A National Historic Landmark

The Kirtland Visitor and Spiritual Formation Center was officially dedicated on June 9, 2007 (Dedication news and photos). This new facility combines the two disciplines of church history and spiritual formation. Both are reflections on the past, interpreted by many voices that may be searching for relevancy and/or application in the present. From the Kirtland experience we have much to learn and apply. In the scriptures of the Community of Christ God directed the church to "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;" The response by the people to this scripture was the building of the Kirtland Temple which was dedicated on March 27, 1836. You can visit the Temple today in Kirtland, Ohio and hear the story of the Saints in the 1830s, their struggles with poverty, the challenges of feeding all of those who had gathered to live in ways that reflected the second chapter of Acts in the New Testament. You can sit in the pew box and hear the remembrances of the dedication service and sing the dedicatory hymn "The Spirit of God like a Fire is Burning."

The Spiritual Formation Center is a place of worship, formation and praxis. Participants worship in the chapel or in the Temple. In the Temple worshippers experience four corners ministry that was practiced in the 1830s that would include prayer and testimony, the sacraments of communion and administration, preaching and hymn singing. The formation center offers classes in prayer, discernment, meditation, group spiritual direction and other topics.

The purpose of spiritual formation is to provide worship, formation and praxis experiences that deepen our relationship with God, to study the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus more fully, and to provide retreat experiences that help others on their journey to be Christ like. Spiritual formation is the experience of being transformed into the likeness and mind of Christ. Formation cultivates the inner connectedness to God that is written about in the 15th chapter of John when Jesus says "Abide in me."

Kirtland Temple Visitors and Spiritual Formation Center Dedication Prayer

Photo of the Dedication Service
Photo © 2008 Community of Christ

Kirtland Temple Historic Center
7809 Joseph Street
Kirtland, Ohio 44094
(440) 256-1830