It didn't last long, but for a short time in the 1840s the Mississippi River town of Nauvoo was the largest city in Illinois. While most municipalities thrived on trade, Nauvoo's propelling force was something much less tangible: faith. And that would also be the city's downfall.
Before the fledgling Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — the Mormons — made Salt Lake City the center of their earthly existence, they had settled in Nauvoo, following their founding prophet Joseph Smith. The charismatic sect leader had a remarkable knack for capturing the imagination of those who would believe but also of enraging those who saw him not as a Christian prophet but as a heretic, a seducer of women and other men's wives — a con man. And that brought a steady rain of violence to both Smith and his flock.
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