In the early days of the Church, Joseph Smith (a prophet called of God to restore the full truthfulness of the Gospel which had been lost over time) and the growing body of membership were met with much persecution from the community. They were chased from their homes and lands reapeatedly - moving from state to state in hopes of establishing a peaceful community where they could be free to worship God as they desired, and as the Constitution promised. Their homes were burned and lands unlawfully taken, their persons abused and tortured, and sometimes even killed. When they ended up in Nauvoo, Il, it was a swampland along the Mississippi river. Through hard work and sacrifice, they were able to build it up into a beautiful city (Nauvoo means "beautiful" in Hebrew) and begin construction on a Temple within a seven year time period. It was one of the happiest times in early Church history, though persecution and mobocracy never completely ceased ... after the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred by a mob, the Saints were again forced to leave their home. It was from Nauvoo that the Mormon Pioneers began their famous exodus Westward towards the Salt Lake Valley...
As you can see, a visit to historic Nauvoo is an exciting thing! Many of the old buildings have been preserved, and in addition to the historical and religious points of interest, there are fun pioneer related activities and theatrical re-enactments that go on there. Check out this site to see what all there is to do.
To start the ADVENTURE, we stayed in the Nauvoo Log Cabins - a hotel that consists of a handful of old pioneer cabins that have been moved, reconstructed, and renovated with modern conveniences. They had a nice rustic feel, and it was the perfect way to get in the Pioneer spirit. The boys especially loved the chicken coop right outside our door, and the log framed bunk bed that Eli dubbed "the tree bed." He pretended to be a squirrel climbing in a tree for at least two hours straight, and had a hard time falling asleep because he was so excited! Owen played along too, and couldn't resist trying to climb to the very top of the bed over and over again.
I have to say that nestled along the banks of the Mississippi, Nauvoo truly IS a beautiful place! It was drizzly and cold during our visit, but oh so lush and green! We were able to take a horse drawn wagon ride through the historic town for a historical overview. Eli got a kick out of the horses, Owen used the time for a nap, and Brad and I just enjoyed the tour!
View of the Nauvoo Temple on the Hill
One of several groves where outdoor church was held.
Brigham Young's home(He succeeded Joseph Smith as second Prophet of the church and
led the church members West to Salt Lake)
Part of the town of Historic Nauvoo is owned by the Community of Christ Church (a group that splintered off from the main body of the Mormon Church after the death of Joseph Smith) - we were able to go through their vistor's center and take their guided tour through the Smith Homestead and family cemetary, the Nauvoo Hotel (also owned and lived in for a time by Joseph Smith), and the Red Brick Store (owned by Joseph Smith; some historic church meetings such as the organization of the Relief Society [women's group] took place in the upper room).The Homestead and Smith Family Cemetery
were situated on a beautiful plot right on the bank of the Mississippi.
were situated on a beautiful plot right on the bank of the Mississippi.
Remnants of Nauvoo Hotel
The Red Brick Store
On Saturday evening we were able to see Rendezvous- a musical production about Old Nauvoo that was performed entirely by the "Senior Missionaries." It was very comical - though hard for us to follow because we each had to leave multiple times with one or the other fussy child at that late evening hour.
On Saturday evening we were able to see Rendezvous- a musical production about Old Nauvoo that was performed entirely by the "Senior Missionaries." It was very comical - though hard for us to follow because we each had to leave multiple times with one or the other fussy child at that late evening hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment