USA > Utah > Salt Lake County > Salt Lake > Utah gazatteer and directory of Logan, Ogden, Provo and Salt Lake cities, for 1884 > Part 27
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The site is 4,650 feet above the level of the sea. In 1877, during the visit of the late President Brigham Young and his Counselors, together with some of the Twelve Apostles, the site was chosen. He is accredited with having then made the assertion that a finer location could not have been chosen. and he knew not where to look for a better one in the Terri- tory. The choice made, the ground was surveyed by Jesse W. Fox, of Salt Lake, and James H. Martineau, of Logan. This Temple district, so-called, then-as now-embraced Cache, Box Elder, Bear Lake and Rich Counties, and C. O. Card, now President of the Cache Valley Stake, was appointed Superintendent of the Temple work, being also in charge of the Tabernacle building then in progress of construction. On the seventeenth day of May ground was broken, the First Presidency of the Church, mem- bers of the Quorum of the Twelve and quite an assemblage of others being in attendance. The dedicatory prayer was offered by Apostle Orson Pratt. On the twenty-eighth day of May, of the same year, excavations for the foundation began. The corner-stones were laid on the 19th of September following, there being a large assemblage of the Church authorities present at that time. The dedication took place May 17, 1884, the event being the occasion for an immense gathering of people from every part of the Territory.
The Temple is 171 feet long, 95 feet wide, and 86 feet high. At the east and west ends are large towers, that on the east being 170 feet high to the top of the vane, the western one being a few feet lower. At each corner is a tower, octagon in shape and with a height of 100 feet. It is understood there are something over forty rooms in the building, the main or assembly room being 80 feet wide, 104 feet long and some 30 feet from the floor to the ceiling. In addition to the Temple, a one-story building has been erected on the north side, the object for which is to provide offices, reception rooms, a kitchen and a department for the janitor. "Rock laying on this extension, which is 80 feet long by 36 wide by 23 feet high, began in July of 1877. The structure is of solid rock, and one of the most commendable features connected with this building is the fact that, as largely as possible, the materials used in the construction have been drawn from the resources of the county. Thus the vast rock deposits of Cache County were developed while, at the same time, a local structure was being built from local material. Some of the stone is almost of the hardness of emery, and is barely suscep-
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tible of being dressed. It is surmounted by an iron roof, while the walls out- side have been plastered and washed, or painted, a tinted color-the tenderest, softest pink, or flesh tint-that gives the whole edifice a warm and cheerful appearance, at the same time producing a most agreeable, yet strange sensa- tion to the eye. The interior is elegantly finished, much care having been taken and the highest perfection of the decorator's art, no less than the skill and ardent fire of the artist, have been enlisted in the cause and have, by their combined efforts, contributed to make the interior as pleasing and charming to the eye as the exterior conveys the idea of massiveness and durability-an idea that is materially enhanced by the heavy buttresses or pilasters that give light and shade to and break the monotony of the build- ing. A furnace, from which flues radiate in all directions, furnishes warmth and adds to convenience and cleanliness. The building lengthwise is east and west, the result being a very imposing appearance viewed at a distance either from the north or the south. The plans for the grounds are calcu- lated to contribute materially to the attractiveness of the building, which, in return, will give a finish to the landscape decorations contemplated in the near future. The grounds are ample, and are to be seeded down in lawn grass, inplanted with shrubs and flowers and cut through with walks where a pleasant stroll may be indulged in when so desired. The fact that the Temple grounds go over the brow of the hill, or bench, or plateau, upon which the Temple is built, affords an unusual opportunity for the display of taste and care in this direction, which, if what is already to be seen may be taken as an evidence, will be well considered, properly and determinedly acted upon by the enterprising inhabitants of this fair and prosperous valley.
THE MANTI TEMPLE
was commenced next after the St. George. It is situated in Sanpete Val- ley at a point nineteen miles southeast of the terminus of the Sanpete Valley Railroad and skirts the northeastern edge of the city of Manti, the largest town in the Valley. It is a superb structure and is of certain durability from the foundation. One thing peculiar about this Temple is the fact that it is built on a solid hill or mountain of rock. All through the eastern part of Sanpete Valley there are indications of an underlying white oolitic stratum. Knolls or hills covered with a few feet of dirt show themselves in all directions, having unquestionably been left while the earth, which at one time surrounded them, was washed away by primeval floods and rivers. It is on one of these mountains that the Manti Temple is built. It is from the same mountain that the rock, of which the structure is built, has been taken. Like all Mormon Temples, and all Tabernacles, that at Manti faces the east. It is elevated a considerable height above the surrounding country and presents a noble sight, as, grandly and solemnly, it rises from the hill top in lonely magnificence. In fair weather, it can be seen a great distance. From the top of the hill in the rear, and at the east end, entrance can be gained to the upper story, or large assembly room. The face of the mountain has been cut down and one portion of the Temple and a passage leading from one of the upper floors is built into the solid rock of the mountain. Underneath this passage, and below the solid mountain wall is a beautiful archway giving room for a splendid drive around the Temple, which is reached by a gradual ascent of the hill from the north. There are two quarries, both within half a mile of the Temple, and from both of which an excellent quality of politic rock can be taken. There are also places at the quarries, where the stone is so soft and pliant that it forms an admirable and even perfect cement. Running a line south direst from the Salt Lake City Temple to a point opposite the Manti Temple, it will be found the latter is just twelve miles east of the former. The site was settled by Presi- dent Brigham Young, and ground was broken on the last day of April,
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1877. Rock-laying began on the 14th day of April, 1879. The build- ing is 171 feet 6 inches long and 95 feet wide. The distance from the ground to the top of the parapet is 92 feet 6 inches. On the east and and the west ends there are towers, the distance to the top of that on the east being 179 feet and to the top of that on the west side 169 feet. Both these towers are thirty feet square at the base. The walls are 3 feet 6 inches at the bottom and 3 feet at the top. The interior of all these Temples is practically the same, though a difference is understood to exist in some of these details. Adjoining and connected with the Temple is a structure 100 feet long, 40 feet wide and two stories high, in which the apparatus designed to heat the whole building is placed. The side building is occupied by the janitor and assistants, and is also a reception room. The buildings are heated by steam, while water is conveyed through pipes. A spring, the water from which is carried a considerable distance through pipes, will supply the Temple with what water is needed.
The opportunities for enhancing the external attractions of this temple are manifold, and will be taken advantage of. Elevated as it is, above the valley, it cannot fail to attract and even command attention. The county road runs at the foot of the hill upon which it is erected. The side hill lead- ing up to the temple is laid off into four terraces, each 17 feet high. These terraces are walled a distance of about 1,000 feet each, on the eastern and southern descents. At every terrace is a landing 16 feet in width, while from the first to the top one, there are 163 steps. The walls surround- ing the terraces are of considerable width, and will be used as walks, while the space intervening between the top of one wall and the base of the other will be planted in grass and flowers and shrubbery, and be made as attract- ive as art can devise and means insure. Beginning at the north end of the terraces, will be the drive, referred to before, and it will lead to the temple, which is east of the terraces. On the south, the hill on which the temple is built, turns abruptly to the east, giving a full and splendid view of the whole length of the structure from the south. No grander sight can well be imagined than this temple will present, on a clear day, when it is completely finished, and when the artificial improvements referred to above are com- pleted. It will be a spectacle well worth a pilgrimage. The valley itself is not without attractiveness, but there is nothing to compare with this. The scene presented to the eye from the top of the temple cannot even be imagined. Spread out beneath and a little to the south is Manti; seven miles north is Ephraim, and up the valley still other streams. West, the Sanpitch River, which sinks into the ground opposite Ephraim, reappears and winds through stretches of meadow land until lost to the view. To the south lies a long stretch of fair country running into Sevier county; west a range of mountains blends the vision, while immediately at the east, rise the mount- ains on the foot hills of which the temple stands. On a clear day the sight is beautiful beyond description. The sides of the building are broken by frequent buttresses, which relieve it from bare monotony; while the pure and clear color of the rock of which it is built, needs no paint nor plaster nor artificial coating to add to its beauty or effect. It is superb in every respect. It is 125 miles from Salt Lake by rail over the Utah Central and San Pete Valley, and some nineteen miles by stage or team. The trip can easily be made in a day, and the drive in fair weather and with dry roads is a delight- ful one, the traveler passing through Wales, Chester, Ephraim and staying at Manti, while Fountain Green, Moroni, Spring City and Mount Pleas- ant are visible on the opposite side of the valley from Wales.
SALT LAKE TEMPLE.
Of the four temples, completed and in course of construction, in Utah, the largest, most substantial, and by long odds the most costly, is the one
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being erected in Salt Lake City. The Tabernacle, the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, and the Temple are all on the one block, surrounded by a high wall. and from the fact that the Temple is being erected in this square, it has become familiarly known as the Temple Block. The ground enclosed within the wall was consecrated and set apart for a Temple building, that ceremony taking place on the 14th day of February, 1853. On the 6th day of the following April, the corner stones of this magnificent edifice were laid with imposing ceremonies, all the leading dignitaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participating and a large concourse of people witnessing the event. For fully twenty years the work moved along slowly, owing to the great difficulty in securing material and the less wealthy condition of the people than latterly. The material chosen as that of which the Temple should be built, is a gray granite, found in inexhaustible abun- dance in the Wasatch Range, near. In the days when work began the quarries were imperfectly opened; new roads had to be built; facilities were few, money not very plentiful and the stone had to be hauled by wagon eighteen to twenty miles. Under such difficulties, decreasing as the popu- lation increased, the construction of the Salt Lake Temple commenced. Progress was necessarily slow, as a consequence the great difficulty and cost of hauling by team such massive rocks as were necessary in the building. President Brigham Young conceived the idea of constructing a canal in which to haul the rock by boats. The idea was carried out and the canal now known as the old canal, following for a distance the route and being incorporated as a part of the Salt Lake and Jordan Canal was constructed. In the desire to carry the water too high above the city on the north, the water did not run in a small portion of this end. Before, however. the evil was remedied, trans-Atlantic rail communication was effected and the building of the Utah Central Railroad commenced. When this was com- pleted to Sandy, fourteen miles south of Salt Lake City, the rock was hauled from that point by rail; and when the Wasatch and Jordan Valley was built it was made possible to bring the rock the whole distance from the quarry into the Temple block by rail. Since that time work has gone on with a great deal more rapidity than previously. Some seven years ago unusual efforts were put forward to push the work ahead, and the progress made since that date has been most satisfactory. About ten years ago the build- ing was pushed along to the base; during the intervening period it has been carried up to the battlements. The rock is cut to a plan or to given dimensions at the quarry at Granite, some twenty-four miles by rail from Salt Lake. In the rough state it is brought to the Temple block, where every piece is dressed and numbered, placed in a certain locality, so that it is taken, laid and fit into the exact spot for which it was designed and fashioned. It is estimated that one-sixth the stone is lost in dressing it. The largest blocks weigh not less than three and a half tons, from which they run down to a minimum figure. Not less than 5,000 cords of rock will be used in this colossal structure. Of the rockwork-both in dressing and laying, perhaps one-fifteenth yet remains to be done; and it will take not less than four years to complete this part of the work. The walls are 16 feet at the foundation; the main walls at the base are 8 feet thick, tapering to 6 feet in thickness at the point where they receive the weight of the roof. The length of the building is 184 feet; width, 116 feet, and in height it is 102 feet to the top of the battlement. The principal part or front of the Temple is the cast; it is the same with all the Temples, the figurative idea being that from the east comes the greatest light. There are to be three towers at the east and three at the west ends of the structure, the principal tower on the east will be 196 feet from the ground to the ball; the towers on either side will be 171 feet in height from the ground. The towers at the west end will hold the same relative heights as those on the
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east, but will all be six feet lower. When the mason work is finished, a vast amount of carpentering labor will have to be done, and it is roughly thought that it will take from two to three years to complete this part, after which considerable time will be required to finish it. It will, in all proba- bility, be eight years before the Salt Lake Temple is finished and ready to be dedicated.
It is unlike the rest in one respect. It does not, and never will com- mand the marked attention that the others do. It is a larger and vastly more imposing structure, its size is not so noticeable, for the reason that it is not elevated above the surrounding country as are the Logan and Manti, while it does not stand alone in a plain, in solemn and imposing whiteness, as does that at St. George. It is in a city filled with large buildings; but is much sought by the stranger and always will be. It was the first great undertaking of the kind by the Mormons, has grown with them in Utah, and much of their most important history has developed with its growth. It is full of historical associations, and is likely ever to remain one of the most imposing and interesting structures in the Territory of Utah. It was commenced in 1853, and 1890 will have been passed before it is finished. The probabilities are that forty years of events in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will have passed into history while this Temple was being constructed. Truman O. Angell is the architect; Truman O. Angell, Jr., assistant architect; and the work of construction has gone on under their direction.
TABERNACLES AND CHURCHES.
The Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, is by long odds the largest building in the Territory. It is situated in the Temple Block, less than a stone- throw from the Salt Lake Temple. It is elliptical in shape, the roof is con- vex and unsupported by pillars. A gallery runs around the south, north and east ends, while the stand and large organ occupy the west end of the structure. The interior of the building presents an oval arch, without any centre support, and is said to be the largest self-supporting arch in America, with the exception of that of the Central Depot, New York, and probably the largest in the world which is constructed wholly of wood. The bents of the roof are composed of a latin truss, and rest upon forty-four sand- stone piers, each 3 feet by 9 in size, and from 14 to 20 feet in height. The gallery, which extends around the building, except at the west end, is 480 feet long by 30 feet in width. It has twenty doors, most of which are 9 feet wide and all open outwards so that an audience of 7,000 or 8,000 could gain egress, in case of an accident, in a very few minutes. The large organ, second to none in the United States, in appearance and sweetness of tone, and exceeded in size by but one, was constructed entirely by Utah mechanics, under the direction of Joseph Ridges, Esq. A small amount of the material used in its construction was imported, but the principal part of it was produced at home. To hear the full tones of the organ richly repays a visit to the Tabernacle. The front towers of the organ have an altitude of 58 feet, and contain the 32 feet gilded pipes; the side towers are nearly the same height as the front. The dimensions of the organ are 30 by 33 feet, and it requires four blowers.
It has long been the idea that the structure had a seating capacity of 12,000. Later estimates, however, place the capacity at something like one-third less. The building was principally designed by the late President Brigham Young and is a marvel of its kind. It is not pleasing in appear- ance externally, the walls being low, the roof heavy. The interior, how- ever, affects one differently in every respect. It is light, airy, wonderfully roomy, and considering the purpose for which it was designed it is as nearly perfect as can be conceived. It is 250 feet long, 150 feet wide, and 70
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feet from floor to ceiling, while the height to the top of the roof is 80 feet. A magnificent view is obtained from the top of the structure. Work on it was commenced July 26, 1864-about twenty years ago; and it was dedicated on the 6th day of August, 1867, at which time the regular confer- ence of the Church was held in it. Henry Grow had charge of the con- struction.
SALT LAKE ASSEMBLY HALL.
On the site of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, in former years, stood what was called the "Old Tabernacle," in distinction to the building which is now known as the "Large Tabernacle." This "Old Tabernacle" was completed in 1852, and dedicated. Its seating capacity was placed at 3,000. It was a low building, running north and south, as to length, with the stand at the north end. The Assembly Hall is the Stake House for the Salt Lake Stake of Zion. It is 120 feet long, 68 feet wide and the height to the top of the tower rising from the centre of the building is 130 fect. The roof has four gables, each surrounded by an ornamental spire, while there are also spires on each of the four corners of the building. There is on each side an entrance, four in all, from which are stairways leading to a gallery that extends around the north, south and east sides of the building. The stand, a large organ of unusual sweetness of tone, and a place for a choir of 100,. fill the west end of the structure. It is, perhaps, the most attractive public building in the city, both as to exterior and as to interior. The ornamental work is very fair, and some attempts have been made at paint ings on the ceiling, historical of events connected with the Latter-day Saints' faith. The building is of cut granite, the stone being taken from the same quarry as that from which the Temple is being erected. It is heated by steam and lighted by gas. The acoustic properties are perfect. The seat- ing capacity is over 3,000. It was dedicated and opened for public use in the spring of 1880. Obed Taylor was the architect, Henry Grow, the builder.
There are, in the different ecclesiastical wards, churches, some of hand- some design, substantial and convenient. The principal churches, however. belong to the Latter-day Saints. The Episcopal have two fine churches. the Metho list, Presbyterian, Congregational and other denominations also have buildings noted for their imposing and attractive appearances. The Stake Houses heretofore referred to, come next in importance to Temples; and while some of the stakes do not possess such structures at present, it is contem- plated that cach will build one as soon as the membership and wealth of the stake will justify it. Church buildings, other than those belonging to the Latter-day Saints, are treated elsewhere more fully, for the reason that they hardly come within the scope of this chapter, which was designed to show that church, tabernacle and temple building constitute an industry in a Mor- mon community.
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SKETCH OF MORMONISM.
[The appended sketch of Mormonism is taken from the Gazetteer of Utah, edited by Edward L. Sloan, and published by the HERALD Printing and Publishing Company, in 1874]:
Joseph Smith, the founder of the organization, was born in Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, December 23d, 1805. His father's name was Joseph and his mother's Lucy; and their family consisted of six sons and three daughters, of whom the future prophet was the third son. When he was in his fourteenth year his father moved to Manchester, Ontario County, New York, having previously resided four years in Palmyra, in the same county. While in Manchester, and during a religious revival, he was, as he states in his autobiography, the subject of religious impressions; during which, while praying in the woods one day, he had the first vision, -two glorious personages appearing to him, who communed with him. Some three and a half years afterwards, on the 21st of September, 1823, he had a second vision, and received a communication relative to the plates on which the Book of Mormon was inscribed. These plates, his history states, he obtained possession of on the 22d of September, 1827, from the place of their deposit, on the west side of the hill convenient to Manchester, the village where he resided. The plates were inclosed in a box, covered with a stone, and had been there for some 1,400 years, having been buried by an ancient inhabitant of this continent named Moroni. The characters on them had been principally inscribed by Mormon; hence the title of the work.
Being poor, and with the work of translating the records before him, in his exigencies he obtained the assistance from a gentleman named Martin Harris; and in April, 1829, he made the acquaintance of Oliver Cowdery, a school teacher, who became his amanuensis, and the work of translating commenced immediately. The Book of Mormon was put in the hands of the printers; but before it was published a church was organized on the 6th day of April, 1830, in the house of Mr. Peter Whitmer, Fayette, Seneca County, New York. Thus the Empire State not only produced the plates from which the book was translated, but can claim the honor of the organiza- tion of that society which is the greatest problem of the century. Six mem- bers composed this church on its organization-a small beginning for the thousands into which it has grown, and the power and influence acquired in the short space of fifty odd years. The Book of Mormon was published, preaching and proselytizing was prosecuted with vigor, though the mission- aries of the new faith were mostly uneducated, and churches were raised up in a number of places in a few months.
Early in 1831, a settlement was made at Kirtland, Ohio, and this may be called the first "gathering place" of the church-a central point towards which all who received the faith should converge. In July of the same year a lot was selected, and dedicated for a temple, at Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Here a printing press was set in operation, and a period- ical, the Evening and Morning Star, was published by Judge W. W. Phelps. Trouble broke out at Independence, between the settlers of the new faith and others inhabiting that region, and a mob tore down the print- ing office, tarred and feathered some of the prominent Mormons, abused
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