Nauvoo’s Post Office

In today’s world of instant communication, it can be hard to imagine waiting weeks or even months for a reply to a letter. Yet writing letters was one way the early Saints living in Nauvoo stayed connected to family and friends living elsewhere. Because of the high price of postage, and because mail services were less secure than they are today, many letters and parcels were carried by family and friends rather than by the regular mail. But Nauvoo’s post office still handled a lot of mail as steamships and mail carriers picked up and dropped off the mail—at least three times a week by 1845. The postmaster of Nauvoo was kept busy sending, receiving, sorting, and storing the mail that awaited delivery. 

Nauvoo was expected to become a great city on the Mississippi, and those who wrote letters from here often encouraged others to move here and join in the work. They also wrote to and received letters from missionaries serving in places as far away as Europe and the Pacific Islands.

After Joseph taught of the doctrine of baptisms for the dead, many of the Saints in Nauvoo wrote to family and friends from afar seek the names and dates of their ancestors so as to have this sacred work done on their behalf.

Postal Regulations and Prices in 1840s America

US Postal rates were standardized in the summer of 1845. Postage varied according to weight and the distance that letters traveled. Before that, postage depended on distance and the number of letter sheets. Single-sheet letters traveling less than 30 miles cost only 6 cents, while triple-sheet letters going more than 400 miles would cost 75 cents, which was a lot of money considering the average wage in Nauvoo at the time was only $1 per day. After July 1845, the rates were standardized at 5¢ per sheet (or ½ oz.) if traveling less than 300 miles and 10¢ for more than 300 miles.

Before 1839, an envelope was counted as an extra sheet of paper, so letter senders would fold the letter, write the address on the outer face of the folded sheet, and seal the corners with a wax seal. The sender could seal the letter with a stamp, which often bore the family crest or the sender’s initials. 

To conserve paper and save money, correspondents would sometimes turn the page and write across the previous writing. Some would even turn the page once more and write diagonally across everything, producing a nearly illegible letter. This was referred to as “crossing and re-crossing one’s lines.”

There were no printed stamps in Illinois before 1847. The postmaster could mark a letter as paid, partially paid, or unpaid. Mail marked unpaid meant that payment would be collected from the receiver. (COD) Uncollected mail was returned to the dead letter office in Washington D. C.

Joseph Smith frequently received letters that were sent COD.  To make matters worse, some of the  mail contained insults.  According to the Prophet, “It is a common occurrence to receive C.O.D. letters and I am subjected to a great deal of expense by those whom I know nothing about, only that they are destitute of good manners; for if people wish to be benefitted with information from me, common respect and good breeding would dictate them to pay the postage on their letters.”

The problem continued until Jospeh finally put a noice in the Church newspaper, “I wish to inform my friends and all others, abroad, that whenever they wish to address me through the Post Office, they will be kind enough to pay the postage on the same.  My friends will excuse me on this matter, as I am willing to pay postage on letters to hear from them; but am unwilling to pay for insults and menaces ~ consequently, must refuse all, unpaid.”

As you can see below, the post office in Nauvoo also shared space with other enterprises. 

Prompted by the silent whisperings of the Spirit, sustained by a simple yet abiding faith, those pioneer Saints trusted in God.

Thomas S. Monson

Re-enactment of the Nauvoo Exodus

It was 176 years ago this past Friday, February 4, that the Saints began their forced exodus out of Nauvoo.  On Saturday, we commemorated that exodus with our own reenactment of it.  Words simply cannot adequately express how we stand in awe of the faith and the courage those early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had as they left  behind their homes, their businesses and their beautiful temple that they worked so hard and sacrificed so much to build.  As they left across the Mississippi River they no doubt looked back at their beautiful temple that stood on the hill knowing they would never see it again as they headed west beyond the borders of the United State seeking peace and protection to practice their faith, which  neither the State or Federal government provided them.

I cannot image the agony the Saints must have felt as they looked back at the beautiful Nauvoo temple  for the last time.  A temple that they had worked so hard and sacrificed so much for five years to build.

Re-enactment of the Nauvoo Exodus

All of the Illinois Historic Site missionaries along with our hundreds of guests gathered at 10:00 AM in front of the Cultural Hall where I acted as the master of ceremonies for the day and we heard prepared comments from Sister Dalton, co-leader of the mission and wife of our mission president.

Sister and President Dalton

The procession marched down Main Street to Parley Street and then down Parley to the banks of the frozen Mississippi River where the early saints crossed as they left Nauvoo.  The parade was lead by a re-enactment of the Nauvoo Legion followed by individuals carry flags from various countries followed by the horse drawn wagons.

Nauvoo Legion led by Elder Neve.

When we first gathered the temperature was at -4º and it only got colder the closer was got to the mighty frozen Mississippi River.  As a side note, our cadence drummer for the Nauvoo Legion, a student from nearby Warsaw High School, said this was his third and by fare coldest year to play in the re-enactment.

Sisters King and Synder holding the flags of the homeland.

We received the following email from a member that lives near Iowa City, which is about two hours away;

“Several families from my ward in Cedar Falls participated in the Exodus yesterday, and today's testimony meeting featured many who talked about their experience. 

 

“The children were the most anxious to share their thoughts.  From the 3-year-old who talked about how she was "super cold" and crying but still glad she got to "go be a pioneer," to the teenaged boy who said, "I only walked a mile and I couldn't feel my toes," to the little girl who solemnly described her feelings at seeing all the names of the dead inscribed in the memorial, to the young man who expressed his gratitude for the chance to feel what it was like in 1846--all of them had been deeply touched by their experience.  Most of them had listened well to (the Dalton’s) comments, echoing the idea that they all had warm clothes and safe places to go to after the short event but the pioneers had no such assurance or benefit. 

 

“I doubt these lessons would have been as keenly felt if we had enjoyed balmier weather. Our ward has been well-represented at the Exodus over the past few years, but this was the first testimony meeting where children have been the ones sincerely testifying to what they learned and how they felt.  It brought a lovely spirit to the meeting.”

As the Master of Ceremonies, Chris and I led the wagon train riding in the mission’s beautiful surrey.  We froze and no doubt would have been much warmer had we walked.  Nevertheless, it really was a powerful and meaningful experience for us as it gave us a much greater appreciation and respect for what those early Saints went through many of whom walked across the frozen Mississippi.  Neither of us had ever been so cold before!

Sister and President Dalton

Elder and Sister McDougal ~ Co-Chairs of the 2022 Exodus Re-enactment

Sister and Elder Rees the teamsters of our surrey - they are awesome!

Sister and Elder Merkley

Elvira & Emer

Many participating in the reenactment wore the names of our ancestors who lived here in Nauvoo at the time.  Chris wore the name of Elvira Teeples while I wore the name of Emer Harris, who is Martin Harris’ older brother.

Elvira is Chris’ third cousin five times removed. Elvira departed Nauvoo at age 30 on July 10, 1849, arriving in the Great Salt Lake Valley 110 days later on October 29, 1849.

Elvira Teeples

Emer Harris

Emer is Steve’s third cousin six times removed through his dad’s line.  He was born in 1781 and was 71 years old when he left Nauvoo.  He died at the age of 88 in Logan, Utah Territory.

Emer is mentioned in Saints, Volume 1, page 522: “That spring, a church member named Emer Harris informed Joseph that the conspirators had invited him and his nineteen-year-old son, Denison, to attend their meetings. “‘rother Harris,’ Joseph said, ‘I would advise you not to attend those meetings, nor pay any attention to them.’ But he told Emer that he wanted Denison to attend the meetings and learn what he could about the conspirators.”

The Frozen Mississippi 

The re-enactment activities concluded on the banks of the frozen Mississippi River, which featured a flag raising ceremony by Boy Scout Troop 56, comments by Illinois Historic Sites Leader, President Dalton and the Nauvoo Missionary Choir singing Faith in Every Footstep.  

President Dalton

Nauvoo Missionary Choir under the direction of Sister Ruesch.

The frozen Mississippi!

Neither Beast Nor Human

We are so grateful for our alert and skilled teamsters!  During the program at the end of Parley Street one of our teenage oxen, by the name of Ike, manage to flip himself over the tongue of the cart he was pulling and landing flat on his back with his legs straight up in the air at the foot for his yoked companion, Porter forcing him to face plant in a drift of snow.  Fortunately, Elder and Sister Heward were close by and saw what was going on.  The Heward’s, along with several other missionaries, rushed to the scene cut the ropes to avoid choking Ike and then they struggled a bit to get this 2,000 pound ox back on his feet.

Porter and Ike before Ike's acrobatic act.

Ox Down

Sister and Elder Heward after the re-enactment with Ike and Power.

Pleased to report, neither beast nor human was injured in the event!

Oxen and the 1846 Exodus

Before we forget about Ike and Porter, we want to point out that the oxen were the most popular beast of burden for several reasons:

1. Oxen were cheaper than horses;
2. Oxen could pull a heavier load than horses; 
3. Oxen would eat just about anything along the trail as compared to horses; and,
4. Oxen were slower than horses and, therefore, easier to keep up with when walking.

No doubt none of those early Saints fleeing Nauvoo for their lives in 1846, had a clue where they were actually going.  All they knew was they were forced to leave their homes and beautiful Nauvoo and headed west beyond the borders of the United States where they hoped to find safety and peace. I wonder if they understood just how hard it was going to be.

What they did know was, it was going to be hard and that there was a possibility they or someone they loved would not finish the journey.

It is difficult to identify an exact number of individuals who rode in their wagons or walked the nearly 1,300 miles from Nauvoo to Utah because not all the company rosters were turned in to the Church. However, it is estimated that nearly 60,000 pioneers traveled across the plains to Utah from 1846 to 1868 with nearly 5,000 dying along the way.

George Q. Cannon, who served in the First Presidency under four successive presidents of the church: Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow and who experienced the exodus first hand probably described it best when he said:

“Those of us who can remember when we were compelled to abandon Nauvoo, when the winter was so inclement, know how dark and gloomy the circumstances of the Saints were, with the mob surrounding our outer settlements and threatening to destroy us. … The word was to cross the Mississippi and to launch out into an unknown wilderness—to go where, no one knew. Who knew anything of the terrors of the journey thither, or of the dangers that might have to be met and contended with? … [We moved] out with faith that was undisturbed by [these] unknown terrors. It was by faith that this was accomplished.”

George Q. Cannon

Lesson for Our Day

"With the complex issues facing our families and our friends, our citizens, our state, our neighbors, our nation, the world, may we remember pioneers of an earlier day who persevered against injustice, misunderstanding, some intolerance, occasional bigotry, occasional racism, against differences of custom and traditions and faith, who labored against all of that to carve out for us, their descendants, the wonderful day and the marvelous miraculous time in which we live. We owe the same pioneering, persevering legacy to our children and our children's children.”

Jeffrey R. Holland

God be with you till we meet again ...

A Weekend Never to be Forgotten

Adam-ondi-Ahman

We had an incredibly spiritual weekend experience recently.  It all began with a Saturday visit to Adam-ondi-Ahman, which is nearly 4 hours north of Nauvoo.  For those of you unfamiliar with Adam-ondi-Ahman, we believe that this was the valley where Adam and Eve lived after they were cast out of the Garden of Eden and where Adam bestowed his final blessings upon his children before his died.  It is also in this valley where we believe the Savior will initially appear at His second coming as foretold by the Old Testament prophet, Daniel.

Main entrance to Adam-onid-Ahman

Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once described Adam-ondi-Ahman as one of the "least known and least understood thing connected with the Second Coming." He added that, "Before the Lord Jesus descends openly and publicly in the clouds of glory, attended by all the hosts of heaven; ... before all flesh shall see him together; before any of His appearances ... . He will come in private" here in Adam-ondi-Ahman.  As we walked about this holy land we reflected not only upon the sacred events that have already occurred here, but also upon the sacred events that are yet to come.  We undeniably felt the sacred nature of Adam-ondi-Ahman and look forward to returning there.

The Church owns approximately 6,500 acres surrounding Adam-ondi-Ahman.

Pictured above and below is what is known as Preacher Rock.  It is where the Prophet Joseph Smith is said to have stood and taught the early Saints.

We conducted an amazing experiment while at the rock.  I walked over to the grove of trees in the background, which I estimated to have been just over the length of a football field, and as I stood there one of the Elders adjacent to Preacher Rock spoke to those around him in a normal voice and I could clearly hear and understood every word he said.  This is not doubt a perfect location for a large conference of people.

Far West

After our visit to Adam-ondi-Ahman we drove to Far West, which from late 1836 to 1839, as many as five thousand Saints established homes in and around the area. It also served as Church headquarters after Joseph Smith arrived in March 1838. During his time in Far West, the Prophet received seven revelations later published in the Doctrine and Covenants. 

The Far West Temple Site is where Latter-day Saints began to build a temple when on July 4, 1838, the Saints placed and dedicated the four cornerstones for a temple in their new city.  Those cornerstones are still in place.

The original cornerstones remain in place under protective glass.

Because of mob violence against the Saints no further work was done on the temple. Mob violence against the Saints in the fall of 1838 quickly grew into a large-scale armed conflict when Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs ordered the state militia to surround Far West and drive the Saints from the state.

One of the revelations Joseph received here instructed the Twelve Apostles to leave Far West on April 26, 1839, for a mission to England. Some opponents of the Church boasted that they had prevented the fulfillment of this divine instruction by driving the Saints out of Far West. However, before the Twelve’s mission to England, Brigham Young and other Apostles returned to the Far West temple site under cover of night to fulfill the revelation on the appointed day.

Imagine they faith, the unwavering testimonies and the courage they in order to return to the temple site even thought it was surrounded by enemies of the Church knowing if they were caught they likely would have been killed. Nevertheless, Joseph's revelation was fulfilled!

Haun’s Mill

After leaving Far West we drove on to Haun’s Mill where on October 30, 1838, as part of the escalating violence that drove early Saints out of the state of Missouri, a company of rogue militiamen attacked the Saints. While women and most children from the settlement hid in the woods, a group of Latter-day Saint men and boys sought shelter in the blacksmith’s shop. The attackers surrounded the shop and shot repeatedly through the gaps between the roughly hewn log walls, killing both those inside the shop and those who attempted to surrender. After the initial attack, they dragged out several young boys who had hidden under the blacksmith’s bellows and shot them execution style. Seventeen Latter-day Saints were killed and another 12 to 15 were wounded.

Though it is a beautiful and peaceful setting now, it was heart wrenching to think of what took place there 183 years ago.

Women and children ran across this stream and into the woods to escape being murdered by the mob. Another future painting.

Nauvoo Temple

The overwhelming and peaceful spirit we felt at Adam-ondi-Ahman at the Far West Temple site and even at Haun's Mill was exactly the same feeling we experienced on Sunday, the very next day, while attending a special devotional in the Assembly Room in the Nauvoo Temple.  It was clear that in all four places we were standing on sacred ground.  It was a powerful spiritual feeling neither of us will ever forget.

We shall never tire of this image from our front yard here in Nauvoo!

Thanksgiving in Nauvoo

We began our Thanksgiving Day with the mission presidency and our wives gathered in Carthage Jail where on June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred by a mob. They sealed their testimonies with their blood as had so many prophets had done anciently.  While in the jail President Rizley recounted Joseph and Hyrum’s experiences in Carthage that lead up to their deaths.  It was a very sobering experience.  We found ourselves again on sacred ground.

The bedroom where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred.

Mission Site Presidency

The rest of the day was a traditional Thanksgiving celebration, but without the family of course! We enjoyed a scrumptious Thanksgiving feast ~ in fact we had two feasts, one with all the missionaries and the other with our neighbors including Sister and President Rizley.  In both instances the food was great, the entertainment was great but the best part was sharing it with great friends.  We even had some karaoke going on!

With the Rizley's.

Thanksgiving dinner at our house with friends!

Christmas in Nauvoo

Carthage Christmas Open House

Not going to lie, being away from family at Christmas was hard.  There is nothing quite as joyful than seeing the excitement of Christmas in the eyes of our grandchildren; nevertheless, we made a go of it!

We started off participating in the Carthage Christmas Open House, which included a bunch of us missionaries singing Christmas carols as we roamed Carthage town square.  The highlight was watching their Parade of Lights.  Only in the heartland of American would you see large farm equipment covered in colorful Christmas lights.  It was, to say the least, a sight to behold!

                       

At our favorite Mexican restaurant in Carthage with the Rizley's.

Nauvoo Christmas Walk

The Christmas Walk is a big annual event here in Nauvoo.  The evening started with a live Nativity in one of our theaters along with a high school jazz band performance and a student choir both held in the lobby of our visitors’ center.

There as also story telling by our missionaries dressed in period clothing.  The stories were told in three of our historic homes.

We did sing alongs with our guests while riding on horse drawn wagons through the streets of Nauvoo.

The evening ended with hot chocolate and cobbler being served in our Family Living Center.

Throughout the night we recognized we were protected  by a miracle even thought we did not fully realize it until the next day.  Let me explain ~ we started the evening with a very heavy rain shower, but it was short lived as the night sky was suddenly cleared of the menacing storm clouds!  We also had tornado warnings all around is ~ in fact they were within 50 miles of us.  It was not until the next morning that we learned it was during our events that our neighbors to the south in Kentucky and other areas suffered devastating tornadoes.

The following week we enjoyed a hearty Christmas feast with all the missionaries. 

Mission presidency Christmas photo.

                     

At home by our tree.

Best friends.

Just Some Fun Pix

Ready to head out for a wagon ride.

Still sweethearts!

Everywhere we go are signs of home.

On Christmas Eve several local families brought homemade goodies to all the missionaries serving in the sites. This is their tenth year of doing it and it was so a special treat as the parents and grandparents watched their two little girls delivery the plates of cookies to us and sing a couple of Christmas songs.

A quick pic at the podium of the Seventies Hall ~ it is a beautiful building!

Elder Alston hamming it up with a young visitor.

Not sure who enjoyed it the most!

Happy New Year

We have already experienced blessings as well as sad times this year here in Nauvoo!

First of all, there was a family from Germany who came to Nauvoo specifically to be sealed (married for time and all eternity) in the Nauvoo Temple.  Sadly, due to Covid none of their family and friends were able to come to the states.  Nevertheless, the bride’s life long dream came true as her and her husband knelt at the altar and were sealed…but wait, there is more to the story!

Six missionary companionships, including us, who had the wonderful opportunity to give this young family tours here in Nauvoo just days before their scheduled sealing, all attended the sealing with them. We even organized a small reception complete with a full meal and a homemade wedding cake! A life long bond of friendship was created that day! There is so much more to the backstory of this family, but you will just have to wait so we can share that in person.  Their's was such a powerful and inspiring journey that lead them to Nauvoo.

We bid farewell to the Rizley’s, our Mission President and Co-Leader.  They have become wonderful friends and we remain in awe of their knowledge!  They will be missed.  We look forward to visiting them in Arizona.  

The chow line.

The chow!

These teamsters make amazing chefs!

They are one of the reasons this is known as a 30-pound mission!

New look for the mission president!

What a blessing to work with the Wessman's!

They did a broadcast of the farewell festivities to a bunch of returned missionaries.

Elder Wessman is the former director of Music and the Spoken Word, several of the Christmas Devotionals and he even played in the orchestra!

Farewell dinner at our house.

The drawing is of the Brigham Young home and has very special meeting to us!

Another story that is too special to put in writing.

We had hoped for a white Christmas, but sadly the snow held off until January 1; nevertheless, it has been beautiful.  Cold, but beautiful.  Did I mention cold?  Forecasted low for today was -25º ... yes its cold, which is something we California kids just aren't used to, but it has slowed us down. 

This is the Cutler Home where we live here in Nauvoo - we are so blessed!

This is the Hunter home.  Its one of my favorite homes to photograph and I have plans to do a number of paintings of it.

The Browning home and gunsmith shop.

Just can't take enough pix of the Nauvoo Temple.

Don't care how cold it was ~ this sleigh ride was was too much fun!

We also welcomed our new Mission President and Co-Leader, the Dalton’s just a few days ago.  The challenge was the 12 days between the Rizley’s departure and the arrival of the Dalton’s.  For me us it was a personal challenge because, as First Counselor in the site presidency, the increased leadership responsibility, although temporary, fell upon my shoulders.  Let’s just say, we were more than thrilled when the Dalton’s arrived!

Lastly, we have been battling Covid for the last eight days.  Yep, I tested positive first.  Chris has all the symptoms and we are awaiting the results of her PCR test.  If that’s not bad enough, Chris has a sinus infection!  Oh yeah, and did we mention that the weather forecast is for it to hit -25º today?

We love serving here in Nauvoo!  We love all of you!