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Monday, October 26, 2009

Beautiful Nauvoo

Justin and I had the amazing opportunity to go to Nauvoo, IL over the weekend. Nauvoo is a remarkable place. I felt the spirit the minute we pulled into the city. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life, and I can't imagine how the saints felt having to leave this place to head into the unknown, barren land. It was pretty chilly and rainy for 2 of the three days we were there, but the rain did nothing to dampen the spirit and vibrant fall colors that took your breath away. It was a pretty slow time of year and were were fortunate to have the city almost to ourselves. We would sometimes go an hour or so without seeing another person, and most of the time it was just us and the missionary couples that serve there. Words can't express the gratitude that I have for those faithful saints that left their home in beautiful Nauvoo, and suffered innumerable trials and hardships so they could practice their religion without persecution, and paved the way for people like me. It was a beautiful, humbling, informative, inspiring, peaceful, fun, and Testimony building trip and I am so grateful that we were able to go.

Here is a sampling of the pictures that we took.
(Click on the collage to make it bigger)
I still can't get over the beauty of Nauvoo. The fall colors at this time of year were unreal.
We did a session in the Temple on Friday morning. The Temple is so beautiful, and being able to do a session on our trip was wonderful.
The Joseph Smith home, graves, and other properties owned by the Community of Christ church.
Here are a few pictures of the homes of the saints and the shops and buildings that you can visit. I loved the individual stories of the people who lived and worked here, and ultimately left it behind to follow the Prophet. The spirit was so strong in every single home!
Carthage Jail.
The Monument to Women at the visitors center.

9 comments:

Jewls said...

I love Nauvoo! It's by far the prettiest temple inside...at least I think so! :)

Emily said...

you guys are always taking such fun trips!!

Jessica A said...

I totally remember looking through your church tour scrapbooks freshman year! Good times.

Bridget said...

You need to go a little farther back in church history and come visit us in Palmyra!

Jane said...

What a wonderful trip. I'm so glad you had the chance to go there. It looks beautiful in the Fall.

Sarah and Trent said...

I am so jealous!! I absolutely love Nauvoo...and it looks gorgeous in the fall. We went about two years on a tour with BYU-Idaho and that is actually where Trent first went through!

Keith, Heather and Carsen said...

Sounds like you guys had an awesome time, it has been so long since I have been there, your pictures make me want to go back so bad!
By the way...how do you do those photo collages and then put them in a post? I love it and can't figure out how to do it! thanks

Jessica A said...

Heather- I use picasa. It is a free program you can download and it is so easy to make collages on them. There is even a button when you are done that sends it directly to your blog!

Atkinsons said...

What a fun trip! I love the women's monument!