| 33 CHAPTER 2.
1836.
SUNDAY, March 27, 1836, was a great day in Kirtland, for on that day the temple was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. Considering the circumstances of the people, the erection of this building was a wonderful accomplishment. How the people's hearts must have swelled for joy when they beheld completed this house which they had builded by so much toil, suffering, and sacrifice! It stands to-day a magnificent monument of the industry, liberality, and faithfulness of a humble but devoted people. It is a splendid illustration of what earnest men and women can do, even under the most adverse and discouraging circumstances, when they possess the will and determination.
This historic building stands on elevated ground south of the east fork of the Chagrin River about three miles southeast of Willoughby, Ohio, about nine miles southwest of Painesville, and about six miles in direct line from Lake Erie.
The building is built of stone, plastered without and within. It is three stories high exclusive of the basement.
The first and second stories are auditoriums, each fifty-five by sixty-five feet on the inside, exclusive of the vestibule on the east end, through which is the entrance to the building, and in which are the stairways. The lower room was to be dedicated for "sacrament offering, and for your preaching; and your fasting, and your praying, and the offering up your most holy desires unto me, saith your Lord." The second room was to be dedicated for the school of the apostles. In each of these rooms are eight pulpits,
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