NAUVOO
Many of you have read about faith promoting experiences that
occurred in early Church history. Most of these events took
place over 150 years ago. Recently I heard of an experience that
occurred
a little over 50 years ago. Though it took place in California
and Utah, it has a direct correlation with the beautiful, newly
constructed Nauvoo Temple. I include this condensed version
of Vern Thacker’s account with his permission.
In 1946, Vern C. Thacker, a resident of Wasatch County, Utah,
received a mission call to serve in the California Mission
under President Oscar W. McConkie. Elder Thacker had carefully
saved
his Navy pay during his three years of service and was thereby
able to finance his mission without any help from his parents.
Because Elder Thacker’s savings permitted him to buy a car, he
was assigned with his companion to a large area in the Mojave Desert,
including the town of Boron. This little town is best known for
the “Twenty Mule Team” borax mine located nearby.
A Descendant
of William Weeks
One day while tracting, he and his companion, Elder Frank
Gifford, both felt inspired to stop at a small home. A man named
Leslie M. Griffin invited them in and during their discussion mentioned
that he was a descendant of William Weeks, the Nauvoo Temple architect.
Mr. Griffin was not a member, and the two missionaries visited
him several times to discuss the gospel.
Elder Thacker’s visits with Mr. Griffin took place in September
1948, as his mission was winding down. Elder Thacker would
soon be released and he planned to return home and start school
at
Brigham Young University. On their last visit at the Griffin
home, Mr.
Griffin excused himself for a few minutes and went into the
back of the house. He returned with what looked like a 3-foot
long
roll of papers, yellowed with age, and secured with a rubber
band. He
explained that these were the original plans for the Nauvoo
Temple! The plans had been handed down through his family. As
Mr. Griffin
unrolled the plans, the two missionaries saw that the largest
papers were side and front views of the temple exterior. Rolled
inside
were several other smaller drawings showing various views of
the temple. Knowing that Elder Thacker would be returning home
to Utah
in a few days, Mr. Griffin asked if he would deliver the plans
to the headquarters of the Church in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Mr. Griffin said that he felt strongly that although the plans
had
been in his family for 100 years, they should be given to the
Church. Elder Thacker assured him it would be an honor. He
returned home
with the plans tucked in the trunk of his car.
Shortly after his return home, Brother Thacker called the
Church Offices and was referred to Brother A. William Lund,
Assistant Church Historian. Brother Thacker delivered the plans
as he had
promised Mr.Griffin. Brother Lund was delighted to receive
the plans and immediately wrote a letter enthusiastically thanking
Mr. Griffin for his “wonderful gift.” The drawings had already been photographed
and placed in a steel locked safe for safekeeping.
As Brother Thacker later learned, the plans which he had been
instrumental in returning had been lost to the Church when
William Weeks, the architect of the Nauvoo Temple, became
estranged
from the Church soon after the migration to Utah. Brigham Young
had intended that William Weeks should be the architect for
the new temple in Salt Lake City. But he left both Utah and the
Church
in 1848, taking the original plans of the Nauvoo Temple with
him. Weeks’ assistant Truman O. Angel became the architect for the Salt
Lake Temple and the plans for the Nauvoo temple were handed down
through William Weeks’ descendants.
Announcement
of the Nauvoo Temple
It was in the 1999 spring General Conference that President
Gordon B. Hinckley announced the rebuilding of the Nauvoo Temple.
As the architects began their work, it became apparent that
Brother Vern Thacker had been an instrument in the hands of the
Lord.
The recovered plans and drawings of the first Nauvoo Temple
were the
only original copies that existed. They included, in William
Weeks’ handwriting,
the measurements for the various details of the temple as well
as the exterior drawings. These were useful to the architects
in planning the new Nauvoo Temple.
Brother Thacker currently serves as an ordinance worker in
the Provo Temple. He and his wife Suzanne reside in Heber City,
Utah. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
Next week we cover Carthage, Illinois
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LDS Family Travels. All Rights Reserved.