Joseph Smith's Vision of the Celestial Kingdom in the Kirtland Temple — January 21, 1836
Published April 26, 2026 at 8:03 AM
Contributed by
Todd Morgan
Beaumont, CA, 92223
On January 21, 1836, Joseph Smith and fifteen other Church leaders gathered in his office on the top floor of the nearly completed Kirtland Temple for an anointing meeting. What Joseph experienced that night became Doctrine and Covenants 137 — the first canonized record of a vision of the celestial kingdom.
As the anointing ordinance was performed, the heavens opened. Joseph described what he saw:
'The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold. I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept.'
Seeing Alvin — his beloved older brother who had died in 1823 without being baptized — in the celestial kingdom prompted a second revelation: that those who would have received the gospel had they lived, and who died without a knowledge of it, would be heirs of the celestial kingdom. This principle underpins the entire doctrine of salvation for the dead and the practice of temple work.
In the same vision, Joseph saw the Twelve Apostles weeping in foreign lands, saw the Savior standing among them, and then watched as they eventually arrived at the gate of the celestial kingdom where Father Adam greeted them.
Heber C. Kimball, told of the vision by Joseph himself, preserved additional details: that Father Adam opened the gate to the Twelve and embraced them one by one; that the Savior then embraced each and crowned them.
This vision — January 21, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple — launched what historians call the 'Pentecostal season' of the Restoration: fifteen weeks in which more Saints witnessed visions, angels, and the gifts of the Spirit than at any other period of Church history.
In Their Own Words
“The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold. I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept. And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins. Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts. And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven. I saw the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, who are now upon the earth, who hold the keys of this last ministry, in foreign lands, standing together in a circle, much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not behold him. The Savior looked upon them and they wept. I also beheld other children of the kingdom, who had gathered together in the celestial kingdom, clothed in white, shouting hosannas to God and the Lamb, and crowning them with crowns of glory. And the Father and the Son were in their midst, and the Twelve were there also. And the gate of the celestial kingdom was opened unto them, and Father Adam and Abraham went in, and they were greeted by the Father and the Son, and they embraced them one by one, and the Savior embraced each and crowned them.”
— Joseph Smith, Journal, 21 January 1836
Sources & References
Doctrine and Covenants 137; josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/visions-21-january-1836-dc-137; latterdaysaintmag.com/visions-of-deity-in-the-kirtland-temple/ (Karl Ricks Anderson); historyofthesaints.org/january-21-1836-a-night-of-visions/; rsc.byu.edu/joseph-smith-visionary/joseph-smiths-vision-celestial-kingdom Full first-person account: The Joseph Smith Papers, Journal, 1835–1836, pp. 167–169 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-1835-1836/171
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