“Lesson 26: The Kirtland Temple Is Dedicated,” Primary 5: Doctrine and Covenants and Church History (1997), 139–46
“Lesson 26,” Primary 5, 139–46
Lesson 26
The Kirtland Temple Is Dedicated
Purpose
To help the children understand that priesthood keys giving authority to do missionary and temple work were restored in the Kirtland Temple.
Preparation
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Prayerfully study Doctrine and Covenants 109:1–16 (part of the dedicatory prayer given at the Kirtland Temple); Doctrine and Covenants 110; and the historical account given in this lesson. Then study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the scriptural and historical accounts. (See “Preparing Your Lessons,” pp. vi–vii, and “Teaching the Scriptural and Historical Accounts,” pp. vii–ix.)
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Additional reading: The rest of Doctrine and Covenants 109 and Gospel Principles (31110), chapter 14.
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Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will involve the children and best help them achieve the purpose of the lesson.
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Materials needed:
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A Doctrine and Covenants for each child.
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Several keys of different sizes and shapes (if actual keys are unavailable, draw several keys on the chalkboard before class).
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Picture 5-15, John the Baptist Conferring the Aaronic Priesthood (Gospel Art Picture Kit 407; 62013); picture 5-16, Melchizedek Priesthood Restoration (Gospel Art Picture Kit 408; 62371); picture 5-25, Kirtland Temple (Gospel Art Picture Kit 500; 62431).
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Suggested Lesson Development
Invite a child to give the opening prayer.
Enrichment Activities
You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge.
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To help the children understand their responsibilities as members of the Church to preach the gospel and participate in temple ordinances, make a copy for each child of the worksheet found at the end of the lesson. Give the children pencils and have them complete the worksheet. (If it is not feasible to make a copy for each child, copy the worksheet onto the chalkboard and have the children complete it together.) Discuss the answers as a class. (Answers: 1-gospel; 2-temple; 3-sealed; 4-forever; 5-temple work; 6-eternity.)
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Have the children perform the following readers’ theater to help them understand the keys that were restored in the Kirtland Temple. The script is written for eight participants (Moses, Elias, Elijah, Joseph Smith, and four unnamed speakers); divide or combine parts as needed for the number of children in your class. You may want to make name tags for the participants. Have the children read their lines in order (you may want to make copies of the script).
Speaker 1:
In the Kirtland Temple, ancient prophets restored priesthood keys to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
Speaker 2:
These keys give the leaders of the Church power and authority to direct missionary work and temple work.
Moses:
My name is Moses. I am a prophet of God.
Speaker 3:
Moses was born in Egypt and was raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter.
Speaker 4:
One day while Moses was tending sheep, God spoke to him from a burning bush.
Moses:
God told me to gather the children of Israel in Egypt and lead them to the promised land.
Joseph Smith:
I am Joseph Smith. Moses appeared to Oliver Cowdery and me in the Kirtland Temple. He gave us the priesthood keys he held to gather Israel.
Speaker 1:
Because the keys for the gathering were restored, today millions of people in the world are being gathered to the Church by missionaries.
Speaker 2:
Abraham was also a prophet. God promised Abraham that through his children all nations of the earth would be blessed with the gospel and the priesthood. God gave Abraham and his children the responsibility to bring the blessings of the gospel to all the world.
Speaker 3:
Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons, whose families became the twelve tribes of Israel. Every Church member belongs to one of the tribes of Israel.
Speaker 4:
As members of Abraham’s family, we want to help everyone on the earth be baptized and sealed in the temple. Then, if we are faithful, we can live eternally with our righteous family members and with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith:
Elias appeared in the Kirtland Temple and gave Oliver and me the keys to the blessings of Abraham.
Speaker 1:
Now when people join the Church, they can receive the same blessings of the gospel that Abraham was given.
Elijah:
My name is Elijah. I am a prophet. I lived in Israel in Old Testament times.
Speaker 2:
God told Elijah that whatever he sealed on earth would also be sealed in heaven.
Elijah:
I was the last prophet on the earth to hold the keys of the sealing power of the Melchizedek Priesthood before the time of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 3:
With the sealing power, a man and a woman can be united as husband and wife, and families can be sealed together for this life and for eternity in holy temples.
Joseph Smith:
Elijah restored the priesthood keys of the sealing power to Oliver and me in the Kirtland Temple.
Speaker 4:
Because these keys were restored, righteous families can live together forever.
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With the approval of your Primary president, ask members of a family who have recently been sealed to come to class and take three to five minutes to tell the children about how they prepared to go to the temple and how they felt when they were sealed as a family.
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Share an experience you have had attending a temple dedication or visiting a temple. (With the approval of your Primary president, you may want to ask someone in your ward or branch who has attended a temple dedication to talk to the children about his or her experience.) Invite the children to share experiences they have had with temples.
You may want to relate the following experience of Sylvia Cutler Webb, who as a young girl was present at the Kirtland Temple dedication:
“One of my earliest recollections was the dedication of the [Kirtland] Temple. My father took us up on his lap and told us why we were going and what it meant to dedicate a house to God. And although so very young at that time, I clearly remember the occasion. I can look back through the lapse of years and see as I saw then Joseph the Prophet, standing with his hands raised towards heaven, his face ashy pale, the tears running down his cheeks as he spoke on that memorable day. Almost all seemed to be in tears. The house was so crowded the children were mostly sitting on older people’s laps; my sister sat on father’s, I on my mother’s lap. I can even remember the dresses we wore. My mind was too young at that time to grasp the full significance of it all, but as time passed it dawned more and more upon me, and I am very grateful that I was privileged to be there” (quoted in Karl Ricks Anderson, Joseph Smith’s Kirtland: Eyewitness Accounts [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1989], pp. 182–83).
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Sing or say the words to “The Spirit of God” (Hymns, no. 2) or “Families Can Be Together Forever” (Children’s Songbook, p. 188).
Conclusion
Testimony
Express your gratitude to Heavenly Father for restoring the priesthood keys of missionary work and sealing ordinances to the earth. Help the children understand that because of the events that took place in the Kirtland Temple, they and their families can be members of the Church and have the opportunity to be sealed together as families. You may want to share your feelings about being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and knowing that your family is or can be sealed to you for eternity.
Suggested Home Reading
Suggest that the children study Doctrine and Covenants 110 at home as a review of this lesson.
Suggested Family Sharing
Encourage the children to share with their families a specific part of the lesson, such as a story, question, or activity, or to read with their families the “Suggested Home Reading.”
Invite a child to give the closing prayer.