Temple architecture (LDS Church)
Encyclopedia
On December 27, 1832—two years after the organization of Latter Day Saint church—the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., 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:
Latter-day Saints view temples as the fulfillment of a prophecy found in (KJV).
The Kirtland Temple
was the first temple of the Latter Day Saint movement
and the only temple completed in the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr. Its unique design was replicated on a larger scale with the Nauvoo Temple
and in subsequent temples built by the church. As the needs of the church have changed, so has Temple architecture—from large castellic structures adorned with celestial symbols, to smaller, simpler designs, often derived from a standard set of plans.
, was not designed as a church or cathedral. It was a house of learning, where the School of the Prophets
could meet. This temple was not built to accommodate the endowment
ceremony, which was taught later. It has no baptistery
, as the revelation regarding baptism for the dead
had not yet been received. The structure has two unique sets of pulpit
s, representing the Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood. Truman O. Angell
recorded in his journal that about this time Frederick G. Williams
, one of President Smith's counselors, came into the temple during construction and related the following:
Angell continued as church architect, designing the Salt Lake Temple
, the Lion House, the Beehive House
, the Utah Territorial Statehouse
, the St. George Utah Temple
, and many other public buildings.
The sandstone used to build the temple was quarried from south of the Temple. Native timbers were cut from the surrounding forests. The Temple, begun in 1833 and dedicated in 1836, was one of the largest buildings in Northern Ohio
. It is a combination of Greek, Georgian, Gothic, and Federalist architectural styles. The building has been designated a National Historical Landmark and has been recognized by the Architects Society of Ohio and the Ohio Historical Society
.
The pulpits and the pews are among the distinctive features of the interior. Two sets of pulpits grace the main floor with another two sets on the second floor. The seats in the pew boxes are benches that can be shifted from the back to the front, thus making it possible for the congregation to face either the front or the rear pulpits.
The main floor of the Kirtland Temple was used for various services of worship, and the second floor was a school for the ministry. The third floor contained rooms for the "Kirtland High School" during the day and Church quorum meetings in the evening. The west third floor room was Joseph Smith, Jr.'s office.
Construction of the original Nauvoo Temple commenced April 6, 1841, and its final dedication was in May 1846. The temple was designed in the Greek Revival style by Mormon architect William Weeks
, under the direction of Joseph Smith, Jr. Weeks' design made use of distinctively Latter-day Saint motifs, including sunstones, moonstones, and starstones, representing the Three Degrees of Glory
in the Mormon conception of the afterlife. The placement of the symbols on the building in descending order—starstones, sunstones, and moonstones—does not support the above assertion, but rather a reflection of Revelations Chaper 12 verse 1.
At its base the building was 128 feet (39 m) long and 88 ft (26.8 m) wide, with a clock tower
and weather vane
reaching to 165 ft (50.3 m)—a 60% increase over the dimensions of the Kirtland Temple. Like Kirtland, the Nauvoo Temple contained two assembly hall
s, one on the first floor and one on the second, called the lower and upper courts. Both had classrooms and offices in the attic. Unlike Kirtland, the Nauvoo Temple had a full basement, which housed a baptismal font
.
which is, in some cases, even higher. In the case of the Nauvoo temple, this would have been in the attic. The sealing rooms are the loftiest rooms of the temple.
The font, built of tongue and groove
d white pine, was painted white. It was sixteen feet long, twelve feet wide, and four feet deep. The lip of the font was seven feet from the floor. The font's cap and base were carved molding
in an "antique style" and the sides were finished with panel work. Two railed stairways led to the font from the north and south sides. A well on the east side of the font provided the water supply.
A flight of eight broad steps led to a landing where two more steps entered three archways. These archways led to the vestibule, the formal entrance to the temple. The archways were approximately 9 ft (2.7 m) wide and 21 ft (6.4 m) high.
Two large double doors on the east wall opened to the first floor assembly hall of the lower court, known as the "Great Hall", which occupied the remainder of the floor space east of the vestibule. Two doors, one on the north wall and another on the south, opened to the landing of two spiral staircases, one in the northwest corner and the other in the southwest corner, which led to the attic. These were the only access points to the rest of the building. The room was flanked on either side by seven large, arched windows, with four similar windows along the east wall. An arched ceiling spanned some 50 ft (15.2 m) in breadth, in the center. The floor was stained wood and the walls were painted white.
One report stated that on the east wall of the vestibule was an entablature
, similar to the one in the facade, which read in bright gilded letters, "THE HOUSE OF THE LORD – Built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – Commenced April 6th, 1841 – HOLINESS TO THE LORD."
At the east and west ends of the hall were two sets of similar pulpits. They were arranged with four levels, the top three consisting of a group of three semi-circular stands. The lowest level was a drop table which was raised for use in the sacrament
. The pulpits to the east, standing between the windows, were reserved for the Melchezidek Priesthood. Written in gilded letters along the arch of the ceiling, above the eastern pulpits, were the words "The Lord Has Seen Our Sacrifice – Come After Us." The pulpits to the west end were reserved for the Aaronic Priesthood.
The hall was fitted with enclosed pew
s with two aisles. The room could accommodate up to 3,500 people. Because there were pulpits on both ends of the room, the pews had movable backs which could be swung to face either direction, depending on who was presiding – the Melchizedek Priesthood or the Aaronic Priesthood. The first floor also included a mezzanine with fourteen small rooms.
The staircases, made of wood, provided access to all levels of the temple, with a landing at each floor. The southwest staircase was completely finished, but the staircase in the northwest corner was never completed—it was roughed in with temporary boards resting on the risers. Workmen used this staircase to gain access to the building during its construction, especially during the winter of 1845–1846, when persons were using the other staircase to reach the attic for ordinance work.
The second floor hall was similar in construction to the Great Hall, except that it included the foyer area, the location of the vestibule. This made the room about seventeen feet longer than the Great Hall. A 41 feet (12.5 m) stone arch ran north and south between the circular stairwells supporting the massive timbers for the tower above. The room had seven large windows along the north and south wide, with four windows along the east wall.
The floor would have had a similar configuration as the Great Hall with a set of double pulpits and pews, but the interior was never completed. The room was furnished with wooden benches for an occasional meeting. The second floor hall also included a mezzanine with fourteen small rooms.
At the top of the two stairways, opening to a foyer, was the attic floor. The attic was not built of limestone but of wood. The west end of the temple was a flat-roofed section that supported the tower. The rest of the attic was a pitched-roof section running the length of the temple. The area was illuminated by six windows along the foyer's west wall. Outside windows also provided light along the north and south sides. The roof had four octagonal skylight windows to provide light to the interior rooms, in addition to a twenty-foot arched window.
was dedicated. The limestone
used for the original temple was quarried from a site just west of the temple. The stone for the new temple was quarried in Russellville, Alabama
, a site chosen specifically because the stone best matched the original.
The reconstructed baptistery follows the original, with the addition of a metal lining to prevent deterioration and a platform where witnesses may sit. The floor of the baptistery, the largest of any temple in the church, was replicated in red brick tile. A dome and chandelier are featured in the ceiling and art glass
window is on the east end. The room has intricate crown moldings. The window moldings included framework for six-pointed stars made of red, white, and blue glass to replicate the originals.
The St. George Utah Temple (1), described as castellated Gothic
style. has three ordinance rooms and eighteen sealing rooms. It has a total floor space of 110000 sq ft (10,219.3 m²).
The temple was originally patterned after the Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples, with two large assembly halls featuring a set of pulpits at each end. The lower hall was partitioned with screens for presentation of the endowment. It was extensively remodeled from 1937 to 1938, when the lower hall was permanently divided into five progressive-style endowment rooms.
About a year after the original dedication, a lightning storm caused extensive damage to the original tower. It was replaced with a taller, more majestic tower.
Following a second major renovation project in 1975, the progressive-style ordinance rooms were replaced with three motion-picture ordinance rooms. Live-acting endowment sessions were much longer and only three were performed a day. The film version allows for fourteen sessions a day.
The Logan Utah Temple (2) was the first temple to feature progressive-style ordinance rooms for presentation of the endowment ceremony. This design has a room symbolizing each stage of man's progression: the Creation room, representing the events of Genesis; the Garden room represents the Garden of Eden
, where Adam and Eve
lived prior to the fall of man; the World room, where Adam and Eve lived after the fall; the Terrestrial room; and the Celestial room, representing heaven.
In addition to these ordinance rooms, the temple has eleven sealing rooms with a total floor area of 119619 sq ft (11,113 m²). The temple is the only temple to be completely gutted and rebuilt. The two-year project replaced the progressive-style ordinance rooms with motion-picture ordinance rooms. Spencer W. Kimball
, the church president who rededicated the completed temple in 1979, regretted the need to reconstruct the interior of the temple because of the loss of pioneer craftsmanship.
The exterior walls of the Logan Utah Temple were originally painted a buff color to hide the dark, rough-hewn limestone. In the early 1900s, however, the paint was allowed to weather away, uncovering the beautiful stone that characterizes the temple today.
, Second Empire and Colonial Revival architecture
. The temple has four progressive-style ordinance rooms and eight sealing rooms. The total floor area is 100373 sq ft (9,325 m²). It is the oldest temple which has preserved the original mural paintings. One of the more dramatic engineering marvels of the early Mormon pioneers are the open-center spiral staircases that wind up each of the 179-foot (54 m) towers. The Manti Temple is one of two temples (Salt Lake being the other) where the endowment is performed live, rather than on film.
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The Salt Lake Temple (4) is the most recognizable of all Latter-day Saint temples and is an international symbol of the church. It is the largest temple of the church, with a total floor area of 385000 square feet (35,767.7 m²). (The Los Angeles California Temple
was larger before the Salt Lake temple was expanded.) The first temple of this group to be started, it was the last to be completed, after 40 years of construction.
The Temple is intended to evoke the Temple of Solomon at Jerusalem, and it is oriented towards Jerusalem. The large basin used as a baptismal font is mounted on the backs of twelve oxen, as was the brazen sea in Solomon's Temple.
The building has six spires, suggestive of Gothic and other classical styles but unique, distinctive, and symbolic. It has four progressive-style ordinance rooms and twelve sealing rooms.
The walls of the Salt Lake Temple are nine feet thick at the base and six feet thick at the top. It was the first temple to feature the prominent standing angel Moroni statue, which was created by Paris-trained sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin. Prior to that, the Nauvoo temple sported a flying angel weather vane. Of the dozen temples built from the construction of the Salt Lake Temple until the 1980s, only the Los Angeles had a similar statue. Moroni statues then became a standard part of nearly all LDS temples, and have been added to several temples originally built without them.
The angel Moroni depicts both a messenger of the restoration of the gospel and a herald of the Second Coming: "for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds" (JS-M 1:37).
The Salt Lake Temple features murals on the walls of its progressive-style ordinance rooms, excluding the Terrestrial room and Celestial room, which is adorned in an elaborate French Renaissance Revival
style.
This is the most symbolically adorned temple, surpassing the spiritual motifs of the Nauvoo Temple.
The east and west towers represent the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods, just as the east and west facing pulpits did in the Kirtland and Nauvoo assembly halls. Additional symbolism has been added to the towers. The east-facing towers represent the First Presidency of the Church, the highest office of the Melchizedek Priesthood. The west towers represent the Presiding Bishopric
, the highest office of the Aaronic Priesthood. There are twelve pinnacles on each tower; the east pinnacles represent the office of the Twelve Apostles
, and the west pinnacles represent the High Council
.
Castle-like battlements surround the temple, symbolizing a separation from the world and a protection of the holy ordinances from the outside world.
At the base of each buttress is an earthstone. Earthstones represent the Earth, the "footstool of God". The earth itself is in a telestial state, but will transition into a terrestrial state with the coming of the Millennium, and will finally receive Celestial glory at the end of the one thousand years.
Moonstones are located directly above the earthstones. Each moonstone is depicted in a different phase. The changing moon represents the stages of human progression from birth and life to death and resurrection. It also represents one's journey from total darkness into the full light of Christ
. Above the moonstones are sunstones, representing celestial glory.
Two cloudstones are carved on the east center tower, with descending rays of light. The original plan was to have one stone be white and the other black, with descending trumpets. The parallel of this symbolism is found in the Old Testament. Once temples were dedicated in ancient Israel, they were filled with the "cloud of the Lord
." At Mount Sinai
, the children of Israel saw this cloud as both dark and bright accompanied by the blasting of a trumpet.
Various starstones adorn the temple. Six-pointed stars represent the stars in the heaven. Inverted five-pointed stars represent morning star
s, compared to the "sons of God" in the scriptures. The large upright five-pointed stars may represent the governing power of the priesthood, while the small upright five-pointed stars may represent the saving power of the priesthood for those who attach themselves to it.
The center west tower has a depiction of the Big Dipper
constellation. This represents the method travelers have used for thousands of years to find the North Star. This symbolized the purpose of the temple in showing the way to God.
Each of the center towers features a pair of clasped right hands identified as the "right hands of fellowship
" cited in Galatians 2:9. In Jeremiah 31:32, the Lord uses the handclasp to denote covenant making—an act at the very heart of temple worship.
Each of the center towers has a carved All Seeing Eye of God, which represents God's ability to see and know all things.
The construction of the Cardston Alberta Temple
(6), on June 27, 1913, was two decades following the completion of the Salt Lake Temple. The temple at Cardston was the first design to be put out to bid to prominent architects, and the first to be designed without a priesthood assembly hall. This began a transition away from multi-purpose temples.
The design of the Cardston Alberta Temple served as the basic pattern for the Laie Hawaii Temple
(5), which was completed four years before the Cardston temple. World War I
caused the construction delay. Cardston was also the pattern for the third temple built after Salt Lake, the Mesa Arizona Temple
(7).
These three temples, the first three built outside of Utah, are often described as designed after the style of Solomon's temple. The Laie Temple design is "suggestive of the ancient temples found in South America—shaped like a Grecian cross with no tower." The top of the temple is decorated with carved friezes. Each side depicts four dispensations of time: Old Testament
Dispensation (west), New Testament
Dispensation (south), Book of Mormon
Dispensation (north), and Latter-day Dispensation (east). It is the smallest of the three temples, with a total floor area of 47224 sq ft (4,387.3 m²), three ordinance rooms, and six sealing rooms.
The Cardston and Mesa temples were originally built about the same size, but an addition in 1974 to the Mesa temple expanded its area to 113916 sq ft (10,583 m²). It is described as a "modification of the classic style, suggestive of pre-Columbian temples and the Temple of Herod." It has four ordinance rooms and nine sealing rooms, expanded from the original four sealing rooms.
The Cardston temple has 88562 sq ft (8,228 m²) of floor space and is described as an "octagonal design with no spire—similar to Maltese cross
—it has Grecian massiveness and a Peruvian touch of Aztec
influence with pyramid silhouette." It has four ordinance rooms and five sealing rooms.
The Idaho Falls Idaho Temple (8) was the first temple designed with a central spire. This design represented a return to the use of spires, as the three previously dedicated temples featured no towers or spires. It has four progressive-style ordinance rooms and nine sealing rooms. The floor area is 92171 sq ft (8,563 m²).
With the construction of the Ogden Utah Temple
(14), the design was expanded, with six ordinance rooms and eleven sealing rooms and a floor area of 115000 sq ft (10,683.8 m²). The trend continued with the Provo Utah Temple
(15), and eight years later with the Jordan River Utah Temple
(20). Each temple was larger than the last (128325 sq ft (11,921.8 m²) and 148236 sq ft (13,771.6 m²), respectively), and added more sealing rooms: twelve for Provo and seventeen for Jordan River.
The first temple built in Europe was the Bern Switzerland Temple
(9). Its distinctive design diverged from the Idaho Falls temple to a style reminiscent of older temples like Kirtland and Nauvoo, but with a more contemporary design. This temple was designed to show a film of the presentation of the endowment, rather than live actors, to accommodate the many languages of Europe. Originally built with one ordinance room and three sealing rooms, the temple was remodeled in 1992 to update of the interiors and add ordinance and sealing rooms. The temple now has four ordinance rooms and seven sealing rooms. It has a floor area of 35545 sq ft (3,302.2 m²). In 2005, an angel Moroni statue was added to the spire in commemoration of the temple's 50th anniversary.
delayed construction. It would be the last temple designed for a live-actor presentation of the endowment. The ordinance rooms are filled with murals, and is one of only three temples with murals in the Celestial Room (the others being the Idaho Falls Temple and the Nauvoo Illinois Temple).
When the statue of Moroni was installed, it faced southeast (as does the temple), but was shortly turned to face due east at the request of church president David O. McKay
. In 2003, the temple was changed to a progressive-style presentation, with a newly-renovated Terrestrial Room. The endowment was still presented on film. In November 2005 the temple was closed for a seismic overhaul and a renovation of the baptistery, which had drainage and mildew problems. It reopened July 11, 2006, fifty years after the original dedication.
In addition to the Celestial room, the temple has four ordinance rooms (Creation room, Garden room, World room, Terrestrial room), and ten sealing rooms. It has a square footage of 190614 sq ft (17,708.6 m²).
Following the basic design of the Bern temple, the Hamilton New Zealand Temple
(11) was dedicated in 1958. It was built, along with the Church College of New Zealand, entirely by volunteer missionary labor, and was the first temple of the church in the southern hemisphere. It has one ordinance room and three sealing rooms. The floor space is 44212 sq ft (4,107 m²).
The next temple to incorporate this style would be built in 1980. Unlike the other temples, the Seattle Washington Temple (19) was designed from the beginning to have four ordinance rooms and twelve sealing rooms. It is larger than Bern, Hamilton, and London, at 110000 sq ft (10,219.3 m²).
Ten years later the church built four temples, similar in style, based on the single-spire design. These temples all have four ordinance rooms and four sealing rooms. With sizes ranging from 57000 square foot, these temples are stylistically unique, although the Boston Massachusetts Temple
(100), dedicated in 2000, resembles the St. Louis Missouri Temple
(50), built three years earlier. The other temples are the Preston England Temple
(52), built in 1998, and the unique Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple
(99), built in 2000.
Lawsuits arguing that the Dover Amendment
unfairly discriminates against non-religious groups delayed the addition of the spire of the Boston temple by several years as the courts decided if the spire was a required element of the design of the temple. In support of the Dover Amendment, which exempts religious structures from local zoning laws, the court continually sided with the church. Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall
wrote in the 17-page ruling, "A rose window at Notre Dame Cathedral, a balcony at St. Peter's Basilica, are judges to decide whether these architectural elements are 'necessary' to the faith served by those buildings?"
Several recently-constructed temples have returned to this earlier style, with two floors and a smaller building, with two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms.
In the mid 1970s, beginning with the São Paulo Brazil Temple
(17) and the Tokyo Japan Temple
(18), the church designed temples based on a more chapel-like design: square buildings with a smaller spire. These first two temples had two ordinance rooms, but because there was no set plan during this time, the temples have four and five sealing rooms, respectively.
Shortly after these temples were built the church built a larger version: the Atlanta Georgia Temple
(21). It has four ordinance rooms and five sealing rooms and a floor area of 35360 sq ft (3,285.1 m²). Later the church would repeat this pattern with two similar temples: the Denver Colorado Temple
(40) and the much larger Toronto Ontario Temple
(44), each with six sealing rooms.
The Apia Samoa Temple
(22) was built at this time, but during a renovation, the building caught fire and was destroyed. It was immediately rebuilt with a larger design, but still with a single spire. It has two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms, with a total floor area of 18691 sq ft (1,736.5 m²).
Similar two ordinance room temples are the Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple
(23) and the Santiago Chile Temple
(24), with three sealing rooms, and the Papeete Tahiti Temple
(25) and the Sydney Australia Temple
(28), with two ordinance rooms.
, Saxony
, Germany
, the Freiberg Germany Temple (33) was announced in October 1982, ground was broken for construction
on April 23, 1983, and the temple was dedicated in 1985. Built in what was then the German Democratic Republic
, the Freiberg Germany Temple is the only LDS temple to have been built in a communist state
.
The East German government approved the building of the temple on practical grounds, because of the many Latter-day Saints requesting visas
to travel to Switzerland
, the location of the Bern Switzerland Temple
. The government wished to minimize citizens' travel outside the country.
The temple was built on a very small scale, with no outward adornment of any kind. No oxen were used in the baptistery and only the bare minimum functional details were allowed inside.
After German reunification
in 1990, Germany became the first country outside of North America
to have more than one temple, this and the Frankfurt Germany Temple
.
Political changes in Germany allowed for renovation of the temple from 2001–2002 to the high standards of temples built today. Additional square footage extending to the east approximately doubled the size of the temple. New amenities include the installation of twelve oxen to support the baptismal font, a non-patrons waiting room, a matron/brides room, and an office for the temple president. On December 20, 2001, an angel Moroni was placed atop the temple. The temple is small, with one ordinance room and two sealing rooms and a total floor area of 14126 sq ft (1,312.3 m²).
, the design of which started after its announcement on March 31, 1982. Early examples of this design proved inadequate: Boise, Dallas, and Chicago were closed for extensive renovations not long after opening. These renovations restructured rooms, added facilities, and made other enhancements that significantly improved the buildings. The last temple built in this style was the Las Vegas Nevada Temple
, which was completed in 1989. This style was then largely replaced by the classic modern, single-spire design. The unifying concept behind this style was the six spires and the sloped roof. Other than those factors, the temples varied widely in size and capacity, as illustrated in the table below:
, which was not dedicated until 2002.
The temples were built next to existing chapels so the business of the temple could be conducted in the offices of the adjacent church. Temples will continue to be built on existing land adjacent to existing chapels, but the offices of the temple will be in the temple itself.
In 2002 an additional 4000 sq ft (371.6 m²) were added to the Monticello temple to add a second ordinance room and sealing room, a waiting room, offices for temple workers, and laundry facilities.
The Anchorage Alaska Temple
(54) was built next, and was subsequently expanded to include a second ordinance room, offices for temple staff, new men's and women's dressing rooms, a patron waiting room, a laundry facility, and an elevator to a new second floor for a total square footage of 11,937.
The Colonia Juárez Chihuahua México Temple
(55) was built next, and has not been altered from the original design. This is the smallest temple built by the church.
Because the temples proved to be too small, the church quickly moved to a larger plan that included a second ordinance room, called the Terrestrial Room, and sealing room, offices, a patron waiting room, and laundry facilities.
, the church began an aggressive temple building cycle, constructing dozens of temples using relatively identical models and floorplans. Described as a "classic modern, single-spire design," these temples have two progressive ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms. Total floor area for these temples is 10700 sq ft (994.1 m²). The exteriors have slightly different finishes. Most are granite
or marble
quarried from regional quarries such as Imperial Danby White variegated marble quarried from Vermont
, which was used in many temples in the United States. The temples built in Australia
and Fiji
used granite imported from Italy
. Other than minor variations in finish, landscaping, and setting, these temples are virtually identical.
The temples vary in size. The last three temples built are around 17000 square foot, and the others are around 34000 sq ft (3,158.7 m²).
The Washington D.C. Temple (16), located in Kensington, Maryland
, was the first temple built on the east coast of the United States. It was built with a modern six-spire design, with the three towers to the east representing the Melchizedek Priesthood leadership, and the three towers to the west representing the Aaronic Priesthood leadership. The central eastern tower reaches a height of 288 ft (87.8 m), the tallest of any LDS temple.
A very large plot of land on a wooded hill was bought in 1962 and eleven acres were cleared for the temple. The rest of the land was left untouched to give the temple a remote feeling. The temple was designed to be similar in style and form to the Salt Lake Temple so that it would be easily recognized as a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The angel Moroni statue, which stands atop the tallest tower, is 18 ft (5.5 m) tall and weighs 4000 pounds (1,814.4 kg). Although the temple appears to not have any windows, from the inside the thinly-cut marble appears translucent. The Washington D.C. temple has a total floor area of 160000 sq ft (14,864.5 m²), making it the third largest LDS temple. It holds six ordinance rooms and fourteen sealing rooms.
The temple was built on a 7 acres (2.8 ha) plot, has four ordinance rooms and 11 sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 116642 sq ft (10,836.4 m²). It was the first of twelve Mormon temples built in México.
. It was built with two main spires, but unique to this temple are four smaller spires at the base of each main spire. The East spire is topped with the angel Moroni, which adorns most LDS temples.
The exterior finish is marble chips in plaster, giving the building a bright white glow. Just off Interstate 5, the temple is a major landmark when traveling the highway toward or away from San Diego. The temple is brightly illuminated at night.
The temple was built on a 7.2 acre (2.9 ha) plot, has four ordinance rooms and eight sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 72000 sq ft (6,689 m²).
city, the temple had to be built up instead of spreading out, a situation which contributed to the temple's unique design. The six-story building is designed to house not only the Mormon temple, but also a chapel, mission offices, and living quarters for the temple president and several missionaries. This is similar to the Manhattan New York Temple
, which was adapted from an existing building.
It has a total of 21744 sq ft (2,020.1 m²), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.
Originally, the Vernal Utah Temple
(51) served as the Uintah
Stake
Tabernacle for Latter-day Saints in eastern Utah. The Tabernacle's foundation was constructed of nearby sandstone, with walls built of four layers of fired brick from local clay. Constructed using considerable donated labor from the fall of 1899, it was dedicated on August 24, 1907, by LDS President Joseph F. Smith. Smith reportedly said he would not be surprised if a temple was built there some day.
Roger Jackson characterized the Uintah Stake Tabernacle as relatively modest, without the decorative details found on tabernacles in central and northern Utah. Nonetheless, he wrote, "the building is the most prominent structure in Vernal and considered the finest building in all of eastern Utah."
The tabernacle was superseded by an adjacent, more modern LDS stake center
in 1948. Only used irregularly thereafter, the LDS Church announced the tabernacle's closing in 1984 for public safety reasons. Among other things, the tabernacle lacked indoor bathrooms and access for the disabled.
A local "Save the Tabernacle" committee formed, and in 1989 a preservation study was prepared. The LDS Church opted to turn the building into one of its new smaller temples, and plans were announced in 1994. In addition to preserving the exterior, bringing the building up to code, and altering the floor plan, the eastern spire of the temple was elongated to make it taller than the spire of the neighboring stake center. An east-facing golden statue of angel Moroni was placed on top of the spire. When discussing the problems involved with converting the old, deteriorated building into an acceptable modern temple, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley remarked that the Church would never attempt that again.
The Copenhagen Denmark Temple
(118) is a renovation of an existing building, the Priorvej Chapel. This chapel was built by LDS members in 1931 and was dedicated by Elder John A. Widtsoe
, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time. It was built in the Neo-classical
style, with columns in the front. Most of the renovation of the building was done on the inside. The Church wanted the structure to keep its original exterior appearance.
The day that the chapel was dedicated, June 14, was the eighty-first anniversary of the day that the first Mormon missionaries
arrived in Denmark
. During World War II the chapel was used as a bomb shelter, but the building survived the war with little damage. After World War II the chapel was remodeled to hold more classrooms for the growing membership.
The Copenhagen Denmark Temple
has a total of 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.
The Manhattan New York Temple
(119) was adapted from an existing stake center building—which stands at the intersection of West 65th Street, Broadway
, and Columbus Avenue
, and is across the street from the Lincoln Center—into the temple. The original building was dedicated by Spencer W. Kimball
in May 1975 and houses a public affairs office on the second floor and a chapel on the third floor.
The temple occupies parts of the first floor and all of the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the building. The interiors of these floors were completely renovated. The walls were soundproofed so traffic noise would not interrupt temple patrons. The total floor area for the temple part of the building is 20630 sq ft (1,916.6 m²), with two progressive ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms. Unlike many of the smaller temples built since the pilot program, the ordinance rooms are perpendicular to each other to adapt to the size limitations of the building. The cornerstone containing the year of dedication, commonly found on the outside facade of most temples, is located in the interior lobby next to the elevator which leads to the chapel portion of the building. Inside the temple, beehives are carved into the molding, and door handles that look like the Statue of Liberty
torch are found throughout. Paintings on the walls of many of the rooms depict scenes from nature.
After the dedication, a special ceremony was held and a time capsule was placed in the cornerstone. Memorabilia such as a copy of the New York Times and LDS Church memorabilia such as a set of scriptures, a handkerchief used during the dedication ceremony, and sheet music, were placed inside. A steeple and statue of the angel Moroni would be added to the building in the fall. On October 9, 2004, thousands of people came to watch the ten-foot statue be placed on top of the steeple.
In a local church conference on November 12, 2006, it was officially announced that the fourth floor, which formerly housed classrooms and offices associated with the third-floor chapel and the old stake center, would be converted to become part of the temple. This construction was completed during the maintenance closing in August 2007. The temple baptistery continues to occupy part of the first floor of the building, and the rest of the temple occupies all of the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors. The third floor is a chapel for local congregations, and the second floor houses a public affairs office and a Family History Center
. Clothing rental facilities are located on the fourth floor. The Family History Center that was located in the building prior to the construction of the temple was one of the most-used centers in the world.
On October 1, 2011, it was announced at General Conference that the Provo Tabernacle
will be converted into Provo's second Temple.
and the Church Temple Department are beginning to construct temples according to the "timeless" and classical designs of the cultures and people they will serve, citing the recently-revealed architectural rendering of the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple
as the first of many examples. This trend towards Neo-Classicism appears to be the latest in LDS Temple architecture.
Revelation (Latter Day Saints)
Latter Day Saints teach that the Latter Day Saint movement began with a Revelation from God . They also teach that revelation is the foundation of the church established by Jesus Christ and that it remains an essential element of His true church today...
that called upon church members to restore the practice of temple
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...
worship. The Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
were commanded to:
Latter-day Saints view temples as the fulfillment of a prophecy found in (KJV).
The Kirtland Temple
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...
was the first temple of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
and the only temple completed in the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr. Its unique design was replicated on a larger scale with 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...
and in subsequent temples built by the church. As the needs of the church have changed, so has Temple architecture—from large castellic structures adorned with celestial symbols, to smaller, simpler designs, often derived from a standard set of plans.
Kirtland Temple
The Kirtland Temple, built in Kirtland, OhioKirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
, was not designed as a church or cathedral. It was a house of learning, where the School of the Prophets
School of the Prophets
In Mormonism, the School of the Prophets was a select group of early Latter Day Saint leaders who began meeting on January 23, 1833 in Kirtland, Ohio under the direction of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. for both theological and secular learning...
could meet. This temple was not built to accommodate the endowment
Endowment (Latter Day Saints)
In the theology of the Latter Day Saint movement, an endowment refers to a gift of "power from on high", typically associated with Latter Day Saint temples. The purpose and meaning of the endowment varied during the life of movement founder Joseph Smith, Jr...
ceremony, which was taught later. It has no baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
, as the revelation regarding baptism for the dead
Baptism for the dead
Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of one who is dead, with the living person acting as the deceased person's proxy...
had not yet been received. The structure has two unique sets of pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
s, representing the Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood. 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...
recorded in his journal that about this time Frederick G. Williams
Frederick G. Williams
Frederick Granger Williams was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and served in the First Presidency as Second Counselor to church president Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1833 to 1837...
, one of President Smith's counselors, came into the temple during construction and related the following:
Angell continued as church architect, designing the Salt Lake 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,...
, the Lion House, the Beehive House
Beehive House
The Beehive House is one of the two official residences of Brigham Young, an early leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . The Beehive House gets its name from the Beehive sculpture atop the house. It was designed by Young's brother-in-law and architect of the Salt Lake...
, the Utah Territorial Statehouse
Utah Territorial Statehouse
The Utah Territorial Statehouse in Fillmore, Utah, USA, was built between 1852 and 1855. After becoming a territory in 1850, Utah's leaders choose Fillmore as the territory's capital city, and the statehouse was constructed to be the area's first capitol building...
, the St. George Utah Temple
St. George Utah Temple
The St. George Utah 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.-Description:The building is located in the SW Utah city of St....
, and many other public buildings.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. It is a combination of Greek, Georgian, Gothic, and Federalist architectural styles. The building has been designated a National Historical Landmark and has been recognized by the Architects Society of Ohio and the Ohio Historical Society
Ohio Historical Society
The Ohio Historical Society is a non-profit organization incorporated in 1885 as The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society "to promote a knowledge of archaeology and history, especially in Ohio"...
.
The pulpits and the pews are among the distinctive features of the interior. Two sets of pulpits grace the main floor with another two sets on the second floor. The seats in the pew boxes are benches that can be shifted from the back to the front, thus making it possible for the congregation to face either the front or the rear pulpits.
The main floor of the Kirtland Temple was used for various services of worship, and the second floor was a school for the ministry. The third floor contained rooms for the "Kirtland High School" during the day and Church quorum meetings in the evening. The west third floor room was Joseph Smith, Jr.'s office.
Nauvoo Temple
William Weeks
William Weeks , was the first church architect of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and is best known as the architect of the Nauvoo Temple....
, under the direction of Joseph Smith, Jr. Weeks' design made use of distinctively Latter-day Saint motifs, including sunstones, moonstones, and starstones, representing the Three Degrees of Glory
Degrees of glory
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' theology, there are three degrees of glory which are the ultimate, eternal dwelling place for nearly all who lived on earth after the Spirit world.Joseph Smith, Jr...
in the Mormon conception of the afterlife. The placement of the symbols on the building in descending order—starstones, sunstones, and moonstones—does not support the above assertion, but rather a reflection of Revelations Chaper 12 verse 1.
At its base the building was 128 feet (39 m) long and 88 ft (26.8 m) wide, with a clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
and weather vane
Weather vane
A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
reaching to 165 ft (50.3 m)—a 60% increase over the dimensions of the Kirtland Temple. Like Kirtland, the Nauvoo Temple contained two assembly hall
Assembly Hall
An assembly hall is traditionally a building used for the purposes of holding deliberative assemblies. An example is the Assembly Hall where the general assembly of the state of Mississippi was held. Some Christian denominations call their meeting places or places of worship, assembly halls, such...
s, one on the first floor and one on the second, called the lower and upper courts. Both had classrooms and offices in the attic. Unlike Kirtland, the Nauvoo Temple had a full basement, which housed a baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
.
Symbolic placement of the rooms
The location of the rooms is symbolic. Each room represents progression, and is therefore located in a different elevation based on that progression. This symbolic progression was first used the Nauvoo temple, and has been continued in some subsequently built temples. The baptistry was the lowest room of the temple, often in the basement. The ordinance rooms are elevated above that, leading to the Celestial roomCelestial room
In temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an Ordinance room is a room where the ceremony known as the Endowment is administered, as well as other rituals called Sealings...
which is, in some cases, even higher. In the case of the Nauvoo temple, this would have been in the attic. The sealing rooms are the loftiest rooms of the temple.
Basement
The basement of the Nauvoo Temple, used as the baptistery, contained a large baptismal font in the center of the main room. The basement proper was 100 ft (30.5 m) long and 40 ft (12.2 m) wide with six rooms of varying size on either side. Approximately 12 ft (3.7 m) east of the entrance to the baptistery and 10 ft (3 m) from either the side of the support piers rested blocks, roughly 14 in (35.6 cm) square, which projected 7 in (17.8 cm) above the brick floor. These objects are not mentioned in any account of the basement, and their purpose is unknown.The font, built of tongue and groove
Tongue and groove
A strong joint, the tongue and groove joint is widely used for re-entrant angles. The effect of wood shrinkage is concealed when the joint is beaded or otherwise moulded...
d white pine, was painted white. It was sixteen feet long, twelve feet wide, and four feet deep. The lip of the font was seven feet from the floor. The font's cap and base were carved molding
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
in an "antique style" and the sides were finished with panel work. Two railed stairways led to the font from the north and south sides. A well on the east side of the font provided the water supply.
Great Hall
Two large double doors on the east wall opened to the first floor assembly hall of the lower court, known as the "Great Hall", which occupied the remainder of the floor space east of the vestibule. Two doors, one on the north wall and another on the south, opened to the landing of two spiral staircases, one in the northwest corner and the other in the southwest corner, which led to the attic. These were the only access points to the rest of the building. The room was flanked on either side by seven large, arched windows, with four similar windows along the east wall. An arched ceiling spanned some 50 ft (15.2 m) in breadth, in the center. The floor was stained wood and the walls were painted white.
One report stated that on the east wall of the vestibule was an entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
, similar to the one in the facade, which read in bright gilded letters, "THE HOUSE OF THE LORD – Built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – Commenced April 6th, 1841 – HOLINESS TO THE LORD."
At the east and west ends of the hall were two sets of similar pulpits. They were arranged with four levels, the top three consisting of a group of three semi-circular stands. The lowest level was a drop table which was raised for use in the sacrament
Sacrament (Mormonism)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, most often simply referred to as the sacrament, is the sacrament in which participants partake of bread and drink water in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ...
. The pulpits to the east, standing between the windows, were reserved for the Melchezidek Priesthood. Written in gilded letters along the arch of the ceiling, above the eastern pulpits, were the words "The Lord Has Seen Our Sacrifice – Come After Us." The pulpits to the west end were reserved for the Aaronic Priesthood.
The hall was fitted with enclosed pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s with two aisles. The room could accommodate up to 3,500 people. Because there were pulpits on both ends of the room, the pews had movable backs which could be swung to face either direction, depending on who was presiding – the Melchizedek Priesthood or the Aaronic Priesthood. The first floor also included a mezzanine with fourteen small rooms.
Stairwells
The two stairwells were constructed of dressed limestone walls. One rose from the northwest corner and the other from the southwest corner of the temple. They were not true circles but were flattened on four sides. Nor were they symmetrical, being 16 ft (4.9 m) in diameter from east to west and 17 ft (5.2 m) in diameter from north to south. This was done to support landings and other support structures.The staircases, made of wood, provided access to all levels of the temple, with a landing at each floor. The southwest staircase was completely finished, but the staircase in the northwest corner was never completed—it was roughed in with temporary boards resting on the risers. Workmen used this staircase to gain access to the building during its construction, especially during the winter of 1845–1846, when persons were using the other staircase to reach the attic for ordinance work.
Second floor assembly hall
The floor would have had a similar configuration as the Great Hall with a set of double pulpits and pews, but the interior was never completed. The room was furnished with wooden benches for an occasional meeting. The second floor hall also included a mezzanine with fourteen small rooms.
Attic
Tower rooms
Rising from the plateau of the attic is an octagonal tower. The tower was divided into three sections, each accessible by a series of stairways leading from the attic to an observation deck above. The lowest section was a belfry containing a bell, which was rung for various occasions. Between the observation deck and the belfry was a section containing the four clockwork mechanisms.Reconstruction
In 1999 it was announced the temple would be rebuilt with the same exterior look of the original temple. On June 27, 2002, the Nauvoo Illinois TempleNauvoo Illinois Temple
The Nauvoo Illinois Temple is the 113th dedicated temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the third such temple that has been built in Illinois ....
was dedicated. The limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
used for the original temple was quarried from a site just west of the temple. The stone for the new temple was quarried in Russellville, Alabama
Russellville, Alabama
Russellville is a city in Franklin County in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2000 census, the population of the city was 8,971. The city is the county seat of Franklin County.-History:...
, a site chosen specifically because the stone best matched the original.
The reconstructed baptistery follows the original, with the addition of a metal lining to prevent deterioration and a platform where witnesses may sit. The floor of the baptistery, the largest of any temple in the church, was replicated in red brick tile. A dome and chandelier are featured in the ceiling and art glass
Art glass
Definitions of art glass can be as complex and contentious as definitions of what constitutes "art" and will inevitably include many refinements and exceptions...
window is on the east end. The room has intricate crown moldings. The window moldings included framework for six-pointed stars made of red, white, and blue glass to replicate the originals.
St. George Utah Temple
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style. has three ordinance rooms and eighteen sealing rooms. It has a total floor space of 110000 sq ft (10,219.3 m²).
The temple was originally patterned after the Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples, with two large assembly halls featuring a set of pulpits at each end. The lower hall was partitioned with screens for presentation of the endowment. It was extensively remodeled from 1937 to 1938, when the lower hall was permanently divided into five progressive-style endowment rooms.
About a year after the original dedication, a lightning storm caused extensive damage to the original tower. It was replaced with a taller, more majestic tower.
Following a second major renovation project in 1975, the progressive-style ordinance rooms were replaced with three motion-picture ordinance rooms. Live-acting endowment sessions were much longer and only three were performed a day. The film version allows for fourteen sessions a day.
Logan Utah Temple
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
, where Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
lived prior to the fall of man; the World room, where Adam and Eve lived after the fall; the Terrestrial room; and the Celestial room, representing heaven.
In addition to these ordinance rooms, the temple has eleven sealing rooms with a total floor area of 119619 sq ft (11,113 m²). The temple is the only temple to be completely gutted and rebuilt. The two-year project replaced the progressive-style ordinance rooms with motion-picture ordinance rooms. 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:...
, the church president who rededicated the completed temple in 1979, regretted the need to reconstruct the interior of the temple because of the loss of pioneer craftsmanship.
The exterior walls of the Logan Utah Temple were originally painted a buff color to hide the dark, rough-hewn limestone. In the early 1900s, however, the paint was allowed to weather away, uncovering the beautiful stone that characterizes the temple today.
Manti Utah Temple
The Manti Utah Temple (3) is described as castellated style with influences of Gothic Revival, Neo-RenaissanceNeo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
, Second Empire and Colonial Revival architecture
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
. The temple has four progressive-style ordinance rooms and eight sealing rooms. The total floor area is 100373 sq ft (9,325 m²). It is the oldest temple which has preserved the original mural paintings. One of the more dramatic engineering marvels of the early Mormon pioneers are the open-center spiral staircases that wind up each of the 179-foot (54 m) towers. The Manti Temple is one of two temples (Salt Lake being the other) where the endowment is performed live, rather than on film.
Salt Lake Temple
Los Angeles California Temple
The Los Angeles California Temple , the tenth operating and the second-largest temple operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is on Santa Monica Boulevard in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California...
was larger before the Salt Lake temple was expanded.) The first temple of this group to be started, it was the last to be completed, after 40 years of construction.
The Temple is intended to evoke the Temple of Solomon at Jerusalem, and it is oriented towards Jerusalem. The large basin used as a baptismal font is mounted on the backs of twelve oxen, as was the brazen sea in Solomon's Temple.
The building has six spires, suggestive of Gothic and other classical styles but unique, distinctive, and symbolic. It has four progressive-style ordinance rooms and twelve sealing rooms.
The walls of the Salt Lake Temple are nine feet thick at the base and six feet thick at the top. It was the first temple to feature the prominent standing angel Moroni statue, which was created by Paris-trained sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin. Prior to that, the Nauvoo temple sported a flying angel weather vane. Of the dozen temples built from the construction of the Salt Lake Temple until the 1980s, only the Los Angeles had a similar statue. Moroni statues then became a standard part of nearly all LDS temples, and have been added to several temples originally built without them.
The angel Moroni depicts both a messenger of the restoration of the gospel and a herald of the Second Coming: "for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds" (JS-M 1:37).
The Salt Lake Temple features murals on the walls of its progressive-style ordinance rooms, excluding the Terrestrial room and Celestial room, which is adorned in an elaborate French Renaissance Revival
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival is an all-encompassing designation that covers many 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Grecian nor Gothic but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of classicizing Italian modes...
style.
This is the most symbolically adorned temple, surpassing the spiritual motifs of the Nauvoo Temple.
The east and west towers represent the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods, just as the east and west facing pulpits did in the Kirtland and Nauvoo assembly halls. Additional symbolism has been added to the towers. The east-facing towers represent the First Presidency of the Church, the highest office of the Melchizedek Priesthood. The west towers represent the Presiding Bishopric
Presiding Bishop (LDS Church)
The Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a priesthood calling with church-wide authority. The Presiding Bishop is the highest leadership position within the church's Aaronic priesthood.-Presiding Bishopric:...
, the highest office of the Aaronic Priesthood. There are twelve pinnacles on each tower; the east pinnacles represent the office of the Twelve Apostles
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy...
, and the west pinnacles represent the High Council
High council (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, a high council is one of several different governing bodies that have existed in the church hierarchy on many Latter-day Saint denominations...
.
Castle-like battlements surround the temple, symbolizing a separation from the world and a protection of the holy ordinances from the outside world.
At the base of each buttress is an earthstone. Earthstones represent the Earth, the "footstool of God". The earth itself is in a telestial state, but will transition into a terrestrial state with the coming of the Millennium, and will finally receive Celestial glory at the end of the one thousand years.
Moonstones are located directly above the earthstones. Each moonstone is depicted in a different phase. The changing moon represents the stages of human progression from birth and life to death and resurrection. It also represents one's journey from total darkness into the full light of Christ
Light of Christ
The Light of Christ became a doctrine of the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that most people would call conscience...
. Above the moonstones are sunstones, representing celestial glory.
Two cloudstones are carved on the east center tower, with descending rays of light. The original plan was to have one stone be white and the other black, with descending trumpets. The parallel of this symbolism is found in the Old Testament. Once temples were dedicated in ancient Israel, they were filled with the "cloud of the Lord
Pillar of Fire (theophany)
A Pillar of Fire was one of the manifestations of the presence of the God of Israel in the Torah. According to Exodus, the pillar of fire provided light so that Jews could travel by night during the Exodus from Egypt . The pillar of fire is traditionally paired with the manifestation of the divine...
." At Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...
, the children of Israel saw this cloud as both dark and bright accompanied by the blasting of a trumpet.
Various starstones adorn the temple. Six-pointed stars represent the stars in the heaven. Inverted five-pointed stars represent morning star
Morning Star
Morning star is the name given to the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise.*Phosphorus , in Greek and biblical mythology** Eosphorus, the "dawn-bearer" in Greek mythology**Lucifer, the Latin translation of Phosphorus...
s, compared to the "sons of God" in the scriptures. The large upright five-pointed stars may represent the governing power of the priesthood, while the small upright five-pointed stars may represent the saving power of the priesthood for those who attach themselves to it.
The center west tower has a depiction of the Big Dipper
Big Dipper
The Plough, also known as the Big Dipper or the Saptarishi , is an asterism of seven stars that has been recognized as a distinct grouping in many cultures from time immemorial...
constellation. This represents the method travelers have used for thousands of years to find the North Star. This symbolized the purpose of the temple in showing the way to God.
Each of the center towers features a pair of clasped right hands identified as the "right hands of fellowship
Right hand of christian fellowship
The Right Hand of Fellowship is a ritual intended to welcome a new member into the fellowship of a congregation or welcoming a new minister into the fellowship of ministers...
" cited in Galatians 2:9. In Jeremiah 31:32, the Lord uses the handclasp to denote covenant making—an act at the very heart of temple worship.
Each of the center towers has a carved All Seeing Eye of God, which represents God's ability to see and know all things.
Temples with no spire
Cardston Alberta Temple
The Cardston Alberta Temple is the eighth constructed and sixth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Cardston, Alberta, it is the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. It is one of eight temples that do not have an angel Moroni statue, and one of...
(6), on June 27, 1913, was two decades following the completion of the Salt Lake Temple. The temple at Cardston was the first design to be put out to bid to prominent architects, and the first to be designed without a priesthood assembly hall. This began a transition away from multi-purpose temples.
The design of the Cardston Alberta Temple served as the basic pattern for the Laie Hawaii Temple
Laie Hawaii Temple
Laie Hawaii Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on the northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The temple sits on a small hill a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean in the town of Lāie, from Honolulu...
(5), which was completed four years before the Cardston temple. World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
caused the construction delay. Cardston was also the pattern for the third temple built after Salt Lake, the Mesa Arizona Temple
Mesa Arizona Temple
The Mesa Arizona Temple is the seventh operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, it is the first of five LDS temples built or planned in the state.-History:...
(7).
These three temples, the first three built outside of Utah, are often described as designed after the style of Solomon's temple. The Laie Temple design is "suggestive of the ancient temples found in South America—shaped like a Grecian cross with no tower." The top of the temple is decorated with carved friezes. Each side depicts four dispensations of time: Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
Dispensation (west), New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
Dispensation (south), Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
Dispensation (north), and Latter-day Dispensation (east). It is the smallest of the three temples, with a total floor area of 47224 sq ft (4,387.3 m²), three ordinance rooms, and six sealing rooms.
The Cardston and Mesa temples were originally built about the same size, but an addition in 1974 to the Mesa temple expanded its area to 113916 sq ft (10,583 m²). It is described as a "modification of the classic style, suggestive of pre-Columbian temples and the Temple of Herod." It has four ordinance rooms and nine sealing rooms, expanded from the original four sealing rooms.
The Cardston temple has 88562 sq ft (8,228 m²) of floor space and is described as an "octagonal design with no spire—similar to Maltese cross
Maltese cross
The Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...
—it has Grecian massiveness and a Peruvian touch of Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
influence with pyramid silhouette." It has four ordinance rooms and five sealing rooms.
Modern center spire design
Oakland California Temple
The Oakland California Temple (13) is an unusual variation on the center spire design because it incorporates four additional spires—one on each corner of the building—for a total of five. The center spire is the tallest. It is the only temple with five spires. With a floor area of 95000 sq ft (8,825.8 m²), it was built slightly larger than the Idaho Falls temple, and contains four ordinance rooms and seven sealing rooms.With the construction of the Ogden Utah Temple
Ogden Utah Temple
The Ogden Utah Temple is the sixteenth constructed and fourteenth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
(14), the design was expanded, with six ordinance rooms and eleven sealing rooms and a floor area of 115000 sq ft (10,683.8 m²). The trend continued with the Provo Utah Temple
Provo Utah Temple
The Provo Utah Temple is the 17th constructed and 15th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
(15), and eight years later with the Jordan River Utah Temple
Jordan River Utah Temple
The Jordan River Utah Temple is the 20th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in South Jordan, Utah, it was built with a modern single-spire design....
(20). Each temple was larger than the last (128325 sq ft (11,921.8 m²) and 148236 sq ft (13,771.6 m²), respectively), and added more sealing rooms: twelve for Provo and seventeen for Jordan River.
Modern single-spire design
Bern Switzerland Temple
The Bern Switzerland Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Though the building is located in Münchenbuchsee, its postal address is assigned to the neighboring municipality of Zollikofen...
(9). Its distinctive design diverged from the Idaho Falls temple to a style reminiscent of older temples like Kirtland and Nauvoo, but with a more contemporary design. This temple was designed to show a film of the presentation of the endowment, rather than live actors, to accommodate the many languages of Europe. Originally built with one ordinance room and three sealing rooms, the temple was remodeled in 1992 to update of the interiors and add ordinance and sealing rooms. The temple now has four ordinance rooms and seven sealing rooms. It has a floor area of 35545 sq ft (3,302.2 m²). In 2005, an angel Moroni statue was added to the spire in commemoration of the temple's 50th anniversary.
Los Angeles California Temple
The Los Angeles California Temple (10), the largest temple built by the church, was dedicated in 1956. It is now second to the Salt Lake temple in size due to renovations that expanded the flagship structure. It was the first temple since Salt Lake to have a priesthood assembly room, added to the plans when World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
delayed construction. It would be the last temple designed for a live-actor presentation of the endowment. The ordinance rooms are filled with murals, and is one of only three temples with murals in the Celestial Room (the others being the Idaho Falls Temple and the Nauvoo Illinois Temple).
When the statue of Moroni was installed, it faced southeast (as does the temple), but was shortly turned to face due east at the request of church president David O. McKay
David O. McKay
David Oman McKay was the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , serving from 1951 until his death. Ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1906, McKay was a general authority for nearly 64 years, longer than anyone else in LDS Church...
. In 2003, the temple was changed to a progressive-style presentation, with a newly-renovated Terrestrial Room. The endowment was still presented on film. In November 2005 the temple was closed for a seismic overhaul and a renovation of the baptistery, which had drainage and mildew problems. It reopened July 11, 2006, fifty years after the original dedication.
In addition to the Celestial room, the temple has four ordinance rooms (Creation room, Garden room, World room, Terrestrial room), and ten sealing rooms. It has a square footage of 190614 sq ft (17,708.6 m²).
Following the basic design of the Bern temple, the Hamilton New Zealand Temple
Hamilton New Zealand Temple
The Hamilton New Zealand Temple is the 13th constructed and 11th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
(11) was dedicated in 1958. It was built, along with the Church College of New Zealand, entirely by volunteer missionary labor, and was the first temple of the church in the southern hemisphere. It has one ordinance room and three sealing rooms. The floor space is 44212 sq ft (4,107 m²).
London England Temple
The London England Temple (12), dedicated in 1958, follows the same basic pattern of the Bern and Hamilton temples. The temple was renovated in 1992 to include four ordinance rooms and seven sealing rooms. The floor area is 46174 sq ft (4,290 m²).The next temple to incorporate this style would be built in 1980. Unlike the other temples, the Seattle Washington Temple (19) was designed from the beginning to have four ordinance rooms and twelve sealing rooms. It is larger than Bern, Hamilton, and London, at 110000 sq ft (10,219.3 m²).
Ten years later the church built four temples, similar in style, based on the single-spire design. These temples all have four ordinance rooms and four sealing rooms. With sizes ranging from 57000 square foot, these temples are stylistically unique, although the Boston Massachusetts Temple
Boston Massachusetts Temple
The Boston Massachusetts Temple is the 100th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The Boston Massachusetts Temple is located in the Boston suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts and was dedicated for use on 1 October 2000. When LDS Church President Gordon B...
(100), dedicated in 2000, resembles the St. Louis Missouri Temple
St. Louis Missouri Temple
The St. Louis Missouri Temple is the 50th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in Town and Country, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb...
(50), built three years earlier. The other temples are the Preston England Temple
Preston England Temple
The Preston England Temple is the 52nd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .The LDS Church first took root in Preston, Lancashire when the first Mormon missionaries arrived in 1837. Because of its place in LDS Church history and the growth of membership in Preston,...
(52), built in 1998, and the unique Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple
The Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple is the 99th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is also the first temple to be built in the Caribbean and in this Area of the church....
(99), built in 2000.
Lawsuits arguing that the Dover Amendment
Dover Amendment
The Dover Amendment is the common name for Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40A, Section 3. This law exempts agricultural, religious, and educational corporations from certain zoning restrictions. It allows a structure that provides certain services to ignore local zoning laws and build the...
unfairly discriminates against non-religious groups delayed the addition of the spire of the Boston temple by several years as the courts decided if the spire was a required element of the design of the temple. In support of the Dover Amendment, which exempts religious structures from local zoning laws, the court continually sided with the church. Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall
Margaret H. Marshall
Margaret Hilary Marshall was the 24th Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and the first female to hold that position. She was Chief Justice from 1999 to 2010. On July 21, 2010, she announced her retirement....
wrote in the 17-page ruling, "A rose window at Notre Dame Cathedral, a balcony at St. Peter's Basilica, are judges to decide whether these architectural elements are 'necessary' to the faith served by those buildings?"
Several recently-constructed temples have returned to this earlier style, with two floors and a smaller building, with two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms.
|
Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple The Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in South Jordan, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. South Jordan was the first city in the world to have two temples , followed by Provo, Utah... Vancouver British Columbia Temple The Vancouver British Columbia Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the seventh in Canada and the first in British Columbia.... |
Small modern single-spire design
São Paulo Brazil Temple
The São Paulo Brazil Temple is the 19th constructed and 17th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, it was the first LDS temple built in South America, and also the first temple to use the single story, single spire design...
(17) and the Tokyo Japan Temple
Tokyo Japan Temple
The is the 20th constructed and 18th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, it was the first temple built in Asia. It has a compact style that was a precursor for later urban area temples such as the Hong Kong China Temple and the...
(18), the church designed temples based on a more chapel-like design: square buildings with a smaller spire. These first two temples had two ordinance rooms, but because there was no set plan during this time, the temples have four and five sealing rooms, respectively.
Shortly after these temples were built the church built a larger version: the Atlanta Georgia Temple
Atlanta Georgia Temple
The Atlanta Georgia Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the first temple built by the church in the Southeastern United States and the second temple east of the Mississippi River since 1846...
(21). It has four ordinance rooms and five sealing rooms and a floor area of 35360 sq ft (3,285.1 m²). Later the church would repeat this pattern with two similar temples: the Denver Colorado Temple
Denver Colorado Temple
The Denver Colorado Temple is the 40th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The LDS Church announced its plans to build a temple in Colorado on March 31, 1982. Almost two years later, Gordon B. Hinckley presided over the site dedication and groundbreaking...
(40) and the much larger Toronto Ontario Temple
Toronto Ontario Temple
The Toronto Ontario Temple is the 44th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the second temple to be dedicated in Canada , making it the first country in the world outside the United States to have two temples within its borders at the time of dedication...
(44), each with six sealing rooms.
The Apia Samoa Temple
Apia Samoa Temple
The Apia Samoa Temple was the 24th constructed and 22nd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the first temple built in Samoa and the third to be built in Polynesia...
(22) was built at this time, but during a renovation, the building caught fire and was destroyed. It was immediately rebuilt with a larger design, but still with a single spire. It has two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms, with a total floor area of 18691 sq ft (1,736.5 m²).
Similar two ordinance room temples are the Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple
Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple
The Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple is the 25th constructed and 23rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in the middle of Tonga's main island Tongatapu near Matangiake. The area where the temple is located is commonly known as Liahona, after the name of the...
(23) and the Santiago Chile Temple
Santiago Chile Temple
The Santiago Chile Temple is the 26th constructed and 24th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the Chilean capital, Santiago, it was built with a modern single-spire design....
(24), with three sealing rooms, and the Papeete Tahiti Temple
Papeete Tahiti Temple
The Papeete Tahiti Temple is the 27th constructed and 25th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Papeete on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, it was built with a modern single-spire design....
(25) and the Sydney Australia Temple
Sydney Australia Temple
The Sydney Australia Temple is the 30th constructed and 28th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-Construction and dedication:...
(28), with two ordinance rooms.
Freiberg Germany Temple
Located in FreibergFreiberg, Saxony
Freiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.-History:The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Freiberg Germany Temple (33) was announced in October 1982, ground was broken for construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
on April 23, 1983, and the temple was dedicated in 1985. Built in what was then the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, the Freiberg Germany Temple is the only LDS temple to have been built in a communist state
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
.
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to travel to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, the location of the Bern Switzerland Temple
Bern Switzerland Temple
The Bern Switzerland Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Though the building is located in Münchenbuchsee, its postal address is assigned to the neighboring municipality of Zollikofen...
. The government wished to minimize citizens' travel outside the country.
The temple was built on a very small scale, with no outward adornment of any kind. No oxen were used in the baptistery and only the bare minimum functional details were allowed inside.
After German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1990, Germany became the first country outside of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
to have more than one temple, this and the Frankfurt Germany Temple
Frankfurt Germany Temple
The Frankfurt Germany Temple is the 43rd constructed and 41st operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Friedrichsdorf, Germany, it was built with the same general architecture as the six-spire design used in the Boise, Chicago, and Dallas temples,...
.
Political changes in Germany allowed for renovation of the temple from 2001–2002 to the high standards of temples built today. Additional square footage extending to the east approximately doubled the size of the temple. New amenities include the installation of twelve oxen to support the baptismal font, a non-patrons waiting room, a matron/brides room, and an office for the temple president. On December 20, 2001, an angel Moroni was placed atop the temple. The temple is small, with one ordinance room and two sealing rooms and a total floor area of 14126 sq ft (1,312.3 m²).
Six spire sloped roof
The first temple built in the six-spire sloped roof style was the Boise Idaho TempleBoise Idaho Temple
The Boise Idaho Temple is the 29th constructed and 27th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Boise, Idaho it was built with a sloping roof & six-spire design. The temple will close on 11 July 2011 for extensive renovations.Mormon leaders...
, the design of which started after its announcement on March 31, 1982. Early examples of this design proved inadequate: Boise, Dallas, and Chicago were closed for extensive renovations not long after opening. These renovations restructured rooms, added facilities, and made other enhancements that significantly improved the buildings. The last temple built in this style was the Las Vegas Nevada Temple
Las Vegas Nevada Temple
The Las Vegas Nevada Temple is the 43rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Located in the Sunrise Manor CDP near Las Vegas, Nevada, the temple sits on at the base of Frenchman Mountain. A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication for the temple were held in...
, which was completed in 1989. This style was then largely replaced by the classic modern, single-spire design. The unifying concept behind this style was the six spires and the sloped roof. Other than those factors, the temples varied widely in size and capacity, as illustrated in the table below:
| Temple | Number | Dedicated | Square Feet |
Ordinance Rooms | Sealing Rooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise Idaho Temple Boise Idaho Temple The Boise Idaho Temple is the 29th constructed and 27th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Boise, Idaho it was built with a sloping roof & six-spire design. The temple will close on 11 July 2011 for extensive renovations.Mormon leaders... |
27 | 1984 | 35,325 | 4 | 4 |
| Manila Philippines Temple Manila Philippines Temple The Manila Philippines Temple is the 29th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.On April 1, 1981, it was announced that a LDS temple would be built in the Philippines. The groundbreaking and site dedication for the temple were on August 25, 1982. Back in January 1981,... |
29 | 1984 | 26,683 | 4 | 3 |
| Dallas Texas Temple Dallas Texas Temple The Dallas Texas Temple is the 30th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It serves nearly 50,000 members in North Texas, and parts of Louisiana.-Construction and Dedication:... |
30 | 1984 | 46,956 | 5 | 5 |
| Taipei Taiwan Temple Taipei Taiwan Temple The Taipei Taiwan Temple is the 31st operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is located in Taipei City, Taiwan.Taiwan was first introduced to the LDS Church in the mid 1950s... |
31 | 1984 | 16,000 | 4 | 3 |
| Guatemala City Guatemala Temple Guatemala City Guatemala Temple The Guatemala City Guatemala Temple is the 34th constructed and 32nd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Guatemala City, capital city of Guatemala, it was built with a modern six-spire design. In 1956, while Harold B... |
32 | 1984 | 11,610 | 4 | 3 |
| Stockholm Sweden Temple Stockholm Sweden Temple The Stockholm Sweden Temple is the 34th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The April 1981 announcement of the Stockholm Sweden Temple was received with virtually no opposition... |
34 | 1985 | 14,508 | 4 | 3 |
| Chicago Illinois Temple Chicago Illinois Temple The Chicago Illinois Temple is the thirty-fifth temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the second of three church temples that have been built in Illinois... |
35 | 1985 | 29,751 | 5 | 4 |
| Johannesburg South Africa Temple Johannesburg South Africa Temple The Johannesburg South Africa Temple is the 36th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.LDS Church leaders announced the building of a Temple in Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa in April 1981. Groundbreaking took place on November 27, 1982. Enormous effort put into... |
36 | 1985 | 19,184 | 4 | 3 |
| Seoul Korea Temple Seoul Korea Temple The Seoul Korea Temple is the 37th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is located in Seoul, South Korea.... |
37 | 1985 | 28,057 | 4 | 3 |
| Lima Peru Temple Lima Peru Temple The Lima Peru Temple is the 38th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Because of the growth of the Church in Peru, Mormon leaders announced in 1981 that a temple would be built in the city of Lima. The six-spired Lima Peru Temple was constructed on of undeveloped... |
38 | 1986 | 9,600 | 4 | 3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina Temple Buenos Aires Argentina Temple The Buenos Aires Argentina Temple is the 39th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located in Ciudad Evita, near Buenos Aires, Argentina.... |
39 | 1986 | 11,980 | 4 | 3 |
| Frankfurt Germany Temple Frankfurt Germany Temple The Frankfurt Germany Temple is the 43rd constructed and 41st operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Friedrichsdorf, Germany, it was built with the same general architecture as the six-spire design used in the Boise, Chicago, and Dallas temples,... |
41 | 1987 | 24,170 | 4 | 5 |
| Portland Oregon Temple Portland Oregon Temple The Portland Oregon Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on near the intersection of Highway 217 and I-5 in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The temple's architecture features six white spires and a white marble exterior accented with green marble trim and topped... |
42 | 1989 | 79,220 | 4 | 14 |
| Las Vegas Nevada Temple Las Vegas Nevada Temple The Las Vegas Nevada Temple is the 43rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Located in the Sunrise Manor CDP near Las Vegas, Nevada, the temple sits on at the base of Frenchman Mountain. A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication for the temple were held in... |
43 | 1989 | 80,350 | 4 | 6 |
Classic modern, single-spire design
The classic modern, single-spire design heralded an era where the temples square off the roof and return to a single spire design. These temples tend to be larger, with the smallest temple at 45800 sq ft (4,255 m²), and the largest at 104000 sq ft (9,661.9 m²) (compared to the earlier six-spire designs, with the smallest at 9600 sq ft (891.9 m²) and the largest at 80350 sq ft (7,464.8 m²)). All of the temples built in this style were dedicated between 1994 and 1999, with the exception of the Campinas Brazil TempleCampinas Brazil Temple
The Campinas Brazil Temple, in Campinas, São Paulo, is the 111th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Plans to build the Campinas Brazil Temple were announced on April 3, 1997. The Campinas Temple is the fourth to be built in Brazil.The first Mormon missionaries did...
, which was not dedicated until 2002.
| Temple | Number | Dedicated | Square feet |
Ordinance rooms | Sealing rooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando Florida Temple Orlando Florida Temple The Orlando Florida Temple is the 48th constructed and 46th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located near Windermere, it was built with a modern single-spire design. It is the second largest LDS temple in the Eastern United States, after the Washington D.C... |
46 | 1994 | 70,000 | 4 | 5 |
| Bountiful Utah Temple Bountiful Utah Temple The Bountiful Utah Temple is the 47th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The Bountiful Temple is the eighth temple constructed in the state of Utah. The history of this temple site began back in 1897, when John Haven Barlow Sr. purchased of land from the United... |
47 | 1995 | 104,000 | 4 | 8 |
| Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple The Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple is the 49th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The temple is located in American Fork, Utah and is the second temple built in Utah County and the ninth in Utah.-Announcement:... |
49 | 1996 | 107,000 | 4 | 8 |
| Madrid Spain Temple Madrid Spain Temple The Madrid Spain Temple is the 56th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .The Madrid Spain Temple, built in Moratalaz, a district of Madrid, was announced in 1996... |
56 | 1999 | 45,800 | 4 | 4 |
| Bogotá Colombia Temple Bogotá Colombia Temple The Bogotá Colombia Temple is the 57th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Fifteen years passed from the time the announcement of the Bogotá Colombia Temple in 1984 to its dedication in 1999. The temple was dedicated 24 April 1999, by President Hinckley.The Bogotá... |
57 | 1999 | 53,500 | 4 | 3 |
| Guayaquil Ecuador Temple Guayaquil Ecuador Temple The Guayaquil Ecuador Temple is the 58th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.In 1982, President Spencer W. Kimball, then President of the LDS Church, announced that there would be a Mormon temple built in Ecuador... |
58 | 1999 | 70,884 | 4 | 3 |
| Campinas Brazil Temple Campinas Brazil Temple The Campinas Brazil Temple, in Campinas, São Paulo, is the 111th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Plans to build the Campinas Brazil Temple were announced on April 3, 1997. The Campinas Temple is the fourth to be built in Brazil.The first Mormon missionaries did... |
111 | 2002 | 48,100 | 4 | 3 |
Monticello Utah Temple
The Monticello Utah Temple (53) was chosen as the pilot temple for the first of the new generation of very small temples. Originally designed with one ordinance room and one sealing room and a small baptistry, this temple only had 6800 sq ft (631.7 m²) of space. These temples have no offices or laundry facilities. The changing rooms are small, and there are no waiting rooms. The single ordinance room acts as the Creation Room, Garden Room, World Room, and Terrestrial Room, leading to the adjacent Celestial Room.The temples were built next to existing chapels so the business of the temple could be conducted in the offices of the adjacent church. Temples will continue to be built on existing land adjacent to existing chapels, but the offices of the temple will be in the temple itself.
In 2002 an additional 4000 sq ft (371.6 m²) were added to the Monticello temple to add a second ordinance room and sealing room, a waiting room, offices for temple workers, and laundry facilities.
The Anchorage Alaska Temple
Anchorage Alaska Temple
The Anchorage Alaska Temple is the 54th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.In 1997, President Gordon B. Hinckley, 14th President after Joseph Smith, announced the building of smaller Mormon Temples...
(54) was built next, and was subsequently expanded to include a second ordinance room, offices for temple staff, new men's and women's dressing rooms, a patron waiting room, a laundry facility, and an elevator to a new second floor for a total square footage of 11,937.
The Colonia Juárez Chihuahua México Temple
Colonia Juárez Chihuahua México Temple
The Colonia Juárez Chihuahua México Temple is the 55th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.On a hill just west of the little town of Colonia Juárez, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, and overlooking a fertile valley, sits the first of the smaller Mormon temples to...
(55) was built next, and has not been altered from the original design. This is the smallest temple built by the church.
Because the temples proved to be too small, the church quickly moved to a larger plan that included a second ordinance room, called the Terrestrial Room, and sealing room, offices, a patron waiting room, and laundry facilities.
Small identical design
Spokane Washington Temple
Beginning with the dedication of the Spokane Washington Temple on August 21, 1999, by Gordon B. HinckleyGordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...
, the church began an aggressive temple building cycle, constructing dozens of temples using relatively identical models and floorplans. Described as a "classic modern, single-spire design," these temples have two progressive ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms. Total floor area for these temples is 10700 sq ft (994.1 m²). The exteriors have slightly different finishes. Most are granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
or marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
quarried from regional quarries such as Imperial Danby White variegated marble quarried from Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, which was used in many temples in the United States. The temples built in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
used granite imported from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Other than minor variations in finish, landscaping, and setting, these temples are virtually identical.
List of identical temples
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Variations in design
Occasionally the church would change the design slightly adding or removing square footage, but keeping the general design the same, with two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms. Other temples have distinct modifications to their exteriors and size.
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Additional sealing room
The church built several temples based on the two ordinance room plan, but added more square footage to accommodate an additional sealing room. These temples vary in size and style, although some look similar to the original design. Often plans were modified because local residents balked at the idea of such a large temple in their neighborhood. For example, the Sacramento temple was originally designed to be a much larger structure, but because of opposition, the design was changed to model the Newport Beach temple design.The temples vary in size. The last three temples built are around 17000 square foot, and the others are around 34000 sq ft (3,158.7 m²).
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Recife Brazil Temple The Recife Brazil Temple is the 101st operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The Recife Brazil Temple sits on in the city of Recife, capital of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, shaded by mango trees and towering royal palms, and is surrounded by a beautiful garden... (101) Redlands California Temple The Redlands California Temple is the 116th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The announcement of a temple in Redlands, California came on April 21, 2001. Redlands is in the San Bernardino, California area, an area which since 1851, has had a large population of... (116) Newport Beach California Temple The Newport Beach California Temple is the 122nd temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The temple was announced on April 21, 2001 and dedicated by Gordon B. Hinckley on August 28, 2005... (122) Sacramento California Temple The Sacramento California Temple is the 123rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-Overview:The First Presidency of the Church announced on April 21, 2001 that a temple would be built in the Sacramento area. This temple is the seventh built by the Church in... (123) |
Washington D.C. Temple
Kensington, Maryland
Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2000 census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 zip code and its population is an order of magnitude larger than that of the town at its center....
, was the first temple built on the east coast of the United States. It was built with a modern six-spire design, with the three towers to the east representing the Melchizedek Priesthood leadership, and the three towers to the west representing the Aaronic Priesthood leadership. The central eastern tower reaches a height of 288 ft (87.8 m), the tallest of any LDS temple.
A very large plot of land on a wooded hill was bought in 1962 and eleven acres were cleared for the temple. The rest of the land was left untouched to give the temple a remote feeling. The temple was designed to be similar in style and form to the Salt Lake Temple so that it would be easily recognized as a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The angel Moroni statue, which stands atop the tallest tower, is 18 ft (5.5 m) tall and weighs 4000 pounds (1,814.4 kg). Although the temple appears to not have any windows, from the inside the thinly-cut marble appears translucent. The Washington D.C. temple has a total floor area of 160000 sq ft (14,864.5 m²), making it the third largest LDS temple. It holds six ordinance rooms and fourteen sealing rooms.
Mexico City Mexico Temple
The Mexico City Mexico Temple (26) is located in the northeastern part of the Mexican capital, Mexico City. Similar to the center spire design, it was built with a unique design inspired by ancient Aztec and Mayan architecture. It is the largest temple outside the United States.The temple was built on a 7 acres (2.8 ha) plot, has four ordinance rooms and 11 sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 116642 sq ft (10,836.4 m²). It was the first of twelve Mormon temples built in México.
San Diego California Temple
The San Diego California Temple (45) is located in the La Jolla district of San DiegoSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. It was built with two main spires, but unique to this temple are four smaller spires at the base of each main spire. The East spire is topped with the angel Moroni, which adorns most LDS temples.
The exterior finish is marble chips in plaster, giving the building a bright white glow. Just off Interstate 5, the temple is a major landmark when traveling the highway toward or away from San Diego. The temple is brightly illuminated at night.
The temple was built on a 7.2 acre (2.9 ha) plot, has four ordinance rooms and eight sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 72000 sq ft (6,689 m²).
Hong Kong China Temple
The Hong Kong China Temple (48) was built on the site of an existing mission home and Mormon chapel. Because of the cramped situation of Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
city, the temple had to be built up instead of spreading out, a situation which contributed to the temple's unique design. The six-story building is designed to house not only the Mormon temple, but also a chapel, mission offices, and living quarters for the temple president and several missionaries. This is similar to the Manhattan New York Temple
Manhattan New York Temple
The Manhattan New York Temple is the 119th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is the second "high rise" LDS temple to be constructed, after the Hong Kong China Temple, and the third LDS temple converted from an existing building...
, which was adapted from an existing building.
It has a total of 21744 sq ft (2,020.1 m²), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.
Adapted buildings
Vernal Utah Temple
The Vernal Utah Temple is the fifty-first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Vernal it is the tenth LDS temple in the state of Utah....
(51) served as the Uintah
Uintah County, Utah
This page deals with the Utah County. For the Wyoming County, see Uinta County, Wyoming.Uintah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000 the population was 25,224 and by 2009 was estimated at 31,536. It was named for the Ute Indians, the tribe that lives in the basin. Its...
Stake
Stake (Mormonism)
A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. A stake is approximately comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations...
Tabernacle for Latter-day Saints in eastern Utah. The Tabernacle's foundation was constructed of nearby sandstone, with walls built of four layers of fired brick from local clay. Constructed using considerable donated labor from the fall of 1899, it was dedicated on August 24, 1907, by LDS President Joseph F. Smith. Smith reportedly said he would not be surprised if a temple was built there some day.
Roger Jackson characterized the Uintah Stake Tabernacle as relatively modest, without the decorative details found on tabernacles in central and northern Utah. Nonetheless, he wrote, "the building is the most prominent structure in Vernal and considered the finest building in all of eastern Utah."
The tabernacle was superseded by an adjacent, more modern LDS stake center
Stake (Mormonism)
A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. A stake is approximately comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations...
in 1948. Only used irregularly thereafter, the LDS Church announced the tabernacle's closing in 1984 for public safety reasons. Among other things, the tabernacle lacked indoor bathrooms and access for the disabled.
A local "Save the Tabernacle" committee formed, and in 1989 a preservation study was prepared. The LDS Church opted to turn the building into one of its new smaller temples, and plans were announced in 1994. In addition to preserving the exterior, bringing the building up to code, and altering the floor plan, the eastern spire of the temple was elongated to make it taller than the spire of the neighboring stake center. An east-facing golden statue of angel Moroni was placed on top of the spire. When discussing the problems involved with converting the old, deteriorated building into an acceptable modern temple, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley remarked that the Church would never attempt that again.
Copenhagen Denmark Temple
The Copenhagen Denmark Temple is the 118th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Copenhagen Denmark Temple is one of the few temples that have been converted from existing buildings....
(118) is a renovation of an existing building, the Priorvej Chapel. This chapel was built by LDS members in 1931 and was dedicated by Elder John A. Widtsoe
John A. Widtsoe
John Andreas Widtsoe was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1921 until his death. Widtsoe was also a noted author, scientist, and academician.-Early life:...
, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time. It was built in the Neo-classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style, with columns in the front. Most of the renovation of the building was done on the inside. The Church wanted the structure to keep its original exterior appearance.
The day that the chapel was dedicated, June 14, was the eighty-first anniversary of the day that the first Mormon missionaries
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
arrived in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. During World War II the chapel was used as a bomb shelter, but the building survived the war with little damage. After World War II the chapel was remodeled to hold more classrooms for the growing membership.
The Copenhagen Denmark Temple
Copenhagen Denmark Temple
The Copenhagen Denmark Temple is the 118th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Copenhagen Denmark Temple is one of the few temples that have been converted from existing buildings....
has a total of 25000 sq ft (2,322.6 m²), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.
The Manhattan New York Temple
Manhattan New York Temple
The Manhattan New York Temple is the 119th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is the second "high rise" LDS temple to be constructed, after the Hong Kong China Temple, and the third LDS temple converted from an existing building...
(119) was adapted from an existing stake center building—which stands at the intersection of West 65th Street, Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
, and Columbus Avenue
Ninth Avenue (Manhattan)
Ninth Avenue / Columbus Avenue is a southbound thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Traffic runs downtown along its full length...
, and is across the street from the Lincoln Center—into the temple. The original building was dedicated by 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:...
in May 1975 and houses a public affairs office on the second floor and a chapel on the third floor.
The temple occupies parts of the first floor and all of the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the building. The interiors of these floors were completely renovated. The walls were soundproofed so traffic noise would not interrupt temple patrons. The total floor area for the temple part of the building is 20630 sq ft (1,916.6 m²), with two progressive ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms. Unlike many of the smaller temples built since the pilot program, the ordinance rooms are perpendicular to each other to adapt to the size limitations of the building. The cornerstone containing the year of dedication, commonly found on the outside facade of most temples, is located in the interior lobby next to the elevator which leads to the chapel portion of the building. Inside the temple, beehives are carved into the molding, and door handles that look like the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
torch are found throughout. Paintings on the walls of many of the rooms depict scenes from nature.
After the dedication, a special ceremony was held and a time capsule was placed in the cornerstone. Memorabilia such as a copy of the New York Times and LDS Church memorabilia such as a set of scriptures, a handkerchief used during the dedication ceremony, and sheet music, were placed inside. A steeple and statue of the angel Moroni would be added to the building in the fall. On October 9, 2004, thousands of people came to watch the ten-foot statue be placed on top of the steeple.
In a local church conference on November 12, 2006, it was officially announced that the fourth floor, which formerly housed classrooms and offices associated with the third-floor chapel and the old stake center, would be converted to become part of the temple. This construction was completed during the maintenance closing in August 2007. The temple baptistery continues to occupy part of the first floor of the building, and the rest of the temple occupies all of the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors. The third floor is a chapel for local congregations, and the second floor houses a public affairs office and a Family History Center
Family History Center (LDS Church)
Family History Centers are units of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
. Clothing rental facilities are located on the fourth floor. The Family History Center that was located in the building prior to the construction of the temple was one of the most-used centers in the world.
On October 1, 2011, it was announced at General Conference that the Provo Tabernacle
Provo Tabernacle
-External links:* * page by the City of Provo*, Photograph Archives in Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library*...
will be converted into Provo's second Temple.
Neo-Classical Temples
During a devotional at Brigham Young University - Idaho, Thomas E. Coburn explained that Church President Thomas S. MonsonThomas S. Monson
Thomas Spencer Monson is an American religious leader and author, and the 16th and current President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . As president, Monson is considered by adherents of the religion to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator" of God's will on earth...
and the Church Temple Department are beginning to construct temples according to the "timeless" and classical designs of the cultures and people they will serve, citing the recently-revealed architectural rendering of the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple
Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple
The Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple is a planned temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be constructed in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. The announcement of the temple was made on October 4, 2008 during the church's 178th Semiannual Conference by President Thomas S....
as the first of many examples. This trend towards Neo-Classicism appears to be the latest in LDS Temple architecture.
See also
- 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...
- 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
- Temple (Latter Day Saints)
- Temple (LDS Church)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...
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Additional reading
- Jackson, Richard W. "Places of Worship: 150 Years of Latter-day Saint Architecture." 2003, Religious Studies CenterReligious Studies CenterThe Religious Studies Center is the research and publishing arm of the Religious Education program at Brigham Young University , sponsoring scholarship on Latter-day Saint culture, history, scripture, and doctrine.-History:...
, Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
, Provo, Utah. - C. Mark Hamilton "Nineteenth-Century Mormon Architecture and City Planning"
- Joseph Weston "Mormon Architecture"
External links
- Latter-Day Fortresses: The spooky charisma of Mormon temples – article at SlateSlate (magazine)Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...