The Kanesville Tabernacle was a large, hastily constructed log building in Council Bluffs, Iowa that was created specifically for the event of the reorganization of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in late 1847.
With the death of Joseph Smith on June 27, 1844, the First Presidency of the Latter Day Saint church was dissolved. The leadership of the church was taken on by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with Brigham Young, the president of the quorum, taking on the main leadership role. By 1845 it became apparent to the church leaders in Nauvoo, Illinois. that the violence against the members of the church would not abate. Consequently, they began to make plans to evacuate Nauvoo and migrate to the Rocky Mountains where they hoped to establish church headquarters and practice their religion in relative isolation and peace. Originally they planned to leave Nauvoo in April 1846. [1]
Ongoing concerns about their safety and their ability to leave Nauvoo led church leaders on February 2, 1846, to meet to discuss their situation. Two days later on February 4, 1846, a large group left the town. [1] The journey across southern Iowa was difficult due to inclement weather and incessantly muddy roads. The journey took the better part of three and half months and left the members of the church bereft of provisions, fatigued, and sickly. They settled in the territory of the Omaha Tribe on the west bank of the Missouri River as well the east bank of the river in Council Bluffs. They called the area Kanesville in honor Thomas L. Kane, an attorney, friend and advocate for the Latter-day Saints. [2] Kane assisted the church leaders in negotiating an agreement that allowed them to establish a provisioning base in the territory of the Omaha tribe known as Winter Quarters. In the spring of 1847, Young led the first group of Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley, arriving in the valley on July 24, 1847. [3] Many of the pioneers stayed in the Salt Lake Valley, planting crops, preparing homes, and starting the settlement that would grow into Salt Lake City. Young, however, quickly returned to Winter Quarters (near present-day Florence, Nebraska) to organize the remainder of the pioneers in preparation for their trek and to deal with a few business items.
One of the items of business that Young wanted to accomplish was the reorganization of the First Presidency of the church. Since Joseph Smith's death, the First Presidency had not existed, and Young believed it was finally time to reorganize it. In anticipation of the event, the LDS Church leaders felt it necessary and appropriate to construct a hall large enough to accommodate the large number of Latter-Day Saints who would want to witness the event. With this end in mind, approximately 200 Mormon pioneers spent two and a half weeks building the large log-cabin like hall. [4] The dimensions of the building were 40 feet by 60 feet with a large sod-block fireplace and chimney located at one end. In the center of the wall opposite the entrance, there was a small wing that provided a stage upon which the church leaders could sit and conduct the meeting. It was here on December 27, 1847, with 1,000 people in attendance that Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards were sustained by members of the church as the new First Presidency, and Young was sustained as the second president of the church. [3]
Another important event that took place in this building was the reconciliation of Oliver Cowdery, who had been excommunicated in Missouri in 1838, with the leadership of the church. Shortly after the building's construction, it became apparent that it had been built over the top of a spring and the base of the building was rotting. Having served its purpose the building was torn down two years after its completion. [5]
A replica of the Kanesville Tabernacle was constructed in the mid-1990s. The reconstruction was not directed or financed by the LDS Church, but rather by the Pottawattamie County Mormon Trails Association and Kanesville Restoration, Inc. [6] Major financial backers for the replica were Bill & Patricia Ann Child and Mont & Viola Nelson; Bob Schulze directed the building program. [7] The replica, which sat less than a block from the site of the original tabernacle, was dedicated by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley on July 13, 1996. [8] [9] [5] In 1999, the tabernacle was donated to the Church and served as an official visitors' center. [10]
Like the original tabernacle, the replica was built from cottonwood. The wood shrank two inches in the first two months and was anticipated to shrink another ten inches over the first five years of its life. To counteract this, the church placed jacks under the main supports that could be lowered as the walls shrank. [11]
The replica was torn down beginning April 4, 2022, after the structure had been deemed unsafe and closed a few years prior. The site of the replica tabernacle will be replaced with sculptures and self-guided interpretive signs sharing the history of the church in the area. [12] [13]
A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine habitation; spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes". A stake is sometimes referred to as a stake of Zion.
The Mormon Trail is the 1,300-mile (2,100 km) long route from Illinois to Utah on which Mormon pioneers traveled from 1846–47. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.
Temple Square is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediately adjacent to Temple Square. Contained within Temple Square are the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake Tabernacle, Salt Lake Assembly Hall, the Seagull Monument, and two visitors' centers. The square was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1964, recognizing the Mormon achievement in the settlement of Utah.
William Harrison Folsom was an architect and contractor. He constructed many of the historic buildings in Utah, particularly in Salt Lake City. Many of his most prominent works were commissioned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a time he was sustained as the Church Architect, a calling in the church.
The Chicago Illinois Temple is the thirty-fifth temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the second of three church temples that have been built in Illinois.
Mount Pisgah was a semi-permanent settlement or way station from 1846 to 1852 along the Mormon Trail between Garden Grove and Council Bluffs, in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is located near the small community of Thayer in Jones Township, Union County. This site is now part of the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail. It is the birthplace of Helaman Pratt. The address of the memorial is 1704 Mount Pisgah Road in Thayer.
Thomas Leiper Kane was an American attorney, abolitionist, philanthropist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colonel and general of volunteers in the American Civil War. He received a brevet promotion to major general for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg.
The Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple is the 104th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in Florence, now a neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, USA, and formerly an independent city.
Joseph Ellis Johnson was an American Mormon newspaper proprietor, politician, and businessman.
The Nauvoo Brass Band was an official musical organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints when the church's headquarters were located in Nauvoo, Illinois. It was later revived by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Utah Territory.
John Pack was a member of the Council of Fifty and a missionary in the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord. Temples are considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth.
The Provo City Center Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the same site as the former Provo Tabernacle in Provo, Utah. Completed in 2016, the temple utilizes much of the external shell of the tabernacle, all that remained of the original building after a fire in December 2010.
Henry William Miller was the first member of the Iowa legislature from the area of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nebraska refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Nebraska. The official church membership as a percentage of general population was 1.29% in 2014. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, roughly 1% of Nebraskans self-identify themselves most closely with the LDS Church. The LDS Church is the 6th largest denomination in Nebraska.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days is a planned four-volume history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, published beginning in 2018.
General Conference is a gathering of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held biannually every April and October at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. During each conference, church members gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to the faith's leaders. It consists of five general sessions. From April 2018 to April 2021, the priesthood session was held during the April conference, with a General Women's Session held during October's conference. The Saturday evening session was changed to a general session in October 2021. The conference also generally includes training sessions for general and area leaders. Although each general conference originates from Salt Lake City, the conference is considered an international event for the church. The sessions are broadcast worldwide in over 90 languages, primarily through local and international media outlets, and over the Internet.
The Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters is a museum and visitors' center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in the Florence neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The museum interprets the story of the Mormon Trail along with the history of a temporary Mormon settlement known as Winter Quarters, which was located in the Florence area between 1846–1848.
