April 15, 2016 - Friday in Nauvoo

We have arrived at the "picture perfect" days of Spring!  The morning air is still crisp and clean and the morning temperatures were in the mid 40's.  Those temperatures rose fairly quickly in our one hour walk to the mid 50's by the time we returned back home.  I sure enjoy our morning walks around Nauvoo and down and around the Mississippi River.  And the best part is that there are no bugs yet!

It was a quiet day here in Nauvoo.  After our morning devotional and prayers, we prepared ourselves for our assignments.  Mom had the split shift at the Print Shop and I was the early shift at the Blacksmith Shop.  We continue to be amazed at what the Saints had to endure here in Nauvoo in the 1840's  While they had some reprieve from the persecutions, and the mob violence they incurred in Missouri, they had to make hard decisions to follow the Prophet to the Rocky Mountains.  

Preparations for their exodus from Nauvoo began the only migration in which an entire community of over 10,000 Saints moved themselves.  They had to move their industries, institutions, religion, schools and political and cultural concepts to the far west.  

What is interesting and a tribute to their faith, is that they left behind their beautiful city of Nauvoo, with the freshly completed Temple, to find their new home in the Rocky Mountains.  It is said that they left "willingly" because they "had" to.  If they did not leave, they would be harassed, abused and in many cases murdered.  But, instead of fighting back and suffering the losses that a civil war would bring, they followed the Prophet.  It took more courage to leave that it did to stay and fight....

The temperatures on that first day of their departure from Nauvoo on February 4, 1846, was a minus 14 degrees.  They would not be in the Rocky Mountains for another 17 months, first arriving on July 24, 1847.  Many died on the way to "Zion".  But what a foundation and history they left for each of us!

As I was thinking about Elder Paul V. Johnson's talk in conference, I couldn't help but think about how my fathers death in 1953, led me to find the Gospel in 1971.  You see, I thought that since my dad died so young, that I was just one of the less fortunate ones to not have a dad.  Growing up without my dad's counsel and advise was something I felt was just my lot in life.  

But when the reality of the Atonement and the Resurrection and the Temple Sealing ordinances where introduced to me back then, it was like a breath of fresh air, even a new hope that this was possible to be together again!  Here is a summary of his talk from the Church website;

Elder Paul V. Johnson
Of the Seventy

The Resurrection is brought to pass by the Atonement of Jesus Christ and is pivotal to the great plan of salvation. …

After resurrection, the spirit will never again be separated from the body because the Savior’s Resurrection brought total victory over death. In order to obtain our eternal destiny, we need to have this immortal soul—a spirit and body—united forever. With spirit and immortal body inseparably connected, we can receive a fulness of joy. … There is no salvation without both our spirit and our body. …

The reality of the Resurrection of the Savior overwhelms our heartbreak with hope because with it comes the assurance that all of the other promises of the gospel are just as real—promises that are no less miraculous than the Resurrection. … We know that He can make us whole no matter what is broken in us. …

… For all who have laid a child in a grave or wept over the casket of a spouse or grieved over the death of a parent or someone they loved, the Resurrection is a source of great hope. What a powerful experience it will be to see them again—not just as spirits but with resurrected bodies. …

I testify of the reality of the Resurrection. Jesus Christ lives, and because of Him, we will all live again.

Actually, I am pretty excited to have this reunion with my mom and dad when the time comes!  Won't that be a sweet experience?  And I hope and pray that my dad and my Heavenly Father will be happy with what I was able to do and accomplish in my lifetime.   I must say that it hasn't always been easy, but as I look back on the lessons learned and embraced over the years, it certainly has been worth it.

Thank you for checking in with us tonight!  We love you and appreciate your support and prayers!