Smith Family Cemetery Dedicated

November 1991

• Contents

• Contents

• Report of the 161st Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

• Christ Is the Light to All Mankind

  Gordon B. Hinckley

• The Family of the Prophet Joseph Smith

  M. Russell Ballard

• Jesus the Christ

  Robert L. Backman

• Light

  Ted E. Brewerton

• Today—A Day of Eternity

  George I. Cannon

• Fruits of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ

  Joseph B. Wirthlin

• The Gospel—A Global Faith

  Howard W. Hunter

• The Sustaining of Church Officers

• Reverence Invites Revelation

  Boyd K. Packer

• The Conversion Process

  Julio E. Dávila

• The Voice Is Still Small

  Graham W. Doxey

• The Ultimate Inheritance—An Allegory

  Cree-L Kofford

• “And Now You Will Know”

  Joseph C. Muren

• Repentance

  Neal A. Maxwell

• The Lord’s Day

  James E. Faust

• A Time for Preparation

  David B. Haight

• Follow Christ in Word and Deed

  Rex D. Pinegar

• To a Missionary Son

  Dennis B. Neuenschwander

• Covenants and Ordinances

  Jorge A. Rojas

• “Called to Serve”

  Thomas S. Monson

• Our Solemn Responsibilities

  Gordon B. Hinckley

• Our Mission of Saving

  Gordon B. Hinckley

• “These … Were Our Examples”

  Russell M. Nelson

• Testimony

  Charles Didier

• Becoming Self-Reliant

  L. Tom Perry

• Precious Children—A Gift from God

  Thomas S. Monson

• “Strengthen the Feeble Knees”

  Marvin J. Ashton

• Joy and Mercy

  Dallin H. Oaks

• “Charity Suffereth Long”

  Aileen H. Clyde

• The Dual Aspects of Prayer

  Francis M. Gibbons

• “Bring Up Your Children in Light and Truth”

  H. Verlan Andersen

• The Call—An Eternal Miracle

  Gardner H. Russell

• Obtaining Help from the Lord

  Richard G. Scott

• “The Lord Bless You”

  Thomas S. Monson

• “Rejoice in Every Good Thing”

  Chieko N. Okazaki

• Be Thou an Example

  Ruth B. Wright

• These Are Your Days

  Jayne B. Malan

• Be an Example of the Believers

  M. Russell Ballard

• Daughters of God

  Gordon B. Hinckley

• News of the Church

  • Four Seventies Released

  • President and Sister Benson Celebrate 65th Anniversary

  • Two New Areas Created, Presidencies Assigned

  • Missions and Missionaries

  • Church Membership Passes Eight Million

  • Statement on Symposia

  • Tonga Marks LDS Centennial with Nationwide Celebrations

  • Policies and Announcements

  • A Conversation about Mutual

    Jack H. Goaslind and Ardeth G. Kapp

  • Smith Family Cemetery Dedicated

  • Saints Clean Up After Northern Utah Flooding

  • Poland Expresses Thanks for Medical Supplies

  • Humanitarian Projects in Africa Bearing Fruit

  • Choir to Tour U.S., Canada

  • Gospel Singers Join Tabernacle Choir in Program

“Smith Family Cemetery Dedicated,” Ensign, Nov. 1991, 109

The Smith Family Cemetery in Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum are buried, has been renovated and dedicated through the efforts of descendants of Joseph Smith, Sr., and Lucy Mack Smith.

Speaking at the August 4 dedication, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve commented: “It’s a great privilege for family members to honor their forefathers and to prepare a garden spot for them to rise in the resurrection.” He called the renovation a “crowning accomplishment.”

Elder Ballard, who is a great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, continued: “I have a feeling, brothers and sisters, that our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son, our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, are smiling upon us at this moment.”

The Prophet Joseph Smith; his wife Emma; his parents, Joseph Smith, Sr., and Lucy Mack Smith; his brothers Hyrum, Don Carlos, and Samuel; and seventeen other relatives and friends are buried in this cemetery on the banks of the Mississippi River. One large granite headstone marks the graves of Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum.

Trees, flowers, and grass were planted, and benches and a lighting system were installed. A fence was built around the graveyard site, which is located west of the log home where Joseph and Emma lived before moving into the Mansion House.

In 1867, Emma wrote to her son Joseph III about the family cemetery: “I have always felt sad about the neglected condition of that place. … I have got twenty-five dollars that no one has any right to but myself. … I feel anxious to apply that money on the graveyard.”

This letter and the limited accessibility of the cemetery provided impetus for the renovation project. The Joseph and Hyrum Smith Family Foundation was organized in 1990 to raise money for the renovation. Elder Ballard commented that a new bond has developed among the Smiths’ extended family because of this common effort.

Elder Ballard reflected that the Prophet Joseph always demonstrated a deep love for his family. He quoted Joseph: “I will tell you what I want. If tomorrow I shall be called to lie in yonder tomb, in the morning of the resurrection, let me strike hands with my father, and cry, ‘My father,’ and he will say, ‘My son, my son,’ as soon as the rock rends and before we come out of our graves. … And when the voice calls for the dead to arise, suppose I am laid by the side of my father, what would be the first joy of my heart? To meet my father, my mother, my brother, my sister; and when they are by my side, I embrace them and they me.”

“I am grateful that on the day of the resurrection they will rise up and have no question as to whether or not their posterity loved them,” Elder Ballard continued. “I think we have demonstrated by our combined efforts our deep love and affection for those whom we honor by the improvement of this cemetery.”

President Wallace B. Smith, president of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, offered the dedicatory prayer and said, “It is felt that this [cemetery] will perhaps finally constitute a fitting memorial to those principal figures of the Restoration and provide an appropriate setting for their repose.

“As we gather here today to pay tribute to the courage of these early saints and to dedicate this cemetery to their memory, may we gain strength from their example.”