Mississippi Rain (Days 6/7)

Happenings: We drove from Alton, IL – 20 miles north of St. Louis. It was a wonderful drive through many wonderful small Illinois towns and a lot of farm country. We arrived in Carthage and took the tour there. It was wonderful, as always. The thing that really struck me was the movie that they showed at first. It made me think of the prophet as a regular man but a deeply committed person to want to tell all about the gospel. I really loved that movie. I really enjoyed hearing the sisters tell the story of the martyrdom. I thought, are obsessed with bloody, gross stories by retelling the martyrdom? I decided no, because we need to remember what others have gone through to give us what we have. I am so grateful for the prophet and his life. I am grateful for the commitment of him and of his family. I know that he could not have accomplished as much if he didn’t have that family support. What a wonderful opportunity to go there and remember the great sacrifices that were made there. How my testimony of the prophet is increased whenever I go there.

We drove up the river into Nauvoo where we had to stop at the state park first to eat a lunch of cheese and crackers. Then on to the visitors center where we saw the movie Remembering Nauvoo…very good. Then we visited the brickyard and some of the homes. Ty and I walked the trail of Hope. What a powerful experience that is to read and think about those who sacrificed so much for the gospel. How grateful I am for them. How I pray that I can be as faithful as they are. The sister at the tinsmith gave a great illustration that I will use in a talk someday. She showed a piece of tin and said by itself it is not very strong, but put some bends and curves in its, as in a can, and that piece of tin becomes really strong. People are the same way, through our trials and troubles, we can become really strong.

This morning – Monday, we woke up to rain. The boys slept in while I went and did a session in the temple. What a wonderful spirit was there…what a beautiful place. I came back at 10:30 and woke them up. We headed to the blacksmith, variety store, Brigham Young home, Family living center, and lots of others. The boys stayed at the pioneer pastimes while I toured 3 more homes. We both had a great time. The rain had stopped around noon.

Tonight we went to the pageant. It was nice until about 30 minutes before it was to start. We all gathered under tents and watched it rain. We went to our seats; the cast went through the finale. Then we all went to our cars to wait out the 30 minute of storm. Well, an hour later it is still raining and lightening. I am really disappointed because this may be the only opportunity I have to see this pageant. I guess I will have to plan another trip to Nauvoo during pageant time and try and be here for 2-3 nights so that we can actually see one of them.