Historic Morley Farm

About a mile from Kirtland is a place where Isaac and Lucy Morley (early converts to the church) once ran a large farm. Shortly after Joseph and Emma Smith arrived in Kirtland, the Morleys invited Joseph and Emma Smith to live on their property from March 1831 to September 1831 when the Morleys sold the property and moved to Missouri. A small home was built where Joseph worked on a translation of the Bible and where he received 13 revelations that are now recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. While living in the home, Emma gave birth to twins, who died soon after birth. When you visit the site, you can go to a place where Joseph presided at a meeting of priesthood holders . The location is a short self-guided walk through a grove of trees. After the property was sold, the Smiths moved to Hiram, Ohio where they lived in the home of John and Alice (Elsa) Johnson.

On the top of this hill, the Morley family built a log schoolhouse for their seven children and for the children and for the children of friends and neighbors living on adjoining farms. In the Morley schoolhouse, the Latter-day Saints held some of their earliest meetings in Kirtland, including the fourth conference of the Church, which convened here 3-6 June 1831. In meetings accompanied by profound spiritual manifestations, the first high priests in the Church were ordained. Missionaries were also called to go to Missouri. (see image)