“Holiness to the Lord—Our Preservation” — Jonathan Browning¹

Jonathan Browning joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in August 1840 after learning about the Book of Mormon and meeting the Prophet Joseph Smith. Originally living in Quincy, Illinois, where he ran a successful gun-repair business (and reportedly met Abraham Lincoln on several occasions), Browning moved with his family to Nauvoo in 1843.² He reestablished his business on Main Street, where his guns featured a unique engraving: “Holiness to the Lord – Our Preservation.” Browning is credited with inventing a repeating rifle and a six-shot repeater.¹ His son, John Moses Browning, later invented the automatic machine gun and the M1911 pistol, which "kept pace with modern warfare for nearly eighty years."³

1. Jonathan Browning Nauvoo Home and Gunshop

2. Browning, John, John M. Browning, American Gunmaker; A Illustrated Biography of the Man and his Guns, Page 11

3. Matthew Sharpe, "M1911 .45 Caliber Pistol," armyhistory.org ; Jonathan Browning Nauvoo Home and Gunshop