Nauvoo Illinois Temple-Nauvoo, IL

Temples are sacred buildings where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) go to gain knowledge, make covenants and receive ordinances that enable us to return to live in the presence of God. Currently, there are 139 temples in operation throughout the world and another 29 temples in various stages of construction. (As of Oct. 6, 2012.) Temple interiors are quiet and truly exquisite. Likewise, temple grounds are pristine and places of reverence. Before temples are dedicated to the Lord there is an open house that allows the public to enter them and learn about the purposes of temples. Once a temple is dedicated then only worthy members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints may enter to worship and do temple work. Temple attendance blesses our lives and helps us feel closer to the Lord. (Here and here list all the temples of the world.)

We drove over to the Nauvoo Illinois Temple and walked along its grounds. It was neat getting out of the van and having the temple so close to us. 

The Nauvoo Illinois Temple takes my breath away!

Someone had a bad attitude and needed to take a time out. I had him step off temple grounds and face the fence until he calmed down. 

We took a bunch of photos in front of the temple. The kids indulged me, but would rather have just walked around temple grounds.

As I was taking photos we ran into a darling family we had taken a tour of Carthage Jail with. The mom was really kind and offered to take our photo. Glad we have one of all of us together.

The exterior of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple is stunning! Look at all the details. The use of the sun, moon and stars hold great symbolism.

Here is the entrance to the temple. The little ones really wanted to go inside, but I had to remind that they needed to wait until they were older. Love the words inscribed above or near the entrance of each temple.
"The House of the Lord. Holiness to the Lord."

I love the beauty of this temple! It drips with intricate details on every surface. The kids were done with pictures, but I snuck in just a few more.

While I took photos of the temple flowers the kids checked out this statue.

"The Prophet's Last Ride" is such a superb representation of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, his older brother, leaving their beloved families, friends and Nauvoo on June 24, 1844. They were tragically murdered there at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844.

Couldn't get enough of the bell tower!

Visiting the Nauvoo Illinois Temple was a memorable experience!

Red Brick Store, Smith Family Cemetery & Hotchkiss Street-Nauvoo, IL

Our next stop was Nauvoo, Illinois. It is a beautiful city next to the Mississippi River that was renamed "Nauvoo" by the Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in April 1840.

Knowing that we still needed to make it to Minnesota later that night we only had time to do a few things in Nauvoo. We checked out the site along the Mississippi River where the Mormon Exodus took place. It was quite humbling to know from February until September 1846 about 7,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints fled the religious intolerance they experienced in Illinois. They used barges like this to carry their wagons across the mighty Mississippi River. 

This statue depicting Joseph Smith and Brigham Young looking out over the Mississippi River and into the friendlier state of Iowa is located at the site where many of the Saints crossed the river.

The Mississippi River is really quite remarkable.

It was so cool being able to see the Nauvoo Temple is the distance.

Our next stop was the Red Brick Store where the Relief Society, one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world, was organized in the second-story meeting room on March 17, 1842. 

This is the original store display and a few artifacts that were used when Joseph and Emma Smith ran this store.

Then we went over to the Smith Family Cemetery to pay our respects. 

Something we really wanted to do was to find Hotchkiss St. before we left Nauvoo, IL. Hotchkiss Street was named after Horace Rowe Hotchkiss who was born April 15, 1799 in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1837 two Connecticut speculators, Horace Hotchkiss and John Gillet, bought land in what would become Nauvoo. In 1839 Joseph Smith purchased quite a bit of land along the Mississippi River which included 500 acres from the two speculators. Horace Rowe Hotchkiss is very distantly related to our family. He would be my husband's 2nd cousin 6x removed. They are both related to Samuel Hotchkiss who was born March 6, 1683 in New Haven, CT. Samuel is my husband's 7th Great Grandfather and Horace's Great Grandfather.

Here are letters exchanged between Joseph Smith and Horace Row Hotchkiss that pertain to the "Hotchkiss Land Purchase."