“Chapter 39: The Kirtland Temple Is Dedicated: January–March 1836,” Doctrine and Covenants Stories (2002), 151–54
“Chapter 39,” Doctrine and Covenants Stories, 151–54
Chapter 39
The Kirtland Temple Is Dedicated
January–March 1836
The Lord had commanded the Saints to build a temple in Kirtland. The Saints were poor, but they sacrificed and worked hard to build the temple. They had faith that the Lord would help them do what He had asked them to do.
When the temple was nearly finished, some of the leaders of the Church held a meeting there. At the meeting, Joseph Smith’s father blessed the leaders of the Church. Joseph’s father was the patriarch of the Church.
Then Joseph Smith had a wonderful vision in which he saw the celestial kingdom of heaven. The celestial kingdom is where God lives. Joseph saw how beautiful the celestial kingdom is. He saw Heavenly Father and Jesus. He also saw his brother Alvin, who had died.
Joseph was surprised to see Alvin in the celestial kingdom because Alvin had not been baptized before he died. Jesus explained that many people did not know about the gospel when they lived on earth.
Some of these people, like Alvin, lived at times when the true gospel of Jesus Christ was not on the earth. Some of them lived in areas where missionaries were not able to teach them.
Some of these people would have believed the gospel and been baptized if they had known about it when they lived on earth. These people will go to the celestial kingdom.
In this vision, Joseph also learned about children who die before they are eight years old. Jesus said these children will go to the celestial kingdom.
At last the Kirtland Temple was finished and ready to be dedicated. That means the temple would be given to the Lord and used only for His work. The Saints had a special meeting to dedicate the temple.
Many Saints came to the meeting. They were very happy to have the temple. They sang and prayed to Heavenly Father. They promised to follow the Prophet Joseph Smith and other Church leaders.
Joseph Smith offered a special prayer to dedicate the temple. After the prayer, the temple was a sacred building. It was the house of the Lord. Angels were in the Kirtland Temple that day. The Holy Ghost was with the Saints. It was a wonderful day!