Historical Plate Donated to the Church

October 2008

On 21 January 2005, Brian Durrant of Solihull, England, officially presented to the Europe West Area Presidency an original Nauvoo Temple Plate, commemorating the dedication of the Nauvoo Temple in May of 1846. This plate had been in the family of his wife, Martha, for many years. It had been very important to her mother, Ellen Jennings Granger, who received the plate in the early 1920s from a friend in the United States. After Mrs. Granger's death, Martha treasured the plate. When Martha died recently, Mr. Durrant sought a place where it would be equally valued. He contacted the Church in Solihull and soon afterward brought it to the area offices.

Church history officials in Salt Lake City identified the plate as an original Nauvoo Temple dedication plate, commissioned from the Twigg Potteries in Staffordshire by Lucius N. Scoville when he was on his mission in England in 1846.

In the centre of the plate is a picture of the original Nauvoo Temple, reproduced from what had to be one of the few photographs taken of the temple, a copy of which must have been taken to England by Elder Scoville. On the rim of the plate are the names of members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and several other Church leaders serving at the time Elder Scoville left for his mission to England. At the presentation, members of the Area Presidency thanked Mr. Durrant for his generous gift, shared with him some of the history of the Nauvoo Temple and the Church, and told him of the significance of the names on the edge of the plate. It is unknown how many plates Elder Scoville commissioned in 1846, but 12, including this one, are known to exist at this time.