Page:History of Utah.djvu/164



112 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.

Campbellite church at Mentor, Parley P. Pratt-was mobbed midst music and rotten eggs.

The temple at Kirtland being finished, was dedicated on the 27th of March, 1836, and on the 3d of April Joseph and Oliver had interviews with the messiah, Moses, Elias, and Elijah, and received from them the several keys of priesthood, which insured to their possessors power unlimited in things temporal and spiritual for the accomplishment of the labors assigned by them for him to perform.^ The building of this structure by a few hundred persons, who, during the period between 1832 and 1836, contributed voluntarily of their money, material, or labor, the women knitting and spinning and making garments for the men who worked on the temple, was regarded with wonder throughout all northern Ohio. It was 60 by 80 feet, occupied a commanding position, and cost $40,000.

During its erection the saints incurred heavy debts for material and labor. They bought forms at high prices, making part payments, and afterward forfeit- ing them. They engaged in mercantile pursuits,

■^ 'A square mile was laid out in half-acre lots, and a number of farms were bought, the chui'ch farm being half a mile down one of tlie most beauti- ful valleys which it is possible to conceive in a range of country so uniformly level.' Rlather, in LippincoWs Mag., Aug. 1880. In May 1833 it was revealed that Ijuilding should begin. Two houses 55 by G5 feet each were ordered, one for the jiresidency, the other for printing. Hyrum Smith and two others i»ere presented with lots, and directions wei-e sent to the faithful to subscribe money to aid in building a temple at Kirtland. Times and Seasons, vi. 709-70. Before its completion, private assemblies were held at the houses of the faith- ful, fre(iuently at Smith's. When partly finished, schools were opened in several of the apartments. It was begun in June 1833, and dedicated March 27, 183G. A brief description of the building, arrangement of interior, etc., and a full account of the dedication and ordinary services are given in Tul- Iklge'n Wo7nen, 76, 80-1)5, 99-101. Daniel Tyler, in Juvenile Instructor, xiv. 283; Busch, Gesch. der Morm., 14:-, Kidder's Mormonism, 124-6. Probably but little work was done on it in 1833, for about the front entrances the gilded inscription, 'Built by the church of Jesus Christ, 1834,' still shines bright as ever. Salt Lake Herald, June 6, 1877. See also Smith's account in Times and Seasons, vi. 708-11, 723-6, and lienufs Journe;/, i. 302-4. For cuts of building, see Young's Hist, of the Seventies, 8; Juvenile Instructor, xiv. 283; Pratt's A utobing. , 140. When nearly finished there was a debt on the building of from $15,000 to §20,000. Kidder's Mormonism, 124-6. Most of the work- men were dependent upon their labor for tlieir daily food, which often con- sisted of corn meal alone, and that had been donated. Juvenile Instructor, 283. Writing in 1880, Mather says: 'The residences of Smith and Rig Ion are al- most under the eaves of the temj^le, and the theological sem nary is now occu- pied by the methodists for a church.' Lippincotfs Mag., Aug. 1880.