Brigham Young said of the prophet...
"Joseph took heaven figuratively speaking, and brought it down to earth; and he took the earth, brought it up and opened it, in plainness and simplicity, the things of God."
i have seen more than a dozen temples, all are in beautifully landscaped settings, majestically overlooking the surrounding area, adding beauty and meaning to all who enter or simply pass by. My favorite has always been the Logan temple, it's simple rustic beauty separates it from the more modern design of todays' temples, it was where karen and i were married for eternity, for me is a step above all the rest.
as of today, i have a new favorite.
it is simple elegance. i cannot imagine how this poor struggling people built such a majestic building. it is the Lord's house... the design had been shown to Joseph in a vision. the pattern is unbelieveably intricate and the craftsmanship meticulus in every detail; the crescent moonstones, the signature moonstones and my favorite, the five-pointed starstones. the design is unique, i can't imagine anything more perfect for this place. i love the belfry and the clock tower dome with Moroni in his familiar place on top. When Pres. Hinckley gave his dedicatory address he explained why Moroni faces west, not the traditional east direction of other temples; he explained that now the Nauvoo and SLC temples face each other and serve as bookends to the sacrafice and dedication of the saints in the early days of the church... from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City and everything in between.
the saints once again sacraficed all to build a house for the Lord. they did it out of committment and obedience... they did it to receive their promised blessing in the Temple before they had to leave... covenants that would unite them to their families for all eternity. martha thomas explains far better than i, "we esteemed it a privilege to work on the House of God... until it was finished. We were then called to the house to receive the blessings the Lord has in store for the faithful, which amply paid them for all their labors."
a place on earth, where the things of God could be performed in plainness, simplicity and beauty. i again am humbled to be in their presence....
"I looked upon the Temple and City of Nauvoo as i retired from it and felt to ask the Lord to preserve it as a monument of the sacrifice of his Saints." Wilford Woodruff... i believe his prayer was answered.
6 comments:
Your evening pictures of the temple were beautiful. I also appreciate the shot of the hardy hibiscus. Did anyone explain why the temple was referred to as Jewel of the Mississippi? Did the saints call it that or did the general population refer to it as the jewel? WHO WERE THE 2 MEN ON HORSEBACK in the bronze sculpture? Can you see the Mississippi from the temple? I am sure you have a full day tomorrow as you try to finish touring Nauvoo. How was the play, concert etc. you went to see? It looks like the weather was fairly pleasant and hopefully not too warm. All for now K.
Well done on the pictures! The blue sky is awesome. -Ryan
you figured out the twilight settings, way to go! think of all the fun things you are learning on your trip. the pictures are great. way to include flower shots for mom, what a great husband and dad you are. we love you and miss you. stella asks for papa every day. she misses her favorite person.
Ron.....I love the Nauvoo Temple also. Our kids did baptisms when we were there a few years ago with several families from our neighborhood. They came and asked the ladies if we would go and work in the laundry while we waited for our kids to finish. It was a cool experience. We sorted and folded Temple clothes for an hour and visited with the Temple workers. We also did a session and loved the paintings in the temple.
Nauvoo is special to Tarcy and I because we lived so close for 3 years. We visited everytime someone would come to town.
Thanks for your blog....it has been fun to read.
Joeen
His name is Tracy not Tarcy...but Tarcy is kind of cute!
How about a family reunion in Nauvoo? As usual Ron your spirit is felt through the written word.
Katie
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