In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith on June 1, 1833, the Lord directed that a holy house "be built, not after the manner of the world . . . butT after the manner which I shall show unto three of you. . . ." (D&C 95:13-14.)In Temples of the Most High, Elder James E. Talmage wrote: "The people responded to the call with willingness and devotion. In spite of dire poverty and in the face of unrelenting persecution, the work was carried to completion, and in March 1836, the first Temple of modern times was dedicated in Kirtland, Ohio.
"The dedicatory services were marked by Divine manifestations comparable to those attending the offering of the first Temple of olden times; and on later occasions heavenly beings appeared within the sacred precincts with revelations of the Divine will to man. In that place the Lord Jesus was again seen and heard. Within two years from the time of its dedication the Kirtland Temple was abandoned by the people who built it; they were forced to flee because of persecution, and with their departure the sacred Temple became an ordinary house, disowned of the Lord to whose name it had been reared."
The Kirtland Temple now is in possession of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which gives visitors guided tours of the building.