Brief History of the Church in Illinois
In 1838-1839, thousands of early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fled as refugees from Missouri to western Illinois to escape persecution, including a literal extermination order issued by then-Missouri Governor Lilburn W. Boggs.
The first of those refugees arrived in Quincy, Illinois, where that settlement’s 1600 residents opened their homes to 5000-6000 refugees, an act of community kindness and selflessness that is still commemorated in that community and by the Church.
Subsequently, the refugees moved northward in Illinois where they drained swamplands on the eastern banks of the Mississippi and established the thriving community of Nauvoo. The city, whose name means “beautiful place,” grew to rival Chicago in size and became a hub of Church activity and commerce in Illinois. A temple was built, rising above the Mississippi landscape.
Unfortunately, the peace the Church and its members had initially enjoyed in Illinois diminished with time as the number of Church members grew and tensions with neighboring communities increased. In 1844, the president and prophet of the Church, Joseph Smith, was martyred by a mob in the neighboring city of Carthage.
By 1846, Church leaders and members were compelled to abandon Nauvoo for their own safety, thus launching one of the largest forced migrations in American history.
Over the next two decades, approximately 70,000 members of the Church moved through Illinois on their way to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, 1300 miles to the west. With the 1870 return to Illinois of missionaries from the Utah territory, the Church once again began to grow and thrive in Illinois.
In 1985, the Chicago Temple was dedicated in Glenview. There and in other temples of the Church, couples may be married (sealed) by restored priesthood authority for eternity, along with their families.
In 2002, the rebuilt Nauvoo Temple was dedicated.
In 2004, an Illinois delegation led by then-Lt. Governor Pat Quinn expressed “official regret” for the 1844 murder of Joseph Smith and the violence that earlier forced the Latter-day Saints from the State.
Now, members of the Church throughout Illinois, led by lay leaders, seek to do all we can to contribute to and strengthen our communities through service, education, welfare support, strengthening interfaith relations, and building social unity. As senior Church leader and legal scholar President Dallin H. Oaks urged in a 2021 worldwide address on the principles embodied in the Constitution of the United States, “On contested issues, we should seek to moderate and unify.”
As stated by Church President Russell M. Nelson in an April 2023 worldwide address entitled “Peacemakers Needed”: “Let us as a people become a true light on the hill—a light that ‘cannot be hid.’ Let us show that there is a peaceful, respectful way to resolve complex issues and an enlightened way to work out disagreements. As you demonstrate the charity that true followers of Jesus Christ manifest, the Lord will magnify your efforts beyond your loftiest imagination.
“The gospel net is the largest net in the world. God has invited all to come unto Him, ‘black and white, bond and free, male and female.’ There is room for everyone. However, there is no room for prejudice, condemnation, or contention of any kind.”