WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — On March 5, in a joint statement, Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the transfer of the Kirtland Temple, as well as other historic buildings and artifacts to the Church of Jesus Christ for $192.5 million.
While most Church members rejoiced, many inside and out of the Church may have wondered why the Church would ever spend such a large sum of money on anything other than humanitarian aid.
Elder Kyle S. McKay, a General Authority Seventy who serves as Church historian and recorder, addressed the topic in an opening keynote lecture before a crowd of hundreds gathered at the 59th annual Mormon History Association conference in northeastern Ohio on Thursday, June 13.
“I was not a decision-maker for this Church,” he said. “But I feel I can speak somewhat of the transaction from the perspective of the Church of Jesus Christ to at least give you partial understanding of why the Church would spend such a large sum of money for the Kirtland Temple and other real and personal property.”
The Mormon History Association is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to the study and understanding of all aspects of Latter-day Saint history.
A tale of two women
Elder McKay began with a story about two women — Nancy Cervi, a Community of Christ pastor, and Sister Sue Grow, who was serving as a Latter-day Saint missionary in Kirtland when the transaction was announced.
A few days after the announcement, Elder McKay visited the Kirtland Temple and neighboring visitors’ center, where he encountered Sister Grow and Cervi.
Cervi was in the process of removing items at the center. She was gracious but seemed uncomfortable. That changed when Sister Grow embraced and wept with her.
“I was deeply moved and taught,” Elder McKay said. “Here was Sue Grow with a historic reason to rejoice, setting it aside so that she could mourn with a dear friend whose cause to mourn was on some level Sue’s cause to rejoice. It was beautiful, even sacred.”
Two weeks later, when the temple reopened for tours, Cervi participated in a tour for local civic and Church leaders. “Not only did she attend the tour, she kindly offered her expertise as an on-the-spot clarifier of facts and questions put to her about the temple,” Elder McKay said.
The two women exemplified mutual respect and Christlike empathy, the Church historian said.
“I continue to marvel at these two women,” he said. “I aspire to the attributes of these two women and invite you to become like Nancy Cervi and Sue Grow, promising and testifying that in so becoming, you will become like Jesus.”
Why buy so high?
Returning to the question of why the Church would pay such an “eye-popping amount” for the Kirtland Temple and other properties, Elder McKay focused on the sacred events of one day — April 3, 1836.
“I cannot think of a single day during the ongoing Restoration when there was more restored than on April 3, 1836,” he said.
On that date, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by Jesus Christ and experienced visions where priesthood keys were conveyed by ancient prophets Moses, Elias and Elijah.
- The keys of the gathering of Israel: Offering the gospel of Jesus Christ to God’s children on both sides of the veil who have not made crucial covenants with God nor received their essential ordinances.
- The dispensation of the gospel of Abraham: Restoring covenants and blessings promised to Abraham, including the promise of eternal life and exaltation.
- The sealing power: Enabling the eternal binding of relationships and the legitimacy of priesthood ordinances, ensuring they are recognized in the hereafter.
Elder McKay summarized the three keys with words from Church President Russell M. Nelson, who taught: “These keys authorized Joseph Smith — and all succeeding presidents of the Lord’s Church — to gather Israel on both sides of the veil, to bless all covenant children with the blessings of Abraham, to place a ratifying seal on priesthood ordinances and covenants, and to seal families eternally. The power of these priesthood keys is infinite and breathtaking.”
The answer to why the Church spent the money is rooted in Latter-day Saint doctrine, Elder McKay said.
“There is little we do in this Church of lasting significance that is not done under the authority of the keys restored on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple,” he said. “Please understand, the Church did not consider itself deficient or incomplete without these historic properties, but these things do provide a magnificent reminder of God’s dealings with His people; they are sacred evidence of the greatest Restoration ever.”
Transformational vision
In a 2003 Mormon History Association conference, Kim L. Loving, an attorney and Community of Christ leader, presented a paper on ownership of the Kirtland Temple.
The premise of his article was that the quiet-title action by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the former name of Community of Christ, for the Kirtland Temple in 1879-80 was primarily an effort to establish the legitimacy of the reorganization as the true continuation of the original Church. Loving contended that the Kirtland Temple “was treasured, not as a sacred space in the church’s quest for transforming the world, but because the very fact of its possession asserted the church’s legitimacy as the true heir of the Restoration.”
After Loving’s death in 2004, an expanded version of his paper was published, advocating for the temple to become a space for spiritual transformation.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hopes to realize Loving’s vision, Elder McKay said.
“It is a vision that aligns with the blessings Joseph Smith prophetically called down from heaven upon all who would be endowed from on high in the Kirtland Temple,” he said.
“My earnest hope and prayer is that we may all emerge from that sacred little temple with some measure of that transformational blessing upon our heads and in our hearts.”
‘Expression of gratitude’
In 1959, President David O. McKay coined the phrase “Every member a missionary.”
Latter-day Saints who visited the Kirtland Temple over the years seemed to have heard, “Every member a negotiator,” said Elder McKay.
“Many felt moved and appointed to ask every Community of Christ tour guide, ‘When are you going to sell us the Kirtland Temple?’ Or worse, ‘When are you going to give us back our temple?’” said Elder McKay, whose next words drew a hearty applause.
“To the hundreds of patient Community of Christ tour guides over the years, especially [Community of Christ apostle] Lachlan Mackay, I offer a genuine expression of gratitude for graciously enduring these inquiries from people who, for the most part, were full of good intent but not so full of good manners.”
