Nauvoo Illinois Temple
Blog Conclusion
This is the
final posting for our mission blog. Wow,
it has been such a grand experience.
Words cannot express our deepest feelings for what we experienced
serving in the Nauvoo Illinois Temple Mission and living in Nauvoo. As ours days drew us to the day of our
departure we naturally experienced a variety of feelings. We wish we could express them here, but alas,
these feelings are in a special treasure box of our hearts that cannot be
shared on a blog but as the spirit dictates we may in special sacred occasions.
What we can
express is our testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father’s
great plan of salvation and happiness.
We learn in
the scriptures of the significance of God’s chosen people to be a temple
building people. In section 124 of the
Doctrine and Covenants verses 31-44 we learn of what the Lord told the saints
in Nauvoo:
31)… I
command you, all ye my saints, to build a house unto me;”
40)… let this
house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my
people;
41)… For I deign to reveal unto my church
things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things
that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times.
42)… And I will show unto my servant Joseph
all things pertaining to this house, and the priesthood thereof, and the place
whereon it shall be built.
43)… And ye shall build it on the place where
you have contemplated building it, for that is the spot which I have chosen for
you to build it.
44)… If ye labor with all your might, I will
consecrate that spot that it shall be made holy.
We testify
that the “spot” is still there and is still “holy”.
We testify that the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith and is the most correct book of earth. It contains all the answers we need to live a truly happy life and warns us of the pitfalls and testifies along with the Old and New Testament, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price of the divinity of God the Father and His son Jesus Christ.
We testify
that all the prophets since Joseph Smith, including our present day prophet,
Thomas S. Monson are prophets, seers and revelators. We know that if we look to their counsel and
direction and follow it we cannot go wrong and the church cannot go wrong.
The temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the Lord’s universities here on earth and testify of God’s love for His children. In the temple we are taught, we make covenants, and we are promised blessings. We receive ordinances that enable us to live in the presence of God. We can be given personal revelation and we can feel peace and love in no other way. We can give the service necessary there for those who have passed on and can be done in no other way. We learn that we have a Heavenly Father who loves and cares about us and an elder brother who does the will of the father. We learn how to stand in holy places.
What the Lord
requires of His disciples is not easy in some sense, but in another it is,
because we are not left alone to do it ourselves, in fact, it is not possible
for us to do it alone. All that is
required is that we “come unto him”. We
can bear testimony that as we have “come unto him” we have been blessed with
what we have needed to do those things necessary to continue to keep ourselves
worthy to enter the sacred doors of the temple.
We are always only one choice away from “coming unto him”.
President
Gordon B. Hinckley taught: “It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation
for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to look upon the
virtues of those who have gone before, to gain strength for whatever lies
ahead. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored so hard and
gained so little in this world, but out of whose dreams and early plans, so
well nurtured, has come a great harvest of which we are the beneficiaries”
(“The Faith of the Pioneers,” Ensign, July 1984, 3).
President
Uchtdorf also comments on the value of history:
“I’m not
entirely sure of all the reasons why, but I do know this: history is important.
And keeping ourselves anchored to the lessons learned from history will enable
us to emulate the best of what it means to be human. It can also help us avoid
the worst.”
We testify
that there is a sacred peace and stillness in the historical sites of the
church and experiencing them or learning about them brings deeper meaning to
the words, sacrifice, miracles, reverence, willingly, restoration, devotion,
revelation, priesthood authority, faith and hope. These words kept streaming through our minds
as we went about our days in Nauvoo—such is the inspiration we can learn from
history.
Wilford
Woodruff said this—“I looked upon the temple and the city of Nauvoo as I
retired from it and felt to ask the Lord to preserve it as a monument of the
sacrifice of the saints.” We testify
this to be true.
We look
forward to the day when we can all be together in the eternities with those who
have gone before us. We know they are trying to help us too if we will let
them. We love you and wish you all the best in your endeavors. Cherish one another, take care of one
another, help one another and love one another.
Thank you for your support and love as we served this mission.
Details and
pictures of our last days in Nauvoo and our journey home are as follows and includes
a link to a photo album:
Our last days
in Nauvoo were met with heavy hearts because of the impending exodus but
sweetened by the beautiful fall colors, our last night at Rendevous in Old
Nauvoo, sharing of testimonies, a “Bootiful Halloween Walk” with intricately
carved pumpkins down Mulholland Street, cleaning and packing, the last days of
service in the Nauvoo Temple and a spiritual farewell at the Nauvoo Temple
Devotional with Elder L. Tom Perry, Elder Donald A. Rasband, Elder Craig C.
Christensen and our temple Presidency in the Assembly Room of the Nauvoo Temple
and with a loaded to the brim car we took our last ride around Nauvoo to have
our minds imprinted with the images of a beautiful sacred place that will
forever be part of our hearts.
Our trip home
began on October 27 heading the car north to the I-80 West. Traveling through Iowa we entered Shelby
County where we saw a sign that caught our eye that invited us to see a Danish
community and an authentic Danish Windmill, only 6 miles off the interstate in
Elkhorn, Iowa. It didn’t take long to
make the decision to stop with the Danish heritage of one of the
passengers. We were sure glad we
did. What a fun place. The Windmill actually works and was taken
down in Denmark and brought over to Elkhorn, Iowa and put together again. We went clear to the top. Very fun.
There is also a Danish Museum there, but our time was getting short to
make it to Winter’s Quarter’s so opted to move on. Here is the link to Windmill website which
gives all the information about it:
We got back
on the I-80 and headed to Winter’s Quarter’s and Lincoln, Nebraska. We got to Winter’s Quarter’s just before the
sun went down. What a sweet beautiful
temple and Visitor’s Center there. We
found it fitting to be able to go to Winter’s Quarter’s after our time in
Nauvoo. It only took us a day, but the
Saints 4 months. We are blessed beyond
measure! Once again the church has
outdone themselves with an awesome visitor’s center. The spirit was definitely in abundance. Another testament to our early Saints and
their dedication and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is a link to learn more about Winter’s
Quarters:
We stayed in
Lincoln, Nebraska at a Fairfield Inn and then we were off again on the I-80
towards Cheyenne, Wyoming to stay at the Little America there. For those of you who may not know our
fondness for the Little America hotels, let’s just say, it all began on our
honeymoon and has been a tradition ever since when we go to Salt Lake. Little did we know that we would see 3 Little
America’s in one day. We got up and left
the Little America in Cheyenne, had an ice cream cone at the Little America in
Little America, Wyoming, and checked into the Little America in Salt Lake City,
Utah that evening. Each is unique and
what a kick! Pictures in the photo
album.
Leaving Salt
Lake we headed for Sparks, Nevada near Reno, where we actually stayed at the
Fairfield in there. Then we were off to
Pleasanton, California for Cody’s baptism.
We arrived on Halloween night and then the next day was the baptism
which was, of course, filled with the spirit and lots of love.
Marilyn had
driven to Pleasanton for the baptism, and so when we left on Monday morning,
Nov 3, we car pooled back down to southern California together to La Habra
where Marilyn lives and then we were definitely on our last leg home to
Poway. We arrived home about 3 PM to
find the find all well!
The saying
goes, “you can leave Nauvoo, but Nauvoo will not leave you.” This is so true. We continue to feel the spirit of
Nauvoo. We truly felt like we lived in a
piece of heaven on earth just like we feel in our home, with our family and in
the temple.
Thanks again
for sharing this journey with us!
Link to photo
album:
Oct
18, 2014 Chuck’s Nauvoo Moment
Nauvoo in one sentence--
Jeff asked me
recently how I would describe Nauvoo in one sentence. I told him I would have
to think about that answer for a while. Here it is:
Nauvoo is a
beautiful, dedicated, good, happy, heart penetrating, holy, hopeful, lifting,
lovely, mind expanding, peaceful, pure, remembered, restored, reverent, sacred,
simple, sublime, striving, strong, valiant, willing, Zion centered place.
It is easier
to take the long view from here. The cares and crush of the world have all
pounded on this place and some were certain that the Mormons were gone for
good. They were short sighted and underestimated the power of the truth to
prevail.
