{"id":42045,"date":"2021-09-03T08:26:04","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T13:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/?p=42045"},"modified":"2021-09-08T06:46:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T11:46:02","slug":"concerning-the-building-of-mine-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2021\/09\/concerning-the-building-of-mine-house\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cConcerning the building of mine\u00a0house\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The temples of the early Latter Day Saint movement were a place where several strands of Joseph Smith\u2019s theology and doctrine were braided together.\u00a0 In the summer of 1833 (in the revelations we are studying this week for \u201cCome, Follow Me\u201d), we can see that braiding happening.\u00a0 Referencing some major topics we\u2019ve already discussed this year, we can see the idea of beholding the face of God<\/a>, an endowment of power from on high<\/a>, preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus the Christ<\/a>, the Zion project<\/a>, and some practical functions of the temples (in connection with building Zion).\u00a0 Each of these had become a component of how the House of the Lord in Kirtland and Zion were meant to operate.<\/p>\n

The endowment of power from on high was one area of particular concern to the early Saints.\u00a0 They had been promised in early 1831 that when they relocated to Kirtland, Ohio, they would be blessed with the law and an endowment of power akin to the one that the early Christians received on the day of Pentecost.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 The law was given in a series of revelations that spring, but the endowment of power proved more elusive.\u00a0 Ordination to the high priesthood at a conference in 1831 and the meetings of the School of the Prophets functioned as earlier endowments of power, but the Saints continued to look forward to the construction of the House of the Lord as a place where this would occur more fully.\u00a0 The idea seems to have been that the Lord would bless the Saints with something\u2014either an experience or an ability to perform miracles\u2014that would help in missionary work.\u00a0 On 1 June 1833, a revelation reiterated that it was important that the Saints build the House of the Lord so that the Lord could \u201cprepare mine\u00a0Apostles\u00a0to prune my vineyard\u00a0for the last time\u00a0that I may bring to pass my strange act\u00a0that I may pour out my spirit upon all flesh.\u201d\u00a0 The text goes on to state that: \u201cI gave\u00a0unto you a commandment that you should build an\u00a0house\u00a0in the which house I design to\u00a0endow\u00a0those whom I have chosen with power from on high, for this is the promise of the\u00a0Father unto you.\u201d[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Increasingly, the House of the Lord became the focal point for receiving this endowment of power.<\/p>\n

One understanding of this endowment of power was that it might include seeing God.\u00a0 As Oliver Cowdery would later tell the freshly minted Quorum of the Twelve: \u201cIt is necessary that you receive a testimony from Heaven for yourselves, so that you can bear testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon. And that you have seen the face of God; that is more than the testimony of an Angel \u2026 . Never cease striving until you have seen God, face to face.\u201d[3]<\/a>\u00a0 In a revelation on 2 August 1833 (Section 94), the Saints were promised that if the built the House of the Lord and \u201cnot\u00a0suffer any unclean thing to come into it\u201d that the Lord\u2019s \u201cglory shall be there and my presence shall be there.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0 On the same day, a separate revelation that gave directions to build a temple in Zion, Missouri (Section 97), promised that: \u201cinas much as my people build an\u00a0house\u00a0unto me in the name\u00a0of the Lord and do not suffer any unclean\u00a0thing to come into it that it be not\u00a0defiled my glory shall rest upon it\u00a0yea and my presence shall be therefor I\u00a0will come into it and all the pure in heart\u00a0that shall come into it shall see God.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0 For both temples in Kirtland and Zion, the expectation was that people who were pure would see God while they attended the temple.<\/p>\n

Part of what gave the early Saints such a sense of urgency in building these houses of the Lord was that they were preparing for an imminent Second Coming of Jesus the Christ.\u00a0 For example, in the 1 June 1833 revelation (Section 95), the Lord indicated that the House of the Lord was being built \u201cfor the preparation wherewith I deign to prepare mine\u00a0Apostles\u00a0to prune my vineyard\u00a0for the last time<\/em>.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Section 97 also states: \u201clet Zion rejoice\u00a0while all the wicked shall mourn for\u00a0behold and lo vengence cometh speedily upon\u00a0the ungodly as the whirlwind \u2026 it shall not be staid until the Lord\u00a0come for the indignation of the Lord is\u00a0kindled against their abominations and\u00a0all their wicked works nevertheless Zion\u00a0shall escape if she observe to do all things\u00a0whatsoever I have commanded her.\u201d[7]<\/a>\u00a0 Following the Lord\u2019s command to build houses unto Him was an important part of preparing to be safe during the eschatological events that were understood to be coming soon.<\/p>\n

In addition, the temple was not only seen as part of preparation for missionaries to preach the gospel in a last effort to bring people to Christ before His return but were also an essential part of building a New Jerusalem (aka Zion) and sanctified satellite sites (aka stakes).\u00a0 In the one of the 2 August 1833 revelations (Section 97), the Lord stated that the House of the Lord should be \u201cbuilt unto me for the salvation of\u00a0Zion\u00a0for a place of thanksgiving for all saints and\u00a0for a place of instruction for all those who are\u00a0called to the work of the ministry.\u201d\u00a0 The text goes on to state that: \u201cbehold if Zion do these things she\u00a0shall prosper and spread herself and become\u00a0very glorious very great and very tereble\u00a0and the Nations of the earth shall honor\u00a0her.\u201d[8]<\/a>\u00a0 The House of the Lord was important for establishing Zion.\u00a0 The other revelation received on the same day (Section 94) focused on the construction of the House of the Lord in Kirtland as part of commencing \u201ca work of laying\u00a0out and preparing a begining and\u00a0foundation of the city of the\u00a0stake\u00a0of\u00a0Zion.\u201d[9]<\/a>\u00a0 This was a sentiment echoed from a revelation received a month earlier (Section 95), which stated that Newel K. Whitney should take charge of the land the Church owned in Kirtland, \u201cupon which I design to build mine\u00a0holy house,\u201d so that \u201cthis\u00a0stake\u00a0that I have set for the strength of\u00a0Zion\u00a0should be made strong.\u201d[10]<\/a>\u00a0 These indicate that the temples were seen as an important part of building Zion.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason houses of the Lord were important in building Zion communities was that the temples were seen as buildings meant to serve specific functions in their communities.\u00a0 The House of the Lord in Kirtland was designed to function as a schoolhouse (primarily for the School of the Prophets) and as a chapel in which to meet.\u00a0 Hence it being built to \u201cprepare mine Apostles\u201d and functioning as a place to \u201ccall\u00a0your\u00a0solem assembly\u00a0that your fastings and your mourning might come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.\u201d[11]<\/a>\u00a0 To be more specific, the revelation specified that the lower room should \u201cbe dedicated unto me for your\u00a0sacrament\u00a0offering and\u00a0for your preaching and your fasting and your praying\u00a0and the offering up your most holy desires unto me saith\u00a0your lord,\u201d while the upper room would be used \u201cfor the school of mine Apostles.\u201d[12]<\/a> The principal temple in Zion was intended to function similarly as \u201ca place of thanksgiving for all saints and\u00a0for a place of instruction for all those who are\u00a0called to the work of the ministry.\u201d[13]<\/a>\u00a0 These temples were meant to function as school houses and chapels.<\/p>\n

In addition to these temples, several other Houses of the Lord were planned to serve practical functions.\u00a0 In Kirtland, in addition to the principal temple, a revelation indicated that they would need to build another \u201chouse unto me [the Lord]\u00a0for the work of the printing of the\u00a0translation of my\u00a0scripturs\u201d that would be \u201cwholly dedecated unto the Lord from\u00a0the foundation there of for the work of\u00a0the printing.\u201d[14]<\/a> \u00a0The language indicates that this printing house was seen as a second temple in Kirtland.\u00a0 In a plat of the City of Zion that was created around this same time (June 1833), instructions were included to have a central area in the city \u201cfor publick buildings\u201d that were called temples, including several to function as office space for the various offices of the priesthood and \u201c24 building to\u00a0supply them [city residents] with houses of worship [and] schools,\u201d noting that that \u201cnone of these temples are to be smaller than the one\u00a0of which we send you the\u00a0draft.\u201d[15]<\/a> \u00a0Temples not only would dot the earth, but would dot the city of Zion\u2019s central area.<\/p>\n

Thus, it was in the temples that we see several threads of Joseph Smith\u2019s ministry braided together.\u00a0 By the summer of 1833, temples were seen as places of meeting and learning in Zion and its stakes where missionaries would receive an endowment of power and behold the face of God to prepare them to preach the Gospel before the Second Coming.\u00a0 More threads would continue to be braided into the functions of temples as time passed, such as the importance of ordinances or rites in receiving power from on high, but by this point, temples were increasingly becoming central to Joseph Smith\u2019s main projects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cRevelation, 2 January 1831 [D&C 38],\u201d p. 52, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed April 11, 2021,\u00a0https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-2-january-1831-dc-38\/4<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> “Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95],” p. 59, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-1-june-1833-dc-95\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Kirtland Council Minute Book, 1832-37, 21 February 1835.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> “Revelation, 2 August 1833\u2013B [D&C 94],” p. 65, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-2-august-1833-b-dc-94\/2<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> “Revelation, 2 August 1833\u2013A [D&C 97],” p. 63, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-2-august-1833-a-dc-97\/3<\/a><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> “Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95],” p. 59, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-1-june-1833-dc-95\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> “Revelation, 2 August 1833\u2013A [D&C 97],” p. 64, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 3, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-2-august-1833-a-dc-97\/4<\/a><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> “Revelation, 2 August 1833\u2013A [D&C 97],” p. 63, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-2-august-1833-a-dc-97\/3<\/a><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> “Revelation, 2 August 1833\u2013B [D&C 94],” p. 64, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-2-august-1833-b-dc-94\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> “Revelation, 4 June 1833 [D&C 96],” p. 60, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 3, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-4-june-1833-dc-96\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> “Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95],” p. 59, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-1-june-1833-dc-95\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> “Revelation, 1 June 1833 [D&C 95],” p. 60, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 3, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-1-june-1833-dc-95\/2<\/a><\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> “Revelation, 2 August 1833\u2013A [D&C 97],” p. 63, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 2, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-2-august-1833-a-dc-97\/3<\/a><\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> “Revelation, 2 August 1833\u2013B [D&C 94],” p. 66, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 3, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/revelation-2-august-1833-b-dc-94\/3<\/a><\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> “Plat of the City of Zion, circa Early June\u201325 June 1833,” p. [1], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed September 3, 2021, https:\/\/www.josephsmithpapers.org\/paper-summary\/plat-of-the-city-of-zion-circa-early-june-25-june-1833\/1<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The temples of the early Latter Day Saint movement were a place where several strands of Joseph Smith\u2019s theology and doctrine were braided together.\u00a0 In the summer of 1833 (in the revelations we are studying this week for \u201cCome, Follow Me\u201d), we can see that braiding happening.\u00a0 Referencing some major topics we\u2019ve already discussed this year, we can see the idea of beholding the face of God, an endowment of power from on high, preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus the Christ, the Zion project, and some practical functions of the temples (in connection with building Zion).\u00a0 Each of these had become a component of how the House of the Lord in Kirtland and Zion were meant to operate. The endowment of power from on high was one area of particular concern to the early Saints.\u00a0 They had been promised in early 1831 that when they relocated to Kirtland, Ohio, they would be blessed with the law and an endowment of power akin to the one that the early Christians received on the day of Pentecost.[1]\u00a0 The law was given in a series of revelations that spring, but the endowment of power proved more elusive.\u00a0 Ordination to the high […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,2895,18,13,2900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-history","category-come-follow-me-currculum","category-general-doctrine","category-scriptures","category-temples"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42045"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42046,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42045\/revisions\/42046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}