What Is the Kirtland Temple? The 1836 Dedication, D&C 109 and 110, and the 2024 Purchase

What it isThe first temple of this dispensation

The Kirtland Temple, which the early Saints called the House of the Lord, stands on a bluff in Kirtland, Ohio, east of Cleveland. It was the first temple built by the Latter-day Saints, finished in 1836. It was not built like the temples Latter-day Saints attend today. Its two main floors were large assembly halls, each with two sets of four-tiered pulpits at the ends for the presidencies of the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods. It was used for worship, sacrament meetings, fasting and prayer, and the School of the Elders.

The Lord commanded it in December 1832: “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even 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” (D&C 88:119). When the Saints dragged their feet, He rebuked them and told them why it mattered: “I gave unto you a commandment that you should build a house, in the which house I design to endow those whom I have chosen with power from on high” (D&C 95:8).

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How it was builtOut of their poverty

The cornerstones were laid on July 23, 1833. For three years a poor church built it with consecrated labor: stone from a quarry a few miles away, wood from a sawmill the Saints ran themselves, and skilled carpenters including Brigham Young. Children gathered broken crockery and china to mix into the exterior stucco. The famous story that women smashed their best dishes for the walls is, according to the Church’s own historians, later folklore; no known account describes it.

The Saints said exactly what it cost them in the dedicatory prayer: “thou knowest that we have done this work through great tribulation; and out of our poverty we have given of our substance to build a house to thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people” (D&C 109:5). Notice the purpose: a place for the Son of Man to appear. A week after the dedication, He did.

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The dedicationMarch 27, 1836 and D&C 109

On March 27, 1836, the Saints gathered for the dedication. Joseph Smith read a prayer he had received by revelation, now D&C 109: “we ask thee, Holy Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of thy bosom, in whose name alone salvation can be administered to the children of men, we ask thee, O Lord, to accept of this house” (D&C 109:4). He asked “that thy holy presence may be continually in this house; and that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel thy power” (D&C 109:12–13).

The congregation gave the Hosanna Shout and sang W. W. Phelps’s new hymn “The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning.” All three, the revealed dedicatory prayer, the shout and the hymn, are still part of temple dedications. Around the dedication, many Saints reported visions, angels and spiritual gifts, the endowment of “power from on high” the Lord had promised. Earlier, on January 21, 1836, Joseph had seen the celestial kingdom in the temple, including his brother Alvin, who had died unbaptized (D&C 137).

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D&C 110April 3, 1836: Christ, Moses, Elias and Elijah

A week after the dedication, on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1836, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery bowed in silent prayer at the pulpits, with the veils lowered. Joseph recorded: “We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us … His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father” (D&C 110:2–4). And: “I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here” (D&C 110:7).

Then three ancient prophets came. “Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth.” “Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham.” And “Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us,” declaring that the time Malachi foretold had “fully come” and that “the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands” (D&C 110:11–16). Those sealing keys are why Latter-day Saints seal families in temples and do work for the dead. See What Is the Gathering of Israel? and Why Do Latter-day Saints Do Family History?.

This is not a small claim, and I won’t pretend it is. Sealing power is what turns a marriage into an eternal one and a family into an eternal family, and exaltation is what the Lord promises those sealed who keep their covenants: “Then shall they be gods, because they have no end” (D&C 132:20). Even then He is still our Father and we are still His children; exaltation is becoming like Him, never replacing Him. See What Is Eternal Marriage?.

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The BibleElijah, promised

The Old Testament ends on a promise that every Christian church has to account for: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5–6). Either Elijah came or he didn’t. Latter-day Saints say he came, to a temple, on a specific date. April 3, 1836 also fell during Passover week, when Jewish families traditionally set a place for Elijah.

The Kirtland endowment also fits the pattern Jesus set for His apostles: “tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). And the question of who may enter a holy house is as old as the Psalms: “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3–4).

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The Book of MormonChrist quotes Malachi

When the risen Christ visited the Nephites, He gave them Malachi’s words because they did not have them, including the promise of Elijah: “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (3 Nephi 25:5–6). The Nephites also built temples from the beginning: “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon” (2 Nephi 5:16). A people who build temples in the wilderness is the Book of Mormon pattern, and it is what the Saints did in Kirtland. See Did Jesus Visit the Americas?.

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The Doctrine and Covenants“My name shall be here”

Put the revelations side by side and the arc is clear. D&C 88 commands the house. D&C 95 explains it is for an endowment of power. D&C 109 asks the Lord to accept it and send His servants out “armed with thy power” (D&C 109:22). D&C 110 records Him accepting it in person. And the Lord had said ahead of time, “If you keep my commandments you shall have power to build it” (D&C 95:11). They did, and He came. See What Is the Doctrine and Covenants?.

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The Pearl of Great PriceMoroni’s version of Malachi

Thirteen years before Kirtland, in 1823, the angel Moroni quoted Malachi to a 17-year-old Joseph Smith with a difference: “Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” And: “he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming” (Joseph Smith—History 1:38–39). Moroni said Elijah would bring priesthood. In 1836 Elijah came and committed keys. The prophecy was on paper before the fulfillment. See Who Is the Angel Moroni?.

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After 1836Lost, owned by others, and bought back in 2024

A year after the dedication, the Kirtland economy collapsed with the Kirtland Safety Society. A dissenting faction led by Warren Parrish tried to seize the temple, and threats drove Joseph Smith and most of the Saints to Missouri in 1838. After Joseph’s death, most of the remaining Kirtland members joined what became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now Community of Christ. An 1880 court recognized Joseph Smith’s heirs as holding title, and in 1901 the RLDS Church secured ownership through legal proceedings based on continuous use. They cared for it for more than a century.

On March 5, 2024, Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced in a joint statement that ownership of the Kirtland Temple, several historic buildings in Nauvoo (including the Smith Family Homestead, the Mansion House, the Nauvoo House and the Red Brick Store), and manuscripts and artifacts had transferred to the Church. According to Church Newsroom, “The Church paid US$192.5 million without assigning specific values to the properties and items.” The items included the Joseph Smith Translation manuscripts and Bible, seven letters from Joseph to Emma, portraits of Joseph and Emma, and the original door of Liberty Jail. The temple reopened for free public tours on March 25, 2024.

It is not being turned into an operating temple. Newsroom said plainly that it “will be maintained and presented as a historic building that is open to the public,” and the Church already had a temple announced for Cleveland in 2022. Church Historian Elder Kyle S. McKay explained why it was worth buying by pointing to April 3, 1836, the day Jesus Christ gave priesthood keys to Joseph Smith there. See What Happens in a Latter-day Saint Temple?.

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Check the premiseThe presuppositions baked into the question

Before this question can be answered fairly, the person asking has to justify a few assumptions packed inside it:

1. That the Kirtland Temple is used today like other Latter-day Saint temples. It is a historic building open for free tours; ordinances are not performed there. The Church announced a separate temple in Cleveland in 2022.
2. That it was always someone else’s building. The Latter-day Saints built it at great cost under revelation; others gained title after the Saints were driven out, and the Church acquired it in 2024.
3. That the 2024 purchase was about real estate. The Church paid US$192.5 million for the temple, Nauvoo sites, manuscripts and artifacts together. Its historian pointed to the keys restored there on April 3, 1836.
4. That the D&C 110 visions are unfalsifiable private claims. Malachi promised Elijah would come; Moroni restated it in 1823 as priesthood “by the hand of Elijah”; in 1836 Joseph recorded Elijah committing keys. A prediction on record, then a fulfillment.

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FAQQuick answers

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Sources

• King James Bible (churchofjesuschrist.org): Psalm 24:3–4 · Malachi 4:5–6 · Luke 24:49
• Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi 5:16 · 3 Nephi 25:5–6
• Doctrine and Covenants: D&C 88:119 · D&C 95:8–11 · D&C 109:4–22 · D&C 110 · D&C 132:20 · D&C 137:1–5
• Pearl of Great Price: Joseph Smith—History 1:38–39
• Church History Topics, “Kirtland Temple”
• Church Newsroom, joint statement, March 5, 2024 · Newsroom FAQ · Elder McKay explains why the Church purchased the Kirtland Temple

• Featured image and in-article graphic: original graphics by thebookofmormon.ai (painterly backgrounds; no photographs or likenesses of real people).