A modern Pentecost

Finishing the Kirtland Temple

Today we looked at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, at the prayer given and recorded as Doctrine & Covenants 109. This had not been an easy requirement from the Lord in the conditions of their lives, but they had been chastised for delay and promised that great blessings would be poured out.  There are numerous accounts of angelic visitations and manifestations; the dedication date was 27 March 1836, and work had commenced in June 1833, so it had taken almost three years and everything that the Saints in Kirtland had, and more.  Missionaries had pleaded for funds for this house of the Lord as they labored in their preaching.  John Tanner had sold considerable property to be able to offer funds for this undertaking, and many had neglected their livelihoods and been fed by families who were doing scarcely better.  But it was accomplished.

The Prophet Joseph had set out a course of spiritual preparation.  Everyone was gathering to Ohio in anticipation--more than a thousand additional members presented themselves than had resided in Kirtland at the time they were rebuked for delay (June 1833). Some of that was due to missionary work and growth of the Church, some to those who had traveled.  On January 21, 1836 he brought his counselors together with his father, who was called as patriarch to the Church, and they were anointed and blessed; then he records:

The Bishop of Kirtland with his Counselors, and the Bishop of Zion with his Counselors, were present with us, and received their anointings under the hands of Father Smith, and this was confirmed by the Presidency, and the glories of heaven were unfolded to them.

We then invited the High Councilors of Kirtland and Zion into our room, and President Hyrum Smith anointed the head of the President of the Councilors in Kirtland, and President David Whitmer, the head of the President of the Councilors of Zion. The President of each quorum then anointed the heads of his colleagues each in his turn, beginning at the oldest, The visions of heaven were opened to them also. Some of them saw the face of the Savior, and others were ministered unto by holy angels, and the spirit of prophecy and revelation was poured out in mighty power; and loud Hosannas, and glory to God in the highest, saluted the heavens, for we all communed with the heavenly hosts. And I saw in my vision all of the Presidency in the celestial kingdom of God and many others that were present. Our meeting was opened by singing, and prayer was offered by the head of each quorum; and closed by singing, and invoking the benediction of heaven, with uplifted hands. Retired between one and two o'clock in the morning.

              (History of Church, Vol. 2, pp. 380-2)

He asked all the members of the Church to prepare themselves with fasting and prayer, studying the revelations which had previously been given, seeking to be as pure in heart and spirit as they could be.  They were to come solemnly, with reverence, to be open to receive the powers and manifestations hoped for.

And what manifestations came!  Angels seen on the rooftop, the look of fire such that neighbors came running at one point in alarm, heavenly messengers come to receive this temple, this offering, in the name of the Lord.  Many, many persons rising and speaking in unknown tongues and then in the interpretation of them.  Lorenzo Snow testified, recorded by his sister, that he witnessed the gift of prophecy, visions, healings, and heard the singing of heavenly choirs.  One instance which has always filled me with quiet wonder is the rising of one man to his feet, beginning a song, joined in a moment by a woman who rose and sang exquisite harmony with him in perfect pacing, pitch, in beautiful sound, and then finished and sat down in the same instant with him.  No idea of what they were going to do, no melody either had ever heard before, a capella in an unknown tongue.  The interpretation was given by another in a moment, so that meaning as well as beauty could be given. I am convinced without protest that such an occurrence has to come from heaven.

A priesthood meeting that night continued the outpourings.  The dedication services were repeated in the following days for those who were unable to be squeezed into the building on Sunday.  The following Sunday came the appearance of the Savior to accept this temple as His house, followed by the appearances of those who had come to Jesus himself on the Mount of Transfiguration to bestow their priesthood keys of gathering, the patriarchal gospel of Abraham, and the sealing powers. 

From all this, experiences of miracle, came a great upswelling of joy and love, so that it was termed a time of Jubilee, where during the following days all the Saints visited each other, shared in the sacramental emblems, and pronounced blessings upon each others' heads.  They were barely touching the ground.

Many believed that the Millennium was at hand; Joseph told them not so, that trials and troubles were coming.  This was a time to open their souls and draw in all the light, the power, the love, and the strength that they could, so that they would not be moved in the griefs to come.  (We know, from the vantage point of history, how great those griefs would be.)  So says their lesson to us all--President Eyring counsels us to use our times of peace or joy to send our roots down deep and make ready for whatever may come.  When those times come that try to break us, our safety will be found in God, and God alone.