“This
is the loveliest place and the best people under the heavens little do they
know the trials that await them” is what Joseph said to Hyrum as they rode
towards Carthage Illinois.
Carthage
and Nauvoo Illinois are two historical sites of the Mormon church which I was privilege
to visit last week. The preservation of the city, the houses, the monuments and
the memories of the people who lived and died there are amazing. It’s one thing
to read about a place and hear stories about a people but it’s another to actually
visit the houses they lived in, the temple they built and to stand in the place
where they lived and died.
I
learned a lot while I was there and it kind of brought the stories I had read
about to real life.
I
walked down Parley Street which is the road where hundreds of covered wagons drove
down after being forced out of their homes with the mentality in mind of “don’t
look back” as they headed into an unknown future.
I
stood in the second story window where Joseph fell after being shot several
times the day of the Martyrdom.
I
listened to the church bell chime while standing atop the hill where the Nauvoo
temple stands looking out over the valley.
I
stood in the room where Brigham planned and prepared for the journey across the
now mid-west to the Salt Lake Valley.
I
took a picture of the bullet hole which hit Hyrum in the face killing him the
day the mob came for him and his younger brother.
I
rode a horse drawn wagon past the Jonathan Browning Gunsmith house.
I
found my ancestor’s name on the memorial of those who left Nauvoo to find a
safer and better life out west.
It
was really amazing to see all this in person. It’s all free and open to anyone
who wants to visit. It can be a day trip or a whole weekend depending on how
much of the sites one wants to see.
I
currently live in St. Louis Missouri which is on the Missouri-Illinois border.
I’m about 2.5 hours from Nauvoo, 3.5 hours from Independence, 2 hours from Carthage
and 3.5 hours from Haun’s Mill. All of these are significant LDS historical
sites yet when people find out I’m Mormon the first place their mind goes is
Utah. I’m a little confused by this for they are surrounded by so much Mormon
history. Tragically, it is the more darker part of our Mormon history. Yet, the
church has preserved the towns of Carthage and Nauvoo is such a positive and
beautiful manner.
It
was a memorable weekend. I love going to historical places and these two sites
are definitely worth the visit.