The Temple Annex: While there are four doorways leading into the Temple directly from the outside, the usual entrance is through the detached building known as the Annex. Under ordinary conditions only Church authorities who assemble in council meetings enter by the outer doors, though on the rare occasions of special convocations of the Priesthood many pass those portals.
The Annex is entered on the ground-level through a spacious vestibule, eighteen by twenty-one feet, with wave-glass on three of its sides. The floor is of mosaic tiling, bordered with marble blocks. This ante-room is supplied with steam heat and serves the incidental purposes of a cloak room. At the Annex door stand two large columns of marble mosaic, and in contact with the adjoining walls are two other columns, of the same material and of corresponding design. Within the Annex on this floor there are well-equipped office rooms, with desk facilities for the extensive routine work of registration and record.
The main apartment, however, is the Annex Assembly Room. This occupies the central part of the building, and has seating capacity for three hundred persons. The room consists of a central area thirty-six feet square, with a semi-circular alcove of nine feet radius at both north and south sides. The north alcove is occupied by a platform or stand, raised ten inches above the floor, and is furnished with a small lectern. The central body of the room has an imposing column of Corinthian design in each of its four corners; these columns rest upon massive pedestals and extend to the ceiling. Small columns of similar design support the arches which divide the alcoves from the main auditorium. Over the arches at the north end appear portraits of the living First Presidency; and around the walls are portraits of the present Council of the Twelve Apostles, arranged in the order of seniority of ordination. Within the alcoves hang the portraits of the dead,—at the north those of past members of the First Presidency, and in the south recess, those of Apostles now deceased. On the west wall is a full-size reproduction of Munkacsy's famous canvas, "Christ before Pilate"; this copy is the work of Dan Weggeland, one of Utah's veteran artists. The ceiling is formed by the intersection of four arches, producing a quadruple groin structure. Each of the four lunettes is occupied by triple series of arched windows consisting of colored glass in simple design.
On the west side of the building is a small refectory where a noon-day lunch is served to recorders and other officials on duty for the day. A stairway leads to the basement, which is occupied by storage rooms and lavatories.
The Annex Passage: The foot of the stairway marks the beginning of a semi-subterranean passage, which runs south ninety feet to the Temple wall. This passage receives air and natural light through side windows in three large ventilator cupolas which rise six feet above the ground. Artificial illumination is supplied by three electroliers, each holding twelve globes. Near the south end is the entrance to a side corridor leading to machine rooms in which is installed a very efficient apparatus for vacuum cleaning; this is connected with every room in the Temple.[[1]] The passage terminates at the foot of a short flight of granite steps—at the centre of the north wall of the main structure. The top of these steps marks the threshold of the Temple. Heavy doors divide the Annex from the Temple.
The Lower Corridor: The doorway from the annex passage opens directly into the lower corridor of the Temple. This extends entirely across the building, from north to south, and is a little over twelve feet in width. The floor is richly carpeted, the walls are finely finished, and the corridor as a whole presents an imposing contrast with the exceedingly plain passage without. The walls are embellished with large paintings, the chief of which is a canvas fifteen by thirteen feet, showing Joseph Smith preaching to the Indian tribes of the east. At the north end is a drinking fountain of Utah onyx—one of many of this unique design distributed throughout the building.
The Baptistry: West from the lower corridor, and occupying the central third of the entire floor on that side, is the baptismal room, in which stands the great font. This apartment is thirty-two by forty-five feet, and is floored with white marble. A ten-inch wainscot of the same material extends along each wall, with grained wood-work above. The walls are virtually a succession of double doors, of which the lower half is of paneled wood, and the upper of pebbled glass. Each doorway is arched, and carries a large semi-circular transom with a central aperture occupied by an open grill of metal. Of these doors there are six pairs on both north and south sides, and two pairs on both east and west. There are twenty-six fluted pilasters around the walls, each extending from floor to ceiling. The only natural light the room receives is borrowed from windows without; but abundant artificial light is supplied by a large central electrolier and numerous side lamps.
The baptismal font is, of course, the most prominent feature of the room. To provide for the font, a depression or well has been excavated to a depth of three feet below the floor level. This well, tiled with marble, is circular, twenty-one feet in diameter, and is surrounded by an ornamental iron railing two feet high. In this depression stand twelve, life-sized oxen, of cast iron, with bronzed bodies and silvered horns. The oxen face outward in groups of three and support the massive font.[[2]] The font is of cast iron enameled in white, elliptical in form, of ten and six feet in its longer and shorter axes respectively, and four feet deep; its capacity is over four hundred gallons. The rim is reached by a flight of seven steps at either end, with balustrade and top-rail of iron; five inside steps at either end provide for descent into the font. Facilities for quickly replenishing and renewing hot and cold water in the font are adequate and efficient, and due attention has been given to ventilation and sanitary requirements throughout.
The landing at the top of the steps on the west end of the font expands into two small platforms, one at either side; these are enclosed by extensions of the balustrades. On the south side is a small table for the use of the recorder, and on the north are seats for the witnesses whose presence is essential at every baptism performed in behalf of the dead[[3]]
The placing of the baptistry on the lower or basement floor was not a matter of mere convenience. Most of the baptisms performed within the Temple are in behalf of the dead, and the symbolism of the font location is set forth by authority: