The Saints were commanded to build a house of shelter for people who were travelling through Nauvoo or people who arrived there and did not yet have a cabin or a place to live. The Mansion House was built and Joseph, Emma and family moved into it and ran it like a hotel. In the beginning they offered free shelter, but eventually they had to start charging because of the great strain on their finances. For a time before the temple was finished, the Mansion House served as a venue where several temple ordinances were performed. At this time Joseph was active as President of the Church, the Mayor of the City, and had many other jobs. He finally had to hire a man to run the Mansion House. One part of the agreement was for the Smith’s to give up their master bedroom to this man and they moved down the hall to a smaller bedroom. One unique thing about the master bedroom is that one of the closets had a false wall where Joseph could go to hide when the mobs or the law with trumped-up charges would come looking for him. After the martyrdom of the Prophet and his brother in Carthage, the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum were displayed in the Mansion House for the saints to view. It is estimated that over ten-thousand people viewed the bodies that day.