completion and dedication of the kirtland temple—sublime visions to the saints—the words of the divine redeemer—joseph's grandmother visits him, then dies in peace—his mission to the east.
the building of the kirtland temple was accomplished by the utmost self-sacrifice. nearly three years had been occupied in its construction; and during this time the saints had given of their substance and had toiled without ceasing to make a habitation fit for the ministration of angelic visitants and of the holy one, himself. the consummation of this work had been very near to the prophet's heart, especially since the tribulations in missouri had shown that no house of the lord could be erected speedily in the center stake of zion.
wondrous were the visions bestowed in that sacred edifice. previous to its completion the glories of the heavens had been unfolded to the prophet and his brethren while administering in the ordinances there. on the 21st of january, 1836, joseph met with sidney rigdon and frederick g. williams, and his father, patriarch joseph smith, sen., at one of the finished school-rooms in the building to anoint their heads with holy oil. they united in anointing and blessing the prophet's father as the patriarch and to anoint their heads; and each of the first presidency was then anointed and blessed under the hands of father smith. while they were engaged in this labor marvelous visions and revelations were bestowed.
the prophet says:
the heavens were opened upon us, and i beheld the celestial kingdom of god, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out i cannot tell. i saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; also the blazing throne of god, whereon was seated the father and the son. i saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold. i saw fathers adam and abraham, and my father and mother, my brother alvin, who has long since slept, and wondered how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the lord had set his hand to gather israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.
thus came the voice of the lord unto me, saying:
all who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of our god; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom, for i, the lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desires of their hearts.
many other things did the prophet see and hear. he beheld that all children who died before reaching years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of our god. a holy comfort this, which takes the place of all the black threats concerning infantile damnation. he saw the twelve apostles of the lamb in foreign lands, standing in a circle, with their clothes tattered and their feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and jesus was standing in their midst, but they did not behold him, and the savior looked upon them and wept. those of the brethren who received the ordinances at this time saw most glorious visions. some of them beheld the face of their redeemer; others were ministered unto by holy angels; the spirit of prophecy and revelation was poured out in mighty power; and loud hosannas saluted the heavens from those who were communing with the sanctified hosts of the celestial kingdom.
on other occasions, before the entire structure was completed and dedicated, similar visitations came to manifest the power of god and his gracious acceptance of this devoted labor.
on the morning of sunday, march 27th, 1836, the first temple ever built in this dispensation by the command of god, was dedicated to his service. a large assemblage of the saints had congregated in the building. joseph presided, and he was supported by the priesthood. the prophet himself made the dedicatory prayer, which he closed in the following words:
hear us, o lord, and answer these petitions, and accept the dedication of this house unto thee, the work of our hands, which we have built unto thy name!
and also this church, to put upon it thy name; and help us, by the power of thy spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing, hosanna to god and the lamb.
and let these thine anointed ones be clothed with salvation, and thy saints shout aloud for joy. amen, and amen.
joseph was acknowledged by the several quorums, standing upon their feet, as the prophet and seer of the church, and they gave a solemn pledge to uphold him as such by their faith and prayers. this action was also ratified by the entire congregation of the saints in the same manner. the prophet then called upon the quorums and the congregation to acknowledge the other members of the first presidency and the several quorums in their offices and callings, and the vote was unanimous in every instance.
after the administration of the lord's supper and the expression of many solemn testimonies, the dedication was sealed by shouting hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to god and the lamb, three times sealing it, each time with amen, amen, and amen.
brigham young had the gift of tongues powerfully upon him and made an address, which david w. patten interpreted. then the prophet made a short exhortation also in tongues, and afterward blessed the congregation in the name of the lord, and the assembly dispersed.
the same evening the prophet met the quorums in the temple. brother george a. smith stood up and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a mighty rushing wind which filled the building. all the congregation rose in an instant, being moved upon by an invisible power. many began to speak in tongues and prophesy, others saw glorious visions. the temple was filled with angels. people from the neighborhood came running toward the temple, having heard an unusual sound and seen a brilliant light like a pillar of fire rising above the structure. these spectators were amazed at what they saw and heard.
on the 29th of march the prophet met with many of the brethren in the most holy place in the lord's house and fasted and prayed and performed sacred ordinances. in obedience to the commandment, they remained together throughout that whole day and the succeeding night. while they were there the holy spirit rested upon them; and they continued, until the morning light broke, to prophesy and give glory to god. the same services were repeated the day following.
joseph said to the quorums that he had now completed the organization of the church, having passed through all the necessary ceremonies, and that they were at liberty to go forth and build up the kingdom of god. at nine o'clock in the evening he retired from the temple and left the meeting in charge of the twelve apostles, who remained to prophesy and speak in tongues until again the morning dawned. during the night the savior appeared with a host of ministering angels. the prophet said that it was a pentecost long to be remembered, for the sound should go forth from that place unto all the world.
the next day, thursday, march 31st, the ceremonies in the temple were repeated for the benefit of those saints who could not find room in the house on the preceding sabbath.
on sunday, the 3rd day of april, 1836, after the regular service of the day, the prophet and oliver cowdery retired to the pulpit and dropped the veils by which it was separated from the body of the house, and bowed in solemn and silent prayer. after rising, a vision of supernal sublimity and beauty was opened to the eyes of their understanding. they saw the lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, and under his feet they saw a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. 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;
behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice.
let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have with their might built this house to my name.
for behold, i have accepted this house, and my name shall be here, and i will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house;
yea, i will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house.
yea, the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house;
and the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands, and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people. even so. amen.
this vision closed, and then the heavens were again opened. moses appeared and committed unto them the keys of the gathering of israel. after this came elias, who gave to them the dispensation of the gospel of abraham. when this vision had closed, elijah, the prophet who was taken to heaven without tasting death, appeared unto them, testifying that the time had fully come which was spoken of by the mouth of malachi concerning the coming of elijah—before the great and dreadful day of the lord—to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers, lest the earth should be smitten with a curse.
during several weeks following the dedication of the temple the prophet and his associates were constantly engaged in measures for the spiritual advancement of the people and with the building up of kirtland. a comforting thing came to joseph at that time. it was in the month of may, 1836, when his uncles asael and silas smith arrived in kirtland with their families, bringing with them the prophet's grandmother, mary smith. this noble woman was ninety-three years of age; she was the widow of asael smith, who had prophesied concerning the coming forth of joseph and who had lived to accept the book of mormon. the aged mary had traveled five hundred miles to see her grandson, the prophet. for ten days all her relatives in kirtland enjoyed the pleasure of her presence, and then she gently fell asleep in death.
on the 25th day of july, 1836, the prophet departed with his brother hyrum, sidney rigdon and oliver cowdery, on a mission to the eastern states. he labored diligently in the vicinity of salem in massachusetts, and while there received a revelation in which the lord declared that many people from that part would in his due time be gathered out to journey to zion.
joseph returned to kirtland in the month of september.
