The House Of The Lord: A Study Of Holy Sanctuaries Ancient And Modern - free ebook by James E. (James Edward) Talmage

THE HOUSE OF THE LORD A STUDY OF HOLY SANCTUARIES ANCIENT AND MODERN

INCLUDING FORTY-SIX PLATES ILLUSTRATIVE OF MODERN TEMPLES By JAMES E. TALMAGE One of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Published by the Church Salt Lake City, Utah 1912...

16 minute read

Read Chapter

PREFACE

Among the numerous sects and churches of the present day, the Latter-day Saints are distinguished as builders of Temples. In this respect they resemble Israel of olden time. It is not surprising that great and widespread interest is manifest respecting this peculiarity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nor that questions are continually arising as to the purpose and motive behind this great labor, and the nature of the ordinances administered in these modern Houses of the Lord.

23 minute read

Read Chapter

THE "TESTIMONY"

Prior to the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and indeed during the early stages of the memorable journey from Egypt, the people of Israel had a certain depository for sacred things, known as the Testimony. This is definitely mentioned in connection with the following incident. Under Divine direction a vessel of manna was to be preserved, lest the people forget the power and goodness of God, by which they had been fed: "And Moses said. This is the thing which the Lord commandeth

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE PROVISIONAL TABERNACLE

While Moses communed with the Lord on Sinai, the people, left for a time to themselves, set up a golden calf in imitation of Apis, an Egyptian idol; and in consequence of their idolatrous orgies, the Lord's anger was kindled against them. During the period of their consequent estrangement, before a reconciliation had been effected between Jehovah and His people, Divine manifestations ceased within the camp and only afar off could the Lord be found. In connection with this condition we read of th

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION

From amidst the clouds, and to the accompaniments of thunders and lightnings on Sinai, the Lord gave unto Moses the law and the testimony. Not alone did Moses there talk with the Lord in person, but by Divine command, Aaron and his sons Nadab and Abihu, together with seventy of the elders of Israel, went up upon the mountain and did see God, even the God of Israel. Over Sinai the glory of the Lord abode for many days: "And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount; an

11 minute read

Read Chapter

THE THIRD TABERNACLE

Yet another tent of sanctuary was made and used in Israel prior to the erection of the great Temple. This we may call for convenience the Third Tabernacle; it was erected by David the king, in his own city, as a shelter for the Ark of the Covenant. As already cited, the scriptural record tells of the capture of the Ark by the Philistines, and of its return to Israel. This incident occurred during the latter part of the administration of the Judges, before Israel had bowed to a king in Canaan. [

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON

Scarcely had the Ark of the Covenant been deposited at the capital of the kingdom—the City of David,—when the king became desirous of erecting for its accommodation a more enduring shelter than the tent in which it had been installed with pomp and ceremony. It appears that the conscience of the king was troubled by the thought that he was better housed than was the sanctuary of the Lord: "Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an hou

18 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL'S VISION

In the twenty-fifth year of the Babylonian captivity, while yet the people of Israel were in exile in a strange land, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel; the power of God rested upon him; and he saw in vision a glorious Temple, the plan of which he minutely described. [ 63 ] As to whether the prophet himself considered the design so shown as one to be subsequently realized, or as but a grand yet unattainable ideal, is not declared. Certain it is that the Temple of the vision has no

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TEMPLE OF ZERUBBABEL

For three score years and ten the Jews had grieved and groaned under Babylonian rule. The greater part of the once proud Kingdom of Judah had been carried away captive, and such as remained in the land of their fathers had lost their national status and had become largely merged with the Gentiles. With dreadful exactness had been fulfilled the dire prediction of Jeremiah. Through that prophet the Lord had spoken, saying: "Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words

9 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TEMPLE OF HEROD

In the year 37 B. C. Herod I, known in history as Herod the Great, was established on the throne as King of Judea. He had already served successively as procurator and tetrarch, and, indeed, had been king in name for some time prior to his enthronement, during which period he had been in hostile conflict with the people over whom the decree of the Roman Senate had made him ruler. He came to the throne noted for arrogance and cruelty; and his reign was one of tyranny, in which even family relatio

12 minute read

Read Chapter

NECESSITY OF OBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL

As part of its declaration of faith, the Church proclaims: " We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel ." [ 1 ] While professing belief in the possibility of a universal salvation, the Church affirms that salvation is assured only on condition of individual compliance with the requirements established by the Redeemer, without whose atoning sacrifice none could be saved. The atonement wrought by the Christ on C

16 minute read

Read Chapter

VICARIOUS SERVICE OF THE LIVING FOR THE DEAD

A question now arises as to how it is possible for the dead to comply with the terms of the Gospel and do in the spirit what they had failed to do in the flesh. The exercise of faith and the manifestation of repentance by disembodied spirits may offer no great difficulty to human understanding; but that the dead shall obey the ordinances of the Gospel requiring water-baptism and the baptism of the Spirit by the authorized laying-on of hands, appears to many as truly impossible as seemed the new

6 minute read

Read Chapter

AUTHORITY TO LABOR IN BEHALF OF THE DEAD

In the closing chapter of the compilation of scriptures known to us as the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi thus describes a condition incident to the last days, immediately preceding the second coming of Christ: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. "But unto you that fear my name shall th

5 minute read

Read Chapter

TEMPLES REQUIRED FOR VICARIOUS SERVICE

While the ordinances of baptism, imposition of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, and others, such as ordination to the Priesthood, may be performed upon the living in any suitable and proper place, the corresponding ordinances for and in behalf of the dead are acceptable unto the Lord, and therefore valid, only when administered in places specially provided, set apart, and dedicated for these and kindred purposes; that is to say, such ordinances belong exclusively to the House of the Lor

5 minute read

Read Chapter

BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD

As demonstrated in the preceding pages, the law of baptism is of universal application; in short, baptism is required of all who have lived to the age of accountability. Only those who die in infancy are exempt. Children, having no sin to expiate, and being unable to comprehend the nature of the baptismal obligation, are not to be baptized while living, nor is the ordinance to be performed for them should they die before reaching a responsible age and state. As to the child's part in the heritag

4 minute read

Read Chapter

ORDINATION AND ENDOWMENT

Water-baptism, and the higher baptism of the Spirit by the authorized imposition of hands for the conferring of the Holy Ghost, constitute the two fundamental ordinances of the Gospel. The repentant soul who has thus entered the Church of Christ may afterward attain to position and authority in the Holy Priesthood—not as an earthly honor, not as a title of personal aggrandizement, not as a symbol of power to rule and possibly to oppress,—but as an endowment bespeaking authority and the express r

10 minute read

Read Chapter

SEALING IN MARRIAGE

The Latter-day Saints regard the marriage ceremony performed exclusively within temple precincts, as the one and only perfect contract of matrimony. [ 21 ] They recognize the full legal validity and moral obligation of any marriage entered into under the secular law; but civil marriages and indeed all marriages made without the binding authority of the Holy Priesthood they regard as contracts for this life only, and therefore lacking the higher and superior elements of a complete and perpetual u

9 minute read

Read Chapter

OTHER SEALING ORDINANCES

Children born outside celestial marriage, yet within legally established wedlock, are the lawful and legitimate heirs of their parents in all affairs of earth. They are the offspring of an earthly union that is in every respect a legal, moral, and proper relation under the laws of man. That these children will belong to their parents in the hereafter is as uncertain as that the parents will belong to each other. The parents have been but temporally and temporarily married, and the offspring are

1 minute read

Read Chapter

TEMPLE SITE AT INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI

The principal seat of the Church had been temporarily established at Kirtland, Ohio; nevertheless the prophet had learned through early revelation that Zion would be established far to the west. In June, 1831, a conference of elders was held at Kirtland, on which occasion a revelation [ 3 ] was received directing certain of the elders to start westward, traveling in pairs and preaching by the way. In the month following, these elders reassembled at a designated place in western Missouri, all rej

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE

The building of a temple in Missouri was regarded, even by the prophet and those who assisted him in dedicating the site, as an event of the future, perhaps even of the far distant future. The center of activity, the seat of the Church for the time being, was in Ohio, and Kirtland was the place of temporary gathering. In Kirtland too was to be erected the first temple of modern times. In a revelation given December 27, 1832, the Lord commanded the establishment of a holy house. [ 7 ] Perhaps bec

14 minute read

Read Chapter

TEMPLE SITE AT FAR WEST, MISSOURI

From Ohio the Church migrated westward, and gathering-centers were established in Missouri, principally in Jackson, Clay, and Caldwell counties. No time was lost in useless grieving over the enforced abandonment of the Temple at Kirtland. Even at that early day, but seven years after the organization of the Church, the people had come to regard persecution as an inevitable incident of their religion, and spoliation as their heritage. Resolutely they went to work in preparation for another temple

3 minute read

Read Chapter

THE NAUVOO TEMPLE

After their expulsion from Missouri, the "Mormon" refugees turned their faces toward the east, crossed the Mississippi and established themselves in and about the obscure village of Commerce, Hancock County, Illinois. The people demonstrated again their marvelous recuperative power, and without delay or hesitation set about establishing new homes and a temple. By the early part of June, 1839, dwellings were in course of construction, and soon the hamlet was transformed into a city. To this new a

11 minute read

Read Chapter

LAYING OF THE CAPSTONE

The sixth day of April, 1892, was determined upon as the date for placing in position the capstone of the Temple, and the announcement was hailed with joy in every ward and branch of the Church, and in every household of the Saints. The day marked the close of the annual Conference, and was hallowed by all the observances of solemn assembly. As a preliminary to the principal ceremony, a vast congregation had assembled in the Tabernacle at an early hour, and in this the several organizations of t

4 minute read

Read Chapter

COMPLETION OF THE BUILDING AND ITS DEDICATION

The adoption of a plan or the formal passing of a resolution by vote is an easy matter, compared with which the working out of that plan, the achieving of what was provided for by the vote, may be a gigantic task. Such was the contrast between the action of the assembled multitude on the 6th of April, 1892, and the work accomplished in the year that followed. When the capstone of the Temple was laid, the scene inside the walls was that of chaos and confusion. To finish the interior within a year

2 hour read

Read Chapter

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 Bri

9 minute read

Read Chapter

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

10 minute read

Read Chapter

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, 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 we

12 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 1.—THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE

This, the first Temple reared to the name of the Lord in modern times, was erected at Kirtland, Ohio. The corner stones were laid in July, 1833, and the building was finished and dedicated in March, 1836. The structure is still existent though no longer owned by the people who reared it, nor used for the distinctive purposes characteristic of Temples. The Kirtland Temple was built by the Latter-day Saints in the period of their early history as a Church—in the days of poverty and persecution. In

42 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 2.—THE NAUVOO TEMPLE

This structure, built by the Latter-day Saints at Nauvoo, Illinois, was the second Temple of the present dispensation. It was begun in 1841, and completed in 1846. In it was constructed the first Baptismal Font of modern times for the sacred ordinance of Baptism for the Dead. Owing to religious intolerance and violent persecution, a general exodus of the people had begun before the building was finished, though not before many had received their blessings and endowments therein. Certain parts of

38 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 3.—THE GREAT TEMPLE AT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

This splendid structure was forty years in building. The corner stones were laid April 6, 1853; the capstone was placed in position April 6, 1892, and the completed Temple was dedicated April 6, 1893; each of these events was marked by impressive ceremony. The walls are of solid granite eight feet thick in the first story and six feet in the upper parts. Many stones of emblematical significance appear representing sun, moon, stars, the earth, and the clouds. On the main inscription stone at the

42 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 4.—THE GREAT TEMPLE IN WINTER

The Temple is centrally located in the easterly half of Temple Block. The grounds are beautified by a profusion of shrubs, trees, and flowers. Many observers have voiced their uncertainty as to whether the Temple appears more beautiful when environed by the greenery of summer or by the white foliage of hoar-frost or snow. The scene herewith presented was caught by the camera in the spring of 1912. Plate as described below...

22 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 5.—STATUE SURMOUNTING THE CAPSTONE OF THE GREAT TEMPLE

The stonework of each of the six towers ends in a sphere of granite. The termination of the east center tower is the highest stone in the building and constitutes the capstone. Anchored to this granite globe is a figure wrought in copper over-laid with gold; it stands over twelve feet high, and represents Moroni, an ancient Nephite prophet, who as a resurrected being visited the boy-prophet, Joseph Smith, in 1823, and afterward delivered to him the ancient record since published to the world as

48 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 6.—ONE OF THE OUTER DOORS OF THE TEMPLE

There are four outer portals leading into the Temple beside the entrance from the Annex. Each of these four doorways occupies a court between the towers. The doors are hung in pairs, each door twelve feet high and four feet wide. The woodwork is of oak, hand-carved. The middle and upper panels hold heavy plate glass in front of which are grills of bronze. Even the door-knobs and escutcheons are of special design, in which appear the bee-hive and the inscription " Holiness to the Lord ." On the c

37 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 7.—ANNEX TO THE GREAT TEMPLE

Each of the four Temples in Utah is provided with a small detached building known as the Annex. This is used for office purposes and other incidental service, and contains an assembly room in which are held devotional exercises preliminary to those of the Temple proper. The Annex of the Salt Lake City Temple is an attractive building of cream-colored oolite, standing about one hundred feet north from the main structure. The Annex is connected with the Temple by a passage, partly below ground-lev

30 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 8.—ASSEMBLY ROOM IN THE TEMPLE ANNEX

This room, thirty-six feet square and provided with spacious alcoves on two opposite sides is used for purposes of general assembly preparatory to the ordinances of the Temple. Here congregate on the morning of each day of service all who are to take part, either in administering or receiving ordinances. The large painting, which appears at the center of the accompanying illustration, is Weggeland's full-sized copy of Munkacsy's "Christ Before Pilate." Portraits of living authorities of the Chur

51 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 9.—PASSAGE CONNECTING ANNEX WITH TEMPLE

A flight of stairs leads downward from the main floor of the Annex to this semi-subterranean passage, which runs southerly about ninety feet and terminates at the threshold of the Temple. The door opening directly into the lower corridor of the Temple appears in the background. This is the usual avenue of entrance to the Temple. Only those who assemble for the council meetings of the Priesthood pass the outer portals into the Temple direct. The passage is well lighted and ventilated, and in cold

33 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 10.—LOWER CORRIDOR OF THE TEMPLE

The Lower Corridor is entered from the Annex Passage through the north wall of the Temple, and extends thence southerly to the opposite side. The corridor is twelve feet wide, and is richly finished and furnished. On the east wall is a large painting by William Armitage, showing the Prophet Joseph Smith preaching to the Indians. Smaller paintings are hung on either side. Doorways leading from this corridor admit to the Lower Lecture Room and the Garden Room on the east, and to the Baptistry and

35 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 11.—THE BAPTISTRY

The Baptistry or Baptismal Room is thirty-two by forty-five feet and is situated on the west of the Lower Corridor. The great Baptismal Font occupies the center of the room, and is supported by twelve life-sized oxen of cast-iron, which stand in a depression three feet below the floor level. The oxen are grouped, three facing toward each of the cardinal points of the compass. In this font, which has a capacity of over four hundred gallons, is administered the ordinance of baptism by immersion. B

48 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 12.—THE LOWER LECTURE ROOM

The room so designated is entered from the Lower Corridor near the north end. It is forty by forty-five feet in area, and is seated to accommodate two hundred and fifty persons. This room is used in the first course of instruction incident to the Endowment. As seen in the accompanying illustration it is plainly furnished, without wall-ornament or other embellishment. The portal hung with curtains, which appears in the back-ground of the picture, leads into the Garden Room. See pages 185 , 186 :

29 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 13.—THE GARDEN ROOM

As already seen, the Lower Lecture Room is marked by simplicity and plainness; the Garden Room is characterized by richness and beauty. Here ceiling and walls have been painted by master artists, who have depicted with effective skill the distant glory of sky and cloud, and the nearer beauties of earthly life. Landscape scenes cover the walls from floor to ceiling: there are gardens and glens, hills, valleys, and brooks, fruits and flowers, birds and other living things, all appearing amidst a s

43 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 14.—THE UPPER CORRIDOR

The illustration presented herewith shows the Upper Corridor at the head of the Grand Stairway. The walls are hung with portraits and paintings of scriptural scenes. In the back-ground, at the north end of this corridor, is the doorway leading into the Celestial Room, shown in Plates 21 and 22 . A portal on the right leads into one of the ante-rooms (Plate 26 ) to the Sealing Room for the Living; that on the left is the entrance to a side passage which in turn leads into the World Room (Plate 17

32 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 15.—SIDE CORRIDOR

From a landing near the top of the Grand Stairway a side corridor leads to the west and opens into the World Room. The picture here shown was taken from the west end of this corridor, and the observer is therefore looking east into the Upper Corridor already described and illustrated. The large wall painting presents a scene from the Book of Mormon record—that of the Resurrected Christ ministering to the children on the occasion of His visit to the Nephites. (Book of Mormon, III Nephi 17:23, 24.

31 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 16.—ART WINDOW,—THE EXPULSION FROM EDEN

The passage from the Garden Room below to the World Room on the next floor is by way of the Grand Stairway and the Side Corridor last described. On the south side of the passage is a splendid art window of elliptical shape depicting the expulsion of the first parents of the race from Eden after the Fall. It is of particular appropriateness in this part of the building, and impresses the beholder as a symbol of the great change brought about by the Fall of Man. Plate as described below...

28 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 17.—THE WORLD ROOM, LOOKING WEST

The walls of the World Room are painted with scenes typical of the earth after the Fall. There are hills and crags, trees and flowers, but the whole presentation is that of the fallen state. In place of gentle slope and mossy dell, there are precipitous hills and broken rocks. The trees are gnarled and misshapen. In the accompanying picture two lions are seen in deadly combat, while the lioness stands nearby awaiting the outcome of the struggle. Two bears are feasting on the carcase of an animal

39 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 18.—THE WORLD ROOM, LOOKING EAST

On the rear walls of the World Room are depicted further scenes of disturbance, disruption, and violence. Rocky crags, blasted shrubs, and deformed trees are shown in impressive detail; and in the distance a storm scene is pictured. Deer appear in life and death struggle; birds of prey are slaying their weaker kindred. On the summit of the cliffs is an eagle's nest, holding the eaglet brood; and alongside stands the mother bird awaiting the arrival of her mate, who is approaching in rapid flight

35 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 19.—THE TERRESTRIAL ROOM, LOOKING WEST

This spacious chamber, which is entered from the World Room last described, presents the appearance of combined richness and simplicity. The walls are hung with framed canvases, some of which are rare originals, others excellent copies, depicting incidents in the life of Christ, and scenes in Palestine. Near the east end of the room is a prayer-altar, on which are placed copies of the Holy Scriptures. The room is all the more restful in its general effect by contrast with the scenes of turmoil a

43 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 20.—TERRESTRIAL ROOM, LOOKING EAST TOWARD THE VEIL

This is the room shown in Plate 19, but here it is pictured from a point at the west end. The framed canvas on the right is the original painting by Girard depicting the scene of Joseph in prison, interpreting the portentous dreams of Pharaoh's butler and baker. A picture of the Holy Family occupies a prominent position at the east end, immediately above the Veil. The Veil, which separates the Terrestrial Room from the room that typifies the Celestial state, is a portiere hung in four sections.

33 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 21.—THE CELESTIAL ROOM, LOOKING EAST

The Veil of the Temple hangs between the Terrestrial Room last described and the Celestial Room shown in the accompanying picture. This is the largest of the ceremonial rooms, and of all it is the most splendidly finished. In area it is sixty by forty-five feet, and its height is thirty-four feet. Wall columns support entablatures from which spring ten arches immediately beneath the cornice. The ceiling is vaulted and paneled; beams and cornices are carved to represent clusters of fruit and flow

54 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 22.—THE CELESTIAL ROOM, LOOKING WEST TOWARD THE VEIL

This will be readily recognized as the Celestial Room illustrated by the last picture, Plate 21 . The View here shown, however, is that obtained from the east end, as the observer looks toward the Veil of the Temple. The corner door-way on the left opens into the Upper Corridor at the top of the Grand Stairway, as is seen in Plate 14 . The Celestial Room is richly carpeted, and the movable furniture is all excellent in kind; the furnishings throughout harmonize with the splendid finish of ceilin

39 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 23.—THE SEALING ROOM FOR THE DEAD

Of the three small ceremonial rooms entered from the Celestial Room, this, the Sealing Room for the Dead, is reached first as one proceeds easterly from the Veil. This apartment is slightly raised above the floor of the large room, and is furnished in subdued color. At the altar in the fore-ground kneel the parties who appear as proxies for the dead. The art-window at the rear of the alcove represents the resurrected prophet, Moroni, in the act of delivering to the boy, Joseph Smith, the ancient

45 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 24.—THE SEALING ROOM FOR THE LIVING

The most easterly of the three small rooms adjoining the Celestial Room is here shown. This is the Sealing Room for the Living, wherein is solemnized the holy rite of Celestial Marriage. Marriage ceremonies for the period of mortal life alone are not performed within the Temple. The parties who come to the House of the Lord to be wedded by the authority of the Holy Priesthood for time and eternity kneel at the altar shown in this picture and there enter into eternal covenant with each other. Her

46 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 25.—RECEPTION ROOM ADJOINING SEALING ROOM FOR THE LIVING

From the Upper Corridor, entrance to the Sealing Room for the Living is afforded through two small apartments, known as reception halls, waiting-rooms, or ante-rooms. It is possible, therefore, to reach the Sealing Room without entering the Celestial Room. This plate shows the inner of the two, with the door of the Sealing Room open; through this portal the altar is revealed, as well as a glimpse of the Celestial Room beyond. Plate as described below...

24 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 26.—OUTER ANTE-ROOM

This cozy apartment is entered from the Upper Corridor and communicates by an inner door with the Reception Room shown in Plate 25 . Like the preceding, this room is used for no ceremonial rites, and is utilized solely as an ante-chamber for those who await admittance to the Sealing Room within. Through the outer door, which stands open in the picture, appears part of the balustrade of the Grand Stairway. Plate as described below...

23 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 27.—THE HOLY OF HOLIES

This, the Holy of Holies of the Temple, is situated between the two sealing rooms already described; it is therefore the central of the three small rooms referred to as opening directly into the Celestial Room. It is the most elaborately finished of all the smaller apartments. A flight of six steps leads to the elevated floor of this room, and the portal is guarded by a pair of sliding doors, which in a measure correspond to the inner veil of the ancient sanctuaries. The room is circular in form

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 28.—THE HALL-WAY ON THIRD FLOOR

By way of this corridor, the several council rooms on the third floor of the Temple are reached. The picture is taken looking east along the corridor into the Dome Room, which is so named from its most prominent feature—that of a large central dome, which forms the ceiling of the Holy of Holies. On the north of this hall-way, or on the left as the observer stands. are two doorways opening into the Council Room of the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles; on the opposite side are the entrances to

36 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 29.—THE ELDERS' ROOM

This apartment, furnished with chairs, table, and an altar for prayer, is provided for the use of the presiding Councils of the quorums of Elders belonging to the near-by stakes. The room is reserved for devotional service only. See page 195 . Plate as described below...

15 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 30.—COUNCIL ROOM OF THE SEVENTY

The seven presidents of the first quorum of the Seventies constitute a presiding council, having jurisdiction over all other quorums of Seventies in the Church. The room shown herewith is devoted to the use of this presiding body, which is known as the First Council of the Seventy. The room is furnished to accommodate the seven presidents and a clerk or recorder. At stated intervals the Council meets here for devotional service, and to consider matters pertaining to the spiritual upbuilding of t

31 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 31.—HIGH COUNCIL CHAMBER

The presidency of each Stake of Zion comprises three high priests,—a president and two counselors. To assist the presidency in conducting the affairs of the stake, and having specific duties as a judicial body, are twelve other high priests, duly chosen and set apart, who constitute the High Council of the stake. The Stake Presidency and the High Council meet as one body to consider matters pertaining to the welfare of the stake, or as a court to hear appeals from the Bishop's court of any ward

54 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 32.—COUNCIL ROOM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES

The spacious chamber here pictured is exclusively devoted to the use of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. The Council assembles at stated intervals in regular session, and whenever summoned by the President of the Twelve for special sittings. The room is supplied with twelve chairs of a kind, beside which there are other chairs for recorders, also a table, a desk, and an altar used in prayer. On the walls are hung oil portraits of the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and the Presiding Pa

42 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 33.—COUNCIL ROOM OR THE FIRST PRESIDENCY AND THE TWELVE APOSTLES

This room is forty by twenty-eight feet and is furnished with seats for the First Presidency of the Church, the Twelve Apostles, the Presiding Patriarch and a recorder, seventeen in all. As the picture shows, the chairs of the Apostles are arranged in order around the altar; the seats of the First Presidency and the Patriarch form a line alongside the wall. The walls support several paintings by Alfred Lambourne, among which are his Hill Cumorah, and Adam-ondi-Ahman—replicas of canvases hung in

50 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 34.—THE MEMORIAL WINDOW

In a small apartment adjoining the Council Room of the First Presidency and the Twelve, there is the large memorial window pictured herewith. The Temple is shown as it stands with the inscription "Holiness to the Lord," appearing as in the clouds above the great building. On the left-hand panel, beneath the bordered escutcheon, we read: Corner stone laid April 6, 1853, by President Brigham Young, Assisted by his Counsellors, Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards. And on the right-hand panel, simila

37 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 35.—GENERAL VIEW OF MAIN ASSEMBLY ROOM

The fourth floor of the Temple is occupied entirely by the Main Assembly Room and its vestries. The room pictured in the accompanying plate is one hundred and twenty feet long, eighty feet wide, and thirty-six feet high. At either end is a series of pulpits with terraced platforms. The body of the room is furnished with reversible seats by means of which the audience may conveniently face either stand as occasion requires. At the time this picture was taken, these seats had been removed, and onl

41 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 36.—STAND AND PULPITS FOR MELCHISEDEK PRIESTHOOD IN MAIN ASSEMBLY ROOM

The view presented herewith shows with some detail, one of the end stands in the Main Assembly Room already described. The stand is really a series of four terraces, on each of which is a central lectern with a smaller table on either side. The highest terrace is under a canopy, on the front of which is inscribed the particular order of Priesthood to which the stand belongs. The accompanying picture shows the stand at the east end of the great room, which is reserved for the officers of the High

38 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 37.—SPIRAL STAIRWAY IN MAIN ASSEMBLY ROOM

Access to the gallery of the Main Assembly Room is afforded by four stairways, one in each corner of the great hall. These four stairways are of similar design. Each is a graceful spiral, winding about a central post. This picture shows the stairway in the southwest corner of the Main Assembly Room. The picture is of interest in illustrating the fact that all parts of the great Temple are finished with thoroughness and care. There is no neglected corner. It would seem, indeed, that the builders

38 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 38.—ONE OF THE GREAT GRANITE STAIRWAYS

Each corner of the great Temple is marked by a large tower; and in each of these four corner towers is a stairway reaching from basement to roof, and every step is of solid granite. A central column of granite four feet in diameter supports, at the inner end, the one hundred and seventy-seven granite steps. Each step is six feet six inches long and weighs over seventeen hundred pounds; this amounts to over one and a quarter million pounds as the weight of the seven hundred and eight steps in the

33 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 39.—TEMPLE BLOCK, SALT LAKE CITY

The city square or block upon which stands the great Temple is occupied in part by other buildings devoted to Church purposes; among these are the Assembly Hall, the Tabernacle, the Bureau of Information, and, on the north half, therefore not shown in the picture, the Temple Annex, the Conservatory, and other minor buildings. Temple Block is a square of ten acres; it was laid off in 1847, and reserved for the uses to which it has since been put; this was but a few days after the arrival of the "

54 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 40.—THE TABERNACLE—EXTERIOR

By architects and others this building has been pronounced one of the most remarkable auditoriums ever erected. As the picture shows, it is simply a great dome supported by buttressed walls. It was in course of erection from July 1864 to October 1867. The immense dome-roof is a lattice-work construction and is self-sustaining. The roof span is without a single pillar. More remarkable still, the roof is built entirely of wood and was constructed without nails or metal spikes. The enormous beams a

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 41.—THE TABERNACLE—INTERIOR

A gallery thirty-six feet wide extends around the interior of the Tabernacle except at the west end, where the gallery gives place to the great organ and a terraced platform providing accommodations for Church officials and the choir. In the choir space, seats are provided for three hundred singers, with other seats for nearly as many more in the adjacent sections of the spacious gallery. The building, as a whole, affords seating room for nearly nine thousand persons, but audiences much larger t

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 42.—STATUE OF JOSEPH SMITH, THE PROPHET

Life-size statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith are seen on Temple Block. On the front tablet of the pedestal supporting the bronze figure of Joseph, we read: JOSEPH SMITH THE PROPHET OF THE NEW DISPENSATION OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. HE WAS BORN AT SHARON, VERMONT, ON THE 23RD OF DECEMBER, 1805; AND SUFFERED MARTYRDOM FOR THE WORD OF GOD AND THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS AT CARTHAGE, ILLINOIS, ON THE 27TH OF JUNE, 1844. HIS VISION OF GOD I SAW TWO PERSONAGES WHOSE GLORY AND BRIGHTNESS DEFY AL

3 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 43.—STATUE OF HYRUM SMITH, THE PATRIARCH

The statue of Patriarch Hyrum Smith, like that of his brother Joseph, the Prophet, has been moved from its first place of installation in the granite niche at the east Temple entrance and is now upon the open grounds. Both statues are set on pedestals of Utah granite, which pedestals with their bases have a total height of four feet four inches. The figures were modeled by Mahonri M. Young, a sculptor of Utah nativity. On the front face of the pedestal supporting the statue of the Patriarch is a

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 44.—THE ST. GEORGE TEMPLE

The Temple at St. George, Washington county, Utah, was the first Temple built and opened to sacred service in what is now the State of Utah. The building is one hundred and forty-two feet long, ninety-six feet wide, and eighty feet high. The tower vane is one hundred and seventy-five feet from the ground. It is built of red sandstone with a foundation of black volcanic rock. The building has been plastered and whitened on the outside and stands in striking contrast to the red rock and soil of th

57 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 45.—THE LOGAN TEMPLE

This, the most northerly of the Houses of the Lord in Utah, is situated at Logan, Cache county. Excavation work preparatory to laying the foundation was begun in 1877: corner stones were laid in September of the same year; and the Temple was dedicated to sacred service in May, 1884. The building is one hundred and seventy-one feet long, ninety-five feet wide, and eighty-six feet high to the square; the east tower is one hundred and seventy feet high. The walls are of dark colored silicious limes

49 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE 46.—THE MANTI TEMPLE

The site for the Manti Temple was selected in June, 1875; excavation work was begun in April, 1877; the corner stones were laid two years later; and the building was dedicated May 21, 1888. The Temple is built on rock in place and consists of material taken from the Very deposit on which it is founded. This is an excellent variety of oolite of light cream color. The building is one hundred and seventy-one feet long, ninety-five feet wide, and eighty-two feet from the ground to the square. The to

6 minute read

Read Chapter