Mormon History in Nauvoo, Iowa

Welcome to Nauvoo

America is full of history and several religions originated here, including Mormonism and Scientology. 

The history of Mormonism in America is complex.  Mormon blood was shed.  Settlers' blood was shed.  Utah's admission to the Union hinged on the Church renouncing the practice of Polygamy.  

Our drive south along The Great River Road provided the opportunity to visit the Mormon Site in Nauvoo.  

Downtown Nauvoo

Commerce, Illinois was a marshy Mississippi riverside community in the early 1800s.  Mormons purchased it in 1839 and renamed it Nauvoo.  The City grew under the government established by Joseph Smith and his fellow Mormons.

Amid escalating tensions, Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were murdered on June 20, 1844.  Homes in Nauvoo were attacked by locals.  Joseph Smith's successor, Brigham Young, decided to leave Nauvoo and move west to Utah.  

The first temple was abandoned.  It was badly damaged by a fire and a tornado.

Eric & I drive past the second

Mormon Temple.

We visit the Historic Nauvoo

Visitors Center.

A model of the first 

Mormon Temple 

Eric & I explore its

architectural features.

The plans from the first Temple,

built were preserved &

used to construct this 

model & the current Temple.

The statue of Joseph Smith &

Brigham Young faces the

Mississippi River.

Turtles on a log

The Mississippi River

flows south...