Trivia Correction: Trivia question #4 has been changed from "What other designs did Joseph commission?" to "What other designs did Joseph work on?"*
“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.” — Frederick G. Williams1
In June 1833, Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams sought divine guidance on how to construct a temple for the Saints. During their prayer, they experienced a vision of the temple, examining its exterior and interior features, including the windows, roof, steeple, and assembly rooms. This vision inspired the design of the temples in Kirtland, Ohio, and Independence, Missouri, which were to appear as large churches from the outside but contain spacious assembly rooms for meetings and learning on both the upper and lower floors. After the vision, the men began to draw up the plans.2
In addition to temple plans, Joseph worked on plans for the "City of Zion." He, along with Williams and Rigdon, created a blueprint for a one-square-mile city with grid-patterned streets, brick and stone houses on deep lots, and communal spaces for worship, education, administration, and care for the poor. The city was designed to accommodate fifteen thousand people, with provisions for expansion as needed to house all the Saints.3
The temple and city plans were sent from Kirtland to Independence in June 1833, along with instructions for construction. In a letter accompanying the plans, Joseph, Sidney, and Frederick expressed their commitment to building the House of the Lord and their prayers for the salvation of Zion. The vision of the temple and the blueprint for the city were significant steps in fulfilling the Lord's commandments for Zion and establishing a place of worship and community for the Saints.3
