NAUVOO

I had the amazing opportunity to go on a Nauvoo trip with our stake youth for youth conference this past week.  Our first stop was the Liberty Jail.  There was a calm, sacred feeling in the jail while we were listening to our guide.  I shared with our guide an experience my mother-in-law had while serving a mission in Indepence.  She was dusting the manequins' suits off when she noticed a tiny button on one of the vests just barely hanging on by a thread.  She was afraid that the button would be lost if she didn't do something about it.  After sewing the button back on, she looked up at Alexander McRae's (he was 6'6") face and she said she could have sworn that he smiled at her.  After sharing that, our guide said that he doesn't doubt that happened for there has been lots of things happen there.   

The next day we went to the Community of Christ Church formerly known as the RLDS church.  This is their temple that we did get to visit and tour.  Our guide was super nice and her best friend is LDS.  Someone asked her if she's read our Book of Mormon and she hadn't but has read their own B of M.  They also use the Doctrine & Covenants.  An interesting thing I found out is that their new prophet/president is NOT a descendant of Joseph Smith which was the first reason to my knowledge that they broke away from the LDS after Joseph died because Emma thought that the next prophet of The Church should be a descendant.  Well, the last prophet who stepped down(who was a past great grandson of Joseph) named his predecessor as someone not related because all the descendants weren't worthy of the position....interesting...

This is their sanctuary which houses this huge organ.  Only a portion of the pipes are showing and anyone can come play it.  They have sacrament only once a month and they are not separated into wards.  Women do have the Priesthood and 19 year old young men do not go on missions. They do have service missions which only 10 or so are chosen a year to go.  

This is looking up through the steeple in the middle of the sanctuary.  It's suppose to resemble a shell to (I can't quite think of the right words) include the everyone throughout the world and reaching towards the sky to everyone.  Something like that.  It actually looks pretty cool and from where our guide was standing in the previous picture, she said it is as tall as the Statue of Liberty (only her, not the base).

Across the street from the former RLDS church is our LDS visitor center.  Words cannot describe the feeling I got once I entered there and saw all the pictures of Christ.  They had some of the Reflections of Christ pictures there.  I wasn't the only one feeling the Spirit because we had lots of kids commenting and crying because of what they were feeling.  It was really cool.

We then went to Far West.  Our stake president, President Kimball and our Bishop Hill, spoke the the youth about Far West.  It is a beautiful, peaceful place.

You probably can't read this but I thought I'd put it up anyway.  

Next stop was Adam-Ondi-Ahman.  I felt a little rushed here and it seemed like some of the kids were just not doing as they were asked.  I'd like to visit here again so I can feel differently.  This is me and my friend Rocio Gonzales who is in our YW Stake presidency.  She was also my roommate.  From here we headed out to Nauvoo.  I'm not sure how far we had to travel from Missouri to Illinois because I slept most of the way.  I just couldn't keep my eyes open.  I'll start a new post with Nauvoo pictures another day.