Box 310 Nauvoo, IL 62354-0310 It is a scrap piece of stone leftover from the original construction. The temple took just over two years to complete and sits on the same site as the original Nauvoo Temple. We thank Thee for this season in which we live, with the many blessings of peace and prosperity which we enjoy at Thy hands. Orson Hyde, W. Woodruff, Joseph Young, & W. W. Phelps were in the company. The dedication of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple was delivered over the Church's encrypted satellite system to Church buildings around the world. This official dedication was held privately as a sacred and reverent occasion by selected Church leaders. I returned home thankful for the privilege of Assisting in the dedication of the Temple of Lord. Sept. 1846 -- Church driven out of Nauvoo, temple abandoned. The dedication took place in the afternoon, attended by the Twelve, the Presiding Bishops, and their wives. While tourists are not allowed inside the temple -- unless they are church members -- you may certainly explore the grounds at the gorgeous building, which can be seen from nearly every area of town. Featuring Enoch Train as guest artists, this historic program commemorates the dedication of the reconstructed Nauvoo Illinois Temple and recalls the sacrifices of the early Latter-day Saints who built the original temple on the banks of the Mississippi. [12] Diary of Samuel Whitney Richards, 19. [10] Wilford Woodruff, Wilford Woodruff_s Journal, ed. The sun breaking through the clouds represents the dawning of the … World Affairs Council, New Visitors’ Facilities in New York, Ohio, President Hinckley Celebrates 92nd Birthday, Missionary Training Center Dedicated in Ghana, Fires Affect Members in Arizona, Colorado, “Nauvoo Illinois Temple Dedicated,” Ensign, Sept. 2002, 74–75. It is the third such temple that has been built in Illinois. "The Temple was dedicated in the presence of strangers and all who would pay one dollar for admittance." We asked the Lord to accept the labors of his servants in this land. [12]. . [6] It had been hoped that the dedication could take place on 6 April, the sixteenth anniversary of the Church's origin. Elder D. Todd Christofferson and Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander of the Presidency of the Seventy offered the invocation and the benediction. Don F. Colvin, “The Dedication of the Temple,” in Nauvoo Temple: A Story of Faith (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, 2002), 245–51. The Saints eagerly labored to receive the blessings promised by the Lord. [2] B. H. Roberts, ed., History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Period 2: Apostolic Interregnum (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 7:456–57. The meeting was called to order at noon, and William Clayton was requested to keep minutes of the proceedings. Let Thy Spirit rest upon those who have contributed to the building of this temple, the laborers on it that they may come forth to receive kingdoms and dominions and glory and immortal power. Orson Hyde read the dedicatory prayer. NAUVOO, Ill. Church leaders say today's temple dedication is a "defining moment" for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. April 30, 1846 -- Private dedication held with a dedicatory prayer by Orson Hyde. On April 30, 1846, Elders Orson Hyde and Wilford Woodruff of the Quorum of the Twelve and approximately 20 others dedicated this house of the Lord. A mob attacked them … On June 27, 2002, Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated the Nauvoo Temple. The Nauvoo Temple dedication was certainly singular in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was one of three who was appointed to seat the congregation, in the house, and stood part of the time at the door to receive tickets. Abandoned to the Mobs Following the temple dedication of May 1846, most Latter-day Saints still in Nauvoo departed to join their friends and families on the prairies of Iowa. During the closing moments of the dedication of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple on June 30, 2002, President Gordon B. Hinckley noted it was “a very hot day” in Nauvoo. Between 1937 and 1962, the LDS Church reacquired and restored the lot on which the temple stood. He prayed for the Twelve and all the authorities of the church, for the workmen that had wrought upon the Temple in the midst of persecution, want and suffering, and for the deliverance of the poor; that the Lord would direct the brethren of the camp of Israel, open the way before them and lead them to a place of his own appointment for the gathering of all the Saints." [10], President Brigham Young, though not present in person, made this observation: “Elder Joseph Young offered up the dedicatory prayer, dedicating the Temple and all that pertained thereto to the Lord, as an offering to Him as an evidence of the willingness of his people to fulfill his commandments and build His holy house, even at the risk of their lives, and the sacrifice of all their labor and earthly goods. day of May, 1846. October 15, 2002 . Under the direction of Truman Angell, a special crew of workmen remained behind to complete the first story and some other parts of the structure. A bucket brigade … Added to these conditions was the relentless and ever-growing pressure by enemies to drive the Latter-day Saints out of Illinois. NAUVOO, Ill. — Dedicated to the Lord by President Gordon B. Hinckley, the Nauvoo Illinois Temple stands as a memorial to Joseph Smith and early Church members who sacrificed much during the opening chapters of the history of the Restoration. Members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles participated at each of the 13 dedicatory sessions through Sunday, 30 June. . Sept. 1846 -- Church driven out of Nauvoo, temple abandoned. Temple Arrival Center. ). Dedication of the Temple of God in the city of Nauvoo This splendid edifice is now completed, and will be dedicated to the Most High God on Friday, the 1st. The cervises closed between one and two." We expect some able speakers from abroad to favor us. One object of the above is, to raise funds to enable the workmen who have built the Temple to remove to the west with their families, and all who are disposed to see the Mormon's remove in peace and in quietness so soon as circumstances will allow, and [which is the earnest wish of every Latter day Saint] are respectfully invited to attend. [13]. The Temple at Nauvoo. The prayer of dedication was offered by Elder Hyde, who presided over the meeting. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois, in the winter of 1846, the church attempted to sell the building, finally succeeding in 1848. May this sacred house stand as a memorial to him who lived here and was buried here, Joseph Smith, the great prophet of this dispensation, and his brother Hyrum, whom he loved.”. The resolution was adopted by a unanimous vote. Satellite broadcasts of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple dedicatory sessions on 27–30 June allowed members gathered at 2,983 sites in 68 countries to take part in the dedication. In 1999, church elders announced the Nauvoo temple would be rebuilt, and the new structure was dedicated in 2002. As a time capsule was sealed in the cornerstone box earlier in the day, President Hinckley spoke of an “unseen audience” that he expected to be present for the dedication, including the Prophet Joseph Smith, his brother Hyrum, and “many others who gave their life and their time and their energies to the construction of [the original Nauvoo] temple.” The dedication began at 6:00 P.M. Central Day-light Time on the same date—27 June—when the Prophet Joseph and his brother were martyred in Carthage Jail, about 15 miles away, in 1844. Construction of the Nauvoo Temple began in the spring of 1841 on a hilltop overlooking the Mississippi River. Keokuk Daily Gate City, September 21, 2001. We ask Thee to take the guardianship into Thy hands and grant that Thy Spirit shall dwell here and may all feel a sacred influence on their hearts that His Hand has helped this work. 1.7K likes. Additional prayers and songs were also part of the meeting. Just two years after its dedication, the Nauvoo Temple was tragically destroyed by arson fire in 1848, leaving only the charred exterior walls. Music for the dedicatory sessions was provided by members of the Tabernacle Choir and by choirs of local Latter-day Saints. The Latter Day Saints made preparations to build a temple soon after establishing their headquarters at Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1839. [6] Journal History, 9 March 1846, LDS Church Archives. Sidney Rigdon gave the principal oration. A little more than 156 years after early mem bers fled amid factional violence, a gleaming white limestone edifice stands in the place where an earlier Nauvoo Temple was destroyed. We dedicated the Temple of the Lord built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, unto His Most Holy name. Oct. 1847-Oct. 1848 -- Mob forces desecrate the temple and some limited physical damage is sustained. The Temple Arrival Center, located north of the temple, is available for nonpatron family and friends. The urgency of this goal originated with none other than Joseph Smith. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), the house of worship was the first temple to be built by adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Nauvoo Temple was the first in which ordinances such as eternal marriage and baptism for the dead were performed. The temple was privately dedicated April 30, 1846 with a public dedication the next day. Through television cameras and the satellite broadcast, members were able to view the proceedings and look into the beautiful new temple from meetinghouses around the world. Since the Latter-day Saints were driven from Nauvoo in the mid-1840s and embarked on a 1,300-mile exodus from Nauvoo to the Rocky Mountains, the Church has grown to more than … It is the third such temple that has been built in Illinois (the original Nauvoo Temple and Chicago Illinois Temple being the others). Also note that the Palymra Temple dedication was also the first temple dedication to be broadcast (only to America & Canada, the Nauvoo Temple 2 years later was the first to be broadcast worldwide). In October 1848, arsonists’ fire left only the limestone outer walls intact. This was the first temple dedication broadcast on an international scale, and its reach far exceeded that of any previous Church satellite broadcast. Though work continued at a steady pace, the building simply could not be completed by that date, so Elder Hyde reported to Brigham Young: "The Temple will not be finished to dedicate on the sixth of April. 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