St. George Utah Temple
Encyclopedia
The St. George Utah Temple (formerly the St. George Temple) is the first temple
completed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the forced exodus of the body of the Church from Nauvoo, Illinois
, after the death of its founder Joseph Smith, Jr.
. It was designed by Truman O. Angell
and is more similar in its design to the Nauvoo Temple
than to later LDS temples. The St. George Temple is the oldest temple still actively used by the LDS Church. The temple currently has three ordinance rooms and 18 sealing rooms, and a total floor area of 110,000 ft² (10,000 m²). It was originally designed with two large assembly halls like the earlier Kirtland
and Nauvoo Temples. The lower Assembly Hall was partitioned with curtains to provide the ordinance rooms for the Endowment Ceremony
. In 1938 the lower Assembly Hall was rebuilt with permanent walls dividing it into four ordinance rooms. The four ordinance rooms were later changed into the present three rooms, at the time the endowment ceremony was changed from a live presentation to one presented on film.
In the 1970s the temple was closed for extensive remodeling. Church President Spencer W. Kimball
rededicated it in 1975.
and was dedicated on 6 April 1877. Even though the Salt Lake City Temple
had been announced and commenced years earlier (1847 and 1853), construction on that temple was not completed until 1893. The St. George Temple was built to satisfy the church's immediate need for an appropriate place for temple ceremonies and ordinances. Because of the pressing need, the building's groundbreaking ceremony was held on the day the temple was announced. It was the third to be completed by the church and the first one in Utah.
Brigham Young
, President of the Church at the time, chose a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) plot as the temple site. Builders soon discovered that the chosen site was swampy with numerous underground streams. Young was consulted on moving the site, but he remained firm in the idea that this was the site for the temple. To deal with the swampy site, workers created drains to eliminate as much water as possible. Then they brought lava rock to the site and crushed it into a gravel to create a dry foundation for the temple. This led to a new problem: how to crush the rock. Someone suggested using an old cannon that the city had acquired. After creating a pulley system, the cannon was used as a pile driver to compact the lava rock and earth and create a firm foundation.
The old cannon has an interesting history. It was made in France
and used by Napoleon during his siege on Moscow
. During Napoleon’s hasty retreat, however, the cannon was left behind. It was later dragged to Siberia
, then Alaska
, and finally ended up at a fort in California
. Members of the Mormon Battalion
acquired the cannon, had it mounted on wheels, and brought it to Utah. Today, the old cannon is displayed on the St. George temple grounds.
After stabilizing the foundation, work began on the structure. The walls of the temple were constructed out of the red sandstone common to the area and then plastered for a white finish. The local Church members worked tirelessly for over five and a half years to complete the temple. Historians James Allen
and Glen Leonard made note of the dedication shown by the pioneers in Southern Utah. The workers opened new rock quarries, cut, hauled and planed timber, and donated one day in ten as tithing labor. Some members donated half their wages to the temple, while others gave food, clothing and other goods to aid those who were working full time on the building. Mormon women decorated the hallways with handmade rag carpets and produced fringe for the altars and pulpits from Utah-produced silk
. At its completion, it contained 1000000 board feet (2,359.7 m³) of lumber, which had been hand-chopped and hauled between 40 and 80 mi (64.4 and 128.7 km). They also used 17,000 tons of volcanic rock and sandstone, hand-cut and hauled by mule teams.
In honor of the temple, the Church's April 1877 General Conference
was held there. The temple dedication ceremony took place on 6 April 1877. Young presided and Daniel H. Wells
, his second counselor, gave the dedicatory prayer. The St. George Temple was the only temple completed while Brigham Young was president. Shortly after the dedication and the conference, Young returned to Salt Lake and died on 29 August 1877, 76 years old.
After remodeling of the interior, the temple was rededicated on 11 November 1975.
. An adjacent visitors center is open to the public. An LDS church meetinghouse is across the street on the East, which is also open to the public.
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
completed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the forced exodus of the body of the Church from Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
, after the death of its founder Joseph Smith, Jr.
Description
The building is located in the SW Utah city of St. GeorgeSt. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
. It was designed by Truman O. Angell
Truman O. Angell
Truman Osborn Angell served many years as Church Architect for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was a member of the vanguard company of Mormon pioneers, entering the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. He designed the Salt Lake Temple, the Lion House, the Beehive House, the...
and is more similar in its design to the Nauvoo Temple
Nauvoo Temple
The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. The church's first temple was completed in Kirtland, Ohio, United States in 1836. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois in the...
than to later LDS temples. The St. George Temple is the oldest temple still actively used by the LDS Church. The temple currently has three ordinance rooms and 18 sealing rooms, and a total floor area of 110,000 ft² (10,000 m²). It was originally designed with two large assembly halls like the earlier Kirtland
Kirtland Temple
The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...
and Nauvoo Temples. The lower Assembly Hall was partitioned with curtains to provide the ordinance rooms for the Endowment Ceremony
Endowment (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, the endowment is an ordinance designed to prepare participants to become kings, queens, priests, and priestesses in the afterlife. As part of the ceremony, participants take part in a scripted reenactment of the Biblical creation and fall of Adam and Eve...
. In 1938 the lower Assembly Hall was rebuilt with permanent walls dividing it into four ordinance rooms. The four ordinance rooms were later changed into the present three rooms, at the time the endowment ceremony was changed from a live presentation to one presented on film.
In the 1970s the temple was closed for extensive remodeling. Church President Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer Woolley Kimball was the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1973 until his death in 1985.-Ancestry:...
rededicated it in 1975.
Temple construction and dedication
A temple for St. George was announced on 9 November 1871 by Brigham YoungBrigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
and was dedicated on 6 April 1877. Even though the Salt Lake City Temple
Salt Lake Temple
The Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known of more than 130 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo,...
had been announced and commenced years earlier (1847 and 1853), construction on that temple was not completed until 1893. The St. George Temple was built to satisfy the church's immediate need for an appropriate place for temple ceremonies and ordinances. Because of the pressing need, the building's groundbreaking ceremony was held on the day the temple was announced. It was the third to be completed by the church and the first one in Utah.
Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
, President of the Church at the time, chose a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) plot as the temple site. Builders soon discovered that the chosen site was swampy with numerous underground streams. Young was consulted on moving the site, but he remained firm in the idea that this was the site for the temple. To deal with the swampy site, workers created drains to eliminate as much water as possible. Then they brought lava rock to the site and crushed it into a gravel to create a dry foundation for the temple. This led to a new problem: how to crush the rock. Someone suggested using an old cannon that the city had acquired. After creating a pulley system, the cannon was used as a pile driver to compact the lava rock and earth and create a firm foundation.
The old cannon has an interesting history. It was made in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and used by Napoleon during his siege on Moscow
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
. During Napoleon’s hasty retreat, however, the cannon was left behind. It was later dragged to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, then Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and finally ended up at a fort in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Members of the Mormon Battalion
Mormon Battalion
The Mormon Battalion was the only religiously based unit in United States military history, and it served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saints men led by Mormon company officers, commanded by regular...
acquired the cannon, had it mounted on wheels, and brought it to Utah. Today, the old cannon is displayed on the St. George temple grounds.
After stabilizing the foundation, work began on the structure. The walls of the temple were constructed out of the red sandstone common to the area and then plastered for a white finish. The local Church members worked tirelessly for over five and a half years to complete the temple. Historians James Allen
James B. Allen (historian)
James Brown "Jim" Allen is an American historian of Mormonism and was an official Assistant Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972–1979.-Biography:...
and Glen Leonard made note of the dedication shown by the pioneers in Southern Utah. The workers opened new rock quarries, cut, hauled and planed timber, and donated one day in ten as tithing labor. Some members donated half their wages to the temple, while others gave food, clothing and other goods to aid those who were working full time on the building. Mormon women decorated the hallways with handmade rag carpets and produced fringe for the altars and pulpits from Utah-produced silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
. At its completion, it contained 1000000 board feet (2,359.7 m³) of lumber, which had been hand-chopped and hauled between 40 and 80 mi (64.4 and 128.7 km). They also used 17,000 tons of volcanic rock and sandstone, hand-cut and hauled by mule teams.
General Conference (LDS Church)
General Conference is a semiannual world conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held in April and October, where members gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to instruction from Church leaders...
was held there. The temple dedication ceremony took place on 6 April 1877. Young presided and Daniel H. Wells
Daniel H. Wells
Daniel Hanmer Wells was an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the third mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States....
, his second counselor, gave the dedicatory prayer. The St. George Temple was the only temple completed while Brigham Young was president. Shortly after the dedication and the conference, Young returned to Salt Lake and died on 29 August 1877, 76 years old.
After remodeling of the interior, the temple was rededicated on 11 November 1975.
Temple Presidents
- Wilford WoodruffWilford WoodruffWilford Woodruff, Sr. was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 until his death...
, 1877–1884 - John D. T. McAllisterJohn D. T. McAllisterJohn Daniel Thompson McAllister was a 19th century regional leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . He is possibly most notable for having written the "Hand Cart Song".-Biography:...
, 1884–1893 - David H. Cannon, 1893–1924
- Thomas P. Cottam, 1925–1926
- Edward H. Snow, 1926–1932
- George F. Whitehead, 1932–1937
- Harold S. Snow, 1937–1963
- Rudger C. Atkin, 1963–1970
- Reed Whipple, 1970–1976
- Grant M. Bowler, 1976–1981
- John M. Russon, 1981–1986
- Thomas L. Esplin, 1986–1989
- Conrad V. Hatch, 1989–1992
- J. Thomas FyansJ. Thomas FyansJoseph Thomas Fyans was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1974 until his death.-Early life:Born in Moreland, Idaho, Fyans was the son of Joseph Fyans and Mae Farnsworth...
, 1992–1995 - Kenneth R. Metcalf, 1995–1998
- Malcolm S. Jeppsen, 1998–2001
- L. David Muir, 2001–2004
- Harold H. Hiskey, 2004–2007
- Robert F. Orton, 2007–2010
- Bruce C. HafenBruce C. HafenBruce Clark Hafen is an American attorney, academic and religious leader. He was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the LDS Church from 1996 to 2010. During that time he served in several assignments. He served as Area President in Australia/New Zealand, as well as the Europe Central...
, 2010–present
Access
Temple access is available to Church members who hold a current Temple Recommend, as is the case with all operating Latter-Day Saints templesTemple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
. An adjacent visitors center is open to the public. An LDS church meetinghouse is across the street on the East, which is also open to the public.
See also
- Temple (Latter Day Saints)
- List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by geographic region
- Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsComparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsBelow is a chronological list of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with sortable columns. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth...
- Temple architecture (Latter-day Saints)
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in UtahThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in UtahAs of year-end 2007, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 1,823,613 members in 523 stakes, 1 district, 4,666 Congregations , and 5 missions...