May 26th, 2025, 12:00 PM MDT
During the winter of 1838-39, more than 5,000 Latter-day Saints were searching for food and shelter after being expelled from Missouri by the extermination order of Lilburn W. Boggs.
They discovered shelter and kindness across the river from Missouri in Quincy, Illinois, where the town’s 1,600 residents won saints.
Now in connection with the 200th anniversary of the formation of Adams County, Illinois, the Church of Jesus Christ, where Quincy sits, offers a historical marker that Latter-day Saints remembers “Mississippi’s Mercy.”
The rendering of the interpretation panel, which provides more detail than previous markers, was announced on May 10th at the Clat Adams BiCenenteny Park by the Mississippi River, with a news release from Churchofjesuschrist.org.
Quincy is about 55 miles south of Nauboo, Illinois, and the saint lived from 1839 to 1846.
Larissa McShane, president of the Nauboo Illinois Stack Relief Society, told more than 100 people in attendance that her ancestors, James Bean and Elizabeth Lewis, were residents of Quincy and protected the saints.
Their son, George, wrote in his diary, “My father added his land and improvements for a while, so several homes and cabins were owned.
McShane said, “Their mercy has changed the trajectory of the lives of countless people for future generations.” Her Quincy ancestors later joined the church and headed west in 1846.
Charles Scholz, chairman of the Adams County Bicentennial Committee and former mayor of Quincy, spoke about the time when the late Church President Gordon B. Hinckley visited Quincy in 2002 along with the reconstruction of the Nauboo Temple. Tabernacle Choir of Temple Square held a profit concert that raised $75,000 to help the city launch a community foundation.
“It was a great night,” Scholz said. “In conclusion,[President Hinckley]turned to the choir… and he said, “I want to welcome everyone in the choir who had ancestors who were protected by Quincy.” And they all stood up, and there was a shortness of breath that could be heard in the crowd.
