The Great Mormon Road Trip

Perhaps you have noticed a long lapse in my blogging. That would be because I was on The Great Mormon Road Trip. That's right, Dave and I and his family made the pilgrimage to the Mormon Mecca of Nauvoo, Illinois and related Church History sites.


WINTER QUARTERS, NEBRASKA

The first stop on our road trip was the Winter Quarters Temple in Nebraska, including the Visitors Center there and the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery.








NAUVOO, ILLINOIS

The next leg of our journey brought us to Carthage Jail and from there we drove into Nauvoo. We came up the highway that follows the Mississippi River and suddenly before us stood the Nauvoo Temple. It was almost surreal seeing this beautiful building in person. Most of my life, we only saw the Nauvoo Temple in drawings and yet here it was, in all its magnificence and I was completely struck by its grandeur. We went through a session at the temple, saw the Nauvoo Pageant, spent a couple of hours at the Visitors Center, and watched the film "Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration" (which was a completely different experience from seeing the film in Salt Lake City). There was so much to see in the little city and we were so limited for time. I am anxious for the next opportunity I have to return there.








MISSOURI

On the final day of The Great Mormon Road Trip we traveled through Missouri and saw the beautiful lands of Adam-ondi-Ahman, the corner stones laid for the temple at Far West, Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith was incarcerated for 5 months, the Independence Visitors Center, and the designated Temple Lot. And while at the Visitors Center we couldn't help but notice the Community of Christ Temple across the street. It makes me very grateful for the beauty and dignity of our LDS houses of worship.







We had such a fun time on our Great Mormon Road Trip! I am so blessed by the Mormon Pioneers who struggled and suffered for their faith. How grateful I am for their diligence and perseverance and for the wonderful legacy they have left behind. May we ever remember and honor their legacy and their lives.