In this episode Susan talks about a central focus of the prophet and the saints in Nauvoo – the temple. We know from a previous episode that Joseph had received revelation and instituted baptisms for the dead, and a font was built for that purpose on the site of the Nauvoo temple, sheltered by a wooden structure with a pitched roof. Around that structure the temple was built, much of the time with armed guards to protect it and its workmen.
Where was the endowment first given (it wasn’t in the temple), and to whom? What was the temple built out of? Who was the architect and who directed him? What other temples had been built before or had at least cornerstones laid, in our dispensation? Who donated the land for the temple and then became a member of the Church? Who made the first temple clothing? Did the progress on the temple halt when Joseph Smith was martyred? (No.) Why did Brigham Young finish the temple before leaving the town and going west, even though he knew it would immediately fall out of their hands?
What happened to the temple? How was the property later aquired by the Church in the 1930s? Which modern prophet announced its reconstruction?
All these questions and more are brilliantly answered in this episode. Enjoy!