ON

KIRTLAND, OHIO

I. KIRTLAND IN CHURCH DEVELOPMENT

1. The Church was organized in April 1830 in upstate New York,

2. By February 1831 Church headquarters had moved to Kirtland, where it would stay until mid-1838.

• Kirtland was founded in 1811 and is named after Turhand Kirtland an early (pre-Mormon) settler.
  
• It is located on the east branch of the Chagrin river, and was situated at the crossroads of two pioneer roadways into the "Western Reserve."
  
• Many of the people living around Kirtland joined the Church: Sidney Rigdon, Frederick Williams, Sidney Gilbert, Newel Whitney, Orson Hyde, Lorenzo and Eliza Snow, Philo Dibble, Milo Andrus, to name a few. By the end of 1831 there were over 2,000 Saints in Kirtland only about 200 of whom came from New York.

3. In the summer of 1831 Joseph and others traveled to Jackson County, Missouri to prepare to move the Headquarters of the Church. Saints began to move incrementally from Kirtland to Missouri.

4. By the end of 1831 Joseph had moved his personal residence to Hiram, Ohio, 30 miles southeast of Kirtland. Here he received a number of revelations and by 1833 had made his first pass through the "re-translation" of The Bible. This is where Joseph was tarred and feathered on 24 March 1832.

5. School of the Prophets / Lectures on Faith, Feb - Apr 1832

6. Zion's Camp, 1834

7. Missionary Work to New England, Canada, Great Britain, Indian Territory, Southern States, etc.

8. Mummies containing the books of Abraham and Joseph were acquired on 3 July 1835.

9. Temple

• Cornerstone laid 23 July 1833.
  
• Dedicated 27 March 1836; first session in the morning had about 1,000 attendees and several hundred were outside; a second session was held in the afternoon. That evening a priesthood session was held. Visions were seen by some at all three sessions. During the priesthodd session people living near the Temple saw lights and heard loud noises. Two favorite hymns were sung Now Let Us Rejoice" and The Spirit of God."
  
• On 30 March the Twelve and others received the Aaronic Priesthood portion of the Temple ceremony -- it was called a day of pentacost."
  
• The Fast and Testimony Meetings were begun in the Temple on Thursday afternoons.
  

10. Kirtland Bank Failure

• In November 1836 the Prophet created the Kirtland Safety Society Bank as part of a strategy to retire $13,000 still owed on the Temple and $6,000 owed from the explusions in Missouri.
  
• It was not approved by the State Legislature so they created a joint stock corporation called the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-banking Company.
  
• By April and May of 1837 stock and land speculation was offering many people a get-rich-quick" scheme. An acre of land shot from $150 to $1000.
  
• In June of 1837 800 banks across the country failed with combined deposists of $120,000,000 -- the Kirtland anti-Bank included. Most of the saints in Kirtland lost all of their money and blamed Joseph.
  
• Things went from bad to worse. The Church in Kirtland split in two. The faithful saints started leaving for Missouri as fast as preparations could be made. Brigham Young left in December after an attempt on his life. The last group of 600 faithful Saints left in July 1838.
  

II. KIRTLAND AND THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS

1. Of the 136 sections in the D&C, 65 of them (48%) were given in Kirtland (46) or nearby (19).

2. They start in 1831 with section 41 and end in 1837 with section 112. The 1st section and the 133rd section were also given in Kirtland.

3. Here are the Hightlights:

Section	Date	Topic
42	Feb 1831	Renewal of 10 Commandments
45	Mar 1831	2nd Coming / Last Days
48	Mar 1831	United Order (also Sections 74, 86, & 104)
64	Sep 1831	Tithing Renewed
68	Nov 1831	Baptism at Age 8
76	Feb 1832	Three Degrees of Glory
78	Mar 1832	Church Welfare
81	Mar 1832	First Presidency Organized
84	Sep 1832	Revelation on Priesthood
87	Dec 1832	Prophecy on War
88	Dec 1832	"Olive Leaf": 2nd Coming - Priesthood
89	Feb 1833	Word of Wisdom
96	Jun 1833	Stakes Organized
102	Feb 1834	High Council Organized
103	Feb 1834	Zion's Camp Organized
107	Mar 1835	Priestood Quorums, etc.
109	Mar 1836	Temple Dedicatory Prayer
110	Apr 1836	Christ Apears in Temple