Nauvoo Trip 2024: Day 6 - Carthage Jail

On Wednesday morning we decided to start off the day visiting Carthage Jail.  This is the jail that Joseph and his brother Hyrum were murdered.

The grounds were very well maintained, and the flowers were beautiful.  There were many signs up that shared the first vision as you walked towards the visitor center and a statue of Joseph and Hyrum.  

Some nice sister missionaries took us on our tour of the visitor center and then of the jail itself.   The visitor center is small, we mainly saw a room or two.  The missionaries walked us next door where the jail is located.  We got to see the rooms of the house/jail and hear many stories about the jailer and his family and how well he treated the jailed men.

I took a picture of Josh in front of the outside window that Joseph fell out of after he was shot.  We were also able to go up into the room where it all happened, and I took a picture of all the kids in front of the inside window that Joseph was at when he was shot.  

It was such a humbling experience to sit in the room and hear the stories of the men who were jailed and the way they were treated.  The man who in charge of the jail was good to the men and saw that they were not a threat.  He even moved the men into his personal bedroom to try to help keep the men safe.  

So many amazing people who helped the early saints even though they weren't members.  I think that there are many good god-fearing people in the world who are happy to help people in need.

I think that we are super blessed to still have places like this that we can go see as part of our church history.  I have heard many of these stories' multiple times in my life, but they didn't mean as much to me as seeing these buildings and hearing the stories in person.  I hope that this experience is one that my kids will always remember.