Kirtland Temple: The Biography of a Shared Mormon Sacred Space by David J. Howlett (review)

Kirtland, Ohio, occupies a unique place in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It saw the growth of Joseph Smith’s fledgling church into a cohesive group that was reinforced by immigrants from Great Britain. Yet it was the site of a major apostasy and economic disaster, and ultimately saw the departure of the main body of the Saints to Missouri and points west. But Kirtland was also the site of the first LDS temple, which still stands as a monument to the faith of the early Saints.

David J. Howlett has written a remarkable history of the temple, coming to his subject as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (now the Community of Christ). He has been a tour guide at the temple, and grew up understanding the sacred nature of the building.

Howlett approaches his subject as an example of “parallel pilgrimage,” explaining how the Utah-based LDS church and the RLDS church have at times competed, and other times cooperated, in sharing the sacred space of the Kirtland Temple.

He gives us the historical context for the temple: how it came to be built (at the command of God, complete with revealed design) and how it came to be abandoned, leaving it to be defiled and eventually to fall into the hands of the Reorganized Church, a group that refused to follow Brigham Young, insisting that the presidency of the church should follow the bloodline of Joseph Smith’s descendants. The Reorganized Church, after taking ownership through adverse possession, posted a sign in the temple that said, in part, “We … have no affiliation with the Mormons whatever. They are to us an apostate people, working all manner of abomination before God and man. … Let this be distinctly understood: we are not Mormons. Truth is truth, wherever it is found” (38).

When this sign was put up, the Utah Mormons were struggling to survive in the Salt Lake valley, and had no interest in retaining control of the Kirtland building. The LDS church didn’t begin to show interest until later when members began to tour eastern church history sites. With the 1950s tourism boom, church leaders began to look at historic sites as missionary opportunities. They began to develop the area around Palmyra, New York, before the war, and now increased their efforts, building visitors’ centers and restoring historic places where missionaries could contact thousands of visitors every summer.

Howlett concludes that the two groups coexist by deliberately misunderstanding each other. He says, “The religious meaning of the Kirtland Temple does not have to be the same for Community of Christ guides and LDS pilgrims to worship with one another or to take tours together. People talk past one another and yet still engage in satisfying sharing and cooperation at a common sacred site …” (217).

The book is well written and adds to our understanding of a uniquely American religion’s history, as well as a unique place in Ohio. It deserves a place in any comprehensive library of American history.