Meeker Family Vacation 2017--Missouri/Illinois

Well it was another "last-minute change of plans" trip for the Meekers this year!  I actually love when this happens:)  We were set on going to Rocky Pointe, Mexico to enjoy some relaxing beach time up until the week before we left.  My husband had a better plan pop into his head.  I'm always up for an adventure so we were off to Missouri and Illinois!

We flew out of the Gateway airport to Springfield, MO.  We then drove a couple hours to get half-way to Carthage, IL.  We hit Liberty Jail first thing the next morning.  What an amazing place--truthfully everything the LDS church owns is AMAZING and so well-preserved and presented.  The missionaries serving in these areas have THE BEST mission in my opinion and I hope someday to serve in a Church History site.  

The weather was perfect.  A little more humidity than what we are used to but we sure enjoyed the break from the AZ heat.  We had the chance to listen to some "performing missionaries" here at Carthage.  I had NO idea that this was a thing!  Now Carlie is considering being a "performing missionary" someday herself.  It would be quite an adventure!  The performing missionaries performed at the Carthage Jail and then all over Nauvoo.

Performing Missionaries

One of the first things we did in Nauvoo was ride the oxen of course!  Where there are animals, Meekers just HAVE to go and see and touch:)

Max & I lead the way:)

I absolutely LOVED Nauvoo!  It was my personal favorite place of all the places we visited on this trip.  How amazing it would have been to have lived here with all the other early saints--but then NOT amazing when they were driven out.  But the Saints sure had an amazing town laid out for them.  I can't even imagine walking away from these beautiful brick homes.  There were several super fun places to stop in the town:

1-The Bakery where you get a yummy gingersnap cookie

2-The Brickyard where you learn how they made the bricks and every family got their very own red Nauvoo Brick.

3-Homes of Prophets such as Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff.  We even visited the Mansion House that Joseph Smith lived in--but that's owned by the Community of Christ Church so it's almost as cool as the others.

4-The Post Office

5-The Gunnery

6-The Blacksmith shop were we each got a "Prairie Diamond" ring.

Max with a Temple Sunstone replica

Heber C. Kimball Home

View of the Nauvoo Temple on the hill

Sporting our Prairie Diamond rings:)

One of the neatest places was definitely the Smith family grave plot.  Joseph & Emma Smith, Hyrum Smith, Lucy Mack Smith, and a couple of Joseph's children are all buried here.

The Mansion house of Joseph Smith

The Nauvoo Temple:

Carthage and Nauvoo took up our entire first day.  On our 2nd day, we headed over to Liberty Jail in Independence, MO.  Talk about a hallowed ground.  Once again, the Church has done an amazing job in restoring this building in which great trials and tremendous revelation came.  

These are the actual eviction documents issued by Gov. Boggs in 1838.  

The documents on the right is the official documents that lift the ban on the Saints and recognition of the wrong done to then dated in 1985.

The Community of Christ Church has the WEIRDEST Temple/church headquarters I've ever seen!  But we did enjoy walking the grounds and being able to see where the Temple will be built in Jackson Country, MO someday.  This will be an amazing event and I can't wait.

After visiting Independence, MO we headed back to Springfield to get Carlie onto her plane back home.  She had to come home 2 days earlier because she had to work--BOO!  But we weren't done yet.  We spent the last 2 days of our trip in one of our most FAVORITE places of all time--Branson, MO!!!