I love Nauvoo!

I had never been to Nauvoo until I moved to Illinois. Since our move out to Champaign, I have been to Nauvoo twice a year. Each time is usually only a day or maybe a day and a half. There are still many things in Nauvoo that I still haven't seen. I figure by doing something new every time, eventually I will have seen it all. Growing up I always had big hopes and dreams of going to Nauvoo and feeling the special spirit that is there. When I first went, I wasn't disappointed. Since then, I have come to enjoy Nauvoo even more and feel grateful that I have the opportunity to visit so often even if it is a day trip. Last Friday (the 27th) Bruce and I drove to Nauvoo, saw some of the sites and camped over night at the Nauvoo State Park. If you've never been there, I do recommend their campground. It is right across the street from historic Nauvoo and is extremely clean and quiet at night. They also have showers there for those "modernized" campers. It is nice to have a clean fresh shower before entering the temple!

While we were there, we met an elder missionary by the name of Elder Ward from Malad. My G-ma grew up in Malad and some of her sisters still live there. We recently had a new Elder transferred to our ward who was also from Malad. When we had Elder Price over for dinner, he looked awfully familiar to me. It didn't connect in my brain that he was from Malad and had the last name of Price until after he left. My G-ma has a sister in Malad with the last name of Price (my great aunt). I had the suspicion that he was Phillis' grandson, but didn't actually make the connection until our stay in Nauvoo. We asked Elder Ward if he knew Elder Price. He went on to inform us that he was Shayne's wrestling coach in high school. We asked him if he knew Phillis, and he made the connection clear that Phillis was indeed Elder Price's grandmother. Elder Ward felt proud of my heritage in good old Samaria (Malad) Idaho, and mentioned that I came from a good family. Imagine Elder Price's surprise when Bruce relayed the familial tie we shared. To make matters even more funny my G-ma mentioned that she knew Elder Ward when she was in high school. This is one of the reasons why I love Nauvoo. Not only is there a spirit of reverence and deep respect there from the sacrifices made by the pioneers, but you can almost always meet someone you've met before from previous wards, or meet someone who knows the same people you do. A place like Nauvoo goes to show you how small the world really is especially inside the church. It proves that the Church is really true, you can feel that spirit in Nauvoo, and all of us are Children of God and members of the body of Christ.

I really look up to and admire those pioneers who gave their life for the truth. It makes me truly grateful for my modern conveniences as you learn about how they lived as poor members of the church in the middle 1800's. It makes me appreciate the sacrifices they made starting and raising families from wagon trains with little or no provisions. Yet, these physical sacrifices are a manifestation of their spiritual desire to follow the teachings of the Gospel.
We had the neat opportunity to visit Carthage Jail on the same day as the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith 144 years before. They both died for the cause of truth, and their legacy still lives on through this day. Christ stands at the head of this church so it doesn't fail with the death of a man, yet Christ allows us, his members, to lead, guide, and direct this church by proclaiming it to the world and trusting young men with his sacred priesthood power. What an honor it is to belong to his body of Christ, to be numbered among the few who know without a shadow of a doubt the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether you have pioneer ancestors or not, you can take great pride in knowing the humble sacrifices made by those who want to carry on their righteous traditions. A person can learn a lot from those early Saints, and there lies in the Spirit of Nauvoo. I love Nauvoo for the spirit present and what I feel. I know that any sacrifice I make is completely worth it and the Lord will bless me in time.