The Know

On March 27, 1836, the first temple of the Lord completed in this dispensation was dedicated in Kirtland, Ohio.1 Joseph Smith recorded that the wording of its dedicatory prayer was given through revelation, and he was additionally assisted by Oliver Cowdery when writing it down.2 That entire prayer is known today as section 109 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

The building of the Kirtland Temple came at a great cost and sacrifice to the Saints, who ensured that it was built with the finest materials available to them at the time. The temple dedication was one of the most anticipated events for the Kirtland Saints. According to historian Karl Ricks Anderson, when Joseph had entered the temple at seven o’clock in the morning, “more than one thousand persons waited near the temple doors.” When the doors were finally opened, “about one thousand people crowded into the main hall,” and overflows had to be set up in the nearby schoolhouse.3

As Damon L. Bahr and Thomas P. Aardema noted, that temple was “designed to hold between 400 and 500 people,” so “every space was utilized, including the pulpit boxes, pew boxes, choir boxes, and even the aisles.”4 Because so many were unable to attend this initial service, Joseph Smith promised the Saints that a second service would be held on Thursday, March 31, and just as many Saints attended that second meeting as did the first.5 The dedication service began at nine in the morning and went until about 4:30 in the afternoon with only a single intermission, though few Saints left the building during this time.6 Central to the afternoon session of the temple dedication was the dedicatory prayer.

Interestingly, another temple dedicatory prayer can be found in scripture—namely, the dedicatory prayer for the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, which appears in 1 Kings 8:22–54 and again in 2 Chronicles 6:12–42. In these parallel accounts, Solomon offers a similar dedicatory prayer to Joseph’s. Indeed, a comparison between these two inspired prayers shows that, in several ways, Solomon and Joseph Smith viewed the temple in a similar light and prayed for many of the same temple blessings to be manifested in the lives of their faithful people.

Interesting similarities are also evident in how Solomon and Joseph Smith prayed. When Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem, he “stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven” (1 Kings 8:22; cf. verse 54). Similarly, in Kirtland Joseph Smith “stood, raised his arms, and with tears running down his cheeks, offered the prayer of dedication.”7 One Latter-day Saint, Sylvia Cutler Webb, was only a child at the dedication but later stated that she could still clearly remember “Joseph the Prophet, standing with his hands raised towards heaven.”8 This method of prayer recalled not only Solomon’s prayer but also a form of prayer often offered at the temple in antiquity.9

Scott C. Esplin noted, “The Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer . . . begins with almost identical wording to the beginning of Solomon’s dedicatory prayer.”10 Both prayers begin by recognizing that the “Lord God of Israel . . . keepest covenant and showest mercy unto thy servants who walk uprightly before thee, with all their hearts” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:1; compare 1 Kings 8:23). With this acknowledgment, these prayers “summarized the relationship among God, His children, and covenants” from the very outset of temple worship in each location.11

Furthermore, “both prayers ask that God’s name be upon the house and its occupants and that the Lord will hear and forgive His people who worship therein,” thereby dedicating not only the house, but all acts of worship that would occur therein.12 Forgiveness is also central to being able to worship in the temple, as only one with “clean hands, and a pure heart” could enter the temple in each dispensation (Psalm 24:4).

Both prayers are also focused on protection from enemies. For the Saints in Kirtland, this was especially relevant: many had only recently been forcefully expelled from their homes in Jackson County by an angry mob.13 Thus, Joseph prayed for both spiritual and temporal protection for the Saints, asking that they “may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them” and that the Lord would protect the Saints should anyone rise up against them (Doctrine and Covenants 109:22; see verses 23–33). Solomon likewise prayed that should the Israelites ever go out to battle, “hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause” (1 Kings 8:44–45).

Additionally, both prayers also recognized that the temple was a place where Israel could be gathered. Although the twelve tribes of Israel were a unified kingdom when Solomon built his temple, he recognized that the people could still sin and be carried into foreign lands as captives (see 1 Kings 8:46). If that should ever happen and the people were to repent, he prayed that Israel could again be gathered (see 1 Kings 47–53). Joseph Smith similarly prayed that the Saints would go forth from the temple to gather Israel and that Jerusalem and the sons of Jacob would be redeemed, the yoke of bondage removed from the house of David, and the children of Judah enabled to return to their lands (see Doctrine and Covenants 109:54–67).

Both temples were also built to perfect the Lord’s people and prepare them for His coming. Joseph specifically prayed that the Saints would be enabled to be clothed “with robes of righteousness, with palms in our hands, and crowns of glory upon our heads, and reap eternal joy for all our sufferings” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:76; see verses 71–80). Similarly, after his prayer Solomon turned to offer a priestly blessing on the people, blessing them that they might “walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. . . . Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day” (1 Kings 8:58, 61).

Finally, both temple dedications were also accompanied with sacred ordinances—Solomon and the Israelites offered sacrifices, and the Saints in Kirtland partook of the sacrament in memory of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. Following the temple dedication, both Solomon and Joseph Smith were given blessings of power. For Joseph, this included the reception of priesthood keys from trusted angelic messengers just a week later, on April 3, 1836.14

The Why

As President Russell M. Nelson explained, the similarities between these two dedicatory prayers are not by coincidence: “[the temple of Solomon’s] dedicatory prayer [provides] patterns that are employed for temples today.”15 Thus, future temple dedications likewise followed the pattern established by Solomon’s temple and, later, the Kirtland Temple. Esplin explained,

The dedicatory prayer, given by revelation (D&C 109), set the pattern for prayers at subsequent temple dedications. It was written out and then read by the Prophet, perhaps so that it would be delivered word for word in each of the two dedicatory services. . . . Subsequent temple dedicatory prayers have included ideas similar to those revealed by the Lord at Kirtland. Supplications for protection were typical, but several of the prayers reflected unique local circumstances.16

Other aspects of temple dedications have also been shaped by the Kirtland Temple. As Richard O. Cowan observed, “Dedicatory prayers have been followed by the sacred Hosanna Shout, which is an expression of joyous praise” accompanied by waving white handkerchiefs in the air.17 Another precedent for temple dedications that Kirtland established includes singing the hymn “The Spirit of God,” a hymn specifically written for the Kirtland Temple dedication and that “has been sung at the dedication of every temple” since that time.18

In initiating the restoration of temple worship, it is noteworthy how closely the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer followed the ancient pattern established by Solomon. Though each subsequent temple dedication and dedicatory prayer could be adapted to local circumstances as needed, the ancient pattern recorded in the Bible and followed by Joseph Smith is still utilized in each service, with each dedicatory prayer likewise available for the Saints to read, ponder, and study.19

Ultimately, the temple has been and continues to be a place where God’s children are able to make sacred covenants with the Father and prepare to return to His presence. Esplin noted, “The Old Testament and modern revelation instruct us that temples and temple worship are central to the plan of salvation, across all ages of time. . . . Ordinances necessary for salvation today are the same as in any age of the world. These include temple covenants.”20 Through the restoration of temples initiated in Kirtland, God’s children are once again enabled to make those covenants today.