The Nauvoo Discovery Program's first-semester students visited the nearby museum of The Tomb of Joseph in Nauvoo, Illinois during the winter months of 2024. Rachel Clayton (participant and employee), provided an informational and amusing tour for the YSA participants. (Intro by Sandra S. Marler)
Rachel Clayton on the left, The Tomb of Joseph Museum, NDP-YSA participants.
Rachel Clayton writes about The Tomb of Joseph Museum below:
In 2005 construction began on the building now known as Zions Mercantile located at 1200 Mulholland Street. In 2006, while installing a sprinkler head near the intersection of the sidewalk and front walkway, a stone was removed that revealed a mysterious hole underneath. Using a digital camera, the property owner reached into the hole and took a few pictures, which revealed some kind of brick-arched structure. No further exploration was made until 2020 when Brian Christiansen purchased the property and learned of it.
One person told Christiansen that it may be the “Tomb of Joseph”- to which he replied, as most people would, “What’s the Tomb of Joseph?”
That year, with COVID-19 having shut down nearly all business, Christiansen thought it was the perfect time to explore the structure and learn about the Tomb of Joseph. He enlisted his friend, filmmaker Phil Tuckett, to document his adventure (1). The excavation, story, and film grew bigger and better than originally thought. Soon, historians, actors, film crew, musicians, and locals were all brought in to tell the story in the documentary film, Tomb of Joseph.
Today the vault is enclosed within the Tomb of Joseph Museum, located in the basement of Zion’s mercantile. The Tomb discusses the history of the Tomb of Joseph.
Joseph Smith, the Prophet, (1805-1844), commissioned a tomb to be constructed for his family here in Nauvoo. The first mention of the tomb in historic record is on August 23, 1842. Joseph Smith spent much of the latter half of 1842 in hiding to avoid arrest and extradition to Missouri. Because of the forced solitude, he had time to reflect on his family and friends and time to write these reflections in his journal. He considered the family members he had lost- his brothers, children, and his father. He wrote:
“Let my father, Don Carlos, and Alvin, and children that I have buried be brought and laid in the tomb I have built. Let my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters be laid there also; and let it be called the tomb of Joseph, a descendant of Jacob; and when I die, let me be gathered to the tomb of my father. (2)”
This tomb was built, somewhere on the south side of the temple block. The museum discusses some key questions.
What did the tomb look like?
Why wasn’t Joseph Smith buried in the tomb he had prepared?
Why was Joseph buried and reburied 5 times from 1844-1928?
Was anyone else buried in the tomb?
What happened to the tomb after the Saints left?
The Tomb of Joseph Museum is a free, educational experience, perfect for any, and all visitors to Nauvoo, and was particularly enjoyed by members of the Nauvoo Discovery Program.
1) The link to the Tomb of Joseph Documentary is here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5_tUI224_4
2) Black, Susan Easton. “The Tomb of Joseph.” file:///C:/Users/rclayton/Downloads/The%20Tomb%20of%20Joseph%20(4)%20(1).pdf
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Thank you.
The Nauvoo Discovery Program
1875 Mulholland St.
PO Box 187
Nauvoo, Illinois 62354
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