Mormon Life - Nauvoo tag

Open house for Nauvoo's new FamilySearch center

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:02:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

An open house for the new Nauvoo FamilySearch Center in the restored Raymond Clark store will be May 16-19 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Scenes from the Nauvoo pageant

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 05:03:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

Dean Hughes' top 10 sites to see in Nauvoo

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:40:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

Many tourists only schedule a day or two for their visit to Nauvoo. During that time they hope to see all the sites in Historic Nauvoo and still find time for the Nauvoo Temple and the Carthage Jail. My suggestion would be to stay four or five days — or longer — and drink in the peace and beauty of the place. Take time to enjoy all the “must-see” attractions, but also check out some places on my list of sites that most people miss.

Montrose, Iowa

Directly across the Mississippi River from Nauvoo is the little town of Montrose. At Fort Des Moines, identified by markers at the waterfront park, many Latter-day Saints, including Brigham Young, John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, established their first homes. They planned to build a settlement, “Zarahemla,” on that side of the river. The view of the Nauvoo Temple is spectacular from there. Just north of Montrose is the Mormon Trail Monument, commemorating the “miracle of the quails” and the start of the Mormon Trail. When pioneers made their exodus from Nauvoo, most stopped near Montrose to take one last look at the temple. It’s worth taking some time yourself to imagine the emotions of those early Saints.

Relief Society's founding in Nauvoo to be commemorated

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 10:36:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Amid the nation's good-natured appreciation of shamrocks and everything Irish on March 17th, 2011, the Temple and site missionary sisters of Nauvoo will quietly gather to remember the first meeting of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As in previous years, the upper room of the Red Brick store, the place where the Prophet, Joseph Smith, "… turn[ed] the key to [the women of the Church] in the name of God…" and promised that "…this Society [should] rejoice and knowledge and intelligence [should] flow down from this time...." (Minutes of the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, 17 Mar. 1842, p. 40.) will be the site of this year's remembrance.

The space was more than adequate for the eighteen women who attended the organizing meeting of the society 169 years ago but attendees at the 2011 celebration will have to participate in one of three sessions to accommodate their numbers. In a way, this situation is reflective of the growth that the Relief Society has experienced over the decades—from 18 members in 1842 to over 6 million today. More importantly, it reflects the expansion in the scope and scale of Christian service that the Society has undertaken to accomplish. What started as an extension of sewing clothes for builders of the Nauvoo Temple has become a source of education, inspiration, and quiet expression of the Savior's love for thousands of communities and millions of families around the world.

Nauvoo Pageant 2011 audition

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:21:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Professional-quality actors are being sought to fill 20 core cast roles in the summer 2011 Nauvoo Pageant. Ten men's roles, nine women's roles and one role for a young man are available. Adult ages are from 20s through 60s.

The rigorous nature of this outdoor summer pageant requires that core cast members be experienced, faithful LDS performers demonstrating a high degree of maturity, flexibility and willingness to work long hours. Once cast, candidates must also receive their bishops' recommendations.

Blessed Honored Pioneer

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:00:00 -0600

by S. Michael Wilcox
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: I undergo a traditional ritual every time I leave Nauvoo. It is a walk from the blacksmith shop down the "trail of tears" to the Mississippi River. I walk slowly, looking frequently behind me to the lovely city and the temple reigning above it and let the land speak. What fears and regrets, hopes and anticipations passed down the road to the river in wagon after wagon? A chorus of emotion still echoes through the dust and around the once abandoned buildings. There was no "Come, Come, Ye Saints" to cheer and strengthen in those early months. I have a journal account of the day by day progress across the plains written by an ancestor. Her entries tersely record what was on the minds of so many as they struggled across the plains towards that final descent into the Salt Lake Valley.

"June 23rd. A little child died with the measles this evening in the wagon next behind us."

"June 27th. Passed five fresh graves yesterday after crossing a creek."

"June 28th. Rained this morning. Cold and uncomfortable. Several quite unwell in our camp. Passed the fifteenth new made grave."

"July 3rd. A child died and was buried yesterday. Another this morning, making six persons out of our camp. We have passed 33 graves besides."

They passed the landmarks that are so familiar to us, but not to them, for the great Westward migrations of the 1800's were just beginning. The Platte, the Sweetwater, Independence Rock, Devil's Gate, South Pass, Big Mountain - the names continue on and on as long and tiring as the plodding march of oxen and the singing creak of the wheels. Still, the tiny mounds of soil or piles of rocks weighed in their minds more forcefully than mountain ranges or river fords.

My initial journeys, my first travels centered on Utah, the pioneer's pole star of Zion. And though I have since explored many exciting places around the globe, there is imbedded in my memory a peace and assurance that only Utah can give. I recall the excitement, I felt as a child when June came and we packed up the car for Utah. There was no air-conditioning so we hung a canvas water bag from the front of the car and left California in the night. I felt like a pioneer. We strained our eyes for St. George and the bright white of the temple stark against the red rocks. We were in Mormon Country, and it was filled with the courage of the past. The landscape changed from the flat deserts of Nevada to cedar covered hills, orchards, irrigated hay fields, fences, cattle, tiny islands of shade trees framed by the spine of the Wasatch Mountains. There was always a contest who could see the temple first, the tallest building in the city then. We turned off the highway and down a dirt road to my uncle's ranch and a summer of work in a pioneer paradise.

My uncle was bred from pioneer stock, as old as the West and I have never known a better man. He instilled in me a love for the "old times," before television, and air conditioning, before the freeways bypassed the fruit stands that marked every hamlet of Brigham Young's "Deseret." He taught me how to shoot a stream of milk into a kitten’s mouth, curl a grasshopper on a hook and lay it in the ripples above a deep hole where the "rainbows" waited, cut a calf out of the herd and hold him down for the branding, catch a horse in the open field with a willow halter, hitch a team to the rake and lay the hay into windrows, and square up a hay stack with that most useful of tools - a pitchfork. I learned the sweet ache of muscles that have worked hard all day in the summer sun, the fresh rinse of river water poured over head and back and arms, the quick, deep falling to sleep in the bunk house at sunset, and the chill, shivering feel of the air at four in the morning when it would all begin again.

My aunt ruled the kitchen, which was the center of the house, and the smells that filled that room - well, it makes me smile to think about it. I'd stand next to the wood burning stove in an aura of heat and breathe in. Fried chicken rolled in batter, hot buttered scones dripping with home-made current jam, oatmeal mush at five in the morning buried under a layer of maple syrup or molasses half an inch deep, apple pies steeped in cinnamon cooling on the front porch, warm bread cut two fingers thick, cornbread light and easy with honey, buckwheat hot cakes, venison from the canyon, trout from the river, eggs from the henhouse, buttered corn on the cob so hot it burned your fingers, bread pudding drowned in morning milk, dumplings moist from the boiler, mashed potatoes pooled with beef gravy. They knew how to eat in those days, and I pity the McDonald's and Pizza Hut generation.

If anything ever happened that wasn't basis for a warm memory, I have forgotten it. I can bring it all back and fill my imagination with a child's wonder. I remember the lantern's glow at twilight, the constant steady rush of the river accompanied by the crickets and cicadas, Saturday night baths in the galvanized tub on the porch, stained fingers from picking berries with only half going into the pail, hawks circling in the warm currents of the canyon, watermelon cooling in the river, rain from a sudden thunderstorm rattling on a tin roof with the booming thunder in the distance. We lived close to creation and were neighbors with the beavers and the badgers, the packrats and the mule deer, and the mountain lions. Lizards sunning in lazy silent, solitude on the hot rocks, the sound of chuckers clucking in the sagebrush, or the warning buzz of a rattlesnake, or the tiptoeing feet of mice in the attic are present with me now and always will be.

I know how to shave a cake, straightening out the edge so you can say with innocent honesty, "I never snuck a piece." I know how to turn the ringer on the phone the right number of times to reach every ranch in the valley; I also know how to gently pick up the ear piece and listen with forbidden, hold your breath, delight to the neighbor's gossip. I know the best time of the night to lie out under the sky and count shooting stars or watch a full moon’s pale light cast shadows down the canyon walls. I know the dark hiding places for "kick the can," how to walk the flume without falling, where to find arrowheads, how to strip the bark from a willow, notch it, and slide it back to make a whistle. I know the welcome fright of ghost stories and how to tell them too. All the simple, sweet, stately joys once felt, and seen, and known by the old timers were mine to experience.

And every 24th of July, in the front room that served as our meeting house because we were too isolated to travel all the way into town, my aunt would have us sing in robust enthusiasm,

They the builders of the nation . . . They unfurled the flag of truth, Pillar, guide, and inspiration To the hosts of waiting youth. Honor, praise, and veneration To the founders we revere! List our song of adoration Blessed honored pioneer.

(Adapted from Beautiful Zion by S. Michael Wilcox)

Nauvoo for Every Season

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0600

by Dean Hughes
source: MormonLife.com

Mormon Life says: Many people don't know the beauty and activity they're missing in Nauvoo's off-season. Read on to find the best ways to enjoy this historic town, not only during summer, but at any time of year. Chances are, you've already visited Nauvoo. And if you have, chances are even greater that you came in the summer. You were in town when the historic village was busy with tourists. You took in the pageant, or saw a production by BYU performers, or attended shows put on by the Young Performing Missionaries or senior missionaries. Pioneer Pastimes entertained your kids, and you rode a wagon pulled by horses or even oxen. You may have been with a group, and you did a three-hour trek with a handcart.

All that's great. And anyone who hasn't been in busy, exciting Nauvoo in the summer, really has missed out. But those of us assigned to year round missionary service feel a little sorry for those who haven't seen the "other" Nauvoo: the autumn or spring Nauvoo; or even Nauvoo in the middle of winter.

Nauvoo is a place that deserves several visits in a lifetime, and travelers really ought to think about making some of those trips in the "off season."

Beautiful Autumn and Blossoming Spring

The Mississippi River valley in October is an experience to remember. The autumn colors can be intense, and the clear air, the sunset on the river, the great flocks of migrating geese - it's all perfect for taking pictures. There's also a wonderful sense of peace and ease. If you've visited Nauvoo in summer and experienced the humid Illinois heat, you can imagine the pleasure of walking the old streets in gentle or even crisp temperatures, with all the trees in color.

In the fall, tourist lines disappear. It's easier to make your way through all the historic sites. The missionary tour guides can take time to answer questions or even chat a little - if that's what you would enjoy. Traffic on the highways is quiet and hotels are readily available.

There are some fun surprises that time of year, too. Nauvoo is well known for its "Halloween Walk." It's worth attending just to see Mulholland Street lined with ornately carved jack-o-lanterns, and to share the fun of a small-town celebration. Or what about coming earlier in the month for October conference weekend? Quiet walks, between sessions, make for a truly contemplative time. Many of the missionaries attend a taco dinner fund-raiser right after the Saturday afternoon session. It's a nice event, put on by the Catholic Church, and you'll have a chance to experience one of the interfaith bridges that have been built in Nauvoo.

Fall is a great time of year to stop in at the Land and Records Office, find out where an ancestor lived, and then go searching for the site. You can wander out to Ramus or to the Morley settlement, if that's where your family member lived, and enjoy a country drive when great combines are cutting corn and soybeans. You can search for relatives any time of year, of course, but the fact is, Nauvoo should be savored, not gulped, and fall is a time when it seems natural to take things a little more slowly and gently.

Spring is much the same, as the gold and green colors return to the trees, and the farmers begin to harrow and plant. It's a good time to cross the river and drive the loop through Fort Madison and Keokuk. You can stop at Montrose, where the Saints landed on the shore of the river after the exodus from Nauvoo. There's a spot near Montrose where many of the pioneers stopped on a bluff to take one last look back at their beloved temple. The temple has returned now, and it's just as majestic from the view across the Mississippi. You can stop your car at the same spot those pioneers stopped their wagons, get out in the pleasant spring air, hear the songbirds all around you, and experience what your third or fourth great grandparents must have felt. Chances are you didn't do that when you visited last time. You were in too much of a hurry. This time you can take the time to think about the past, probe your own feelings, and enrich your experience.

Off-season visits offer great opportunities to get to know local people. Folks in Nauvoo wave as you drive by in your car; they stop on the sidewalk to talk; they know how to take time for one another. In summer, with so many in town, that sort of thing is made difficult, but in April or November, the small-town life re-emerges. Your heart might actually slow its pace a beat or two if you find out that not everyone rushes from one thing to another all day long. You also might find it comforting to know that the people who inhabit Nauvoo - the town we love - are people we will also love once we take the chance to get to know them.

Early spring is when the ice breaks up on the Mississippi. Yes, the river does freeze most years, and when it finally cracks and flows, you'll see some of the drama of this great mile-wide river. In fact, a wonderful idea is a drive to the south, with stops in Mark Twain's Hannibal on the Missouri side and historic Quincy on the Illinois side, not to mention other old towns from Mormon history.

On Palm Sunday an interfaith choir sings an Easter Cantata. You'll find Latter-day Saints well represented among the Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Community of Christ members. That's nice to experience - this combining of faiths and voices.

Cold and Memorable

So fall and spring are great, but winter is very cold, with the wind coming off the river. Maybe you're hesitant about that. And yet, anyone who has lived in Nauvoo through a winter knows that to understand the full experience of the early Saints, a winter visit is part of the whole picture. In February the missionaries in Nauvoo commemorate the exodus. Latter-day Saints know the stories of that icy crossing, but to feel it deeply, there's no substitute for being there. Those who join the march only walk about a mile, but it's usually a frigid mile, and being part of the procession, perhaps dressed in pioneer clothes, is a heart-changing experience.

It's not all hardship in winter either. Christmas in Nauvoo is charming, with the historical sites decorated in red ribbons and greenery, with jingling bells on carriage-horse harnesses, and with the little town all fitted up for Christmas. It's a time for live nativities, story-telling in the sites, a mission choir performance, caroling on the temple steps on Christmas Eve, and a wonderful, old-fashioned atmosphere. Americans often complain about what Christmas "has become," but this is chance to be reminded of the simplicity we long for. It's a great time to bring children, out of school for Christmas break, and let them acquire a taste for "Christmas past."

And here's a bonus - something you probably haven't thought of: bald eagles in flight. The birds move downriver in winter to stay ahead of the ice. From December through February, into March, hundreds of eagles gather in the trees. They sweep down to fish when the water is open, or move below the dam at Keokuk, only a few miles from Nauvoo, when the ice is on the river. Other birds gather along the river this time of year, too, so if you're a birder - or you just love the majesty of the eagles - it's an added treat to see them. People travel from many miles to see the birds each year.

These off-season months also offer an excellent time to travel to Springfield to visit the Lincoln museum and library and other Lincoln sites when they are not so busy. Empty nesters can have a wonderful, relaxed time, and families can use long weekends or school breaks to get the most out of a trip.

Symbol for the Saints

Am I romanticizing all this? Cold is cold, after all, and Nauvoo's cold penetrates to the core. In fact, if you happen to visit when a freezing rainstorm has struck, you may not dare to leave your hotel room. And yet . . . some days, as we drive past the temple when it's lighted in the evening, or we glance out across the Mississippi at sundown, or we turn off Partridge Street onto Parley, we say out loud to each other, "We actually live in Nauvoo." It's a privilege for my wife, Kathleen, and I to be missionaries here because Nauvoo is a symbol to all Latter-day Saints. It's the place the Saints had to give up, but what we know is that in surviving those tough, early times, they were refined and strengthened.

They became who we are - or at least who we want to be.

When our church rebuilt the temple, our members said to the world, but especially to ourselves, We haven't forgotten our past. We can return to it, and we can discover in the "City of Joseph" who we were meant to be. And who we can be is represented partly in that ice-covered river and those cold winds off the water.

If winter tells us what the Saints suffered, autumn and spring tell us what they had to give up, and why their hearts were broken. With all that, the temple on the hill tells us what devotion means, both then and now. Nauvoo Hotels

It's great fun to visit Nauvoo in summer. Everyone should have that experience. But I recommend the full range of experiences that can only come with return visits at other times. Come see us. Missionaries often have to sit and wait for visitors during the off-season months, but they will welcome you with a full heart if you give them the chance. And you will return home with a heart just as full. What you'll also take home is an understanding you couldn't have gained any other way.