Doing All Things through Christ: Prosper Youth Group Visits Historic Nauvoo, Illinois
Kara SchofieldFeatured Photo: Prosper teens gather by a statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the brothers who were killed at the Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844, when a mob shot through the door and stormed into the room. Joseph the Prophet and Hyrum were being held on charges of treason and awaiting trial. Photo by Rick Lenderman.
On May 29, 2023, while most teens around North Texas may have been sleeping in — visions of summer fun dancing through their heads — youth from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Prosper area boarded tour buses at 5 a.m. for the long drive to Nauvoo, Illinois, a place of historical significance to Church members. The purpose of the five-day trip was to build friendships, bring history to life, and most of all, to strengthen participants’ faith in Jesus Christ.
Early risers and loaded buses: Nauvoo, Here We Come! Photo by Cherise Sallaway; Two of the seven tour buses scheduled for this week-long trip, loaded with approximately 330 teens from congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ in and around Prosper. Photos by Ashlie Richey and Chris Lewis.
Joseph Smith, Church founder and the Prophet of the Restoration, received many revelations in Nauvoo which continue to guide the Lord’s Church today, including key points of temple worship and the founding of the Relief Society organization for women. Nearby Carthage Jail is also where Joseph Smith died at the hands of an unlawful mob in 1844. The Prosper group toured the jail as well as Historic Nauvoo, a destination with carefully restored homes and demonstrations of traditional trades and crafts of the early 1800s. Their itinerary included other historical stops in Missouri; a landscaping service project of about 570 man-hours; spiritual messages from local church leaders; worship in the Nauvoo Temple; and plenty of fun with group games, a dance, and musical programs.
Clockwise, upper left: Leaders and youth from Prosper who dressed in pioneer costume to represent some of the early Latter-day Saints who lived in Nauvoo. Photo by Ashlie Richey; Teens at the Nauvoo Temple who came to participate in baptism ordinances by proxy for deceased individuals. Photos by Ashlie Richey; Youth gathering in an evening devotional. Choirs sang hymns and President Perkes gave a spiritual message. Photos by Cherise Sallaway; Teens try their hands at pioneer trades and crafts modeled in Historic Nauvoo. Photo by Cherise Sallaway; Prosper youth participate in a service project on the grounds of Historic Nauvoo. They weeded flower beds and spread mulch along the Trail of Hope, logging 570 man-hours in the process. Photos by Nathaniel Chapin.
Mindy Peterson, president of the Young Women’s organization of the Church of Jesus Christ in Prosper, emphasizes that the experiences were created to help the teens see firsthand where the early Saints “fought for their religious freedom; …Visiting [these sites] brought the Church history that we’ve read so many times to reality. There’s something to be said about walking where the Prophet Joseph Smith walked, where he fought so hard to spread the word of God and do as he was directed.”
If you were to ask the 330 teens and 56 adult leaders who attended about their favorite activity, you would get nearly as many unique answers. Carter Crow, a rising senior at Memorial High School in Frisco, says, “Going to Carthage deepened my appreciation for all the Saints that died for this gospel so that we could have it today! The tour was filled with the spirit, and you could feel the emotion and weight of the sacrifice and devotion that these men had toward God and his Church.”
Top Row: Teen points out a preserved bullet hole in the Carthage Jail door of the room where Joseph and Hyrum were staying; Prosper youth preparing to board the horse-drawn wagon for a ride around Historic Nauvoo. Photo by Melissa Neddo. Middle row: A reconstructed model of Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith and some friends were imprisoned from December 1838 to April 1839. Photo by Scott Thornton; Young women from Prosper gather outside of the Nauvoo Temple. Photo by Cherise Salloway; Teen in pioneer costume on Trail of Hope. Photo by Ashlie Richey; Bottom Row: Teens and leaders awaiting their turn for games and cheering other teams on. Photo by Kevin Johnson; Shopping in the historic Red Brick Store, which originally opened in 1842 with Joseph Smith and his wife Emma as proprietors. Photo by Ashlie Richey.
Kaydree Anderson, a 2023 graduate of Prosper High School, agrees that she felt a spiritual connection at each one of the sites. Regarding Liberty Jail in Missouri, where Joseph Smith and other Church followers were imprisoned from December 1838 to April 1839, she says, “I enjoyed feeling a peace that came over me as we were able to learn about the hardships Joseph Smith went through so that the Restoration could take place.”
John Sallaway, president of the Young Men’s organization of the Church of Jesus Christ in Prosper, reflects upon one goal of the trip: “What we all hoped for the youth is that they would be able gain a better understanding of the great faith, and in so many cases pure grit, that the early members of the Church demonstrated through their trials and to understand that the same strength and potential exists in them also.”
“I’ve grown up always hearing stories of ancestors who lived in Nauvoo and who helped build up the Church there,” says Thatcher Bishop, another 2023 Prosper High School graduate. “Walking through the Trail of Hope and knowing that I had direct relatives that packed up their whole lives and left, placing so much faith in God that they would make it out alright, was incredibly impactful for me; I’ll never forget that feeling.” He hopes to continue their legacy.
Madison Stubblefield, a rising senior at Prosper High School, had visited Nauvoo with her family years before but found deeper meaning in a greater understanding and being surrounded by new friends. As she participated in reviewing the activities of the day each evening before bed, she says, “It was inspiring to hear everyone’s response and to recognize the different ways that this trip impacted the youth. I remember finding it difficult to pick out what to say for my ‘low’ of the day. …Similarly, it was extremely difficult to select a single event to categorize as my ‘high.’” She continues, “This Nauvoo trip helped and strengthened me in ways I didn’t know I needed, and I am forever grateful for the memories I was able to make in such a sacred place.”
Sallaway cites another goal of the trip: to deepen understanding of the roles of God and Jesus Christ in the “reverent and sacred events” of Nauvoo, “but even more importantly the role that They play in [our] lives. …In the same way and with the same love and power, They work in our hearts to bring us closer to Them, to help us become more like Them and to eventually live with Them forever.”
“I was so excited when we found out the youth theme for the year because it went so perfectly with the spirit of Nauvoo,” says Sheri Lloyd, who worked with her husband Matthew Lloyd from August 2022 to organize the logistics and activities for the youth group. Referring to the New Testament scripture found in Philippians 4 — chosen as the 2023 theme by the Young Men and Young Women General Presidencies of the Church — Sheri continues, “I hope they learned they ‘can do all things through Christ’ and that they come from a people who were able to do all they did because of the Savior and their covenants with Him.”
Kara Schofield lives with her husband, nearly grown youngest, and the family doodle in the Prosper Texas Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She can often be found at one keyboard or another: writing, documenting personal and family history, accompanying school choirs, and learning how to play jazz music. Her greatest joys are her four children and their spouses, a sizable extended family, pies, mountains, and Jesus Christ.
