Class Member Study Guide: Lesson 30
Doctrine & Covenants 2
Doctrine & Covenants 124:25-55
Doctrine & Covenants 127
Doctrine & Covenants 128
Joseph Smith History: Pages 36-39
Our Heritage: Pages 58-61
THE LORD TAUGHT JOSEPH SMITH ABOUT WORK FOR DEAD VERY EARLY
In the Joseph Smith History we find this very early account of the Lord instructing a seventeen year old Joseph Smith about the importance of binding fathers and children together long before the church was organized or the priesthood restored. Joseph receives this instruction on the 21st of September 1823 from the angel Moroni. Pay particular attention to verse 39 in which our stewardship to forge chains with our ancestors is outlined.
37 For
behold, the day cometh
that shall burn as an
oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble;
for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall
leave them neither root nor branch.
36 After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi; and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:
38 And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
39 He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.
President
Gordon B. Hinckley commented on the Angel Moroni's teaching:
“It is tremendously significant to me that … this repetition of the wondrous words of Malachi concerning the work for the dead, was given to the boy Joseph four years before he was allowed to take the plates from the hill. It was given before he received either the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood, before he was baptized, and well before the Church was organized. It says much concerning the priority of this work in the plan of the Lord” (“A Century of Family History Service,” Ensign, Mar. 1995, 61).
The Nauvoo Temple
Undated Photograph of the Nauvoo Temple.
Probably taken sometime between 1846 and 1848 when the temple was burned by arsonists. A later 1850 Tornado felled most of the temple.
Excavated Temple Site
Reconstructed Nauvoo Temple
Construction took more than five years (January 1841 to May 1846) and required the efforts of many craftsmen who, because of the shortage of capital, either donated their labor as tithing or were paid with food, clothing, furniture, and other contributions of the Saints.
Here are some
important dates in the history of the Nauvoo Temple
19 Jan. 1841: Revelation commanding that the temple
be built (D&C 124) was received.
6 Apr. 1841: Cornerstones were laid.
8 Nov. 1841: Basement rooms and baptismal font
were dedicated.
21 Nov. 1841: First baptisms were
performed.
5 Oct. 1845: General conference was held in the
assembly room of the temple.
10 Dec. 1845–7 Feb. 1846: Endowments were given.
8 Feb. 1846: Informal dedication was held by
Brigham Young prior to leaving for the West.
30 Apr. 1846: Temple was privately dedicated;
Joseph Young, Senior President of the Seventy offered the dedicatory prayer.
1 May 1846: Official prayer of dedication of the
Nauvoo Temple was offered by Orson Hyde.
9 Oct. 1848: Interior of the temple was burned by
an arsonist.
27 May 1850: Tornado demolished three of the
exterior walls.
1856: Last remaining wall
was leveled for safety reasons.
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In addition to the baptistry in the
basement, the Nauvoo Temple had two main assembly rooms on the second and third
floors with offices in the half stories on each side of the central arch. The assembly rooms had a series of
pulpits at each end similar to those in the Kirtland Temple. Reversible benches
allowed the worshipers to face either direction, according to the purpose of
meeting. Meetings were often held here. The
attic floor was devoted to offices and dressing and ordinance rooms.
The building was 128 feet long, 88 feet
wide, and 60 feet from ground level to roof.
The tower was another 98 1/2 feet above the eaves. It was constructed
primarily of gray limestone from several
quarries in the vicinity. Among its unique features were the sun, moon, and
star stones decorating the thirty pilasters and the frieze.
