As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered for their semi-annual General Conference April 4-5, historian Benjamin E. Park shared the fascinating history of the city of Nauvoo, an LDS religious utopia situated on the banks of the Mississippi.
Founded in 1839 by Joseph Smith Jr., LDS church prophet and founder, Nauvoo, Illinois had its own army – with Smith as general – a constitution, a court system and at its height, more inhabitants than Chicago, over 12,000. Park’s book, Kingdom of Nauvoo, examines this unique city, which eventually fell apart largely because of the rise of the Mormon practice of polygamy, and how it challenged the limits of America’s tolerance for religious freedom.
Benjamin E. Park’s book is Kingdom of Nauvoo: The Rise and Fall of a Religious Empire on the American Frontier. [IndieBound|Amazon|Audible].
