/ Places of the D&C / Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
1831-1837
Photo Credit: Benjy Grover, 2018
Significant Events At a Glance
- First Temple Built Under Priesthood Authority in This Dispensation
- Jesus Christ, Moses, Elias and Elijah Appeared in the Kirtland Temple
- First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Established
- First Stake Organized
- School of the Prophets Created
- First Edition of Doctrine and Covenants Published
- Joseph Smith Completed Inspired Translation of the Bible
- Egyptian Papyri Purchased, Book of Abraham Translation Begun
D&C Sections Received Here
(Click for Section Study Helps)
D&C Sections Received Here
(Click for Section Study Helps)
Kirtland Temple
Key Points of Interest
- The Kirtland Temple is the first temple built under priesthood authority in this dispensation
- The saints made significant sacrifices of resources, labor, and time to build the temple
- Close to 1,000 people attended the dedication of the temple 27 March 1836, and many reported seeing angels, speaking in tongues, and other heavenly manifestations
- Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery in the temple 3 April 1836. Moses, Elias, and Elijah also appeared that day to restore priesthood keys
- Unlike later temples, the Kirtland Temple was a multi-use building: It served as a church, community gathering place, and school
- Some washings and anointings were performed in the temple, but the temple endowment had not yet been revealed and was not administered in the Kirtland Temple
- The Kirtland Temple is owned by Community of Christ
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Kirtland Temple
Photo Credit: Benjy Grover, 2018
Kirtland Temple
Photo Credit: Gabe Davis, 2019
Kirtland Temple Belltower
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Kirtland Temple Window Close-up
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Front Door
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Interior Window
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Lower Court West
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Lower Court West Pulpits
John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Aaronic Priesthood Pulpit Detail
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Stairs
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Window Wood Design
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Rafters
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Pews and Windows
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Curtain System
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Pews and Pulpits
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Upper Hall East Pulpits
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Upper Hall West Pulpits
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Oval Window in Kirtland Temple Gable
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Third Floor Plan
Kirtland Temple Third Floor Doors
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Third Floor Classroom
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Temple Third Floor Desk Chair
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Kirtland Temple Joseph's Office
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2006
Take a 360° Tour of the grounds around the Kirtland Temple
Newel K. Whitney Store
Key Points of Interest
- Newel K. Whitney opened the first store in Kirtland by 1822
- The main room of the store served as a storefront, post office and social gathering place
- Part of the store functioned as a bishop's storehouse, where Whitney, the second bishop of the church, could store food and supplies to give to the needy
- Before the temple was completed, the school of the prophets met in a room in the Whitney store and saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ there during one of their meetings
- Joseph and Emma Smith lived in the store for about 18 months from 1832 to 1834, and it served as the headquarters of the church during that time
- More words of the Doctrine and Covenants were revealed at the Whitney store than were revealed in any other location in church history
- Joseph Smith III was born in the store, in the Smiths’ bedroom, 6 November 1832
- The Church acquired the store in the 1980s and restored it to its original condition in 1984
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Newel K. Whitney Store
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2017
Newel K. Whitney Store with Lamp
Photo Credit: Gabe Davis, 2019
Whitney Store Interior
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2009
Newel K. Whitney Store Shelves China
Photo Credit: Gabe Davis, 2019
Newel K. Whitney Store Shelves Boxes
Photo Credit: Christina Broberg, 2012
Newel K. Whitney Store Letter Boxes
Photo Credit: Gabe Davis, 2019
Newel K. Whitney Store Letters
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Newel K. Whitney Store Sacks
Photo Credit: Christina Broberg, 2012
Newel K. Whitney Store Office
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Whitney Store Office
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Whitney Store Kitchen Fireplace
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2019
Whitney Store School of the Prophets
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2009
Whitney Store School of the Prophets Desk and Fireplace
Photo Credit: Christina Broberg, 2012
Whitney Store Smith Bedroom
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2009
Whitney Home Smith Bedroom
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Whitney Store Interior Storage
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2009
Whitney Store Interior Hired Man's Room
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2002
Take a 360° Tour of the Newel K. Whitney Store
Whitney Home
Key Points of Interest
- The Whitneys built this house in Kirtland in 1824, after the birth of their first child
- After arriving from New York in February 1831 Joseph and Emma lived here with the Whitney family for a few weeks
- The first revelation given in Ohio, section 41, was given in the Whitney home and revealed that Edward Partridge should be the first bishop of the church
- One of the first miracles of the church happened in the home as well: Elsa Johnson was healed of the rheumatism in her arm through Joseph Smith
- Joseph Smith received at least four revelations in the Whitney home, sections 41 through 44
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Take a 360° Tour of the Whitney Home
Kirtland Sawmill
Key Points of Interest
- The saints in Kirtland needed a sawmill for cutting lumber, which they used to construct homes, businesses and the temple
- Joel H. Johnson, a millwright and recent convert, was asked to build the sawmill and did so in 1834
- The sawmill was also probably where workers did much of the woodcarving for the temple, working with hand tools
- Laborers consecrated much of the work they did for the temple, offering it freely as a sacrifice for the Lord
- The sawmill on the property now is a reconstruction and was dedicated in 2003 by President Gordon B. Hinckley
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Sawmill from Above
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2006
Sawmill from Northeast
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2005
Kirtland Ashery and Sawmill
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Kirtland Sawmill Water Channel
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Kirtland Sawmill Blade
Photo Credit: Christina Broberg, 2012
Kirtland Sawmill Blade and Mechanism
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Kirtland Sawmill Pulpits
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Kirtland Sawmill Lathe
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2018
See a 360° View of the Kirtland Sawmill
Kirtland Ashery
Key Points of Interest
- Newel K. Whitney made and operated an ashery where the reconstructed ashery now stands
- An ashery is a place where wood ash can be processed into other things, like potash
- Potash was an important ingredient in many products in the 1800s, like glass, tanned leather, and bleached cotton
- Income from Whitney's ashery helped pay for the publication of church literature and materials for the temple
- Sometimes people would exchange their wood ashes for goods at Newel K. Whitney's store
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Kirtland Ashery
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2019
Ashery from Southeast
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2005
Kirtland Ashery Water Barrel and Hoppers
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Basins and Fireplace in Kirtland Ashery
Photo Credit: John W. Welch, 2003
Kirtland Ashery Interior
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2009
Take a 360° Tour of the Kirtland Ashery
Joseph Smith Home
Key Points of Interest
- Both Joseph Smith, Sr. and Joseph Smith, Jr. are on record as having lived in this home
- Joseph and Emma moved from the Whitney Store to this home in February 1834
- Joseph put the mummies and papyri he purchased from Michael Chandler on display here and in the Johnson Inn
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Johnson Inn
Key Points of Interest
- The Johnson Inn was the first brick building built in Kirtland
- The Church purchased the building from Peter French in 1833 and gave stewardship of it to John Johnson under the United Firm
- Here Joseph Smith, Sr. was called as the first patriarch of the church and Joseph Smith, Jr. gave the first patriarchal blessings of this dispensation
- On 4 May 1935 the Twelve Apostles gathered at the Johnson Inn and left for their first mission
- A temporary printing office was set up here after the destruction of the printing office in Missouri in 1833
- Joseph Smith, Jr. put the mummies and papyri he purchased from Michael Chandler on display here and in the Smith Home
- The current building is a reconstruction of the original
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Isaac Morley Farm
Key Points of Interest
- Before his baptism Isaac Morley led a group of families living in a commune here on his 260-acre farm
- After Isaac’s baptism in 1830 many early converts coming to join the saints stayed at Morley’s farm temporarily
- The Morleys built a home on the property for Joseph and Emma, where the couple stayed from March through September 1831
- Emma gave birth to twins here, Thaddeus and Louisa, who died three hours after their birth
- After the death of their own twins, Joseph and Emma adopted newborn twins, Joseph and Julia, from the nearby Murdock family, whose mother had died in childbirth
- Joseph worked on his inspired translation of the Holy Bible and received 13 revelations on the Morley Farm
- Joseph called the first high priests of this dispensation and also had a vision of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father at the fourth conference of the church, held here in June 1831
- In a log schoolhouse on this property in 1834 Joseph prophesied that the Church would fill the world and the saints would go to the Rocky Mountains
- The home and schoolhouse that used to be on the property are no longer standing
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Take a 360° Tour around the Isaac Morley Farm
Temple Stone Quarry
Key Points of Interest
- This area was once known as the Stannard Stone Quarry (owned by Claudius Stannard) and is one of the places stone was quarried for the Kirtland Temple
- Workers quarried sandstone by first drilling holes, then placing a wedge in each hole and striking the wedge with a hammer to split the stone
- Drill marks are still visible on stone in the area, though these marks probably aren't from the time of the Kirtland Temple
- Joseph Smith, Jr.’s cousin, George A. Smith, hauled the first load of stone for the temple on 5 June 1833
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Stannard Quarry Drill Marks
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2008
Stannard Quarry Stone and Water
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2005
Stannard Quarry Water
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2017
Quarry Pond
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2003
Stannard Quarry Sign
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2017
Stannard Quarry Temple Sign
Photo Credit: Kenneth Mays, 2008
Take a 360° Tour around the Temple Stone Quarry
