Dedicatory Prayers- Solomon's Temple and Kirtland

As the Kirtland Temple was nearing completion, Joseph Smith was given the task of composing the Dedicatory Prayer. Can you even imagine being given an assignment like that? What steps would you take to begin the project?

I believe I would do a little research before I even started. Perhaps that is exactly what Joseph Smith did. The only other Dedicatory Prayer for a temple that could have been used for a reference at that time, was the one given by King Solomon. The Dedicatory Prayer offered to the Lord regarding Solomon’s Temple was recorded twice in the Old Testament, in 2 Chronicles Chapter 6, and 1 Kings Chapter 8.

It is interesting to note that both of the Dedicatory Prayers, Solomon’s and Kirtland, started in a similar fashion.

1 Kings 8:23 And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

Doctrine and Covenants 109:1 Thanks be to thy name, O Lord God of Israel, who keepest covenant and showest mercy unto thy servants who walk uprightly before thee, with all their hearts—

Not only are the words similar, but they are similar in form too. The very beginning of both of the prayers reminds the Lord of the promises that He made to them for obedience to His command to build the Temple. They prove their worthiness by way of sacrifice to “bind” the Lord to bless them further.

1 Kings 8:24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.

25 Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.

26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.

Doctrine and Covenants 109:2 Thou who hast commanded thy servants to build a house to thy name in this place [Kirtland].

3 And now thou beholdest, O Lord, that thy servants have done according to thy commandment.

4 And now we ask thee, Holy Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of thy bosom, in whose name alone salvation can be administered to the children of men, we ask thee, O Lord, to accept of this house, the workmanship of the hands of us, thy servants, which thou didst command us to build.

In other words, they basically say, we have done what you have asked, now fulfill your promise to us for doing it. This reminder, of the law of obedience and sacrifice, allows them to further petition the Lord for the promised blessings that are attached to that law. What would those blessings be?

Doctrine and Covenants 95:8 Yea, verily I say unto you, I gave unto you a commandment that you should build a house, in the which house I design to endow those whom I have chosen with power from on high;

1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

29 That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

Doctrine and Covenants 109:5 For thou knowest that we have done this work through great tribulation; and out of our poverty we have given of our substance to build a house to thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people.

The Lord instructed both groups of people to build a house. This house would be a place that they would be “endowed” with additional power from on high. It would be a place for the Lord to “put His name” and a place for Him to manifest himself to his people. These blessings, and many more, were desired because of the consecrated efforts and sacrifices they had made to build the house.

Another thing I thought was interesting was the similarity that Joseph Smith had with King Solomon in regard to giving the actual prayer.

2 Chronicles 6:12 And he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands:

13 For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven,

It is recorded that Joseph Smith also delivered the prayer with both of his hands raised toward Heaven.

This brief discussion of the comparison of the two prayers is simply the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to similarities. I believe that by studying both of these inspired Dedicatory Prayers, side by side, insights of beauty unfold right before one’s eyes. How grateful I am to have them recorded so that I can do just that.

Have you seen any other similarities in these Dedicatory Prayers? If you have...please share them in the comments.

Sacred Temples Are Not A New Idea

Temple worship is really not a new concept. If one looks carefully for it, it can be seen in the scriptures as early as The Garden of Eden itself.

The prophet Ezekiel actually compares The Garden of Eden to The Mountain of the Lord in Chapter 28.

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

The next Temple experience can be easily discerned in the description of Jacob’s ladder, or El Bethel, which literally means “The Temple”.

Genesis 28: 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Jesus Christ promised His disciples this same temple experience in John 1, as He explained that He would be the way to open heaven and to introduce them to His father who was in heaven.

51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

Moses had a Temple experience as he ascended the mountain called Horeb, known as the Mountain of the Lord. As Moses sought to bring the Children of Israel into the presence of the Lord, they rebelled and worshiped the Golden Calf. The consequence of their broken covenant was the inability to be in the presence of the Lord and so the Tabernacle was constructed as a mediatory place of worship or a place of learning until they were worthy of a Temple.

David desired to build that Temple but was refused the right because he was a “man of war”. Solomon, who represented “peace”, was the actual builder of the Temple for the Children of the Lord. In the Temple built by Solomon the “glory of the Lord” was exhibited.

2^nd Chronicles 7: 1 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.

2 And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.

3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

During the reign of Rehoboam, king of Judah, the Egyptian empire took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the temple became defiled. Ultimately it was completely burned to the ground by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.

Historically when the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonian Empire, King Cyrus who was the king of Persia, allowed the Children of Israel to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the Temple of the Lord.

Ezra 6:5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.

This rebuilt Temple is commonly known as the Temple of Zarubbabel. Although the Lord accepted the offering of the Temple as in the days of the Tabernacle of Moses, the glory that was felt there was not the same as was felt in the Temple built by Solomon. In Haggai chapter 2 it is recorded,

3 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:

5 According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.

6 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;

7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.

9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.

Even though the “glory” of the Lord was not exhibited in this temple or in the subsequent temple that Herod rebuilt, which is the Temple in operation during the time of Christ, the promise that the Lord gave of a “latter house” whose glory will be even greater than that of the Temple built by Solomon, was finally fulfilled with the building of His Temple in this last dispensation, the Kirtland Temple.

The description of the Kirtland Temple dedication as received in Section 109 of the Doctrine and Covenants reveals that once again the Heavens “shook” and the Law of the Lord was restored, creating a Latter Day Temple with an even greater degree of glory than that of the Temple built by Solomon.

The description of the Dedication is as follows:

“The dedication was set for Sunday March 27, 1836 after everything was cleaned up and ready, The doors promptly opened at 8:00 AM. Nearly one thousand people had gathered there waiting to get in. Some had to be turned away. They sang some songs written by some of the brethren; Sidney Rigdon offered a prayer and then spoke for two and one half hours. They then sustained the general authorities. The prophet Joseph then arose and offered the dedicatory prayers Among other things he said: "Thou hast commanded thy servants to build a house to thy name in this place. And now thou beholdest O Lord, that thy servants have done according to thy commandment...thou knowest that we have done this work through great tribulation; and out of poverty we have given our substance to build a house to thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself...And now, Holy Father, we ask thee to assist us, thy people with thy grace, in calling our solemn assembly, that it may be done to thy honor and to thy divine acceptance...And in a manner that we may be found worthy, in thy sight, to secure a fulfillment of the promises which thou hast made unto us, thy people, in the revelation given unto us that thy glory may rest down upon the people, and upon thy house, which we now dedicate to thee...And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with power which thou hast ordained to be poured out upon those who shall reverence thee in thy house... Let it be fulfilled upon them, as upon those on the day of Pentecost; let the gift of tongues be poured out upon thy people, even cloven tongues of fire, and the interpretation thereof. And let the house be filled, as with a rushing mighty wind with thy glory...That all the ends of the earth may know that we, thy servants, have heard thy voice, and that thou hast sent us." (DC 109: 2,3,10-12,22,36,37)

“One week after the dedication, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery "standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit," and accepted the Kirtland Temple. After the appearance of the Savior, other heavenly beings appeared to Joseph & Oliver including Moses, Elias, and Elijah, each committing the keys of their respective dispensation unto them.”

Once again the Temple work of old has begun again, new. The authority has been given to administer in the ordinances thereof, by those who hold the priesthood keys, and the work of the Lord has begun to come forth, restored and authorized, within the walls of the LDS Temples of God. This is a sacred work and, as is labeled on the doors of the Salt Lake Temple itself, one that is described as “Holiness to the Lord.”