OTHER UTAH TEMPLES
{208} 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
{209} 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 {210} 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 scrapers {211} 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, {212} 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 {213} 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, {214}
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 {215} 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.
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 {216} marked by the rendition of special music and by
inspired addresses from the Church leaders. At ten in the morning on
Friday, April 6th, the general conference was opened in the Temple.
The presiding officers of the several quorums occupied the stands
exclusively allotted. There was but little in the way of special
addresses, two days having been devoted to the work of instruction and
preliminary preparation. The dedicatory prayer was offered by Daniel H.
Wells, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church.[3]
THE LOGAN TEMPLE
Scarcely had the St. George Temple been finished and opened to the
sacred ordinances for which it had been built, when another House of
the Lord was begun by the Latter-day Saints, this at Logan in the
northern section of the long-time Territory and present State of Utah.
The St. George Temple was dedicated on the 6th of April, 1877; the
Logan Temple was begun on the 19th of September in the same year.
The city of Logan is the county seat of Cache county and the
distributing center for the rich and beautiful Cache valley, a valley
that has won for itself the distinguishing name of the Granary of
Utah. Logan is sixty-six miles on a straight line from Salt Lake City,
and one hundred and two miles as the railway runs. The Temples of St.
George and Logan are therefore three hundred and thirty-six miles apart
in a direct line. Logan is prominent in the valley by virtue of its
commanding situation; {217} it occupies the delta and adjoining terrace
built by the mountain stream that flowed from the canyon into old Lake
Bonneville, and commands a view of the entire valley with the majestic
mountain-wall in the background. The Temple occupies a position of
prominence in the city, situated as it is upon one of the higher
terraces locally known as the Bench, and visible from practically all
points in the great valley. The grounds comprise an entire city block
of eight acres; and the Temple stands in the north-east quarter of this
block.
The site of the Logan Temple was dedicated on May 17, 1877, under
the direction of the Presidency of the Church and the Council of the
Twelve Apostles. There were in attendance the full First Presidency,
composed of President Brigham Young and his counselors, John W. Young
and Daniel H. Wells; also John Taylor, president of the Council of the
Twelve; Orson Pratt and other members of that Council, together with a
large concourse of people. The dedicatory prayer was offered by Elder
Orson Pratt, after which Counselor John W. Young broke the ground and
threw out the first spade-full of earth; in this ceremonial moving of
the soil he was followed by Counselor Daniel H. Wells and President
John Taylor. Brief addresses were delivered by President Brigham Young
and by Elders Daniel H. Wells and John Taylor. The remarks of Brigham
Young, expressive of the purpose for which temples are built and of
the unselfish spirit in which the work was to be prosecuted, were as
follows:
"We have dedicated this spot of ground upon which we expect to
erect a temple in which to administer the ordinances of the House
of God. Into this house, when it is {218} completed, we expect to
enter to enjoy the blessings of the Priesthood and receive our
anointings, our endowments and our sealings; and the brethren will
be sealed to brethren to continue the links and make perfect the
chain from ourselves to Father Adam. This is the object of the
temple which we are about to commence building at this place. We
require the brethren and the sisters to go to with their might and
erect this temple; and from the architect to the boy who carries
the drinking water to the men that work on the building, we wish
them to understand that wages are entirely out of the question. We
are going to build a House for ourselves and we shall expect the
brethren and sisters, neighborhood after neighborhood, ward after
ward, to turn out their proportion of men to come here and labor as
they shall be notified by the proper authorities.
"This may be called a temporal work, but it pertains to the
salvation of ourselves as well as our friends who have passed
behind the veil, and also the generations who are to come after us.
We can carry this temple forward with our labor without any burden
to ourselves if our hearts are in the work and we will be blessed
abundantly in doing so. We will be better off in our temporal
affairs when it is completed than when we commenced, and than we
would be if we did not build it. The time we enjoy is the Lord's,
but we have permission to direct its use according to our good
pleasure. When the brethren come to work on this temple they may
expect to be blessed of the Lord according to their faith.
* * * * * * *
"We pray for you continually that you may be blessed. I feel to
bless you according to the power and keys of the Holy Priesthood
bestowed upon me and my brethren with me, heart and hand, and all
the Saints feel to say 'Amen.' Feel to bless each other, feel to do
the work of the Lord and dismiss the narrow, contracted, covetous
feelings that are so interwoven with the feelings of our natures.
It seems hard to get rid of them but we must overcome them and
unite ourselves together in the holy order of God that {219} we
may be Saints of the Most High, that our interests, our faith and
labors may be concentrated in the salvation of the human family.
"Brethren and sisters, try to realize these things. Awake and lay
these things to heart. Seek the Lord to know His mind and will and
when you ascertain it also to have the will to do it. God bless
you. Amen."
On Monday, May 28, 1877, the work of excavation was begun. Workmen were
supplied by wards of the Logan Temple District, which at that time
comprised the Cache, Box Elder, and Bear Lake Stakes of Zion. Besides
giving of their time and energy,--gifts known as labor donations,--the
people contributed freely of cash, livestock, merchandise, and
farm produce, and their contributions were supplemented by liberal
appropriations from the general Church funds. Truman O. Angell, Jr.,
was the architect. Rock-laying began on July 20, 1877, on what was
known as the extension--a building eighty feet by thirty-six feet in
area and twenty-three feet high, lying immediately north of the Temple
proper and connected therewith; this has been used since the completion
of the Temple for engine room, office, reception, and assembly rooms,
thus corresponding to the Annex of the Temple in Salt Lake City.
On September 19, 1877, the corner stones were laid under the immediate
direction of John Taylor, president of the Council of the Twelve.
President Taylor laid the south-east corner stone and Franklin D.
Richards offered the dedicatory prayer thereon. The south-west corner
stone was laid by Edward Hunter, Presiding bishop of the Church, and
the dedicatory prayer thereon was offered by his counselor, Leonard
W. Hardy. The north-west corner stone was laid by George L. Farrell,
president of {220} 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. Watertables, 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.
{221} 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 {222} 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 {223} 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.[4]
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, {224} and one hundred and thirty miles by rail, was selected
as the place of this new sanctuary. In a circular issued by the
First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve, October 25, 1876,
the boundaries of the Manti Temple district were specified, as the
following shows:
"We feel led to say to the Latter-day Saints throughout these
mountains, let us arise and build temples unto our God at such
places as He shall designate, into which we and our children can
enter and receive those blessings that He has in store for us. Let
the Bishops of the settlements in Washington, Kane, Iron, Piute,
Beaver, Millard, Sevier, Sanpete and Juab counties call the people
of their wards together and ascertain from them how much each
one is willing to do in labor and means, monthly, quarterly, and
annually, toward the erection of a Temple at Manti, Sanpete County."
Let it not be forgotten that at this time the people were putting forth
strong efforts to complete the temple at St. George, and were taking
preliminary steps toward the erection of that at Logan; and throughout
this period the greatest temple of all was in course of construction at
Salt Lake City. Yet, notwithstanding the weight of these duties, which
many would call tasks if not burdens, the call of authority was heard
directing another great undertaking of the kind.
As to the location of the precise site on which the Manti Temple should
stand, a decision had been reached in a council of the authorities
held at Ephraim, June 25, 1875, and the spot known as the Manti Stone
Quarry had been reserved for the purpose. The spot so designated is the
termination or point of a hill, which in turn appears as the spur of
a low range of hills, marked by the outcrop of a well stratified and
evenly bedded deposit of oolite. This is a granular rock, the separate
particles of which are {225} minute spheroids consisting of concentric
layers of calcium carbonate; the stone appears under a lens not unlike
fish-roe, hence the name oolite, literally meaning egg-stone. The
selection of this spot on which to found the temple meant that the
structure would literally be built upon the rock,--upon rock in place,
upon an unbroken and undisturbed terrane. The temple was to consist of
stone found at the spot, cut and shaped for beauty and service. The
material is admirably adapted for the purpose; readily quarried, easily
tooled, and withal attractive both in texture and color. The Manti
oolite is of uniform grain and of a fine cream color. It has been used
extensively for the erection of some of the more pretentious residences
in Salt Lake City and, moreover, is the material of the Annex to the
Salt Lake Temple, and of the window-facings and other trimmings of the
great granite structure.
The site at Manti was dedicated April 25, 1877. In the presence of
many of the general authorities of the Church and hundreds of other
people, President Young, standing at the south-east corner of the
temple lot, broke ground and dedicated the site by solemn service, he
himself offering the prayer.[5] He then gave brief instructions as to
further procedure, emphasizing the fact that the temple was to be built
by the labor of the people and as a free-will offering, and that work
thereon was not to be made a means of profit. His address, so clearly
illustrative of the peculiar regard with which the Latter-day Saints
invest the great commission they hold to build temples unto the Lord,
follows:
{226} "We now call upon the people, through the several bishops
who preside in this and the neighboring settlements, for men to
come here with teams and wagons, plows and scrapers, picks and
shovels, to prepare this ground for the mason work. Let this work
be commenced forthwith; and as soon as possible we shall expect
from 50 to 100 men every working day throughout the season to labor
here.
"We intend building this temple for ourselves, and we are
abundantly able to do it; therefore no man need come here to work
expecting wages for his services. The neighboring settlements will
send their men, and they can be changed whenever, and as often as,
desirable; and they can get credit on labor tithing or on donation
account for their services, and we expect them to work until this
temple is completed without asking for wages. It is not in keeping
with the character of Saints to make the building of temples a
matter of merchandise.
"We want to rear this temple with clean hands and pure hearts, that
we, with our children, may enter into it to receive our washings
and anointings, the keys and ordinances of the holy Priesthood, and
also to officiate in the same for our fathers and mothers and our
forefathers who lived and died without the gospel, that they with
us may be made partakers of the fruits of the tree of life, and
live and rejoice in our Father's kingdom. The gospel is free, its
ordinances are free, and we are at liberty to rear this temple to
the name of the Lord without charging anybody for our services.
"We call upon the sisters also to render what assistance they can
in this matter. They can do a great deal by way of encouraging
their husbands and sons, and also by making clothing of various
kinds for them, and in otherwise providing for them while they are
working here.
"Now, Bishops, if any person should inquire what wages is to be
paid for work done on this temple, let the answer be, 'Not one
dime.' And when the temple is completed, we will work in God's holy
house without inquiring what we are going to get, or who is going
to pay us, but we will trust {227} in the Lord for our reward,
and he will not forget us. 'Behold the fowls of the air (says the
Savior) for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they?'
"Let this work be commenced without delay. Building cannot be
performed here in the winter, as in St. George. The rearing of this
temple will have to be done in the milder portions of the season,
when the air is free from frost.
"God bless you, brethren and sisters; we hope and pray that you
will be inspired to perform this work with honor to yourselves
and glory to God. This is the work of the latter days that we are
engaged in, and this is the way that Zion is to be built up. We
will continue our labors at home, and we will carry the gospel to
all the nations of the earth, to the whole house of Israel, and the
good work of redemption and salvation will continue until all is
completed, and Jesus presents the kingdom to the Father. Amen."[6]
The beginning of excavation was marked by a further ceremony of
prayer. We read that at 8 a.m., April 30, 1877, about one hundred
people assembled upon the temple site where all kenlt while prayer
was offered, after which the men and horses entered upon the work of
preparing for the foundation of the great structure. The peculiar
location required the construction of terraces or other form of graded
ascent leading from the level of the valley to the temple hill. By
December, 1878, four terrace walls were completed in the rough, and
by April following the excavation for the foundation was ready. The
terrace structure has been substituted by a uniform slope with a
retaining wall below.
On April 14, 1879, the corner-stones were laid. President {228}
Young, under whose direction each of the temple sites in Utah had
been selected and work thereon begun, had passed from earth; and
a new First Presidency had not been inaugurated at this time. The
presiding authority in the Church was the Council of the Twelve
Apostles, of which Council John Taylor was president. On the day named
a large body of people assembled near the temple site and, forming
in procession, moved to the south-east corner of the grounds. There,
after appropriate preliminaries of singing and prayer, an address was
delivered by Elder Erastus Snow, one of the Twelve, Wm. H. Folsom,
the architect-in-charge, laid the south-east corner-stone, and Elder
Lorenzo Snow of the Council of the Twelve offered the prayer thereon.
This being regarded as the chief corner-stone, it was designated as
the record stone. In a cavity previously prepared, Church publications
and other literature were deposited and sealed up before the stone
was officially laid. Bishop Edward Hunter, the Presiding Bishop of
the Church, laid the south-west stone, and his counselor, Leonard W.
Hardy, pronounced the prayer. Elder F. W. Cox, president of the High
Priests' quorum of the Sanpete Stake, then laid the north-west stone,
and Elder Canute Peterson, president of the stake, offered the prayer.
Elder Horace S. Eldredge of the First Council of the Seventy, laid the
north-east stone, and his associate in that Council, Elder John Van
Cott, pronounced the dedicatory prayer. The services were witnessed by
approximately four thousand people.
From the laying of the foundation stones to the completion of the
building, the work progressed without serious hindrance. As it stands,
the structure is one hundred and seventy-one feet in length, and
ninety-five feet in {229} 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. {230} 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."[7]
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. Again 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[8] 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 {231} 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 spirit 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 {232} 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.'"[9]
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 with 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
buildings.[10] 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.[11]
FOOTNOTES
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. For the compilation of many of the facts herein presented regarding
the St. George Temple the writer is indebted to Elder David H. Cannon,
President of the Temple, and his associates.
4. For assistance in compiling data relating to the Logan Temple the
writer is indebted to the presiding officer, President William Budge,
and his associates.
5. For this prayer, see "Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star," Vol.
XXXIX, No. 24, June 11, 1877.
6. "Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star," Vol. XXXIX, No. 24, June 11,
1877, p. 373.
7. See "The Dedication of the Manti Temple," "Latter-day Saints'
Millennial Star," Vol. L, No. 25, June 18, 1888, p. 386.
8. 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."
9. "Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star," Vol. L. No. 26, June 25, 1888,
p. 405.
10. 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.
11. 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.