NAUVOO AND CARTHAGE

April 2013

Nauvoo and Carthage Areas

Our Two sons, Todd and Brad,  and their families came out to visit us over their Spring Break.  We were really excited to see them and to give our Grandkids bug hugs!  They flew into Kansas City airport, which is just 30 minutes from Liberty Jail, where we were just getting off shift.  We then took off  for Nauvoo, which is about a 4 1/2 hour drive.  We ate dinner on the way, bought a few groceries once we were close by, and got to our Condo late and tired.





We stayed at the Nauvoo Villas in a two bedroom and a one bedroom that were attached with a common door between them.  The two bedroom had a nice kitchen and living room and the one bedroom had a kitchenette and living room.  We all ate in the larger unit, which accommodated all 10 of us very well.





Thursday morning we were up and at the Historic Nauvoo Visitor Center around 9:00am to start a fun, filled day.  We looked around, watched a 20 minute video in their nice theater room, and then off for a horse driven wagon ride around old Nauvoo.  They told us about the different homes, shops, etc. around the area that we could later visit after our wagon tour.

Brad and Shay(center back) have the two youngest children and 

Todd (far right) and Rachel (not in photo) have the three oldest ones.

We visited all the different shops we could visit in one day.  The Grandkids enjoyed all the demonstrations and helping with some of them.

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One of our favorite shop was the blacksmith.  The Elder shared with us some amazing personal stories, some scriptures, and his testimony as he was making a small horse shoe.  He then let us pick our own ring that they make there.  We could feel the spirit as he spoke and really enjoyed his message.

Joseph Smith home and grave site.

We continued to visit as many shops as we could before everyone was tired, hungery, and the shops were closing for the evening.  We then went back to our Condo and fixed a quick spaghetti dinner and returned back to see the evenings program.

Our friends from St. George, who are serving their mission in Nauvoo, Elder and Sister Openshaw, were the main "stars" of Rendezvous.  It was a fun and enjoyable musical play and it was great seeing and visiting with our friend.

Before the records building closed down, Todd went in to obtained some information about some of our ancestors that lived in that area.  That night we read the conversion story of Bob's Great, Great Grandfather Enoch Bartlett Tripp.


He went to Nauvoo after hearing land could be had for cheap from the fleeing "Mormons".  Upon his arrival, he found his cousin Windsor Lyon, who ran a drug store there, and his Aunt Patty Sessions.  Patty gave him the Book of Mormon which he read.  He kept his feelings of conversion to himself for a month or two until the day Windsor was to be baptized in a bathtub in the kitchen of his store.  Enoch Bartlett Tripp, not only ended up being baptized that day, but the next day attended the last endowment session of the Nauvoo temple before it closed for good.

There is more to the story, but as you can imagine, the next morning after reading this story we all raced back to the now preserved Lyon Drugstore to see that kitchen.  When the missionaries there heard we were related to the Lyon's and Sessions', they took us next door for a private tour of Patty Sessions' cabin which is not always opened to the public.  It was a really cool story we discovered while there and a neat connection to Joel Sessions' family (our Son-in-Law) from so many generations ago.  

We also found the lot where my Great, Great Grandparents, Israel and Elizabeth Barlow owned and had built a home.  Of course, it is no longer there.  There is a monument though, honoring Israel Barlow, that is a few block away, in the front, right side, of the Mercantile Co. Store.

On the monument, it is engraved to say, "Israel was the first Mormon to contact Dr. Isaac Galland in the purchase of property at Commerce, Illinois (later to become the city of Nauvoo) Nov.-Dec. 1838.

We love and honor our ancestors, who gave up so much so that we could have the gospel in our life.  I am with my Granddaughter Aleah, as we sit by her four-Great Grandparents.

The last thing we did before leaving Nauvoo, was to walk around the Temple.

Elder Godfrey is with his two oldest Grandsons, Bryton and Nathan Godfrey.  This is "the Prophet's Last Ride" before heading to Carthage Jail.

We also headed that same way on our way back to Missouri.  

Carthage was a sober but spiritual experience for us all.

I am so grateful for our Prophet Joseph Smith and for his faithful brother Hyrum and for the restoration of the Gospel, that was restored back to the earth so that we could have it in our life.  This was a wonderful trip to Nauvoo and Carthage that we enjoyed with our family.