Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/133

Rh Temple continued without interruption, though to the eager Saints progress was all too slow. On the 7th of March, 1835, a solemn convocation was held in Kirtland,—"called for the purpose of blessing in the name of the Lord, those who have heretofore assisted in building, by their labor and other means, the House of the Lord in this place." The record gives names of those who had consecrated their time, effort and means to the work. Long before the Temple was completed, parts of the structure v/ere used for council meetings and other gatherings of the Priesthood. In January, 1836, a code of rules was adopted "to be observed in the House of the Lord in Kirtland." On the 21st of the month last named a gathering of the Priesthood was held in the unfinished Temple, on which occasion the Presiding Patariarch and the three High Priests who composed the First Presidency of the Church, assembled in a room by themselves and engaged in solemn prayer. The Patriarch, Father Joseph Smith, was anointed and blessed by the members of the First Presidency in turn, after which he, by virtue of his office, anointed and blessed them. Of the glorious manifestation that followed, the prophet thus writes:

"The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son.  I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which