LDS Museum of Church History and Art

Shortly after Brigham Young had arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, he encouraged the Saints to bring “all kinds of mathematical and philosophical instruments, together with all rare specimens of natural curiosities and works of art, . . . from which, the rising generation can receive instruction; and . . . we will soon have the best, the most useful and attractive museum.”

The Museum of Church History and Art • David M. Whitchurch

Over the years, several LDS museums have been located in various places around the city. In 1980 President Spencer W. Kimball announced the location and the plans to build a new 63,500-square-foot museum. This cultural treasure was opened to the public in 1984 and includes depictions of Church history and art from its origins to the present day.

This original handcart is in the possession of the Church Museum of History and Art.
Handcarts allowed for a cheaper way to cross the plains without the expense of having to purchase larger wagons and the animals to pull them.

Amy Meeker
and Brooke Burdge

An 1830 Book of Mormon, original edition, on display in the Museum of Church History and Art
© by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

The museum displays the original press on which Egbert B. Grandin
printed the first edition of the Book of Mormon in Palmyra, New York.
David M. Whitchurch

Death masks taken of
Joseph and Hyrum Smith
before their burial.

Robert L. Hall

The museum contains artifacts from the Salt Lake Temple.
This door hardware is typical of the ornate work done by
the early Saints to show their regard for a temple of God.

David M. Whitchurch

Symbolism has always been important in learning.
This wooden facsimile of a sunstone reminds
Latter-day Saints of the celestial kingdom and
the kind of life our Heavenly Father lives.

David M. Whitchurch

______________________________


The George A. and Bathsheba Smith family pose for the camera.

Daughters of Utah Pioneers

John and Clarissa Smith Homesite

The Museum of Church History and Art sits on the former homesite of John Smith (1781– 1854),younger brother of Joseph Smith Sr. and his wife Clarissa Lyman Smith (1790–1854). Their firstborn son was the future Apostle George A. Smith, who also established a home on this block.

The descendants of John and Clarissa include three generations who served in the Quorum of the Twelve: George A. Smith, their grandson John H. Smith, and their great-grandson George Albert Smith, who was born in a home near the south corner where the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel is located. George Albert became the eighth President of the Church, from 1945 to 1951.

The home of Elias Smith, an early Salt Lake County judge and a cousin of the Prophet Joseph Smith, was also located on this corner.

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The Mormon Tabernacle

This is the home of the world renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Organ. It is known for its dome shape and exceptional acoustic qualities, making it one of the most remarkable buildings in the world.

When it was dedicated on October 9, 1875, it was the largest auditorium in the nation without a center support and still remains an architectural wonder. It serves as a venerable gathering place for conferences and concerts, eminent speakers and performing artists. With the exception of Joseph Smith, every President of the Church has spoken from the pulpit in the Tabernacle marking a history stretching from the era of Brigham Young through to the new millennium.

Old tabernacle and bowery on Temple Square 

Previous to the world-renowned dome-shaped Tabernacle, a gabled tabernacle sat on 

the southwest corner of Temple Square, where the Assembly Hall now stands. 

An additional open-sided bowery stood to the north

C. R. Savage courtesy of Richard K. Winters

The Saints often held Sunday meetings on Temple Square.  Looking to the future, the need arose for a tabernacle to shelter the Saints during large meetings.

After the Tabernacle was rededicated in 2007, President James E. Faust of the First Presidency explained: “Before his death, the Prophet Joseph directed that a canvas tabernacle be built to shelter the Saints during large meetings. In 1845, as the temple was nearing completion, Elder Orson Hyde of the Quorum of the Twelve was sent back East to raise funds and to buy ‘about four thousand yards’ of canvas to build what Brigham Young referred to as ‘the Tabernacle of the congregation in Zion.’

“The finished Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City has dimensions roughly similar to the canvas tabernacle contemplated for Nauvoo, and like the proposed Nauvoo tabernacle it also was situated just west of the temple. As with other matters, such as the great migration to the West, Joseph Smith envisioned a great tabernacle, and Brigham Young made it a reality.”

The middle spans of the Salt Lake Tabernacle were completed first and the ends of the roof added later 

Daughters of Utah Pioneers

Interesting Facts

- Constructed from 1863 to 1867, the Tabernacle is the oldest building on Temple Square.

- The Tabernacle is 150 feet wide and 250 feet long with semicircular ends and forty-four sandstone piers supporting the roof.

- The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970 and as a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 1971.

- The Tabernacle Choir performes its weekly national broadcast Music and the Spoken Word each Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (MT) in the Tabernacle and rehearses Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. Both are free and open to the public.

- Tabernacle organ recitals have been year-round Monday through Saturday at noon and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. An additional recital has been performed Memorial Day through Labor Day, Monday through Saturday, at 2:00 p.m. All are free and open to the public.

Bell Tower, Temple Squar Robert Hall

The Nauvoo Bell tower holds a bell that for years was thought to be the original Nauvoo Bell, which weighed 782 pounds. (When the original Nauvoo Bell cracked, it was going to be melted down and recast, augmented in weight, and hung in Brigham Young’s family school, which stood east of Eagle Gate. However, the bell was lost from history at this point, and it is not known what actually happened to it.) It was later discovered that the bell now on Temple Square was a bell sold to the Church’s tithing clerk in 1850 by a group of men traveling through to California and needing money. It was originally hung in a Presbyterian church in Iowa City by a Michael Hummer. The bell tower (campanile) on Temple Square was built in 1966 and is surrounded with scenes honoring the activities of the Relief Society. The bell is rung hourly as a symbol of religious freedom.

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Brigham Young University Religious Education presents
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For more information, or to visit our interactive web site with
dozens of additional sites to explore, please visit
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Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys
is a co-production of
BYU Religious Education & Starrs Universal
This blog is a public service of The Watchmen Institute
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All Rights Reserved

Salt Lake City, Utah LDS Temple

The Salt Lake Temple is a six-spired granite edifice representing the inspiration and theological underpinnings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

Temple Square is lit with thousands of lights each Christmas season • © Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

This temple is the symbolic heart of the Church worldwide. More important than its recognizable exterior, however, are the sacred ordi- nances performed within its walls.

 

Downtown Salt Lake City property map showing blocks surrounding Temple Square 

selected by early pioneer leaders • Brigham Young University

Streets in the city were laid out beginning at the temple block. The building is 186.5 feet long and 118 feet wide, with walls 167.5 feet high. The temple looks somewhat like a fortress and is built to symbolize strength and spiritual safety.

The angel Moroni stands guard over the tallest center spire on the east end of the Salt Lake Temple • David M. Whitchurch

The east center tower rises 210 feet into the air, capped by a statue of the angel Moroni, who announces with a trump the restored gospel message to all the earth. The 12.5-foot statue is made of hammered copper covered with gold leaf.

Majestic view of the temple •Utah State Historical Society

The temple’s exterior design includes symbolic stones, such as moon, sun, and star stones. These emblematic stones and architectural representations are meant to reinforce spiri- tual principles taught through sacred ordinances performed within the temple.

The temple is used exclusively by members of the Church in good standing for sacred ordinances reserved for the house of the Lord, such as proxy baptisms for the dead, washing, anointings, and eternal marriage ceremonies (see 1 Corinthians 15:29; D&C 124:26–42). Latter-day Saints believe that God has commanded them to be “saviors . . . on mount Zion” (see Obadiah 1:21) by performing proxy ordinances for the dead who did not receive them in mortality and that marriages can endure beyond the grave when couples are faithful to the covenants made in the temple.

On-site preparation: Salt Lake Temple stones were dressed and arranged in front of the newly completed Tabernacle. 

The Tabernacle and the Endowment House can be seen in the background 

• C. R. Savage courtesy of Richard K. Winters

 

 

 

 
Little-known shot of the interior of the temple, specifically the Assembly Room, while under construction. The Saints volunteered most of the labor that went into the Salt Lake Temple’s construction • Brigham Young University

 

Granite: Stone for the Salt Lake Temple was quarried from Little Cottonwood Canyon and hauled to downtown Salt Lake City, first by ox team and later by railroad • © by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

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Brigham Young University Religious Education presents
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Featuring BYU Religious Educators teaching about sites significant in
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
For more information, or to visit our interactive web site with
dozens of additional sites to explore, please visit
VirtualTours.BYU.edu
______________________________________________
Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeysis a co-production of
BYU Religious Education & Starrs Universal
This blog is a public service of The Watchmen Institute
and is distributed by B.U.M.P. LTD.
All Rights Reserved

This week's news...

This has been an exciting week for our new blog.

Since we officially announced this endeavor 7 days ago we have been featured in Mormon Times, launched on Facebook and Twitter, and have had more than 3500 downloads on our YouTube channel.

We thank you all for your support, and hope you continue to enjoy your experiences with us.

Wednesday's post will be about the magnificent Salt Lake Temple.  Visit us right here to learn all about it, or sign up for our free newsletter to get it in your inbox automatically.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Brigham Young University Religious Education presents
Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys
Featuring BYU Religious Educators teaching about sites significant in
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
For more information, or to visit our interactive web site with
dozens of additional sites to explore, please visit
VirtualTours.BYU.edu

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Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys

is a co-production of
BYU Religious Education & Starrs Universal
This blog is a public service of The Watchmen Institute
and is distributed by B.U.M.P. LTD.
All Rights Reserved

Ensign Peak

George A. Smith, an early Apostle and member of the first Mormon pioneer company, explained that Brigham Young had seen Ensign Peak and the Salt Lake Valley in vision long before he entered it:

After the death of Joseph Smith, when it seemed as if every trouble and calamity had come upon the Saints, Brigham Young, who was President of the Twelve, then the presiding Quorum of the Church, sought the Lord to know what they should do, and where they should lead the people for safety, and while they were fasting and praying daily on this subject, President Young had a vision of Joseph Smith, who showed him the mountain that we now call Ensign Peak, immediately north of Salt Lake City, and there was an ensign fell upon that peak, and heard Joseph say, “Build under the point where the colors [the flag or ensign] fall and you will prosper and have peace.”

The Pioneers had no pilot or guide, none among them had ever been in the country or knew anything about it. However, they travelled under the direction of President Young until they reached this valley.

When they entered it President Young pointed to that peak, and said he, “I want to go there.”
From the summit of Ensign Peak, the Brethren could see the entire valley. The soil looked good to them, and the water from what would be called City Creek was clear and refreshing. They encouraged some exploration as well as the immediate planting of crops. To the north and west lay the waters of the Great Salt Lake. Of the valleys before them, President Young said, “This is the place whereon we will plant the soles of our feet, and where the Lord will place his name amongst his people.”

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Brigham Young University Religious Education presents
Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys
Featuring BYU Religious Educators teaching about sites significant in
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
For more information, or to visit our interactive web site with
dozens of additional sites to explore, please visit
VirtualTours.BYU.edu

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Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys

is a co-production of
BYU Religious Education & Starrs Universal
This blog is a public service of The Watchmen Institute
and is distributed by B.U.M.P. LTD.
All Rights Reserved