NAUVOO, Ill. -- One hundred and fifty-eight years after Joseph Smith and his brother were killed, members of the LDS Church wept as the rebuilt temple was dedicated in their memory Thursday.

Church President Gordon B. Hinckley said he was very emotional as he stood where the first prophet of the church had once stood. He wept openly as the Tabernacle Choir sang "Come, Come Ye Saints." He paused on several occasions to regain his composure.

Earlier in the day, he told the media he felt Joseph and Hyrum Smith would be among an unseen audience at the temple dedication.

Other authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also spoke of how their thoughts were drawn to the many Saints of Nauvoo who were driven from their homes. They spoke of their hardships and their faith.

Shauna Christensen of Fruit Heights said she reflected on her ancestor Jane Johnston Black who was driven from Nauvoo. She and her husband and seven of their children were in attendance at the first dedication session Thursday evening. They sat in the world room, separate from the general assembly room where the dedication was conducted.

"It was wonderful. It really was neat to think about what the Saints went through the first time (building the temple)," she said. "I had an ancestor there. I felt a need to be here."

She and her family traveled out to Nauvoo last Saturday, pulling a trailer behind their truck. Their children range in age from 24 down to 2. Wednesday, Shauna Christensen said she was worried one of the children would have to miss the dedication to tend to the 2-year-old who was too young to attend. Thursday, she said a local church member had generously offered to baby-sit.

That was a blessing for Ceri Christensen, 13.

"I loved it," she said of the dedication. "Especially since I didn"t have to tend my little sister. That"s what this trip was all about."

Hinckley said the temple was filled to capacity for the dedication. Church members from 70 nations including the Philippines and parts of Asia viewed the dedication from television satellite locations around the world.

Only a block away from the temple more than 1,000 members gathered in the Nauvoo Stake Center.

Lynn and Nola Paulson of Ogden said they felt very blessed to be among those members on hand to view the dedication.

"We"ve been through other dedications, but never so involved as we have been in this one and never with so much feeling," said Lynn Paulson.

The husband and wife were among six couples called from the Ogden Temple District to serve a six-month mission in Nauvoo. Prior to retirement, Lynn Paulson was a seminary teacher at Ogden High School and an institute teacher at Weber State University.

The couple said they have been doing anything they were asked to do since they came out six weeks ago, but starting Monday, they will begin working in the temple until they leave in November.

"It"s been a glorious experience to be here," Nola Paulson said. And she said she didn"t look forward to leaving in November. She"s hoping the temple will stay busy so they can stay longer.

During the dedication, Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, spoke of how in his journal many years back he had written about a visit to Nauvoo. He wrote: "I envision the day when people by the thousands will visit Nauvoo."

"My brothers and sisters, that day has come," he said.