Difference between revisions of "Kirtland Temple"
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Construction on the [[Ohio Period|Kirtland]] Temple was started in 1833 and completed in 1836. It was the first place of temple worship made by the Latter-day Saints. | Construction on the [[Ohio Period|Kirtland]] Temple was started in 1833 and completed in 1836. It was the first place of temple worship made by the Latter-day Saints. | ||
Revision as of 10:57, 22 December 2006
Construction on the Kirtland Temple was started in 1833 and completed in 1836. It was the first place of temple worship made by the Latter-day Saints.
Early History
It was dedicated on Sunday, March 27, 1836. Although the temple could hold almost a thousand people, not everyone that wanted to attend was able to fit inside the temple, so the dedicatory services were repeated on the following Thursday.
At the time that the temple was completed it was one of the largest buildings in Northern Ohio. It was also one of the more beautiful buildings in the area. Two sets of pulpits were put in on the ground floor, and the benches were made so that they could be turned to face either the front or back pulpit. Building the Kirtland temple was a huge sacrifice for the Latter-day Saints, but as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants D&C 88:119 in December 1832 they were commanded by God to build a temple. The members of the church were poor though, and did not start work on the temple until six months later. The members of the church were also instructed on how to build the temple (see D&C 95:15). The members sacrificed much to build the temple. Men gave up working to earn money to work on the temple and women spent days sewing curtains, and making carpets for the temple. One member Daniel Tyler wrote in his journal:
- How often have I seen those humble, faithful servants of the Lord, after toiling all day in the quarry, or on the building, when the walls were in [the] course of erection, weary and faint, yet with cheerful countenances, retiring to their homes with a few pounds of corn meal that had been donated. And, in the case of those who lacked a cow to give a little milk, the corn meal was sometimes, for days together, all that they and their families had to subsist upon. When a little flour, butter or meat came in, they were luxuries. Sometimes a little ... molasses ... would be donated, but oftener the hands had to seek a job elsewhere to get a gallon or so, and then return to the labor on the temple (quoted in Karl Ricks Anderson, "Joseph Smith’s Kirtland: Eyewitness Accounts," p. 161).
Uses of the Temple
The temple was not used as LDS temples are used today. The Kirtland Temple was used for numerous church purposes. The main floor was used for Sabbath day and other worship services, the second floor was used as a school to teach people about doctrine, and the third floor was used as a school during the day and as a place for quorum meetings in the evening. It was also a sacred building nearly half of all the sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were received in Kirtland.
Split
By 1838, there were disagreements and misunderstandings between church members and residents of Kirtland. Members were eventually forced to leave Kirtland and the temple. The Kirtland Temple is owned today by The Community of Christ Church (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), a group that broke away from the LDS church when Brigham Young was named the president and prophet of the church after Joseph Smith was martyred. The Community of Christ runs daily tours of the Kirtland Temple. To find out when a tour can be taken visit the website: www.kirtlandtemple.org.
