Price Institute: Nauvoo Journey

This archived article was written by: Jaimie Scoville

On May 12 around 10:30 p.m., the Price Institute of Religion took about 215 people at $150/person in the stake and $300/person not in the stake in 11 15-person vans, 1 truck with a trailer, and the CEU athletic teams’ bus, on a road trip to Nauvoo, Illinois and back.
The purpose of such a trip was to learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint’s history. They visited many historic church sites, such as Independence, Missouri, where a temple will eventually be built though the church doesn’t currently have possession of that land.
They also stopped at several other places in LDS history, such as Liberty Jail in Liberty, Missouri where Joseph Smith was held in captivity for false charges; Adam-Ondi-Ahman- where saints believe that Zion will be established after the second coming; the site of Haun’s Mill, where little remains except some trees and grass, but it is still significant because many men were martyred there for their LDS beliefs.
They visited Tower Hill, where Joseph Smith preached on what is now known as “Preacher’s Rock.” Far West, where the saints fled to escape severe persecution in Kirtland, Ohio. Winter Quarters, now Florence, Nebraska, where many saints stayed on their trek west. Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith was martyred, along with his brother Hyrum- shot in the face while barricading the door trying to protect Joseph.
To show how much effort he was exerting- the bullet hole was next to the door handle, right where Hyrum’s face was when he was shot.
Seemingly the most important place they visited was Nauvoo. They stayed at the Nauvoo Family Inn and Suites, which is probably the closest hotel to historic Nauvoo. In the upper-level rooms in the new building, there are four bunk bed sets, so some had eight females in a room. The lower-level rooms were the same as any other hotel.
Nauvoo is a small one-mile by one-mile town that was settled by the saints in 1839. They settled there for only a few years and in that time they built a temple, many brick homes, shops, etc. They were doing better than many of those who were living outside of Nauvoo and had been settled longer.
There were a few activities available for the visitors in Nauvoo, such as a musical production put on by the LDS performing missionaries, called “Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo”, which is a musical/comical take on how things went back then, with reference to certain significant events.
There was also a 45-minute wagon ride tour that took some around historic Nauvoo and told them about each significant building and area.
While in Nauvoo, Joseph Smith and the saints accomplished many things, and it seems that just when they finished, they were forced out by an order by Governor Boggs stating that any saint seen in Illinois after a certain date was to be killed.
So many left their new brick homes, all left their newly built temple, and started on what many called the “Trail of Tears,” which has now been given the new name the “Trail of Hope.”