Ockey Family Adventures: Illinois Day 5

We were so excited when we arrived at this house.

We needed laundry facilities spaced throughout the trip, so Mom used a vacation rental website to find us a little house to stay in. But this was no ordinary house. It was actually an old Methodist church, called the Old Stone Church just down from the temple in Nauvoo. It was built in the 1850's just after the Mormons left, and it was actually constructed of stones from the Nauvoo Temple. According to Joseph Smith III, Emma Smith attended this Methodist Church and played the organ right in this building. Now it is renovated into a beautiful place to stay, and it is really cool to think that Emma was here, and the stones are from the temple.

We were so excited that these were stones from the Nauvoo temple.

This is the inside of our "church home."

We were happy to be in a "house" and not a hotel, even though it was a on Old Stone Church. We woke up early and Dad and the boys went to the temple, while Mom and Seth got breakfast ready. Dad ran into his old t-ball coach, Brother Barton, who is serving a summer mission in the temple. We really enjoyed the temple, which Dad and the boys had never seen before.

The Nauvoo Temple is beautiful.

When the boys got home from the temple, Mom and Seth had pancakes ready to go. We ate quickly and went down the riverbank to historic Nauvoo. We spent the day going from house to house around Nauvoo. We tried to hit all the activity houses, the bootmaker, the drug store, the blacksmith, the tin smith, the print shop, the bakery, and the gun maker. Then we hit some of the mansions including those belonging to Lucy Mack Smith, Heber C Kimball, and John Taylor. Each house was manned by missionaries, sometimes young sisters, and sometimes senior couples. We really enjoyed the presentations, which included the story of the person who owned the property, and often, their testimony and contribution. The boys enjoyed walking around Nauvoo, and they were surprised to receive a handmade brick and a horse shoe cast just for them.

The boys loved all the pioneer games.

Seth said this was his favorite part of Nauvoo.

The history of the houses were so interesting.

The gunmaker shop was fun.

Walking through Nauvoo where Joseph Smith walked was super special.

We always liked visiting a printing press.

John Taylor's home was very nice.

The old homes were beautiful.

We spotted a cardinal!

Seth also liked the blacksmith shop.

It was really nice to return to our house for lunch. Then we headed down to Carthage. We wanted to see the jail where Joseph and Hyrum were killed. The drive was really pretty, and the boys were excited to see some wildlife. They were checking off the colors of birds as we saw an orange oriole, a scarlet cardinal, a powder blue jay, and a yellow warbler. Mark even spotted a raccoon in the field near Carthage. We arrived just in time for the tour, which was a really moving, spiritual experience. All of us felt the Spirit and were grateful for the early Saints. We took very few pictures because we weren't sure whether to smile or not in such a somber place.

Carthage was a spiritual spot.

The original door and bullet hole.

We didn't know what face to make in pictures.

Back at our house, Mom made pasta and about a hundred meatballs. The boys all ate really well, and it was nice to have something different than a sandwich or fast food. Then we drove down to see the Joseph Smith property. This area is owned by the Community of Christ, and right now all tours are shut down. We drove along and looked a the signs for the stores and houses that we are familiar with from Church History, but we couldn't see inside. We did walk through the cemetery and the boys saw the graves of Joseph, Hyrum, Emma, and most of the other Smiths.

We also stood by the Mississippi River.

Our final stop in Nauvoo was for a show. It was performed on the outdoor stage by missionaries who have auditioned specifically to perform here. There was dancing, singing, and the Nauvoo brass band played. Mom and Seth even danced on stage! We enjoyed the jokes, the music, and the tap. It was a really fun show. We had never imagined that a service mission to sing and dance was a possibility!

We ended our evening by the Nauvoo Temple and overlooking the Mississippi River at sunset.