"To date, interest in the Illinois period of Church history has focused largely on events within the corporate limits of the city of Nauvoo, but many Saints lived elsewhere in that general area. Eight short-lived stakes were organized in other Illinois communities: in Ramus (now Webster), Hancock County; at Lima, Quincy, Mount Hope (now Columbus), and Freedom (near Payson), Adams County; in Geneva, Morgan County; in Springfield, Sangamon County; and in Pleasant Vale (now New Canton), Pike County. There was also the longer-lasting Iowa or Zarahemla Stake immediately across the Mississippi River from Nauvoo in Lee County, Iowa." [Publisher's abstract]