Story Behind the Homestead Well:
As a child, Joseph Smith III lived with his parents on the east bank of the mighty Mississippi River in Nauvoo, Illinois. In his memoirs, Joseph recalled that next to their home was a shallow well which produced water of questionable quality. The Smith's decided to blast through the rock to deepen the well and improve its water. Young Joseph was very interested in this process. Following an explosion, he stepped outside to see the damage. Large rocks, thrown high into the air by the blast, were still on the way down. One of them, as it fell, nearly killed him. It brushed the brim of his hat on the way past and landed at his feet.
How different our story would be if Joseph had been one step faster. There would be no Reorganization, no Graceland University, no Fred M. Smith (or any of those who followed him in the presidency of the church until 1996), no Plano Stone Church, and no Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation. How would your life be different but for one step not taken by a boy in 1840s Nauvoo?
Of course Joseph Smith III wasn't injured those many years ago and so here we are, inheritors of a legacy filled with wonderful and powerful stories and traditions. It is our shared sacred story that makes us into Community of Christ. As for the account of Joseph Smith III and the well, it reminds us of the importance of every step we take as we play out our role in the sacred story.
As a child, Joseph Smith III lived with his parents on the east bank of the mighty Mississippi River in Nauvoo, Illinois. In his memoirs, Joseph recalled that next to their home was a shallow well which produced water of questionable quality. The Smith's decided to blast through the rock to deepen the well and improve its water. Young Joseph was very interested in this process. Following an explosion, he stepped outside to see the damage. Large rocks, thrown high into the air by the blast, were still on the way down. One of them, as it fell, nearly killed him. It brushed the brim of his hat on the way past and landed at his feet.
How different our story would be if Joseph had been one step faster. There would be no Reorganization, no Graceland University, no Fred M. Smith (or any of those who followed him in the presidency of the church until 1996), no Plano Stone Church, and no Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation. How would your life be different but for one step not taken by a boy in 1840s Nauvoo?
Of course Joseph Smith III wasn't injured those many years ago and so here we are, inheritors of a legacy filled with wonderful and powerful stories and traditions. It is our shared sacred story that makes us into Community of Christ. As for the account of Joseph Smith III and the well, it reminds us of the importance of every step we take as we play out our role in the sacred story.
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Location of the Object
Smith Homestead at the Joseph Smith Historic Site, Nauvoo, Illinois |
Date of the Object
Reproduction of the 1840s well |
Photos & Information Shared By
Lachlan Mackay, Community of Christ Historic Sites Coordinator |