Nauvoo Trip Day 4

 On Sunday we watched Conference in the morning and then wandered out into the city. We found the grave markers for Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith which are not on church property.

And the brothers are together.

Jack and the Red Brick Store.

I was excited to see these quilts in Wilford Woodruff's home. What a treasure!

Overlooking the Mississippi facing west, Joseph directs Brigham Young to the future building of Zion. 

We walked down to the end of Parley Street to the Mississippi where my ancestors crossed on frozen water. Their courage strengthens me.

We returned to the afternoon session of Conference only to find out that Robert D. Hales passed away. I will miss his calm, gentle demeanor.

Trip to Nauvoo Day 3

 On Saturday, we balanced touring with General Conference. We felt bad for the missionaries who had to work during Conference talks, but we also felt that we could help them by attending their historic sites.

Jackson's middle name is Field so we made him take his photo here.

We stopped by the land office and found the addresses of my line--the Jacob Strong family--and Paul's line--Curtis Edwin Bolton. It took us a while to find the lots, but it was so rewarding to stand on the land my ancestors stood on. 

We toured the Seventies Hall where we could go look up our ancestors who were Seventies. I found Jacob Strong and was able to sign my name as his great great granddaughter.

Trip to Nauvoo Day 2

On Day 2, we continued driving toward Nauvoo. We came to Montrose and could see the temple from across the Mississippi. 

Jackson found a fish and was shocked at its completeness.

We traveled into the city of Nauvoo and went to the visitors' center. After viewing the displays and dioramas inside, we wandered outside and found this quilter. 

Ah, it's a double wedding ring she is working on.

We had reserved a house for the week in downtown Nauvoo. After checking in and changing we were able to attend the temple. What an incredible opportunity. I felt the Spirit of my own ancestors who lived there and were chased out.

I can hardly look at these without crying. These brothers went through so much together. Even death.

Trip to Nauvoo Day 1

 We returned to the airport and flew to Omaha, Nebraska for our week of church history traveling. It was easy to rent a car there and head to Independence, Missouri, where we had a hotel. On the drive, I searched for quilt shops in the area and was shocked to see Angela Walter's shop Quilting is My Therapy was right next to the Liberty Jail. Well, let's go!

Our first stop was the Independence Visitors' Center. Its location is central to all the churches in Independence. I was shocked at how many denominations are in the little town in the middle of nowhere. The Center was full of beautiful and handsome missionaries beaming with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were all amazed that Jackson had been in Peru just the day before on his mission.

Jackson is standing on the temple lot in front of the Community of Christ Temple. He was so thrilled to feel the grass after two years of gritty Trujillo, Peru. 

We wandered around Independence a little, then drove to Liberty Jail. I was surprised to see the Governor's extermination order hanging in a frame upstairs. The Liberty Jail visitors’ center includes the partial reconstruction of Liberty Jail. Here missionaries recount the events surrounding the imprisonment of Joseph Smith and five others from December 1838 to April 1839.

After learning a lot, we drove to the quilt shop.

In November 1838, Joseph Smith and several other Church leaders were held here before appearing before a court of inquiry. Alexander Doniphan defended the accused men. After the hearing, the prisoners were moved to Liberty Jail. Today a plaque marks where the prisoners were held in Richmond, and a large statue of Doniphan stands in front of the courthouse.

David Whitmer and his family lived in Richmond for many years, and Oliver Cowdery died at David’s home in 1850. In 1911 Junius F. Wells had a monument built over Oliver Cowdery’s grave. It commemorates the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon. Near the monument are graves of Peter and Mary Whitmer and other members of the Whitmer family. David Whitmer is buried in a separate cemetery in town, which we found.

It took us a while to find David Whitmer's tombstone, so we found lots of great names.

We continued north to Far West to the temple site. It was incredible. Although it had no walls, it felt like I was inside a temple. Caldwell County was established in 1836 as a place where Latter-day Saints could settle in peace. Far West was the county’s largest settlement, with about 5,000 inhabitants by 1838. On July 4, 1838, the Saints laid the cornerstones of a temple.

We were racing the light as we drove to Adam-ondi-Ahman.

Jackson Returns from Peru

 We were excited to retrieve Jackson from the airport, but all the other siblings had moved out. So there was no great reunion. But I gave him a haircut, President Flake came to the house to release him, and then we packed for the trip to Nauvoo.

Jim's 2nd Birthday

 It's time to celebrate Jim's 2nd birthday! He still loves balloons, balls and bats, toy cars, and books. He's a smart little boy.

Busywork

 The word "busywork" implies the work is not valuable, so in a sense this is an ironic title. I needed to do a little organizing with my quilts. I wrap each quilt around a pole, a pool noodle, or a leftover batting tube. Then I tie it together with torn fabric strips or yarn. Finally, I like to make a sleeve out of Tyvek home wrap. I zig-zag stitch casings and slip them inside. If I'm really organized, I write the name on the outside. 

All of these go under the guest bed upstairs. There is a danger keeping them downstairs because it is a basement. Musty smells could ruin these. Tyvek really gives me a sense of security.

I spent the afternoon planting lavender. Why I don't have fields of this, I don't know. It is so low maintenance. As different as the PNW is from the Mediterranean, some of their best plants grow happily here. If you want to see fields of lavender, you just have to pop over to Sequim.