Rebuilding of Mormon Temple Nearly Finished

NAUVOO, Ill.--Mormon hotelier and farmer William H. Walker heeded the call more than 150 years ago, devoting one day in every 10 to building a grand temple envisioned as the spiritual home of his fledgling religion.

Less than a decade later, that temple lay in ruins--ravaged by fire and storm after persecution forced the Mormons to abandon the city they carved in the Mississippi River wilderness.

Today, great-grandson and hotelier Kay Walker spends one morning a week on the same high river bluff, helping rebuild the temple. The work is almost complete. The temple is due to be dedicated at the end of June, following a six-week-long open house.

Sunlight reflects from the high limestone walls of the 65,000-square-foot temple; the spire reaches more than 160 feet into the sky.