The Red Brick Store in

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its historic importance and it ...

, was a building that was constructed and owned by

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...

, the founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

Original building

Smith constructed the Red Brick Store in 1841. The building became a center of economic, political, religious, and social activity among the

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

s. In addition to being a mercantile store, the second floor of the building also served as the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for a period of time. Members would visit the store to pay their

tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...

and other offerings to the church.

Notable events

A number of important events in Latter Day Saint history occurred in the Red Brick Store, including: *the organization of the Relief Society, the church's organization for women, on March 17, 1842; and *the first performance of the Nauvoo

Endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance * Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to ...

ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * ...

, on May 4, 1842. NauvooStore

Destruction and rebuilding

After Joseph Smith was killed and the majority of Latter Day Saints left Nauvoo, the Red Brick Store fell into disrepair. Eventually, it was torn down and the bricks were used to construct new buildings in Nauvoo. In 1980, the

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

rebuilt the Red Brick Store on the original foundation as part of its 1980

sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

celebrations. Today, the Red Brick Store is owned and operated as a tourist attraction by the

Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

. The Store sells goods that are similar to the kind that were sold in the Store in the 1840s.

Manti, Utah

In Manti,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, the headquarters of the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (TLC Church) is located in a building named the Red Brick Store in honor of Smith's original structure in Nauvoo.

References

* Robert T. Bray (1973). ''Archaeological Investigations at the Joseph Smith Red Brick Store, Nauvoo, Illinois'' (Columbia: University of Missouri Press) *

Roger D. Launius Roger D. Launius (born May 15, 1954) is an American historian and author of Lithuanian descent, a former chief historian of NASA. He retired in 2016 as Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs for the Smithsonian National Ai ...

and F. Mark McKiernan (1985). ''Joseph Smith, Jr.'s Red Brick Store'' (Macomb: Western Illinois University Press)

External links