The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it will commemorate the 186th anniversary of the completion and dedication of the Kirtland Temple with a public service that will include members from the Kirtland-based congregations of the Community of Christ and the Reorganized Church of J esus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The three faith-based communities all sprung from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when it was headquartered in Kirtland between 1831 and 1838. The commemorative service will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. on March 27 inside the sanctuary, located at 9020 Chillicothe Road and will feature members of all three Latter-day Saint communities, according to a news release. The service is open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the service in the adjacent Visitor’s Center. The Kirtland Temple has immense historic and religious significance to all three congregations who will participate in the service, the release stated. They consider it sacred because it both is the first temple completed after the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ in 1830 and is a place Latter-day Saints believe Jesus Christ appeared days after Joseph Smith dedicated it in 1836. The Reorganized Church — which became the Community of Christ in 2001 — obtained the Kirtland Temple through Joseph Smith’s son. Joseph Smith III bought the temple through a quit-claim deed in 1874. He gave the property to the Reorganized Church in 1880 and the title was finalized in 1901. The Kirtland Temple was nominated as a National Historic Landmark in 1969 and designated one in 1976. On March 5, 2024, the Community of Christ transferred ownership of the Kirtland Temple to the Church of Jesus Christ. Twenty days later, the temple opened for free public tours under the Church’s stewardship. ...read more read less