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Stolen more than 170 years ago and long believed to be the bell from the 1840s Nauvoo Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hummer's Bell has been returned to its original home at the First Presbyterian Church of Iowa City. The return was marked by a dedication ceremony on October 5, 2025.
Pastor Nathan Willard of the First Presbyterian Church spoke during the event, highlighting the bell's significance. “Every time this bell rings, we think not only of the people who heard it in Iowa City, but the people who heard it for decades in Salt Lake City, and say, ‘This bell unites us,’” he said. “This bell is a sign that the thing God wants most of all for all of us is that we may be one in God’s name, that Jesus Christ calls us to unity and not to division, that Jesus calls us to remember the poor and the hungry, the widow and the orphan, the powerful as well as the powerless and say they are all one in Jesus Christ.”
Elder Kirt L. Hodges, an Area Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, echoed these sentiments in a later interview. “We want to establish a relationship between the two churches, to do things in the community, to be involved in community events and community service so that we can work together and turn people to the Savior,” said Elder Hodges. He added that both churches share the desire "to turn people’s hearts to our Savior Jesus Christ.”
The story behind Hummer's Bell began in December 1842 when Michael Hummer became pastor of the newly established First Presbyterian Church in Iowa Territory. He raised funds for a church building and purchased a bell from the Meneely Bell Foundry in Troy, New York. In 1848, following disputes over alleged mishandling of funds and unpaid wages, Hummer was expelled from his position. Claiming he was owed back pay and granted rights to movable items, Hummer took the bell from the church.
As Hummer attempted to remove the bell, local residents intervened. They hid the bell in Rapid Creek before four men transported it west toward California in early 1850. After arriving in Salt Lake City, they sold it to the tithing office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
According to Keith Erekson, director of historical research and outreach for the Church, bells played an important role for Latter-day Saints in the 19th century. When the original Nauvoo Bell became unusable after cracking, church members sought a replacement.
Years later, both Michael Hummer and representatives from the First Presbyterian Church contacted Brigham Young seeking the bell’s return. Young responded that if proof of ownership was provided and return costs covered, he would return it. However, neither party could meet these conditions at the time.
The bell remained in Salt Lake City for decades. Around 1939, it was misidentified as the Nauvoo Bell during a period of renewed interest in Nauvoo history. It was later installed in the Relief Society campanile on Temple Square in 1966. Investigations by the Church History Department beginning in the late 1990s eventually revealed its true origins. The bell and campanile were removed in 2023 during renovations at Temple Square.
“The construction project at Temple Square gave us the opportunity to rethink what was on the square,” Erekson said. “When the option came up, we said, ‘You know, the best thing to do would be to send this back to the church where it came from.’ We reached out, and they were excited. We’re thrilled to be able to make that restoration of the bell to its home.”
Restored to its original appearance from the 1840s, Hummer's Bell now hangs at the First Presbyterian Church of Iowa City. Pastor Willard concluded his sermon by inviting congregants to hear "Christ’s call to unity" in the ringing of the bell. “In this world of division, what can we do to signal unity in Jesus Christ? We can ring that bell,” he said. “We can make that bell ring across a century of time, calling different people to worship in the same place and saying the most important thing for all of us is to remember that Jesus Christ was and is and will be.”
