Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith 175th Anniversary of their deaths

Grave Markers for Hyrum, Joseph and Emma Smith

Marker outside the Smith Family Cemetery.  This small cemetery is beautiful and well kept.

On Thursday, June 27th there was a commemoration held at the Smith Family Cemetery in Nauvoo.  The Community of Christ Church sponsored this event.  There were wonderful messages given and songs sung.  Several members of our Church were asked to participate.  The leaders of the Community of Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints churches here in Nauvoo work hand in hand on many things.

Our temple President asked me to read one of the 6 readings because it concerned something Joseph Smith said while in the Nauvoo temple.  Joseph Smith said it was so appropriate to all who had died in the faith.  I was honored to be able to do this.  Marilyn recorded what I did along with two videos of two of the Young Performing Missionaries singing.  I recorded two short videos of the Nauvoo Brass Band.  Below are links (just copy and paste any of them to an internet browser) to these videos in my YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/whAwmv7GBjc
https://youtu.be/nMVZiEAve8Q
https://youtu.be/HVouN7heiNI
https://youtu.be/ceXIsKbCzI8
https://youtu.be/_x3ihD8ovGM

Our Church also sponsored a commemoration of the 175th year since their deaths.  This was held in Carthage at 5 pm that afternoon.  We were unable to attend it because we were serving in the temple at that time.

Joseph and Hyrum Smith were great men.  They were men of integrity, loyalty, courage, trust, faith and unwavering testimony.   President Russell M. Ballard spoke about them in the following address he gave in 2012:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2019-06-25/joseph-smith-russell-ballard-175th-martyrdom-anniversary-50201

In his talk he said the following:  "They were men of integrity, loyalty, courage, trust, faith and unwavering testimony...  Every Church member ought to think about what those two prophets were willing to do to restore the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ."

Statues of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith west of the Nauvoo Temple entrance.