As he opened the 172nd Semiannual General Conference of the Church Saturday morning, Oct. 5, President Gordon B. Hinckley quoted Alma's declaration: "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!" (Alma 29:1.)

Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred

President Gordon B. Hinckley

President Hinckley then said, "We have reached a point where we can almost do that. The proceedings of this conference will be carried across the world, and the speakers will be heard and seen by Latter-day Saints on every continent. We have come a very long way in realizing the fulfillment of the vision set forth in the Book of Revelation: 'And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.' " (Revelation 14:6.)

He referred to the conference as "a tremendous occasion," and to the congregation as "one great family, representatives of the human family in this vast and beautiful world."

The Church leader then turned the focus of his address to temples, and spoke of the dedication of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple last June. "It was a great and marvelous occasion, one to be long remembered," he said. "We not only dedicated a magnificent building, a House of the Lord, but we also dedicated a beautiful memorial to the Prophet Joseph Smith."

In 1841, two years after he came to Nauvoo, Joseph Smith broke ground for the Nauvoo temple.

"It is difficult to believe that in those conditions and under those circumstances a structure of such magnificence was designed to stand on what was then the frontier of America," President Hinckley said. "I doubt, I seriously doubt, that there was another structure of such design and magnificence in all of the state of Illinois. It was to be dedicated to the work of the Almighty, to accomplish His eternal purposes."

No effort was spared, no sacrifice too great during the construction of the building, President Hinckley added. "Through the next five years men chiseled stone and laid footings and foundation, walls and ornamentation. Hundreds went to the north, there to live for a time to cut lumber, vast quantities of it, and then bound it together to form rafts which were floated down the river to Nauvoo. Beautiful moldings were cut from that lumber. Pennies were gathered to buy nails. Unimaginable sacrifice was made to procure glass. They were building a temple to God, and it had to be the very best of which they were capable."

In the midst of the construction, he added, the Prophet and his brother Hyrum were killed in Carthage on June 27, 1844.

"None of us living today can comprehend what a disastrous blow that was to the Saints," said President Hinckley.

But Brigham Young, then President of the Quorum of the Twelve, determined to finish the temple and the work went on.

In 1845, the Saints knew they must leave Nauvoo. "It became a time of feverish activity; first to complete the temple, and second, to build wagons and gather supplies to move into the wilderness of the west. . . .

"The temple was subsequently dedicated and those who dedicated it said amen and moved on. The building was later burned by an arsonist who almost lost his life in the evil process. A tornado finally toppled most of what was left. The House of the Lord, the great objective of their labors, was gone."

Under the prompting of the Spirit, and motivated by the desires of his father who had served as mission president in that area and who wished to rebuild the temple for the centennial of Nauvoo, President Hinckley announced in April 1999 general conference that the Church would rebuild the historic edifice.

"Excitement filled the air," he recalled. "Men and women came forth with a desire to be helpful. Large contributions of money and skills were offered. Again, no expense was spared. We were to rebuild the House of the Lord as a memorial to the Prophet Joseph and as an offering to our God."

On June 27, 2002 — the same time Joseph and Hyrum were shot in Carthage 158 years earlier — the new Nauvoo Temple was dedicated.

"Today, facing west, on the high bluff overlooking the city of Nauvoo, thence across the Mississippi, and over the plains of Iowa there stands Joseph's temple, a magnificent House of God. Here in the Salt Lake Valley, facing east to that beautiful temple in Nauvoo, stands Brigham's temple, the Salt Lake Temple. They look toward one another as bookends between which there are volumes that speak of the suffering, the sorrow, the sacrifice, even the deaths of thousands who made the long journey from the Mississippi River to the valley of the Great Salt Lake.

"Nauvoo became the 113th working temple. We have since dedicated another The Hague Netherlands, making 114 in all. These wonderful buildings of various sizes and architectural designs are now scattered through the nations of the earth. They have been constructed to accommodate our people in carrying forward the work of the Almighty whose design it is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

"These temples have been constructed to be used. We honor our Father as we make use of them.

"At the opening of the conference, I urge you, my brethren and sisters, to utilize the temples of the Church.

"Go there and carry forward the great and marvelous work which the God of heaven has outlined for us. There let us learn of His ways and His plans. There let us make covenants that will lead us in paths of righteousness, unselfishness and truth. There let us be joined as families under an eternal covenant administered under the authority of the priesthood of God.

"And there may we extend these same blessings to those of previous generations, even our own forebears who await the service which we can now give."