Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Church History Trip - Day 5

Sunday, August 31, 2008 - We had church at 8:00 am in the Nauvoo Groves. I'd never had church outside of "church" before, and it was especially significant to have sacrament meeting in the grove of trees where Joseph Smith himself often preached when the Saints were there. It was the most pleasant, beautiful grove filled with a special spirit.


After church, by unspoken consent, our entire group walked up the hill from the groves to the Nauvoo Temple, where we took a huge group shot of everyone on the trip (which I still don't have access to).


After church, we went back to the hotel and checked out. From there our bus headed toward the Nauvoo Cemetery, located on a little hill surrounded by another beautiful grove.


At the entrance to the cemetery, there was a monument said, "On these walls are the names of some of those who died while living in Nauvoo between 1839 and 1846. There are others, we know not who or how many, as time has erased them from our records and our memories. Many of them had a story worth telling. We don't know all of their stories but we do know that they were loved and the Savior knows and loves each one." I was touched, especially when I found the following names: Mary E. Hales, Mary Isabella Hales, Elizabeth Thorndyke Hardy, Joseph Hardy, and Zachariah Hardy. I am curious to find these individuals and how they relate to my family history.


Along with many others, I found the headstone of Edward Partridge, the first bishop of the church and, as the Prophet referred to him, "a man without guile." I think the story of Bishop Partridge that I most remember is that when he was tarred and feathered in Independence, MO, he recalled later, "I was so filled with the spirit of God, that I had no hatred towards my persecutors, or any one else."


While Wilford Woodruff was serving his first mission to Great Britain in 1839 his first child, Sarah Emma, died July 17, 1840, being two years and three days old. Phoebe, his wife, wrote to him on the day following Sarah Emma's death: My dear Wilford, what will be your feelings, when I say that yesterday I was called to witness the departure of our little Sarah Emma from this world? Yes, she is gone. The relentless hand of death has snatched her from my embrace. But Ah! She was too lovely, too kind, too affectionate to live in this wicked world. When looking on her I have often thought how I should feel to part with her. I thought I could not live without her, especially in the absence of my companion. But she has gone. Phoebe continued: Yes, Wilford we have one little angel in heaven, and I think likely her spirit has visited you before this time.

I love both the story above as well as the sculpture below. The sculpture is of a young family looking down upon the grave of a young child. It overwhelms me to think of how common an occurrence this must have been. The trials these Saints bore appear so heavy to me, and yet I love the assurances I received from Phoebe Woodruff's letter; she knew that she would see her Sarah Emma again. I think I will always be humbled by the faith and conviction of these early Saints.


From the Nauvoo Cemetery, we drove back through Nauvoo to the head of the Trail of Hope. This sign explains the Trail of Hope the best: 1846 began the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo. Leaving behind their homes, beautiful city, family and friends who they quite possibly would never see again in this life. As they journeyed west, they recorded their feelings and experiences in personal journals. From these journals we get a sense of what it would have been like to have traveled with them. Some selected writings from these journals are reproduced on the signs along this trail to the river.

We walked from the trail head down to the end of Parley Street where the Saints crossed the Mississippi River and began their journey west.


Bathsheba Smith: "My last act in that precious spot was to tidy the rooms, sweep up the floor, and set the broom in its accustomed place behind the door. Then with emotions in my heard...I gently closed the door and faced an unknown future, faced it with faith in God and with no less assurance of the ultimate establishment of the Gospel in the West and of its true, enduring principles, than I had felt in those trying scenes in Missouri."

At the end of the trail was another monument, which included the names of Saints who it was believed died between Nauvoo and Winter Quarters, Iowa. The names included: Mary Ann Hales, Ann Parsons Lovell, and William Lovell. This statue (which was mentioned in Conference a few weeks ago is titled Eyes Westward. A replica of the statue now sits at This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City.


George Q. Cannon: "Those of us who can remember when we were compelled to abandon Nauvoo, when the winter was so inclement know how dark and gloomy the circumstances of the Saints were, with the mob surrounding our outer settlements and threatening to destroy us and how trying it was to the faith of the people of God. The word was to cross the Mississippi and launch out into an unknown wilderness - to go where, no one knew. Who knew anything of the terrors of the journey thither, or of the dangers that might have to be met and contended with? Who knew anything about the country to be traversed? Moving out with faith that was undisturbed by its unknown terrors. It was by faith that this was accomplished."

It was interesting to see the river that was called formidable; what I saw was a great expanse of water that appeared tranquil and humbling. But to understand what it meant to them is something else - a river partially frozen over with huge chunks of ice, knowing that they must traverse this perilous ice field with all of their precious possessions, including their young families...I think that faiths quavered, and then were steeled by the icy fathoms. It makes me think of the handcart companies that grew closer to God through their unfathomable trials.



Those who know me would not be surprised that I could not be that close to the Mississippi River without getting my feet wet. (I specifically remember my 2 minute visit to Walden Pond, where I ran down the path, barefoot, placed my feet in the water, had Crystal snap a picture, and then booked it back up the hill... I had a bit more time with the Mississippi. And someday I will give Walden a proper visit!)




I post this mostly because it is probably my favorite picture of Ferdner that exists (except for maybe his recent beheading...).


Our last stop before we left Nauvoo was the LDS Visitor's Center. Located just outside the entrance is one of the three remaining sun stones from the original Nauvoo Temple (one of the others is at the Community of Christ Visitor's Center Historic Nauvoo and is damaged/unrestored; the other is located in the Smithsonian's American History Museum).


I would love to say that I took a flight over Nauvoo, but that is a lie. These next two shot are of a huge 3D map in the Visitor's Center. It is what an aerial view of Nauvoo would have looked like in the 1840s.



Located outside and in conjunction with the LDS Nauvoo Visitor's Center is the Monument to Women memorial garden, dedicated to women of the past, present, and future. There are 13 life-size statues throughout the garden, starting with this one of Joseph and Emma Smith.




This was my favorite of all the statues, probably because it hit the closest to home. Fulfillment, sculpted by Dennis Smith, references Proverbs 31:28, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." This sculpture reminded me so much of both of my grandma's, with her quiet reverence and simple dedication, finding satisfaction in the delicate task of quilting... and I think, in part, I hope that my own children and grandchildren see me in a similar light.



As a garden, it was also full of plants and flowers... really a beautiful, peaceful place that I wish I had discovered much earlier. This is basically one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken...


We left the Visitor's Center and drove north, leaving Nauvoo behind. We traveled half-way across Iowa, to our next destination - the Afton, Iowa Methodist Church. The patrons of this church had prepared what I believe was the best meal we had on this trip. It was amazing! Tons of homemade dishes, from soup, salads, desserts - and TONS of fresh homemade pies! It was so good! A patron of this church owns a ranch right on top of what was once called Mount Pisgah, named after the mountain in the Bible from which Moses first saw the Promised Land. A small community was once where this ranch is now, and was a primary stop (along with Garden Grove) for the Mormon Trail between Nauvoo and Winter Quarters. The man who currently owns the land has set up a monument for the Mormon Trail and takes people on tours of the land in this tractor-pulled-trailer.


I have seen an awful lot of sunsets in my time, and these are pretty darn near the top.




The Mormon Trail went right over Mount Pisgah (which is really more of a bump than a mountain).


Over different parts of the bump, we would get out and using bent hangers as Witching Sticks. (Witching is also called Divining, Doodlebugging, and Dowsing.) Now, I grew up believing that using a witching stick to "divine" water was a load of hogwashed superstition. Imagine to my baffled (and slightly freaked) surprise - it works. It actually works! Here's how:

The earth is made how it is, with magnetic pulls arranged from the north to the south. If you disturb the top layer of earth at least 18 inches, the magnetic fields are disturbed. So, lets say that you take two wire hangers, straightened and then bent in a "gun" shape. Now go out into a field or farm or some place, take these two "gunned" wires and hold them, loosely, directly in front of you, kind of like how you would hold a pistol. The two wires will align themselves according to the magnetic fields in the earth's crust, probably right in front of you. Now, you slowly walk forward and all of a sudden the two wires swing around so that they're pointing in opposite directions, right at each other, basically crossing over your torso. That means you just found a break in the magnetic fields. Slowly continuing forward, at one point the wires will rearrange themselves pointing forward. Let's just say that this magnetic disturbance is about three inches wide, and about four feet away - going the same direction - you find another three-inch wide magnetic disturbance. Well, on Mount (Bump) Pisgah, this means you just found two wagon ruts heading west along the Mormon Trail. Don't believe it? Go try it. It's kind of a trip. We found graves, cabin walls, tons of wagon ruts... This is Brad and Mindy divining wagon ruts (Note: Obnoxious postures are not required.): 


So, lets say that you take your two "gun" wires and, instead of staying in a stationary position, they just keep swinging in and out, back and forth. That means you found water. So I was just standing there watching my wires freak out and our guide turned around and said, "Oh look. You found water." It was weird.


The coolest part about Mount Pisgah by far was that we didn't even realize our guide wasn't LDS until he told us he was part of the same Methodist Church that fed us dinner. He had such a testimony of what the Mormon pioneers did, it was incredible. You could tell that he loved the people and was overwhelmed by the remarkable feat they accomplished. He first got involved with the Mormon Trail during the sesquicentennial a few years ago, when hundreds of members re-conquered the Mormon Trail with wagons and handcarts. He met many of them and realized the history that his land held. He is currently working with the Church to receive funding and possibly put up a Visitor's Center.

After we left Mount Pisgah, we drove for several more hours to Council Bluffs, Iowa (originally called Kanesville by the Saints). My roommates and I got our room key and went to bed for the last time on our trip. For me, the night was uneventful... I fell to sleep so quickly. While our room went for the most part undisturbed, most of the rest of our group spent half the night looking for two girls who had gone missing upon our arrival at the hotel. It took the group the better part of 4 hours to find the girls, who had been told the wrong room, found the room open, and went in to go to sleep. A simple mistake, not everyone felt as refreshed as I did when I awoke the next morning.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing...again!

    Ann Parsons Lovell was you Great, Great, Great Grandmother. William Lovell was her son... So a Great, Great, Great Uncle (?).

    Your Great, Great, Great Grandfather (Josiah Guile Hardy) had a total of 4 wives, it is possible the Hardys were some of his children from one of the other wives.

    We would need to do some research to figure out the Hales connections. :)

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