Fall is already in the air here in Nauvoo and we love it!
Since our last post, we participated in a 5K run / walk with a bunch of the missionaries old and young alike. It was a lot of fun and we really liked the route that was set up!
We even had the opportunity to take some of our wonderful Young Sister Missionaries to the St. Louis Airport where they departed for other missionary assignments. We love and miss them all!!
Of course, before we arrived at the airport we all had to stop for a Chick-fil-a breakfast. It was the first time any of them had seen one since arriving in Nauvoo over a year ago. Their screams of excitement when we pulled up was deafening!
Since Labor Day attendance has dropped off quite a bit, but we anticipate getting busy again very soon with bus loads of senior citizens coming, which will be a lot of fun. In fact, we have upwards of 15 buses arriving this week.
With attendance a bit slow we reach out to everyone passing by ... even the wonderful truck driver from Florida below making deliveries - we NEVER want to pass up an opportunity to share Nauvoo! He even had his family in the cab with him.
As most of you know, I love art and make feeble attempts doing it myself. This is a sketch I recently did of the Nauvoo Temple for one of our departing senior missionaries.
The history of Joseph Smith and the early Saints here in Nauvoo is incredible. We would like to share our thoughts and images of the beautiful Nauvoo Temple. The original temple was built after much sacrifice and hard work. Construction of the temple began in the spring of 1841 on a hilltop overlooking the Mississippi River. Sadly, the temple was not completed before Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred.
After the early Saints were driven out of Illinois, the temple was set on fire by an arsonist in 1848, which destroyed the temple interior. Then in 1850 a tornado destroyed its ruins. The temple site itself was reacquired by the Church in 1937 and the Nauvoo Temple was rebuilt on its original site and then rededicated in 2002.
WHY DO WE BUILD TEMPLES?
Some gospel ordinances and covenants are so sacred that God permits us to receive them only in special places called temples. A temple is literally a house of the Lord—a holy place set apart from the rest of the world. In the temple, we learn more about the plan of salvation and how to follow Christ’s perfect example. God’s greatest blessings are only available in His temples.
The scriptures teach that God has commanded His people to worship in temples since ancient times. When the Lord restored His Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith, He directed that temples once again be built. Having temples on the earth is a witness of God’s love for us. Everything in the temple testifies that God is our Father and that Jesus Christ is His Son and the Savior of the world.
For members of the Church, a temple is the most sacred place of worship on the earth. It is unique from all other places of worship. It is designated as the only place where families can be united forever and where the most sacred gospel ordinances are performed. It is also a place where we can feel closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, a place of peace and revelation, a place where family relationships are strengthened, and a place to seek direction concerning life’s challenges.
Jesus taught that baptism by proper authority was required to enter into heaven. He further demonstrated its importance when He was Himself baptized. Many people have the opportunity to be baptized while they are alive. But there are also many who die without being baptized or even knowing about Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father also wants each of them to return to live with Him.
Heavenly Father knew that many of His children would not have a chance to be baptized in this life, so He provided another way for them to receive this ordinance. In the temple, those who are deceased can receive baptism and other ordinances by proxy (meaning that someone living receives these ordinances on their behalf). Proxy baptism for deceased ancestors (baptism by proxy) is a sacred gift you can offer to your family members and others who have died. Those who have died can then choose whether to accept the baptism and other ordinances performed for them. Proxy ordinances extend the saving grace of Jesus Christ to all people.
TENDER MERCY
Now for a tender mercy ~ William Weeks was a trained architect and was chosen by Joseph Smith to do the renderings and construction drawings of the Nauvoo Temple. Joseph would sit next to William weeks and explain to him the details of the temple that Joseph had seen in visions. The design process itself took nearly two years and by the time they were finished the cornerstones of the temple had already been laid.
As the Saints began their exodus from Nauvoo due to the violent persecutions against them, Brigham Young asked William Weeks and his family to be among the first group to travel west in order for him to start as soon as possible on building a new temple. One of the things the Weeks family took with them on their journey west were William Weeks’ original drawings.
Although we don’t know why, there is no record of Weeks’ involvement in the Church in the West. Before he dies he passes those original drawings to his daughter who at some point passed them on to her son, Leslie Griffin. Then in 1948, over 100 years later, a miracle happens ~ two young missionaries knocked on Leslie’s door in small town of Boron, California. At some point Leslie announces to the young missionaries that he has his grandfather’s original drawings and that “your church would probably like to have them.” No doubt the missionaries were thrilled. Two weeks later the drawings were delivered to Church headquarters in Salt Lake City Utah.
As you look at the temple photos below, we hope you will feel the sweet spirit and joy at knowing that the rebuilt Nauvoo Temple was constructed from the original drawings by William Weeks, which reflect the revelations received by Joseph Smith.
The current Nauvoo Temple was dedicated in 2002 and stands on the footprint of the original temple as a memorial to those Latter-day Saints who build and dedicate a temple in the same place in 1846.
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