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The Nauvoo Bell
A Symbol of Religious Freedom and Liberty
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By Melanie Cooper

The Nauvoo Bell, weighing over 1,500 pounds, was originally donated by the British Saints for the Nauvoo Temple and brought to the United States by Wilford Woodruff. When pressure from mobs forced the Saints to evacuate the city, the bell was left behind and placed in a local Protestant church. It was recovered by members of the Lamoreaux family before they left Nauvoo to head west.

"One stormy night the men gathered in secret and without horses pulled the wagon to the Church and lowered the Bell, pushed and pulled the wagon by hand to the edge of the Mississippi River and carefully concealed it in the water. Andrew Lamoreaux and his brother, David, were chosen to bring the Bell to Utah with their families, concealing the Bell in their wagon with their provisions." 1

On the journey to Salt Lake City the bell was used to "awaken the herdsmen at dawn, to signal morning prayer, to start the day's march, and to sound during the night watches to let the Indians know that the sentry was at his post." Once in Salt Lake City the bell was used in several locations such as the first old bowery, Brigham Young's schoolhouse, a Church business building and the Bureau of Information on Temple Square. It didn't find it's present day location and permanent home until 1942 when the Relief Society placed it in a bell tower on Temple Square to celebrate their centennial.

Placing the bell on Temple Square fulfilled a 1862 prophecy by Brigham Young: "Right west of the temple we shall build a tower and put a bell on it.... This plan was shown to me in a vision when I first came onto the ground." (B. H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church, 5:136).

In 1961 President David O. McKay, presiding at a ceremony at KSL-TV, said: "In its own way, the Nauvoo bell is a symbol of religious freedom in our land. . . . When we hear, henceforth, the sound of the Nauvoo bell, let it remind us anew that our nation and our community owes its existence to our trust in God." ("As We See It," Church News, July 29, 1961).

Today the bell rings at the beginning of each hour. The ring of the bell on the hour has been featured for years on KSL radio as well to mark the "top of the hour". It is also interesting to note that the ringing of the Nauvoo Bell can be controlled by a panel on the Mormon Tabernacle organ. The bell is also rung on special occassions such as the recent memorial services held on September 14, 2001 for those who died in the terrorist attacks on the United States of America.

During the closing session of the 169th Annual General Conference of the Church (April 1999), President Hinckley made an exciting announcement that the Nauvoo Temple was to be rebuilt. The temple had not survived long after the Saints' departure from Nauvoo. It was gutted by fire on October 1848 and was further weakened by a tornado in May 1850. The ruined building was later razed, and its stones were used to construct other buildings.

On October 24, 1999, ground was broken for the new temple and construction began shortly thereafter. As part of the new construction, a 1,000 pound bronze-alloy replica of the Nauvoo bell was cast by Petit Fritsen Bell Foundry in the Netherlands. The new bell was lifted into the tower of the temple on July 3, 2001. The striker of the new bell will be driven electronically by an integrated computer-driven clock so that it can be set to sound at any time. It is pitched to chime near an F sharp on the musical scale.

On September 21, 2001 spectators cheered as a statue of the Angel Moroni was set into place and the bell in the temple's domed tower chimed seven times.

From Rachel Woods,
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