OK... so we couldn't find the Denver Temple, but the rest of the day has been a blast! First, we got back on the road and headed out of Colorado. The east side of Colorado wasn't nearly as pretty as the west side, but it was still green with plenty of trees and small hills. The new part of that drive was the miles and miles and literally miles of fields. They started in Colorado and went all of the way through Nebraska. It is amazing to see just how flat this part of the country is compared to yesterday driving through the Rockies. Another lovely surprise was how Nebraska smelled... Like farms and cows. It wasn't the most pleasant part of our journey, but I will definitely remember it.
Our next destination was Omaha, Nebraska, or the suburbs around it. We were able to go and visit the Winter Quarters Temple, the Winter Quarters Cemetery, and the Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters. We parked at the temple so it was the first thing that we saw. IT is such an amazing experience to see the different temples that are across the country. They all have similarities, and yet they are all sso different and distinct. The Winter Quarters Temple had amazing vegetation around it. There were planters filled with flowers of all colors and areas of green, green grass.
The grass also went to the cemetery that was directly next to the temple. The Winter Quarters Cemetery was the place where those who died at Winter Quarters were buried. There were just a few gravestones there, but some of them still has the names and dates clearly engraved on them. There were also two memorials in the cemetery. One was to tell about Winter Quarters and explained a little about the Saints leaving Nauvoo, making temporary settlements for them during the winter, the sickness that through the people, and leaving for Salt Lake City. It was a good overview to remind me about Winter Quarters and to know exactly what they did there.
The other monument was in honor of those who died at Winter Quarters. The monument is a circle and in the middle is a statue of a pioneer man and woman huddled together as they are walking. It is a great depiction of the pioneers. In front of the statue is a big plaque that has Christ on the cross, surrounded by the names of those who died. Around Christ's head were the words, "Life is eternal." Under the names were also the words to the hymn, "Come, Come ye Saints." There were other plaques surrounding the statue with uplifting words about our Savior, the resurrection, and eternal life. They all led to a happy feeling of the knowledge that the pioneers always had and their incredible faith. It does not focus on their death, but that they are now living with their Heavenly Father.
Next we went across the street to the Mormon Trail Center. We were able to watch a movie about the pioneers going from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City where all of the words were taken directly from journals. The words spoke of faith and patience through everything that they had to do through. Then we walked through to see the exhibits that led me to a little more insight and knowledge about the pioneers. My favorite exhibit was of their hand-made odometer. They built a system to put in to their handcarts and wagons that kept track of how far they traveled. Being able to visit Winter Quarters was so amazing and it has made me appreciate everything that the pioneers did for me and for the church even more.
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