Carthage July 17, 2016

The Naperville 1st ward is the smallest geographical ward East of the Mississippi according to the stake president who greeted us this morning. He is quite proud of that fact. He was the bishop of the ward before he was called as the stake president.  You could tell the ward was active and caring. The speakers did a great job. It was nice to be in church and we are really looking forward to being back in our own ward next week.

We chose to go to Carthage jail on the way to the hotel. It was very busy and we had to wait a few minutes to start our tour. The missionary who gave our tour had us sing Praise to the Man to give us a bigger space between tours. It really was a contrast to singing in the Kirtland Temple. We could feel the spirit, and the song was totally appropriate for the spot. 

It is impossible to describe the spirit you can feel in the jail. It is very strong and testimony building. We felt privileged to be in that hallowed spot. Here are a few pictures that you might find interesting.  Unfortunately, they don't capture the spirit for you.

The Living room in the jail.  This is where the jailer and his family would have spent time together.

The Dungeon Room.  This is where Joseph and the others were held for a time.

This is the window in the jailer's bedroom where Joseph fell from when he was shot by the mob.

The upper window in this picture is the outside view of the window Joseph fell from.

This is the original bedroom door, you can see two bullet holes one on the edge and one in the middle of the door.

The front of Carthage Jail

A statue of Joseph and his brother Hyrum that is in the courtyard of the Jail.

Our Hotel is just over the border into Iowa.

Going into Iowa.

It was the closest available when we booked our rooms.  We are about 25 miles from Nauvoo. Tomorrow we plan on doing a session at the Nauvoo temple and seeing the historical sites there.