Sacred Texts: Mormons

Doctrine and Convenants: 109. Prayer offered at the dedication of the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, March 27,

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Section 109 of the Doctrine and Covenants is the dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland Temple, offered by Joseph Smith in 1836 on behalf of the early Latter-day Saint community. It belongs to the genre of liturgical petition — structured supplication addressed directly to God — and draws on biblical prayer traditions, particularly Old Testament covenantal language and New Testament Pentecostal imagery. The prayer's central argument is that the Saints have fulfilled God's commandment to build the temple through sacrifice and poverty, and now ask God to accept it as a sanctified house of worship, learning, and divine presence. Beyond the dedication itself, the prayer intercedes for several distinct groups: the Saints driven from Jackson County, Missouri (seeking restoration of their lands), the scattered remnants of Israel and the Jews (seeking redemption and return to Jerusalem), the nations and rulers of the earth (seeking openness to missionary work), and Joseph Smith personally. A distinctively millennial urgency runs throughout — the prayer frames missionary work, temple-building, and the gathering of Israel as preparation for imminent divine judgment upon the wicked. The text is notable for combining institutional founding (establishing a physical house of worship) with eschatological expectation, presenting the Kirtland Temple as a catalyst for last-days events rather than merely a congregational meeting place.

Doctrine and Convenants: 109. Prayer offered at the dedication of the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, March 27,

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