Your financial help is needed to place headstones on Father and Mother Smith’s graves. Their graves have never been marked. Your contributions will also place a memorial stone in the cemetery by the Kirtland Temple for Father Smith’s mother,
Mary Duty, Jerusha Smith, Joseph and Emma’s twins and Mary, a daughter of Hyrum and Jerusha.
We estimate the cost will be $25,000. Some large contributions will be needed to meet this goal. However, the board feels that each family member needs the opportunity to participate, no matter what the amount. We owe it to our ancestors to mark their graves or memorialize them near where they are buried.
When our ancestors left Kirtland, graves markers were destroyed. In Nauvoo, graves were not marked because of fear of what enemies might do. We now have an opportunity to appropriately honor our ancestors by marking their graves and memorializing them. Joseph Smith once said, “the place that a man is buried is sacred to me.†Late in life, Emma expressed her desire to reach out to all of the Smith descendants to mark these graves.
It is now up to each of us. Will you please send a generous donation as soon as you can to make this happen before the temple dedication in Nauvoo in June? We would like to mark these graves by that time so that each visitor to Nauvoo this summer might be able to stand at this sacred site. We will also look forward to gathering as a family at the completion of the project in Nauvoo. Please attach the form at the end of the newsletter with your contribution.