Ann and I went over to the old Nauvoo cemetery today. We had a cleaning assignment there soon after we arrived here. At that time, the trees were still without leaves and the grass was still brown. We have been wanting to go back when the leaves were out and everything was green.President Hinckley said that the old Nauvoo cemetery was the second most sacred place in Nauvoo only after the temple. He indicated that the reason was that there are mostly young children buried there. Of those who are buried there, 48% were ten years of age or younger and most of those were infants. There is a special spirit there.
One of the missionaries, Elder Mengal, is spending time there every chance he has helping to find and identify unmarked graves. He has been working with the Land and Records Office to help identify who is buried there and where they are supposed to be located. So far, he has had quite a bit of success.
At the cemetery, there is a kiosk in which most of the names of those buried in the cemetery. In the kiosk there is a plaque with the following:"While Wilford Woodruff was serving his first mission to Great Britan in 1839 his first child, Sarah Emma, died July 17, 1840, being two years and three days old. Phoebe, his wife, wrote to him on the day following Sarah Emma's death:
'My dear Wilford, what will be your feelings, when I say that yesterday I was called to witness the departure of our little Sarah Emma from this world? Yes, she is gone. The relentless hand of death has snatched her from my embrace. But Ah! She was too lovely, too kind, too affectionate to live in this wicked world. When looking on her I have often thought how I should feel to part with her. I thought I could not live without her, especially in the absence of my companion. But she has gone.' Phoebe continued, 'Yes, Wilford we have one little angel in heaven, and I think likely her spirit has visited you before this time'
The walk to the cemetery was hard for the young mother. She had no relative to follow her to the grave or to shed a tear with her."
It is easy to see why there is such a quiet and special spirit there.
