What was the first lds temple built

Pioneers began construction on the temple in using oxen to haul mammoth blocks of granite 15 miles down a canyon and across the valley to the building site.

This process was slow and difficult, and limited progress on the temple. Building was halted briefly in when Johnston's Army made an expedition to Utah. The completion of the transcontinental railroad in meant that granite could soon be taken to the temple site by rail. This greatly sped up the construction process. The fact that it would still be another 23 years before the temple's exterior was completed teaches about the awesome magnitude of this project for the pioneers.

Finally, 39 years after starting construction began, the capstone of this magnificent structure was put in place in Following the completion of the temple exterior, work on the temple only intensified.

Image via peel. Days of Madness: D. Todd Christofferson and the Watergate Scandal Mar 30, 0. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. The views expressed by individual users are the responsibility of those users and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. Pin It on Pinterest. The present aluminum-covered roof sits on the original Ithiel Town lattice-truss arch system that is held together by a dowel and wedge construction technique.

The dome rests on forty-four sandstone piers and a sandstone foundation. Its overall seating capacity is 8,, which includes the gallery and the choir area. The original organ was made by Joseph H. Ridges and contained pipes. That number has since been increased to 11, The Tabernacle is the long-time home of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

The Assembly Hall on the southwest corner of the square was designed by Obed Taylor in the then popular Gothic Victorian Style. It was built of the cast-off stone from the Salt Lake Temple.

Because of its small size, it functions in a secondary role relative to the type of activities associated with the Tabernacle. The two visitor centers that now occupy the northwest and southeast corners are relatively new buildings that did not figure into the original concept of Temple Square.

Rather, the northwest visitor center now occupies the original site of the old Endowment House built from to , that in part functioned in the capacity of a temple until it was razed in in anticipation of the completion of the Salt Lake Temple.

The southeast visitor center replaced an earlier visitor's complex that once occupied this site. There are various sculptural monuments positioned around the open areas of the square. All relate to various events associated with Mormonism from its beginnings in western New York State to events surrounding the coming of the Saints to Utah. Unlike the other buildings on Temple Square, it is closed to the general public because it is used by the LDS Church for sacred rites exclusive to those church members deemed worthy to receive them.

For this reason, it, along with the other LDS temples, is given prominence within Mormonism. The temple sits on the northeast corner of square, which is also the highest point within the square. Its overall size and vertical elevation give it a dominating position. It was designed after a sketch by President Brigham Young that he gave in to his appointed architect, Truman O.