Kirtland, Ohio

Before returning home we decided to go a little further east and visit Kirtland, Ohio. There were so many great and important things that transpired there as the church became established and we wanted to see the recent restoration of the historic district. The success of the missionary efforts in Joseph's day converted many people, along with poor conditions in New York led to moving the headquarters of the church to Ohio.  After much sacrifice this beautiful temple was built as had been commanded.  It is the property of the Community of Christ Church (RLDS) and we were pleased to be able to tour it and see the very place where Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey. This is where the keys of the priesthood were restored by visitations of Moses, Elias and Elijah to establish the fullness of the gospel in the latter days.  See Doctrine & Covenants, sections 109 and 110.     

The Kirtland Temple

While we were in the visitor's center we ran into our good friends, the Bishop's who served with us in the temple and in the Visitor's Primary.

One of the restored sites is the lumber saw mill.  It was situated on a stream where the water created the power to produce boards for building the temple and homes.

Logs entered the far end and passed by the blade to create lumber
The saw blade was driven up and down by means of the water wheel turning below


Water wheel below the lumber mill

A wood shop was built along side the mill to provide a place to do the cabinetry.

In the center you can see a lathe that is hooked up with a belt to the power generated by the water wheel. With this they could turn newel posts for furniture and the stair railings.

This shows the fine work that went into the building of the pulpits for the temple.

The next building we toured was the Ashery. Here the pioneers brought their hardwood ashes and dumped them in the funnel located to the left of the walk.  Water was then added to leech the chemicals out of the ashes.
Inside there was another wooden funnel and vats to store the liquid made 
from the ashes.  This produced lye which could be concentrated to desired strength.


The lye was boiled down in a large iron tubs to produce potash which was black due to large amount of carbon.

This was then fired in a kiln to remove impurities and produce pearlash.  This was very high in potassium and was useful in making soap and fertilizer.  It had good commercial value and thus provided both employment for newcomers and income for the community. 

Pearlash laid out to cool.


The Newel K. Whitney Store
This and the following pictures show the interior of the Newel K. Whitney Store.  Newel would have been standing at this counter when Joseph Smith first arrived in Kirtland.  As Joseph entered he extended his hand and said, "Newel K. Whitney, thou are the man...."










In the Newel K. Knight Store there was a set of checkers laid out ready for a game.   It was made from dried corn cobs which were cut thin to make the playing pieces.  The different cobs produced pieces of different sizes and colors.



This the Revelation room where Joseph received section 84 through 98 of the Doctrine and Covenants. 

This is the room where The School of the Prophets met. This is the place that Emma had to clean up the mess from cigar butts and chewing tobacco. When she complained to Joseph, he went to the Lord and received the 89th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants. 

This is the room where Joseph Smith III was born.


This is the home of Newel K. Whitney

This is the bedroom where Joseph and Emma stayed when they first arrived in Kirtland




This is the living room of the Newel K. Whitney home

This is the room where Joseph healed the first person in this dispensation, Sister Johnson, of a disabled arm.

This is the Johnson Inn where Joseph set apart apostles, new missionaries and his father as the first patriarch.

This is the bible that Joseph used to to translate the Joseph Smith version of the bible.









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