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As the Saints gathered to Ohio, a commandment was given: “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119)
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This was to be a temple to the most high God. Joseph explained, “This is the word of the Lord to us, [and] we must—yea the Lord helping us we will obey, as on conditions of our obedience, he has promised us great things, yea even a visit from the heavens to honor us with his own presence.”
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“At that time . . . the Saints were few in number,” recorded Eliza R. Snow, “and most of them very poor; and, had it not been for the assurance that God had spoken, and had commanded that a house should be built to his name, of which he not only revealed the form, but also designated the dimensions, an attempt towards building that Temple, under the then existing circumstances, would have been, by all concerned, pronounced preposterous.”
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Lucy Mack Smith recorded her son’s view on building the temple: “Some were in favor of building a frame house, but others were of a mind to put up a log house. Joseph reminded them that they were not building a house for a man, but for God; ‘and shall we, brethren, . . . build a house for our God, of logs? No, I have a better plan than that. I have a plan of the house of the Lord, given by himself; and you will soon see by this, the difference between our calculations and his idea of things.'”
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He and his counselors were given a vision of the yet-to-be-designed temple. “We went upon our knees,” said Frederick G. Williams, “called on the Lord, and the Building appeared within viewing distance. . . . Then all of us viewed it together. After we had taken a good look at the exterior, the building seemed to come right over us, and the makeup of this hall seemed to coincide with what I there saw to a minutia.” This vision gave the plan for the temple.
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Because there were not many skilled workers among the Saints, Joseph asked his counselors who might be capable of taking charge of the work. “Lorenzo Young exclaimed to the Prophet ‘I know the very man who is capable of doing this work.’ ‘Who is he?’ asked the Prophet. Lorenzo replied, [‘it] is Artemus Millet’ up in Canada . . . a successful builder . . . well known for his work.
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The Prophet turned to Brigham [Young] and said ‘I give you a mission to go to Canada and baptise Brother Artemus Millet, and bring him here. Tell him to bring a thousand dollars with him.'” Brigham went and Artemus came!
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The work of building began in earnest in the summer of 1833 with great opposition and promises from the mobs that the walls of that temple would never be erected. Heber Kimball wrote that “it appeared almost impossible that the commandment could be fulfilled” to build the temple.
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“There were but few saints in Kirtland, and those all of the poorer class,” said Benjamin Johnson. “There was not a scraper and hardly a plow that could be obtained among the Saints.” Erastus Snow recorded: “They did not have molasses to eat with their johnny cake. Sometimes they had shoes, and sometimes not; sometimes they would have tolerable pants, and, sometimes, very ragged ones.”
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The women did all they could to help the building move forward. Almost all the sisters in Kirtland helped on the interior or labored in sewing, spinning, and making clothes for those who worked on the temple.
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Joseph wrote, “I . . . pronounced a blessing upon the sisters, for their liberality in giving their services so cheerfully. . . . The sisters are always first and foremost in all good works. Mary was first at the resurrection; and the sisters now are the first to work on the inside of the temple.”
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Seeing the great poverty of the Church, Sidney Rigdon “frequently used to go upon the walls of the building both by night and day and . . . wetting the walls with his tears, crying aloud to the Almighty to send means whereby we might accomplish the building,” wrote Heber C. Kimball.
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After nearly three years of sacrifice, when many families had lived together in small quarters or even without homes, this magnificent structure was completed.
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There was a thrill in every heart on Sunday, March 27, 1836, when a large congregation began to assemble at the temple at seven o’clock in the morning for its dedication. Six hundred were there before the doors were to be opened.
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The doors were then opened. Presidents Rigdon, Cowdery and myself seated the congregation as they came in, and, according to the best calculation we could make, we received between nine and ten hundred, which were as many as could be comfortably seated.
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We then informed the doorkeepers that we could receive no more, and a multitude were deprived of the benefits of the meeting on account of the house not being sufficiently capacious to receive them; and I felt to regret that any of my brethren and sisters should be deprived of the meeting, and I recommended them to repair to the schoolhouse and hold a meeting, which they did, and filled that house also, and yet many were left out.
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Sidney Rigdon said to those assembled, “There [are] many houses, many sufficiently large, built for the worship of God, but not one except this, on the face of the whole earth, that was built by divine revelation; and were it not for this the dear Redeemer might, in this day of science, this day of intelligence, this day of religion, say to those who would follow Him: ‘The foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.'”
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Sidney was then taking a retrospective view of the toils, privations, and anxieties of those who had labored upon the walls of the house to erect them; and added, there were those who had wet them with their tears, in the silent shades of night, while they were praying to the God of heaven to protect them, and stay the unhallowed hands of ruthless spoilers, who had uttered a prophecy, when the foundation was laid, that the walls would never be reared.
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Presendia Huntington recalled: A little girl came to my door and in wonder called me out, exclaiming, “The meeting is on the top of the meeting house!” I went to the door, and there I saw on the temple angels clothed in white covering the roof from end to end. They seemed to be walking to and fro; they appeared and disappeared. The third time they appeared and disappeared before I realized that they were not mortal men. Each time in a moment they vanished, and their reappearance was the same. This was in broad daylight, in the afternoon. A number of the children in Kirtland saw the same.
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Then the dedicatory prayer was offered by the Prophet Joseph: “We ask thee, Holy Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of thy bosom . . . to accept of this house. . . . For thou knowest that we have done this work through great tribulation; and out of our poverty we have given of our substance to build a house to thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people.” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:4-5)
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Though it was a cold day, the windows of the main floor were left open so that the people gathered outside could hear the proceedings of the dedicatory services within.
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The official name of the Church was given by revelation 25 months after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Doctrine and Covenants 115:4)
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The Prophet’s prayer continued: “And now, Holy Father, we ask thee to assist us, thy people, with thy grace, in calling our solemn assembly, that it may be done to thine honor and to thy divine acceptance…”
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“And in a manner that we may be found worthy, in thy sight, to secure a fulfilment of the promises which thou hast made unto us, thy people, in the revelations given unto us; That thy glory may rest down upon thy people, and upon this thy house, which we now dedicate to thee, that it may be sanctified and consecrated to be holy, and that thy holy presence may be continually in this house…”
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“…And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel thy power…and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness…That all the ends of the earth may know that we, thy servants, have heard they voice, and that thou hast sent us.”
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A heavenly messenger, identified by Joseph Smith as Peter, the ancient apostle, was seen entering the temple and sat near Frederick G. Williams and Joseph Smith Sr. Heber C. Kimball described him as being tall, with “black eyes, white hair, and stoop shouldered; his garment was whole, extending to near his ankles; on his feet he had sandals. He was sent as a messenger to accept of the dedication.”
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The choir then rose to their feet and sang a hymn written for the occasion, thrilling every soul: “The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!/The latter-day glory begins to come forth;/The visions and blessings of old are returning,/The angels are coming to visit the earth./We’ll sing and we’ll shout with the armies of heaven—/ Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb!/Let glory to them in the highest be given,/Henceforth and forever: amen and amen!”
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I met the quorums in the evening and instructed them respecting the ordinance of washing of feet…and gave them instructions in relation to the spirit of prophecy, and called upon the congregation to speak, and not to fear to prophesy good concerning the Saints…
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Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power…
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Joseph said, “…many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; others saw glorious visions; and I beheld the Temple was filled with angels, which fact I declared to the congregation.
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The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple), and were astonished at what was taking place. This continued until the meeting closed at eleven p.m.
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For March 30, 1836, the Prophet Joseph exclaimed: I left the meeting in the charge of the Twelve, and retired about nine o’clock in the evening. The brethren continued exhorting, prophesying, and speaking in tongues until five o’clock in the morning….
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The Savior made His appearance to some, while angels ministered to others, and it was a Pentecost and an endowment indeed, long to be remembered, for the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world, and the occurrences of this day shall be handed down upon the pages of sacred history, to all generations; as the day of Pentecost, so shall this day be numbered and celebrated as a year of jubilee, and time of rejoicing to the Saints of the Most High God.
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Many visions had already taken place in the Kirtland Temple before the dedication. On the third floor, where Joseph had his office, the Prophet was given to see a vision of the celestial kingdom. He saw the Father and the Son. He saw his brother Alvin and his parents in that glorious kingdom.
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One of the great truths that was taught in that vision was that “…All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God.” (Doctrine and Covenants 137:7)
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In his journal, after describing others whom he saw in his vision, including members of the Twelve, Joseph concluded: “Many of my brethren who received the ordinance with me saw glorious visions also. Angels ministered unto them as well as to myself, and the power of the Highest rested upon us, the house was filled with the glory of God, and we shouted Hosanna to God and the Lamb.”
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Lorenzo Snow enumerated blessings received in the temple during this pentecostal period: “There we had the gift of prophecy—the gift of tongues—the interpretation of tongues—visions and marvelous dreams were related—the singing of heavenly choirs was heard, and wonderful manifestations of the healing power, through the administrations of the Elders, were witnessed. The sick were healed—the deaf made to hear—the blind to see and the lame to walk, in very many instances. It was plainly manifest that a sacred and divine influence—a spiritual atmosphere pervaded that holy edifice.”
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Zebedee Coltrin testified: “In the Kirtland Temple I have seen the power of God as it was on the day of Pentecost, and cloven tongues of fire have rested on the brethren, and they have spoken in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. I saw the Lord high and lifted up. The angels of God rested upon the Temple and we heard their voices singing heavenly music.”
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The following Sunday after the dedication, on April 3, 1836, Joseph reported: “In the afternoon, I assisted the other Presidents in distributing the Lord’s Supper to the Church, receiving it from the Twelve, whose privilege it was to officiate at the sacred desk this day. After having performed this service to my brethren, I retired to the pulpit, the veils being dropped, and bowed myself, with Oliver Cowdery, in solemn and silent prayer. After rising from prayer, the following vision was opened to both of us—
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We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name. For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.
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After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.
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After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed.
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After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.
Keith HansenMarch 8, 2024
Thank you for the photos, the history and the marvelous words.
Claudia Henderson SmithMarch 8, 2024
How did you get to take pictures inside? When we were there, the guide told us no pictures inside.