Elder Francis M. Lyman of the Council of the Twelve then proposed the adoption of the resolution presented below:
"Believing that the instruction of President Woodruff, respecting the early completion of the Salt Lake Temple, is the word of the Lord unto us, I propose that this assemblage pledge themselves, collectively and individually, to furnish, as fast as it may be needed, all the money that may be required to complete the Temple at the earliest time possible, so that the dedication may take place on April 6th, 1893."
The adoption was manifested by a deafening shout from the assembled multitude, accompanied by the raising of hands. The final anthem was the glorious "Song of the Redeemed"—particularly appropriate to the hour; and the benediction was pronounced by President George Q. Cannon.
The topstone and the granite block upon which it immediately rests form a sphere. Within the lower half a cavity had been prepared; and in this were placed certain books and other articles, so that, as the capstone was laid, it formed a secure and massive lid to this stone receptacle. The stone contains a copy of the Holy Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Voice of Warning, Spencer's Letters, Key to Theology, Hymn Book, Compendium, Pearl of Great Price, and some other books; also photographs of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith, a photograph of the Temple as it appeared at the time; and, in addition, an engraved tablet of copper setting forth the principal dates in the history of the building and bearing the names of the general authorities of the Church as they stood April 6, 1853, and as constituted at the time of the capstone ceremony, April 6, 1892.
Later in the day, the top-stone was surmounted by the great statue—a figure intended to represent Moroni, the heavenly messenger who ministered to the youthful prophet, Joseph Smith, in 1823. The figure, over twelve feet in height, is of copper heavily gilded. It is in the form of a herald with a trumpet at his lips.[[8]]
COMPLETION OF THE BUILDING AND ITS DEDICATION
The adoption of a plan or the formal passing of a resolution by vote is an easy matter, compared with which the working out of that plan, the achieving of what was provided for by the vote, may be a gigantic task. Such was the contrast between the action of the assembled multitude on the 6th of April, 1892, and the work accomplished in the year that followed.
When the capstone of the Temple was laid, the scene inside the walls was that of chaos and confusion. To finish the interior within a year appeared a practical impossibility. The task the people had taken upon themselves was almost superhuman. Nevertheless, they considered the instruction to complete the building within the specified time to be verily the word of the Lord unto them, and they remembered the utterance of the ancient prophet, "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."[[9]] The Saints regarded their act of voting to be equivalent to the affixing of their individual signatures to a note of promise. As to how well they met their obligation and kept their promise, let the achievement of the year speak.
The people had pledged themselves "collectively and individually to furnish as fast as it may be needed, all the money that may be required to complete the Temple at as early a time as possible, so that the dedication may take place on April 6, 1893." The pledge was met in full. Under date of April 21, 1892, the First Presidency issued a general epistle addressed to the Latter-day Saints in Zion and throughout the world, directing that the people gather in their places of worship on Sunday, the first day of May, and devote the day to solemn fasting and prayer. To this call the people responded faithfully. Mingled with their thanksgiving for the manifold blessings of the past, were fervent supplications for success in the work of completing the Lord's House within the time prescribed.[[10]]
In the work of finishing the Temple, it was all-important that there be a competent, responsible man in charge, who should be invested with executive authority in every department of the labor. While the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve retained in their hands the directing power, they needed an agent who could be trusted to act with promptness, decision, and authority on every question that should arise. The choice of the presiding authorities for a man to fill this responsible position fell upon John R. Winder, who was at that time Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and who afterward became First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church. At the time of his appointment to the responsible position of General Superintendent of Temple Work, April 16, 1892, President Winder was in his seventy-second year, yet he possessed the energy and activity of youth, combined with the wisdom and discretion that age alone can give. Under his efficient supervision, work on the interior of the Temple progressed at a rate that surprised even the workers. Laborers of all classes, mechanics, masons, plasterers, carpenters, glaziers, plumbers, painters, decorators, artisans and artificers of every kind, were put to work. The people verily believed that a power above that of man was operating to assist them in their great undertaking. Material, much of which was of special manufacture, came in from the east and the west, with few of the usual delays of transit.