Original Nauvoo Temple Stones

The sunstone seen here was once part of the original Nauvoo Temple. That edifice was begun under the direction of President Joseph Smith Jr. It was still under construction at the time of his death in June 1844.

There were thirty sunstones on the temple’s exterior walls. Each sunstone rested atop of one of thirty pilaster shafts. Moreover, each individual stone was was actually comprised of five separate stones weighing, together, over 4,000 pounds. Some have associated the sunstones, moonstones, and starstones with the doctrinal concept of “three degrees of glory.” Others, however, question this because of the order in which the stones were placed on the temple exterior. Wandle Mace, foreman over the framers, associated the stones with imagery from the 12th chapter of Revelation in the Bible. No official doctrinal interpretation has been given. The sunstone located at the LDS visitors’ center in Nauvoo has been property of the state of Illinois for decades and for many years stood unprotected in the Nauvoo State Park. The Church now acts in a role to preserve and safely display the stone. Several other sunstones are still extant, one in the Smithsonian and another in the Joseph Smith Historic Site (Community of Christ) in Nauvoo. A variety of extant partial stones from the Nauvoo Temple are privately owned and not available for viewing. The interior of the temple was never fully completed before the exodus of the Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo which began in February 1846. The third or top level of the temple was dedicated as a place where Latter-day Saint faithful could participate in sacred ordinances. It is thought that only about 5600 men and women had that opportunity during a short eight-week period. An arsonist set the temple ablaze in 1850? destroying the interior and roof. Years later, a tornado hit the walls knocking down three of them. The remaining wall was pulled down in ?