Sculpture portrays saints' winter exile
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OMAHA, Neb. — A new sculpture depicting the beginning of the Mormon pioneers' trek from Nauvoo, Ill., to the Salt Lake Valley now graces the entry foyer of the Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters.
Sculpted by Kenneth Packer, son of President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, the work was introduced at a special fireside Aug. 4 in the center.
Presiding at the fireside was Elder Donald L. Staheli of the Seventy, president of the North America Central Area.
Attending the fireside were religious leaders and members of the community. The program included talks by Kenneth and Bobby Lynn Packer, the artist and his wife; and Elder Staheli. Music was provided by the Council Bluffs Iowa Stake Youth Chorus.
Elder Ronald Thurber, director of the center, said the bronze-cast work is about 2 feet long and shows a covered wagon pulled by two horses, with a third horse tied in to assist. "The wagon is just about stuck in the mud," he said. "A young man is trying to push on a rear wheel that is up to its hubs in mud and snow. Two figures appearing to be husband and wife are on the front seat of the wagon, through the opening in the back of the wagon can be seen the faces of two small children."
Elder Thurber said the sculpture "represents the beginning of the trek from Nauvoo as it began in February 1846. The saints encountered extremely deep mud and snow in Iowa. As they were anticipating making it to the Rocky Mountains that year, their plans quickly changed, and they decided they could go only as far as the Missouri River." Winter Quarters, located on the Iowa-Nebraska border, was the stopping point. A vanguard group of pioneers resumed the trek the following spring and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847.
