7/22/17 Carthage Jail and the Nauvoo Pageant

Our first stop this morning was Carthage Jail, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred.

There is a solemn Spirit here. Two men gave their lives affirming that what they lived and believed is true. Many saints in the coming months and years would do the same.

The Beautiful Nauvoo Temple, on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River.

A statue of Joseph Smith, Heavenly Father and Jesus during the First Vision.

We arrived just in time to get free tickets to a musical performance called "The Promise".

They allowed us to take pictures (provided no flash). The Young Performing Missionaries did a great job. They even kept Joseph and Peter in their seats the whole time.

We did the buffet dinner at a nearby inn. It was a little pricey but felt good after so much fast food.

Hear is the view from the side of the temple where they have a place for children to wait to be sealed to their parents. Heidi and I remember stopping here when she was pregnant with David over 13 years ago.

Statue of Joseph and Hyrum representing the last time they left Nauvoo.

Immediately prior to the Nauvoo Pageant they have many period games and activities. The kids loved racing with a handcart.

Joseph, TJ and Peter are three happy passengers.

Heidi and David race to get the bear to the top. David had a knack for this game.

TJ was asked to participate in a puppet show.

Here he is getting his applause.

They had stilts of various sizes to try.

Heidi and David (not shown) did pretty well.

I had fun too.

Rebecca and Sarah made little braided things for their hair. There were many other fun things we did as well.

The stage is set up so that the temple is in the background.

Through out the show they build sections of a stage version of the temple.

The play is based on journal accounting of actual people who were living at the time. The story of a young family who lost a daughter crossing the ocean was touching to me. The husband didn't believe at first but helped build the temple anyway. Gradually his faith grew and he gained faith that he would see his little girl again.

At the end they talk about how the temple was burned down but later was rebuilt. They have lights up at the temple that they turned on cue. I loved that, although there we much fewer effects than the Hill Cumorah, the story felt more relatable. It has been touching to see how much the saints were willing to give up to live what they knew was true.