NAUVOO, Illinois — Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said Nauvoo is central to the “past, present and future” of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Called a “cornerstone of Zion” in Doctrine and Covenants 124:2, Nauvoo is where the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith the fullness of temple ordinances, including baptism for the dead, the endowment and the marriage sealing ordinance, among other truths and doctrine.
With the Nauvoo Illinois Temple visible through the large windows behind him, Elder Gong testified of Jesus Christ and expressed gratitude for prophets called by the Savior in the latter days during the dedication of the Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center in Nauvoo, Illinois, on Saturday, June 27.
“What was revealed here in Nauvoo continues to bless Heavenly Father’s children everywhere,” Elder Gong said. “The new Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center shares this legacy through exhibits, artifacts and media that help visitors gain a deeper appreciation for sacred temple covenants and ordinances restored by the Lord to Joseph Smith here in Nauvoo and offered in temples worldwide today.”
Elder Gong dedicated the new Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center and rededicated the restored Brigham and Mary Ann Young Home on Saturday, June 27 — what he called a “triple anniversary.”
June 27 marks the 1844 martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith at Carthage Jail, about 20 miles southeast of Nauvoo. The date also commemorates the dedication of the reconstructed Nauvoo Illinois Temple on June 27, 2002.
Elder Gong was accompanied at the dedication by his wife, Sister Susan Gong; Elder Kyle S. McKay, a General Authority Seventy who serves as Church historian and recorder and executive director of the Church History Department, and his wife, Sister Jennifer McKay; Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, and her husband, Brother Scott Runia; Elder Hugo E. Martínez, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Church History Department, and his wife, Sister Nuria Martínez; and Elder Ricardo P. Giménez, a General Authority Seventy and member of the Church’s United States Central Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Catherine Giménez.
In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Gong expressed gratitude for the faith, sacrifice and consecration of those in Nauvoo, from then until now.
“Their legacy blesses us all,” he said. “We’re grateful for the doctrine, revelations, ordinances and covenants that were revealed here in Nauvoo. These include restored temple covenants and ordinances, such as those available in the Nauvoo Illinois Temple, which unite families for eternity and open the opportunity for salvation for God’s children everywhere. We pray these truths and blessings will be shared and felt by all who come to the Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center.”
Concluding the dedicatory prayer, he said: “Please bless with light and joy, peace and testimony, all who come to historic Nauvoo.”
The Brigham and Mary Ann Young home was first dedicated on May 25, 1973, by President Spencer W. Kimball. The home recently underwent major repairs, stabilization and an exhibit upgrade, leading to the rededication. Elder Gong visited the historic home before rededicating it and said the historic site acknowledges and symbolizes the Youngs’ faithful lives and examples.
Elder Gong welcomed and acknowledged with appreciation local faith and community leaders, neighbors and longtime friends, as well as local Church leaders and members for their attendance.
“Please always let us know if we — as residents, Church members, missionaries or visitors — can be or do better,” he said.
Designed to testify of Christ
Prior to Elder Gong’s address and dedicatory prayer, the program featured musical numbers performed by Nauvoo Performing Missionaries and remarks by Elder McKay, Sister Runia and two local members, Talmage Squire and Kathy Nelson, both of the Nauvoo First Ward.
Elder McKay spoke about the six paintings by French artist James Tissot depicting scenes of the Savior at the temple and referenced their stories in the scriptures. Those who search for Jesus Christ, he taught, will find Him in the temple. Reproductions of these paintings hang in the new visitors’ center.
Noting the view of the temple from the visitors’ center, Elder McKay said that if people see it simply as a way to view the house of the Lord, “we have stopped short of the mark.”
“Both buildings have been designed and constructed to testify of and beckon us toward the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “I pray that this visitors’ center ... might become a place where all the people of the earth might come to turn toward the temple and perhaps silently supplicate knowing that God will hear in heaven and answer in mercy through His Son, Jesus Christ, who continues to teach daily in the temple.”
Sister Runia reflected on when the early Saints crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois and found a mosquito-infested swamp that no one else wanted. Even so, Joseph Smith named the Saints’ new city as Nauvoo, a Hebrew word for “beautiful.”
“That single act tells us something profound about the spirit of these people,” she said. “They did not see what existed. They saw with an inward eye — the eye of faith — to what could be. That vision, that light, is what carried them through everything that followed.”
Sister Runia said when seeing a temple, God’s invitation is for a person to elevate their gaze and look for something better individually and in others, communities and all humankind.
“I believe with my whole heart that in the House of the Lord, those early Latter-day Saints had a feeling of coming home after being away, because the Temple is our home away from home,” she said.
Kathy Nelson and Talmage Squires, an 11-year-old youth, both shared experiences about attending the temple and finding spiritual strength and blessings. Nelson said she felt drawn there after her husband died.
“Never have I been more grateful for the peace of that holy house than on those trying days,” she said. “[The temple] is where heaven touches earth.”
Eternal families and the Savior
The Church leaders and spouses toured the new visitors’ center on Friday afternoon.
Elder Martínez said the new visitors’ center is a “wonderful space” to go and reflect on the temple and the Savior, Jesus Christ. He hopes visitors come away with a better understanding of eternal families.
“That [understanding of eternal families] drove everything that the Saints, and particularly Joseph Smith and his family, did,” he said. “I hope they gain an understanding of the sacrifice, but the eventual goal of eternal families.”
Elder Giménez said the visitors’ center carries the spirit of those who sacrificed to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to others — and that spirit helps visitors feel they are welcome.
“The visitors’ center is an opportunity to open the doors and come and see that we love the Savior,” he said. “That will be the main message.”
‘Cornerstone of Zion’
Steven Olsen walked around the center admiring the exhibits with a satisfied smile. He was the main curator on the Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center before he retired in January 2025. When he and others were envisioning what the center could be, they realized the Lord calls Nauvoo the “Cornerstone of Zion” in four verses of Doctrine and Covenants 124. They spent considerable time pondering what the Lord meant by that.
“One of the central things that it means is that Nauvoo was the place where the plan of exaltation was put into practice through the ordinances and covenants of the house of the Lord,” Olsen said. “What you will see is that Nauvoo served as a gathering place, a temple city, and as a covenant community. Those three themes are intertwined throughout this whole exhibit. And all of those things lead us to Christ.”
President Daniel Mehr and his wife, Sister Rebecca Mehr, mission leaders of the Church’s Illinois Historic Sites, said interest has grown since the Church acquired several properties relating to Joseph Smith in March 2024.
President and Sister Mehr feel the new temple visitors’ center will add to that “exponentially.”
“It’s all about the temple,” President Mehr said. “It will elevate the spiritual experience here, and it will exponentially change people’s lives.”
Added Sister Mehr: “The temple visitors’ center allows us to focus on why they sacrificed so much [to build the temple,] and now we have a place to tell those stories and focus on it even more. That was the reason for their courage and faith.”
Local faith leaders
Rev. Timothy White, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Quincy, Illinois, was one of several local faith leaders who attended the dedication. He said his church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints both belong to a coalition of 25 churches and 22 social service agencies that began working together following a devastating flood in 1993.
At a time when some are not interested in preserving history, Rev. White said he was excited and encouraged to see the Church build the Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center and was honored to be invited to the dedication.
“It’s very, very important that we document the history of our country and the history of the Church,” he said.
Koretta Sykes, director of Quincy’s Karing Kulture Kommunity Khoir, added she was honored to be there and hear the music performed by the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries. “I’m speechless,” she said of their performance.
‘The Jesus I grew up with’
Elder George Hampton and his wife, Sister Suzy Hampton, a senior missionary couple from Washington, Utah, had the task of documenting the building of the visitors’ center. Beginning in June 2024, they witnessed the whole project from digging a hole all the way through the brickwork.
Elder Hampton’s favorite part of the building is the Tiffany art-glass depiction of the Savior, which reminds him of a similar stained-glass Jesus Christ in his Methodist Church in Chicago, Illinois, when the Latter-day Saint convert was a 10-year-old boy. He believes the art-glass will resonate with visitors of other faiths, helping them recognize that Latter-day Saints are Christian.
“It’s the Jesus I grew up with,” he said. “And they will know we are Christian because that is their Jesus too.”
