Burns in Nauvoo: "In Their Footsteps"

Taken on Parley Street, looking back at the Temple.

February 6, 2022

1. A marvelous work has begun to come forth among all the children of men.

O ye that embark in the service of God, give heart, mind, and strength unto him;

For prophets have spoken and angels have come to lift the world from sin,

That Christ may reign over all the earth and bless his gathered kin.

Chorus

2. Those marvelous Saints who embraced this great work and shared it in lands far and near;

Who gave all their heart, mind, and strength to the Lord with wisdom and vision so clear;

Now stand as examples of virtue and faith, of souls prepared to hear,

Of knowledge sure, born of humble heart, and love that banished fear.

Chorus

3. If we now desire to assist in this work and thrust in our sickle with might;

If we will embark in the service of God and harvest in fields that are white;

Our souls may receive the salvation of God—the fullness of his light,

That we may stand, free of sin and blame, God’s glory in our sight.

Chorus

With faith in every footstep, we follow Christ, the Lord;

And filled with hope through his pure love, we sing with one accord.

The mission choir sang this song at the Exodus Memorial on the bottom of Parley Street, as we concluded the Exodus Reenactment. It was a powerful ending to a bitter-cold reenactment. When we started it was -6. When we ended it was about 9. Here are some of my random thoughts about the reenactment.

* I walked for my 5th great-grandmother, Lucinda Bybee. Lucinda and her husband, David Layne, were converted to the gospel but before David could be baptized, he was taken ill and died two weeks later, leaving Lucinda with 8 children under the age of 13 and pregnant with another child that would be born 6 months later. Lucinda was baptized in 1841. In 1842, she, with her children and in the company of her father and other family members, made her way to Illinois. When the Saints were expelled, Lucinda sold her small brick home and 10 acres of good land for $11.00, paid in "the blackest, bitterest flour you can imagine." In May 1846, Lucinda and her children left Nauvoo, ferried across the Mississippi River and headed into Iowa Territory. She arrived in Salt Lake in September 1852.

*Doug walked for his 2nd great-grandpa, John Lambert. John was a stonemason on the Nauvoo Temple and later, the Salt Lake Temple. He was born and joined the church in England and came to the United States. He made his way to Nauvoo, where he was also a member of the Nauvoo Legion. He eventually made it to Utah and settled Kamas, originally called Rhodes Valley. There is a monument that sits on the site of his first home.

* Elder Burns and I were assigned to be in charge of medical so I walked the reenactment by myself, watching for any medical problems that might arise. As I walked along, I saw little children playing in the snow along the side of the roads, laughing and having fun. I thought, surely, as the Saints left Nauvoo, there were children who were doing that, unaware of what awaited them.

*There was a little two-year-old girl that cried most of the walk. Her mom was approached numerous times about getting her warm, wrapping her in a blanket, etc. but we were told that the child was just being grumpy. Once we finally got the child and her mother into our warm vehicle, the child settled right down and fell asleep. She was so cold and her mom felt so bad. We talked about the Saints as they left Nauvoo. This mom was able to take her child to a waiting, warm vehicle and then to a warm home. The Saints, as they left Nauvoo, left their warm homes and didn't turn back. I think I would have been tempted to turn around and go back home. I hope that I would have had the faith to continue on. I'm sure grateful for my ancestors that continued on and stayed strong to the faith.

*As I approached the Blacksmith Shop, E/S Heward was there with the oxen and wagon, waiting to join the walk. As they joined in, the oxen were excited and kind of took off. Elder Heward was able to control them but Sister Heward and I watched to make sure the path was clear. I thought about the stories that I've read about how they took cows or young oxen and tried to have them pull the wagons. It didn't always go well.

after the parade, the oxen were tied up to a tree and I'm not sure what happened, but one of the oxen went down. They were still attached to the wagon and to each other with the yoke. The teamsters worked diligently to remove the yoke and get the other ox up. They were successful and all was well. I wish that I had taken a picture of it but I didn't think of it at the time.

*President Dalton spoke of the pioneers, both from the 1840's and present day, of the sacrifices both have made. Sister Dalton joined the church as a young teen and is the only member of her side of the family. He spoke of those who have joined and lost all they had because of that. I am grateful for them and the sacrifices that they have made to be a part of this great Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

*I'm grateful for thermals and fleece lined pants and that my pioneer dress is large enough that I could wear them under it! None of the histories that I have read talked about the clothing that was worn as they left Nauvoo but I'm sure they didn't have the warm clothes that I do. I also wore my warm coat under my pioneer shawl and had hand warmers in my gloves and toe warmers in my warm boots.

* Again, I am beyond grateful to my ancestors for the sacrifices they made, for the faith in every footstep that led them from New York, Indiana, Ohio, England, Wales and other places, to gather with the Saints, wherever that was at the time. I love them!

As Conservation sisters, we were able to put away the flags and Nauvoo Legion props that were used during the Exodus Reenactment. I found this tag that was worn by one our missionaries in the Nauvoo Legion reenactment. Ira is my 4th great-grandpa!

This week, we also were able to attend the temple again. I love having a temple a few minutes away and that I am able to attend it so often. I feel such peace while I am there.

A winter storm came through this week and the Governor of Illinois declared a state of emergency. There was no mail or Amazon delivery for three days. Thanks to our amazing FM and city plow drivers, we were only delayed two hours in starting work. Doug was up and out plowing at 5:00 a.m. and didn't get home until 4:00 that afternoon.

I was also able to do "Women of Faith" again this week. Two of the couples that were on will be joining us soon as Illinois Historic Sites missionaries. They are excited, as are we! One of the couple's has a son that works with our son, Austin. What a small world!

Friday night, we had a "Welcome to the Mission" for President and Sister Dalton. It was supposed to be a dinner and program but because of Covid, it ended up just being the program but it was a great program with a lot of laughter and great talent!

I love being a missionary here in Nauvoo! The Lord has blessed me so abundantly! I love Him! I love the Prophet, Joseph Smith and all that he did to restore the Gospel to the Earth. I am thankful for the wonderful parents that I have, whose birthdays I celebrated this week. They are both in Heaven so I celebrated by attending the Temple. I'm sure they were both there and happy to see me also there and serving here. My mom and dad set the example for me by serving a mission not far from here. They were able to serve at the Nauvoo temple open house. That was a special experience for them.

Thank you, my friends and family, for your love, support and letters. We love you!