Kirtland Temple
A temple in Kirtland, Ohio, Kirtland Temple is filed here for what the record attaches to it. The first Mormon temple—1836, still standing. It sits in the archive under religious heritage and local folklore. The dossier holds 1 reported claim, 1 legend and 1 documented fact, with the verified spine filed separately from the lore. The site is open to visitors.
· in your passport — stamped · open it
Is Kirtland Temple haunted?
The record holds 1 claim, 1 legend — filed as reported, not verified. The heaviest filing is classed local folklore. The archive documents the claim; it takes no position on the ghost.
The record — long form
Kirtland Temple is the first temple — the 1836 building the Saints sacrificed to raise in Ohio, where the dedication on March 27 filled the house with what Eliza Snow called 'heavenly manifestations' no mortal language could describe. The revelation commanded it: a house of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, order — the dimensions given by revelation, the cornerstone laid at the southeast corner at noon.
The visions are the record — the dedication day when people saw angels and a pillar of fire on the roof, and April 3, 1836, when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery lowered the veil and, in their account, were visited by Christ, then Moses, Elias, and Elijah, who committed the keys of the dispensations. It's the theological foundation of Mormonism in one room.
The ownership is the schism's — the temple stayed with the Community of Christ (formerly Reorganized Church) for 188 years while the LDS Church went west, and in 2024 the Utah church bought it back — the first temple returned to the faith that built it. The file keeps the temple's continuity: the first House of the Lord, the visions in the pulpits, and the 2024 transfer that made it both denominations' again.
Kirtland Temple is the archive's first file — the 1836 temple where the dedication saw angels and the pulpit visions founded the priesthood, the temple that stayed with the other church for 188 years and came home in 2024.
Why this file matters
Kirtland is the archive's foundation file — the first Latter-day Saint temple, the documented visions that established the theology, and the building that returned to the main church after 188 years.
A temple that returned keeps its pulpits — the file's suggestion being that Kirtland's hold is the Melchizedek pulpits where the veil was lowered: the room where the visions were had, and the temple that's both churches' now.
The Kirtland Temple, located in Kirtland, Ohio, is the first temple built by adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormons, dedicated in March 1836. Joseph Smith, the movement's founder, directed the construction following a series of reported revelations, and the temple showcases a blend of Federal, Greek Revival, and Gothic Revival architectural styles. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1977. The temple is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Prior to March 5, 2024, the temple was owned and operated by Community of Christ (previously known as The Reorg
Kirtland TempleThe record of claims
Reported a presence in the sanctuary. Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio carries the report the way old places do — as part of its identity. Local lore carries the account; no documentation has ever caught up with it. The report is preserved in sources like 'Kirtland Temple'. The figure remains the site's most-repeated sighting.
Reported a presence in the sanctuary. Kirtland Temple in Kirtland, Ohio carries the report the way old places do — as part of its identity. It circulates as local folklore — the kind communities keep rather than verify. Sources including 'Kirtland Temple' keep the claim in circulation. Legends accrue where records go silent; this one filled the gap and stayed.
Documented history
Dedicated 1836; the first LDS temple. A documented history gives the file real substance; this entry is part of that spine. This belongs to the verified spine of the entry, the layer everything else is measured against. Sources including 'Kirtland Temple' carry the record. It's the sort of fact that gives the haunting reports their context.
Verified historyWikipedia
Sources on file
- 01Kirtland TempleWikipedia · encyclopedia · A4
Field notes & open questions
Landmarks batch; VERIFY task auto-queued.