Remembering the Prophet... This was another amazing week. Logan and I had a few hours before we needed to go to work so, we went to a few homes here in Nauvoo. One of the homes was the home of Lucy Mack Smith. I wanted Logan to visit his grandmother's home and feel of the sweet spirit that exists there. The missionaries were so cute and so excited to have descendants in the home. They spent quite a bit of time with us. The yard was filled with beautiful flowers and I could just imagine Lucy sitting at the window waiting for her grandchildren to come visit. I loved it. The core cast for pageant arrived Saturday. The cast came to church on Sunday and Karen and I were guessing who each person played. We thought that this one man might play the Savior, but when we saw this other man walk in we KNEW he played the Savior. His eyes were the most tender, loving eyes I have ever seen. He held his daughter on his lap and gently moves a wisp of hair from her cheek. As he gazed into her eyes, smiled and then kissed her on the forehead, I wept. It was the perfect picture of what the Savior would do with each of us. It was the perfect tender mercy that day.
Sunday, June 27, was the 166 commemoration for the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum. We were privileged enough to attend two ceremonies that day. The first one was held at the Community of Christ church. It was a nice ceremony, but felt empty. There was no spirit there. All the site missionaries were there and many members of the church, but overall the atmosphere was just plain empty. When it was over we quickly ran home, ate a sandwich and started our drive to Carthage. We were some of the first people there. The program was to begin at 5:17 pm, the time of the actual martyrdom. We arrived at 3:00 pm. The crowds grew quickly. As more and more people arrived, it was hard not to picture all the mobs that were gathering those 165 years ago. It was quit surreal. President Peterson, Nauvoo Temple President, gave a beautiful speech. His remarks were some of the most tender and touching that I have ever heard. He spoke a lot about Hyrum. This was very moving for me and the boys. This is our grandfather. As President Peterson spoke I was moved to tears. Carthage has always been a place of grief and mourning for me. I have never enjoyed going there and when I have gone, I just try to get through the experience. This time it was different. I had a feeling of peace come throughout my entire body. I heard the words, "This is not a place of death, but a place where eternal salvation was gained." At that moment I was okay with Carthage. I knew that Joseph and Hyrum were not alone when they went through the horrific experience. I am sure our Savior was right there with His arms extended to carry them home. It was really sweet. My cousin Kim was there and it was awesome to have her wrap her arms around me when it was over. There standing at the place that both of us lost our grandfathers. I will cherish that day. I learned many new things and an grateful that Heavenly Father gave me so many tender mercies in one day.
When we were finished with the ceremonies, Karen, the boys and I all walked over to the Smith cemetery. We placed some beautiful flowers on the graves of Hyrum, Joseph and Emma. It was a beautiful, calm Sunday.
We enjoyed walking through the streets of Nauvoo. At one point the boys decided that they should carry their old mother. The problem with that was they really made me just hang from their shoulders and carry my own weight with my arms. I discovered that I would rather walk! At one point the boys found an old out house. They went to have a look and found that there was a moon carved out of the door. Logan said, "Look mom, it is just like Shrek's" I guess everything in Nauvoo does not pertain to church history. We all had a good laugh. The day ended with the perfect sunset on the Mississippi. It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful day.
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