Building the Kirtland Temple

Joseph Smith and others looking at open farmland

The Lord told Joseph Smith that it was time to build a temple in Kirtland, Ohio, USA. It would be a special place where the Lord would visit His people and make promises with them.

People starting to build the Kirtland Temple

The Saints started to build the temple. It cost a lot of money and took a lot of work. But they were excited to receive the Lord’s blessings.

As the Saints worked on the temple, they began to run out of money. They prayed to God for help.

Woman in a carriage looking at the unfinished Kirtland Temple

A woman named Caroline Tippets and her family had saved a lot of money. They let the Church borrow money to help build the temple.

Children collecting glass in baskets in front of the partially built Kirtland Temple

The Saints worked hard. Some drove wagons full of stones. Others made clothes and food for the workers.

Children collected pieces of broken glass to grind up and put on the walls of the temple so they sparkled in the sunlight.

People looking at the finished Kirtland Temple

Soon the temple was finished! The Saints were excited to go into the house of the Lord to receive the blessings He had promised them.