Commanded to Build a Temple
The Lord commanded the Saints who gathered to Kirtland, Ohio, to do a monumental task. “A commandment I give unto you,” He said in August 1833, “that ye shall commence a work of laying out and preparing a beginning and foundation of the city of the stake of Zion, here in the land of Kirtland, beginning at my house” (D&C 94:1).
Building a city and a temple required resources the Saints simply did not then possess. Unsure about the kind of building the Lord desired for His temple and concerned about limited resources, a council of early Church leaders proposed building the temple with logs.
The Lord revealed the design of the Kirtland Temple to the First Presidency on June 3 or 4, 1833. 
In their poverty, the Saints sacrificed their all to construct a building worthy to be called the house of the Lord.
Consecrating Their All
In February 1831, the Lord revealed His economic plan for the Church. Saints living the law of consecration turned over their property to the Church and in return received a stewardship for the care of their families. Excess resources were returned for blessing the poor and for the support of the Church, including the construction of the temple.
In Kirtland, Bishop Newel K. Whitney managed the items consecrated by the Saints. 
Bishop Whitney used this workroom in his store to receive and distribute tithed and consecrated items. Bishop Whitney used this workroom in his store to receive and distribute tithed and consecrated items. By living the law of consecration, the Saints could provide for themselves and the poor and fulfill the Lord’s commandment to build a temple. The ashery and sawmill in Kirtland were good examples of these efforts.
The Ashery
Kirtland Bishop Newel K. Whitney consecrated his prosperous ashery as well as his store and other businesses to the Church. All of Bishop Whitney’s income, including profits from the ashery, helped finance the establishment of the Kirtland stake of Zion, including the construction of the temple.
Newel K. Whitney built his ashery next to Stoney Brook.
What is an ashery? It is a factory where wood ashes are converted into a substance called potash—an alkaline ingredient important in many 19th-century products.
Potash was an important ingredient in many items, such as glass, tanned leather, paper, and bleached cotton textiles. 
Hardwood trees, such as elm, oak, beech, and ironwood, provided the best ash to be refined into potash.
Settlers clearing their lands sold or traded their field ashes to a local merchant operating an ashery. 
Apostle Orson Hyde worked in the ashery as a young man—one of several boys required to operate the ashery. 
Alkali (lye) was extracted from the ash through a leaching process.
A simple test determined the alkaline levels of the amber-colored liquid. The workmen wore heavy leather aprons and long leather gloves to protect their skin from the caustic alkali and potash.
In cast-iron kettles, the alkali solution was boiled down. After cooling, it became a solid mass of potash.
Workmen transformed some potash into purer and more valuable pearl ash by baking it in extreme heat. 
Once cooled, potash and pearl ash were packaged in barrels, weighed, and shipped to market. The ashery and the revenue it provided aided the growth of the Church in many ways. It was used to secure loans, and it became a dependable source of cash for the impoverished Saints. Income from the ashery helped sustain Joseph Smith and financed the printing of Church literature. It also became an essential source of revenue for building the temple.
Sawmill
To fulfill the commandment to build a temple, the Saints constructed and operated a sawmill. Much of the labor, resources, and skills required to build and operate the mill were consecrated by the Saints. Laborers in the mill crafted the interior support timbers for the temple as well as intricate woodwork.
Unable to acquire discounted lumber for the temple, the cash-poor Saints determined to build their own sawmill.
Recent convert and millwright Joel H. Johnson was called to build a sawmill for the Church. “I was there when the foundation of the temple was laid, and built a sawmill for its benefit.”
—Joel H. Johnson The Church purchased 16 acres of old-growth forest to provide lumber for the temple. Once felled, logs of walnut, white oak, cedar, and cherry could be floated by means of the Chagrin River within a few hundred yards of the sawmill.
The Chagrin River meandered through Kirtland, near the location of the sawmill.
Frederick G. Williams had experience operating a sawmill and was placed in charge. Carpenters laboring on the temple began their day with a prayer meeting at the sawmill to seek a blessing on the day’s labor. Following the meeting, the workforce divided. Those working at the temple went up the hill, and those laboring at the sawmill went to their posts in the mill.
Water from a small millpond turned a waterwheel that powered the saw and other tools. 
A carriage, powered by the waterwheel, pushed the rough-hewn logs through the sash saw.
Craftsmen shaped finely turned pieces of wood on a lathe. 
Much of the woodwork in the temple was crafted with hand tools in the sawmill’s shop. 
This handcrafted newel post and railing are found on the third-floor landing in the Kirtland Temple.
The priesthood pulpits were probably assembled in the woodworking shop before being taken to the temple. 
The lower court of the temple, including the priesthood pulpits, featured intricate wood carving.
In the upper and outer courts, simpler designs were nailed to the base material. The ashery and the sawmill have been reconstructed at their original locations and are open to the public. Together they bear witness to the Saints’ efforts to consecrate their all to building a temple and establishing the first stake of Zion.
Window sashes were assembled and glazed in the woodworking shop.