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What happened in Kirtland?

Visions & Appearances

  • More heavenly manifestations occurred in Kirtland than any other place. 

  • Heavenly Father & His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared or were seen in vision four times: Kirtland Temple, Morley Farm, Johnson Farm, Whitney Store.

  • The Savior was seen at least six more times by Joseph Smith.

  • Eight past Prophets and Apostles appeared: Moses, Elias, Elijah, Abraham, Adam, Peter, James, and John the Beloved.

  • Angels, Visions, Prophesying, Pillar of Fire, Gift of Tongues, etc.

Church Organization

  • The First Presidency Organized @ Newel K. Whitney Store

  • Quorums of the Twelve and Seventy @ Schoolhouse/

  • Printing Office

  • First Patriarch @ John Johnson Inn

  • High Priests Ordained @ Isaac Morley Farm

  • First Stake and High Council @ Joseph Smith Jr. Home

  • First Bishop @ Newel K. Whitney Store

Priesthood Keys Restored

  • Gathering of Israel

  • Keys to Temple Work

Important Revelations

  • Word of Wisdom

  • Three Degrees of Glory

  • Law of Consecration

Scriptures

  • Doctrine and Covenants (almost half received in Kirtland)

  • Pearl of Great Price (Book of Abraham and part of Book of Moses translated)

  • Bible (Joseph Smith Translation completed)

  • Printing of Doctrine & Covenants (1st ed) and Book of Mormon (2nd edition)

Basic Timeline

Early 1831: The Lord commands Latter-day Saints to go to Ohio, where they would receive His law, be endowed with power from on high, and prepare to share His gospel among all nations (see Doctrine and Covenants 38)

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February 1831: Joseph Smith arrives at Newel K. Whitney’s store after receiving revelation for members of the Church to gather to Ohio (D&C 37).

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June 1831: First high priests in this dispensation are ordained on Isaac Morley’s farm, near Kirtland.

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September 12, 1832: Joseph and his family move into the Whitneys’ store.

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August 2, 1833: Joseph Smith receives a revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 94:1 that the Saints should build a temple in Kirtland.

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February 27, 1833: The Lord reveals the Word of Wisdom (Doctrine and Covenants 89) at the Whitney Store.

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June 1 1833: The Lord chastens the Saints “for their failure to build the house of the Lord” and reveals the design of the Kirtland Temple (D&C 95).

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June 6, 1833: Construction begins on the Kirtland Temple.

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July 23, 1833: The First Presidency — Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams — preside at a cornerstone laying ceremony.

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Fall 1833: Church members build a sawmill on Stoney Brook in Kirtland — to hasten temple construction.

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December 18, 1833: Joseph Smith gives the first patriarchal blessings of this dispensation at the Johnson Inn in Kirtland.

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February 17, 1834: The Church’s first stake is organized in Kirtland.

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May 5, 1834: Zion’s camp begins.

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November 1834: The School of the Elders is organized in Kirtland.

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February 14, 1835: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is organized in Kirtland.

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February 28, 1835: The First Quorum of the Seventy is organized in Kirtland.

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August 17, 1835: The Doctrine and Covenants is accepted as a standard work of the Church. Copies are ready for distribution the following month.

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January 21, 1836: Joseph Smith experiences a vision of celestial glory, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 137.

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March 27, 1836: Joseph Smith dedicates the temple. His dedicatory prayer is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 109.

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April 3, 1836: Jesus Christ appears in the temple to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and accepts the Kirtland Temple as His house. 

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Moses and Elias each appear and commit their keys and dispensations; Elijah appears and commits the keys of his dispensation as promised by Malachi. (D&C 110).

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June 13, 1837: Heber C. Kimball and others leave Kirtland on a mission to England.

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January 12, 1838: Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon flee from Kirtland, taking their families to Missouri.

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Source: history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org

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