Paul Debarthe from the Community of Christ hosts a Book of Mormon Perspectives Forum every Monday night via Zoom. Paul asked me to give a presentation on the change in stewardship following the sale of many properties in Nauvoo & Kirtland from the CoC to LDS Church. Here is the presentation I gave about a month ago.
Kirtland Temple and Nauvoo Properties Sale Announcement
I have mixed feelings about the change of ownership. While I know members of the LDS Church were ecstatic at the March 5 announcement earlier this year, I also know how devastating it was to my friends in the Community of Christ. I was lucky to visit both Nauvoo and Kirtland this summer. I shared Gary Boatwright’s Facebook post with the group, which emphasized the professional and loving care the Community of Christ had provided to the historic sites over the years.
Community of Christ’s Stewardship and Preservation Efforts
I hope we can all praise the Community of Christ for their meticulous preservation of the historic sites, noting that they were always well-maintained and welcoming. I am grateful for the Community of Christ’s efforts in preserving these sacred places and I hope LDS members will be respectful and understanding of their feelings.
In June, LDS Church Historian and Seventy Kyle McKay addressed the Mormon History Association, where McKay addressed concerns about the LDS Church using the sites for missionary work. Kyle noted that many LDS Church members haven’t visited these church sites recently (due mainly to COVID.) The LDS Church has decided to make these sites more historical and less proselytizing, focusing on preservation rather than conversion. This is due to studies that show more members visit these sites than non-members. The decision was made years ago to stop proselytizing at these sites.
Historical Context and Preservation Challenges
Many members are rightly concerned about the renovation of the Salt Lake Temple and the loss of its beautiful murals. Will the same thing happen in Kirtland, or will there be better efforts to preserve the temple? Many have expressed concern about the preservation of historic buildings. The March 5 sale includes an agreement between the LDS Church and Community of Christ, ensuring that the Community of Christ will have access to the Kirtland Temple for 15 years. The LDS Church has no plans to alter the Kirtland Temple and will keep it open as it has always been (at least for 15 years.) The LDS Church has been doing building inspections to judge the strength of the building. The rope to the bell, which has been rung in the recent past, has been removed for safety reasons. The third floor already has limited the number of visitors due to worries about the strength of the floors.
Kirtland Properties and Historical Significance
One of the benefits of the transaction is that visitors are now allowed to take photos inside the Kirtland Temple, something not allowed in any other LDS Temples. I shared photos of the original seats in the Kirtland Temple and the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood pulpits, highlighting their historical significance. As shown in the photos, there is a need for repairs on the Kirtland Temple. You can see cracks in the stucco and the need to fix the exterior.
Nauvoo Properties and Community of Christ Visitor Center
Another great loss was sale of the Community of Christ Visitor Center and the Joseph Smith home to the LDS Church in Kirtland. It was fun to visit the Joseph Smith home on the other side of the cemetery from the Kirtland Temple. There are still differences in tour quality between LDS and Community of Christ tours. I was a little frustrated at having to follow strict tour protocols at LDS sites, despite the fact that I had already toured it the previous day. They still insisted I start at the visitor’s center. I shared my irritation with one of the missionaries, and then he still graciously gave me a tour of the John Johnson Inn, which is no longer part of public tours.
Red Brick Store and Mansion House
Moving on to Nauvoo, the changes at the Red Brick Store were disappointing. It is no longer a bustling place with merchandise for sale. There has been incorrect information spread by some LDS missionaries about the agreement between the LDS Church and Community of Christ regarding merchandise sales. Some have said that the Community of Christ forbid the LDS Church to sell anything, even though the Community of Christ sold root beer, t-shirt, and candy there. This is not the case. Instead, because the LDS Church is essentially a monopoly in both Nauvoo and Kirtland, if the LDS Church chose to sell merchandise, it would trigger a federal anti-trust review. It would cost the LDS Church $300,000 just to file a permit, plus even more legal costs, and the LDS Church decided it was not worth it and had discontinued selling items there.
The Smith family cemetery is the only property in Nauvoo still owned by the Community of Christ, in between the Red Brick Store and the Joseph Smith Homestead. It was fun to tour the cemetery with apostle Lachlan MacKay. (I texted him–I have his number!) I asked if he was around and he graciously gave me a tour there. I did not know that in addition to the graves of Hyrum, Joseph, and Emma, there are other Smith family members buried there. In addition, there are ancient Indian burial graves on the Smith family cemetery property and there is a need for further archaeological exploration.
Significant Documents and Artifacts
Other significant documents and artifacts that were part of the sale include the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible and letters from Joseph Smith to Emma, the John Whitmer History of the Church, original portraits of Joseph and Emma Smith, and the famous Caracters document. The David Rogers paintings of Joseph and Emma are now housed in the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. It was fun to visit the Church History Museum and view these artifacts.
Phoenicia Museum
Just across the Mississippi River from the Nauvoo Temple is the Phoenicia Museum in Montrose, Iowa. While just about 2 miles away, it is a 45 minute drive because there is no bridge from Nauvoo to Montrose. The Heartlanders’ are reconstructing the Phoenicia ship that Philip Beale used to sail from Syria to America, unintentionally recreating a couple of voyages that Lehi and Mulek (allegedly) may have made. The ship was originally cut in half for the purpose of sending it back to England, but Heartlanders bought it and are putting it back together. They’ve made some amazing progress this summer. It’s worth a visit if you go to Nauvoo. I shared photos of the ship’s reconstruction progress in the video, noting the rapid advancements made in a short period.
Have you been to Kirtland or Nauvoo since the sale? What have been your experiences? Do you agree that there is less proselytizing at the sites?
Wheat & Tares 
A monopoly on historic sites or even the vending on sites (?) would trigger a federal DOJ anti-trust probe?
The hell?
That’s interesting commentary on how the Church runs its own historic sites. I pretty much avoid them now, based on past experience when the tours and guides were all about proselyting with very little historic info. Not at all like the interesting tours at anyone else’s historic sites.
I agree with the first comment that the anti-trust threat seems far-fetched. But if it is real, then just grant a concession to the Community of Christ to resume its vending. Problem solved.
Last Lemming and That Time Once Before,
The problem is that the buildings the CoC sold merchandise (Kirtland Visitor’s Center, Nauvoo Red Brick Store) were part of the sale to the LDS Church. This would include a property record search due to the sale of the buildings. Given the current nuisance lawsuits on tithing, I think an anti-trust complaint would probably happen.Dave B, it is definitely true that there is less proselyting at the sites. I think they are better than what you remember.
I’m not sure it’s possible to get away from questionable information shared by volunteer tour guides in any venue. We toured an historic building this past weekend. The volunteers were stunned when I asked questions because the information they shared did not match the information on the plaques. I don’t have any idea which set of facts were wrong.
I’d like to think the missionaries at the church history sites are doing their best, just as I assumed that the volunteers at this weekend’s site were doing their best. At the same time, I wish we were more careful in researching and learning the best available information, rather than passing on “faith promoting rumors.”
I visited the Kirtland area sites just last week. I was in a small group of relatives (all adults) and had picked up on a few snotty remarks that some had been making… things to the effect of “it’s so nice to have the temple back in the *real* LDS church”. I channeled my Inner Prophetess and pulled them all together to explain:
I kind of laid down the law with my own family. Cringe to think about the snide and rude remarks that the COC members inevitably heard from so many LDS, prior to the sale of the properties.
How was the actual tour of the Kirtland Temple? Great, actually. It was nice to get a tour of an historic building where the objective wasn’t to convert me, rather to just behold the majesty of this building. The tour guides were senior missionaries and their presentations were very scripted (almost like an infomercial). I think everyone will loosen up as they get more fluent and familiar with what the visitors really want to learn about.
VAreader:
Appreciate your comment, although I’m a bit hesitant to function as some sort of stand-in for all CofC members.
I really like the recent comments by CofC Apostle Lachlan Mackay at the JWHA meeting that while we have sold buildings, manuscripts, and other archival material we have not sold our story. And that story has always been about bringing forth the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in heaven (Zion), with different expressions throughout the world. Obviously, not a task our small denomination could ever accomplish alone, but the call and challenge is to be faithful to Christ who is at the center of it all.
Can someone fill me in on how things are going for Community of Christ now? I’ve been searching the web and after they experienced the initial shock of the sale and hearing both unsettled and positive feelings from CofC members, I haven’t heard a peep after the first month. Are there projects they are looking forward to? Have they moved in a new direction/focus? Do people still talk about the big financial transaction that took place like it was a violation (it seemed like they wanted to keep a closer eye on the church) or was it replaced with more positive talk? Did the sale fix the financial problems and fund a lot of good things? Do people think that more historical things will be sold off or changed or do they think the worst of it is over? Has this sale changed the feel at all to be more relaxed, tense, or something else? I don’t have a good or bad reason for probing, I’m just a curious person who wonders why she hears so little from the CofC despite it being the second largest latter-day saint movement denomination. I think @Rich Brown is a member–thoughts?