Milk before Meat: Carthage Jail and Nauvoo Pageant

The first part of the day was spent traveling across the state of Illinois, but we arrived in Carthage by the afternoon. I have to admit I was pretty excited to see this stop, weird I know, because it is a place of death. However, it didn't feel like "the end" of life, of the church, of progress in general. There was a sweet spirit there and words like new beginning, hero's, sacrifice, and hope went through my mind. No, this was not a place with an ending, but of a hopeful beginning.

The pathway up to the visitors center and Carthage jail is lined with monuments with quotes and scripture on them. I loved reading them, but the next three pictures were my favorite quotes.

Brothers Joseph and Hyrum

The Standard of Truth was one of the first things I memorized when I went on my mission. I love the promises that Joseph Smith gives in it and it also gives me faith, hope, and confidence in the purposes of the church.

This is the first jail cell that Joseph and many other men with him stayed. For security purposes they moved them to another room.

The bullet hole in the bedroom door that killed Hyrum.

The bedroom were they stayed and were killed. Joseph fell out of the window pictured.

The Carthage Jail. I always thought the stars were special and maybe were significant in the deaths that took place there. The stars are for structural purposes and are also used in Nauvoo buildings.

Later that day we went to the Nauvoo Pageant. It was good and depicted a history of the city and the Saints coming together. To date my favorite pageant is still Hill Cumorah.

One of the opening scenes in the pageant. The girl on the left played Emma and was also in my singles ward. She is an amazing singer and actress who was also played Mary in Savior of the World.