This room is reserved for the higher ordinances in the Priesthood relating to the exaltation of both living and dead.
Dome Room: Near the landing of the granite stairway in the southeast tower on the third floor, is the entrance to the large Dome Room, thirty-nine by forty-four feet. On the south side are three oval windows, and opposite these on the north are semi-discs of pebbled glass looking down into the Celestial Room and set in the arches thereof. In the center appears a large dome, fifty-one feet in circumference at its base and seven feet high. This is set with seventeen jeweled windows and may be readily recognized as the ceiling of the Holy of Holies already described as a prominent feature of the second floor. In each of these windows electric bulbs are placed, and it is from these the room below derives its beauty of ceiling illumination and coloring. The walls are hung with portraits of Church authorities. No specific ordinance work belongs to this apartment. At the northwest corner this room opens into a hall or corridor seventy-five feet long, eight feet wide throughout the first fifteen feet of its extent, and ten feet wide for the rest of its course. From the corridor rooms open on either side.
The Elders' Room is the first apartment on the south side of the corridor, west from the Dome Room. It is thirty-one by thirteen feet and is lighted by one oval window. The furniture consists of an altar for prayer, chairs and a table. The room is reserved for council and prayer by the several quorums of elders within the Salt Lake City stakes, each body having the right of occupancy within specified times.
The Council Room of the Twelve Apostles lies to the west from the last, on the south side of the corridor. This is twenty-eight by twenty-nine feet, and has two oval windows on the south. It is furnished with twelve chairs of oak upholstered in leather, other chairs for recorders or clerks, desks, table, and altar. On the walls are seen portraits of latter-day Apostles now living. Adjoining this chamber is an ante-room fourteen by twenty-one feet.
The Council Room of the Seventy is entered from the corridor near its westerly termination. The room is twenty-eight by fourteen feet, and has one oval window on the south side. This chamber is reserved for the use of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies, or more accurately stated, the First Council of the Seventy. It is furnished for its purpose with seven chairs of a kind, an extra chair for the recorder or clerk, a table and a prayer altar.
The Council Room of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles is situated on the north side of the corridor, and with its ante-room occupies the greater part of that side. The main apartment is forty by twenty-eight feet. In the center is a prayer altar of white wood upholstered in crimson velvet. Twelve large upholstered chairs of oak are arranged in three quadrants of a circle around the altar. The other quadrant is occupied by a table, behind which are three chairs of a kind for the three presiding high priests who constitute the First Presidency of the Church, and another chair for the Presiding Patriarch. These pieces, with desk, table, and chair for the use of the recorder, constitute the essential furniture of the room; all additional pieces are decorative. The walls support several fine paintings, among which are two canvases depicting the descent from the cross, one of the burial of the crucified Christ, and others of scenes in the life of the Savior. Beside these there are original canvases showing landscape scenes of interest in the history of the restored Church.
The ante-room to this chamber is sixteen by fourteen feet. On the north side is seen a commemorative window of colored glass, presenting in the central panel a splendid picture of the finished Temple, above which appears the sacred inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." Each of the side panels presents an escutcheon with scroll and inscriptions.[[8]]
The High Council Room: Immediately north from the ante-room to the chamber reserved for the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, is a room twenty-five by sixteen feet, allotted to the use of the Presidency and High Council of each of the stakes of Zion included within this district. The occupancy of this room is regulated by rule, and the presiding bodies of each of the stakes concerned have access thereto at appointed times, specifically for devotional service. In business session these organizations meet elsewhere, not in the Temple. The room is furnished with the requisite number of chairs, a table, a desk, and an altar.
The Main Assembly Room, which with its vestries and the end corridors occupies the whole of the fourth floor, is one hundred and twenty by eighty feet in area, and thirty-six feet in height. A commodious gallery extends along both sides, and but for the space occupied by the stands, includes the ends. At either end of this great auditorium is a spacious stand,—a terraced platform,—a multiple series of pulpits. The two are alike as to finish and furniture; a description of one will serve for both.
The stand comprises four terraces, the lowest of which is one foot above the floor, while each of the other three has a rise of two feet. On each of the lower three terraces is a settee or dais eighteen feet long; the upper terrace is furnished with a settee eight feet long for the seating of the president and his two counselors. On each terrace is a central lectern, with a smaller desk of corresponding design on either side. All the woodwork on these terraced platforms is hand carved, and is finished in white and gold.