About this time the construction of the Kirtland Temple had started. Ira Stearns Hatch, although not a member of the Church, and Wealtha [his wife] decided to make a contribution to its construction. Ira was very anxious to visit the Prophet, Joseph Smith, and feel the spirit of the man. So they prepared to make the trip and upon arriving at Kirtland Ira inquired for the Prophet. Being informed that he would be found in the grove where they were cutting timber for the Temple, Ira made his way to that place.
As he approached the workmen, one of them struck his axe into a tree and came toward him. When close enough, he shook the hand of Ira Stearns Hatch and said, “Brother Hatch, I have been expecting you for three days; the money which you have brought will be used to help build the pulpit in the temple.” This left Ira Stearns Hatch with no chance for doubt that Joseph Smith was indeed a true Prophet.
Ira’s testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel remained steadfast the remainder of his life. . . . While in the [Nauvoo] Legion, Ira and Meltiar [Ira’s son] heard the last speech Joseph Smith gave to the Legion before the Prophet died.
The Hatch Family Historical Committee, Lula Campbell, “Wandering Home: Stories and Memories of Ira Stearns Hatch, Meltiar Hatch, and John Henry Hatch, and their Wives and Children, With Historical-Genealogical and Biographical Data on their Ancestry and Descendants,” LDS Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1988, 3-5; Mark L. McConkie, Remembering Joseph, 219-220.