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Plan of the House of the Lord, 25 June 1833

 
This house of  the Lord

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...

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 for the  Presidency

The presiding body of the church. From the day of the church’s organization on 6 April 1830, JS and Oliver Cowdery led the church in their capacity as elders. An 11 November 1831 revelation directed that “the duty of the president of the office of the high...

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 is  Eighty Seven  feet Long and  Sixty one feet  wide and ten  feet taken of[f] on  the east end for  the stairway  leaves the inner  court 78 by 61  feet which is  calculated and  divided for seats  in the following  manner viz—  the two Aisles 4  feet wide each  the middle block  of pews are 11 feet  10 inches wide  long and three  feet wide each  and the two lines  drawn through the  middle are 4 inchs  apart for which  a curtain is to  drop at right  angles and divide  the house in to four  parts if necessary  the side block  of pews are 16 feet  <10 inches> ◊6 inches long and  3 feet wide the  side <Block of> pews opposite  the above are 14  feet 6 inches long  and 3 feet wide  the 5 pews in each  corner of the house  are 12 feet 6 inches  long divided into  5 the open spaces  between the corner  and side pews are  for fire plac[e]s those  in the west are 9  feet wide and  the East ones are  8 feet 8 inches  wide and the  chimney carried  up in the wall  where they are  marked with a  pencil
The pulpit in  the west end of the  house is to be occu pied by the high  priest hood

The authority and power held by certain officers in the church. The Book of Mormon referred to the high priesthood as God’s “holy order, which was after the order of his Son,” and indicated that Melchizedek, a biblical figure, was a high priest “after this...

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 as foll ows No 1 for the pres ident and his council  No 2d for the Bishop  & his council

Used to designate a bishop and his assistants or counselors as they carried out ecclesiastical or administrative responsibilities. The term “bishop’s council” also denoted the officers who served in a bishop’s court.

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 No 3d  No 3 for the High  priest

An ecclesiastical office. The Book of Mormon used the term high priest to denote one appointed to lead the church. However, the Book of Mormon also discussed an order of high priests who were called to teach the commandments of God and serve as leaders in...

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[s] and No 4  for the Elders

An administrative and ecclesiastical office not associated with age. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church.” The articles and covenants of the church directed...

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 each  of these are 8 feet  long containing 3  coves or stands  for the respective  speaker and their  seats opposite of  them are for visi ting officers who are  to occupy the seats  according to their  respective grades  the 2 spaces in the  middle are stairs  2 feet wide, the  middle pulpit is  to be ellevated  the first seats  one foot the 2d  two feet the 3d  3 feet & the  4 feet for the fourth [p. [1]]
Once western Missouri

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...

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 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.
The 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

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...

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, Ohio, to Edward Partridge

27 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...

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 in Jackson County

Settled 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...

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, Missouri. It was prepared by Frederick G. Williams

28 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...

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 for JS. The church obtained the document from the Edward Partridge family in 1865.

Facts

Editorial Title
Plan of the House of the Lord, 25 June 1833
ID #
4055