Was a temple site ever dedicated at Adam-ondi-Ahman?

Dr. Leland Gentry, curriculum specialist, Department of Seminaries and Institutes Adam-ondi-Ahman has been identified as the area where Adam will preside again over his posterity, and as the site of ruins that early Church leaders identified as Adamic and Nephite altars of worship.

There is no doubt that the Saints, even though they were only at Adam-ondi-Ahman for a few months, hoped that a temple would be built in that city.

The best evidence that we have about the dedication of a temple site comes from Elder Heber C. Kimball:

“While there we laid out a city on a high elevated piece of land, and set the stakes for the four corners of a temple block, which was dedicated, Brother Brigham Young being the mouth; there were from three to five hundred men present on the occasion, under arms. This elevated spot was probably from two hundred and fifty to five hundred feet above the level of the Grand River, so that one could look east, west, north, or south as far as the eye could reach: it was one of the most beautiful places ever beheld.” (Cited by Orson F. Whitney in Life of Heber C. Kimball, Bookcraft, Inc., 1967, p. 209.)

At least two maps indicating plans for Adam-ondi-Ahman have been found. The first is a drawing from the original survey plat; it indicates a two-city-block public square in the center of the city, but no temple site. The second, recently found among some old papers in the St. George Temple, is a crude, hand-drawn map that indicates the temple lot and the location of early residences and other significant sites.

The Saints occupied the area for only a few months in 1838 before they were forced to flee because of persecution by nonmembers. Only a few homes were built before this exodus.

Today the area is again farmland. It is located in Daviess County, Missouri.