LDS TEMPLE PLANNED FOR NAUVOO

According to Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the sect has announced plans for the rebuilding of its Nauvoo Temple. The surprise announcement came on Easter Sunday during the close of the church’s annual General Conference.

The original Nauvoo Temple began construction in 1841 under the leadership of the sect’s founder, Joseph Smith, Jr. It was dedicated in December 1845, prior to its completion and 18 months after Smith’s death. The temple was abandoned a year later as the group migrated to Salt Lake City under the leadership of Brigham Young. In 1848, the structure caught fire leaving only the walls standing. A subsequent tornado then demolished the burned-out remains.

The former Nauvoo Temple was Smith’s second such edifice. However, it was the first temple in which his unique ceremonies — such as baptism for the dead and sealing of marriages for eternity — were performed. The sect’s first temple was constructed in the 1830s in Kirtland, Ohio, prior to the evolution of Smith’s peculiar doctrine and practice.

Hinckley also revealed that, “A member of the [LDS] church and his family have provided a very substantial contribution to make this possible.” While no date for the temple’s completion was given, Hinckley noted that, “It will be a while before it happens, but architects have begun their work.”

The temple project reflects only one aspect of the LDS church’s reverse-migration to Nauvoo. For several decades, the sect’s presence has been felt in western Illinois due to the establishing and promoting of LDS historical sites. And just days after announcing its plans to rebuild the temple, the church disclosed that preparations are underway for Brigham Young University to open a formal study center in Nauvoo. The center will be housed in a former Catholic monastery and parochial school, which sits adjacent to the temple site. The facility, St. Mary’s Monastery, was purchased by the LDS church last December. Eighty students will be housed at the newly created center, when the full-fledge program begins in the fall.

—MKG

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