Nauvoo

These men were strangers before beginning their missions in Nauvoo.

Each of this year’s locations includes a unique activity like golfing, hiking, or visiting Church historic sites, and each session costs just $50!

With all the buzz about the Kirtland Temple, here are the newly acquired fascinating artifacts you might have missed.

Many of the stories about this beloved temple are familiar, but here are some lesser-known but just as inspiring stories about the original and present-day Nauvoo temples.

For young single adults who are missing the camaraderie, friendships, and fun they experienced at EFY, a brand-new opportunity is coming this summer.

“Sometimes we too must turn and walk away from the future we expected and worked for.”

This new film will follow the struggles and triumphs of the Saints through the eyes of four Church members in Nauvoo who lived the temple-building experience on a daily basis.

In 2014, the Church began a 25-year renovation project in Historic Nauvoo, and this week, the first phase of the project was recognized and awarded for bringing greater awareness to Illinois’ diverse history.

Like most Church historic sites across the United States, Historic Nauvoo and Carthage Jail closed in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began to alter life across the planet. No one expected the closure to last as long as it did. Yet while the streets have been empty, Nauvoo Historic Sites have been transforming and preparing for an even better future.

On this date in history in 1846, the first Latter-day Saints to leave Nauvoo came to the end of Parley Street and prepared to cross the Mississippi River in the dead of winter.

Documents, Volume 11 of The Joseph Smith Papers covers a dynamic period in Joseph Smith’s life. At the outset of the volume, in September 1842, Joseph Smith was a hunted man and had to spend months in hiding avoiding arrest and extradition to Missouri. By February 1843, at the close of the volume, Joseph had experienced one of his greatest legal victories and was optimistically planning for additional growth and settlement in Nauvoo and the surrounding area. Throughout it all he remained energetically engaged in teaching the Saints and supporting the Church. Here are five surprising things we learn about Joseph Smith and Nauvoo in this volume of The Joseph Smith Papers.

Though Church historic sites have been closed to physical visitors due to COVID-19, many missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are finding ways to connect people to the spirit of the historic sites—and you don’t even have to leave your living room.

While severe thunderstorms raged through Illinois, the Nauvoo temple was struck by lightning shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday, June 28, 2019. The blast startled those in attendance at the temple, according to Nauvoo Mercantile.

Jolynn Forman is a Latter-day Saint artist who researches the themes of different temples and incorporates those themes into her paintings. All artwork in this article is by Sister Forman.

The 1843 Christmas in Nauvoo was the last one Joseph Smith Jr. was to spend on earth. No one knew that just six months later he would be martyred in Carthage Jail. Perhaps no Christmas was more pleasant to the Prophet than this last one.

As the largest Church history site, Nauvoo's expansion project is set to be a great undertaking both physically and spiritually, making it significant not only for Latter-day Saints but for other visitors as well. "If we communicate that significance, we'll strengthen the faith of Latter-day Saints that come here but also share the spiritual significance of our faith that many people don't particularly adhere to but want to appreciate," Steven Olsen says.

Five houses are still standing where ancestors of my children lived in Nauvoo in the days following the Missouri exodus. For a time, that beautiful Mississippi community must have seemed a heavenly gift. Once the swamps were drained the site became a truly attractive place. In addition, the Illinoisans were receptive and helpful. Converts arrived by the hundreds. Doctrinal growth added structure to the restoration. Joseph seemed to become more prophetic and powerful than he had been before. The Nauvoo years preceding the martyrdom provided a season of rest and rejoicing for the beleaguered Saints of the Most High.

Planetary symbols such as the sun, moon, and stars direct our attention to God and challenge us to contemplate matters of eternal significance as we work to emulate the life of our true Light, Jesus Christ. Many temples have earth, moon, sun, and star stones.

Senior missionaries give meaningful service while they spread the gospel, but who would have thought that service could be so Halloween-festive?

Nauvoo is well-known among Mormons as the gathering place for Latter-day Saints in the 1840s, site of the Church’s second completed temple and launching point for America’s greatest westward migration, but here are 10 facts you may not have known before:

MR says: There's nothing quite like building a temple to help bring families together for an activity that everyone is sure to love! Check out these incredible temple brick sets perfect for your family!

When the reconstruction of the Nauvoo Temple was announced in 1999, it was an exciting event. But even more exciting was the fact that the plans for the original Nauvoo Temple were accessible, allowing the new temple to more closely and accurately resemble its historic predecessor than it otherwise could have. But who designed the original Nauvoo Temple, and how were his plans discovered after nearly 100 years of being passed from ancestor to ancestor outside of the Church? Read on for an inspiring example of how the Lord takes care of His temples.

MR says: From the death masks of Joseph and Hyrum Smith to the Vision Theater and the Nauvoo Sun Stone, there are a lot of hidden treasures you won't want to miss at the reopening of the Church History Museum.

Did you know that early Church leaders originally planned to have 24 temples in Jackson County, Missouri? Or that several brethren had a vision of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father during a meeting of the School of the Prophets? Read on to learn more fascinating facts you might not have known about Church history.