Elwin C. Robison discusses the overall cost of the Kirtland Temple; concludes it may have cost overall $30,000.
Elwin C. Robison, “The Cost of the Kirtland Temple,” Mormon History Association Conference, 2003
Since much of the labor was donated, no account books survive, and the account books were, in the words of Ira Ames, “in complete confusions, “ we can only approximate the actual cost to the early Saints. This will not stop me from making an attempt, and in my defense I note that it did not stop others from making attempts as well.
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The best comparison to make is the Hudson meetinghouse because its brick construction is most like that of the stone masonry of Kirtland. Using a slightly higher figure of $2.50 due to the increased height of the Kirtland temple, and multiplying it by the much greater square footage of the Kirtland Temple (including the finished offices on the third floor) the cost of the building is approximately $27,000.
It is probable that costs exceeded that figure due to the haste of the Saints in finishing the building. Any building project has an optimal or efficient time frame based on workers and availability of resources. That the Church was operating outside of that efficient time frame is clear from the historical accounts. Journal entries constantly refer to “speeding the work,” and the disastrous fires in the drying kilns are testimony to the pressures on the builders to finish the building. Such haste invariably increases costs, and so an estimate of approximately $30,000 for temple construction would be reasonable.
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George A. Smith’s valuation of over $100,000 could be the result of some hyperbole, but may reflect the actual cost of the larger cut stone Nauvoo Temple. In any event, given all that George A. Smith endured, it is certain that he felt the effort of the Saints in building the Kirtland Temple was worth 100 grand.
What was the role of the Kirtland Temple in the economic crisis of 1837 in the Church? Based on the estimates made above, it should not be viewed as the central cause of financial ruin. It was a significant expense. However, based on the level of contributions made by members of the Church and the expected expenditures on temple construction, much of the debt in the Kirtland community was probably due to the general function of the Church and efforts to buy land and invest in economic resources. For example, family histories state that Artemus Millet donated $1000, and John Tanner was reported to have donated $15,000 and signed a note for $30,000 of merchandise. That level of donation should have covered the expenditures for construction of the Kirtland Temple. Indeed, the cost of the temple was not disproportionate with respect to the greater size of the Mormon community as compared to the congregations that met in the Brecksville, Claridon, and Hudson meetinghouses referred to above.