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30717
Plan of the House of the Lord, 25 June 1833
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and those upon each side are also to be ellevated the first one 8 inches the 2d 16 the 3 two feet the 4th 2 feet 8 inches the corner seats are to be occupied by singers and ellevated the first seat 6 inches the 2 12– the 3d 18– the 4– 24 & the 5th 30 inches The Pulpit in the East end of the house is to be occupied by the lesser Priesthood No 1 the Presidency of lesser Priesthood No 2 for the Priest No 3 for the teachers and No 4 for the Deacons and the seats by their side are also to be occupied by by visiting officer each one opposite his respective office grade & the pulpits are to be [illegible] off with pannel work in the best workmanlike manner and the building to be composed of stone and brick of the best kind
[Image of Side View of the House]The sacred edifice in Kirtland, Ohio, since known as the Kirtland temple. Although the term temple in the early days of the church designated a category of buildings, the proper name applied to the structure in Kirtland was “House of the Lord.” JS and the...
View GlossaryThe lower or lesser of two orders of priesthood in the church. Sometimes called the “Levitical Priesthood.” It is named for Aaron, the brother of Moses, “because it was conferred upon Aaron and his seed” in antiquity. This authority holds “the keys of the...
View GlossaryAn ecclesiastical office. In the Book of Mormon, priests were described as those who baptized, administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church,” and taught “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” A June 1829 revelation directed the ordination...
View GlossaryGenerally, one who instructs, but also a specific office in the church. The Book of Mormon explained that teachers were to be ordained “to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end.” According...
View GlossaryAn ecclesiastical office. The articles and covenants directed deacons to assist teachers in their duties. Deacons were also to “warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite all to come unto Christ,” though they lacked the authority to baptize. The first recorded...
View GlossaryThis is to represent a side view of the house five windows in each story the windows are to have each 48 lights 7 by 9– 6 one way and eight the other the sills and littels [lintels] of the windows to be of hewn stone and on the top of the Center is to be a gothick [Gothic] top as you see but <the> window must have a lintel and so with the out side doors the middle window of the ◊◊◊ is to have side lights all with gothick tops make your house 14 feet high between the floors and the timbers there will not be a gallery but a chamber each story to be 14 feet high arched over head with an eleptical arch each of the stories let the under part or foundation of the house be of stone let it be raised sufficiently high to admit of banking up so high as to admit of a descent every way from the house as far as to divide the distance betwen this house and those next to it on top of the stone and above the embank ment let there be two rows of hewn stone and then commence the back on the hewn stone in the entire hight of the house 28 feet each story being 14 feet make the wall a sufficient thinkness thickness for a house of this size Observe parti cularly that as there are pulpits at each <end of the house> that the backs of the congregation must be to one of them and they will want occasionally to change in order for this the house must have pews pews instead of Slips and in the pews let the seats be loose so as to slip from one side of the pew to the other so as to face other pulpet as occasion may require
[drawing of “end view” of House; to the right of the drawing, the following two brief paragraphs:]immediately on entering the outer door turn to the right and left to go up stairs and between the stairs and and inner door, <& under the stairs> there is to be a vestry to contain the furniture of the house & the dressing rooms——
NB For your satisfaction we inform you that the plot for the City and the size form and demesions [dimensions] <of the house> were given us of the Lord
[underneath the drawing of the “end view” of the house:]This cut represents an end view the windows the same as in the side the middle window excepted <it> is to be the same with the addition of side lights this middle window is desighned to light both above and below as the upper floor as to be laid off presently in the same way as the lower and arched over head with curtains or vailes as is before mentioned you will be carefull to have hooks and rings to suspend your vailes on so they can be let down or rai sed [u]p at any time at pleasure also as you can see the pulpits are to have four seats one raising above another for instance the Elders seat is the lowest next comes the high Priests next the presidency <Bishop> so each of these must have a vail that is suspended to the uper ceiling floor so to be let down which will at any time when necessary be let down and shut off each stand or seat by itself The doors are to be 5 feet wide 9 feet high and to be in the east end the west end is to have no doors but in other respects to be like the east <except the windows are to be opposite to alleys which runs east and west of> the roof of the house to have one fourth pt◊ch the door to have gothick tops as the windows the shingles of the roof to be painted before the[y] are put on there is to be a fan light as you see. The windows and doors are all to have venetions a balcony in the east end and a bell of very large size [p. [2]]
Once western Missouri was identified as the site of Zion in 1831, preparations for its establishment proceeded. In summer 1833, church leaders prepared a carefully drawn plat for the city and an architectural design for a temple complex around which the city would be built. The plat called for the construction of not just one but twenty-four temples, as the center of a master plan to accommodate a municipality of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants.
Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...
More InfoThe temples were designed to facilitate church operations, including structures for worship, educational instruction, office space, and meeting places for various orders of the priesthood. The church’s presidency selected one of the twenty-four temple sites marked on the plat and indicated that there a “house of the Lord” was to be “built first in Zion.” The accompanying text provided specifications for that temple. See also the August revisions to the plan.
JS and his counselors in the presidency of the high priesthood sent this plan from Kirtland, Ohio, to Edward Partridge in Jackson County, Missouri. It was prepared by Frederick G. Williams for JS. The church obtained the document from the Edward Partridge family in 1865.
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
More Info27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...
View Full BioSettled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More Info28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...
View Full BioPlan of the House of the Lord, JS, Kirtland, OH, to Edward Partridge, Jackson County, MO, June 1833; handwriting of Frederick G. Williams; two pages; CHL. Includes later Robert L. Campbell endorsement: “G.S.L. city, June 30, 1865. This plan was presented to the Historian’s office by | Mrs. Lydia Partridge widow of Bishop Edward Partridge. It was sent to him by | Pres. Joseph Smith while he was presiding in Jackson County in 1832–3. | It is a design for the house of the Lord for the Presidency intended to | be erected about the time of the expulsion of the Saints from Jackson County”.
Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...
More Info27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...
View Full BioSettled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More Info28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...
View Full Bio27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...
View Full BioSettled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More InfoSettled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...
More Info