Salt Lake Temple
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:LDS Temple/Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At Template:Convert, it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple completed by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846.<ref name=churchofjesuschristtemples.org>Template:Citation</ref> The temple was closed in December 2019 for a general remodelling and seismic renovations, which were initially estimated to take approximately four years.<ref name="April 2019 Press Release">Template:Citation</ref> Subsequent updates<ref name="December 2021 Press Release">Template:Citation</ref><ref name="March 2023 Press Release">Template:Citation</ref> extended the estimated completion to 2026, for a total renovation timeline lasting an anticipated six or seven years.
Details
The Salt Lake Temple is the centerpiece of the Template:Convert Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Like other Latter-day Saint temples, the church and its members consider it sacred and a temple recommend is required to enter, so there are no public tours inside the temple as there are for other adjacent buildings on Temple Square. In 1912, the first public photographs of the interior were published in the book The House of the Lord, by James E. Talmage.<ref>Talmage, James. The House of the Lord. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1912</ref> Since then, various photographs have been published, including by Life magazine in 1938.<ref name="life1938010322">Template:Citation</ref> The temple grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Due to its location at church headquarters and its historical significance, Latter-day Saints from around the world patronize the temple.
The Salt Lake Temple is also the location of the weekly meetings of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>Template:R As such, there are special meeting rooms in the building for these purposes, including the Holy of Holies, which are not part of other temples.
The temple includes some elements thought to evoke Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem. It is oriented towards JerusalemTemplate:Cn and the large basin used as a baptismal font is mounted on the backs of twelve oxen, as was the Molten Sea in Solomon's Temple (see 2 Chronicles 4:2–4). (However, the literal interpretation of the Biblical verses has been disputed.)<ref name=Hamblin>Template:Cite book</ref> At the east end of the building, the height of the center pinnacle to the base of the angel Moroni is Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Location
The temple is in downtown Salt Lake City, with several mountain peaks close by. Nearby, a shallow stream, City Creek, splits and flows both to the west and to the south, flowing into the Jordan River. There is a wall around the Template:Convert temple site. The surrounding wall became the first permanent structure on what has become known as Temple Square. The wall is a uniform Template:Convert high but varies in appearance because of the site's southwest slope.<ref name=Hamilton>Template:Harvnb</ref>
Uses
The temple is considered the house of God and is reserved for special ceremonies for practicing Latter-Day Saints. The main ordinance rooms are used during the endowment ceremony—namely the creation, garden, telestial, terrestrial, and celestial rooms in that order of use.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A washing and anointing ceremony is also administered, and until 1921, the rooms were also used for healing rituals of washing and anointing for the sick or pregnant and were administered by women and men.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp The temple also serves as a place for marriage sealing ceremonies for live and deceased persons. Additional uses include functioning as a location for baptisms for the dead, baptisms for health (until being discontinued in 1921),<ref name="Baptism">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp and, briefly, for re-baptism for the renewal of covenants.<ref name="Baptism" />Template:Rp Other rituals performed in the temple include the second anointing ordinance for live and deceased persons,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and meeting rooms for church leaders.<ref name="House">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Inside" />Template:Rp
Temple construction and dedication
The temple's location was first marked by Brigham Young, the church's second president, on July 28, 1847, just four days after he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. He marked a location between two forks of City Creek saying "Here will be the Temple of our God".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1901, church apostle Anthon H. Lund recorded in his journal that "it is said" that Oliver Cowdery's divining rod was used to locate the temple site.<ref>Anthon H. Lund Journal, July 5, 1901, cited by BYU Prof. D. Michael Quinn https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/latter-day-saint-prayer-circles</ref> The temple site was dedicated on February 14, 1853, by Heber C. Kimball. The groundbreaking ceremony was presided over by Young, who laid the cornerstone on April 6, 1853, the twenty-third anniversary of the church being organized.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Hanks">Template:Cite web</ref> The architect was Truman O. Angell, and the temple features both Gothic and Romanesque elements.
An annex, designed by Joseph Don Carlos Young, is built 100 feet north of the temple. The construction of the annex started in 1892, and it was opened in 1893, at the same time as the temple itself. This building included a large entrance area and an assembly hall. In August of 1962, the main temple was closed. A new annex was opened at the north end of the temple square in March of 1966, which largely expanded the temple's capacity with a 400 seat chapel, underground dressing rooms, 4,000 lockers and large waiting rooms for marriage ceremonies. Both the annex and the addition were built using the same granite from the original quarry and designed to match the temple's architecture.<ref name=":0" />
Sandstone was originally used for the foundation. During the Utah War, the foundation was buried and the lot made to look like a plowed field to prevent unwanted attention from federal troops. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the troops were called away by December. In the spring, when the foundation was uncovered to continue work, it was discovered that many of the foundation stones had cracked, making them unsuitable to hold the weight of the massive temple.<ref name=":0" /> Although not all of the sandstone was replaced, the inadequate sandstone was replaced. The walls are quartz monzonite (which has the appearance of granite) from Little Cottonwood Canyon, Template:Convert southeast of the temple site. Oxen transported the quarried rock initially, but as the Transcontinental Railroad neared completion in 1869 the remaining stones were carried by rail at a much faster rate.<ref name="Hanks"/>
During the construction, the temple grounds were seized by the US Marshal as a result of the Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1886. It was later returned to the Latter-day Saints.
The capstone—the granite sphere that holds the statue of the Angel Moroni—was laid on April 6, 1892, by means of an electric motor and switch operated by Wilford Woodruff, the church's fourth president, thus completing work on the temple's exterior. The Angel Moroni statue, standing Template:Convert tall, was placed on top of the capstone later the same day.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> At the capstone ceremony, Woodruff proposed the building's interior be finished within one year, which would allow the temple to be dedicated forty years, to the day, after its commencement. John R. Winder was instrumental in overseeing the interior's completion on schedule; he would serve as a member of the temple presidency until his death in 1910. Woodruff dedicated the temple on April 6, 1893, exactly forty years after the cornerstone was laid.<ref name="Hanks"/>
2019 to 2026 renovation
At the end of 2019, the temple was closed for a seismic retrofitting designed to allow it to withstand a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, the strongest expected magnitude in the Salt Lake Valley;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> work was expected to take about four years. Other facilities on Temple Square (and certain parts of the main temple) were to be demolished, reconstructed, and modernized in line with seismic code.<ref name="April 2019 Press Release"/> Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems will be replaced,<ref name="April 2019 Press Release"/> Initially the interior and its historical artifacts were planned to be preserved<ref name="December 2019 Press Release">Template:Cite web</ref> (although plans were later changed and many historic elements were removed<ref name="March 2021 Press Release"/>) and plazas and landscaping modified.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Visitor access and tourism would remain during the entire renovation process, but in regulated and coordinated fashion.<ref name="December 2019 Press Release"/>
Prior to 2019, the building had never been decommissioned for renovation and only minor updating of finishes and systems had occurred within the temple proper (although multiple "annex" additions had been added and removed in the past). This meant the temple's core historic architecture, layout, and workmanship had been preserved for 126 years.
Before reconstruction started, church leaders indicated that the temple's unique historicity would be preserved.<ref name="April 2019 Press Release"/> Church employees stated that special efforts would be made to highlight and honor the pioneer craftsmanship<ref name="December 2019 Press Release"/> and indicated the interiors would essentially remain the same.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Various renderings were released showing the instruction rooms used for the endowment ceremony would remain intact, with the original layout, woodwork and murals being preserved.<ref name="December 2019 Press Release"/>
In March 2021, the church announced significant changes to the renovation plan that affected many elements in the temple's historic interior. The progressive room-to-room live endowment ceremony would be removed and the layout of the temple would change, with the baptistry being moved to the annex and new instruction rooms constructed in its place. Other rooms and walls would be reconfigured, requiring the removal of the temple's murals. The murals and many other historic features of the building were photographed and otherwise documented before being permanently removed or destroyed.<ref name="March 2021 Press Release">Template:Cite web</ref> These changes will allow for greater patron capacity, but the removal of many historic elements was met with criticism, especially the destruction of the temple's murals. One prominent historian described the changes as a "huge and unnecessary loss" and another noted them as a loss of "priceless cultural artifacts".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In December 2021, the church updated estimations for the renovation completion for 2025,<ref name="December 2021 Press Release"/> and in March 2023, estimates for the completion were again extended to 2026.<ref name="March 2023 Press Release"/> If the latest estimations prove accurate, the total reconstruction period will have lasted between six and seven years.
After stating in an October 2024 general conference address<ref name="RMN Oct 2024">Template:Cite web</ref> that renovations were expected to conclude by the end of 2026, church president Russell M. Nelson announced in February 2025 that a public open house is expected to be held from April to October 2027.<ref name="dn-openhouse">Template:Cite web</ref>
Symbolism
Template:See also The Salt Lake Temple incorporates many symbolic adornments including Masonic symbols.<ref name="Masonry">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp Symbolism is important to LDS Church members.<ref name="Why Symbols?">Template:Citation</ref> These symbols include the following:
- All-seeing eye – The center tower on each side has a depiction of the all-seeing eye of God representing how God sees all things.<ref name=churchofjesuschristtemples.org /><ref name="Celestial">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
- Angel statue – The golden Angel Moroni statue, by sculptor Cyrus E. Dallin, tops the capstone of the temple. It symbolizes the angel mentioned in Template:Sourcetext that will come to welcome in the Second Coming of Christ. Early architectural plans showed two horizontally flying angels<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal Page 33 archived here.</ref> and the earliest references to the Salt Lake Temple's angel were always Gabriel. The original blueprint drawings intended the angel to be wearing temple ceremonial clothing like the angel on the Nauvoo Temple, but Paris-trained sculptor Dallin's Template:Convert statue wears a crown instead of a temple cap that included a bright light which created a halo effect at night.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As a result of an earthquake on March 18, 2020, the statue's trumpet broke.<ref name="Utah earthquake damages Mormon temple">Template:Cite web</ref> The statue was reinstalled April 2, 2024.<ref name="A Treasured Symbol Returns Atop the Salt Lake Temple">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Beehive – The beehive symbol (which appears on the Utah state seal) appears on external doors and doorknobs and symbolizes the thrift, industry, perseverance, and order of the Mormon people.<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Big Dipper – On the west side of the temple the Big Dipper appears, which represents how the priesthood can help people find their way to heaven as the constellation helped travelers find the North Star.<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The uppermost stars on the temple's constellation align with the actual North Star, which symbolizes the direction of the heavens.<ref name=":0" />
- Compass and square – Early plan drawings of the temple show the Masonic arrangements of a compass and square placed around the second and fourth floor windows,<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp but the plans were changed during construction.<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp These symbols had appeared on the Nauvoo Temple weathervane.<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp
- Clasped hands – Above each external door and doorknob appears the "hand clasp," which is a representation of covenants that are made within temples or brotherly love.<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp According to scholars Hugh Nibley and Donald Parry, clasped hands "have always represented recognition and acceptance of those who were once apart," along with reciprocation of knowledge.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Clouds – On the east side of the temple are "clouds raining down" representing the way God has continued revelation and still speaks to man "like the rains out of Heaven"<ref name=churchofjesuschristtemples.org /> or alternatively a veil of ignorance or sin.<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp
- Earths – The Earthstones in the lower buttresses have been interpreted as the gospel of Christ spreading over the whole Earth.<ref name="Symbolism" />Template:Rp Each of the fifty buttresses is four feet wide and weighs over six thousand pounds. Each buttress has a moonstone at the midpoint and a sunstone at the top, with earth being the third, each of the three degrees of glory - telestial, terrestrial, and celestial - are represented here.
- Saturns – Early drawings and a written description by Angell showed Saturnstones along the top tier of the temple,<ref name="House" />Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> though the design was changed years later.<ref name="BYU">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Temples">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp
- Spires – The six spires of the temple represent the power of the priesthood. The three spires on the east side are a little higher than those on the west: they represent the Melchizedek, or "higher priesthood", and the Aaronic, or "preparatory priesthood" respectively. The three spires on the east side represent the church's First Presidency and the twelve smaller spires on those three represent the Twelve Apostles.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Sun, moon, and stars – Around the temple there are several carved stones depicting the Sun, Moon, and stars which correspond respectively to the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial kingdoms of glory in the afterlife.<ref name="Symbolism">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The sunstones have also been interpreted to represent God, the moonstones in different phases as representing different phases of life, and the starstones representing Jesus Christ.<ref name=churchofjesuschristtemples.org /> These symbols were drawn from the three lesser lights symbols in the Freemasonry practiced by many early church leaders in Nauvoo.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Additionally, five-pointed stars have traditionally represented the five wounds of Christ (hands, feet, and side) and the five-pointed star with an elongated downward ray found on several LDS temples has been interpreted to represent Christ coming to Earth.<ref name="Themes">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
Incidents
Bombings
Two bombing incidents have damaged the temple. On April 10, 1910, a bomb at the nearby Hotel Utah (now the Joseph Smith Memorial Building) damaged the trumpet of the Moroni statue atop the temple.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On November 14, 1962, the southeast door of the Salt Lake Temple was bombed.<ref name = Tribune>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name = Sunstone>Template:Cite journal</ref> FBI agents state that the explosive had been wrapped around the door handles on the temple's southeast entrance.<ref name = Tribune/> The large wooden entrance doors were damaged by flying fragments of metal and glass. Damage to interior walls occurred 25 feet inside the temple, but damage to the interior was minor.<ref name = Tribune/> Eleven exterior windows were shattered.<ref name = Tribune/>
1999 Salt Lake City tornado
Template:Further The temple suffered damage in 1999 when a tornado rated F2 on the Fujita Scale struck Salt Lake City. A wedding taking place at the time allowed a photographer to record video of the tornado as it passed near the temple, forcing the wedding party to shelter against the temple doors and pillars for protection from the wind and debris. They were not able to take shelter inside as the temple doors were locked. After being pelted with rain and hail, members of the wedding party surveyed the damage to the trees and surrounding buildings before resuming family photographs.<ref name="Weather Gone Viral">Template:Citation</ref><ref name="Salt Lake Temple Tornado Wedding">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
2020 Salt Lake City earthquake
Template:Further On the morning of March 18, 2020, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck just outside Salt Lake City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Though most of the damage was outside the city, minor damage was inflicted on the temple. The trumpet of the Angel Moroni on top of the temple's tallest spire was dislodged from the statue, and some stones from the smaller spires were displaced. No other damage to the temple was reported.<ref name="Utah earthquake damages Mormon temple"/> The temple was early in its renovation process at the time, and the rest of the statue was removed the following May. Renovation procedures included the reinstallation of the statue on April 2, 2024.<ref name="A Treasured Symbol Returns Atop the Salt Lake Temple"/>
Interior images
Template:Commons category Below are several photographs from the interior of the temple. In response to a member obtaining unauthorized images of the interior of the temple, church leaders decided to release the book The House of the Lord in 1912, which contained authorized black-and-white photographs of the interior, some of which are shown below.<ref name="House" />Template:Rp<ref name="Inside">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp<ref name="Stone">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The unauthorized photographs had been taken over several months the year before by a man who was repeatedly allowed to enter with his camera while the temple was closed by a temple gardener friend.<ref name="Stone" />Template:Rp
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Main floor corridor -
Terrestrial Room and Veil
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Celestial Room
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Stained glass art in a sealing room
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The Holy of Holies
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Council room for the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles
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Assembly hall for general authorities
Images of former interior elements
Below are some elements of the temple have been removed during various renovations of the temple.
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Creation Room (1911)
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Garden Room (c. 1909)
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Telestial Room (2015)
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Tub for a literal version of the washing and anointing ceremony used at the time (1911)
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The original baptismal font for baptisms for the dead (c. 1909)
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Statuary in the celestial room (1911)
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Temple presidents
Template:Unreferenced section Template:Div col
- Lorenzo Snow, 1893–1898
- Joseph F. Smith, 1898–1911
- Anthon H. Lund, 1911–1921
- George F. Richards, 1921–1938
- Stephen L. Chipman, 1938–1945
- Joseph Fielding Smith, 1945–1949
- Robert D. Young, 1949–1953
- ElRay L. Christiansen, 1953–1961
- Willard E. Smith, 1961–1964
- Howard S. McDonald, 1964–1968
- O. Leslie Stone, 1968–1972
- John K. Edmunds, 1972–1977
- A. Ray Curtis, 1977–1982
- Marion D. Hanks, 1982–1985
- Victor L. Brown, 1985–1987
- Edgar M. Denny, 1987–1990
- Spencer H. Osborn, 1990–1993
- George I. Cannon, 1993–1996
- Carlos E. Asay, 1996–1999
- Derrill H. Richards, 1999
- W. Eugene Hansen, 1999–2002
- L. Aldin Porter, 2002–2005
- M. Richard Walker, 2005–2008
- Sheldon F. Child, 2008–2011
- Oren Claron Alldredge Jr., 2011–2014
- Cecil O. Samuelson, 2014–2017
- B. Jackson Wixom, 2017–2019
See also
Template:Portal Template:LDS Temple Map Group Utah
- 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 architecture (Latter-day Saints)
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah
- The Mountain of the Lord
References
Further reading
External links
- Template:Commons-inline
- All Wiki images categorized under Salt Lake Temple
- Official Salt Lake Temple page
- Inside The Salt Lake City Temple - a pictorial tour of the temple interior at Moroni10.com
- Template:HABS
Template:LDS-US-West Template:LDSsites Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- 19th-century Latter Day Saint temples in the United States
- Religious buildings and structures in Salt Lake City
- Temples (LDS Church) completed in 1893
- Temple Square
- Temples (LDS Church) in Utah
- Tourist attractions in Salt Lake City
- 1893 establishments in Utah Territory
- Historic American Buildings Survey in Utah
- Salt Lake Temple