What the Historic Kirtland site leader says about temple reopening
KIRTLAND, Ohio (ABC4) — The recently reacquired Kirtland Temple is scheduled to reopen on Monday — for the first time since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought it from Community of Christ.
ABC4’s Sarah Murphy met with the Historic Kirtland Site Leader, President Scott Barrick, to learn more about what the temple means for Latter-day Saints.
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When Barrick first heard the news of the Church’s purchase, he said he shouted it from the top of the Visitors’ Center staircase to the missionaries down below.
“She said, ‘President, I’m sorry, but would you please say that one more time,’” Barrick recalled. “I said, ‘Yes. The Church just bought the Kirtland Temple.”
From that point on, Barrick said Latter-day Saint missionaries at Historic Kirtland had been anticipating the reopening. He said missionaries practiced tours in the weeks leading up to the March 25 reopening.
Barrick also said they have increased the number of senior couples serving missions in the area, and some of the senior couples already had experience after previously serving at other historic sites.
While Barrick said the change of ownership may bring new excitement, he described it as “bittersweet.”
“The bitter has been that … We have these wonderful close friends of the Community of Christ, and this has been their life and their livelihood,” he said. “It has been a little bit hard to watch that transition.”
He also acknowledged the great care with which Community of Christ maintained the temple and the work they did with it.
President Barrick explained one positive that’s coming out of the change is the opportunity to “tell the stories of what happened there.”
“It’s just amazing,” he said. “It’s different, very different.”
According to President Barrick, the change is an answer to prayers of many Latter-day Saints in Kirtland. His message to all is one of reassurance and testimony.
“Everything is in good care and it’s going to be here,” Barrick said. “When you come here, what you have a sense of is how real it is.”
Tours of the Kirtland Temple are set to begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 25, and will remain free of charge for visitors. The Church also acquired other historic buildings and artifacts.
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