Carthage Jail to Nauvoo Illinois

This is a really hard place to visit. Several people, including Joseph and Hyrum Smith, died here when a mob broke into the jail in 1844. I've heard the story many times, how the Mormons were persecuted, not just because of their beliefs, but because they moved as a large group. When they moved into an area, they also brought an immediate change in the political and public landscape, because they were such a large group. They worked hard, and typically became successful fairly quickly, and that upset the balance of power for the county in which they lived. Whatever the reason, Joseph had been charged with some petty offense, and was taken to jail in Carthage, IL. I was there on Friday, and although the building had changed hands several times, the original structure was standing, a bullet hole is still in the original door, the bullet that killed Hyrum Smith as he pushed against the door to protect his brother from the mob. He was killed instantly, Joseph was killed shortly afterward, and fell out the upstairs window.

Please take a moment to look at the pictures above. The first pictures are of the Carthage jail, the last pictures are of the Nauvoo Temple. Joseph Smith had started the work on that temple, but it wasn't finished when he died. The LDS people worked hard to finish it before they left Nauvoo. It was only used a month or so before they were forced out of Illinois and started for Utah. After they left, the temple was burned by several men. Before it sold to another religious group, a tornado hit it and destroyed more of it, rendering the building unusable. Over the years locals used the large stones in building other structures in Nauvoo. The LDS church built another temple, completing it in 2001. We had the opportunity to visit the temple on Saturday, and it is so beautiful, inside and out. It is a very spiritual and peaceful place to be. The town has a lot of pioneer-oriented buildings and activities, I'm so glad we came! It literally sits on the Mississippi river, tomorrow we will get down by the river and I'll post some pictures of that soon.