Jason, Cheree, Kelsie, Candace, Carter in Nauvoo

In front of the Nauvoo Temple. This is where the phrase eternal families really comes to light. These are my nieces and nephews forever because of the choices my parents made, the choices their parents made and because of the choices they made. It feels so good to know that we are an eternal family.

At David's Chamber, just as you enter Nauvoo. It's a great picnic spot where there's a lovely little waterfall. There is a bridge and a look-out there.

Kelsie, Candace and Carter at the Old Stone Bridge. In the movie, Emma, a really romantic scene is shot here. This is actually the drainage ditch out of Nauvoo to the Mississippi River. We decided to do a silly pose instead of the traditional one.

A description of Nauvoo which is located just at the outskirts of downtown as to come in to Nauvoo. It is along the Great River Road.

Although I didn't get the Quarry in, this is the temple quarry from which the limestone was extracted that built the original Nauvoo Temple. It is now full of water, but it would have been a lot of hard work to chistle the stones, drag them by oxen uphill about a mile away to the temple and then mold them into shape, and then lift them by pulley to their spot.

At the Old Nauvoo Cemetery--we're not sure where our relatives are buried, but his statue says so much as four of the five that were buried were children, the other was their mother.

At the Old Nauvoo Cemetery, showing the names of our relatives who died here in Nauvoo. There are four on the board, but actually there were 5. One wasn't recorded.

Candace and Kelsie signing the Seventies register. Carter was hiding under the table. We had a great grandfather, James Madison Chadwick, who was a seventy here.

The Nauvoo Pageant--A Testimony of the Gospel

This depicts the rising of the Nauvoo Temple. The sisters are standing firm and true as they assist the Priesthood in the building of the temple. What I didn't get a picture of is the brethren to side, pulling the ropes that bring those panels to the top. But it's all about Relief Society and Priesthood working together to build the kingdom of God.

Joseph Smith explains to the Fordham children the events of the first vision. When he finishes, George says, "Then I won't doubt it either". I love that testimony. I love the way the Pageant explains the basic principles of the gospel in such a clear way that people cannot misunderstand.

Becky Laird, a fictional character, created from the real stories of many of the early converts to the Church, meeting the prophet, Joseph Smith. "It's you. Though I'd never seen ya, I'd known ya, you're the prophet." He husband, Robert, stands behind. He goes through the process of having "a little light" come in to him as he comes to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tia was one of "my kids" for four years. I happened to be sitting right down in front and was able to get a picture of her. But the scene is welcoming the arriving Saints to Nauvoo.

And what do all the prophets teach? "Of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!" Joseph explains the basic premise that Jesus Christ is who we worship--the He is our Savior and our Redeemer.

Mrs. Elijah Fordham and her children. They played a great role in the building of the temple and Elijah's miraculous healing in Montrose is protrayed as a part of the Nauvoo Miracles.

Hello, I said hello. Parley P. Pratt begins the Nauvoo Pageant experience. He keeps the story line going as he relates the lives and history of the early Nauvoo Saints.

Nauvoo Pageant and the Trail of Hope

Eliza R. Snow sings "Though Deepening Trials", a song written by her. Christie Turnbow protrays Eliza and has one of the most beautiful, clear voices I have ever heard.

Charli, from Great Britain, portrays Leonora Taylor. She is so genuine in her work, she is a great asset to the pageant.

Sarah Leavitt and her daughter detail the death of their husband/father in Bentonsporte, just across the river. Susan, the young girl, has been one of "my kids" for four years. This year, she sliced her achilles tendon on a chair rack and has been taken out of the pageant other than this vingnette. She sang with such clarity, "Come let us Anew". It was very moving.

Telling the story of Bathsheba and George Smith. They gave what was to be packed and the emotions of leaving their homes behind them.

Women of Nauvoo

Emma Smith from the Nauvoo Pageant. This is the only picture I have of Chauntee playing Emma. She is doing a fabulous job!!!

Sisters were not only given the charge to care for the poor and the needy, but to instruct one another. These sisters are listening to Emma give instructions.

When sisters fell ill, the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo were there to care for the needs of their sisters. This is one of the stories of such an incident. I think this is the only picture I took of Eliza, so she's the one to the far right with the book in her hand.

Sisters gathered together to help one another in the work of the kingdom. Facing the camera are Margaret Cook, the seamstress, who worked with Sarah Granger Kimball to sew the shirts for the brethren of the temple and Jane Manning, who donated a red hen that wouldn't stay with the donations, so they gave Jane the charge of raising the hen and providing for the needs of the poor.

King Follett Discourse

This is Jeff Dickamore who protrays Joseph Smith in the Nauvoo Pageant. Jeff does such a remarkable job of being Joseph that some people forget he isn't the prophet. During the "cutting" from this funeral sermon that lasted over 2 hours and was preached to a very large crowd, Joseph Smith taught some of the most essential doctrines of salvation. One such doctrine was that mothers would have their children after this life. Knowing how many women had lost their young ones in Nauvoo, that had to be particularly comforting to them. Notice the ring on his finger. Jeff isn't married, so he has to borrow one to give the part of the sermon wherein he talks about life without beginning or end.

This is Joseph Goodmunson. He was with me as a young boy in the children's support group and now he's a 14 year old and has learned how to be a piper. He is a very gifted musician. Each show begins with a performance from the bagpipers. They do such an excellent job of setting the stage for the vignettes.

Family Living Center

Rope making is one of our most popular demonstrations because people get to take the rope they make with them. They take bailing twine and make three widths of it into a rope. Sometimes missionaries buy their own bailing twine and make six or eight widths. It's amazing. We could actually survive with the skills and tools we have here in Nauvoo.

The loom is one of the most amazing things. It takes about two full days to load the loom. But it takes many "man hours" to prepare the cloth that goes in to the loom. It is amazing to watch these strips of cloth go in and a rug come out. I have a rug made in this very loom.

The candle making demonstration is one of my favorites. We don't actually dip the candles but about two weeks out of the year to make samples to give our guests. The rest of the time, we just tell about it. Notice how the candles become more and more solid with each dipping. Thirty dips give you about thirty hours of burning time. But it doesn't unless the wick is straight. The amazing thing was that they had to keep the candles away from mice. They would put them in a wooden box and bury them, to keep them safe from the critters. It's easy to see why Abraham Lincoln would have read by firelight, candles took a lot of hard work to make.

This is the baking demonstration. To the very far right is the bustle oven, so named because it sticks out of the back of the home like a lady's bustle. They would light the fire in it and then make the bread dough. They would test the oven by sticking their arm in it. You can see the fire place. We actually make ash bread, but only the missionaries get to try it. The bread we give to visitors is made in the bustle oven. The crane keeps women from catching their skirts on fire, and that's quite an accomplishment as that was one of the greatest causes of death next to child birth in early pioneer women.

This is the spinning and weaving demonstration. The only problem is there are only three missionaries authorized to use the spinning wheel, so when people come in, most of us just have to tell them about it. The gizmo on the table is a weasle. The song Pop Goes the Weasle actually came from this machine. When you get 50 feet of yarn on it, it pops so you know you have enough to sell. The frame to the right of the table demonstrates different ways the wool was dyed. One of those ways with cochineal, which is a bug. The "redcoats" against we fought for independence used that method of dying their clothing.

This is the entrance to the family living center. I actually took this picture a few weeks ago. Now the sidewalk is lined with full bushes of flowers. I don't know if you get the idea of how large the building is, but it's about the size of a full size basketball court.

Abraham Lincoln in Quincy Illinois

I don't know how well you can read it, but on the bottom part of the sign, it reads, "Douglas courted the Mormons". The fact that there were 12,000 citizens in Nauvoo earlier made them "a force to be reckoned with". According to the sign, Stephen A. Douglas was instrumental in getting property rights for the Great Basin for the early Saints. One side note, Mr. Douglas died in 1861, so even if he had been elected, he wouldn't have lived long enough to see the War Between the States come to an end. It's certainly something to ponder when you think of American History. What if Abraham Lincoln had not been elected the 16th President of the United States?

Monument that stands on the spot where one of the Lincoln/Douglas Debates took place in Adams County, Illinois. Stephen A. Douglas was a judge in Adam's County and knew the town well. Surrounding the monument are statements made by each of the presidential candidates in response to questions about the slavery issue. One, in particular, was interesting to me, concerning the Dred Scott Supreme Court Decision. Justice Douglas responded that the courts had that right to make the decision and he supported the courts. Soon-to-be President Lincoln responded that it was morally wrong and he hoped it would soon be overturned.

This is the picture of the Old Adam's County Courthhouse. It was on this site that one of the seven Lincoln/Douglas Debates took place. The courthouse stands no more, but there is a monument to the event in its place, but I thought it was interesting to see what it looked like.

Commemoration of the Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

This is probably an odd picture of Carthage Jail. Most people take a shot of the window from which the prophet fell. This side of the jail is the debtor's prison, and the kitchen where they would have taken their meals while in the jail. The little window that is hardly noticeable is where the jail cell was in which John Taylor was placed and saved his life. Of course, you cannot see it, but in the afternoon, there is a reflection in this window from the visitor's center that makes it look like Hyrum is standing looking out the window.

This is one view of the crowd that attended the memorial service. There are people all around the other side of the jail, and people behind where I was sitting. In his remarks, President Petersen said, "I feel the Joseph and Hyrum would be pleased to know that we are remembering them this day."

Although this face will not mean anything to anyone but my family, the man standing in the center of the picture is Elder Lamar Taylor. He sang at my dad's funeral, but has been a friend of my brother's for years.

President Petersen from the Nauvoo Temple was the main speaker. Sorry that I had a backside view, but that's where I ended up sitting. The costumed people in front are the Young Performing Missionaries, so sang at the event. President Petersen challenged, "May we all be true to the testimony of Joseph and Hyrum".