The corner-stones of the Nauvoo Temple were laid April 6, 1841, and the capstone was placed in position May 24, 1845; each event was celebrated by a solemn assembly and sacred service. Though it was evident that the people would be forced to flee again, and though they knew that the Temple would have to be abandoned soon after completion, they labored with might and diligence to finish and properly furnish the structure. It was dedicated April 30, 1846, though certain portions, such as the baptistry, had been previously dedicated and used in ordinance work. Many of the Saints received their blessings and holy endowments in the Nauvoo Temple, though, even before the completion of the building, the exodus of the people had begun. The Temple was abandoned by those who in poverty and by sacrifice had reared it. In November, 1848, it became a prey to incendiary flames, and in May, 1850, a tornado demolished what remained of the blackened walls.
On the 24th of July, 1847, the "Mormon" pioneers entered the valleys of Utah, while yet the region was Mexican territory, and established a settlement where now stands Salt Lake City. Four days later Brigham Young, prophet and leader, indicated a site in the sage-brush wastes, and, striking the arid ground with his staff, proclaimed, "Here will be the Temple of our God." That site is now the beautiful Temple Block, around which the city has grown. In February, 1853, the area was dedicated with sacred service, and on the 6th of April following, the corner stones of the building were laid to the accompaniment of solemn and imposing ceremony. The Salt Lake City Temple was forty years in building; the capstone was laid on the 6th of April, 1892, and the completed Temple was dedicated one year later.
Of the four Temples already erected in Utah, the one in Salt Lake City was the first begun and the last finished. During its course of construction three other Temples were built by the Latter-day Saints, one at St. George, one at Logan, and one at Manti, Utah. Add to these the two earlier Temples—at Kirtland, Ohio, and at Nauvoo, Illinois—and we have six of these sacred structures already erected in the present and last dispensation of the Priesthood—the dispensation of the fulness of times.
It is not the purpose of the present chapter to consider in detail any particular Temple, either ancient or modern; but rather to show the essential and distinguishing features of Temples, and to make plain the fact that in both ancient and modern times the covenant people have regarded the building of Temples as a labor specifically required at their hands. From what has been said it is plain that a Temple is more than chapel or church, more than synagogue or cathedral; it is a structure erected as the House of the Lord, sacred to the closest communion between the Lord Himself and the Holy Priesthood, and devoted to the highest and most sacred ordinances characteristic of the age or dispensation to which the particular Temple belongs. Moreover, to be indeed a holy Temple—accepted of God, and by Him acknowledged as His House—the offering must have been called for, and both gift and giver must be worthy.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims that it is the possessor of the Holy Priesthood again restored to earth, and that it is invested with Divine commission to erect and maintain Temples dedicated to the name and service of the true and living God, and to administer within those sacred structures the ordinances of the Priesthood, the effect of which shall be binding both on earth and beyond the grave.
FOOTNOTES
[1]. In this connection it is interesting and instructive to consider the significance of the name Bethel, a contraction of Beth Elohim, as applied by Jacob to the place where the presence of the Lord was manifest unto him. Said he, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el." (Genesis 28:16-19; read verses 10-22.)
[2]. Exodus 36:7.
[3]. Hebrews 9:1-7; Leviticus chap. 16.
[4]. Exodus 25:22.