The Past and Future of the Temple Lot in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri

Abstract: Fifteen months after the Church of Christ’s inception in April 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation indicating that Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, was to be the “center-place” of Zion Dedication of the spot for the millennial temple soon followed on August 3, 1831. A building sketch was prepared in June 1833. Smith also forwarded his plat for the City of Zion. Tragically, the church was driven out of Jackson County only months later. Reclaiming the Temple Lot became an early driving force for the membership of the church. While contemplating what to do, given the reality of their situation, Smith received a revelation to “wait for a little season, for the redemption of Zion.” That poignant phrase — “the redemption of Zion” — became a tenet of the church thereafter. In the following years, three independent expressions of the Restoration returned to Independence to reclaim or redeem the Temple Lot. This essay examines their historical efforts.