Carthage Jail
Friday was the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. We saved the Carthage Jail trip for Friday so we could visit on the anniversary. Carthage is just 20-25 miles from Nauvoo. I knew this was going to be a spiritual experience so we prepared beforehand to ensure we were in tune with the Spirit. When we arrived we were greeted with statutes of Joseph and Hyrum with Carthage Jail just beyond the statutes. 
On the walk to the visitors center there were a series of plaques with quotes from Joseph and Hyrum. My favorite quote was, “Patience is heavenly, obedience is noble, forgiveness is merciful, and exaltation is godly; and he that holds out faithful to the end shall in no wise lose his reward. A good man will endure all things to honor Christ, and even dispose of the whole world, and all in it, to save his soul.”
The jail is mostly original. Most of the buildings we visited in Nauvoo were reconstructions but the Carthage Jail has the original flooring, handrails, doors and some of the windows. The structure was original too. We went inside the visitors center and waited for the next tour to begin.
There were some beautiful pictures of Joseph and Hyrum. As we sat waiting for the tour to begin I felt such a strong sense of love for Hyrum. How wonderful of a brother he was to stand by Joseph’s side during all that Joseph went through. It must of been comforting to Joseph to have his brother by his side even though I’m sure he would of preferred his brother to be someplace safe.
The first room we visited was the dining room. This is where the jailer and his family had their meals. If the prisoners in their charge were well behaved they would be allowed to eat with the jailer and his family.
The next room was the families bedroom. This was a peaceful room that was mostly restored with furniture of the 1800’s. We then moved onto the debtors cell. This is where Joseph and Hyrum were kept for the first few days. There was no bed in the room. In fact there was no furniture at all.
We then moved into the dungeon cell. This is where the hard core prisoners were kept. It was dark and eerie feeling. Just two slits in the wall allowed air and light to enter.
The final room we visited was the room Hyrum and Joseph were killed in. Hyrum was shot first in the face and was killed almost instantly. Joseph was shot twice in the chest and twice in the back and fell out the window you see on the left hand side of the room. 
The door pictured here is the original door and you can see where the mob shot at the lock on the door and then just above you can see a hole in the door where a shot was fired. I thought I would feel sad being in this room but it was very peaceful. It felt very much like the Celestial room in a temple. Rich, Tyra, Shelly and I stayed in the room for awhile to feel the sweet spirit of a prophet that died doing his Father’s will. This was such a spiritual experience for all of us.
This was most definitely the highlight of the trip for me. I’m so grateful for the people who preserved the jail for us to come and experience.
