BLOG #50
By Kevin V. Hunt
As Site Guides in Nauvoo, we spend much of our time presenting the history of past people, prophets, and ancestors, We share with our guests historic places where our people lived, served, and grew together. It is great fun having all of this history around us. As a self-proclaimed historian, I enjoy anything and everything history.
In addition to experiencing history in all aspects of our lives, we have also had opportunity to write history or to be featured in written or published histories of others. We have found in many publications – not of our making – but cool, nonetheless.
STODDARD TIN SHOP
We have enjoyed working at the Stoddard Tin Shop. The tin shop itself has an interesting history. Over time, the building crumbled almost to non-existence. However, the building did not totally disappear. Before restoration began, there was some semblance of existing walls. In the restoration of the building, some of the crumbled walls were salvageable. As we arrived to serve at the tin shop, there was a very old photo of what used to be. The photo was bad and one had to really use imagination to picture the former building. I saw the photo and noted how bad it was.
I thought, “I can do better than that!” I remembered a photo of the place and which I had taken personally when I was here as “a young missionary” fifty years ago. I knew that I had taken a slide of the place. And gratefully, my grandson, Brodey helped me scan all of my old mission slides at th Mesa, Arizona FamilySearch library. So, I had all of those scanned imaged on y computer. I easily found my photo in my digital collection. And Voila! There it was … and indeed, it was a great deal clearer than that which had been framed in the Tin Shop.
I made an enlargement of the photo and framed it (and signed the back with my name and the year that it was taken). I presented this to mission leadership and soon the new photo was on display in the place of the former bad photo. And now, each time that I return to the Tin Shop, I am able to show the photo to our guests and can say with a bit of humble pride that “I am historic in that I took that photo.”
THREE COUSINS IN NAUVOO
I have introduced this article before, but it fits here with this theme of making history in Nauvoo. On November 17, 2024, My Hunt cousins Jake, Brad and I were featured in the “Church News”. This is what the article said:
3 Nauvoo senior missionaries with the same name arrive the same day, find out they are related
Amos Hunt’s descendants Elder Hunt, Elder Hunt and Elder Hunt are serving with their wives as teamsters and site missionaries in historic Nauvoo
17 Nov 2024, 6:00 a.m. MST
Mary Richards is a reporter for the Church News
Visitors to historic Nauvoo, Illinois, are used to seeing missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But lately they might do a double take when they look at those missionaries’ name badges.
Right now, there are three senior missionary couples in Nauvoo all with the last name Hunt, and they are all related — though they did not know each other before their missions and had never met until this year.
Elder Kevin Hunt and his wife, Sister Lou Hunt, from Maricopa, Arizona; Elder Jake Hunt and his wife, Sister Sandy Hunt, from Centerville, Utah; and Elder Brad Hunt and his wife, Sister Tammy Hunt, from Diamond Valley, Utah, all arrived at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, on April 1.
The MTC was buzzing about all the Hunts. When the men got together, they opened the FamilySearch app on their phones, selected “Relatives Near Me” and found out they all had the same common ancestor, Amos Hunt.
Elder Jake Hunt and Elder Kevin Hunt are third cousins once removed, and Elder Jake Hunt and Elder Brad Hunt are also third cousins once removed, while Elder Kevin Hunt and Elder Brad Hunt are fourth cousins. Amos Hunt is Elder Jake Hunt’s great-great-grandfather, and the great-great-great-grandfather of the other two.
“It was fun to see that,” Elder Jake Hunt said. “I mean, we had no idea who each other was, and it was fun to meet and find out that we were actually related.”
Elder Jake Hunt and Elder Brad Hunt are both teamsters, meaning they drive the horse-drawn wagons on tours around Nauvoo’s streets. Elder Kevin Hunt is a site missionary, and all the women serve in the different sites and buildings as well.
Sister Sandy Hunt said: “Every once in a while, someone will get on a wagon and say, ‘Oh, you are Elder Hunt. I just saw your wife.’ And they will answer, ‘Which one?’”
Or visitors will go into one of the buildings and say, “We just met your cousin on the wagon.”
Left to right, Elder Kevin Hunt, Sister Lou Hunt, Elder Brad Hunt, Sister Tammy Hunt, Sister Sandy Hunt and Elder Jake Hunt take a picture together in the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, in April 2024. | Provided by Elder Kevin Hunt
Amos Hunt, their common ancestor
Elder Kevin Hunt shared Amos Hunt’s story with the Church News. He was born on Feb. 28, 1819, in Greenville, Kentucky. His father, John Hunt Jr., was one of the first settlers in the area, moving to the state with a land grant for Revolutionary War service.
He built a home, a church and a cemetery. The church building still exists today, having been purchased by the Hunt Family Foundation around the year 1960. A branch of the Hunt family from Indiana and Kentucky still gathers in the area around once a year.
After Amos Hunt and his wife and many extended family members joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they traveled west in 1852 as part of the Benjamin Gardner Company to be with the Saints in the Intermountain West. One of Amos Hunt’s sons died on the trail of cholera.
After arriving in Utah, Amos Hunt settled in the Ogden area in the northern part of the state, and then his name was read over the pulpit during October general conference of 1861 to settle the southern part of the state. He had 15 children.
Amos Hunt later moved to be with a daughter in Teasdale, Wayne County, Utah, where he died on Sept. 6, 1904.
Elder Brad Hunt said he grew up hearing stories about “old Amos,” because his great-grandfather was also named Amos Hunt and he was the newer Amos. And Elder Jake Hunt said many years ago, his father and uncles traveled to Kentucky to meet with the other Hunts there and came home to talk about what they had learned about Amos.
While no children in the next generation are named Amos in their particular family lines, one of the draft horses that they drive in Nauvoo is named Amos, which Elder Brad Hunt joked was “close enough.”
He said finding out they are related and being called to the same mission has been a beautiful experience.
“One day that we all came together, Elder Jake Hunt and I were working on the wagon, and the other Elder Hunt had a tour,” he said. “When they got on the wagon with us with their tour, we were all fulfilling our callings and responsibilities on the same wagon on the same day in Nauvoo. And I thought, ‘I bet the buttons are popping off our great-great-great-grandfather’s angel vest to see this.’”
Connections to Nauvoo
When they filled out their mission papers, Elder Brad Hunt and Elder Jake Hunt requested to serve in Nauvoo. Elder Kevin Hunt and his wife did not write down a preference, but he was thrilled to get the call — because he served for about six months in Nauvoo as a young missionary 50 years before. He was in what was then the Southern States Mission and sent to Nauvoo with a few others on a special assignment.
Meanwhile his wife, Sister Lou Hunt, had a connection because her parents — Everett and Verna Belcher — served in the Lucy Mack Smith home 1979-1981 and built the brick kiln that still makes souvenir bricks today.
Elder Brad Hunt can trace many ancestors to the Nauvoo time period in Church history. And his wife, Sister Tammy Hunt, joined the Church at age 17, and her musical group put on performances in Nauvoo.
“So she actually was in Nauvoo as a new, new convert, and she had some amazing experiences,” he said. When he returned from his mission, “I talked her into marrying me, and she said I owe her a mission then.”
When they brought their family to Nauvoo, they rode around in a wagon and looked at each other and said, “Here is our mission.”
Elder Jake Hunt visited Nauvoo around 1979 or 1980 when his parents were serving in the Independence Missouri Visitors’ Center.
“Of course, it was quite a bit different than it is now, but it was a very spiritual place. It still is,” he said. “It’s an honor to be here. It is interesting to meet the people that come here and hear their stories and a little bit about them. It’s really been a pleasure.”
Being in Nauvoo
All of the Hunt missionaries say they feel a deeper connection to Church history from serving in Nauvoo.
Elder Brad Hunt said that was one of the things that was so powerful to him when he arrived.
“Lucy Mack Smith — she lost her sons and her husband, and you think those were losses,” he said. “But then when you get the opportunity to tell people about those losses as we travel down the streets that are named after her boys that she lost, it is powerful. You feel the loss, and you begin to know Lucy Mack Smith.”
Elder Kevin Hunt says it is a privilege to tell the stories of the early Saints using their own words and their own testimonies while in their homes.
Elder Jake Hunt said the Spirit can be really strong at the sites. “There are occasions when people start asking questions that we can open up and talk and testify and teach, and that’s pretty special.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It has been a surprise to me at how many people – even complete strangers – have come on our site tours and have seen my missionary nametag and then have said, “Oh, I read about you in the Church News!” Wow! We be famous!
PIONEER EXODUS COMMEMORATION EVENT
On February 1st of this year (2025) the mission staged a very fun activity. This was the re-enactment of the 1846 westward trek (in the bitter cold of winter) – down Parley Street and then across the freezing Mississippi River. A grand parade was held. I was privileged to be a part of the Nauvoo Legion – a modern soldier group – that led the parade march (right behind the color guard.
And again, I made the Church News – in a commemorative article about the re-enactment march:
CHURCH HISTORY
Remembering the power of temple covenants for Nauvoo pioneers during reenactment walk to Mississippi River
Youth participate in honorary Nauvoo Legion and as flagbearers during milelong walk
8 Feb 2025, 4:30 p.m. MST
DESERET NEWS | CHURCH NEWS ENGLISH
2/8/25, 9:11 PM Remembering Nauvoo pioneers during walk to Mississippi River – Church News
[To see the full article, copy and paste this link:]
Remembering the power of temple covenants for Nauvoo pioneers during reenactment walk to Mississippi River
Youth participate in honorary Nauvoo Legion and as flagbearers during milelong walk
8 Feb 2025, 4:30 p.m. MST
By Susan Sims
Susan Sims is the Church’s communications director for Iowa and western Illinois.
NAUVOO, Illinois — Brisk winds and blue skies greeted more than 300 people gathered in Historic Nauvoo, Illinois, on Saturday, Feb. 1, for the Exodus Commemoration.
After a quick breakfast, they lined up to walk from the Cultural Hall to Parley Street, and then to the edge of the Mississippi River, with an honorary Nauvoo Legion leading the way.
For the first time, most members of this honor guard were young men aged 12-18, and they marched on behalf of original Nauvoo Legion members. Walking behind them were more than 20 young women carrying flags, also walking on behalf of individual pioneers.
“We want to provide the rising generation with personal experiences on sacred ground to help strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ,” explained Elder Gary Jestice, a senior missionary from Pleasant Grove, Utah, who led the planning committee with his wife, Sister Lisa Jestice.
Ben Bailey, 14, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, said: “Being in the Nauvoo Legion was way better than just watching. We actually had something to do, and it felt like we were part of history instead of just talking about it.”
Betsy Eckersley, 14, of Quincy, Illinois, agreed: “Carrying the flag and marching down to the Mississippi River made me realize how strong the pioneer Saints were. I’m proud they’re my ancestors, and I hope everyone will know how amazing they were.”
HIDDEN PHOTOS AND NEWS OF ELDER AND SISTER HUNT IN THE MISSION HISTORY
In the year 2024, Sisters Debra Omer and LuAnn Walters were the mission historians. In this role, they created monthly newsletters which ultimately became a part of the annual history of the mission. As the editors, they chose their own photos and news articles. We found ourselves mentioned in several of the monthly editions.
Included here are pages on which we found ourselves during the year. The astute reader (like you) can probably pick out the articles and photos in which we appeared. This can be a “where’s Waldo” exercise for you … but we do appear on each of the pages:
August 2024
NOVEMBER 2024
NOVEMBER 2024 (ABOVE)
September 2024
September 2024
In January 2025, Sister Hunt and I became the co-creators, editors, of the mission newsletter and history. Obviously we have had many photos and stories of ourselves that we could include but we try to kind of restrain ourselves and have tried not to “toot our own horn” too much. Still we have found ourselves in a few of the 2025 edition (and likely more to come).
JANUJARY 2025
FEBRUARY 2025
MARCH 2025
APRIL 2025
MISSION SLIDE SHOW
A mission slide show was created by Elder Michael Turner and was shown by President Mehr at a mission training session in April and shown to all of the missionaries. Elder and Sister Hunt were shown in the 2nd slide.
KEVIN THE BLOGGER
As most of you are very aware, I have spent much time and effort creating many blogs over the course of our mission.
As I reflect over the past year here in Nauvoo, I find myself a bit a amazed. When I came here, I certainly did not have any intention or plan to create the many books and publications that I have created. I did not know that we would be the subject of historical presentations by various other people. As I look back, it appears that we may have left a mark on our own lives, our families, and for many around us. Not to brag or anything, but we are grateful for the many opportunities. We have been greatly blessed.
I have posted the blog articles regularly on our blogsite which is:
InNauvooWithKevandLou.wordpress.com
. This blogging has had a few goals or purposes:
- To preserve our own Nauvoo missionary experiences (including many photographs) for future reference and enjoyment.
- To create records for the current and future enjoyment of our family members – and to help them to feel the Spirit of our mission, our service functions, the spiritual experiences, and the Nauvoo miracles that we feel constantly. It is hoped that the blogs will be a testimony builder for all of the family members.
- This is kind of like #2 above, but is expanded to include many friends and extended family who might also benefit from our experiences.
- As a historian, to research, document and record important people, places and experiences of the Nauvoo of the 1840’s and today.
- To document and remember the lives of our own ancestors who lived in the original Nauvoo period, their lives, their trails, and their sacrifices so that we can appreciate them and can rejoice in gratitude for all that they have done for me/us.
- Help others to feel the Spirit of Nauvoo as a “Sacred and Holy Place”, and to honor the legacy of Jesus Christ here in Nauvoo as He and God worked through Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff and others who established this great community.
- Acknowledge the hand of the Lord in our lives through the many “Nauvoo Miracles” that he has given to us almost daily. We have felt Jesus Christ with us through this mission.
The many blog articles are still and will continue to be available on the blogsite.
Over the past year, I have published a multitude of blog articles. Some of these have featured many activities that we have been involved in. Many blogs have been based upon historical research on a variety of topics. As new materials have been published, I have introduced them initially through the blog articles.
Obviously, I have published these materials in the past but I am thinking that it might be helpful to all of you for me to show here in this one place – all of the major materials that I have created over the course of the mission (so far). I do not do this to brag – but just to make them available to anyone who has interest. So, this is the one source and reference for all of those materials.
I have included here links to the various materials in both .pdf formats as well as the book purchasing links on lulu.com. The published works will continue to be available in the future for anyone who has interest in purchasing them. (These are printed “on-demand” meaning that the books are not published until an order is actually placed. And this makes it easy for self-publishing.)
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY KEVIN HUNT WHILE A MISSIONARY IN NAUVOO
I have created a plethora of books – even before Nauvoo – on the lulu.com website. You may find all of my books by going to lulu.com and then doing a search on my name Kevin V Hunt but here is the link to all of my books. The links after this will be for specific books. (Go to the bottom of the page and use the arrow to scroll through the various pages and books.)
For each of these links, copy the link, and then paste it into your own browser … and Voila!
A NAUVOO WALK DOWN HISTORY LANE
I served the last six months my “young mission” in 1975 in Nauvoo. When I was here at that time, I went all around the Nauvoo “flats” (below Temple hill) and took photos of all of the properties and remaining homes that existed at that time. Then as I returned to Nauvoo in 2024 for my “senior mission”, I again went around and took photos of those same places. This book compares the places 1975 to 2024 and shows the results of restoration or other changes over time.
PDF file link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:5a7e38da-a5a3-4bb5-99da-21821793cb0e
RAY AND AUGUSTA HUNT HERITAGE BOOKS
My grandparents, Ray V. and Augusta Hunt were married June 25, 1924. In celebration of their 100th Anniversary, I created two volumes of family heritage books for them. Most of the work on these books was completed before the mission, I did finish the material, the editing, and the publication of these books after I arrived in the mission.
Volume #1
PDF file link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:0d7747ea-2237-41aa-bff5-58579dde3f6d
PDF file link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:2cd72765-d58c-4754-bc36-1cd06deb634e
NAUVOO HOMES, BRICK MAKING AND THE NAUVOOLEGACY OF ELDER E. H. BELCHER
This book introduces some history of brick making generally and in old Nauvoo. The book shows various brick homes and gives information about each. The book also introduces Elder E.H. Belcher, the Nauvoo Brickmaker who began making bricks in Nauvoo in 1980. Elder Belcher also created the Nauvoo brick that has been given out to Nauvoo guests for the past 45 years.
PDF Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:76d3ba69-cce0-41c9-a5ba-6336ecd252d6
THE NEW NAUVOO TEMPLE BRICK
Upon arrival in the Illinois Historic Sites Mission in 2024, Sister Lou Dene Belcher Hunt was invited with her family to create a new brick design to modernize the Nauvoo brick. Ultimately, a new design was selected and new molds were created. This book introduces the new brick and details the many miracles that happened to make the new brick a reality.
PDF File link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:va6c2:0622a7ba-00f7-4b7d-9879-bbba8b114ac8
NAUVOO HOMES AND SHOPS
This booklet introduces the many restored or reconstructed homes and shops for which tours are given in Nauvoo. Each shop or home is described with its history, information about the people who were a part of the shop or home. A great introduction to historic Nauvoo as it appears today.
PDF file link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:b19328c0-73bf-42ba-8a40-3848ceddfaa6
ILLINOIS HISTORIC SITES (NAUVOO) ANNUAL MISSION HISTORY 2024
This is a detailed history of the Illinois Historic Sites Mission. Monthly histories were created by Sisters Debra Omer and LuAnn Walters but put together into the annual book by Kevin Hunt.
PDF File Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:a68b5749-22b0-4a1f-b1d0-535d0cbcb8b9
OUR NAUVOO MISSION – VOLUME #1
This book contains the full blog articles that were published on the InNauvooWithKevandLou.wordpress.com. This contains pre-mission plans and miracles and the full blogs through blog #17. This book is full of beautiful photos from the mission experiences and historical research.
PDF File Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:d85b0341-8712-4a51-8ca4-97567c582f98
OUR NAUVOO MISSION – VOLUME #2
This book contains the full blog articles that were published on the InNauvooWithKevandLou.wordpress.com. Blog #18 through blog #27. This book is full of beautiful photos from the mission experiences and historical research.
PDF File link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:17a1e238-d45e-43a7-a83a-6e8f006741d7
PERSONAL JOURNAL VOLUME #141 FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2024
Although the above two books are very detailed in their coverage of mission experiences, they contain the “heads” – the bullet favorites. While preparing and reporting the blogs, I continued to maintain my daily journal entries. These journal entries contain much additional information and experiences that are not included in the blog articles. This book covers the full 2024 calendar year – including three months before the mission and then half of the 18-month mission.
PDF File Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:3e5bca93-bb60-48ba-a208-2e1800211ef2
JOURNALS, PERSONAL AND FAMILY HISTORY
During the winter months of 2025, I volunteered to teach a series of five different classes on the subject of heirlooms, journals, personal and family histories and how to publish them. For each class, I created a PowerPoint presentation. Each of these presentations were later posted on my blog site.
Then, after the classes, I compiled the five class presentations with many other of my previous materials created on the subject. I then published all of this material into a single volume book.
PDF File Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:va6c2:56550f94-1a58-4a93-b9c4-26864766b524
NAUVOO AREA MARKERS, MONUMENTS AND THE DASH
I became interested in the many historical markers and monuments in and around Nauvoo. Sister Hunt and I spent some P-days traveling around the area. We took photographs of the many plaques that we found. I also added much historical research data to the marker and monument material. This book details many of the markers and monuments found within a 50-mile radius of Nauvoo, Illinois.
PDF File Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:9b7081db-dee8-41b8-8f68-00864aa02a1b
OUR NAUVOO ANCESTORS
I have long been interested in my Nauvoo ancestors and being in the community gave me increased desire to learn of the ancestors. I determined that I have 32 direct-line ancestors who lived in Nauvoo for all or a part of the 7-year existence of the community. I did research and found much great information about these ancestors – including birth and family information, when and where they joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their association with the Prophet Joseph Smith, and their emigration and pioneer trek west.
I then researched the ancestors for my wife’s lines and found that she had 20 direct-line ancestors.
I created books for my Nauvoo ancestors and then another book for Lou’s lines.
PDF File Links: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:10a8cfa5-ddcb-429f-8fbc-5bc13d4a2413
PDF File Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:a4e0c030-eea5-4e9f-821a-f4db5277d15b
MISSION AND LIFE BOOK FOR GRANDSON BRYSON
Our grandson, Bryson Hunt Stoddard recently returned from a mission to Argentina. Before he left, I volunteered to compile a book to include all of his letters home. I created this compilation and then his mother and I together added a plethora of photos specific to the missionas well as other special times in his life.
PDF File Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:09593855-5e54-4470-b18a-1e452c0985cd
Lulu.com Link:
JOSEPH SMITH THE PROPHET IN NAUVOO
I did extensive research about the Prophet Joseph Smith, his martyrdom, and burials. I posted this article by the name of “The Tomb of Joseph”. After doing this research I added many other reference materials that I have prepared in the past about the Prophet Joseph. I published this as a big beautiful book. I have not yet advertised the book on my blog site but the book is now available here as a PDF file and also on the lulu bookstore.
PDF File Link: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:14198eac-e27f-485f-9367-08520fc4d431
It has been a great blessing to have been a part of the history of Nauvoo – both in the research of it, as well as in the living and making of it. I rejoice in the gift of writing and editing – and recognize that it is a special gift of the Spirit unto me.
So great to be on the historic Nauvoo train!
On the Nauvoo Trail 