Nauvoo the Beautiful

When we went to Nauvoo in 1997, there was no temple built.  There was simply the fenced off temple grounds where you could see some of the cornerstones and a small replica of the original temple.  I can't find our photos from the trip (they are in a box somewhere) but here is a photo from Gary's parents that I have on my computer.

You could walk around and learn a bit about the site and the purposes of temples.

Now--

our first views of the temple from the RV

 Then from below looking up at the temple.

This temple is especially special to us, because Gary's parents were serving a mission in Nauvoo when this temple was announced.  Mom Hall said that the missionaries were all gathered watching conference together when Pres. Hinckley announced it.  You can imagine the cheers and tears that filled that group of Saints, serving as missionaries in Nauvoo at that very moment. Dad Hall was one of the few missionaries who were actually allowed on the site to prepare it before building began. Because of his prior experience with excavation, he helped move things off the site like plants etc, that they were planning to reuse.

Another one of Wayne and Holly Hall's pictures from their mission
Dad Hall with the replica of the temple which had sat on the site

We talked a bit with Jena about Grandma and Grandpa Hall serving their mission here.  She was just a little girl when they served (1999-2001).  She has rarely talked about Grandpa Hall since he passed away but the two days we were in Nauvoo she made several comments about him and things she remembered about him.  It made Nauvoo just that much sweeter to think about the two of them being here and serving a mission together.  Like the senior missionaries we were soon to see, they served in the sites of Nauvoo and talked about life there in 1840s.  They also performed in the plays.  Here is a photo from "A Bushel and a Peck", one of their numbers.

Gary and his family have ancestors who lived in Nauvoo and left with the Saints to Utah.  We read (from the Jick and Ruby Hall book) about Esther Eldredge Garn who wrote..."I can remember seeing the house where Joseph and Hyrum were killed and also remember going all though the Nauvoo Temple."  She would have been about 5 or 6 at the time.

It was fitting that we first saw the temple as we entered into the historical city of Nauvoo and began our sightseeing in earnest.  We had finally arrived!