Baby Bird

When we were finished touring Carthage jail, we ate lunch on the lawn.  The children found a baby robin sitting on the iron fencing.  We talked to it and watched it hop around.  It must have fallen from one of the tall trees that dotted the lawn.
 

"Look Mom, a little bird!"


"It's a baby bird, Leah, it must have fallen from its nest."


"I like it.  It's sweet."


"Yes, it must have had a lot of visitors already today."



"Bye-bye Birdy."

After Carthage, we drove back to Nauvoo and visited the grave sites of Joseph , Emma, and Hyrum.

Nearby we saw Joseph's parents' markers. 

We went in the Red Brick Store and were allowed to go upstairs to show the children the room where the Relief Society was organized and where the "School of the Prophets" was held. We wandered past the Joseph Smith Homestead, and other nearby buildings. 

 The "Homestead" and Elias looking at
(or is he napping on?) the memorials.

 The Homestead of Joseph and Emma Smith. 

 Back outside the Red Brick Store.

 I'm pretty sure this was Wes' favorite building because,
as Wes said, it was the "place of revelation."

 Me and Mckay posing outside the Mansion House. 



Enjoying the great Mississippi River.




Uh-oh . . .Mom?

We gotta go! 

It was getting rainy after that, so we went to the little Bakery and the Family Living Center where we could spend some time inside.  The FLC was a hit.  It is a hands-on building for kids to see and try some things that families did in Nauvoo.  Here is what we did there:

 We learned about sheep sheering, carding wool, and spinning.

 The kids got to ride a "sheep."

Leah thinks she's in a rodeo! "Yee-Ha!"

 We learned about ovens and how they worked.  First, you built a wood fire in the oven and closed it up.  Then you took the wood out.  But the bricks were so hot afterward that you put in your bread and it baked right up!

 They boys and Mommy really liked the ovens.  Plus, we got to eat some bread. 
Do you think I can convince Wes to build me a brick oven in the backyard? And a place to store wood and cook with the dutch oven? I need my own "Summer Kitchen" as they were called in pioneer days. It would qualify under "emergency preparedness," right?  So it's definitely justifiable. 

I thought this loom was Awesome!  I want one of these even more than I want the brick oven.  I figure if my sister-in-laws can learn how to make wooden bowls and all sorts of things with the lathe, I should be privileged to have and learn how to use a loom!  I really wanted to see how the weaving worked on the loom, but in Pioneer times, only the men did the weaving.  On this day, there were no men weavers available in the FLC (I went back later).



 The  kids' favorite activity was rope-making. 
We learned about grass fibers and then got to spin/weave our own ropes. 

 All the kids were amazed at how this process worked.

 Here is Elias spinning his rope.  All the kids got to make on and keep it. 

Here is Leah!
Some other things we learned about were carriages, pottery, and candle-dipping. 

We came back to the hotel this evening for dinner and journal time. 
Today, Sunday, is the 4th of July.  When it gets dark, we will drive down to the river and see if we can see any fireworks.  Then we will come home and go to bed. 
Here are some things we still want to see: The Blacksmith's Shop, Brick Yard, Oxen Ride, Carriage Ride, the Pageant, and the Temple Grounds.

Sunday in Nauvoo

Patience is heavenly, Obedience is noble, Forgiveness is merciful, and Exaltation is Godly, and any that holds out faithful to the end shall in no wise lose his reward.  A  good man will endure all things to honor Christ and even dispose of the whole world and all in it to save his soul. 

Joseph Smith Jr.

And Hyrum Smith

1844

Today, Sunday, we slept in late (9am) because we stayed up until 11pm Saturday night. We went to church at 11 am, but just sacrament meeting because the Bishop kindly asked the visitors not to stay for the other meetings as there weren't accommodations for all of us in the classrooms (the chapel, cultural hall and stage were crammed with people). It was fast Sunday and we enjoyed a nice testimony meeting. One testimony I really enjoyed was about a teen convert. Her school friend had seen her Book of Mormon and asked her if she was a Mormon. She said yes and her friend then asked, "Are you true?" The friend didn't ask if the church was true, or the Book of Mormon was true, or if the girl was active in her church, but if she were true in her religion. I liked that thought:

Are you true?

After church we drove to Carthage Jail. On our drive we read Doctrine and Covenants 135 about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. Then we sang hymns together. We toured the jail--it was a sacred experience in a hallowed place.  The pictures tell the best story, so I will post them and add comments as we go. 

"At the Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844, a mob murdered the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum who thus sealed their testimonies of Jesus Christ with their blood.

Several days earlier, the Prophet and others voluntarily went to Carthage, the county seat located about 20 miles southeast of Nauvoo, to answer charges of civil disturbance. Joseph and Hyrum were held in Carthage Jail pending trial and were guaranteed protection from mob violence by the governor of Illinois.

Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor, and Willard Richards were in the jailer's upstairs bedroom when a mob stormed the jail shortly after five o'clock. The Prophet and his brother were shot and killed, John Taylor was seriously wounded, and Willard Richards escaped unharmed. The mob fled, and the martyrs' bodies were taken back to Nauvoo the next day.

The jail was used for about 25 years and then became a private residence. The Church purchased the building and property in 1903. To commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Martyrdom in 1994, the jail was restored to its appearance at the time of Joseph and Hyrum's death". (http://jesuschrist.lds.org/josephsmith/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=7fecf7a14ee52010VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD)

The girls at the gate. 

Leah is pondering by a memorial.

I think Elias felt proud to stand next to these heros.

 Again, Leah expresses her feelings in her face:

Carthage jail made her feel very thoughtful. 

All I can say about Ryanne's expression

is that she doesn't like to let me take her picture. 

The front of the home that was Carthage Jail. 

The jailer and his family lived here.

This is the steep stairwell leading to the second floor where

the prisoners were kept. The mob of men stormed this stairwell

after gaining entry to the building.   

This is Mckay and our Tour Guide, a senior misssionary. 

Wes is looking into the teeny jail cell where

 the men were held for a time. 

Here is the cell from another angle.  It was very tiny.

 The hole left in the door by the bullet that

went through and hit Hyrum in the face. 

 I am thinking, "What kind of expression should I have on my face for this photo? 

 I don't want to smile; this is a memoir of a fatality. 

But I don't want to stand here crying in the photo either. 

 I guess I feel honored to be where such good men

sacrificed their lives for truth,

 but there is no way to put that on my face."

Wes:"Ditto what Melissa said."

A solemn Mckay sits in the window that the Prophet

Joseph Smith fell out of as he was shot by the mob. 

 The window from the outside.

Here is where Joseph fell.

Cute Andrews Fam.

Mckay playing with the well.



Who loves this trip the most?

Wes, by far, wins the "I love this trip" contest.  Ryanne pulls in second, but Wes takes the cake.  He is giddy as a schoolboy on a snow day.  He wants to see EVERYTHING!  We won't have time to see it all, but we will catch most of Nauvoo.  Already Wes is planning our return trip and our trip to New York to see the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah.  He is eating this up, so full of questions and enthusiasm.  There is a sparkle in his eye and a bounce in his step that I haven't seen in a long time.  He is drooling with awe over everything he learns.  And he feels the spirit; like sun filtering in behind a forest canopy, it leaves a constant halo around him.  I find great satisfaction in watching his enjoyment of this experience.  It will change the way he teaches institute and forever change his heart towards the ancestors of our church's foundation.        

 Ryanne has expressed several times how much she loves this trip.  She constantly exclaims,"I love this place!"  She enjoys history and is intrigued by reading the plaques and absorbing the tour information.  It seems to me like history truly comes to life for her as she watches, listens and closes her eyes to fade away into her repository of new found mental histories.  She makes connections not with just time and place, but also with people--always wondering how they felt, why they did what they did,who they really were.  She analyzes circumstances and cause-effect; I can constantly see her cogs whirring as she does do.  She comes up with the most difficult-to-answer- yet amazing questions. 

 Elias gets somewhat bored after a time of touring, but he listens and always seems to be the one to answer the presenter's questions.  He loves walking around outside and being on the go. He digs the music and plays. 

Leah and Mckay are having fun and making memories, but they just aren't as alive with excitement the way Ryanne is. 





I have been here before, and though it is a place dear to my heart, I promised myself before we ever left home, that this would be Wes' trip.  I have tried hard to be the one to corral the kids, direct, guide, and discipline on occasion.  I let Wes dictate most of our itinerary, letting him choose the places he wants to see most.  I really hoped the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History would come alive for him on this trip--it has never much intrigued him before.  So, I am having a good time, but also doing the "Mom thing" on the go is tiring.  Just call me the backstage director for the event--and that's good, because I've been here before.