The Exodus Re-enactment

During the Winter of 1845-1846, the people living in Nauvoo had to leave.  Their Prophet, Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum, had been killed a year and a half before.  The mob wanted all of the Mormons gone and were persecuting them relentlessly.  They had planned to wait till spring but things got so bad that they had to leave in February.  They hurriedly built wagons and assembled supplies and many of them left in February.  They lined up on Parley Street waiting to be ferried across the Mississippi River.  On February 19, 1846 there was a big snowstorm.  Then it got very cold.  The River froze over and some of the people were able to cross on the ice.  But many others were ferried across.  Every February in Nauvoo, we have a re-enactment of that Exodus.  It was held on Saturday, February 2, 2013. 

Mark was busy preparing for the Exodus Trek.  He helped ready wagons and helped get the horses used to pulling wooden wheeled wagons.  The day before the Trek, I was working at the Brigham Young home.  He drove the horses down to visit me.  It was very cold.

Preparing Chad & Champ for the Exodus Trek

For a couple of months prior to the Trek, Sister Nunn and I and the sisters who worked in Land and Records had been busily preparing tags for people to wear.  We wore ancestors' names around our necks.  We could wear up to 5 names.  People turned in their ancestors to us and we researched them to make sure they were in Nauvoo and that they did go west.  We typed them and laminated them and put yarn on them.  Some who didn't have ancestors walked for people they weren't related to.  There were 611 tags used on the day of the Exodus.  Some of them were blank and people filled in their own ancestors.  Most were typed.



Sister Nunn and I giving out tags.

We assembled at 7:00 a.m. at the Family Lving Center to give out tags to missionaries and others.


The people who we walked for--all Mark's mother's ancestors

Mark and I each walked for 5 ancestors.  They were all his.  I didn't have any ancestors in Nauvoo.  He walked for the blue tags and I walked for the pink ones.

There was a continental breakfast at the Family Living Center before we left.  Everything was free of course.

Breakfast foods for the folks

 

We had a short opening program and then headed outside. It was a cold day. With the wind chill factor it was about 0. In 1846 when the pioneers left, it was -12 without the wind chill factor.



The Christensens portraying Brigham and Mary Ann Young

Elder & Sister Christensen portrayed Brigham and Mary Ann Young.  Elder Christensen is ill and they left for home this week.  We were glad they could stay to participate in the Exodus Trek.

The wagons lined up at the Family Living Center.

There were 6 wagons and conveyances which followed all of us who walked.  There was a surrey with a fringe on top and then several wagons.  There was a carriage for those who were unable to walk.

Me, proudly holding the Scotland flag

Sister Heaton & me with our flags

Many of us carried flags as we walked.  I carried the Scotland flag.  I didn't get any pictures of us walking.  There were app. 200 people who walked from the Family Living Center down Parley Street to the River.  First was the Nauvoo Legion.  Then the flags.  Then the walkers and then the wagons.

Walking down Main Street
 

The Nauvoo Legion leading the way

The Walk down Parley Street

 

The wagons and surrey going down Parley Street

The wagons all turned into our lane when they got down by the River.

Brigham Young and Mary Ann in the surrey with the fringe on top.  Driven by Elders Nunn & Johnson.  Horses are Mike & Ned.

The wagons coming down Parley Street and turning onto our lane

Mark & Jordan with Chad & Champ

Mark on the wagon at left with Chad and Champ

Mark driving a wagon with Jordan and Chad and Champ

Mark's wagon with the temple in background

We stood down by the River and a list was read of our ancestors who died before getting to Utah.

The Christensens with their 3 little grandchildren

The Christensens' son, daughter-in-law, 3 granddaughters, and 1 grandson came to be with the Christensens.  They are pictured toward the left.  The little girls were so sweet.

The Nauvoo Legion raised the flag.  Taps was played by Elder Germer.

The Nauvoo Legion at the River

It was a wonderful day and we were thankful we could participate.  We all felt the spirit of the people who had to leave in 1846.  We are so thankful for their sacrifices so that we can have the Gospel today and live it as we want.

The day after the trek we had a fireside at which we told about an ancestor.  Mark told about Archibald Gardner and I told about Isabelle Burt.  She wasn't in Nauvoo, but the fireside included pioneers other than the Nauvoo ones.

Mark and I in the surrey with a fringe on top.  Horses are Mike and Ned

A couple of days after the Trek, before they put the surrey away, Mark came and gave me a ride--in front of the John Taylor home where I was working. 

Mark and I in the surrey with the fringe on top

The river has been partially frozen for the last while.  It looks like waves but often they are waves of ice.  There have been so many geese, ducks, and bald eagles.

Geese on the partially frozen river

The geese flying aboe the river.

Flying Geese

Mark was out on the ice getting up closer to the geese to take a photo.  He slipped and fell down--flat on his back.  That scared the geese and he was able to get this photo lying flat on his back.

Mark has taken some photos of the horses eating their hay in the morning.

Horses eating hay

Here are some bald eagles on the ice and water.

Eagles on the ice

The ducks/geese huddle together and it looks like a carpet of ducks out in the middle of the river.



A carpet of ducks on the river

The Seventies Hall

I'd like to tell you about the Seventies Hall.

The Seventies Hall with the Temple in the background at the left.

This is the Seventies Hall, built in the Federalist style that is so prevalent here in Nauvoo and of course with the Nauvoo red bricks.  Seventies are missionaries, the same as they were in the Church that Christ established as explained in the New Testament (Luke 10:1).  In old Nauvoo, the Seventies Quorums built this building as a place where they could learn and worship.  It was the first Missionary Training Center.  Notice the three stars just above the first story.  They are washers which are attached to rods which run through the building and strengthen it.  On some buildings they are S shapes and some buildings have stars. 

A closeup of the star-shaped washers

Edward Hunter donated his land for the building and men volunteered their time to build, make bricks, and raise money for materials.

As they were building, in 1844, a tornado blew down the unfinished west wall which you see here.  It smashed the flooring and the men were discouraged and almost ready to give up.  Brigham said it was a good omen; it showed that the Devil was mad and knew that they'd receive blessings in the Hall.  He told them to get to work and build it up again.  They made all the walls one brick thicker and by the first of May, 1844 the hall was closed in.  It was dedicated in December 1844 by Brigham Young.  Joseph Smith had been martyred by then.

The ground floor was to be used for classes, lectures, and worship services.  On the second floor there was a library, museum, and a doctor's office.  Shorthand classes were also taught here.  It was intended that missionaries would bring back artifacts from their missions to go into the museum. 

The architect for the building was William Weeks who was also the architect for the original Nauvoo Temple.  The building was constructed under the direction of John D. Lee, the secretary of the Seventies Quorums in Nauvoo. 

I worked at the Seventies Hall recently with my good friend, Sister Christensen

The word Priesthood is above the door at the Seventies Hall

The Seventies Hall was used for many purposes, among them dances, photography, political meetings, Nauvoo City Council meetings, family gatherings, etc.  When the Saints left Nauvoo it was sold to a merchant from Quincy, Illinois who wanted to use it for a Presbyterian congregation.  Later it was sold to a Catholic Bishop and then for a while, it was used as a school.  After the school moved to a new building on Main Street in 1904, the Seventies Hall was leveled to the ground.  The Church bought back the land in 1962, excavated the original foundations and rebuilt the present Seventies Hall as close to the original building as possible.



The east staircase with new carpet.  The sunshine was streaming in.

The carpeting for the two staircases is woven in the family living center.  They were laying new carpet the day we were there.



This is me at the podium on the main floor.  The middle section of benches are shown and the stove at the right.

 

A close-up of the stove in the corner

Upstairs in the library are books with alphabetical lists of the Seventies in Nauvoo.  You can find your ancestor and if he was a Seventy, you can sign a descendancy book, put your name, your ancestor's name and your relationship to him.  Some of our children signed the book, since some of Mark's ancestors were Seventies.

 

 

People can find their ancestor in these books.



Part of the library on the 2nd floor with the descendancy book at the right.

The library has bookcases with very old books on either side, but we don't touch them. 

 

There is a large room upstairs with artifacts they found when excavating Nauvoo.

 

Some artifacts found from Old Nauvoo

Some metal utensils found under buildings from Old Nauvoo





 

 

 

 

Some of these buttons were made from Mississippi clam shells.  There was a button factory in Montrose in the early days.  Montrose is across the river from Nauvoo.

The Seventies Hall is a great place to visit.  It is a beautiful historic building with a wonderful history.

 

 

 

We have had so many bald eagles here lately.  It is really the season for them.  What beautiful birds.

 

 



An eagle in flight over the river



 

 

 



An eagle on the Mississippi ice



 



Geese on the river



Some of our horses in Starr Valley this month

Mark has been worried about our horses in Starr Valley.  It has been very cold there for a long time and they have quite a bit of snow.  Recently Enoch took photos of them to set his dad's mind at rest.  Ann and Andy are among these horses.  We appreciated Enoch making us feel better.  We also appreciate Demar furnishing the pasture for them.




Sunset on the Mississippi

 



Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone.  We had a very nice Christmas here in Nauvoo.  We missed our family and friends but have many friends here and it is wonderful to be in the service of our Savior during the season of His birth. 

I wasn't planning to have a Christmas tree this year, but our dear friends the Calls had other ideas.  Sister Call gave us a tree all decorated for the season.  We were at their house and she got a roll of Saran Wrap, wrapped up the tree, and sent it home with us.  We enjoyed that tree so much and we're planning to bring it home as a sweet remembrance of our friends, the Calls.




Our Christmas Tree



Our good friends, President & Sister Call

We spent Christmas Eve at a party at the home of the Calls.  They are such dear friends.

We have had ice and geese and ducks on the Mississippi in great abundance.  The ice patterns change every day.  We have enjoyed watching the birds.

Geese on the Ice

The geese sit out on the ice till about 3:00 p.m.  Then they fly over the farmers' fields and eat and then come back about dark and stay on the river till the next afternoon.

The geese

It is really interesting to watch the geese.  They seem like they are having a big meeting.  They huddle together, sometimes in water and sometimes on ice.  Perhaps they are huddling for warmth or perhaps they are having a meeting.  Here is an example.




The geese in convention


 

The geese in flight

It is fun to hear and watch the geese as they fly.

The beautiful bald eagles are back.  What a great national bird they are.  So stately and elegant. 

A bald eagle in the tree right next to our house.

A bald eagle



A different bald eagle in the same tree



Sunset on the Mississippi Ice
 

It may seem that all of our Sunsets are the same but they are new photos.


On Christmas Day, Mark and Elder Nunn gave the missionaries a Christmas gift--their own carriage ride.  They gave three rides and they were very well attended.  Everyone enjoyed the beautiful, chilly day. 




Christmas Day Ride

The horses for the Christmas rides were Chad and Champ

Ready to go



Mark driving and Elder Nunn narrating

One of the sights we saw on the carriage ride was the Mississippi River from Inspiration Point.  The Prophet, Joseph Smith, used to ride his horse to Inspiration Point.  This is just above the upper landing.




Inspiration Point overlooking the Mississippi

 

On the Carriage Ride, we sang Christmas songs and heard wonderful stories of the people who lived here in the 1840's. 
Samuel Smith was the younger brother of the Prophet, Joseph Smith.  He was the first official missionary for the Church.  Just days after he was ordained an elder he was set apart as a missionary.  His first mission was only 3 or 4 days long.  He returned home thinking that it had been a complete failure.  But he had lent a Book of Mormon to a Methodist minister, John Green.  John's wife, Rhoda, read it and believed it.  She told her husband about it.  He read it and believed it.  Most of his congregation also joined the Church, including Rhoda's brothers and sisters.  One of her brothers was Brigham Young. A neighbor and good friend, Heber C. Kimball, also joined the Church.  From these people during their lifetime, literally thousands of people came into the church.



Elder Nunn driving and Mark narrating on a later ride

At one point on the carriage ride, you can see three spires, from the left, St. Peter & Paul's Catholic Church, the Nauvoo Temple, and our Stake Center where we attend church.  You can also see the other horses eating their morning hay.



The horses and the three spires from the carriage ride

We hope your 2013 is very happy.  We leave you with another Mississippi sunset.



Sunset on the Mississippi