Memorial Service This summer my family and I participated in a memorial service at Smith Family Cemetery in Historic Nauvoo for the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith (June 27, 1844).1 The service included prayer, music, scriptures, and quotes all crafted into a dramatic retelling of that fateful June-day when […]
Battles with Grief: Then and Now Read More »
192 years ago the Church was organized with six members. Now, Church membership soars above 16 million across the globe.1 I love the description of this momentous day found in “Saints.” The day began with the meeting formally organizing the Church, which included the administration of the sacrament and the Prophet Joseph Smith receiving a
‘His Joy Was Full’: 192 Years of the Restored Church Read More »
180 years ago today a group of twenty women gathered with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the upper room of the Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois.1 Three of them would later become Presidents of the Relief Society.2 “I now turn the key to you in the name of God,” the Prophet said.3 “We are
Extraordinary Women in the Temple Read More »
Last weekend my family participated in what’s called the Nauvoo Exodus Commemoration. Hundreds of people met on this freezing Saturday morning to remember something remarkable—beginning in February 1846 thousands of Latter-day Saints began their journey west in search of religious freedom. At the event we all wore name tags honoring our ancestors whose footsteps led
Fifteen-year-old Eliza stood at the well near her home in Nauvoo. As she drew water, a canon ball struck her chimney.1 She was living in a battlefield. The Battle of Nauvoo lasted less than a week. Helplessly outnumbered, the remaining Saints, including Eliza and her family, fled to the banks of the Mississippi. Circumstances were
Battles of the Heart Read More »
This week I learned about an early Latter-day Saint named Theodore Turley. It turns out we are distantly related! In his autobiography he wrote, “I came to Nauvoo with Joseph Smith the Prophet and built the first house that was built by a Mormon in Nauvoo.”1 I was intrigued by the phrase “first house” because
First Home in Nauvoo Read More »
On a foggy morning, I gazed at Nauvoo House from the banks of the Mississippi. I stared at the beautiful structure and pondered the image of Emma in her old age: sitting in her rocking chair each night and looking out the windows at the sunset with tears streaming down her face. Ever since I
Sun-Kissed Lonely Tears Read More »
