A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief

Hath often crossed me on my way,

Who sued so humbly for relief

That I could never answer nay...

On Saturday, Bethany, Lance, and I drove twenty minutes to Carthage, IL. It was here Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a cowardly group of men with painted faces. The two leaders of 'The Mormons' were being held in the Carthage, IL jail under false and shady charges. When the mob stormed the jail, the four men, including John Taylor and Willard Richards, were sitting ducks for the angry men who had guns. Hyrum was shot in the face through the door and was immediately killed. Joseph, who was sitting on the window ledge, was shot and fell through the window. John Taylor was saved by the bullet that hit his pocket watch and stopped it from piercing his heart. He would go on to become the third president of the church. After the mob left the room John would save Willard Richard's life by dragging and hiding him under a pile of straw in the cell next to them. This was the most sobering part of our Nauvoo trip.

This is the window through which Joseph fell after he was shot.

This is the door to the room where the four men were 'imprisoned' at the time they were charged by the mob. You can see a hole if you look closely at the middle pannel on the right side of the door. It is this bullet-hole that is suspected to be the hole through which Hyrum was fatally shot.

And this is the cell where Willard Richards was dragged by John Taylor. People now speculate that the straw helped coagulate the bleeding from his bullet wounds, and probably saved his life.

Bethany volunteered to take a survey about her Carthage experience and as a 'thank you' received a Mo-Tab 'Priase to the Man' CD...
She was thrilled!

This couple couldn't do the tour because of their chairs, so a sister missionary gave them a verbal/picture tour. I thought that was really special :)

This stone was on the jail grounds... Kind of interesting-- It says, "From Nauvoo Temple"... I wish I knew the story behind this- Our missionary guide didn't really know anything about it.


Before we headed back to Nauvoo to see the senior missionary show, Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo, we stopped for lunch at The Towne House Restaurant. An interesting experience... The food wasn't great, the service wasn't great, and then the thought occured to me-- we were supporting the town that killed Joseph Smith. So, anything that was good was spoiled by that thought... Lame, huh?

The menu cover

Lance's salad had GREEN ranch dressing on it. And it tasted funny. Needless to say, he didn't finish it...

We had our waitress take this picture of the three of us-- Pretty much, the look on Lance's face sums up our experience with this restaurant!

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!
Jesus annointed that Prophet and Seer.
Blessed to open the last dispensation,
Kings shall extol him, and nations revere.


Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!
Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.
Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;
Death cannot conquer the hero again.