Temple 

Summary

A sacred edifice that was “built unto the Lord.”1 In both the Bible and Book of Mormon, temples were built as places of worship.2 As early as 1830, church members expected to build a temple in the New Jerusalem, or city of Zion.3 Revelations in 1830 and 1831 indicated that Jesus Christ would appear in the temple as part of the ushering in of his second coming.4 On 3 August 1831, JS laid the cornerstone for a temple in Independence, Missouri.5 A September 1832 revelation stated that “the glory of the Lord” would fill the temple.6 In December 1832, a revelation commanded the Saints to build another “house of God” in Kirtland, Ohio.7 The structure was formally known as the “House of the Lord,” but it was occasionally referred to as the temple.8 In June 1833, JS and his counselors in the presidency sent Missouri church leaders plans calling for twenty-four temples to be built in Independence; some of these temples were not to be used as places of worship, but instead were to be used for other activities done in the name of the Lord.9 The House of the Lord in Kirtland was the church’s first completed temple, dedicated on 27 March 1836.10 See also “House of the Lord.”