The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will dedicate the new Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center and the restored Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home on a historic date in Church history.
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication in historic Nauvoo, Illinois, on Saturday, June 27, according to the announcement on Tuesday, April 21, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
June 27 marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith, who were killed in Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844. The date also commemorates the dedication of the reconstructed Nauvoo Illinois Temple, on June 27, 2002.
The dedication will be a ticketed event for in-person attendees; it will also be broadcast live on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. The broadcast can also be viewed at multiple locations in Nauvoo.
Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center
The new visitors’ center will feature historical artifacts, interactive exhibits, a short film, a Tiffany stained-glass window of Jesus Christ and children’s activities. Visitors can learn about the history of Nauvoo’s original temple, the current Nauvoo Illinois Temple and the significance of houses of the Lord in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Our hope is that all who come here will feel the love of Jesus Christ and gain a deeper appreciation for the sacred covenants and ordinances of His holy house. The vast majority of covenants and ordinances performed in temples today were first restored in Nauvoo,” Elder Kyle S. McKay, a General Authority Seventy who serves as the Church historian and recorder, said in the announcement.
Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home
The recently restored Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home will be rededicated in the same ceremony. The home was initially restored in the 1960s, and has since received structural and program updates. The new guided tour focuses on the preparations of the Young family to leave their Nauvoo home and begin the long journey to the West.
Open June 29
Starting Monday, June 29, the Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center, at 155 Wells St., Nauvoo, Illinois, and the Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home, at 610 Kimball St., Nauvoo, Illinois, will be open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
Early Nauvoo
Latter-day Saints began gathering in Nauvoo when it was little more than a swamp in 1839. Within six years, they built a thriving city of more than 10,000 residents that included the construction of a house of the Lord. Nauvoo was the Church’s headquarters from 1839 to 1846.
During the early 1840s, Joseph Smith received several revelations, taught foundational doctrines, organized the Relief Society and established temple ordinances.
The Lord directed the Saints to build a House of the Lord in Nauvoo in 1841. Despite persecution and the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in 1844, many received temple blessings before their exodus West in 1846. A fire and subsequent tornado destroyed the building. Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced the reconstruction of the temple to be built on the historic site on April 4, 1999, which was dedicated on June 27, 2002.
Learn more about these and other historic sites in the Nauvoo area on the Church’s website, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The dedication of the new Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center follows the Church’s acquisition and reopening of historic buildings for free public tours in 2024, including the Joseph and Emma Smith Mansion House, the Smith Family Homestead and the Red Brick Store.
The last dedicatory event at a Church historic site occurred last September when Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles rededicated the refurbished Hill Cumorah Historic Site near Palmyra, New York.
