Frederick G. Williams Sees the Kirtland Temple in Vision Before It Was Built

Frederick Granger Williams (1787–1842), Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, was one of three men to whom the Lord promised to reveal the design of the Kirtland Temple through vision.

On June 1, 1833, the Lord instructed Joseph Smith that He would reveal the temple's design to a committee of three. Joseph, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams—the entire First Presidency—were appointed to this sacred task.

Shortly after receiving the appointment, the three men knelt together in collective prayer. What followed was a remarkable shared vision. Frederick G. Williams later recalled:

'We went upon our knees, called on the Lord, and the Building appeared within viewing distance: I being the first to discover it. Then all of us viewed it together. After we had taken a good look at the exterior, the building seemed to come right over us.'

The three men saw both the exterior and interior of the temple in full detail—before a single stone had been laid. Joseph used this vision to override suggestions that the temple be built from logs or lumber, declaring: 'I have a better plan than that. I have a plan of the house of the Lord, given by himself.'

Years later, when the Kirtland Temple was nearly complete, Frederick G. Williams confirmed the remarkable accuracy of the vision: he said it looked like the model he had seen in vision 'to the smallest detail' and that he 'could not tell the difference.' The building, he said, 'seemed to coincide with that I there saw to a minutia.'

Additionally, at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple on March 27, 1836, Frederick G. Williams bore personal testimony that an angel had appeared and sat near him and Joseph Smith Sr. during the ceremonies, and that he had seen a vision of the Savior—'dressed in his vesture without seam'—accepting the temple.

Fuller account of this event (in the witness’s own words):

Carpenter Rolph said, 'Doctor, what do you think of the House?' He answered, 'It looks to me like the pattern precisely.' He then related the following: 'Joseph received the word of the Lord for him to take his two counselors, Williams and Rigdon, and come before the Lord and He would show them the plan or model of the house to be built. We went upon our knees, called on the Lord, and the building appeared within viewing distance, I being the first to discover it. Then all of us viewed it together. After we had taken a good look at the exterior, the building seemed to come right over us, and the makeup of this hall seemed to coincide with what I there saw to a minutia.' Joseph was accordingly enabled to dictate to the mechanics and his counselors stood as witnesses, and this was strictly necessary in order to satisfy the spirit of unbelief in consequence of the weakness or childishness of the brethren of those days.