Historical time line of Nauvoo Temple
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Jan. 19, 1841: Joseph Smith receives a revelation instructing the Saints in Nauvoo to build a temple and giving its purpose, published today as Section 124 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
April 6, 1841: Temple cornerstones are laid.
Nov. 21, 1841: A temporary baptismal font is dedicated.
March, April 1844: Quorum of the Twelve are given keys of temple work.
May 24, 1845: Capstone of the temple is placed with appropriate celebration.
Nov. 1, 1845: Rooms in the attic of the temple are dedicated for ordinance work.
Dec. 10, 1845: First endowments are given in the Nauvoo Temple.
Feb. 7, 1846: The last endowment is given in the Nauvoo Temple, capping a total of 5,595.
May 1, 1846: Nauvoo Temple is publicly dedicated by Orson Hyde and Wilford Woodruff.
Oct. 9, 1848: Fire, suspected to have been set by an arsonist, destroys the temple, leaving only the weakened, outer limestone walls.
May 27, 1850: A tornado destroys what's left of the temple.
Feb. 20, 1937: The First Presidency announces the purchase of most of the Nauvoo Temple site, negotiated by Wilford C. Wood.
April 4, 1999: President Gordon B. Hinckley announces plans to rebuild the Nauvoo Temple.
Information provided in part by Susan Easton Black, professor of Church history at BYU, and partly drawn from other sources.
