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Through the
Camera Lens
The People at Nauvoo
Like Walking the Streets of Zion
Text and Photographs
by Scot Facer Proctor
Note: Click
on photos below for enlargements.
Being in Nauvoo
these past few days was truly a heavenly experience. There was a
oneness of heart and a unity of love that I have seldom felt in
a community anywhere in the world. As we walked down the streets
we would run into old friends, spot various General Authorities,
see members of the Tabernacle Choir and just see a mixture of Latter-day
Saints from every clime.
Knowing that
a good portion of you would likely not be able to come to Nauvoo
I wanted to use the camera to capture the moments and experience
as a whole as if you were walking by our sides. I have included
24 photographs in this essay-all of them of people in Nauvoo. Who
knows, you might see someone you know!
I have kept
the captions brief so that we can just sit down together and go
through this like a photo album of our time together in Nauvoo.
As I went out
to capture some wonderful early-morning photographs I saw these
faithful few waiting in line for the "Coverstone" ceremony.
This was about 6:05 AM at the south sidewalk of the Nauvoo Temple.
You can see the morning's first light barely touching some of them.
I wondered what
was going through this brother's mind as he gazed upon the walls
of the temple waiting there in line. I will make an observation
here that many people just stared at the temple for long periods
of time. I think for all of us there we had to almost pinch ourselves
to remind us that this was real and that the Nauvoo Temple had actually
returned to her rightful place.
This mother
and little daughter waited patiently in line but standing there
was a little more than Mom could take. The weather was more than
perfect for the whole of Thursday, June 27, 2002. It was a bit hot
but I never heard one person complain.
Happy people
were heading into the temple on June 26 to fill the seats of the
Assembly Room so that the Tabernacle Choir could practice and adjust
for the acoustics. I was shooting pictures so fast I could not stop
and ask each person's name or what they were doing, but I believe
this was one of the local choirs involved in the dedication. The
woman with the big smile in the center of the scene saw me at a
distance taking pictures and immediately put on a very, very happy
face through the series of six or seven shots I took. I think when
Latter-day Saints are at major Church events and they see big cameras
firing away they think they will find themselves in the Ensign (and
many do). Now hundreds of them may find themselves in Meridian.
These were local
people coming out of the temple for the practice sessions they had
for singing and adjusting the sound etc. Everyone was just so happy
to participate in any way.
Most people
were not used to the combination of high heat and high humidity
in Nauvoo. Many water bottles were passed around families in this
setting.
Conversations
were exchanged everywhere in Nauvoo, friends meeting with friends,
family members enjoying reunion-hearts touching hearts. The man
in the background to the right of the woman in the blue dress is
Don Staheli who writes the column "It's the Principle of the
Thing" for Meridian.
I've never seen
people with more patience in lines than the groups that went to
the Nauvoo Temple. It seemed almost as if time stood still around
this eternal event.
Continue
Reading this Article: Part 2
(All
photographs Copyright 2002 Scot Facer Proctor)
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© 2002 Meridian
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