CARTHAGE, Illinois — Standing in Carthage Jail — where Joseph Smith was martyred on June 27, 1844 — Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon pondered the reason why the Prophet Joseph “sealed his testimony with his blood.”
“He loved the Savior. In fact he knew the Savior and he knew who the Savior was,” she said. President Cordon turned to Doctrine and Covenants 76: 22-23 to read these words:
“This is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.”
Hyrum Smith was killed along with his brother Joseph at Carthage. While there, on Friday, Sept. 23, Young Men General President Steven J. Lund spoke of Joseph’s and Hyrum’s last testaments.
“What went on in this room — these men were exhibiting a testimony expressed through the giving of their very lives,” he said.
President Cordon and her husband, Brother Derek Cordon, and President Lund and his wife, Sister Kalleen Lund, toured Carthage Jail on Friday. They were visiting nearby Nauvoo, Illinois, where President Cordon and President Lund have been meeting with leaders, missionaries and youth.
The message from Carthage is a message they are sharing this weekend — that Jesus Christ lives, that God speaks to His prophets and that each person has a part to play in the work of salvation and exaltation.
Preparing for general conference
President Lund and President Cordon, joined by Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan, an Area Seventy in the North America Central Area, and his wife, Sister Rebecca Morgan, spent time Friday morning with the Illinois Historic Sites young sister missionaries, discussing general conferences in early Church history not far from where Joseph Smith would often preach to early members of the Church in Nauvoo.
President Cordon invited the missionaries to reread previous conference talks by President Russell M. Nelson and look for the promises he has made. “As we listen to general conference worldwide — if you are in Cambodia or Mozambique or Nauvoo — you realize you have a Church family. And we are all listening to the same words that a loving Heavenly Father is giving us through a Prophet.”
“I hope that as missionaries, as you go out, you help the world know that there is a Prophet. All of those words and those promises he gives will be verified if we do our part,” President Cordon said.
President Lund said when Oliver Cowdery had questions, a revelation came to Joseph Smith that became Doctrine and Covenants section 6. As the Lord answered, He spoke of the marks in His hands and feet.
“Oliver Cowdery wanted to know, ‘Why me, why this call?’ The answer is, ‘Behold the marks in my hands and my feet,’” President Lund said, referring to verse 37.
And he said as the missionaries have questions about their call, the answer is the same: “‘Behold the marks in my hands and feet.’ This is why. He suffered and bled and died for everyone on this planet, and the world must know.”
While preparing for the missionary meeting, Sister Mia Sutherland from Rexburg, Idaho, studied the discourses Joseph Smith gave in Nauvoo.
“I love how President Lund and President Cordon connected it to President Nelson today,” she said. “We talked a lot about the doctrine being the same. Joseph Smith was a Prophet called of God, and so is President Nelson today.”
Sister Sharlee Anderson from Lehi, Utah, said President Nelson emphasizes the same things as Joseph Smith. “It’s the same exact doctrine that God is teaching us.”
Ministering through music
President Lund and President Cordon and their spouses also met the Nauvoo performing missionaries, who serve for 15 weeks at a time during the period of about March through October. The current cast arrived in August.
The performers wear period clothing, which Sister Leah Curtis from Dallas, Texas, said adds to the historical importance of Nauvoo and celebrates the heritage of those who came before.
The performers sang to and danced for the leaders in the Cultural Hall and later in the Seventies Hall — two historic buildings in Nauvoo.
Elder Nicholas Peterson from Riverton, Utah, connected with the Cordons. He recently served a full-time teaching mission in Curitiba, Brazil, which is the same mission where the Cordons served as mission leaders from 2010 to 2013.
Singing is a way for Elder Peterson to express God’s love for others. And while he loves singing for everybody, he felt especially honored to sing for the Cordons and the Lunds. “The thought of uplifting and helping people who do so much to help others is wonderful. It’s absolutely wonderful.”
Sister Hannah Seagraves from Tellahoma, Tennessee, and Sister Emily Auton from Layton, Utah, are technician missionaries. They do the lighting and stage management for the performances — a role, they said, that is all about service and amplifying the others’ testimonies through music.
In the Seventies Hall — which commemorates the experience of the Prophet Joseph calling Seventies or missionaries to go out unto all the world — the performing missionaries shared a vignette of Elders Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball being extremely ill while leaving Nauvoo to go on their appointed missions and summoning the strength to shout to their families, “Hurrah, hurrah for Israel.”
President Lund remarked that “the result of that was that miracles unfolded … . The Church became the power it is today,” he said. “Today we are called to do what feels like sacrifices to us, but Heavenly Father compensates and the good that gets done is astonishing.”
President Cordon added: “They left, but the family was supported. These strong individuals who stayed behind were part of the building of a Zion here.” Families also build Zion today, she said, while missionaries serve.
“These young people go out because they love their family, but more importantly they love Jesus Christ, and because they love the Savior, blessings come.”
Devotional for potential missionaries
Friday evening, the leaders held a devotional in the Nauvoo Visitors’ Center for potential missionaries. The auditorium was full, while the meeting was also broadcast to 17 stakes in the Iowa, Illinois and Missouri area.
The leaders interacted with the young men and young women while sharing themes of trusting in the Lord, setting goals, scripture study, hard work, sacrifice and testimony.
Sister Lund spoke of her son’s and daughter’s missions and the blessings they saw for others and received for themselves. “We want all those special gifts for you,” she told the youth. “They only come at a price. You have to be willing to trust your Heavenly Father and do what He wants, and then wonderful things happen to you.
President Lund added: “So ask us how to prepare for a mission, and our answer is partly, we don’t know how, don’t ask us how. Ask us why. We know why. Because we’ve seen what missions do for those we love most.”
President Cordon brought out a football, to the delight and surprise of the youth. She then asked Gage Toler from the St. Louis Missouri South Stake to throw her the football. With Brother Cordon’s encouragement, Gage threw the ball to President Cordon on the stage three times, yet each time the ball went right by her — because she made no effort to catch it. After she asked Gage what went wrong, he told her she needed to be open to receive the ball. His next throw she caught perfectly, because she was ready.
“Each one of us will have the opportunity to decide if we are going to receive messages,” President Cordon said. “We need to be open to what the Spirit is telling us. Receiving is not just by standing. To receive what the gospel of Jesus Christ has for us, we have to do something.”
Elder Morgan told the youth that within each of them is divinity. “The influence and impact you can have … can and will come to pass as you follow these principles.”
After the meeting, Charly Thrap, 17, from the Des Moines Iowa Mount Pisgah Stake, said she loved the messages. “I’m really glad I came. The Spirit was here.”
Benjamin Allen, 16, from the Lake St Louis Missouri Stake, learned to trust in the Lord.
“There are definitely some things I need to work on, but it’s good confirmation that I’m doing what I need to,” he said. “This is the right path and where I need to go.”
