Visiting LDS Church history sites is more than just walking through restored homes and listening to the history.

There are pageants in a handful of cities from New York to Arizona, the pioneer pastimes, wagon rides and other activities in Nauvoo and interactive visitors centers across the U.S. that help explain Mormon history. And, they don't have to break the budget, either.

More than 5 million people come to Temple Square and was ranked 16th on Forbes.com's list of the top 25 most visited tourist attractions earlier this month. In Nauvoo, about 200,000 people visit the tiny city in the bend of the Mississippi each year, said Elder Dean Hughes, a public affairs missionary for the Nauvoo Illinois Mission.

There are families with small children to teenagers who visit along with empty nesters and those whose interest in the city is because it is a historic landmark, Hughes said.

Then there is the spiritual connection.

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