January Gathering at the Nauvoo Nest
It began with one man’s daring decision. The soundscape sang of exploration. The winds of change began to blow a new direction, stirring up the dust of discontent with an invitation to step to the edge! It is part of the growth in your family tree!
W E S T W A R D E X P A N S I O N
We took flight on a Thursday morning with a direct delta departure of 9:48 a.m., and arrived in St. Louis at 1:35 p.m. The Gateway Arch National Park in St. Louis, Missouri, is a fun place to pick up historical treasures. Hands on experiences put the sparkle into remembering: President Thomas Jefferson, The Louisianna Purchase, Lewis and Clark, Manifest Destiny, Mexican American War, Oregon, California, Mormon Trails, Gold Rush and much more. We discovered what man has done to remember this epic movement by watching a film and riding up in the arch to a view higher than any other in the western hemisphere (630 ft.)!
A stop for groceries and supplies in St. Louis prepared us to embark on a dark parrell drive with the mighty Mississippi River, and the lights of the Nauvoo Temple gathered us in 3 hours later. In attending the temple, there was time to remember and rejoice over the sacrifices of our 3rd great grandparents. Truth connects heaven and earth, and places connect people….Burley Idaho…a bridge to finding new friends in Nauvoo! As the Nauvoo Nest continues to prepare for guests, with new coats of paint, new dishes and plans for a new roof, she hosted a show-in-tell with those new friends who have beginnings and rememberings in Burley.
Everthing grows from a seed, symbolically speaking, including the loaf of bread on your counter, the sweater you are wearing, and the rug on your floor. The Family Living Center in historic Nauvoo reveals the mystries of these beginnings and gives opportunity to gather ideas to connect with our ancestors through new hobbies of spinning wool, making bread, candle dipping, weaving rugs, making rope and barells.
All to soon the sun was setting on our little pilgrimage, and it was time to shine the floor and lock the door. The bitter cold took us back to a place in time when our ancestors did not just look across icy shores, they crossed them.Their days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Some would wait years to do their part in Westard Expansion, and our 3 hour flight home is evidence that their sacrifices laid….a firm foundation. They conquered their fears and gave us hope.
Use this link to discover some of your ancestors who stepped to the edge and dared to move west!
https://www.familysearch.org/campaign/pioneers/?cid=bl-pio-8013