Kirtland Temple - Shifting Ownership

Shifting Ownership

Smith's time in Kirtland after the temple came into use was limited. In 1837, he became involved with the foundation of a bank known as the Kirtland Safety Society. The failure of this bank was a factor that caused a schism among Latter Day Saints in Kirtland. The dissenters were led by Warren Parrish, Smith's former secretary, and included Martin Harris, one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Parrish's group took control of the temple and other church property. By the beginning of 1838, Smith was forced to flee the state, relocating to Far West, Missouri with hundreds of loyalists. After the Mormons moved west in 1838, the Temple was used by the Western Reserve Teacher's Seminary. Parrish's group dissolved and by 1841 the remaining Latter Day Saints in Kirtland had come back into communion with the main body of the church, which had subsequently relocated to Nauvoo, Illinois.

A period of confusion followed the assassination of Smith in 1844 as rival leaders and factions vied for control of the temple. In 1845, the Kirtland Latter Day Saints under the leadership of S. B. Stoddard, Leonard Rich and Jacob Bump organized their own church in opposition to Brigham Young, James J. Strang and other leaders. This group later merged with a faction led by William E. M'Lellin whose president was David Whitmer, one of the Three Witnesses.

By 1848, another Latter Day Saint faction led by Hazen Aldrich and James Collin Brewster was organized in Kirtland and maintained control of the temple. This faction also dissolved and most of the members who were in Kirtland eventually joined the Community of Christ (then known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, adding the word Reorganized to their name in 1872) led by Joseph Smith III. In 1860, a probate court in Ohio sold the Kirtland Temple as a means of paying off some debts owned by Joseph Smith, Jr.'s estate. Joseph Smith III and Mark Hill Forscutt purchased a quitclaim deed to the temple in 1874.

In 1880, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) (now known as the Community of Christ) began the Kirtland Temple Suit, in an attempt to gain clear legal title to the temple. The court opinion stated that the RLDS Church was the lawful successor of the original church, but ultimately dismissed the case. Although the case had no legal bearing, the Community of Christ secured ownership of the temple through adverse possession by at least 1901.

The local RLDS congregation met in the building on a regular basis for Sunday worship till the 1950s. Due to preservation concerns, a new church was built across the street (for the congregation) and the temple saw more direct management and funding from the world church. Today, the building is used for approximately 50 to 60 worship services, classes, retreats and other special events throughout the year primarily by various Latter Day Saint denominations.

Unlike the later built Nauvoo Temple, the Kirtland Temple was never destroyed or burned down. The same stones from the original construction are still in place today. Although the majority of church members left the Kirtland area for Missouri in 1838, the Kirtland Temple was never completely abandoned by the church. From its inception to the present day it has always been in the possession of members of the Latter Day Saint movement. It has been a place of worship and a symbol of the movement since it was dedicated in 1836.

E. Cecil McGavin claims the temple was used as a barn for their animals. "The ... beneficiaries of the Mormon exodus from Ohio did not need a house of worship as large as the temple, so they used it as a barn. They made a sloping driveway into the basement, using that large room as a shelter for the milch cows of the community during the winter months", "while they filled the ground floor room with sheep"