March 16, 2015 - Monday

Today marks the completion of our first month in the Nauvoo Mission field.  It has been a huge growing experience for mom and me as we have adjusted our pace, blown out of our comfort zones and have tried to make some semblance of dancing, singing and acting.  It has been one exceptional month to say the least and many would agree as they read the blog and try to rationalize that this is the Lasher couple "that we thought we knew".  "We have never before seen them anywhere close to a stage"!

Well, there has been a tremendous amount of growth in the talent field as well as the history field of the pioneer Latter-day Saints.  We walked the city this morning and discovered some new signs and markers teaching us about life in the city of Nauvoo in 1845 and 1846.  Here are some pictures;

The "Battle of Nauvoo" came in the summer of 1846.  The 'brave' mobsters who painted their faces and murdered the Prophet and his brother Hyrum went to seek out any sick or poor of the Latter-day Saints and either killed them or made them leave at gunpoint from their homes.  It was just 70 years prior to this "extermination"  that the Declaration of Independence was signed with the purpose of guaranteeing religious freedom.  The Saints suffered so much for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to not only survive, but ultimately thrive as a people and as a Church throughout the world.  What a great debt we owe these Pioneers and it is sobering to study them and discover what they did for us.

It has been quite an education for one such as I!  I can never forget what they were able to accomplish as a Zion people.  They could have easily retaliated since they had a militia of 12,000 strong that exceeded that of the State of Illinois or the State of Missouri militia, but they chose peace over violence.  Pretty impressive.

Mom served at the Scovil Bakery this afternoon.  She and her sister companion had over 100 visitors at the bakery and the temperature here in Nauvoo reached 80+ degrees.  Here she is;

A true pioneer lady baker!  Pumpkin pie anyone?

The building in the background is the Cultural Hall.  That is where this pioneer baker and her Blacksmith companion will be performing tomorrow night!

And I got to work in the Seventies Hall the first part of my shift today.  The Seventies Hall was sold to the Presbyterian Church in 1848, and was used as a church building until they sold to the Catholic Church to be used as a school.  Then in 1905 the building was leveled and I would assume that someone took the bricks to be used elsewhere.  In the 1960's the Nauvoo Restoration began and the foundation was located based on the plat maps in the Land and Records Office.  The restored building was then rebuilt on the original foundation and it the process of excavating the property, here are some pictures of things that were found;

Here is a chip of an original temple star stone, as well as other parts of the temple structure. There is a picture on top of this case of the original Nauvoo Temple that points out where that stone may have been in the building.

Here are some original smoke chimney's from the wood burning metal stoves that helped to heat the Seventies Hall during the training meetings for the Seventies.  Of course, the Seventies Hall was the first MTC!

Lot's of different tools used in building the building, or managing the livestock.  There is a hinge, different locks, assorted small tools, some door parts, and the 'H" shaped object was probably a boot scraper for cleaning off your boots before entering the hall.

Here is a cooking pot and some eating utencils.  Also take a look at the glass jars and bottles.  There is even an old ax head in this case.

Here are some tableware serving dishes and a serving pitcher.  These pieces were expertly put back together by some master artisans who worked on the restoration.  With a glazing coat added to these tableware pieces, you could not tell they were broken.  This work is  an example of how repentance works.  A broken person puts back in order his or her life through the help of family members, church leaders and a loving Heavenly Father.  That person becomes like "new" because of the Atonement.

 A few more tools and hinges and keys, and scissors.  Even belt buckles and door knobs!

An elegant table kerosene lamp

More bottles, plates and pitchers

The people of Nauvoo each had talents that they could lend to friends and neighbors.  Some very talented brick makes, blacksmiths, quilt makers, bakers, teachers, pottery makers, barrel makers, rope makers, farmers, entertainers, teamsters all trying to be happy in building a Zion society.  They had their personal struggles and challenges but the final observance was that they were dedicated to building Zion, not building a city.  Cities come and go, some are successful and then suffer failure.  But those who develop their faith and trust in a higher source ultimately obtain eternal happiness.

Dr.Jesse C. Braley's Office - Upstairs in Seventies Hall

Seventies Hall Staircase

Here is a picture of one of the easier staircases to navigate in Nauvoo.  Most are very steep with very narrow steps.  The three leading causes of death in Nauvoo were dresses catching fire, childbirth and falling down stairs.

1846 page of local newspaper Warsaw Signal

Seventies Hall Library

The Seventies Hall really was the first MTC.  The Seventies would come to be trained and be sent out two-by-two to preach the Gospel.  Samuel H. Smith was the first missionary in the Church.  At the time of the building of the Seventies Hall, Joseph Young, older brother to Brigham Young was the senior president of the Seventy.  There were about 35 Seventies Quorums in 1846.

Here in the Blacksmith shop is the fine art of creating Prairie Diamonds!  You know the story from previous posts, but I wanted to show the process that we make them.  For the anticipated crowd this summer, we have make just under 50,000.  We need 60,000 by the end of May.

This process begins by putting the horseshoe nail in the clamping machine, and then bending the nail using the rotating arm of the clamping machine to span a 270 degree arc. 

This is a very rare photo of the making of a Prairie Diamond

The action shot of an old time Prairie Diamond Maker.

The Webb Brothers

Our little house on Hotchkiss and Partridge

A teamster ready to roll!

Look at those Springtime buds coming out!

You can see we are busy from sunrise to sunset.  We sure hope to see you here in Nauvoo and will look forward to a warm reunion!  We love you!  Thank you for checking in today!