When one talks about the importance of Kirtland, I think the events of the unfolding of God's church,

from the beginning, all of that was planned out. And the date set for the appearance of the Savior, Moses, Elias, and Elijah, to be on April 3rd of 1836.

And in a sense, Curtland is a pinnacle in our dispensation because before they could come we had to have the church

form. We had to have the Book of Mormon. We had to have the priesthoods restored. And everything since

Curtland has been implementing those keys that came and that it is the Lord's work. It is a privilege for

us to work in helping build the kingdom.

This is John Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News. Welcome to the Church News podcast.

Today we're taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In early 2025, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched a new website offering information and resources for those interested in learning about and potentially visiting historic Kirtland, as well as other historic sites in Ohio.

These new resources were made available one year after the church acquired the Kirtland Temple and other historic buildings and artifacts in the area in an effort to protect, preserve, and celebrate the remarkable events of church history that occurred there from 1831 to 1838.

This spiritual period included appearances by the Savior and other heavenly messengers, the dedication of the first temple in this dispensation, the reception of the majority of revelations recorded in doctrine and covenants, and other significant events early in the restoration of the church.

On this episode of the church news podcast, we explore Kirtland with historian Carl Ricks Anderson, who has researched and presented extensively on this important location location in addition to living there for nearly

50 years. Welcome, Carl, to the church news podcast. Thank you. We're excited to talk with you today.

This is a period of time that was of great importance in the early days of the restoration of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and you lived there for 50

years. Can you talk about maybe to start us off what the circumstances were that led you to

live there and what initially sparked your personal interest in Curtland's role in church

history and your life's work? The circumstances that brought us to Cortland, I think, were divinely led.

I grew up in Utah, but always had a interest in church history.

I had an older brother who taught at Brigham Young University, was a historian, and he tried to work with me to have me understand what it would take and he had a lot of

research that he shared and I graduated with an MBA from University of Utah and a company came on

campus and interviewed potential employees and I joined a company

...