NAUVOO, Ill. — As one of the most recognized Latter-day Saint symbols in the world, the Nauvoo Illinois Temple represents service, struggle and sacrifice.
Nauvoo Temple president and member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy Elder Wayne Peterson said the temple is revered by many as one of the most integral parts in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Nauvoo Temple was announced by President Gordon B. Hinckley in the 1999 April General Conference. Three years later, the temple was dedicated on the very day and hour of the anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith.
The reconstructed temple lies on its original foundation with 98 percent of the outside design exactly as it was in the 1840s. The temple sits atop a bluff facing the Mississippi River, as it did when it was first constructed, and remains the only Latter-day Saint temple to have a bell tower.
West of the temple’s majestic bell tower lies the area known as “the flats.” The flats contain the majority of The Church of Jesus Christ’s and the Community of Christ’s historical sites.
Each night, the flats lie dormant while brilliant lights illuminate the temple’s limestone blocks and stain glass windows. Although dimmed in the night, the lights on the temple never turn off, making the edifice a literal beacon of light along the Mississippi River.
President Peterson, who has served 32 of his 36 months as temple president, said the temple is a continual subject of awe among visitors and passers-by. Its conspicuous location brings inquiring persons to the temple grounds daily.
Members of the church also marvel at the temple because of its historical significance in church doctrine. Every ordinance now administered in the church’s 132 temples throughout the world was first introduced and practiced in Nauvoo.
“People come here for the same reason they go to Kirtland, the same reason they go to Palmyra,” President Peterson said. “But the fact that we have a temple — they don’t have one that you can go to and do ordinance work — that’s why they especially come here.”
The temple’s unique role in the history of the church has created an environment of reverence and learning in Nauvoo. President Peterson said the reconstruction honors the early Latter-day Saints while celebrating the future of the Lord’s work on the earth. The spirit of the past reminds visitors of the holy ground on which they stand.
“The consecrated efforts of those original saints have made this [temple] sacred,” President Peterson said. “There is something about the fact that this was built on the original site as an exact replica on the outside as the original temple … one lingers because they feel that.”
The church consistently focuses its efforts in Nauvoo around the temple. During the famous Nauvoo Pageant, a month-long series of performances about Joseph Smith and the early church, the temple buzzes with activity and visitors. As each pageant performance begins at nightfall, the temple lights up to serve as a reminder of the early Latter-day Saints’ faith and sacrifice. The pageant draws crowds from around the world to its sacred backdrop in addition to its renowned performances.
“In the summertime when the pageant is on, we can barely make it through the day we’re so busy, but that is wonderful,” President Peterson said. “The worst part is when you’re not busy and no one is coming.”
Nauvoo experiences seasonal crowds in accordance with summer events. In an effort to accommodate large numbers of visitors, the Church constructed two buildings across from the temple with the intent to welcome and inform: the Temple Arrival Center and the Temple Information Center.
The Temple Arrival Center is meant to serve patrons who are visiting the temple to perform ordinances. The building has showers, changing rooms, bridal suites and day care available to temple visitors.
The Temple Information Center contains photographs and videos that document the temple’s history and reconstruction.
Elder Harry Gammon, 74, and his wife, Verna, 56, are serving a six-month calling as temple missionaries. The couple, from Vernal, first served in the Temple Arrival Center and was more recently assigned to the Temple Information Center.
Elder Gammon and his wife explained that the temple is an international crossroads of service where both members and non-members can enjoy the spirit of Nauvoo.
“They consider this a destination temple so we have people coming to Nauvoo from all over the world only because this is where temple work originated and people just want to come and feel that,” Elder Gammon said. “Every day we’re meeting different people and hearing of their different experiences. The unique spirit in this temple is really so strong.”
