“The ’ole edifiss is of stone,” said the guide, “and the foundation is of rock and concrete. There’s not five dollars’ worth of wood in the construction. All the wood you see is haksessories.”
“Are all the temples built of stone only?” I asked cautiously, with the air of a stone-mason out of a job.
“No,” said he. “Each is built on a seprit plan.”
“’Ere,” said he, turning to the rest of the company, “’ere we seals. This ’ere room is for ordinances only. No, we don’t worship in the Temple. It’s not used for public worship. You see the red-brick building as you came up to the Temple. That is the Tabernacle where public worship is held, and that is free to all. But ’ere in the Temple we ’as the ordinances and the meditations.”
The guide was naturally a Mormon, and as he showed us around I thought his main objects were to tell us nothing while pretending to tell us all, and yet at the same time to make converts among the women. He did all he could to interest the latter in the cooking and lighting and warming and washing arrangements.
“You ’ave ’ere the electric stoves to cook the meals. You couldn’t keep running in and out of the Temple in yer sacred garments to get meals at resterongs, so we cooks ’ere. But there can be no smell of cooking—as this exhaust takes all the smell away out of the building. Very convenient, eh, ain’t it? We’ve had over ten thousand applications from women to come and cook in the Temple.”
The farm-women giggled appreciatively. The guide led them on to the laundering establishment. As the Mormons wear secret underlinen with signs, they naturally don’t care to send their laundry out to wash. And in the Temple we were given to understand every man and woman wore special white garments. Consequently there would be much laundering. But all was to be done by the latest machinery, driven by electric power. “No hand-work, no scrubbing, no drudgery and gettin’ your fingers red and ’ard,” said the guide. “Then, when the wash is done, hpp, in they go to the drying chamber, and in a few seconds they are sufficiently dry to be taken out and ironed on the electric irons.”
For a moment it was like being at an ideal home exhibition. “Then the radiators,” said the guide, “you see, they don’t project into the rooms, but are fixed in the walls dead level with the surface of the walls.”
“Of course the Temple ’asn’t got its upolstery in yet, but in every room the furniture will be all of a piece with the inlay wood of the walls. If the walls is oak the furniture will be oak to match; if it’s bird’s-eye maple, the furniture’ll be bird’s-eye maple; if it’s Circassian mahogany the furniture will be Circassian mahogany too. Every room will have its colour scheme. ’Ere you see the thermometer. Now the temperature of the building will be regulated. It won’t matter wot the weather is like outside, it will be controlled inside. The engineer will ’ave ’is orfice outside the Temple and don’t never need come in. All they ’as to do is telephone ’im to raise the temperature ten degrees or lower it five and he’ll do it.”
“We comes to the baths” (they are pretty elaborate). “’Ere’s the men’s section, over there’s the women’s. You natcherally bathe first of all when you enter the Temple and remove every speck of dust or dirt from your body. And ’ere are the robing-rooms where spotless garments is waiting you to put on. You walks all in white wherever you go in the Temple, and when it ’as been consecrated no more folks will ever go in it in ordinary clothes like as you and me to-day.”