The Postcard
A postally unused Quality Series postcard that was published by the Souvenir Novelty Co. Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah. Their motto on the divided back of the card is ‘Busy All The Time’.
The publishers have provided some information about the Mormon Temple:
‘Mormon Temple,
Salt Lake City,
Utah.
The Temple was commenced
on April 6, 1853 and completed
April 6, 1893 at a cost of
approximately $4,000,000.
It is 186½ feet long by 99 feet
wide.
The foundation or footing
walls are 16 feet thick and
8 feet deep. The basement
walls are 9 feet thick and the
upper walls 6 feet thick.
The side walls are 107½ high.
East Center Tower, 210 feet
high, surmounted by a
hammered copper statue of
the Angel Moroni, 12½ feet
high, gilded with pure gold
leaf.’
Temple (Latter Day Saints)
The Salt Lake Temple, operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the centerpiece of the 10 acre (40,000 m2) Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a temple is a building dedicated to be a house of God, and is reserved for special forms of worship. The most prolific builder of temples of the Latter Day Saint movement is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
There are 173 dedicated temples (167 currently operating; 5 previously dedicated, but closed for renovation; and 1 (Kyiv) which has temporarily suspended operations).
There are also 51 under construction, and 58 announced (but not yet under construction), giving a total of 282.
History
The Latter Day Saint movement was conceived as a restoration of practices believed to have been lost in a Great Apostasy from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Temple worship played a prominent role in the Bible’s Old Testament, and in the Book of Mormon.
On the 27th. December 1832, two years after the organization of the Church of Christ, the church’s founder, Joseph Smith, reported receiving a revelation that called upon church members to restore the practice of temple worship. The Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, were commanded to:
"Establish a house, even a house of prayer,
a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house
of learning, a house of glory, a house of
order, a house of God."
Latter Day Saints see temples as the fulfillment of a prophecy found in Malachi 3:1 (KJV):
"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall
prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom
ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even
the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight
in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts."
The prophesy, which features in Handel’s Messiah, is believed to emphasize that when the Jesus comes again, he will come "to his temple."
As plans were drawn up to construct a temple in Kirtland, the decision was made to simultaneously begin work on a second temple at the church’s colony in Jackson County, Missouri.
Surviving plans indicate that both temples would have the same dimensions and approximately the same appearance and both were to be at the "centerplaces" of cities designed according to Smith’s plan for the City of Zion.
However conflict in Missouri led to the expulsion of the Mormons from Jackson County, preventing any possibility of building a temple there, but work on the temple in Kirtland continued.
At great cost and sacrifice, the Latter Day Saints finished the Kirtland Temple in early 1836. On the 27th. March, they held a lengthy dedication ceremony, and numerous spiritual experiences and visitations were reported.
Conflict relating to the failure of the church’s Kirtland Safety Society bank, caused the church presidency to leave Kirtland and move the church’s headquarters to the Mormon settlement of Far West, Missouri.
Far West was also designed along the lines of the City of Zion plan, and in 1838 the church began construction of a new, larger temple in the center of the town. However the 1838 Mormon War and the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri left this attempt at temple-building no further progressed than excavating foundations.
In 1839, the Mormons regrouped at a new headquarters in Nauvoo, Illinois. They were again commanded to build a "House of the Lord"—this one even larger and greater than those that went before.
New conflicts arose that led to Smith being killed, along with his brother Hyrum, at Carthage Jail on the 27th. June 1844. The Nauvoo Temple stood only half finished at the time, but eventually, this temple was finished and dedicated. Some temple ordinances were performed before most of the Latter Day Saints followed Brigham Young west across the Mississippi River.
Smith’s death resulted in a succession crisis which divided the movement into different sects. The concept of temple worship evolved separately in many of these sects, and until the 1990’s only the sects claiming a succession through Brigham Young continued to build new temples.
In April 1990, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) began to construct the Independence Temple, which was dedicated in 1994. The RLDS Church—now called the Community of Christ—owns the Kirtland Temple, which is used for worship services and special events, but is also open to visitors, including various Latter Day Saint denominations interested in the building’s historical significance.
Salt Lake City
Because it is an integral part of their worship, Mormon pioneers, upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, began plans to build temples there, and built the Endowment House to allow members to receive the endowment until the temples were completed.
The Endowment House in Salt Lake City was razed in 1889 after church president Wilford Woodruff learned that plural marriages were being performed there without the authorization of the First Presidency.
The Salt Lake Temple
At 253,015 square feet (23,505.9 m2), it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple completed by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846.
The temple was closed in December 2019 for a general remodelling and seismic renovations that are anticipated to take approximately four years.
Like other Latter-day Saint temples, the church and its members consider it sacred, and a temple recommend is required to enter, so there are no public tours inside the temple as there are for other adjacent buildings on Temple Square.
In 1912, the first public photographs of the interior were published in the book The House of the Lord, by James E. Talmage. Since then, various photographs have been published, including by Life magazine in 1938.
The temple grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction.
The temple includes some elements evoking Solomon’s Temple at Jerusalem. It is oriented towards Jerusalem, and the large basin used as a baptismal font is mounted on the backs of twelve oxen, as was the Molten Sea in Solomon’s Temple.
Location of the Temple
The temple is in downtown Salt Lake City, with several mountain peaks close by. Nearby, a shallow stream, City Creek, splits and flows both to the west and to the south, flowing into the Jordan River.
There is a wall around the 10-acre (4.0 ha) temple site. The surrounding wall became the first permanent structure on what has become known as Temple Square. The wall is a uniform 15 feet high, but varies in appearance because of the site’s southwest slope.
Uses of the Temple
The temple is considered the house of God, and is reserved for special ceremonies for practicing Latter-Day Saints. The main ordinance rooms are used during the endowment ceremony—namely the creation, garden, telestial, terrestrial, and celestial rooms in that order of use.
A washing and anointing ceremony is also administered, and until 1921, the rooms were also used for healing rituals of washing and anointing for the sick or pregnant, and were administered by women and men.
The temple also serves as a place for marriage sealing ceremonies for live and deceased persons. Additional uses include functioning as a location for baptisms for the dead, baptisms for health (until being discontinued in 1921) and, briefly, for re-baptism for the renewal of covenants.
Other rituals performed in the temple include the second anointing ordinance for live and deceased persons, and meeting rooms for church leaders.
Temple Construction and Dedication
The temple’s location was first marked by Brigham Young, the church’s second president, on the 28th. July 1847, just four days after he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.
In 1901, church apostle Anthon H. Lund recorded in his journal that "it is said" that Oliver Cowdery’s divining rod was used to locate the temple site.
The temple site was dedicated on the 14th. February 1853, by Heber C. Kimball. Groundbreaking ceremonies were presided over by Young, who laid the cornerstone on the 6th. April 1853.
The architect was Truman O. Angell, and the temple features both Gothic and Romanesque elements.
Sandstone was originally used for the foundation. During the Utah War, the foundation was buried, and the lot made to look like a plowed field to prevent unwanted attention from federal troops.
After tensions eased in 1858 and work on the temple resumed, it was discovered that many of the foundation stones had cracked, making them unsuitable for use. Although not all of the sandstone was replaced, the cracked blocks were replaced.
The walls are quartz monzonite (which has the appearance of granite) from Little Cottonwood Canyon, twenty miles (32 km) away. Oxen transported the quarried rock initially, but as the Transcontinental Railroad neared completion in 1869 the remaining stones were carried by rail at a much faster rate.
The capstone—the granite sphere that holds the statue of the Angel Moroni—was laid on the 6th. April 1892, by means of an electric motor and switch operated by Wilford Woodruff, the church’s fourth president, thus completing work on the temple’s exterior.
The Angel Moroni statue was placed on top of the capstone later the same day. At the capstone ceremony, Woodruff proposed the building’s interior be finished within one year, which would allow the temple to be dedicated forty years to the day after its commencement.
John R. Winder oversaw the interior’s completion on schedule; he served as a member of the temple presidency until his death in 1910. Woodruff dedicated the temple on the 6th. April 1893, exactly forty years after the cornerstone was laid.
The 2019 to 2025 Renovation
At the end of 2019, the temple was closed for a seismic retrofitting designed to allow it to withstand a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, the strongest expected magnitude in the Salt Lake Valley.
Other facilities on Temple Square (and certain parts of the main temple) were to be demolished, reconstructed, and modernized in line with seismic code. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems will be replaced.
Initially the interior and its historical artifacts were planned to be preserved, although plans were later changed and many historic elements were removed.
Prior to 2019, the building had never been decommissioned for renovation and only minor updating of finishes and systems had occurred within the temple proper (although multiple "annex" additions had been added and removed in the past).
This meant that the temple’s core historic architecture, layout, and workmanship had been preserved for 126 years.
Before construction started, church leaders indicated that the temple’s unique historicity would be preserved. Church employees stated that special efforts would be made to highlight and honor the pioneer craftsmanship, and indicated the interiors would essentially remain the same.
Various renderings were released showing the instruction rooms used for the endowment ceremony would remain intact, with the original layout, woodwork and murals being preserved.
In March 2021, the church announced significant changes to the renovation plan that affected many elements in the temple’s historic interior. The progressive room-to-room live endowment ceremony would be removed, and the layout of the temple would change, with the baptistry being moved to the annex and new instruction rooms constructed in its place.
Other rooms and walls would be reconfigured, requiring the removal of the temple’s murals. The murals and many other historic features of the building were photographed and otherwise documented before being permanently removed or destroyed. In December 2021, the church announced that renovations were expected to conclude in 2025.
These changes will allow for greater patron capacity, but the removal of many historic elements was met with criticism, especially the destruction of the temple’s murals.
One prominent historian described the changes as a “huge and unnecessary loss,” and another noted them as a loss of “priceless cultural artifacts.”
Symbolism of the Temple
The Salt Lake Temple incorporates many symbolic adornments, including Masonic symbols. These symbols include the following:
— The All-Seeing Eye – The center tower on each side has a depiction of the all-seeing eye of God representing how God sees all things.
— The Angel Statue – The golden Angel Moroni statue, by sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin, tops the capstone of the temple. It symbolizes the angel mentioned in Revelation 14:6 that will come to welcome in the Second Coming of Christ. Early architectural plans showed two horizontally flying angels, and the earliest references to the Salt Lake Temple’s angel were always Gabriel. The original blueprint drawings intended the angel to be wearing temple ceremonial clothing like the angel on the Nauvoo Temple, but Paris-trained sculptor Dallin’s 12.5-foot statue wears a crown instead of a temple cap that included a bright light which created a halo effect at night. As a result of an earthquake on the 18th. March 2020, the statue’s trumpet broke.
— The Beehive – The beehive symbol (which appears on the Utah state seal) appears on external doors and doorknobs, and symbolizes the thrift, industry, perseverance, and order of the Mormon people.
— The Big Dipper – On the west side of the temple the Big Dipper appears, which represents how the priesthood can help people find their way to heaven as the constellation helped travelers to find the North Star. The uppermost stars on the temple’s constellation align with the actual North Star.
— The Compass and Square – Early plan drawings of the temple show the Masonic arrangements of a compass and square placed around the second and fourth floor windows, but the plans were changed during construction. These symbols had appeared on the Nauvoo Temple weathervane.
— The Clasped Hands – Above each external door and doorknob appears the "hand clasp," which is a representation of covenants that are made within temples or brotherly love.
— Clouds – On the east side of the temple are "clouds raining down" representing the way God has continued revelation and still speaks to man "like the rains out of Heaven".
— Earths – The Earthstones in the lower buttresses have been interpreted as the gospel of Christ spreading over the whole Earth.
— Spires – The six spires of the temple represent the power of the priesthood. The three spires on the east side are a little higher than those on the west: they represent the Melchizedek, or "higher priesthood", and the Aaronic, or "preparatory priesthood" respectively. The three spires on the east side represent the church’s First Presidency and the twelve smaller spires on those three represent the Twelve Apostles.
— Sun, Moon, and Stars – Around the temple there are several carved stones depicting the Sun, Moon, and Stars which correspond respectively to the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms of glory in the afterlife. The sunstones have also been interpreted to represent God, the moonstones in different phases as representing different phases of life, and the starstones representing Jesus Christ. These symbols were drawn from the Freemasonry practiced by many early church leaders in Nauvoo. Additionally, five-pointed stars have traditionally represented the five wounds of Christ (hands, feet, and side) and the five-pointed star with an elongated downward ray found on several LDS temples has been interpreted to represent Christ coming to Earth.
Incidents Associated With the Temple
— Bombings
Two bombing incidents have damaged the temple. On the 10th. April 1910, a bomb at the nearby Hotel Utah (now the Joseph Smith Memorial Building) damaged the trumpet of the Moroni statue atop the temple.
On the 14th. November 1962, the southeast door of the Salt Lake Temple was bombed. FBI agents found that the explosive had been wrapped around the door handles on the temple’s southeast entrance. The large wooden entrance doors were damaged by flying fragments of metal and glass. Damage to interior walls occurred 25 feet inside the temple, but damage to the interior was minor. Eleven exterior windows were shattered.
— The 1999 Salt Lake City Tornado
The temple suffered damage in 1999 when a tornado rated F2 on the Fujita Scale struck Salt Lake City. A wedding taking place at the time allowed a photographer to record video of the tornado as it passed near the temple, forcing the wedding party to shelter against the temple doors and pillars for protection from the wind and debris.
They were not allowed inside to take shelter as the temple doors were locked. After being pelted with rain and hail, members of the wedding party surveyed the damage to the trees and surrounding buildings before resuming the ceremony.
— The 2020 Salt Lake City Earthquake
On the morning of the 18th. March 2020, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck just outside Salt Lake City. Though most of the damage was outside the city, minor damage was inflicted on the temple.
The trumpet of the Angel Moroni on top of the temple’s tallest spire was dislodged from the statue, and some stones from the smaller spires were displaced. No other damage to the temple was reported.
