We drove through much of mid-Illinois and reveled again in the beauty of the fields and farms, the deep green of the soy beans and acre after acre of corn waiving in the wind. The weather has become hot and humid. When we stopped for gas and exited the Yukon, it was like stepping into an oven. The car AC was very welcome and I shudder to think of driving that long distance with open windows as the only cooling. We crossed the Mississippi into Iowa near Burlington and traveled south to Fort Madison, crossing back into Illinois and on to the lovely location of Nauvoo. We arrived early enough to have a good visit.
Our first stop was to locate Linda Peterson, serving a mission in this historic town. We found her in the Family Research Center and surprised her with our visit. She really had not been expecting us and when I sat down next to her, she at first thought it was one of the newly arrived missionaries. Then a smile broke out on her face and we were recognized.
She was very busy with her assignment and has been loving this experience. She has now been serving for 6 months and has another year to be there, including the prospect of a very bitter winter on the river. I think she will do very well and has been uplifted and blessed by this calling.
We made arrangements to meet her again after she completed her assigned shift and together we toured the peaceful and beautiful statue garden at the visitor center. These statues portray the love and impact of women on families and society. It has been lovely in the past and is the same today. The weather has been very dry for some recent weeks, but the Church still keeps it beautiful and green and the bees were buzzing about and the cicadas singing. We visited Linda's home and met her companion, Sister Brockbank. We had a great visit and we felt of her spiritual comittment and love for the work.
We have been in Nauvoo before and love the location but decided to spend our time at places that were special to us. Of course, the first place was the Heber C. Kimball home. The sisters serving there were delighted to meet a great, great, great grandson of Heber. Mom made sure that they were able to compare his picture with his descendent, complete with stance and hair.
We also visited the pasture where they keep the magnificent horses used for the historic rides and demonstrations. These wonderful animals are so well trained, that they will come when just called and they come in trained pairs. I thought of Lizzie when we saw them and loved to appreciate the beauty that God has created with his unending variety of creatures.
We enjoyed a lunch at the Nauvoo Mercantile store and then took the time to walk around the Nauvoo Temple, a structure that is built to look almost like the original. As you may recall, after the Saints were forced to leave this city on the river bend, a fire burned the Temple and then a tornado toppled the walls. I am convinced that the Lord did not want to leave standing, to be desecrated, an edifice with such a spiritual impact. When Catherine was serving here, it was only an open, grassy area, sunken in the center, as a remnant of the basement and foundation. Now it is a place of spiritual peace and beauty, a building that evokes memories and calls to mind the depth of the endowment ceremony and the eternal results of covenants and promises.
Outside of the temple and facing it, are statues of both the Prophet and his brother, Hyrum, astride horses and preparing to ride to Carthage, the last ride they would take. As they left, they looked back on the city created by the Saints through such hard work and loving effort, and I am sure that tears moistened their eyes as they bid farewell.
We also went to the end of Parley Street, the point of departure for so many of the Saints, in the dead of winter, facing a cold and frozen future in a wilderness. At one point, the Lord caused the wide river to freeze solid so many could cross, but for many others, it was a dangerous crossing and an uncertain fate. It is so hard for me to comprehend how much those dedicated members sacrificed for the Kingdom of God, literally giving all they had, in many cases their lives, for the testimony of the Restoration.
To cap the evening, we attended the Nauvoo Rendezvous performance at the old Cultural Hall. Unfortunately, this evening's cast did not include Linda, but we loved the show. It was lots of fun, even though it was performed by unprofessional actors. Especially touching were the portrayals of the impact of the Book of Mormon on so many lives. It was a full and rewarding day.
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