Historic Sites Day Three

Carthage Jail

The morning after we saw Nauvoo, we drove out to Carthage Jail.  They had a Visitor's Center there, and when we went in, immediately one of the sister missionaries said, "This must be Glenn!"

Glenn sure made an impression on those missionaries. ;)  Some of these missionaries had performed in the show the first night and some hadn't, so they hadn't met us yet, but they heard about us.  It really was a great time to visit Nauvoo and surrounding areas.  They get so busy in the summer months, so it was so nice to have a more personal experience.

Outside the VC and the actual--and original--jail building, there was a beautiful statue of Joseph Smith, Jr. and his brother Hyrum.  This pictue shows the VC on the right and the jail behind the statue.

Also outside in that plaza area were quotes from Joseph Smith.  They shared his testimony of The First Vision and of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Inside the VC we watched a video which shared journal entries about Joseph Smith.  He was an amazing man--a prophet of God!  Yet he was still a man.  He wasn't perfect, but he did so many wonderful and important things for the world.  Without him we wouldn't have the restored Church on the earth.  How grateful I am for his life and his willingness to sacrifice everything, even his life, for this gospel!

Then we went on a tour of the jail.  This was a door that led to one of the prison rooms.  The jail keeper had a respect and almost love for the prisoners and allowed them to be in a different room.

This was that room.  And this is where Joseph and Hyrum were killed.

 A mob came up the stairs and shot through the door.  That shot killed Hyrum.  Joseph was by the left window and was shot from outside, then inside, which pushed him through the window, falling to the ground. He too was killed.  The other men with them were wounded, but not killed.

 It was a cold and gloomy day and that's how I kind of felt.  It's hard hearing about a person's death like that.  But again, I am grateful for his sacrifice--and Hyrum's too.  He too did many good things for the Church.

Liberty Jail

We definitely didn't go in historical order during this trip of ours.  We went to an convenient way. :D

Driving down through Missouri, we went to Liberty Jail which is close to Independence.  Here Joseph Smith and many others were imprisoned for months during a very cold winter.  The Church has recreated this structure--it is not original, but it has be reconstructed just as it was when these men were there--they had pictures and even journal entries that told exact dimensions.  It was inside a visitor's center where we got a tour by a sister missionary.  There were a few recordings she played for us, depicting different stories and experiences of the brethren who were there.  This was a very trying time--it was dark, cold, short, damp and altogether unpleasant.  Joseph Smith received beautiful revelations while he was here though--so it is a sacred place too.

Independence

We had wanted to see some of the 'country' sites as well, but due to fog and rain we wouldn't have been able to see anything.  You can see some of that in this picture of the Community of Christ's Temple.  We didn't go inside that but we did go inside the VC that was across the street--where Paul took this picture.

 Inside in the basement they had different displays that showed what life was like for the Saints here.  It was a fun way to learn about it--the tour was directed through an 'outdoor' gathering place, to inside a cabin, and then back out again.  

 They also had a fun kids' corner.  Glenn loved being able to run around and play on this stuff!  He had been in a car a lot and hadn't complained.  So we were happy to let him play for a long time.

And that concluded our tours of historic Church sites.  We enjoyed seeing them and learning from the Saints' experiences at each place.