Winter Quarters and Council Bluffs

I've made it to the final post about our trip... and if you are still reading this blog, then I consider you the dearest of friends! Good timing too as we begin our move tomorrow... in the midst of Brad working on-call the entire 3 day holiday weekend. It seems like the major events of our lives always seem to clump together inconveniently... oh well. I think now if some transition was easy for us, we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves! Anyway, on to the good stuff...
On our drive home from Utah, we put in a long 15+ hour day and made it to Omaha to spend the night. Usually we'd cut down through Lincoln, NE instead of going out of our way through Omaha, but this time we wanted to tour the Winter Quarters Temple and visitor center, as well as Council Bluffs, Iowa - two important sites in early church history. It's been really neat to live so close to so many significant sites the past two years (New England and now the Midwest). As I mentioned in my previous post, we had just learned some history about Brad's great great great grandfather, George Washington Taggart who joined the church in it's early days. He lived in Nauvoo and helped build the Temple there. His first wife died, leaving him with an infant daughter, Eliza Anne Taggart (Goodrich), who Brad is descended from. We know that Eliza spent some time at Winter Quarters with her step mother (GWT remarried) while her father (GWT) was away serving with the Mormon Battalion. So, it was especially neat for us to visit a place, knowing our family connection to it. Here is a brief synopsis of the sites' significance as noted on lds.org:

"Witness a moment in the great "Mormon Migration." Explore a pioneer cabin, pull a handcart, and see what life was like for thousands of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who spent the winter of 1846 to 1847 in the encampment they called Winter Quarters. A short audiovisual presentation will teach you about the struggles and hardships they faced on their journey to the Salt Lake Valley. Visit the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery, where you can see the final resting place of more than 325 Saints who died at Winter Quarters from illness, hunger, and poor living conditions.

Persecuted for their beliefs and driven from their homes, the Latter-day Saints set out from Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846. They were seeking Zion–a place where they could worship as they pleased. Their destination was Utah's Salt Lake Valley. Thousands of Saints crossed Iowa and encamped on both sides of the Missouri River, including the site of Winter Quarters, where they constructed hundreds of shelters. These temporary towns became safe havens for the Saints–a place to gather strength before resuming the trek west.

While in the area, visit the Kanesville Tabernacle across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa. This is a replica of the log building where Brigham Young was sustained as the second prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Winter Quarters Temple, dedicated 2001

The Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters

Picture of the original Nauvoo Temple in Nauvoo, IL. It was destroyed by arson and a tornado. The current Nauvoo temple was rebuilt and dedicated in 2002. Brad's ancestor helped build the original.
Pioneer Cemetery at Winter Quarters

Kanesville Tabernacle replica in Council Bluffs, Iowa. As noted in the synopsis, Brigham Young was sustained here as the second Prophet and President of the church. Council Bluffs served as a headquarters of sorts for a few years after Winter Quarters was abandoned. It is also the place from which the Mormon Battalion was mustered (the Mormons, even after being chased from their own lands and robbed of their freedoms were asked to send 500 men in a battalion to march to California during the Mexican war). Though it was a difficult thing to ask these men to leave their families to make the trek west without them - and in most cases not to see them again for a year or more - the reimbursement they were able to send to their families was a blessing which enabled many of them to afford to make the trip. Many of the battalion played an important role in the early development of California as well... but enough with the history lesson.

Since Brad's ancestor (GWT) was one of the battalion, his name is inscribed on a plaque inside the visitor's center, along with the others of his company. He was a commissioned officer and played the fife apparently. It was really neat to see, but of course my camera died just in time so I didn't get a picture of the plaque. However, we did get an entire handout about GWT from the visitor's center that they had on file - it included a brief biography and picture of him! They have a little bit of information on each of the battalion members filed away for people who ask (mostly descendants of whoever).

Carthage

On the way home from Nauvoo, we included a stop at Carthage Jail in Carthage, IL - the place where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered when an armed Mob with black painted faces stormed the jail. It was not uncommon for one or both of them to be jailed on false charges in an effort to stir up opposition or cause to expel them and the church body from the area. This was one such time - even the jailer took kindly to them, allowing them the use of the master bedroom rather than the jail cell. This particular time, Joseph seemed to sense his impending demise, and the thought of his final parting with his wife and children always brings me to tears.

The Jail House - literally a house. The Jailer and his family lived in it. One room had a barred cell and was called "the dungeon" even though it was on the second floor. Another room on the ground floor was equipped with a barred door and was called the "debtor's cell." The Dungeon Room

The Master bedroom where Joseph, Hyrum, and the 5 friends with them were allowed to stay. When armed mobbers stormed the jail, this is the window Joseph fell out of after being shot.

hThis would be the courtyard where he landed after he fell.


There remains a hole in the door from the bullet that killed Hyrum as he was leaning into the door, trying to keep it shut against the rushing mob.

I realize it may seem morbid to want to visit a place with bars and bullet holes where people were killed, but for me it is interesting to see a piece of history that has been preserved - a place that can bring these stories back to life. It is also a poignant reminder of how very blessed we are today to enjoy relative peace, freedom, and faith.... and how much has been sacrificed for us to be able to enjoy them.... we must never forget what these Pioneers gave; we must never cease to cherish the Truth and the Faith that has been preserved at great cost. For me, reconnecting with these places, these people, and these stories has inspired me to want to be a little better and try a little harder every day to find joy in my station, and to appreciate what I have been given.

Nauvoo Pt. 2

On Sunday morning in Nauvoo it was rainy and cold, so we all cuddled up and slept in.


We bundled up in our coats and drove to the Temple... the original Nauvoo Temple that was built by the pioneers burnt down in an arsonist's fire shortly after they started evacuating the city in the 1840's. Two years later the remains were leveled by a tornado. Reconstruction began in 1999 and it was dedicated in 2002.


As Joseph and Hyrum Smith made their final ride towards Carthage, IL (where they were ultimately murdered by a mob), they paused at the top of the bluff overlooking Nauvoo and the Mississippi River to look upon the unfinished Temple. The brass statue commemorating the moment is actually a very stirring sight - especially with the completed Temple there in view. It's a wonderful place to pause and reflect on how much our forbears sacrificed for their faith and freedom, and how blessed we are today because of them.


One of the original "sunstones" used in the construction of the Temple - hand carved out of limestone. Now on display at the visitor's center. We also went down to the edge of the Mississippi to see a replica of the wooden ferries that were used to get the wagons across during the exodus. Since they ended up starting the evacuation in February in order to avoid a rumored "civil war" because of the mob activity, a large group was actually able to walk right across the river when it froze over. The followers in the Spring and the years to come mainly crossed by ferry in this way. I don't know if I'd feel really safe loading all of my belongings onto it!


Of course all the boys wanted to do was throw rocks and sticks into the water, and get their Sunday pants muddy. It was FREEZING, but they didn't seem to mind. We had to bribe them with Reece's Pieces to get them back in the car.

We also took a look at the memorial set up at the river with 2000+ names of those who died on the journey West. It's possible there could be family names on there from Brad's side, so we'll have to look a little deeper into the family history and see who it was that made the trek.

Our final stop in Nauvoo was at the mission home to visit the Mission President and his wife. They are the parents of one of my long time best friends, though I haven't seen them in nearly 8 years. It had been a long weekend already, and my kids were pretty tearful and restless the whole visit. Oh well, that's how reunions are sometimes!

Nauvoo Pt. 1

We celebrated Brad's 31st bday this weekend in Nauvoo! Most of you reading this blog immediately know what is in Nauvoo, Illinois, and the historical and spiritual significance it holds for members of the church... but some of you may not have even heard of it before. I couldn't begin to thoroughly cover the early history of the Mormon church in a brief blog post, so I apologize for any lack of detail.

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.

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.