LDS Inc buys Kirtland Temple from Mormon rivals for $192 million

[Moksha]

"It will not be converted into a functioning Latter-day Saint temple."

The ordinances had not even been discovered at the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge. I imagine there will be a rededication at least equivalent to a regional office for Zions Bank.

[I Have Questions]

It’s a historic place. It’s where Joseph cost members their livelihoods in the Kirtland Bank fiasco. It’s where members left the church in droves. It’s where Martin Harris excommunicated Joseph. I wonder if the parcel includes the barn where Joseph was caught fornicating with Fanny Alger…

[I Have Questions]

Peterson claims credit…

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... r-day.html

[Kishkumen]

Wow! Yikes! This is kinda sad all around. The CoC must be doing really poorly to be forced to sell the Kirtland Temple. I think DCP is right in saying that the LDS Church is the right owner, when you consider the other options out there. Yeah, I don't see other options out there. And, whatever their faults, and there are many, the LDS Church is committed to maintaining temples. I just hope the LDS Church maintains the building's historical integrity and does not gut it to turn it into a working temple.

[Markk]

Wow! Yikes! This is kinda sad all around. The CoC must be doing really poorly to be forced to sell the Kirtland Temple. I think DCP is right in saying that the LDS Church is the right owner, when you consider the other options out there. Yeah, I don't see other options out there. And, whatever their faults, and there are many, the LDS Church is committed to maintaining temples. I just hope the LDS Church maintains the building's historical integrity and does not gut it to turn it into a working temple.

By law they can't gut it, it is on the register. But since when do they follow the law?

[Tom]

Peterson claims credit…

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... r-day.html

I feel inspired to quote the Proprietor's post:

For its first several years, the old Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, or FARMS — the forerunner of what then became the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and, organizationally speaking, of the post-2012 Maxwell Institute — was a fairly humble little operation running on a shoestring budget.

Then we received a huge donation, several orders of magnitude greater than anything we had ever received before.

The big question was what to do with it.

One suggestion, advanced only half-seriously, was to make an offer to purchase the Kirtland Temple from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also now known as the Community of Christ. I was the one who made the suggestion.

We knew that they were in financial difficulties, and we had watched as they had distanced themselves more and more from Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. More to the point, one of their officials — a paid employee, not one of their ecclesiastical leaders — had actually approached us for a donation to cover much-needed repairs to the building. (He had apparently gotten wind of the huge donation.)

So I suggested, half in jest, that we offer to buy it altogether.

A prominent leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now deceased, somehow heard of that idea all the way up in Salt Lake City, and called down to tell us that it was inappropriate for a rogue band of scholars to own a temple.

Hmm. The names of a few leaders come to mind.

But, of course, we were fully aware of that. My idea, to the extent that it was serious at all, wasn’t that we would own it. My thought, rather, was that the Reorganized Church might not want to sell the Kirtland Temple directly to the Utah Church, but that, as a face-saving measure, they might perhaps be willing to sell it to a third party. And, if we were that third party, my notion (again only half serious, if that) was that we would immediately turn around the next day and transfer ownership of the temple in Kirtland to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its proper custodian.

I, too, didn’t think it appropriate for private people or a private organization to own a temple. But, I thought, if we needed more money in order to complete the transaction, we would be able to raise the necessary sum within twenty-four to thirty-six hours at the most. There would be such enthusiasm among the membership that it would be an easy pitch. In fact, I doubted that a pitch would even be required at all.

Nothing came of the matter, of course. But I’ve never lost my hope that, someday, the Kirtland Temple, where so many important events had occurred and where so many divine manifestations had been received, would again belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I've asked the Cassius archivist to preserve this remarkable account of a curious episode in Mopologetics history.

I do wonder why the money wasn't used to build the FARMS ziggurat. Alternatively, FARMS could have purchased the Kirtland temple, moved it by truck to Provo, and contracted with E. C. Construction Company to reconstruct the temple into a ziggurat. (I suspect that D. Peterson would have been hired to handle the water witching on the property.)

[Doctor Steuss]

Looking through the document list, as well as the real estate lots/plots and buildings, I can't help but wonder what some of this stuff would have realized at auction. I think the price tag shows that the CoC was looking to ensure these items were preserved, and kept "available" more-so than to cash in. Conversely, I can't help but feel like the LDS church got the much (much) better end of the deal.

[Kishkumen]

I have learned from a reliable source that the LDS Church has only committed to keep the Kirtland Temple as a publicly accessible historical site for 15 years. This is sad, sad news. Looks like the LDS Church may very well turn this into a working temple after that.

[Tom]

I have learned from a reliable source that the LDS Church has only committed to keep the Kirtland Temple as a publicly accessible historical site for 15 years. This is sad, sad news. Looks like the LDS Church may very well turn this into a working temple after that.

The CoC website has this FAQ:

Will we still have access to the Kirtland and Nauvoo historic sites in the future?

Yes. Beginning March 25, 2024, public access will remain for the Kirtland Temple, the Joseph Smith Family Homestead, the Mansion House, the Red Brick Store, and the Nauvoo House. We have a specific contractual agreement with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that extends for fifteen years. Beyond the contractual agreement we have received confirmation of the intention of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that they plan to continue to make these sites available to the public at no charge.

Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have maintained a collaborative relationship over the years. We have received assurance that this spirit of collaboration will continue with the same hospitality into the future.

Provisions have been made for Community of Christ groups to have exclusive special meetings or gatherings in Kirtland or Nauvoo. These exclusive events must be scheduled in advance through Community of Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will provide opportunity for up to six meetings or gatherings per year. These meetings or gatherings will be consistent with what is done for their own membership.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

Chances are 100% that the Church will eventually make the Kirtland temple a functioning temple (although, the way things are going, there will not be many members left in the U.S. in 15 years). The Church will build a visitor's center on the grounds which will be open to the public. Problem solved.