Nauvoo Temple Sunstone Ornament

The original Nauvoo Temple sunstones, carved from limestone in 1844–1845 under Joseph Smith’s direction. The sunstones were originally 2.5-ton architectural capitals featuring faces with trumpet-holding hands as part of a larger celestial design with moonstones and starstones. After the Nauvoo Temple’s destruction by arson in 1848 and a tornado in 1850, only a few original sunstones survived, with one displayed by the Smithsonian Institution and others replicated for the rebuilt Nauvoo Temple in 2002. This paperweight honors that craftsmanship and the enduring legacy of early Latter-day Saint architecture.