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Spotlight on Nauvoo
With Nancy Cattani
Nauvoo, Illinois, once a wet marshy land, needed to be drained before work could start on building a new town along the Mississippi River. There were those who said it couldn't be done but Joseph Smith said he could.
Building a temple and being able to perform the sacred ceremonies therein became the greatest desire for the saints. The Saints were poor but men and women alike sacrificed what they could. The sacrifice was great but the blessings of the Temple were worth everything to these saints.
The Temple attracted many visitors curious about this magnificent building, seen along the Mississippi River and from the settlements along Iowa. Steamboats took the curious visitors by several times a day.
Again, the saints were persecuted. As the persecution grew, so did the urgency to finish the temple. Hundreds of guards surrounded the temple day and night to protect both the Temple and those working to complete it.
Though not completely finished, the Temple work began in December of 1845, and by February, when the exodus to the west began, thousands had partaken of the blessings therein. The Temple was dedicated May 1, 1846. In a period of six years Nauvoo drew people by the thousands and rivaled Chicago as the largest city in Illinois. Then, by the fall of 1846 shops, homes, fields and streets were left deserted.
When the Saints left Nauvoo, the temple was desecrated and nearly destroyed. Fire and later a tornado finally finished it off until only the west wall told the story of where the Temple once stood. As the stones were carried off, to be used for other buildings, the remaining unstable wall was taken down.
It has been a small quiet town along the Mississippi since. Then, in April of 1999 President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that the Nauvoo Temple would be rebuilt. The temple was rededicated in June of 2002 and is an exact replica of the original. The inside has been designed and decorated to reflect the period including murals like those used at the time.
As happy as the news was to Latter-Day Saints, others had great concerns. Nauvoo, quiet little town, felt unprepared for the onslaught of visitors they were sure to receive. However, many have risen to the occasion with charming homes, bed and breakfasts, hotels, motels, and even camping and RV. Nauvoo offers an array of activities such as carriage rides, craft demonstrations, theatrical performances, museums, horseback riding, golf, steamboat and canoe rides, and of course the beautiful Nauvoo Temple and Visitor's Center. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has also rebuilt or duplicated many historical sites and homes of the time period.
It would be impossible to separate Nauvoo from its past. The story of Nauvoo is its past. The saga and sacrifice of building the Nauvoo Temple is a compelling story of faith and perseverance in Church as well as American History.
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