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Video: See How Those in Nauvoo Commemorate When the Saints Left the City

Marchers, flag bearers and families behind oxen- and horse-drawn wagons walk during the exodus commemoration honoring pioneers

In the Church News video "The Nauvoo Exodus," leaders in historic Nauvoo, Illinios, share their thoughts about the early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during a exodus commemoration re-enactment on February 2, 2024. Screenshot from YouTube, courtesy of Church News.© Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.

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By Sarah Jane Weaver and Christine Rappleye, Church News

The legacy of the pioneers is one of seeking God’s will and following it, said Sister Sandra Dalton, Illinois Historic Sites leader, during the annual exodus commemoration to honor pioneers who were driven from Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846.

This Church News video, titled “The Nauvoo Exodus,” features commemoration participants who gathered on February 3, 2024, in front of the Cultural Hall in historic Nauvoo in honor of their ancestors or other pioneers who had lived in Nauvoo.

Welcomed by President Kurt Stringham, first counselor in the Illinois Historic Sites presidency, the crowd was then organized for the mile-long walk to the edge of the Mississippi River. Marchers honoring the Nauvoo Legion led the way, with flag bearers and then friends and families walking behind. Wagons drawn by oxen and horses brought up the rear.

“We, too, must make sacrifices,” said President Stringham. “Our sacrifices are in a different time and may be in different ways.”

Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.

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