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Smith HomesteadVal Brinkerhoff, 2004In May 1839, Joseph Smith moved his family to the swampy wilderness of Commerce, Illinois. He wrote, "I arrived with my family . . . and took up my residence in a small log house on the bank of the river . . . [hoping to] find a resting place for a little season" (History of the Church, 3:349).The Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa area of the USAChurch History Maps.
1. Independence:
Identified as the center place of Zion (see D&C
57:3). A temple site was dedicated on 3 August 1831. The
Saints were driven from here in 1833.
2. Fishing River:
Joseph Smith and Zion's Camp traveled from Kirtland,
Ohio, to Missouri in 1834 to restore the Jackson County
Saints to their land. D&C 105 was revealed on the
banks of this river.
3. Far West: This
was the largest Mormon settlement in Missouri. A site
for a temple was dedicated at this location (see D&C
115). On 8 July 1838, the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles received a call from the Lord to serve
missions in the British Isles (see D&C 118).
4.
Adam-ondi-Ahman: The Lord identified this place in upper
Missouri as the site where a future great gathering
will take place when Jesus Christ comes to meet with
Adam and his righteous posterity and receive keys (see
D&C 78:15; 107:53-57; 116).
5. Liberty Jail:
Joseph Smith and others were falsely imprisoned here
from December 1838 to April 1839. In the midst of troubled
times for the Church, Joseph called on the Lord for
direction and received D&C 121-23.
6. Nauvoo:
Located on the Mississippi River, this area was the
gathering place for the Saints from 1839 through 1846.
Here a temple was built, and ordinances such as
baptism for the dead, the endowment, and the sealing
of families began. Here the Relief Society was organized in
1842. Revelations received include D&C 124-29.
7. Carthage: Here
the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were
martyred on 27 June 1844 (see D&C 135).
8. Winter
Quarters: The headquarters settlement for the Saints
(1846-48) en route to the Salt Lake Valley. The Camp
of Israel was organized for the westward journey (see
D&C 136).
9. Council Bluffs
(Kanesville): The First Presidency was sustained here
on 27 December 1847, with Brigham Young as President.
Kitchen in Joseph and Emma Smith's HomeJohn Telford, 1996Both Church and civic meetings were held in the Prophet's home. Consequently it was often filled to capacity. Of that busy time, he wrote, "Business goes on with us in quite a lively manner . . . in our arduous, but glorious undertaking" (History of the Church, 3:362).Joseph and Hyrum Smith Gravestones at the HomesteadJohn Telford, 2001
After the
Martyrdom at Carthage Jail the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum
Smith were carried in separate wagons to Nauvoo for
burial. The Homestead is the final resting place of
the martyrs Joseph and Hyrum.
Nauvoo HouseB. H. Roberts Collection, 1886 The Lord commanded the Saints to build an inn, the Nauvoo House, where visitors could stay and learn the gospel. Construction began in October 1841, across the street from the Smith homestead. Joseph Smith's Nauvoo HomesVal Brinkerhoff, 2004
Joseph and Emma moved to
the Homestead in May 1839, where they resided until their
new home, the Mansion House, located just across the street,
was completed in August 1843.
Smith HomesteadVal Brinkerhoff, 2004
The log cabin
that came to be known as the Homestead was one of the only
buildings that pre-dated the arrival of the Saints to
Nauvoo.
Smith HomesteadJohn Telford, 2001
While living at
the Nauvoo Homestead, Joseph Smith received the
revelation now contained in Doctrine and Convenants section
124 (which included the command to build the Nauvoo
Temple).
Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith's TombstonesSteve Mortensen, 2003
The Prophet's parents
died in Nauvoo, Joseph Sr. in 1840 and Lucy in 1855. Both
are buried near the Homestead. Of his mother and father,
Joseph wrote, "Words and language are inadequate to express
the gratitude that I owe to God for having given me so
honorable a parentage" (History of the Church,
5:126).
Steamboat along the Mississippi RiverVal Brinkerhoff, 2004
Many converts emigrated
to Nauvoo from Europe and arrived by steamboat at a landing
not far from the Prophet's home. They wrote of being warmly
greeted by Joseph Smith and hundreds of Nauvoo Saints, who
gathered at the landing to welcome the weary travelers.
Nauvoo HouseSteve Mortensen, 2003
The Nauvoo House?a place
of lodging for visitors to Nauvoo?was never fully completed.
After the Prophet's Martyrdom, Emma Smith lived here until
her death in 1879.
Nauvoo, IllinoisWarner and Beers; Union Atlas Co., 1876.
Map of Nauvoo, Illinois
as it looked in 1876. The temple plot is visible in the
center of the city and the Homestead, Mansion House, Nauvoo
House and Red Brick Store are located near the Smith
Cemetery along the southern river bank.
Mississippi River Seen from Joseph Smith's YardVal Brinkerhoff, 2004
Many Saints were very
sick upon arriving in Illinois. On July 22, 1839, the
Prophet, starting with those in his own home and yard, "went
from house to house, and from tent to tent, upon the bank of
the river, healing the sick by the power of Israel's God"
(Heber Chase Kimball, Autobiography, Papers 1837–66, Church
Archives, 262).
The Mansion HouseVal Brinkerhoff, 2004
After their
death, Joseph and Hyrum Smith were brought to the Mansion
House for viewing. "The scene there cannot be described. . .
. At 8 a.m. the room was thrown open for the Saints to
view the bodies of their martyred Prophet and
Patriarch, and it is estimated that over ten thousand
persons visited the remains that day, as there was a perfect
living stream of people entering in at the west door of the
mansion and out at the north door from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m" (History of the Church, 6:627).
Smith HomesteadB. H. Roberts Collection, 1886 The Homestead grew with time. The east side of the building (right) pre-dated the arrival of Joseph Smith to Nauvoo. In 1840, Joseph added a north room and in 1858, Joseph Smith III added the western section (left).
