joseph and Hyrum were shot and killed
The hole of the bullet that killed Hyrum Smith
The top window is where Joseph fell out of after being shot by the mob
We sometimes think that dying for a cause is the purest display of devotion, but living for something is usually much more demanding. Joseph Smith did both. He wore out his life in God's service, suffering derision and violence for the things he believed. He did not die in public with the sympathy of the world; he was shot by a mob while he was locked in a jail on false charges.
He showed his devotion to God in life and in death.
He did God's work until the day his life was taken and we honor him for his faith, humility, and devotion. We are grateful for the Church he helped establish, the scripture he translated, the revelations he received and the things he taught that help us understand the ways of God. (taken from http://mormon.org/beliefs/joseph-smith) I have a new found respect and reverence for these men.
After researching our ancestors we learned that my great, great, great grandparents were buried in the old cemetery in Nauvoo
On our last day there we signed up for a 1 mile reenactment of a pioneer trek. When the saints left many of them were pulling handcarts with all of their belongings. We had nothing in the cart except for our Maddy and Ian (and Rylan who was just in it when we crossed the creek.)
I didn't get any pictures of how hard it was because I was too busy pushing, pulling, falling in the mud, comforting Rylan and reassuring Maddy that she wasn't going to fall out of the cart!
It flattened out towards the end so I could take some pictures
We survived! The whole time we were complaining we kept saying, this is only a mile! We can handle it! The pioneers walked over 1200 miles during the winter for goodness sakes! I hope our kids can remember this, and when they start to complain about how hard their life is we can remind them about what they learned about their ancestors who were true pioneers!
The mud stains from falling!
Something I didn't get a picture of was all the senior missionaries, seriously they ran the place! They are all volunteers, and have so much spunk and spirit. We just fell in love with them! They put on a play and sang and danced and explained all the ways the people in Nauvoo lived. Some of the other exhibits they had were an old school house, a shoemaker, printing shop, dr. office, post office the tin maker, wagon rides, various musical shows and plays, we were there for 3 days and we didn't even see it all! We definitely want to go back, they were so nice and everything was hands on and the kids loved it! It was a good time for us to reflect on our heritage and become more thankful for the people who went before us.
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