Zelph Mound

These photos are all out of order, but we don't know how to put them in order.  Sorry.

 6: Here I am standing on top looking along the length of the Mound. You can see a depression in the middle of it.  This is where the State of Illinois did a partial archeology dig on the Mound and removed about 10 by 15 feet of the top.

 3:  This is as we are closer to the Mound, about 300 feet up from the river

 1: This is the entrance to the trail at the road next to the Illinois river where the Zions camp had ferried across and camped for the night June 2, 1834.   Sis. Ririe is on the trail

 2:  This is the mound from a distance as we hiked up to it.

 4:  This is as we are right in front of the mound.: the left side.

 Duplicate photo.  Sorry.

 7:  This is a closer photo of the depression of  the archeology dig that was done by the state.  They didn't do more because they didn't have enough money, but they found a lot of skeletons and artifacts.

Duplicate photo.  Sorry.

 Today, March 28, was our preparation day and we went to see the Zelph Mound which is about 1 1/2 hours south of here on the Illinois River.  On June 2, 1834 Joseph Smith and about 150 men camped here as they were on their way to Missouri with "Zions Camp".  While there, Joseph had a vision wherein he saw a short history of a Lamanite warrior that was killed in this spot in one of the final battles of the Lamanites in this area. His name was Zelph and in an earlier battle he had his thigh bone broken and then in this last battle he had become so righteous that the "curse" was leaving him and he had become a white Lamanite. The Lord "allowed" him to die in this battle so he could "return home", and he had an arrow in his spine. Joseph told the men where to dig and when they dug about  two feet deep they uncovered a skeleton with arrowhead in his spine and a thigh bone that was broken but healed with an osseous callous.

5: The photo to the right is the right side of the Mound and should be up next to #4

Nauvoo Miracle, continued

 This series of photos show a portion of the Old Nauvoo burial ground and the small burial spot for James Nathaniel Barlow, found by the Spirit and Revelation.  In the 1840's the entrance to the cemetery was at this far corner of the cemetery.  Israel Barlow quickly entered the cemetery and buried the child just inside the entrance rather than go deeper inside.  There was no official record of him doing this and therefore the location was lost until Elizabeth Hemple found it by the Spirit's promptings the day we were there with her.

Nauvoo Miracles

Today March 16, Sis. Ririe and I served in the Brigham Young Home historic site.  This is one of the best sites for us to give tours, as it is such an historic place. The whole building is authentic  from the 1840's built by Brigham Young himself in 1843. There is a special feeling there, because of all the spiritual things that happened there.
We continued those "special things" today as we served together there.
A few months ago we were walking through the Old Nauvoo Cemetery as we sometimes do for the special feelings we feel there.  We were the only ones in the cemetery, but then we noticed that at the far corner, there was another couple there.  We watched them from a distance and then we noticed that the woman was sobbing.  We uncomfortably approached them to evaluated the difficulty.   We started talking to them and she said they had come from St. Louis and were trying to find the burial place of an ancestor. The ancestor was Israel Barlow's child named James Nathaniel Barlow.  There was an article that came out in the Ensign, July, 2009 entitled "Daddy, Do Not Leave Me Here".   They had been directed to another city cemetery, but she did not "feel right" anywhere there. But when she came to the Old Nauvoo cemetery and walked all around it she was led to this spot and the overwhelming feeling came over her that THIS  was the spot. I told her about Elder Mengel who has been researching the cemeteries and mapping the graves.  They met the next day and he told her that the place she was standing was not possible to be the correct location because it was out of the boundary of the cemetery proper. She said, "I don't know why, but  I feel the Spirit telling me that this is the correct place."  Elder Mengel had her use the dowsing technique and it verified that there indeed was a small grave.  We wrote an article about this  and have submitted it to the Ensign for publication as a follow-up to the above article from 2009.
    Today she came back to Nauvoo for a visit to put some flowers on the grave.  She had hoped to see us but did not remember our name or know if we were still here.  She just felt prompted to go directly to the Brigham Young home for a tour.  And what a surprise to see us open the door and greet her.  We enjoyed a great reunion of sorts. She is still single, but had her boy friend with her.  She is active in track and field and is trying out for the Olympic team in the hammer throw.  Quite a lady!  We got hold of Elder Mengel, with whom we are co-authoring the article on finding the grave.  He came down to the home and we all had a good time.  He gave her a copy of the article we have submitted to the Ensign magazine about her ancestors.
These "coincidents" happen quite frequently to us and other missionaries.  We call them Nauvoo Miracles!

Carthage Jail Sociable

Today was a rather unusual day.  A  couple of weeks ago I was asked to do some research on the Carthage Jail in preparation for a "Sociable" (Nauvoo word for a Fireside with all the missionaries in the Mission) scheduled for today, February 23.  In our site book, (which gives all the history we are to use in our tours) for the Carthage Jail, it states that once the jail was deactivated and sold to individuals, it was purchased by one James Monroe Browning in 1871.  The site book states that he was not related to Johnathan Browning, the  famous gunmaker who joined the Church in 1842 and moved to Nauvoo.   I have questioned this and found through help of the senior missionaries at the Family Search Center that he lived near Carthage and was 11 years old at the time of the Martyrdom and purchased the Jail when he was 38 in 1871 and lived there for 30  years. He was always cordial to visitors who stopped and asked to see the Martyrdom room, but never appeared interested in the Church. (of course there were no Church members in Carthage nor Nauvoo until the 1930's).
It turns out that he is a direct NEPHEW of Johnathan Browning!!  This was a big surprise to everyone.
 The organizers of the Sociable asked me if I would present my research findings in today's meeting.
I was very surprised to find that I shared the program  with Craig Dunn, a local historian that has written several books on Nauvoo, and Susan Easton Black Durrant who is now a Temple Missionary  who has written more than 120 books on Church History while she was at BYU.
It was a very enjoyable experience, and humbling to be on such a program.
I so love being a Missionary here in Nauvoo.  Every day presents experiences which strengthen my testimony of the truthfulness of this the restored Gospel.  I have had so many witnesses of the instrumentality of Joseph Smith in this restoration.  How humbling to walk in the very places where so much of what he did occurred.  I can almost picture him, and others as they struggled to make Nauvoo and the Church the doctrinal marvel that it is today.

Nauvoo Exodus Re-enactment

Today, Feb. 8, 2014, we had a re-enactment of the Exodus of the population of Nauvoo, which began on Feb. 4, 1846.  It was a very sober event, thinking of the feelings of the Saints as they drove their wagons down Parley St. to the Mississippi River and then waiting in line as the ferries took them across one by one.  The weather cooperated in helping us feel the discomfort they must have felt as the waited such a long time for their turn to cross.  The temperature was 14 degrees F.  and a light snow was falling and a stiff breeze took the wind chill  down.  Fortunately we have clothes to ward off the cold, which the early Saints did not.  They must have froze terribly while they waited, and worse when they finally got over to Montrose where they did not even have a home to protect them from the elements.  Only a tent or to get under their wagon, as the wagon was so loaded they could not get in it.

 We assembled at the Family Living Center, at 6:30 am. about 1 1/2 miles from the river, and had a nice breakfast and a program reciting excerpts from several of the Saint's journals.  Then we went outside and walked along side of the wagons to the River.  I was part of the Nauvoo Legion, which at that time numbered about 4 to 5 thousand. We marched in front of the group of missionaries and local and visiting members who came, some from Utah, etc. just for this re-enactment, and when we got to the River we had a flag raising ceremony and another program, and sang Come Come Ye Saints.  A very touching experience.

 There were  about 350 people total who walked in the procession

 They carried flags representing every nation that was in the original group.

After the program many of them went out on the ice of the Mississippi River, which is still frozen over and covered with a lot of snow from the two heavy storms that have come through in the last two weeks. Sister Ririe even ventured out onto the ice!
Experiences like this continue to keep us humbly thankful for the peace we enjoy today as compared to the lawless mob attacks the they lived with,and for the comforts of today compared to their constant struggling with not enough food, not enough clothing,or shelter, etc.  We must not take what we have for granted, but must be ever more greatful and dedicated to their memory and sacrifice.
After the events we staffed our assigned sites for visits.  During one of my tours at the Brickyard I discussed with a group from Utah, how we could honor what they did, in our lives today. Very thought provoking and emotional interchange was had.
It is our greatest desire that our children, our grandchildren, our nieces and nephews, and our brothers and sister honor their covenants and live up to the legacy these faithful Saints left for us to follow.  In that only, is true happiness found.
We love this mission!

Our Amazing District!

                                                     This is our Awesome Don Carlos District

       We planned a neat meeting at the Willard Richards home.  Remember Willard Richards was an apostle and was with the Prophet in Carthage jail when he was martyred.  The amazing prophecy Joseph made to Willard was, Willard you will see bullets flying on both sides and your friends dying on your left and right, but you will not have a hole in your garment. (He made that prophecy about a year before the martyrdom) That is exactly what happened.  He was a big 300# man, and the room was very small, but he and John Taylor survived.  He without a hole in his garment (a little nick on his ear) and it was a miracle John Taylor survived.  He had 4 bullet wounds and survived to be our third Prophet.  The law of two witnesses came into play here.  If we didn't have their testimonies, we would only have the mobs account of what transpired in Carthage.  Joseph sent all of the other apostles on missions so they wouldn't be involved.
      His home is now a Bed and Breakfast, down on the flats where all of the old Nauvoo sites are.....The owners were so gracious to allow us to  have our meeting there and gave us a very interesting tour.  The folks in our districts are the Gifford's, the Russell's and the Mayne's.  We love our district, they are amazing people.  They inspires us to be better.  As District leaders we meet each month and have a training on a topic that comes through the Zone leaders from the Mission President. It is always a challenge to find interesting ways to teach people who are giants in the Gospel.  We feel they should be teaching us....and they do!  We are so lucky to be here and are learning so much!

Cast Party

 Just in case you think we don't have fun on our mission....Here are some pictures from our cast party we had after a session at the Temple!  We came back to our house to have a crepe party!!  So fun...we also honored a couple from our cast who are leaving the first part of February  The Boyer's
 

                                                        The Boyer's  Leaving in February

Today we are serving together at the Lucy Mack Smith home.  When Joseph Noble left to go west, Brigham Young purchased his home and had it deeded to Lucy Mack Smith.  He wanted to take care of Mother Smith and provided her with a home and a carriage.  Her daughter Lucy and her husband Arthur Millilken lived with Lucy in this home for a few years.  Lucy had arthritis and was unable to go west with the Saints.

Here is Mom sitting on a little bench..she calls it a "time out bench"  (Ha)  This is upstairs where the rest of the family slept!

Because Lucy had arthritis, she couldn't go upstairs, so this is called a lying in room...a small sleeping area right in the kitchen and living area...I can just see her enjoying being in the middle of things, with the cooking and children playing around her..a great idea..She was a tiny lady, Becky could just fit in that tiny bed!

There is a great spirit in this house.  Lucy was an amazing woman...never lost faith in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, or in the fact that her son was truly a prophet of God who translated the Book of Mormon by the power of the Holy Ghost.  

Looking out the front door of the Lucy Mack Smith home is this house right across the street.  This is where the General Authorities stay when in Nauvoo...Which is pretty often actually.  It is humble, but nice and built in the style of the day.  

This stairway is the most steep in Nauvoo, it's like climbing a ladder..no wonder Lucy never went up there.  Her daughter and her family had rooms upstairs to sleep and a living room area...cute little cozy house.

 We have had a lot of WINTER!!  The above photo was taken out our front door .  Our apartment faces a large two acre grassy field that abuts a forest where about 20 deer and wild turkey , etc. live. They are hungry.  Also we have a bird feeder and down below is a picture that we took out of our living room window , of a husband and wife Red Cardinal that come every day.  They are beautiful.  I wish I could get a better picture of them.

 This picture above is a model that we have in the main Visitor Center showing Nauvoo in 1845-6.  The Temple is seen in the upper left.  At about the upper far right we see the area where Parley St. meets the Mississippi River.  It is hard to see exactly in this picture, but I put it here to give perspective to the picture below.  The west end of Parley St. is where the Saints left from in February 1846 to cross the River to begin the famous Exodus west to the Rocky Mountains.  We will be holding a reenactment of this Exodus in about three weeks, and Sis. Ririe and I will be participating.  At first they crossed their wagons on small ferrys, which was hard to do because of the cold winter weather, there was so much ice in the river that a couple of the ferrys capsized over the several days.  Then it got even colder making it much more difficult for the ferrys.  But it turned out to be a great blessing in disguise because the river actually froze over, (which it hardly ever did)  and became so thick that it  made it possible to actually drive the wagons over.  The slow, tedious process of ferrying had wagons lined up all the way along  Parley St. and backed up clear up into town, waiting their turn. This frozen river allowed all the wagons that were ready to cross to do so immediately, which allowed about 500 to cross.  This winter became one of those unusual ones that was so cold ( the high for a couple of days was minus 2)  This froze the river all the way across.  Some said that even a snow mobile could easily cross it.   The picture below shows me venturing out on the ice. This is the same identical place that the Exodus took place at the west end of Parley St. where the ferry dock was in 1846. ( I wanted to go farther but "Mom wouldn't let me"-- and kept screaming at me to stop.-spoil sport!!)

 This picture below is a close-up that she took at the same time.  See how safe it looks?  I know I cudda gone a lot farther--doggon!

We will give more information about the Exodus reenactment in a few  weeks.