Speaking in 1853 at the cornerstone-laying ceremonies for the Salt Lake Temple, President Brigham Young declared that in Kirtland the "first Elders" received only a "portion of their first endowments, or we might say more clearly, some of the first, or introductory, or initiatory ordinances, preparatory to an endowment." "It should be remembered," Elder Bruce R. McConkie concurred, "that the endowment given in the Kirtland Temple was only a partial endowment, and that the full endowment was not performed until the saints had established themselves in Nauvoo."
The Doctrine and Covenants on Temples and Their Functions
Richard O. Cowan
Doctrines for Exaltation: The 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants
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By early April bearers of the priesthood had received their washings and anointings, including participating in the ordinance of the washing of feet; they had therefore received a partial endowment. Shortly thereafter, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery knelt in prayer behind drawn curtains adjacent to the large pulpits on the west side of the main floor of the temple. The date was Sunday, 3 April 1836, exactly one week following the dedication of the Lord's House. During the morning hours Elder Thomas B. Marsh (then president of the Twelve) and Elder David W. Patten (also an apostle) spoke to the Saints. In the afternoon the Presidency and the apostles participated in administering and passing the sacrament, after which Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery commenced praying privately. At that moment these two men participated in one of the most important visions of the ages. Although temple work as we know it today was not performed in our first temple (members received only a partial endowment at that time), the keys to engage in temple work were unfolded in that House of the Lord (D&C 1 10). One of the main purposes for the construction of that building was realized on that occasion. Saints who had sacrificed for three years were recipients of one of the most rewarding visions of all time. And the blessings that flowed from that temple "have given literally millions of people great cause to rejoice."
Heavenly Manifestations in the Kirtland Temple
(D&C 109, 110, 137)
MILTON V. BACKMAN, JR. AND ROBERT L. MILLET
Studies in Scripture, Vol. 1: The Doctrine and Covenants
ROBERT L. MILLET, KENT P. JACKSON
