So I guess this guy found some tablets in the ground that nobody else ever saw, so he started a religion. Sounds legit. Oh, and eventually he and his brother were murdered by a mob.
This statue (yes it's two figures but it's one frickin' statue) stands about 11 or 12 feet off the ground, directly across the street from the Nauvoo Mormon Temple and is remarkably imposing as you approach it. I hadn't even learned the significance of this location until after I had been instinctively hit with the "wooooow" tourist face (think Owen Wilson).
I've rocked an iPhone 6 for way too long, but that may give you perspective as to how undeniably beautiful this point on the Earth is because every photo came back looking like it was my own personal magic hour. Sporadic fluffy clouds with beams of light shining through from the heavens. Green everything! Symmetry and symbolism. The Mississippi River! The western half of the U.S. just across the watery divide.
“This is the loveliest place and the best people under the heavens; little do they know the trials that await them.” - Joseph Smith
The sculptors did a seriously incredible job. I'm sure the church (which is directly behind me in these photos) made most of the architectural decisions for this monument, but the whole thing comes together so well. It feels like one cohesive piece. As if the entire grassy expanse, the statue, the shrubbery and the stonework were all one item you purchased in SimCity and just dropped it right next to the river. Perfect.
Granted, the end to the story of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum is not a graceful ascent to the other side of existence surrounded by loved ones. In the midst of a legal battle, they were unable to make friends with an angry mob that stormed their jail cell in Carthage, Illinois and were subsequently murdered. The five men charged with their murders were all acquitted. Damn. The power of religion.
I guess Joseph is buried in Nauvoo, but I wasn't out grave hunting that day...soooo....yeah.
The Breakdown:
You gotta see this place. I went in late August and it was warm but I think we missed the hottest days. The sun. The trees. The grass. The river. Just dew it.
Joseph Smith Wiki
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith
Comments