Trivia Correction: The answer to trivia question #4 has been updated from Answer A (Hire a consultant) to Answer C (Dig a trench for the temple foundation).*
“After the close of the meeting, Joseph took the brethren with him, for the purpose of selecting a spot for the building to stand upon. The place which they made choice of was situated in teh north-west corner of a field of wheat, which was sown by my sons the fall previous, on the farm upon which we were then living. In a few minutes the fence was removed, and the standing grain was levelled, in order to prepare a place for the building, and Hyrum commenced digging a trench for the wall, he having declared that he would strike the first blow upon the house.” — Lucy Mack Smith1
In 1833, Hyrum Smith, alongside Reynolds Cahoon and Jared Carter, was divinely appointed to the Church building committee and was tasked with constructing the Kirtland Temple (detailed in Doctrine and Covenants 94 and 95). The revelations provided specific instructions for the temple’s design, emphasizing its sacred purposes such as administering sacraments, preaching, and holding the School of the Prophets.2
In a conference talk, Elder M. Russell Ballard told a story about Hyrum Smith breaking ground for the temple himself by clearing land and digging trenches for the foundation on June 7, 1833.3 The cornerstone of the temple was laid the next month, and the temple was finished in 1836.4
*Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, 203
1. Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, 203
2. Doctrine and Covenants 94; Doctrine and Covenants 95
3. "Hyrum Smith: 'Firm As Pillars of Heaven,'" Elder M. Russell Ballard, General Conference October 1995; Brent Rogers, "Building the Lord’s house: Insights into the Kirtland Temple from the Joseph Smith Papers," Deseret News
4. "Kirtland Temple," churchofjesuschrist.org; Brent Rogers, "Building the Lord’s house: Insights into the Kirtland Temple from the Joseph Smith Papers," Deseret News