The First Mormon Temple: Design, Construction, and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple

by Elwin Clark Robison

When the Mormon Saints dug the foundation trench for their first temple, only 150 members lived in Kirtland, Ohio. Despite a serious lack of manpower, proper equipment, and funds, they doggedly persisted in building and adorning "a house to the Lord." Both their struggles and their aspirations are recorded in the temple's structure and architecture.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Religion

216 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1997

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book mostly covers the construction and architectural detail of the Mormon temple in Kirtland, Ohio. His facts are mostly accurate, though he writes with a really strong LDS bias in certain areas that made this an uncomfortable read for me in places. He also, in my opinion, uses a really unexpected and unnecessary narrative voice that's kind of jarring and doesn't fit with the rest of the book. Overall, this is helpful and informative to people who are really interested in Mormon history, particularly that of the Kirtland Temple era.