Ramus, Quincy and Carthage

I took a moment to go back and read the entry I made last year at this time.  I suppose you could, too.  Things are really similar.  The programs in and around Nauvoo are quite the same.  We still work in the temple and we still have P-days and the common holidays continue to happen again and again – every year.

 

Thursday, this week, was our P-day.  We too occasion to go to Webster, Il.  At least that is what it is called today.  170 years ago, it was known as Ramus.  It was one of the many satellite colonies of Nauvoo, where Saints were called to live.   Ramus was the home of Joel Hills Johnson and his brother, Benjamin Franklin Johnson.  Many may realize that Becky is a descendant of Joel Hills Johnson, so we had extra desire to go there and see what there was to see.  The only chapel ever to be built by the early saints prior to going west to Utah, was in Ramus.  The building no longer exists but the corners of the building are indicated by white PVC pipes stuck in the ground and an old red door stands where the entry would have been.  I don’t know if the door belonged to the original building, but it is fun to think that it may have.  The lumber from the old building has been reused and is now part of a protestant church that has been built just to the left of where the other building stood.  A plaque has been erected to explain the significance of the site.  Joseph Smith often visited there and was there when he received two revelations, now incorporated in the Doctrine and Covenants as sections 130 and 131.

On that trip we also went to Quincy to see the monuments that have been erected to show our gratitude to the people of Quincy for taking in the Saints in their hour of need at the time of their forced exodus from Missouri.  There is still a good feeling in Quincy.  There, the people are kind to the Mormons and two of the largest wards in the area reside in that town.

Yesterday, we returned to Carthage.  The temple closed its doors early so all who desired could be there for the memorial program that is held there each year on the 27^th of June.  You may recognize that as the date (back in 1844) when the prophet, Joseph Smith, and his brother, the Patriarch, Hyrum, were martyred.  The program this year was again excellent, accented by the talents of the sister missionaries and the young performing missionaries.  The main remarks were given by Elder Gibbons, now president of the Nauvoo Illinois Mission.  His remarks centered on the aftermath of the martyrdom – how the Saints in their mourning, did not retaliate and why.  He brought the principles learned back to the present to show how faith and courage are much more important than money or property.

Today, I was back in the temple again where I was assigned to be the guide for a young Mexican brother who had come with his bride, both to be endowed and then to be sealed.  I was needed to translate as neither spoke English.  I don’t know if my Spanish has improved over the time that I have been here, but I have definitely gained a lot of self confidence in my abilities as I have been called on so frequently to use this talent that has been entrusted to me.