Miracles of Kirtland Temple

The temple at Kirtland hadn't been finished yet when Joseph Smith began using the downstairs chapel for meetings. He was there with his father and other Church leaders when he prayed and a vision of the future Celestial Kingdom was opened up to them.

(It's the future Celestial Kingdom because the Celestial Kingdom hasn't been set up yet. It will be on this earth after it is renewed. So Joseph Smith and others saw the future. They saw God and Jesus Christ sitting on  their thrones and also saw all the Old Testament prophets. He saw his parents, which wasn't surprising, but he also saw Alvin, who he knew hadn't been baptized. He knew that Alvin was there because we are not just judged in this life by what we do, but by the desires of our hearts.

(At one time Joseph Smith described Alvin as handsome, the most handsome man he had ever seen except for Adam and Seth.)

The last thing Joseph Smith and the others saw was that children under 8 would e saved. Since Joseph and Emma had lost some children, so they were very, very happy to know that!

In 1826 when the temple was dedicated about 1,000 people attended; they were packed in as tight as they could, and those who couldn't fit were in a nearby chapel. The service was held again a few days later so that everyone could hear the prayer.

Joseph Smith had received the prayer by revelation and that prayer is the model that is used still for temple dedicatory prayers.

After sustaining the leaders and a few speakers, he read the prayer. It's in D&C 109. WW Phelps had written a hymn for the occasion - The Spirit of God, which speaks of the sound of the rushing winds - which they heard later. He also wrote Now Let us Rejoice and Adam Ondi Ahman.

Then the whole congregation participated in the Hosanna Shout and it was said by some that even babies and toddlers participated in it.

During the meeting a stranger walked in - it was an angel who withheld his glory to blend in. Someone asked Joseph Smith who it was and he said it was Peter who had been sent there to represent the Lord.

The meeting was 7 hours long. Later that night Joseph Smith held a priesthood meeting in the temple. George Albert Smith, cousin to Joseph Smith spoke and while he spoke everyone heard a loud sound like a rushing wind, which was an answer to the dedicatory prayer and the whole congregation rose at the same time as if lifted out of their seats.

Neighboring people saw a bright light from within and heard the loud wind. They also saw angels over the building.

There were no temple ordinances done in the Kirtland temple except for initiatories for those leaving on missions.

One week later was April 3, Easter Sunday, and Passover all on the same day. To have those all on the same day is extremely rare. 1,000 saints, one week after such a spiritual meeting of the dedication, attended. During the meeting Joseph Smith and Hyrum went behind a curtain and prayed together. There they received D&C 110. They said the veil was taken and their eyes were opened. This means they were transfigured, which means they were transfused with light to be able to withstand the Lord's presence. They saw the Savior and said His eyes were like a flame of fire and his hair white like snow, and his voice was as the rushing of many waters. He gave them the message that the He accepted the House built in poverty. He said the fame of the temple would spread to foreign lands.
Then they had a new vision of resurrected Moses.
Then they saw Elias (Noah) who gave them the keys of the Gospel of Abraham, which is the New and Everlasting Covenant of marriage. it is through this that we an become like God.

Salvation is one by one
Exaltation is 2 by 2

next Elijah came and gave them the sealing powers - parents to children and children to parents.

At Passover the Jews set a seat for Elijah and this was the day he actually came.

Whenever there is an outpouring of spiritual experiences, next comes an outpouring of Satan's temptations. All the saints who were living in Kirtland were extremely poor, and more saints arrived every day, with nothing. They needed food, shelter, clothing, etc. Joseph Smith tried to establish a bank, but the state wouldn't allow it, so he sat up a type of cooperative, Kirtland Safety Society, which was a less formal bank, but it was a way to give loans to people and help them out.  It was also when banks failed, and their bank went bankrupt also. People blamed all their problems on Joseph Smith. 10% of the people turned against him, even many of his closest friends.

Neal Maxwell said that spiritual exhilaration will always be followed by Satan's vexation. This time in the Church is called the apostasy of Kirtland bceause so many turned against Joseph Smith.

it was a very low time, and Joseph prayed about what to do about it. The answer was D&C 110? God's answer to all their conflicts and problems - to overcome the spirit of Apostasy was to send a bunch of men to serve missions in England. It seemed so illogical to Joseph and everyone else because they were so poor and couldn't afford to have men leave their wives and children with nothing to travel to another country, and because they needed all their good leaders there to help keep the Church from falling apart. He was told to send Heber C Kimball and 5 faithful men who had family in England.

But they obeyed and many of the most faithful and strong men left for missions. One man who really wanted to go was Parley P Pratt. But he had no money and was in serious debt, and his wife, Thankful, was very ill. Heber C Kimball, who was known for his powerful Priesthood blessings happened to be passing Parley's house, and offered to give Thankful a blessing. In the blessing, he was told that the Lord would provide for his mission and to pay his debt. He also said that his wife would be healed immediately and would bear a son. She was 40, so that blessing was amazing and a little hard to believe.

But he made preparations immediately to leave and as soon as he left, his debts got paid, his wife was immediately healed and found herself pregnant. He converted many who became powerful leaders of the church. Still in the Church, many of the most faithful members are descendants of those converted in England.

Parley's blessings are called the Law of Compensation - blessings for service.

Grace is what the Lord can do that we can't do.

Parley wrote 9 hymns.

By the 1850s most families in Salt Lake City were descendants of the converts of that mission.

Isaiah 55:9, God has surprising answers to what we think the problem is.