Clearly, Joseph was speaking in eternal terms, for the temple would cost a great fortune for that day--over a million dollars with the faithful giving a tithe of their time and their income or even much larger consecrations to the temple building. Nauvoo's newspaper, The Times and Seasons, said that not even the widow in many instances could be prevented, 'out of her scanty pittance from throwing in her two mites.' But the gifts the Lord had for them in return were priceless.

"Wherever the Saints had been, they left behind the hope of building a temple where they could receive the crowning jewel of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ--the ordinances available only in this holy house.

"Joseph saw in vision what the Nauvoo Temple should look like, and when architect William Weeks brought him the plans, Joseph asked where the round windows were that should be between the first and second floors to let light stream into the temple. Weeks protested that structurally he thought it impossible to put round windows in that place, for they could not bear the weight of the building above them. To this Joseph answered that he had seen the round windows in the vision, and that that was the way the Lord wanted it to be. They had to find a way to do it.

"The cornerstones were laid in a particular order, beginning with the southeast cornerstone as a symbol of the order of the kingdom. With the eyes of a seer, Joseph assured the Saints 'that the ancient Prophets beheld and rejoiced at this scene, and are near to witness the fulfillment of their predictions.'

"'The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God at every age,' reported The Times and Seasons. 'They have looked with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live.'

"Stretching his hand toward the uncompleted temple, Joseph said, 'If it should be the will of God that I might live to behold that temple completed and finished from the foundation to the top stone, I will say, Oh Lord, it is enough. Lord let thy servant depart in peace.'" Joseph would not live to see the temple completed.

"Why this yearning sense of urgency for Joseph to complete the temple? He gives his reasons. To the sisters of the Relief Society, he said, 'The Church is not now organized in its proper order, and cannot be until the temple is completed.' To the elders he had said, 'You need an endowment, brethren, in order that you may be prepared and able to overcome all things.'"

After the death of the Prophet the Saints continued to be hounded and persecuted on every side. During the course of the next year, being pressed upon every side, agreements were made with the enemies of the city that the Saints would leave in the spring of 1846 when the grass grew and the rivers flowed. "But the temple had to be completed first, a poignant effort that would eventually find them building as they packed, cutting stone as they cured hickory for wagon wheels. Only a believer who knows the temple's significance would understand the million dollars of expenditure and one out of every ten days of labor to complete a place that would be abandoned. Here they could take upon themselves sacred covenants that might allow them to live again with God, a reality that put all their suffering into perspective.

"It was a project built out of their devotion and poverty. Louisa Decker said the woman 'sold things they could scarcely spare,' to get money toward its construction, and some gave more that than. Elizabeth Kirby, a widow, donated the only keepsake with which she would grieve to part--her husband's watch. She said, 'I gave it to help build the Nauvoo Temple and everything else I could possibly spare and the last few dollars that I had in the world, which altogether amounted to nearly $50.'

"Men like Charles Lambert worked on the temple by day and guarded the city by night, half-asleep with exhaustion. He had covenanted, 'I would stick to the temple pay or no pay until finished.' One day he came home to find his wife crying at the door, saying she could stand anything but hearing her children crying for bread and having none to give them. The two parents went to their bedroom and pled for help. In about an hour, Lucius Scovil came and asked Charles to make a gravestone to mark the spot where his son was buried. He had no money but instead would pay with wheat--in advance. That very evening, Lambert picked up about four bushels of wheat, went to the mill, and came home with grist. 'Thus,' he said, 'was our prayers answered.'

"In this time of need, the hounded people saw many answered prayers. With the undaunted faith that marked him, Brigham Young said, "A few months after the martyrdom of Joseph the Prophet, in the autumn and winter of 1844, we did much hard labor on the Nauvoo Temple, during which time it was difficult to get bread and other provisions for the workmen to eat. I counseled the committee who had charge of the temple funds to deal out all the flour they had, and God would give them more; and they did so; and it was but a short time before Brother Toronto came and brought twenty-five hundred dollars in gold. The bishop and the committee met, and I met with them; and they said that the law ws to lay the gold at the Apostle's feet. Yes, I said, and I will lay it at the bishop's feet; so I opened the mouth of the bag and took hold at the bottom end, and gave it a jerk toward the bishop, and strewed the gold across the room and said, now go, and buy flower for the workmen on the temple and do not distrust the Lord any more; for we will have what we need.'

"Nancy Tracy, whose home was near the temple, remembered, 'Out of my bedroom window I could see the masons at work and could hear the click of their hammers and hear their sailor songs as they pulled the rock in place with pulleys. It was grand to see.'

"Far from thinking it grand, Illinois' 'old citizens' were infuriated by the energy of the Saints. This majestic white limestone temple rising on a prominence overlooking the Mississippi was a sign to them that the Saints were digging in to stay, an unthinkable idea. As the temple rose, the designs of the enemies of the Church grew as well."

Ironically, after all the work, sacrifice and superhuman effort, the Saints would truly only have about 56 continuous days of use of the Nauvoo Temple before the first wagon crossed the Mississippi River on February 4, 1846. As the leadership of the Church left Nauvoo, the temple was left along with the thousands of homes, shops, businesses and farms of Nauvoo.

"A special night dedicatory service for the entire building was held in the temple on 30 April 1846. The following day a public service was held. Orson Hyde, one of the Twelve Apostles, presided over the dedication session and offered the prayer. On 9 October 1848 the temple was gutted by an arsonist's fire [Joseph Agnew]. Several walls were razed by a tornado on 27 May 1850. The temple stones were used in many buildings in Nauvoo, including the old Nauvoo Jail just behind the temple on the next block. The remaining [west] wall was purposely leveled in 1865."

Excerpts from Meridan Magazine