I had a few days to myself during Easter break and zipped down to Nauvoo, Illinois. After a flight from Calgary to St. Louis, via Dallas, I rented a car and drove to Nauvoo. April meant the temperature was perfect (and no bugs) and there were no crowds. The lilac trees and all sorts of blossoms made the area beautiful. Picture a city where thousands of people once lived in the mid-1840s. Across the mighty Mississippi was the end of the United States as it was then known. To the West, the unknown.
Today, Nauvoo is one of the best historic communities in all the US - and there's only a few hundred people living there. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized LDS Church), have together preserved a wonderful townsite that attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Majestically atop the hill overlooking old Nauvoo, is the rebuilt Nauvoo Temple. Across from the temple entrance is a bronze statue depicting the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, who were shot and killed at Carthage, in 1844.
How wonderful to spend two days there. Surely not long enough. The people hosting all the sites were so welcoming and helpful. Imagine the place teeming with thousands of people in the early 1840s, the air filled with excitement as the Mormon Saints arrived to make this former swamp their home. Beautiful.
Today, Nauvoo is one of the best historic communities in all the US - and there's only a few hundred people living there. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized LDS Church), have together preserved a wonderful townsite that attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Majestically atop the hill overlooking old Nauvoo, is the rebuilt Nauvoo Temple. Across from the temple entrance is a bronze statue depicting the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, who were shot and killed at Carthage, in 1844.
How wonderful to spend two days there. Surely not long enough. The people hosting all the sites were so welcoming and helpful. Imagine the place teeming with thousands of people in the early 1840s, the air filled with excitement as the Mormon Saints arrived to make this former swamp their home. Beautiful.
