Elder McKay Explains Why the Church Purchased the Kirtland Temple 

Well said!

☝️ THIS! ☝️

❤

I would have added a heart to your comment if possible. It is beautifully said. And I too believe 100% that what Joseph, Oliver, and other members of the Church witnessed both on the day of dedication, March 27, 1836 and the day of Passover, April 3, 1836 when Elijah the Prophet, The Savior, and others restored keys of sealing power and other ordinances, that had been prophesied, did in actuality occur as the Saints proclaimed.

Besides The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has spent over 1 billion dollars a year the last few years on humanitarian aid. And that is not to mention the millions of dollars spent to help people get an education through the Pathway World program that people would not be able to get without that program. I also know (because my husband and I served a mission as Education Specialists in a third world country) that there are programs to help children be education grades kindergarten through grade 12 in countries where the government cannot afford to educate the youth there like our children get here in the USA. I do not understand why people feel the Church needs to spend more on humanity when other than the Catholic Church there really isn't any other Church that spends as much as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does on humanitarian efforts across the world.

That will all happen as the Saints become worthy to receive those blessings.

Wow! I vote for that!

That's only partially accurate. I was there 6 years ago. The COC does not acknowledge or mention the most important events that happened in this temple and that was Christ returning and the other key prophets of old that followed Him with administering their keys on to Joseph. The "old guard" would be useless at this point.

You are misguided in your understanding of what the Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are telling of the history of Kirtland Temple. I am not sure why you said they tell little more than the bulleted facts on a guide card, because I am sure you have never seen a missionary at the Kirtland Temple use a card since they don't use them. First off the Community of Christ, who did do a wonderful job of telling the physical part of the history, that part of the tour truly has not changed, we still hear ALL the physical history of the building told very beautifully. But then the Community of Christ was unable to get anyone to tell even the physical history because they could not pay the guides. I have been to the Kirtland Temple many times while under the direction of the Community of Christ, they did do a good job of telling the physical part of the building and of course always let those who came to see the Temple sing the hymn, "The Spirit of God." I have been 4 times since COVID. The first time I went after COVID when everything in Kirtland and across the USA was again open to the public. I was saddened that we were unable to go into the Kirtland temple because they had no one who was willing to be guides, since the Community of Christ could no longer pay anyone to give tours. I have been three times since that first time after COVID. Twice I was able to go on tour in the Temple because volunteer Return Senior Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (they had served missions and were finished with their mission) were the guides. They of course did have to sign wavers that they would only tell the partial history the paid Community of Christ guides had told and not the full history of that Temple, but they did not use guide cards even when under the direction of the Community of Christ! We did of course still pay the fee, but the guides were volunteer so Community of Christ was able to continue maintenance and upkeep of the Temple grounds and building. The last time I was there was 2 weeks ago, on June 4, 2024. (I live over 1600 miles from Kirtland in Wyoming so can't go as often as I would like) We not only heard ALL of the physical history as told by the Community of Christ guides, as well as The Church of Jesus Christ volunteer guides, who had served there under restrictions, that I had always heard, we also got to hear and see where events happened that the Community of Christ never mentioned. Of course the tour is now free of charge, and it is longer because the history is more complete. It was never going to be "bulleted facts." That would have been too cold in a house as sacred as the Kirtland Temple.

​@@VaLynne1 Thank you very much for taking so much time to share these experiences and this knowledge and clarification

Presiding Melchizedek High Priesthood

It was owned by the Community of Christ, which is the church that separated itself from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints back when Joseph Smith was martyred. Most of the members of the church at the time recognized Brigham Young as the church's new leader and followed him west to Utah, while some of those who did not instead believed that Joseph Smith's son (Joseph Smith III) was the correct successor for his father. Because they never went west they were able to hang onto and/or obtain several historical sites and artifacts that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints did not. It's my understanding that they've recently been facing some financial strains, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has not. And they knew that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has always wanted it, would take excellent care of it, and some agreements were made about making sure that they'd still have access to the building, so the sale works out to be a win/win for all sides.