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Home , Granville Hedrick, Kirtland Temple, Temple (LDS Church), Temple Lot

Questions and Answers about the in Independence, Aaron L. West At a certain place in Independence, Missouri, a rectangle of land is surrounded by an amphitheater, a visitors’ center, a peace plaza, a office, hundreds of parking spaces, three meetinghouses for congrega- tional worship, and the headquarters for an internation- al church. The rectangle measures about 300 feet by 200 feet (90 meters by 60 meters). It has nothing on it but grass, a few trees, six small stone markers, and a sign. Com- pared to nearby structures, it doesn’t look like much. But it is one reason those structures are there. Joseph expressed their hope: “When will the wilderness The buildings are operated by three churches: The blossom as the rose; when will be built up in her Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Church glory, and where will thy Temple stand unto which all of Christ, and . Members of all nations shall come in the last days?”1 three churches—and other churches in the area—feel a On July 20, 1831, the Lord revealed His answer to special attachment to that little rectangle of land. They Joseph: believe it was once dedicated for the construction of a “Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord in the center place of Zion, in preparation for your God, who have assembled yourselves together, ac- the Savior’s millennial reign. cording to my commandments, in this land, which is Every year, thousands of Latter-day Saints go to the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have ap- the visitors’ center in Independence. Many of them ask pointed and consecrated for the of the saints. about the temple lot. This brief article answers some of “Wherefore, this is the land of promise, and the their questions. place for the city of Zion. “And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will re- Where is the temple lot? ceive wisdom here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called Independence is the center place; and a The temple lot is in the western portion of the city of spot for the temple is lying westward, upon a lot which Independence. It is one of the highest points in the area, is not far from the courthouse” (D&C 57:1–3). overlooking the metropolis of City, Missouri, When the Lord revealed the location of the lot, the about 9 miles (14 kilometers) to the west. People who land was west of the city of Independence. Since then, visit the Independence Visitors’ Center can see the lot the city has expanded to include the temple lot. The when they exit through the front doors. It lies immedi- courthouse mentioned in this revelation no longer ex- ately to the northwest. ists. It was replaced in 1836 by the building now known On January 2, 1831, several months before revealing as the Truman Courthouse. the location for the temple, the Lord said that He would give His people “a land of promise.” He declared, “I will When was the land dedicated as a temple lot? give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you Who pronounced the dedication? seek it with all your hearts. And this shall be my cove- nant with you” (D&C 38:18–20). On June 6, 1831, the John Whitmer wrote that on August 3, 1831, eight Lord commanded and others to preach elders “assembled together where the temple [was] to the gospel in the state of Missouri and to prepare for be erected.” Those eight elders were the Prophet Joseph a conference there. He promised that if they would Smith, , , Peter Whitmer be faithful, “the land of [their] inheritance” would “be Jr., Frederick G. Williams, William W. Phelps, Martin made known unto them” (D&C 52:5). Harris, and . John Whitmer recorded: “Sid- As Joseph and his fellow servants journeyed in Mis- ney Rigdon dedicated the ground where the city is to souri, they were anxious to learn of this promised land. stand, and Joseph Smith Jr. laid a stone at the northeast

1 Questions and Answers about the Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri Aaron L. West es.6 The plat called for a square mile of land—more than 10 times the amount of property Bishop Partridge had purchased.

Sidney Rigdon dedicated the ground where the city is to stand, and Joseph Smith Jr. laid a stone at the northeast corner of the contemplated temple in the name of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth.

corner of the contemplated temple in the name of the Lord Jesus of Nazareth. After all present had rendered thanks to the great ruler of the universe, Sidney Rigdon pronounced this spot of ground wholly dedicated unto Original plat of the city of Zion. the Lord forever.”2 The plat included a brief explanation of the 24 tem- On this same day, the Church claimed the site so ples. They were to correspond to quorums and func- they could purchase it someday.3 The United States gov- tions of the . Twelve of them corresponded ernment did not make the land available for purchase to the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the other twelve until December 1831, and Jones H. and Clara Flournoy corresponded to the Aaronic Priesthood.7 bought it.4 The plat did not specifically explain the kinds of ac- When did the Saints acquire the temple lot? tivities that would take place inside the . How- ever, the Saints’ use of the from 1836 to On December 19, 1831, Bishop 1838 suggests that the temples in Independence would purchased 63.27 acres from the Flournoys.5 That land have been used for worship, teaching and learning, included the area that had been dedicated for a temple. priesthood ordinances and blessings, Church adminis- What did the early Saints plan to do with the temple lot? tration, and community functions. Each temple was to bear the inscription “Holiness to the Lord.”8 As the Lord continued to reveal His will to Joseph In August 1833, the prepared a re- Smith, the Saints came to understand that the temple vised plat for the city of Zion and a revised plan for the lot and the land surrounding it were to be used for more temple that was to be built first. The plan for the tem- than one sacred building. ple included the following explanation, written by Oli- In June 1833, the Prophet Joseph and his counselors ver Cowdery: “Those patterns previously sent you, per in the First Presidency prepared a plat for the city of mail, by our brethren, were incorrect in some respects, Zion—a plan for the layout of the city. President Freder- being drawn in great haste. They have therefore drawn ick G. Williams drew the plat, which called for bishops’ these, which are correct. The form of the city was also storehouses and 24 temples in the center of the city, sur- incorrect, being drawn in haste. We send you another.”9 rounded by blocks divided into property for residenc-

2 Questions and Answers about the Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri Aaron L. West faith, and consecrated service. They followed this pat- tern in other settlements, such as Far West, Missouri; Nauvoo, ; and , Utah. Who owns the temple lot today? Community of Christ owns most of the 63.27 acres purchased by Bishop Partridge. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns the next-largest por- tion. The smallest portion of the land—including the spot dedicated for a temple—is owned by the Church of Christ, once known as the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). This church was founded by , a former Latter-day Saint who chose not to go to the Salt Lake Valley when the Saints left Nauvoo, Illinois. Granville Hedrick and his followers returned to Inde- pendence in 1867. Revised plat of the city of Zion. The revised plat called for a larger city—one and one-half square miles—with more lots for residents. It no longer featured storehouses in the city’s center, leav- ing only temples in that part of the city. It also shift- ed the temple blocks in their orientation, from north– south to east–west. Both versions called for one certain temple to be built first. This temple was to be a “house of the Lord for the [First] Presidency.”10 In the first version, that temple was labeled with the number 5 and then with an X. In both versions, it was to be built on the spot now referred to as the temple lot. In the final plan, it was “to What buildings are near the temple lot today? be 97 feet long, and 61 feet wide [about 30 meters long and 19 meters wide] within the walls.”11 As shown in this photograph, the building closest Although the two versions differed from each other to the lot is a meetinghouse owned by the Church of in significant ways, their focus was essentially the same. Christ. Other nearby buildings are owned by Commu- Both centered on sacred buildings in the heart of a cov- nity of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- enant community. Both were patterns to be followed in ter-day Saints. stakes of Zion as the Church continued to grow. Why is the temple lot significant today? Did the Saints build any of those temples? To answer this question, we return to words of rev- Soon after the Lord revealed plans for the city of elation. “This is the land of promise,” the Lord declared, Zion, the Saints were forced to leave Jackson County. “and the place for the city of Zion. . . . The place which is They did not build any of those 24 temples, but they did now called Independence is the center place; and a spot not forget the plat of Zion—a pattern for a community for the temple is lying westward” (D&C 57:2–3). centered on holy temples, worship, covenants, unity in We do not know exactly how, when, or where these

3 Questions and Answers about the Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri Aaron L. West words will be fulfilled, but we do know that that rect- 5. See Jones H. Flournoy deed, Dec. 19, 1831, Church angle of land in Independence is sacred. It has been History Library, Salt Lake City. dedicated to the Lord. The Lord’s revelations about that 6. See “Plat of the City of Zion, circa Early June–25 land—and the principles of gospel living that are wo- June 1833,” 1, josephsmithpapers.org. ven into those revelations—are part of His people’s past, 7. See “Plat of the City of Zion, circa Early June–25 present, and future. June 1833,” 1. 8. “Plat of the City of Zion, circa Early June–25 June Footnotes 1833,” 2. 1. “History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 9. Oliver Cowdery, in “Revised Plan of the House of 1805–30 August 1834],” 127, josephsmithpapers. the Lord, circa 10 August–circa 4 September 1833,” org. 1, josephsmithpapers.org; spelling and punctuation 2. “John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847,” 32, standardized. josephsmithpapers.org; spelling, capitalization, and 10. “Plat of the City of Zion, circa Early June–25 June punctuation standardized; underlining in original. 1833,” 1–2; see also “Revised Plan of the House of 3. See “Temple lot, Blue Township, Missouri,” jo- the Lord, circa 10 August–circa 4 September 1833,” sephsmithpapers.org. 1. 4. See Max H Parkin, Sacred Places: A Comprehen- [11] “Revised Plan of , circa 10 sive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites, vol. 4: August–circa 4 September 1833,” 1. Missouri (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004), 20.

The temple at Independence, Missouri was to be 97 feet long, and 61 feet wide (about 30 meters long and 19 meters wide). Members of the Church of Christ outline the location of the temple in this aerial photograph.

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