December 28

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When Founded Upon My Rock

By Tresta Neil

Called to Learn

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The Story of the Salt Lake Temple Foundation

Sandstone, adobe or find best stone?

In October of 1852 General Conference, Heber C. Kimball discussed what types of materials they could use to build the temple. They could build it of sandstone, of adobe, or of “the best stone we can find in these mountains” like the “splendid stone” in Sanpete county. The congregation unanimously voted that “we build a temple of the best materials that can be furnished in the mountains of North America.” (1)

Place for a Temple

Brigham Young had marked the temple spot just three days after entering the valley. As h walked the hills he stopped between the two forks of City Creek and struck the ground with his cane and said, “Here we will build the temple of our God.” Wilford Woodruff placed a stake in the ground to mark the spot (2) which is currently the middle of the 10 acre Temple Square.

Time to Build

In December 1847, an official letter from the twelve apostles went out asking the Saints to bring precious metals and other materials “for the time had come to build the Lord’s house upon the tops of the mountains.” (3)

Digging Hole for Foundation

In 1852, construction began with digging a 20’ wide, 16’ deep trench for the temple. It took 1 1/2 years to dig through almost solid gravel one shovel full at a time.(4)

Sandstone Wall

While they waited for rock to be found many men used firestone, a fire resistant sandstone, from the hills above what is now Red Butte Garden (5) and adobe to build a 14’ wall around the temple block. This wall provided protection for the construction site.

Granite Found

In the mid 1850’s a large deposit of light, grey granite was discovered in Little Cottonwood Canyon, twenty miles southeast of Salt Lake City. Granite is the signature rock of the continents and the foundation rock of the planet. Mercury, Venus and Mars are all covered with basalt, like our ocean floor. (6) Only Earth has this beautiful rock of feldspar and quartz crystal in abundance. Granite is hard and tough and often used as a construction stone because of its high compressive strength. It’s a fitting rock for the foundation and main structure of the temple.

Hauling the Stone

Men from all over the world, like Rudolf Wolfley from Switzerland (7), spent many hours a day at the quarry hammering spikes into the tough granite to make one 2x3x5’ block. Only one block could be carried at a time. It sometimes took four days to haul each load from the quarry to the temple site. (8) Annie Wells Cannon “remember[ed] the sight of the great stones … being hauled along the streets by two yoke of oxen and we would all stand for them to pass with a feeling of awe and reverence.” (9) Many wagons broke down under the weight, so the work progressed very slowly. (10)

Hauling the Stone

Cornerstone Ceremony

At the cornerstone celebration, on April 6th, 1853, the 23rd anniversary of the Church’s organization. The First Presidency and the Patriarch to the Church laid the southeast cornerstone of the temple’s foundation, which he proclaimed the proper corner for “the chief cornerstone.” (11) President Young spoke, explaining that the temple had to be built in order that the Lord “may have a place where he can lay his head.”(12) He also said, “the work we’ve performed on [this temple] will long be remembered by this people.” (13)

Johnson’s Army

Four years later, on July 24, 1857 at the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the entrance into the valley, the Saints received news that the US army was approaching Utah. Brigham Young had the foundation covered as a precaution. When the army arrived and asked to see inside the stone fence they were surprised to find a freshly plowed field; no evidence of construction. The army marched on through, but because of the “uneasy truce” (14) the foundation remained covered while the army remained in Utah. During this time the architects continued to work on the design and size of each stone. The American Civil War broke out in 1860, and Johnson’s army was called back. As soon as they left, Brigham Young had the Saints begin the work of uncovering the foundation.

Crack in the Foundation

The burying of the foundation proved to be a great blessing, for when they uncovered it, large cracks were discovered in the foundation walls. Brigham Young sat down on a foundation stone and said, "I will not move from this spot until I know what to do.”(15) Moments later,

President Young motioned for Archibald Gardner, the premier saw and grist mill builder in the valley to come to him. “Bishop, sit down,” he said, and he told him of his perplexing problem. Together they went carefully over the matter in hand. They examined the foundation, the materials, the manner in which it had been put together. … [Archibald then said,] “The trouble has arisen through the use of too much mortar. The resultant settling has caused walls to crack. It will be necessary for you to tear out the entire foundation and start over again. This time instead of using mortar, have each and all of the stones in the entire building cut to exact measurement and place stone upon stone with precise fittings. This will prevent cracking, settling or spreading in any way.”(16)

On Jan 1, 1862 Brigham Young announced that the inadequate foundation would be removed and replaced, stating, “I want to see the temple built in a manner that it will endure through the Millennium.” (17)

Temple Growth

It was difficult removing the blocks and replacing them with perfectly fit together stones without mortar. It took three years to put just one layer of these stone around the temple. Not until 1867, 14 years after the original cornerstones had been laid, were the walls of the temple visible above the ground. The walls of the Salt Lake Temple are nine feet thick at the base and six feet thick at the top.

Railroad - Work Sped Up

Brigham Young was concerned about the speed of the project and sought the Lord’s help. He was inspired to ask the men that were building the temple to work on completing the railroad. They built the railroad next to the quarry. When completed, the train took the stone blocks to the temple site in about an hour. (18) Brigham was pleased with the rate of the progress.

Symbols Chiseled in the Stone

Near the temple grounds the stones were shaped into the exact shapes for the wall and oval windows.

Symbols of the planets, stars, the sun, earth and the moon were carefully carved into the blocks of granite. Orson Pratt, a competent astronomer, built an observatory at the temple block to accurately document the phases of the moon. Each of the six hundred eighty-eight steps for the four circular staircases in the corner towers were carved and polished from the same granite.

Elder Parley P. Pratt’s poem, “The Morning Breaks, the Shadows Flee” is found in the cloud stones. (19)

The morning breaks; the shadows flee;

Lo, Zion's standard is unfurled!

The dawning of a brighter day,

Majestic rises on the world.

The clouds of error disappear

before the rays of truth divine;

The glory bursting from afar

Wide o'er the nations soon will shine. (20)

The Big Dipper on the west side literally points to the north star, representing, “The lost may find themselves by the Priesthood.” (21) The temple and the priesthood literally points us back to Christ just as the big dipper points to the north star. (22)

The three east, taller towers represent the Melchizedek Priesthood and the west lower tower the Aaronic Priesthood. (23)

Brigham Dies

President Brigham Young put his whole soul into the building of the temple and was unable to see if finished. At the time of his death in 1877, the temple walls were only twenty feet high, just above the level of the first floor. It was twenty four years into the project and most of the construction was yet to be accomplished.

Capstone Ceremony

Finally, fifteen years later, on April 6, 1892, the temple was complete. Over 40,000 Saints came to the capstone ceremony. The new prophet, President Wilford Woodruff directed the laying of the last granite stone, the capstone of the temple. The capstone is a perfect, hollow, sphere on which Moroni stands. At exactly high noon the prophet pressed an electric switch to lower the capstone. He then led the saints in the glorious hosanna shout. The capstone is a record stone, a time capsule, containing music, books, scriptures and photographs.

The Story Continues

Brigham Young was right, “the work performed on [the temple] will long be remembered.” (24) Saints continue to compare the building of the foundation to Christ’s parable of the two foundations. They gain courage to face their own trials. “the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (25)

Temple Dedication

Exactly one year later, on April 6, 1893, the Salt Lake City Temple’s interior was finished and ready to be dedicated. It was exactly 40 years, to the date, of the laying of the first cornerstone. Just as the temple was built with granite, the foundation rock of this planet so they built their lives on the firm foundation of the Savior, “The Rock of our Salvation.” The Saints hearts were filled with joy. The toil, the sacrifice, the hardships they endured for forty years was crowned with a glorious triumph that God had accepted their sacrifice and their temple as His home. Our hearts still fill with awe when we think of the 40 years it took to build the temple to the 40 year the Israelites wandered in the wilderness and are amazed at how the temple is still standing and used for righteous purposes.

Bibliography

[1] Heber C. Kimball, in Journal of Discourses (London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854), 1:160, 162.

[2] Matthias F. Cowley, Wilford Woodruff: History of His Life and Labors(Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1964), 619–20; B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 6 vols.

[3] James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965), 1:333.

[4] http://emp.byui.edu/PyperL/New%20EM%20Lessons/EM_8.htm

[5] https://www.templesquare.com/blog/interesting-facts-you-didnt-know-about-the-salt-lake-temple/

[6] http://www.mcmstone.com/a-geology-lesson-on-granite/

[7] - life history of Rudolf Wolfley https://tedandrosecazier.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/life-story-of-rudolph-wolfley-pg-1-1.pdf?fref=gc&dti=1860935120809328 and https://tedandrosecazier.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/life-story-of-rudolph-wolfley-pg-2-1.pdf?fref=gc&dti=1860935120809328

[8] http://emp.byui.edu/PyperL/New%20EM%20Lessons/EM_8.htm

[9] https://www.lds.org/liahona/1993/11/every-window-every-spire-speaks-of-the-things-of-god?lang=eng

[10] http://emp.byui.edu/PyperL/New%20EM%20Lessons/EM_8.htm

[11] The office of Patriarch to the Church was included among the General Authorities until 1978. See Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 3:1065–66.

[12] Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 2:33; James H. Anderson, “The Salt Lake Temple,” Contributor, April 1893, 252–59.

[13] (Journal of Discourses 1:132)

[14] https://www.lds.org/liahona/1993/11/every-window-every-spire-speaks-of-the-things-of-god?lang=eng

[15] http://emp.byui.edu/PyperL/New%20EM%20Lessons/EM_8.htm

[16] https://www.lds.org/ensign/1993/05/news-of-the-church?lang=eng “That is my revelation” and can also be found at http://www.ldshistoryblog.com/Utah.pdf

“Life of Archibald Gardner”, 2nd Edition, by Delila Gardner Hughes, page 133, Alpine Publishing, October 1939. https://tedandrosecazier.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/life-story-of-rudolph-wolfley-pg-2-1.pdf?fref=gc&dti=1860935120809328

[17] Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 10:254; see also Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 6:71.

[18] http://emp.byui.edu/PyperL/New%20EM%20Lessons/EM_8.htm

[19] https://www.lds.org/ensign/1993/08/a-temple-to-exalt?lang=eng

[20] http://mldb.byu.edu/pppratt2.htm

[21] (Deseret News, 17 August 1854)

[22] http://scottwoodward.org/symbolism_saltlaketemple.html