Kirtland Temple

In December 1832, the Lord commanded the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, to build “a house of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119). It was to be 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.” The Saints in Kirtland sacrificed time and money to build the house of the Lord. They had faith that the Lord would help them carry out His will. The temple was completed in late 1835 and dedicated on March 27, 1836 (Doctrine and Covenants 109).

The faith of the Saints was rewarded with an outpouring of spiritual manifestations in the completed Kirtland Temple. During the dedication, some people in attendance reported seeing angels. “No mortal language can describe the heavenly manifestations of that memorable day,” Eliza R. Snow, who was in the temple for the dedication, later wrote. “Angels appeared to some, while a sense of divine presence was realized by all present, and each heart was filled with ‘joy inexpressible and full of glory.’”¹ Others outside the temple reported “hearing an unusual sound within [the temple] and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the temple.”²

On April 3, 1836, one week after the dedication, nearly one thousand Latter-day Saints gathered to worship the Lord in the Kirtland Temple. After the administration of the sacrament, the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery went to the Melchizedek Priesthood pulpits and lowered a veil or curtain to offer them privacy. After bowing themselves in “solemn and silent prayer,” a vision opened in which they were visited by Jesus Christ, who announced that He had accepted the house they had built. Joseph and Oliver were then visited by three additional messengers: Moses, Elias, and Elijah. Moses gave them “the keys of the gathering of Israel” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:11), Elias gave them “the right to convey the unique blessings of the Abrahamic covenant,”³ and Elijah gave them the sealing power “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:15).

For decades, Community of Christ preserved and cared for the Kirtland Temple. In March 2024, stewardship of this beloved landmark was transferred to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Read more about the Kirtland Temple in chapter 21 of Saints, volume 1.

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1. Edward Tullidge, Women of Mormondom, 95.
2. History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 (1 September 1834–2 November 1838), addenda, 4; www.josephsmithpapers.org
3. Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant, Liahona, Oct. 2022, 9; https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2022/10/04-the-everlasting-covenant?lang=eng

What to Expect

Guided tours of the Kirtland Temple begin at the Kirtland Temple Visitors’ Center and last approximately one hour. The tour allows visitors to visit all three floors of the temple to learn more about its construction and use in the 1830s.