CHAPTER X
OTHER UTAH TEMPLES
Of the sanctuaries reared by the Latter-day Saints, the great Temple at Salt Lake City has been the first to be considered specifically and in detail in these pages. This course has been followed because of the fact that among modern Temples the one at Salt Lake City is the largest, the costliest, and by far the most generally known; and moreover, as already stated, of the four Temples thus far erected in Utah this was the first begun and the last finished. While it was in course of construction three other Temples were proposed, planned, built, dedicated, and opened to sacred ordinance service. These are known from their locations as the St. George Temple, the Logan Temple, and the Manti Temple. The sequence in which they are named is the order in which they were completed and opened; it will be convenient to follow this order in further considering them.
Each of the three is constructed on the same general plan, and for similar specific purposes. While they are of varying richness, and each is smaller and less elaborate than the great Temple at Salt Lake City, their appointments and equipment are essentially the same. No detailed description of internal arrangements or furnishings will be attempted, as such would be little more than a reiteration in part of what has been said.
THE ST. GEORGE TEMPLE
The city of St. George, the county seat of Washington county, Utah, is situated near the southwesterly corner of the State, about two hundred and seventy miles from Salt Lake City in a direct line, and three hundred and thirty as the road runs. Before the walls of the Temple at Salt Lake City had been carried above the basement story, the erection of a Temple in the southern part of the Territory of Utah had been fully determined. The site for the St. George Temple when selected by President Brigham Young lay in the suburbs of the city. The grounds comprise an entire city block of six acres.
On Thursday, November 9th, 1871, President Brigham Young and his First Counselor, George A. Smith, together with Erastus Snow, then President of the Southern Mission, Joseph W. Young, then President of the St. George Stake of Zion, a goodly number of other bearers of the Priesthood, and the general public, dedicated the site and broke ground preparatory to laying the foundation of the building. After the prayer, which was offered by Elder George A. Smith, President Brigham Young addressed the people. From the report of his remarks the following excerpts are taken, as they furnish an illustration of the earnestness with which the commission to build Temples was regarded, and of the practical nature of what the people considered to be their duties as members of the Church. The President urged a concentration of effort on the part of the people in the work, and continued:
"The idea may arise that this is a hard land in which to get a living. Now I am very thankful for the land just as it is. I am glad that it is just as it is. It is a splendid country to rear Saints in. Among our other duties we have to build a temple here. I advise that the Bishop of this city, the Bishop of Santa Clara, and the Bishop of Washington, apportion labor among the members of their respective wards to excavate the ground for the foundation of the temple, and to haul rock, sand, clay and other material. If the brethren undertake to do this work with one heart and mind, we shall be blessed exceedingly, and prospered of the Lord in our earthly substance. Now, if the people present are one with the First Presidency in this work, and will unite with them to prosecute the labor of building this temple, by faith, prayers and good works, let all, brethren and sisters, manifest it by the uplifted hand."
The people with one accord raised their hands. The official record continues as follows:
"President Young took a shovel in his hand and said, pointing to the stake which had previously been driven in the south-east corner of the building site: 'Immediately under this stake and in the foundation will be placed a stone containing sacred records, and immediately over this stake, when the building is completed, will be placed another stone containing records of the temple.' He then said, suiting the action to the word: 'I now commence by moving this dirt in the name of Israel's God.' All the people said 'Amen.'"
An address was delivered by Elder Erastus Snow in which he called to mind the promises and prophecies made ten years before, relative to the prosperity that would attend the people in the southern region, and furthermore he pointed out the fulfilment of many of the predictions. Then followed the solemn Hosanna shout.
Work on the excavation began immediately; on the afternoon of the very day of dedication, plows and serapers were put in action. As announced at the time of the dedication of the site, the following specifications as to dimensions and construction had been decided upon:
"Outside measurement, 142 feet long by 96 feet wide, including the buttresses, and 80 feet high to the top of the parapet. It will be built of stone, plastered outside and inside. There will be a tower in the center of the east end, and on the extreme corners of the same end, right and left of the tower, are cylindrical staircases; one side of the stairs rests in the cylinder, the other side in a newel in the center of the cylinder. The roof will be flat, and covered with roofing similar to that on the New Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. The building will consist of two stories and a basement. The two main rooms or halls, one over the other, will each be 100 feet by 80 feet. The ceiling of these will be arched, resting upon columns, and so constructed as to admit of sixteen rooms for council and other purposes in each of those two main stories. The height of the main ceiling in the centre is 27 feet; the height of the other ceilings about 9 feet. The basement will contain the font, and will be used for ceremonial purposes."[1]
A record-stone was placed at the south-east corner of the building, and therein were deposited, on March 31, 1873, a metallic box containing copies of the scriptures and other publications of the Church, together with a silver plate bearing the following inscription:
"Holiness to the Lord.
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, on the sixth of April, 1830. Which commandments were given to Joseph Smith, Jr., who was called of God, and ordained an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the first Elder in the Church.
"Joseph Smith, Jr., President, with his brother Hyrum, Patriarch of the whole Church, suffered martyrdom in Carthage, Illinois, June 27th, 1844, and the Church was driven into the wilderness in 1846."
Then followed the names of all the general authorities of the Church as at that time constituted.[2]
To the specifications given in the foregoing it is necessary to add only the following to make the description fairly complete. The tower is thirty-one feet square; the vane on the tower is one hundred and seventy-five feet from the ground. The foundation of the entire basement story consists of a black basaltic lava, a rock occurring abundantly in the region and well adapted to the purpose. The soil of the place is sandy and heavily impregnated with alkaline mineral salts; and no rock that readily undergoes disintegration, either through abrasion or as the result of a solution of cementing material, is suitable for foundation work in this soil. The foundation of the building extends below the ground-level ten feet. About two-thirds of the east end and a portion of the northerly side rest on bed-rock in place; throughout the rest of its extent the foundation is laid on a thick layer of broken volcanic rock firmly compacted under the blows of a nine-hundred-pound pile driver. A capacious drain encircles the building and connects with a yet larger drain fifty feet easterly from the square tower. The foundation is twelve feet wide at the bottom, and the walls are gradually diminished in width so that at the level of the basement window sills they have a thickness of three feet eight inches. Above the basement story the building is constructed of the fine red sandstone of the region, from quarries specifically located and opened for this work. Timber and lumber had to be hauled by team from distances of from seventy to ninety miles.
The Temple stands in the open plain on but a slight elevation, practically devoid of all the prominence that belongs to a commanding position of altitude. The ground on which the building rests, as well as the region for miles round about, is of a prevailing dark-red color; and this, too, is the color of the sandstone of which the Temple is built. Naturally, the building as a whole would blend with its surroundings, so as to be practically invisible from even a moderate distance. A contrast has been afforded by whitening the walls; and as a result the structure has become a striking feature of the landscape.
As to the interior it may be sufficient to say that all the ordinance work connected with baptism, ordination, endowment, and sealing, as performed in the Temple at Salt Lake City, is administered in a similar manner in this Temple, and provision therefor is made. For all the sacred ordinances there is ample equipment of rooms and furnishings. The basement floor is divided into fourteen rooms of which the baptistry or font-room, thirty-five by forty feet, is one of the largest and most important. As is usual, the baptistry is situated below the general level of the assembly rooms. Also as in the other temples, the baptismal font rests upon twelve oxen of cast iron, which occupy a depression slightly below the floor. The font, oxen, iron stairs, and all accessories, weighing in all over eighteen thousand pounds, were cast in Salt Lake City and were hauled by team thence to St. George. The entire baptistry equipment was the personal gift of President Brigham Young.
Above the basement there are two stories. In each of these there is one main room ninety-nine by seventy-eight feet inside measurement, with an arched or elliptical ceiling twenty-seven feet from the floor in the center. Flanking this main apartment on either side are a number of smaller rooms used for ordinance work and as assembly rooms for councils of the Priesthood. The large room on the middle floor corresponds in use to the splendid Celestial Room already described as a prominent feature of the Temple at Salt Lake City. In the same way the large room on the upper floor corresponds to the main assembly room on the fourth floor of the Salt Lake City Temple, and is provided with pulpits at both east and west ends, the former devoted to the use of the Higher or Melchisedek Priesthood, the latter reserved for the officials of the Lesser or Aaronic order of Priesthood.
Adjoining the main building is an accessory structure known as the Annex; this is seventy-four feet long by twenty-four feet wide, exclusive of a "lean-to" on the east side, which is forty-three feet by nine feet. The Annex was built in 1882. It contains boiler and engine rooms, apartments for the guard, a refectory for the accommodation of workers, recorder's offices, etc.
The St. George Temple was built by free-will offerings and by appropriations from the tithings of the people. In one year, specifically the year 1875, over one hundred and twenty-three thousand dollars were expended in the work, and the total cost of the completed building was considerably more than five hundred thousand dollars. The structure was practically finished by the close of 1876. Some parts were dedicated on January 1, 1877, so as to permit of certain ordinance work to be done before the dedication of the building as a whole, which event occurred on the sixth of April following. At the preliminary dedicatory service, January 1, 1877, twelve hundred and thirty persons were in attendance. Music, some of which had been specially composed for the occasion, was rendered by the choir, and dedicatory prayers were offered by members of the Council of the Twelve as follows: by Elder Wilford Woodruff in the basement story; by Elder Erastus Snow in the main room of the story next above the basement; by Elder Brigham Young, Jr., in the room designated as the sealing room. Addresses were delivered by Elders Erastus Snow, Wilford Woodruff, and by President Brigham Young.
Baptisms for the dead were first administered in the St. George Temple on January 9, 1877; and endowments for the dead were begun two days later, the occasion being, according to the statement of Wilford Woodruff, "the first time endowments for the dead had been given in any Temple in this dispensation."
Proceedings incident to the dedication of the Temple as a whole began on the 4th of April, 1877, and terminated on the sixth, the last day's assembly being held in connection with the annual conference of the Church, which conference had been appointed to be held at St. George, in view of the dedication. On the fourth and fifth of the month general assemblies were held in the Temple during both forenoon and afternoon, each session Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/232 Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/233 Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/234 Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/235 the High Priests' quorum of the Cache Stake of Zion, and the accompanying prayer was offered by Moses Thatcher, of the Council of the Twelve. The north-east corner stone was laid by Albert P. Rockwood, one of the First Council of the Seventy, and the accompanying prayer was offered by Horace S. Eldredge, another member of the First Council of the Seventy.
The Temple as it stands is one hundred and seventy-one feet long, ninety-five feet wide, and eighty-six feet high at the square, with an octagonal tower at each corner one hundred feet high, and a large square tower at each end. The tower at the west end is one hundred and sixty-five feet, and that at the east one hundred and seventy feet high. In this feature of the east tower being higher than that at the west the Logan Temple resembles the greater structure at Salt Lake City. Massive buttresses strengthen the walls, and the masonry is of the best. As to architecture, the Temple may be described as belonging to the castellated style.
The rock used in the building was brought from the mountain quarries near by, and is a very hard, compact, dark-colored silicious limestone, locally called fucoid rock from its content of fossilized marine plants known as fucoids. A more typical limestone was used for the arches and for the uprights and lintels of doors and windows, this material being susceptible of a better dressed surface than was possible with the silicious rock. Water-tables, string-courses, and the caps of battlements and towers, consist of a light buff sandstone, brought from quarries near Franklin, Idaho. As the rock used in the walls is of diversified color the entire exterior has been painted in buff.
The lumber used in the building was obtained from Logan canyon and was prepared at the Temple saw-mill, which had been specially installed for the purpose. An interesting sidelight is thrown on the spirit of earnestness with which the people went about this work of temple building, by the fact that even the saw-mill was ceremonially dedicated when first put in commission. All the lumber used was selected, and, as nearly as possible, was chosen so as to be free from defect. The principal varieties are red pine for the heavier work and white pine for such interior construction as stands and altars. The framework of the roof is of the best red pine, and is of ingenious construction, spanning a distance of ninety-five feet without under-pinning. At first the roof was covered with sheet-metal, but this proved unsatisfactory because of leakage due to fractures resulting from variations in temperature; and the old but efficient style of shingle roof was finally substituted. The workmanship throughout is high class; indeed it is said that after nearly thirty years not a door has been known to sag or a wall to crack. The total cost of the Temple when completed was approximately seven hundred thousand dollars.
The building has five full stories. The basement story is occupied by the font room and adjoining dressing rooms. In common with the practise followed in Latter-day Saint Temples generally, the font is supported on twelve oxen of cast-iron which stand in a well beneath the general level of the floor. From the basement level rise at intervals of a few feet a number of rooms used in ceremonial work. Thus, about eight feet above the basement floor is the room corresponding to the Lower Lecture Room, four feet higher one corresponding to the Garden Room, and five feet higher one corresponding to the World Room, and yet ten feet higher a room corresponding to the Upper Lecture Room or Terrestrial Room, as already described in connection with the Temple at Salt Lake City. The rest of the space in the first and second stories is occupied by offices for the president of the Temple, the recorders and other officials, library room, etc. The third story is occupied by what is known as the C Room, which corresponds to the Celestial Room elsewhere described. As in other Temples this is the most splendidly finished of all the large rooms. Connecting with this room on the east side are three small apartments used in the sealing ordinances.
The fourth floor is wholly occupied by the main assembly room with its vestries and ante-chambers. The assembly room itself is one hundred and four feet long by ninety-five feet wide, and the ceiling is thirty feet high. At the east is a large elevated platform with stands or pulpits reserved for the officers of the Melchisedek Priesthood, and at the west is a corresponding platform with stands devoted to the officers of the Aaronic Priesthood. The auditorium is occupied by reversible seats, allowing the audience to face either way according to the nature of the services at any time,—whether conducted by the Higher or Lesser Priesthood. This room provides for the comfortable seating of fifteen hundred people. The fifth floor comprises detached rooms in the east and west towers. There are no rooms in the main body above the assembly room on the fourth floor already described.
The Logan Temple was seven years in building. On May 17, 1884, the structure was dedicated to the service of the Lord and immediately thereafter was opened for sacred ordinances. The dedicatory services lasted three days, that is to say, services were held on each of two days following the official dedication, and on these later days the dedicatory prayer was read to the assembly. The ceremonies and services attending the dedication were held in the large assembly room on the fourth floor, and the seating capacity of the great auditorium was taxed to the utmost at every meeting. President Brigham Young had died before the laying of the corner-stone, and the building of the Temple had been prosecuted at first under the administration of the Council of the Twelve, which, on the dissolution of the First Presidency becomes the presiding council of the Church, and later under the direction of the new First Presidency. On the day of the dedication the prayer was offered by President John Taylor, after which his Counselors, Elders George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, made addresses, and they were followed by Elders Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. A brief address was then delivered by President John Taylor, after which the stirring Hosanna shout was rendered. Benediction was pronounced by John Smith, the Presiding Patriarch.[3]
THE MANTI TEMPLE
Before construction work had been begun on the Logan Temple, preparations were in progress for the erection of another House of the Lord. Manti, the chief city of Sanpete County, situated about one hundred and four miles southerly from Salt Lake City in a direct line, Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/240 Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/241 Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/242 Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/243 Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/244 extreme width. From the top of the first water-table to the square the height of the building is seventy-nine feet; the water-table is three feet above the ground. The walls are three and a half feet thick at the base with buttresses four feet in thickness, and both walls and buttresses narrow as they rise. At the square the walls are three feet and the buttresses two feet six inches. The main front of the building is toward the east, as is the case with all existing temples; nevertheless, the doorways most commonly used and the entrance from the Annex are at the west. The foundation on the east end abuts against the hill; and this end of the structure is seen in its entirety by those only who climb the hillside to a commanding position. A tower at the east rises to the height of one hundred and seventy-nine feet; the tower at the west end is ten feet lower. Each of these towers is thirty feet square at the base. The grade or ground-level surrounding the Temple is a little over sixty feet higher than that of the street at the foot of the hill on which the building stands. The drive-way at the east end is at the elevation of the short flights of steps which rise to the doorways on the level of the main assembly room on the top floor.
Adjacent to the main structure and connecting therewith is the Annex building, one hundred feet in length, forty feet in width, and of but one story. In this building is installed the apparatus for heating, and herein also are provided reception rooms, offices, and an assembly room for preliminary services. The Temple is furnished with its own water supply from perennial springs situated in the hills at a distance of a little over a mile.
In the interior the rooms are practically counterparts of those already described in connection with other Temples. The main assembly room on the upper floor has a seating capacity for over fifteen hundred persons. The estimated cost of the building as it stood ready for dedication was one million dollars.
Dedicatory services were set for May 21, 1888. From accounts published at the time it is plain that the interest in the great event was intense. Thus we read:
"From an early hour on the 21st of May people began to assemble on the hill east of the Temple, at which admission was to be gained, and by 9:30 the grounds were black with people. The day was lovely, the threatened rain of the night preceding having passed away. As for two days before, all the roads leading to Manti were clouded with incoming teams, each loaded with living freight bound for the dedication."[4]
President John Taylor who, as the presiding officer of the Council of the Twelve Apostles had directed the laying of the corner-stones, and who afterward became the President of the Church, had died in July, 1887. A.gain the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was without an organized First Presidency of three, and at the time of the dedication of the Manti Temple, the Council of the Twelve was the presiding quorum[5] of the Church. Wilford Woodruff was at this time the president of the Council of the Twelve.
The services began at 11 a. m., by which time the great room was filled to its utmost capacity. The principal feature, of course, was the dedicatory prayer, which was offered by Elder Lorenzo Snow of the Council of the Twelve. Addresses were delivered by the Presiding Patriarch of the Church, by several of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, and by other prominent brethren in the Priesthood. On account of the large numbers desiring to attend, services were repeated on the two days following, May 22 and 23. On each of these occasions the dedicatory prayer was read, hymns and anthems were rendered and addresses given by speakers chosen by the presiding authorities. On the first day the actual services occupied five hours, and over seventeen hundred people attended. Many of the Saints testified to remarkable manifestations of Divine power which they witnessed on this grand and solemn occasion.
"On the first day, just as Professor Smyth was concluding the voluntary—a selection from Mendelssohn—a number of the Saints in the body of the hall and some of the brethren in the west stand heard most heavenly voices singing. It sounded to them as angelic, and appeared to be behind and above them, and many turned their heads in that direction wondering if there was not another choir in some other part of the building. There was no other choir, however. * * *
"Some of the Saints saw the spirits of Presidents Young and Taylor, J. M. Grant, and others in the Temple, and the heads of some of the speakers were surrounded by a halo of heavenly light during the services. The Saints enjoyed a spiritual feast extending through the three days, and many shed tears of joy while listening to the testimonies and admonitions of the servants of God. There can be no question but that God has accepted the Manti Temple at the hands of His Saints and will bless all who have in any degree assisted to build it, or who, not having the means to assist, have said in their hearts, 'I would have helped if I could.'"[6]
Work on the grounds has been carried on of late years, to the greater beautification of the site. A magnificent stairway has been constructed from the grade of the street to the level of the Temple threshold. This stairway is twenty feet in width wdth retaining walls on either side, connecting with large square pillars at each landing. The steps have a tread of twelve inches and a rise of six, and of these there are one hundred and twenty-five. There are nine landings between top and bottom, each six feet wide. The top of the stairway connects directly with the roadway surrounding the Temple. The stairway, its walls and pillars, are all constructed of cement; and cement walks encircle the building.[7] Scattered over the lawn which occupies the slope on the west are attractive trees and shrubs; each of these is planted in a hole excavated for the purpose in the solid rock. The soil for shrubs, grass, and flowers is foreign to the place.
On May 28, 1888, the Manti Temple was opened for ordinance work and from that time to the present this work has been in progress without interruption except that incident to the regular recess periods each year.[8]
- ↑ See "Dedication of St. George Temple Site," by James G. Bleak, Historian of Southern Mission, published in the "Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star." Liverpool, England, Volume XXXVI. No. 16, April 21, 1874. See also an earlier publication, in the "Star," Volume XXXIII, No. 51, Dec. 19, 1871.
- ↑ See "Deseret News," Vol. XXIII, p. 152. See also an interesting article based on information furnished by George Kirkham, Jr., "Deseret News," Vol. XXV, p. 193.
- ↑ For assistance in compiling data relating to the Logan Temple the writer is indebted to the presiding officer, President William Budge, and his associates.
- ↑ See "The Dedication of the Manti Temple," "Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star," Vol. L, No. 25, June 18, 1888, p. 386.
- ↑ For this peculiar usage of the term quorum, designating a council or organized body and not specifically a majority of such body, see "Standard Dictionary" wherein we read under "Quorum," "Mormon Ch. A council or an organized body of the priesthood; as, an Elders' quorum; the quorum of the First Presidency."
- ↑ Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star," Vol. L, No. 26, June 25, 1888, p. 405.
- ↑ See illustrated description of the stairway and other approaches to Manti Temple published in the "Deseret Evening News," December 28, 1907, under the caption, "Manti Has Biggest Cement Stairway in the Country." In a letter to the author, Lewis Anderson, the present president of the Manti Temple, vouches for the correctness of the data given.
- ↑ For assistance in compiling data regarding the Manti Temple the writer is indebted to the presiding officer of the Temple, President Lewis Anderson, and his associates.