Associated Locations:
- Kirtland Temple
Associated Dates:
- March 27, 1836 – Dedication
- April 3, 1836 – Savior appears to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple
Providential Importance in History
Although the Kirtland, Ohio area is holy ground, the Kirtland period is one of the least-understood locations of Church history. In fact, it has been said that Kirtland is one of the most important Church history sites.
The heavens literally opened to hundreds of our early Saints there. For many weeks surrounding the Kirtland Temple dedication, the Savior, past prophets, and angels communed directly with Joseph and Hyrum and other great leaders of our dispensation. Joseph prophesied that these Pentecostal events would “be handed down. . . to all generations” and that we should celebrate them as a “year of jubilee, and time of rejoicing” (HC 2:432–33).
