1TAII. 



741 



loftiest spire is 222 feet 6 inches, and the height 

 of I tic curtain walls that conned the towers is 

 Hi? feet. The lowers at the 4 corners are 'J'i 

 feet square at the |I;IM-. Those on the east are 

 Jill) feet high, and on the weM I!H f.-et. 'i'he 

 east central tower of the building is 222 feet 

 inches high. It is surmounted by the cap stone, 

 I lie last piece of work done to the exterior, and 

 by a figure representing the angel Maroni, a 

 >tnt ue twelve feet high, of hammered copper 

 plated with heavy gold leaf. The angel Maroni, 

 according to the Mormon belief, appeared and 

 revealed to Joseph Smith the hiding-place of the 

 golden tablets, on which is inscribed the Hook 

 of .Mormon. This took place at the hill Cumo- 

 rah, near Palmyra, N. Y., before the Mormons 

 went to Kirtland. At night the figure of Maroni 

 is lighted by electricity. The interior of each of 

 the 4 corner towers is cylindrical, 17 feet in di- 

 ameter, and granite steps lead from the basement 

 to the roof. 



The Temple contains many stones symbolical 

 of the different conditions of mankind. Around 

 the base are earthstones. Above these are moon- 

 stones, showing the moon in its various phases. 

 and emblematic of terrestrial glory. Still higher 

 than these are sunstones, typical of celestial or 

 the highest glory of the heavens. There are also 

 star-stones representing the glory of the stars. 

 On the west tower is the ursa major, pointing to 

 the polar star, and indicating that there is a 

 fixed guide for fallen mankind in their attempt 

 to return to God. 



Cloudstones, and others of a symbolic nature 

 also appear. The main entrance for the Mor- 

 mons is at the east, and under the main tower. 

 The baptismal font that was the great feature of 

 the Temple at Nauvoo is reproduced on a more 

 elaborate scale in the west end of the basement. 

 The font is of bronze, and it rests on the backs 

 of 12 life-size bronze oxen, 3 looking to the east, 

 8 to the west, 3 to the north, and 3 to the south. 

 It is a reproduction, as nearly as possible, of the 

 font in the Temple at Jerusalem. The room con- 

 taining it is 57 feet long and 35 feet wide. The 

 floor is tiled with polished marble, and the ceil- 

 ing is cerulean. Adjoining alcoves are pro- 

 vided with marble bath tubs for use in anoint- 

 ing with oil. Another large room in the north- 

 east corner of the basement is a lecture hall, 

 known as the Creation room, where the story of 

 the creation of the earth is told as a preparation 

 for the other ceremonies. Still another large 

 room, in the southeast corner, represents the 

 Garden of Eden when it was occupied by Adam 

 and Kve. Both nature and art have been used 

 to make the decoration of this room effective. 



Above the basement, three floors occupy the 

 space to the roof. In the basement the knobs, 

 hinges, etc., are of brass. On the first floor they 

 are of plated gold ; on the second, of plated 

 silver; on the third, of old silver; and on the 

 fourth, of old bronze. All this hardware was 

 made to order in the design of the beehive, the 

 emblem of the Mormon Church, the clasped 

 hands, and the motto " Holiness to the Lord." 

 The wood used for the interior is quartered 

 oak. Exquisitely wrought basins of onyx are 

 placed at frequent intervals throughout the 

 building. The upper floor contains an assembly 

 room 120 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 36 feet 



high. The room has a seating capacity, includ- 

 ing the gallery, of nearly 3.000. This was the 

 room in which the dedicatory services were held, 

 two relays of worshipers being in attendance 

 ea<;h day for over two weeks. The eastern part 

 of the room is for the Melehisedec priesthood, 

 representing the higher, or spiritual affairs. The 

 wot is for the Aaronic priesthood, n-pre-enting 

 temporal affairs. This division of labor and 

 honors is copied from the arrangement of the 

 original Temple at Kirtland. 



The first and second floors are of the most in- 

 terest. They contain rooms of various sizes for 

 the ceremonial of the Mormon Church. In these 

 rooms, blue and white, relieved with gold, are 

 the prevailing colors. One of them, on the first 

 floor, represents the glory of the celestial king- 

 dom. Another, the celestial room, is the grand- 

 est and most beautiful in the Temple. Four 

 massive Corinthian columns break the broad ex- 

 panse of wall on both the north side and the 

 south. The spaces between the columns form 

 niches for busts of Brigham Young and others 

 prominent in the Church. A statue of the 

 Virgin adorns the west end of the room ; and 

 the east end is embellished with two paintings, 

 one of the hill Cumorah, and the other of the 

 place in Missouri where Adam is said to have 

 built an altar after he left the Garden of Eden, 

 which Garden the Mormons believe was in North 

 America. The color of the room is terra cotta, 

 and the ceiling is decorated with bunches of 

 fruits and flowers. In direct contrast to this 

 room is another representing the Garden of 

 Eden after the Fall, where all the elements are 

 discordant and the animal life begins to show 

 signs of contention. An alcove to the south of 

 the celestial room is known as the sealing room, 

 wherein marriages are solemnized. 



The Temple is lighted with electricity and 

 heated with hot water. There are two elevators in 

 the western end, but they are little used because 

 the rise of the granite steps is easy and graceful. 

 Estimates of the cost of the Temple vary ma- 

 terially, but it was probably not far from $12,- 

 000,000. 



It has a beautiful site, standing on the highest 

 ground in the city and overlooking the business 

 portion south of it, while it is itself overlooked 

 by the mountains on the north. The Tabernacle, 

 with its great turtlelike roof, is west of the Tem- 

 ple on the same terrace. 



Amnesty. A petition for general amnesty 

 for all the convicted polygamists was sent to 

 President Harrison in February. Eleven of them 

 were granted amnesty in October, but the gen- 

 eral grant to all who had not broken the law 

 since Nov. 1, 1890, was not proclaimed till Jan. 

 4. 1898. The preamble of the proclamation re- 

 cited the facts that the president of the Church 

 had issued a manifesto proclaiming the purpose 

 of said Church no longer to sanction the practice 

 of polygamous marriages, and calling upon all 

 members and adherents of said Church to obey 

 the laws of the United States in reference to 

 said subject matter ; that by petition, the officials 

 of said Church, pledging the membership thereof 

 to a faithful obedience to the laws against plural 

 marriage and unlawful cohabitation, had applied 

 for the amnesty, in which they were joined by a 

 large number of influential non-Mormons of the 



