Remembering at the Smith Family Cemetery in Nauvoo
by Maurine and Scot Proctor

On June 27, 2002, in a blaze of noon sun, a crowd gathered at the Smith family cemetery at the Mississippi River's edge in Nauvoo to remember that day 158 years ago when Joseph and Hyrum were murdered at Carthage. Present were President Gordon B. Hinckley, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Twelve, and President W. Grant McMurray, President of the Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church).

This commemoration at the actual gravesites of Joseph and Hyrum Smith couldn't have been held in the years immediately following their deaths, as few realized precisely where they were buried. In those tumultuous days of the early 1840's there were many, especially from Missouri, who despised Joseph and because there was a bounty on his head, close family members feared that his body would not be safe.

Thus, after Joseph and Hyrum's bodies had finished lying in state in the dining room of the hotel wing of the Smith's Mansion House, their coffins were filled with sand and rocks and buried near the temple. For protection, Joseph and Hyrum were buried behind the foundation of the unfinished Nauvoo House, and remained there until 1845. Then, at Emma's instruction because construction work was resuming at the site, their bodies were buried under the old springhouse, in the corner of what today is the Smith family cemetery.

There the bodies laid, in unmarked graves, marked only by a spring house, until, with time, the wooden structure itself collapsed-and then the spot was forgotten. In 1913, a dam was built on the Mississippi at Keokuk, Iowa, just 12 miles downriver from Nauvoo. By 1928, since the river had risen, President Frederick Madison Smith of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hired a surveyor to locate the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum. They searched the area, finally found the former location of the spring house and moved the bodies only a few feet and marked them with a stone.

Recently and gladly stone markers have also been placed on the graves of the prophet's parents, Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith.

Each year The Community of Christ holds a commemoration of the day of the martyrdom in the Smith Family Cemetery in Nauvoo. This year its numbers were swelled by Latter-day Saints who were in the area for the Nauvoo Temple dedication including a visit by President Gordon B. Hinckley and Elder M. Russell Ballard.

We thought we would bring you there and give you a glimpse of the event and some of the posterity of the Smith family. We wanted this to be up close and personal, as if you were standing by the gravestones of Joseph, Emma and Hyrum.

Note: Click on images below for enlargements.

President W. Grant McMurray, President Gordon B. Hinckley and Elder M. Russell Ballard look out upon the vast audience that gathered at the Smith Family Cemetery by the old Homestead in Nauvoo.

The young performing missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sang here along the shores of the Mississippi River as part of the program of remembering on this day of Martyrdom, Thursday, June 27.

Extell Neff, direct descendent of Catherine Smith Salisbury, younger sister of the Prophet Joseph, places a wreath by the graves of Joseph, Emma and Hyrum.

Dr. Joyce Shireman (Site Coordinator for the Joseph Smith Homestead) and Kathleen Hinckley Barnes lead Sister Marjorie P. Hinckley to lay a rose upon the grave of the Patriarch Hyrum Smith.

Single rose laid upon the gravestone of Hyrum Smith.

W. Grant McMurray, President of the Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church) speaks to the crowd about the Prophet Joseph's desire to build community.

Dr. Joyce Shireman, President W. Grant McMurray, President Gordon B. Hinckley and Elder M. Russell Ballard join with the large crowd in singing "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning."

President Hinckley and President McMurray pause briefly for photographers to take their pictures.

President Hinckley gives his 1000 watt smile to the onlookers of Latter-day Saints and friends.

Sister Hinckley radiates with beauty at the gathering by the Smith graves.

Sister Hinckley poses with Rosalyn Seaver and Florence Ourth, two women who were living in Nauvoo in 1928 when the remains of Joseph and Hyrum were moved to this present location.

Kathleen Hinckley Barnes leads her mother along through the crowd at the Smith Cemetery.

Some of the Smiths gather for a photograph at the graves of Joseph, Hyrum and Emma. From left to right standing: Extell Neff, great grandson of Catherine Smith Salisbury; Gracia Jones, great, great granddaughter of Joseph and Emma through Alexander Hale Smith; Kim Smith, great, great granddaughter of Joseph Smith. Sitting in front: Lorena Normandaugh (mother of Gracia Jones) great granddaughter of Joseph and Emma. Kneeling at right: Bryan Davis (son of Kim Smith), great, great, great grandson of the Prophet Joseph.

Patriarch Emeritus Eldred G. Smith pauses for a moment on this momentous occasion. Eldred G. Smith is a great grandson of Hyrum Smith the Patriarch.

Mother and son, Kim Smith and son Bryan Davis. I have stared and stared at this picture of Joseph's posterity---look closely at Bryan. There is a look there that is familiar.

Scot and Maurine Proctor kneel by the new stones marking the graves of Lucy Mack and Joseph Smith, Sr. Photo by Sylvia M. Finlayson.

(All photographs unless otherwise noted Copyright 2002 Scot Facer Proctor)

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Scot and Maurine Proctor at the Southeast Cornerstone of the Nauvoo Temple on June 27, 2002.

Scot and Maurine Proctor have taught Institute classes for sixteen years, have published numerous books on Church History and scripture studies, are the former editors of This People Magazine, and are speakers in the Church Education System circuit (including Know Your Religion and BYU Women's Conference).