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I have been to Nauvoo. I have walked its streets, been to its temple, and seen the people who live there. I can tell you from personal experience that the Mormon presence in Nauvoo is the thing which makes Nauvoo thrive.

I can't imagine how good it feels to own a hotel in Nauvoo, for example. It's a massive tourist site for a group of people who are, by and large, wealthy and friendly. The entirety of Main Street is occupied with shops aimed directly at tourists; why else would a town without a grocery store have three hotels, two Mormon bookstores, and a fudge shop? Is fudge the staple food of Native Nauvooers? (Nauvooians? Nauvooites?)

The FREE tours offered by the Mormon church are, for the most part, purely historical, and only a few even touch upon Mormon doctrine. The Mormon missionaries are forbidden to proselytize inside Nauvoo-how many American towns can brag immunity from the Mormon missionaries?

Perhaps Nauvoo dislikes having a constant stream of nicely dressed, affluent people invading its quiet country idyll. I'll know this is true when the fudge shop closes down for good.

Learn more about this author, Jesse Brown.
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