Kirtland was a game changer in the history of the Church. We went to having our first official meeting in Fayette with 60 or so people to the size of the Church really doubling in Kirtland. And the Lord had commanded the Saints to come to Kirtland for two major reasons. One was to receive His law, and the second was so that they could be endowed with power from on high.

So they arrived here, and things began.

When Emma and Joseph first arrived in Kirtland, They pulled up in front of Newel Whitney’s store,

and Joseph ran in the store and said, You prayed me here. Now what do you want with me? So, Arthur, maybe we could go check out the store.

Sounds good. Let’s check it out. And, Paul, let’s go to a couple other sites. All right, let's do it. Thank you.

I've been all around the country and actually several different countries looking for excellent pizza. And surprisingly, I don't think I've ever found a pizza that I really like more than the pizza I got right here in my own hometown of Pasco, Washington. I've lived in a lot of places, but this has always been home for me.

I love my home ward. I actually teach gospel doctrine in my ward.

I also am a temple worker and that has been a surprising, wonderful blessing in my life. I own and operate two small businesses and run both of those businesses out of this office right here.

So this is the Newel and Ann Whitney home.

What exactly happened here that's so historically significant? When Joseph and Emma arrived in Kirtland, they needed a place to stay. Emma was pregnant. And the Whitneys invited them to stay in this home where they stayed for the first few weeks. And so this became the official headquarters of the Church.

So they held council meetings here. Revelations were received.

You recall that when the Saints left New York, the Lord promised them that if they came to Kirtland, they would receive the law and be endowed with power from on high. And it was during the time that they lived here that the law was given what we now call section 42 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which, among many other things, talks about the law of consecration. Newel and Ann Whitney were naturally big-hearted people. They not only invited the Smiths in, but they had a track record of helping the poor.

Newel became the second bishop of the Church and had responsibility for the poor. And I can't think of anybody who more embodied the concept of consecration than Newel and Ann Whitney. Wow.

I am Arthur, I live in San Jose, California, the heart of Silicon Valley.

By day, I'm the CEO of a digital health startup company, and by night I love to play the violin.

A bunch of high tech guys and myself created a chamber group, and we like to play gigs all throughout the Valley.

I think my claim to fame is probably my mother, who was the first baptism of the Church in Hong Kong, and so I love to study about pioneers, and that really excited me, to learn more about Newel K. Whitney and his wife Ann,

who were pioneers in their time. And I really resonated with him, especially because he was an entrepreneur and I was an entrepreneur. So I’m really excited to get to be able to see the Newel K. Whitney store.

Wow. So there's a lot for sale. Yeah.

He was a really organized man. Shopkeeper. You can tell.

You can see how the store was the center of the community with the mail over here. Yeah. Everything you need.

I love this section. Here. You can tell this is the European import section of the store. Yeah.

I think it’s important to see this and remember that Newel and Ann Whitney were very prosperous. They were good at running a store, and that made it natural for them to be able to take in Joseph and Emma. Joseph and Emma lived with them for a while when they first came to town, and then they moved in here to the store.

They lived upstairs and lived here for two years.

Yeah, I'm amazed at how generous they both were.

And how much of an important part they played because of that willingness to just give their all to the work and to the Lord.

This is a big building. There's plenty of space for everything.

Love these barrels. Yeah. Me, too.

Have a little molasses on tap. Yeah.

They’d be kind of stylish in a home today.

Yeah.

I never thought I'd be in where the first bishop's storehouse was.

It’s pretty amazing how he was, you know, he was a humble man.

And I remember just him thinking that he wasn't qualified to be a bishop.

And Joseph Smith telling him, well, pray about it. And him receiving—getting choked up—the answer from Lord that you know, Thy strength is in me. And, you know, whenever I think of a calling that I’m not capable of, now I can, you know,

have somebody that back then felt that same feeling

and then acted with faith in the calling to move forward

and take all the talents the Lord had blessed him with, his entrepreneurial spirit, and create what has become the great welfare system of the Church today.

You know, starting right here.

I think it's so interesting that he was a successful business person,

and he was the one giving things away to those who needed it, to have both of those in one building, the selling and the giving.

It was amazing how he was such a bedrock for the Church, and he was able to stay true both to the prophet as a very good friend, but also to the gospel. And right there along with him,

when Emma Smith became Relief Society president, when they organized it in Nauvoo, she chose Ann as a counselor.

Right. I could tell. They really love that. Family bonded.

Yeah. Let's go around. There's a kitchen around here.

So this is the sawmill. In many ways, this sawmill represents the law of consecration.

Newel K. Whitney and other people dedicated their businesses and a lot of the work that they were doing to the construction of the temple and other work of the Church that had been commanded. So this is where much of the lumber for the Kirtland Temple came from.

Then they milled it here and then took it up, used it for walls, and also for some of the fine finished work for the temple. Oh, like the pulpits. Yes.

People today often talk about the law of consecration as though it's something to be lived in the future.

They’ll say we live the law of tithing, not the law of consecration. But as I've traveled around the world and watched people in action,

I see members of the Church who have given up much of their lives, their time, and their talents, and their efforts to the Church.

And they're actually, in many ways, living the law of consecration today.

Is that something you've ever thought about in your life?

Yeah, actually it is. When I was younger, I remember being kind of concerned about what might it look like if the Church ever asked us to live the law of consecration more fully? And what might impede me from being willing to do that? And I remember as a returned missionary, I bought a laptop computer for college.

It was the most expensive thing I'd ever bought in my life at that point. And I remember praying and just basically said, you know,

if you ever need it, Lord, this is your laptop. But in the meantime, I'll use it and I'll do good things with it.

And in that simple way, I guess I kind of started to prepare my heart for the law of consecration. And and then over my lifetime, I’ve had that same habit of doing that with each large purchase I've made. And until now, at this stage of my life, I own and operate two small businesses, and we start each day with a prayer, and we consecrate the work we do and the results of the work that we do to the Lord.

That's really beautiful, because I know in today's world, people are very materialistic. They tend to grab things and hold on to them as though it belongs to them. And they made it. But really, everything we have comes from the Lord, and He’s just given it to us temporarily during our lifetimes to do good. And if we become too possessive, we do things wrong, I think. But if we have the kind of spirit that you're talking about, the spirit of the law of consecration, then we're willing to do what's necessary in order to advance the Lord's work and not hang too tightly to the material things that we have.

Right. Well, and it’s made such a profound impact to me in how I work in my business. And how do I resolve difficult challenges or maybe a questionable situation? What do I do when I have a big success? Do I feel proud of myself? All of these things are put in the context of, this is a consecrated business. So all my business is my business and we do work on our business. We are consecrated to the Lord. And it is clear the context in which we're working and the purpose for why we're doing it. That's beautiful. The spirit of the law of consecration. Thank you.

Oh, this is exciting.

I haven't been up here before. I know. It’s original floor.

Oh, yeah. Original floors.

Oh, my goodness. So much happened. Yeah, right up on the upper floor.

Come in here.

This room feels like a house. And it's a good reminder that this is where Joseph and Emma lived.

And this was actually their table.

Wow. And this is the actual table where he received many revelations.

We know the table belonged to Joseph and Emma. So it is certainly conceivable that this is where he worked

and this is where he ate. And then school of the prophets is right in here.

Oh.

Oh my goodness.

It's a little smaller than I imagined it.

Yeah, but you can feel the sacredness of this room.

Are you up for a little history of the Word of Wisdom? Absolutely. So of course, in the school of the prophets, which is a confusing term, but actually it’s what they used at Harvard and Yale Divinity schools, it’s just people who are studying to join the ministry had schools of prophets. So this wasn't a particular term to us. And it's interesting because they were definitely studying doctrine,

but they were also studying history and current events, languages, math.

Imagine being in here, having school on one of these benches, and Joseph Smith comes through the door and says, I just received a revelation. And he pronounced it to them. And then some of them went later and took notes. You know, for me, I like the promises at the end, right? If you do these things, you get so many promises. And one of them that I love is you'll have wisdom, treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. And there's that learning connection again, right? That if you prepare yourself not only in your soul but in your body,

you can get this knowledge, this wisdom and the treasure of treasures.

And that’s what they were seeking for

in the school of the prophets. And I think having both those words is really important too, because of course, we can know a lot and not be very wise. And God gives wisdom. It’s its own category. So I think of some of the people sitting on these benches that may have been, their brains might have worked in a way that this classroom environment worked for them. And some of them may have just been in here feeling so frustrated. And I'm a farmer and you're trying to teach me Hebrew. You know, this is not the way I learn. And the Spirit makes that all work so that

the person who doesn't learn that way can find another way to learn what they need to know. And then for everybody, the faith component is crucial.

Just when I was going through my doctoral program, people were telling me, you know, but getting too much education can diminish your faith. But really, in fact, your studies were when we study it with an eye of faith,

that increases our faith. The more knowledge we get, the more study we get,

it increases our faith. And they knew that right from the beginning. Intuitively they knew. And through the Lord's direction that as they increase their studying, their faith would also increase.

And that was just. And now we just have the basis of, you know,

a lot of the Church Educational System coming right from here.

You know, Arthur, since I'm a historian, people often,

often they assume that I've seen things that have bothered my testimony, or they ask me how I maintain my testimony with all I know. And I feel the danger is when you only learn things halfway and then you stop,

or when you learn from a source that isn't an accurate source.

If you stick with it and learn the full story, I know from personal experience and from those experiences of my colleagues,

there’s nothing to be worried about. Yeah, yeah. I mean, we’re fallible human beings and that shouldn't bother us.

It’s our doctrine that Jesus was the only perfect person. Yeah. And I love that by study and —the “and”— by faith that they go hand-in-hand. There’s a way of learning that just expands our spirits rather than, you know, sets us off into directions that are confusing to us in our lives. I feel like, just, I want to sit in one of these benches, just to feel like it felt like to be at the foot of the prophet teaching me that, you know, this is just such a historic and sacred place.

I feel like a student.

Student on an uncomfortable bench.

But what a bench. You know, to receive all of this.

And you know, it’s significant to me that they called Orson Hyde to be the first teacher here, because just studying him and understanding that he wasn't a very educated man compared to some of the folks that were students here that were very well-educated theologians.

I think those themes we’re thinking about in Kirtland of unity, and generosity, and sharing, humility, faith, and study. Those are the qualities that make it so that God can utilize whatever you have to give. It's not your inborn talents, it's your willingness to practice those hard things in your heart and in your behavior. And the fact that, you know, we’re so imperfect and there’s a reality about life and living life and Heavenly Father working through imperfect people, that really is a testimony builder of how He can just create such a marvelous work and a wonder and everything that happened here with the learning in the school of the prophets, how they were prepared to learn not only by study, but by study and by faith, and that prepared them for what was to come, which was learning in the Kirtland Temple.

The culmination of the Saints’ consecration in Kirtland was, of course, the Kirtland Temple. When you look at it, how do you feel about that, Paul?

It’s amazing to think about. How is this temple different than temples we have today in the Church?

It's different because this is the place where it all began. This is a place where the keys were given. The ordinance work that we have today has developed since this time. But the keys, which are essential to the performance of work today for the living and for the dead, were given in this temple.

If you look up, you can see that the name of the temple is the house of the Lord. And that's what they called it during this time period.

And it’s called the house of the Lord,

not just because it's the place where we worship the Lord, but it's also important because this is a place where the Lord Himself appeared. In the revelation that’s now section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants,

we have the record of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery being in the temple and having the Lord Himself appeared to accept the temple, and then prophets coming to restore keys.

Wow. So this is where it all, this is where it all started. And how do you think that affects you as a Church member?

It's amazing to think about all of the blessings that we do. The whole gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil.

The keys for what we now have as missionary work, temple work, sealing. This is the building that was constructed wherein all those keys were restored. And what we have in the Church today,

this is where it all started. And you're a temple worker, right? That's right. When you're doing your temple work, do you ever stop to think about the Kirtland Temple?

I often just think about where I'm at today, what I'm doing today. But it's so profound and humbling to look back and recognize where where we started, where we came from, and how far we’ve come

and what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown over the years.

There's something about being right here on the site, looking up and seeing “House of the Lord”

and having this in front of us almost like a vision, but it's real.

Can I touch the temple? Do you think they’ll let me touch the temple? You can do that. I just feel like,

sometimes I feel like I just need to connect tactile, you know?

And we're grateful to the community of Christ for the good care

and ownership that they've had at the temple for many, many years and for their kindness in allowing us to to be here and to use it. Yeah, the grounds are beautiful. They’ve done a great job of maintaining the structure, and they’ve been great, great friends over many years.

How long did it take to build this building?

Well, it took a few years, but it's more important than that because the Saints were living in poverty at the time.

And when I say poverty, I mean poverty that’s difficult for us to comprehend today.

Today we build temples of this size and even larger.

But I don't think that the degree of sacrifice has ever been excelled with what they did at this time. when they built this temple. They lived not only in poverty at the time, but they were also under threat.

You know, they described how they even at times had to be concerned about their physical safety while they were doing this.

Were they worried about the temple being safe? They worried about the temple, worried about their persons, worried about violence.

The appearance of the Savior and the prophets that followed occurred on this first level, and it occurred on the west pulpits. So as we move around to this side of the . . .

So it was right here, it was right here in that if you see that center window,

it's really that center window,

which if you go through and are inside the temple,

that's where the pulpits are.

That's where the Savior appeared, and that's where Joseph and Oliver were kneeling in prayer when all

of that happened. Wow. So had you been outside that window that day? Glancing in and had the Lord permitted it, you would have been able to see that vision taking place that's now recorded in section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Wow. And so this is where not only they saw the Savior,

but where they received the priesthood keys for

basically the Church as we know it today. Yes, the divinely appointed responsibilities we talk about. Yeah.

Those basically were established in 1836, in this building here, and we continue to operate under them today.

So it was here in the Kirtland Temple that not only the keys were given, but also the fulfillment of the promise that the Lord made. He gave His law as section 42 of the Doctrine and Covenants. But in many ways, the law of the Lord was revealed in this temple through the Prophet Joseph Smith. And it was here, of course, that the Saints were endowed with power from on high, endowed not only in the sense that the ordinances, the very first part of the ordinances of the temple began here, but also endowed through spiritual experiences that occurred here.

So really, this is where those two promises were fulfilled to receive the law of the Lord, and also that they would be endowed with power from on high. Yes.

The Lord’s promise would also go to all the nations of the earth, that missionaries prepared here would go out and begin to preach the gospel, and that the knowledge of this house would spread throughout the earth. So with the proliferation of temples throughout the earth, the knowledge of this house has not only spread, but the work of this house is spread as well. We don't need to go to Kirtland today. We can go to the temple wherever we are, and take part in the exact same work that began right here in this building. Yes, we too can receive God's law and be endowed with power from on high.

That's exciting.

Others came as well, including Elijah,

who restored the authority to join families together forever in eternal relationships that transcend death.

I’m Keaunui Ah You, I’m from Laie, Hawaii. I just finished my mission in the Philippines and North Dakota, and my first ancestor was baptized in 1898.

We are at the John and Elsa Johnson home.

This is the place where they had a farm, and they invited Joseph and Emma to come out and live with them,

and one reason they did that was that Elsa was at a meeting in Kirtland, Ohio,

and she had a really bad arm. She had rheumatism, and she couldn't raise her arm above her head. And they were talking about spiritual gifts. And somebody said, well, what about Elsa's arm? So Joseph gave her a blessing. And after that blessing, she was healed and was able to go about her work and do it quite well. So they knew about the power of the priesthood. So they invited Joseph and Emma to come out here and live with them for a time. And here Joseph made the Church’s headquarters

and received many important revelations. So should we go take a look?

Let’s check it out. Okay. Let’s do it.

This is one of two rooms in which Joseph and Emma may have been sleeping with sick twins on the night of March 24,

1832, when a mob came to the house quietly, sneaked in, grabbed Joseph and dragged him out of the house, beat him, and then covered him with tar and feathers.

It was a horrific persecution that he experienced on that occasion. It’s the kind of thing that happened to him throughout his life. Late in his life, he said, Deep water is what I want to swim in, because he experienced so much persecution. I think it's a wonderful example to us of how even in our lives, when we experience persecution, we just move on, and recognize that sometimes in the service of the Lord, you get persecuted.

So let's move on to the next room.

So as you can tell, Nui, when Joseph and Emma lived here,

they were kind of in transition. They were moving from place to place at the time. They kind of wanted to live the American dream and have a place, but they really didn't have one because they were in transition.

I guess I can kind of relate. Physically I didn't move as much as they did, but transitioning from being on a mission and coming home is not that easy. So I'm still trying to learn things out, and especially trying to learn what God has in plan for me and in store for me.

Makes sense.

So this is the room where Joseph Smith received revelations, including a revelation then called the Vision.

But today known best as section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Now you are a student of the scriptures, you've been a missionary and so forth. Do you have a favorite verse from section 76?

Yeah, a few of my favorite verses is 69 and 70. In short, it talks about how just men can be made perfect through Christ and His perfect Atonement. And the reason why I love that is that it reminds me that

I myself can never be perfect. And so it's okay to make flaws,

but all that matters is that I do my best to keep the commandments and live the gospel. And then Jesus Christ, through His Atonement,

will be able to make me perfect or make me whole, as many people translate the word “perfect.” That was a revolutionary revelation for Joseph Smith and for the world at large, because the Protestant world from which Joseph Smith came believed in a simple heaven and hell. Just two divisions.

But one of Joseph Smith's callings was to be a translator. And when he came to live with the Johnsons, translating the Bible was one of the most important things that he did.

He and his scribe, Sidney Rigdon, were translating the New Testament when they came to John, chapter five, verse 29, a verse that talks about the different ways in which people are resurrected and that made them think, well, perhaps there’s more than just this two-step process. Maybe there's more kingdoms in heaven than one. So they prayed to the Lord, and they had the vision in this room.

That's where they saw it. And apparently it went on for hours. And Joseph would see something, and Sidney Rigdon, his scribe, would see something, and they talked to each other about it. And then later on they wrote it down.

So I've often asked myself, what did they see in this revelation? And I think what they saw was different from what they thought they were going to see. They thought they were going to see maybe clouds with people sitting on them. Kind of boring, actually. You know, strumming harps or whatever. But in fact, what they saw was families,

not just nuclear families that we're talking about today. We're talking about expanded families. So you and all your ancestors, for example, you come from a group of Latter-day Saints going back more than 100 years, right?

Yeah. My great-great-grandfather was actually baptized in 1898, in Samoa. And so he’s the first recorded ancestor that we know of that was baptized. And so that's pretty awesome, knowing that he possibly knew the same things from section 76 that I know, and probably influenced him a lot, to try and do his best and be his best, and to make it to the highest kingdom of heaven and to be with his family, like you mentioned, eternally. So in a way, what Joseph Smith saw here eventually develops into later doctrine in which we recognize the eternal nature of families. I mean, Joseph saw families, I believe, when he had that revelation, and all of us are part of a family. It doesn't matter whether we're single, married, divorced, or whatever. We are all part of an eternal family, and in the next life, we'll be part of that large family grouping that he saw.

Joseph later said during the Nauvoo period, If you could gaze into heaven for five minutes, you’d know more about the subject than all the people have ever written on it. And he said that because this is where he saw heaven,

right here in this room. Yeah. That's awesome. That strengthens my desire to want to do good and be more like Jesus Christ, and to live the gospel in my everyday life. And that kind of is helping my transition from coming home from a mission to be a little more better.

I kind of know what to do according to the scriptures,

but also it goes according to revelation from Heavenly Father, just like Joseph Smith received.

I think Joseph and Sidney must have felt much the way you do, because they have their own testimony in section 76, they say, And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all, which we give of him, that he lives.

This Church is anchored in the perfect life of its chief cornerstone,

Jesus Christ.