PRIMARY 5 LESSON 25 THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE IS CONSTRUCTED
from history.lds.org
CLASSROOM PREP
Have a photo of the Kirtland Temple on display either printed out, laptop, etc.
Display D&C 88:119 on the board
Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God
You could also bring in a photo/print/model of your local temple to display
Have "I Love to See the Temple" playing on a laptop in the background...
Have "I Love to See the Temple" playing on a laptop in the background...
OPENING ACTIVITY IDEA #1
Idea from the manual...have the word SACRIFICE written one letter per piece of paper and give it to them scrambled. They have to unscramble and put the letters in the right order to spell the word.
OPENING ACTIVITY IDEA #2
Someone who works in construction could come in at the start and talk about how they build a house or a structure.
Give them questions beforehand to prepare and be sure to give a time limit.
Questions like: How much work is it to build a house? How much work do you think it would be to build a building? What if you’d never done it before?
LESSON
illustrate as much as possible, and use images from LDS.org about kirtland too
In December 1832, the Lord commanded the members to build a temple in Kirtland, Ohio!
He told them to establish…(reference scripture on the board)
They didn’t have a lot of money at all.
How do you think they felt about being commanded to build a huge temple? Nervous about the cost and the work - if they were working on the temple, they wouldn’t have time to earn money for their family
They didn’t start building it right away.
In fact they hadn’t even started it six months later! That’s a pretty long time!
In June 1833, the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that he wasn’t happy with the Saints. They hadn’t followed his commandment!
Have someone read in D&C 95:3 how the Lord felt about it. A grievous sin, etc
How do you think everyone felt when they heard that? Humbled, ashamed, eager to start
Have someone else read D&C 95:11-12
What is promised if they keep the commandment? They shall be blessed with power to build it
And what would happen if they don’t! They lose the power of God’s help and will walk in darkness
They repented and FOUR DAYS LATER they began hauling stone and digging trenches to prepare.
Joseph stood up in a meeting and asked how they thought the temple should be constructed.
Some said logs.
Some said a framed wood structure.
He said, “Shall we, brethren, build a house for our God of logs? No, I have a better plan than that. I have a plan of the house of the Lord, given by himself…”
Who remembers the story of the 3 Little Pigs?
Two of the pigs thought they had the best plan but their houses were too weak. Logs and straw.
The one pig with the stronger house built it out of brick.
This house of the Lord was to be made out of stone.
The plans were shown by vision!
Joseph Smith and his counselors knelt to pray and saw the vision.
First they saw the outside, and then in the vision the building seemed to pass over them and they saw the inside.
The Kirtland Temple wasn’t like today’s temples but rather like a special meetinghouse.
The Lord told them exactly how to build it
Show photos of the Kirtland Temple inside and outside
Details: 110 feet tall, stone, outside walls covered with plaster, inside the seats could turn around and face either side. One side was for Melchizedek Priesthood holders and the other side for Aaronic Priesthood holders.
A lot of sacrifice had to be made!
The men who weren’t on missions were expected to help build the temple.
Joseph Smith himself worked in the quarry to cut the stones. Show images from online
On Saturdays, the men with horses and wagons hauled stone from the quarry to the temple site so on Monday there would be stone already there to work with.
Emma supervised the women in Kirtland who were sewing clothes for the temple workmen.
They also made carpets and curtains.
Everyone worked every day! They also gave all their money to help.
They prayed for help! They really wanted to finish the temple.
The Lord answered their prayers by sending church members to Kirtland who had a lot of money.
They helped pay for things!
They also continued to have persecution.
Mobs tried to destroy it!
Men would work all day on the temple, and then have to stay up all night guarding it with their guns.
Joseph Smith also had to be guarded all day because there were threats against him too.
Members collected broken dishes and glass to be mixed into the plaster so the temple would be more beautiful. When it was finished, the plaster on the outside sparkled when the sun shone on it!
The Lord wanted the temple built so He had a place where heavenly messengers could come restore keys of the Priesthood.
By March 1836 it was ready to be dedicated! We’ll learn about that next week.
TIE-BACK TO THE SCRIPTURE AND VISUALS
use these at your discretion, whatever your class would like to see
i know they will be fascinated to see temples and especially the inside of temples!
Great site that discusses elements of the D&C 88 scripture
https://history.lds.org/story/six-things-to-remember-about-the-kirtland-temple-story
Images of the Kirtland Temple
https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/category/kirtland-ohio-temple?lang=eng
Videos from Mormon Newsroom (owned by the Church):
Mormon Temples overview and discussion and lots of video of various temples
Tour of Paris France Temple
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksZ-oDCBsfU
LEGO HOUSES
Let’s see how we as a class can work together to build a temple!
Bring in a baseplate and Legos, or blocks, or Lincoln Logs
Think ahead to how they might want to construct it, and be sure to have the materials needed. For example, for a roof they may want a second baseplate for the top if using Legos.
Tell them they will build a house together as a class. Challenge them to cooperate as the early Saints did!
Before the roof is on, have D&C 88:119 descriptive phrases written out on separate strips of paper, and use idea from the manual enrichment activity #2 to discuss each.
Talk about ways you can incorporate those into your homes.
As you go through each one, fold it up and put it in the house.
Then when you're all done, add on the roof!
Ideas of what you could discuss for each one:
House of prayer = encouraging/reminding families to pray, saying your own prayers, praying for those in need
House of fasting = thinking about people who are in need, fasting with faith, supporting those in your family who are fasting and not eating in front of them, paying a fast offering
House of faith = how do we show our faith? faith is an action word, so what can you actively do this next week to show your faith or what can you do to gain more faith?
House of learning = Heavenly Father loves us to learn good things, especially the words of the Savior - can you read the scriptures and The Friend?
House of glory = what do you think that means? What does glory mean?
House of order = helping clean up, being responsible for your own things, how do you feel when things are disorganized? Can you have a clear mind?
House of God = what does that mean to you? What would a house of God not feel like? Look like? If you’re not sure your house is a house of God, how can you help it become one? If not now, maybe when you’re an adult?
SACRIFICE FOLLOW-UP
Remember the word we started with? SACRIFICE?
What sacrifices did the everyone make to build the temple? Time, talents, money, energy, family togetherness
What sacrifices can we make right now to help our local temple work get done? Family history to find names, go to the temple when old enough, visit it now to feel the Spirit while on the grounds, being well behaved when babysitters come over so our parents can attend, etc.
TORTILLA MIRACLE STORY
We are so blessed to have a temple close by.
Many many many members around the world do not and they have to sacrifice a lot of time, money, and energy to get to the temple.
Tell this story and have tortillas as a snack while they listen.
Illustrate it to hold their attention, and/or show images of the Guatemala Temple!
TAKE HOME IDEAS
Temple stickers from Deseret Book
D&C 88 print from Deseret Book, Pinterest, or Etsy, etc...or make your own!
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