M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Through the Camera Lens
The People at Nauvoo
Like Walking the Streets of Zion
Text and Photographs by Scot Facer Proctor

Being in Nauvoo these past few days was truly a heavenly experience. There was a oneness of heart and a unity of love that I have seldom felt in a community anywhere in the world. As we walked down the streets we would run into old friends, spot various General Authorities, see members of the Tabernacle Choir and just see a mixture of Latter-day Saints from every clime.

Knowing that a good portion of you would likely not be able to come to Nauvoo I wanted to use the camera to capture the moments and experience as a whole as if you were walking by our sides. I have included 24 photographs in this essay-all of them of people in Nauvoo. Who knows, you might see someone you know!

I have kept the captions brief so that we can just sit down together and go through this like a photo album of our time together in Nauvoo.

As I went out to capture some wonderful early-morning photographs I saw these faithful few waiting in line for the "Coverstone" ceremony. This was about 6:05 AM at the south sidewalk of the Nauvoo Temple. You can see the morning's first light barely touching some of them.

I wondered what was going through this brother's mind as he gazed upon the walls of the temple waiting there in line. I will make an observation here that many people just stared at the temple for long periods of time. I think for all of us there we had to almost pinch ourselves to remind us that this was real and that the Nauvoo Temple had actually returned to her rightful place.

This mother and little daughter waited patiently in line but standing there was a little more than Mom could take. The weather was more than perfect for the whole of Thursday, June 27, 2002. It was a bit hot but I never heard one person complain.

Happy people were heading into the temple on June 26 to fill the seats of the Assembly Room so that the Tabernacle Choir could practice and adjust for the acoustics. I was shooting pictures so fast I could not stop and ask each person's name or what they were doing, but I believe this was one of the local choirs involved in the dedication. The woman with the big smile in the center of the scene saw me at a distance taking pictures and immediately put on a very, very happy face through the series of six or seven shots I took. I think when Latter-day Saints are at major Church events and they see big cameras firing away they think they will find themselves in the Ensign (and many do). Now hundreds of them may find themselves in Meridian.

These were local people coming out of the temple for the practice sessions they had for singing and adjusting the sound etc. Everyone was just so happy to participate in any way.

Most people were not used to the combination of high heat and high humidity in Nauvoo. Many water bottles were passed around families in this setting.

Conversations were exchanged everywhere in Nauvoo, friends meeting with friends, family members enjoying reunion-hearts touching hearts. The man in the background to the right of the woman in the blue dress is Don Staheli who writes the column "It's the Principle of the Thing" for Meridian.

I've never seen people with more patience in lines than the groups that went to the Nauvoo Temple. It seemed almost as if time stood still around this eternal event.

There was a precious moment I saw as I was following various Brethren with my camera. I watched Elder Russell Nelson (2nd from left) as he was shown into the northwest side door of the temple. Before he went inside he glanced over at the massive moonstones at the base of the pilasters. Doesn't seem like much of a moment but it made my heart swell within me. You can see President Boyd K. Packer just entering the temple on the right. Elder Donald L. Staheli, Area President, has his back to us on the right.

It was a treat to watch the glances of love between Elder Neal A. Maxwell and his wife, Sister Colleen Maxwell throughout the events. They communicated much with their eyes just before the beginning of the dedication itself in the Assembly Room. Here they made their way to the southeast cornerstone where they placed some mortar on the coverstone of the sealed box.

Elder David B. Haight was assisted by Elder Donald L. Staheli as he headed toward the southeast cornerstone of the temple. Elder Haight was born in 1906, just seventy years after the first Nauvoo Temple was dedicated. Surely Elder Haight was one of the oldest in attendance of the dedication of this rebuilt Nauvoo Temple.

I figured that this precious little girl was about the youngest in attendance of the coverstone ceremony. It reminded me of the length of the memory of this people between Elder David B. Haight and this precious baby.

Nauvoo Mayor Tom Wilson was invited to the stand by President Gordon B. Hinckley to put "some mud" on the coverstone and say a few words. Mayor Wilson has become quite a friend of the Church. It looks like the young people in the background are saluting him but they are only shading their eyes from the sun.

A sea of faces surrounded the coverstone ceremony. I'm not sure how many were there but it surely numbered in the low thousands.

Elder David E. Sorensen (left) talked with Community of Christ (formerly RLDS Church) President W. Grant McMurray (right) at service by the graves of Joseph, Hyrum and Emma Smith. Meridian's Film Editor, Kieth Merrill (center), looked on.

Youth and missionaries joined in a wonderful rendition of "Now Let Us Rejoice" at the Coverstone Ceremony.

The choir was half in the sun and half in the shade of the temple as they sung and performed at the Coverstone Ceremony.

The Saints gathered en masse and were not disappointed in the rich outpouring of the Spirit at every occasion of this day of dedication, Thursday, June 27, 2002.

I always delight to see the children gather at the coverstone ceremonies and to participate in the dedication of temples. This will preserve the memory of such sacred events in the hearts and minds of the people for generations to come.

Nearly everyone I saw had a camera in his or her possession. When President Hinckley walked by the barrage of cameras of the press he said quietly, "If all the cameras in the world were thrown into the ocean there would be a great flood." He is used to being photographed and easily teases the press.

This precious Sister Allen was leading people on tours of the Carthage Jail. I asked her how many months she had left on her mission. She said, "about eighteen." I said, "How long have you been out?" She said, "Two days." She was full of the Spirit and about as pleasant a guide as there could be. I immediately told her that Maurine and I have a daughter entering the MTC this next week. She said, "Oh, my brother is going in the same day!" These missionaries are dear.

Nearly everyone who visits the Carthage Jail, like these folks, wants a picture taken by the impressive sculpture of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

I just had to put this picture in (as it is such a familiar scene to me) of my dear wife, Maurine (right) as she interviewed Elder Gyle and Sister Marian Hollingsworth. Elder Hollingsworth was the head of quality control for the temple. Maurine can work a crowd so fast, interviewing everyone in her path, capturing their feelings of the moment for posterity.

I love this picture of the Saints. This group was just outside the gate of the Nauvoo Temple listening to the press conference President Hinckley gave by the west steps. They were responding at this moment to President Hinckley's contagious humor.

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