In this blog I am going to cover several visitors’ centers within a day’s drive from Nauvoo. Depending on where you are coming from, it should be relatively easy to visit all of these sites. You may need to take a short detour, but they will be worth your extra time. You can see the movie “Joseph Smith The Prophet of the Restoration” film at many church visitor’s centers throughout the country. Click here to find out if it is showing where you are going, and the number to contact to find the times.
If you are traveling out from Utah, then it makes sense to stop at the Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters along the way. The hours of operations are from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can see a short audio video presentation. There is also a Mormon pioneer cemetery there. You can take a short walk and give yourself and the kids a break. While there stop and see the temple at Winter Quarters.
It is easy to take the nine-minute drive to the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa. This wooden tabernacle is the building where President Brigham Young was sustained as the prophet on December 27, 1847. There is also information on the pioneer trek west. The tabernacle is open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
If you are coming from the South, then it is easy to stop at the Independence Visitors’ Center in Independence, Missouri. The center is newly remodeled. The center is open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. From Independence it is only a thirty-minute drive north to Liberty, Missouri which is the home to the Liberty Jail. You can also drive thirty miles north to visit the township of Far West.
From Nauvoo it is a five-hour drive to Independence, Missouri. It would add an extra day or two to your trip, but it would be well worth your time. Winter Quarters is a six-hour drive from Nauvoo. Again it could add some extra time to your trip. If you are planning a long trip, don’t forget to find a local meeting house so you can attend church on Sunday. In my next blog I will talk about the numerous things to see in and around Utah.