It was a distinctive feature of the original Nauvoo Temple that has not been repeated in any subsequent temple of this dispensation — until now.
A bell was hoisted July 3 to a tower that tops the new Nauvoo Illinois Temple, now under construction on the site of the original temple of 1846.
At 33 1/2 inches in diameter, the bronze-alloy bell weighs 846 pounds. It took workers only about a half-minute to hoist the bell, using a crane and nylon lifting straps, said Elder Ronald Prince, project administrator of the temple construction.
Situated in the tower that is taking shape on the temple's west end, the bell will be suspended from a steel tube attached to an I-beam above, and will hang about 9 feet below the 16-foot ceiling in the tower, Elder Prince said. The bell will eventually be enclosed within the tower, concealed from view by fixed louvers that will allow air to pass through but will shelter the bell from the elements. True to the design of the original temple, the tower will be graced by a clock on each of its four sides, corresponding to the four compass points.
With an electronically driven striker, the bell will be integrated with the computer-driven clocks and thus can be set to sound as often as desired. It is pitched to emit a sound near F sharp on the musical scale. Elder Prince said it has not yet been decided how often the bell will sound.
Custom made for the temple by the Verdin Clock and Bell Co., based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the bell was cast in the Netherlands at the Petit Fritsen Bell Foundry on May 25. It is encircled by a filigree, a floral design that bears the name of the manufacturer. The bell is also marked with the year of the casting, 2001, and the year of the temple's completion, which will be 2002.
From new bell's position in clock tower, Mississippi River can be seen in background.
Photo by R. J. Snow
