Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, 1842-1845: A Documentary History

The first Latter-day Saint temple ceremonies were performed, not in Kirtland, Ohio, but on the second floor of Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois. For nearly four years beginning in 1842, the prophet's modest mercantile functioned as the de facto temple—the site of the first washings, anointings, endowments, and sealings.
Preparations to initiate the first members of Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, or Holy Order, as it was also known, were made on May 3, 1842. The walls of the second level of the store were painted with garden-themed murals, the rooms fitted with carpets, potted plants, and a veil hung from the ceiling.
In this volume, the editors assemble all available primary references to the Anointed Quorum and its regular gatherings in the Red Brick Store and other locations prior to construction of the Nauvoo temple.