Walking Down Parley St.

On Feb. 4th the mission and community walked down Parley Street to commemorate the exodus out of Nauvoo. The day was sunny and warm unlike the day that the saints left Nauvoo. Feb. 4th was just the beginning of the exodus, which continued through most of the month of Feb. The mobs continued to attack. People were leaving as fast as they could. Elder Rawlinson marched with the Nauvoo Legion. I walked along with the other missionaries. We met at the Family Living Center for hot chocolate and pastries. We had postponed the beginning of the walk because the temperature was supposed to be sub-zero temperature, but it stayed pretty warm. When we came to the Memorial at the end of the street, the Nauvoo Legion posted The Colors of the United States of America and the flag of Illinois. The names of those who had died before reaching the Salt Lake Valley were read by their descendants who were serving missions here. A prayer was said and then we were all dismissed.

As Elder Rawlinson and I walked back to the car, we read the statements by those who left, that are posted along the trail. It was amazing to see how much they had to leave behind, how many of their children died of sickness because they were forced out in the winter, with little provisions. I tried to picture in my mind how it must have felt to leave this place and the Temple that they had worked so hard to build.
I will probably never ever come close to knowing what it was like.