The Nauvoo temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is officially being dedicated today. For those of you who aren’t up on Church history, the Nauvoo temple was the second one built after Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, but the Saints there were only able to use the temple for a short while before mob violence forced them to leave Nauvoo. An arsonist burned much of the original temple structure in 1848, and a tornado pretty much finished the destructive work in 1850.
I’m excited by this, because temples are an important element of our religion. We believe that they are literally God’s dwelling place on the earth, and that by prayer, study, and performing sacred ordinances there that we can draw closer to Him and prepare ourselves for exaltation. It’s a milestone for the Church that we’re able to restore this important piece of Church history.
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