“And it shall be for a house for boarding, a house that strangers may come from afar to lodge therein; therefore let it be a good house, worthy of all acceptation, that the weary traveler may find health and safety while he shall contemplate the word of the Lord; and the cornerstone I have appointed for Zion.” — Doctrine and Covenants 124:23¹

In 1841, the Saints were commanded to build the Nauvoo House as a boardinghouse for travelers and a home for Joseph Smith’s family. Located in lower Nauvoo along the Mississippi River, the project was funded by fifty-dollar shares of stock.² Although construction began, it was never completed beyond the second story, as the Saints chose to focus their construction efforts on the Nauvoo temple.³ After Joseph Smith’s death, his body and that of his brother Hyrum were temporarily buried in the unfinished structure’s basement.² Later, Emma Smith’s second husband, Lewis Bidamon, repurposed part of the structure into a smaller hotel.³

1. Doctrine and Covenants 124:23

2. “Nauvoo House,” josephsmithpapers.org

3. The Nauvoo House, churchofjesuschrist.org