Even among the temples of the present dispensation there is a graded variety in the details of construction. The first temple of modern times was in a measure incomplete as compared with the holy houses of later construction. The fact was doubtless known to the Lord, though wisely hidden from common knowledge, that the Kirtland Temple would serve but for the beginning of the re-establishment of those distinctive ordinances for which temples are essential. Even as the Tabernacle of old was but an inferior type of what would follow, designed for temporary use under special conditions, so the earlier temples of the latter-day dispensation, specifically those of Kirtland and Nauvoo, were but temporary Houses of the Lord, destined to serve for short periods only as sanctuaries.
Scarcely had The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints been organized when the Lord indicated the necessity of a temple, in which He could reveal His mind and will to man, and in which the sanctifying ordinances of the Gospel could be administered. In a revelation given as early as December, 1830, the Lord said: "I am Jesus Christ the Son of God: wherefore gird up your loins and I will suddenly come to my temple."[[1]] In February 1831, the Lord further indicated His purpose thus: "That my covenant people may be gathered in one in that day when I shall come to my temple. And this I do for the salvation of my people."[[2]] More definite instructions as to the practical labors incident to the procuring of a site and the rearing of a temple soon followed.
TEMPLE SITE AT INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI
The principal seat of the Church had been temporarily established at Kirtland, Ohio; nevertheless the prophet had learned through early revelation that Zion would be established far to the west. In June, 1831, a conference of elders was held at Kirtland, on which occasion a revelation[[3]] was received directing certain of the elders to start westward, traveling in pairs and preaching by the way. In the month following, these elders reassembled at a designated place in western Missouri, all rejoicing in their ministry and eager to learn the further will of the Lord. The burden of their prayer and song is thus expressed by the prophet: "When will the wilderness blossom as the rose? When will Zion be built up in her glory, and where will thy temple stand, unto which all nations shall come in the last days?"[[4]] In answer to their supplications the Lord spake by the mouth of His prophet, designating the western part of Missouri as the land of Zion, and the site occupied by the town of Independence as the "center place," and specifying a spot as that upon which a temple should be built.[[5]]
On the third of August, 1831, the prophet Joseph Smith and seven other elders of the Church assembled on the temple lot and dedicated the same to its sacred purpose. Though the company was small, the occasion was one of great solemnity and impressiveness. The prophet himself offered the prayer of dedication.[[6]] The temple so projected is yet to be built. Though the Latter-day Saints acquired by purchase title to and possession of the temple lot, they were later by violence compelled to abandon their rightful possessions.
THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE
The building of a temple in Missouri was regarded, even by the prophet and those who assisted him in dedicating the site, as an event of the future, perhaps even of the far distant future. The center of activity, the seat of the Church for the time being, was in Ohio, and Kirtland was the place of temporary gathering. In Kirtland too was to be erected the first temple of modern times.
In a revelation given December 27, 1832, the Lord commanded the establishment of a holy house.[[7]] Perhaps because their eyes were directed too steadily toward the "center place," and because the people were prone to contemplate too absorbedly the glory of the future to the neglect of then present duties, compliance with the requirement to proceed at once with the erection of a temple was not prompt; and the Lord rebuked the people for their tardiness and neglect, declaring again His will that a house be reared to His name and promising success on condition of faithful effort.[[8]]
The Saints were aroused to great activity in the matter of erecting a temple for immediate use. A building committee was organized, and a call issued to all branches of the Church.[[9]] On the second day of August, 1833, the voice of the Lord was heard again respecting the matter of temple building, and while the specific requirement appears to directly apply to the temple of the future in Jackson County, Missouri, nevertheless the revelation had immediate effect in inspiring greater effort in the building of a temple at Kirtland.[[10]]
The Kirtland Temple was built as projected and designed, though the work was marked by an unbroken course of supreme sacrifice on the part of a poverty-laden people. Consider the words of one who was present and saw, one who helped and suffered, one who spoke from personal knowledge and keen remembrance. Eliza R. Snow, a gifted poetess and historian of modern-day Israel, has written: