page_title: Solemn assembly
section_title: Connected with temple dedications
hierarchical_section_title: Solemn assembly / Connected with temple dedications
caption_attribution_description: English: Interior photograph of the Kirtland Temple, Kirtland, Ohio, USA - interior view looking west, first floor. A National Historic Landmark. The Temple was built from 1833-1836 by the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints under their prophet Joseph Smith, jr. It is today owned and used by the Community of Christ. This image shows the interior of the Church assembly room on the first floor with stucco and hand made carvings in the pulpits and columns.
context_page_description: A solemn assembly is a formal and sacred procedure in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints conducted to give added emphasis to the purpose of the occasion. Solemn assemblies are held at the dedications of temples and for specially-called meetings to provide instruction to church leaders. Solemn assemblies are also held for the purpose of sustaining a new church president, who church members consider to be a prophet, seer, and revelator. Such assemblies are held, in particular, to follow the law of common consent. In 1831, a year after Joseph Smith established the Church of Christ, church members believe he was instructed by revelation to "call your solemn assembly, that your fastings and your mourning might come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." Historically, solemn assemblies were held on special occasions of major religious importance in ancient Israel.
context_section_description: The first solemn assembly connected to a temple dedication in modern times was held on March 30, 1836, as part of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, the first temple built in the Latter Day Saint movement. Prior to the dedication, Smith taught church members, "We must have all things prepared, and call our solemn assembly as the Lord has commanded us, that we may be able to accomplish His great work, and it must be done in God's own way. The House of the Lord must be prepared, and the solemn assembly called and organized in it, according to the order of the House of God." The dedication of the Kirtland Temple introduced many elements of solemn assemblies connected with temple dedications that are still used today, including the Hosanna Shout and the singing of "The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning," a hymn written by W. W. Phelps. Solemn assemblies have been held in connection with the dedications of all LDS Church temples.
caption: Interior of the Kirtland Temple, where the first Latter Day Saint solemn assembly was held in 1836
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