Illinois pt. 1

Amish boys driving a horse and buggy! too cute! they waved to us :)

And excuse the window pictures. 

This is on a bridge crossing the HUGE mississippi river!

Our next stop was Carthage Jail in Illinois

Joseph Smith was hated by people who thought that his beliefs and preaching were threatening to their way of life. on many occasions he was arrested on false charges by wicked men who only wanted to lock him away for a few days or weeks to crush his spirit and intimidate him. On one of these occasions, he and his brother Hyrum were taken to Carthage Jail and there they were killed by an angry mob that rushed the prison. 

I have so much respect for Hyrum. He stood by his brother always, regardless of the consequences. 

I love this song about the two of them:

ignore the weird pictures...this was the only version on youtube i could find!

This song is about Hyrum and Joseph, and I think it's amazing. The church is built on people like Hyrum. Quietly doing good. obedient and faithful. 

This is the Jail. 

Joseph, Hyrum and two of their friends were held here. They sang and prayed and wrote letters. They knew when they left their homes that they would be killed. 

In the end, the mob rushed in, the four men tried to hold the door. The mob shot through the door and hyrum was shot in the face and killed. Joseph fell to the floor with him in mourning. Then Joseph ran to the window, and tried to climb out but was shot by two bullets coming up from outside, and two bullets in the back from the doorway. 

He was killed. He fell to the courtyard.

Being in the jail, and in the room where Joseph was killed was moving. also a little fond. How do i make tat sound not weird? Being there wasn't sad. I didn't cry. No one did actually, It was more an uplifting time. We all knew what happened there but it was calm. no sadness at all, only hope. I think that's why we call it a martyrdom. Because he died for a cause, and his murder, while it was supposed to smother the church actually propelled it forward. The saints moved on. 

That's because although Joseph founded and lead the church through one of it's hardest times, and he did so much, he was just the beginning. So his death was and is the driving force behind the church. He was a Prophet of God. I can never thank him for all that he did.

When we got to Nauvoo, we took all of our things into the hotel

One of the professors, brother Black, brought his 11 year old son Joseph on the tour and whenever the bus stopped Joseph asked his dad to play catch. they always did, and it was adorable every time.

In old Nauvoo, There are senior missionaries (volunteer missionaries who are married and  over 50 years of age.) who put on a cute little play for us. It was about the older saints leaving Nauvoo. too cute, honestly. My mom and Dad need to serve here! they would LOVE it. My mom told me that it's their dream mission. 

after that little rendezvous we walked "the trail of hope". The trail out of Nauvoo toward the mississippi.

The mississippi smelled. I took some picture to prove i was in it! haha

The trail was touching, all along the way there were quotes from the people who had to walk it, leaving behind their city. I cannot believe that they had to leave. I don't know how they did it. But more on that in the next post, because i have a lot to say about it and this post has been long enough.