the McLane family: January 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Carthage Jail

For those of you who read this blog but are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then you probably have no idea what/where Carthage Jail is, or its significance to members of the LDS chruch. So, I'm going to take a minute to explain this bit of history.

Joseph Smith Jr. was the first prophet (in this dispensation) of the LDS Church, as we know it today. He restored the Gospel to the earth, under the direction of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I say restore, because he did just that--restored the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth today--as it was in the time of Jesus Christ when he lived on the earth and as He left it when he died and was resurrected. After the apostasy, the same one that the Apostle Paul mentions in the New Testament, there was a need for a restoration of gospel truths that Jesus Christ had given to mankind to follow.

Joseph Smith did not start his own church, nor did he profess to be the true head of the LDS church--that right has always been and always will be--the Savior's.

As a member of the LDS Church, I do not, nor does anyone now or ever, worship Joseph Smith. We worship our Savior, Jesus Christ. We look to Him for our salvation and we believe that He leads our church today--through his prophets, as he has done throughout all time (i.e. Adam, Moses, Noah, Isaiah, etc.). The prophet on the earth today is President Thomas S. Monson. He is a good man and he leads our church today by acting as a mouthpiece for the Savior. As with Joseph Smith, President Monson is not worshipped by the membership of the church, we simply look to him to guide us (a similar parallel would be how the Catholics view the Pope).

Okay, all of that being said, the Prophet Joseph Smith, is revered by the LDS faith because of all he did and all he sacrificed so that we could have the truth on the earth today. He only lived 38 years. His entire adult life was devoted to the restoring of the true church in these days. He was a man of integrity. He was abused, falsely accused, and wrongly imprisoned (sometimes for months at a time). He never faltered. He knew what he knew to be true, and he never waivered--even when it seemed that all things were combined against him. He was martyred at the Carthage Jail, in Carthage Illinois, in July 1843. That is why this place has significance to the LDS faith. The first prophet of this dispensation lost his life here.

The window that the prophet fell through after he was shot.

The actual bullet hole (original door) that fatally wounded Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith's older brother.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Nauvoo

On Monday night we decided to make a last minute trip to Nauvoo because Josh's grandparents had never been before. It was great! We were LITERALLY the only tourists in the whole town for 2 days. The weather was great--sunny and in the low 40s on Tuesday and cloudy and mid 30s on Wednesday. We had a great time!

These pictures are from downtown Nauvoo. More pictures to come tomorrow.