"beautiful place."

Saturday morning we jumped in the car with our friends and drove the 3 hours to Nauvoo (which translated from Hebrew means "beautiful place").  Three-quarters of us had been there before, but hadn't realized just how charming of a little town it is.  Seeing this small town quickly dispersed any equivocal thoughts I previously had regarding why the pioneers settled in western Illinois--besides God telling them to, of course. ;)  Situated right on the Mississippi River (the prettiest part of it, I'm sure), the temple sits on a bluff overlooking a grove of trees and the perfectly laid out streets.  It's breathtaking in the early morning and equally breathtaking as the sun sets.  We were fortunate enough to spend the day visiting the little houses and buildings in Nauvoo, doing a session at the temple, finding quaint local restaurants, visiting Carthage jail, and watching the Nauvoo Pageant that evening.  There's definitely a different feeling up there--one quite lovely--and I couldn't help but try to soak it all up throughout the day.