746 



UTAH. 



Temple ; but before the foundation was begun a 

 very desirable stone a gray granite was dis- 

 covered at Cottonwood Canon, 20 miles south of 

 Salt Lake City, and this stone was chosen. For 

 many years the huge stones were carted by oxen, 

 four days being often required for the trip. But 

 of late the work was done more rapidly by the 

 aid of a railroad. The work was interrupted in 

 1857, when Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston s army 

 was approaching Salt Lake, for the purpose of 



niversary of the organization of the Mormon 

 Church. 



From inception to completion the Temple has 

 been the work of Mormons alone. Brigham 

 Young claimed to have had a revelation giving 

 the measurements, as Joseph Smith had of the 

 old Temple at Kirtland. The plans were drawn 

 by Truman 0. Angell, who watched the progress 

 of the work from the beginning, the original plan 

 being followed in all important respects. When 



THE NEW MORMON TEMPLE, SALT LAKE CITY. 



subduing insubordination to the Government on 

 the part of the Mormons. The people then cov- 

 ered the foundations of the Temple, and fled 

 from the city till the storm had passed. Another 

 interruption came in 1869-70, when the Union 

 Pacific Railroad was under construction, and 

 still another more recently, when a receiver was 

 appointed under the Edmunds-Tucker act to 

 control the escheated property of the Church, 

 and a seizure of the Temple was made. It was 

 in the possession of the receiver for a short 

 period. Aside from these interruptions the 

 work was prosecuted steadily till the cap stone 

 was laid, on April 6. 1892; and the dedication 

 was set for April 6, 1893, the sixty-third an- 



no Mormons were found with skill enough to 

 undertake particular tasks, some of the youths 

 were sent to the Eastern States or to foreign 

 countries to qualify themselves. The elevation 

 does not show the lines of any recognized order 

 of architecture, nor do the details seem to follow 

 any particular order. The Temple is impressive 

 both for its elevated site and for its size. The ex- 

 treme length is 186 feet 6 inches, and the width 

 99 feet. With the towers, it covers an area of 

 21,850 square feet. The foundation wall is 16 

 feet thick and 16 feet deep. On this the granite 

 walls are 9 feet thick at the bottom, and narrow 

 to 6 feet at the top. There are 6 towers, 3 on 

 the east end, and 3 on the west. The height of the 



