The First Mormon Temple: Design, Construction, and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple

When the Saints dug the foundation trench for their first temple, only 150 members lived in Kirtland. Despite a serious lack of manpower, proper equipment, and funds, the doggedly persisted in building and adorning "a house to the Lord." Both their struggles and aspirations are recorded in the temples structure and architecture.

The Kirtland Temple differed from contemporaneous churches in having two stacked congregation spaces, multiple pulpits, and dividing curtains. Craftsmen worked out these unparalleled details by skillfully adapting known forms to new uses.

For a short time the Kirtland Temple was the site of numerous spiritual manifestations. But dissension, threats, and lawsuits drove the main body of members in Kirtland away, leaving the temple to be used variously as a school, photographer's studio, community center, and church. It was vandalized and neglected until the 1870s, when the RLDS Church could begin long-overdue repairs.

For this definitive study, Robison has thoroughly investigated the temple architecture and structure. He integrates that information with historic photographs and documents to create a new volume.