The other bookend

Susan Easton Black spoke at a sociable last night for 45 minutes without notes about the building of the Salt Lake Temple. I'm going to tell you what I remember of it.

It started with Brigham Young, in his 40's, red haired and freckled. Because of his mountain fever (caused by the bite of a tick), he was the last of the vanguard company to enter the valley. A few days later when he stuck his cane (still being used because the illness) into the ground and said, "Here we will build a temple," the people said, "Oh no! Every time we build a temple we get driven out." For several years they refused. Finally he said he'd do it himself. He told his secretary, "If anyone wants to see me, I'll be digging out the foundation for the temple." Then the people started to help and got enthused. Brigham Young envisioned a temple with 6 spires, three taller ones to represent the Melchizedek priesthood and three shorter ones to represent the Aaronic.

The foundation was of sandstone and 16 feet thick. Just when it was finished, Johnston's army was on it's way. Brigham sent the saints to the hills to get wagon loads of dirt which they poured into the foundation and then they planted trees and a garden on top of it. He told them to put straw in their homes and prepare to burn them before they would let the army have them, which they did. Fortunately, it blew over and a few years later they dug out the foundation. The weight of the dirt and trees had caused it to crack and Brigham realized sandstone would not last for eternity like he wanted. So they pulled the sandstone out and used it to build the tabernacle.

So they started all over again, this time with granite. Sister Black described how they were lowered down on ropes and pounded chisels into the granite until it cracked. One man lost an arm when a slab broke loose. He wanted to make sure it would eventually be buried with his body (for resurrection purposes) so he had his wife pickle it. Then he charged for kids to see it and earned enough to send his four children to the Deseret Academy. The granite that was not perfect, they used to build the assembly hall. Eldon's ancestor, Jacob Foutz, helped in the granite quarry. In fact, he had a heart attack there and died.

Many years and a few prophets later the temple was nearing completion. They wanted a certain sculptor named Cyrus Dallin to make the Angel Moroni for the top. Unfortunately he had stopped coming to church and didn't believe in angels any more. He turned Wilford Woodruff down. So they searched the tithing records for a relative of his that was active and found his mother. President Woodruff called his mother in and asked her to use her influence. She went to her son and told him she'd seen President Woodruff. He knew what was coming and said no, he wouldn't do it because he didn't believe in angels. She asked, "Do you believe your mother is an angel?" He said yes. She said, "Then do it for me." So he did. The only colored thing on the exterior was the all seeing eye. It was painted blue.

The dedication was two weeks long. The first day Joseph F. Smith was at the door taking tickets. A pregnant woman named Sister Bennett came in and sure enough, she started labor during the dedication. No one wanted to leave to take her out. Finally a RS president took her in a nearby room and delivered the baby. Eight days later she took the baby back to the temple door and told Joseph F. Smith she wanted him to bless and name her baby in the temple. So he did. He named him Joseph Temple Bennett.

Our ancestors, the Olsens and the Fugls, had been in the valley for 25 years when the temple was dedicated in 1893. I wonder if they went to the dedication.

The celestial room in the Salt Lake Temple

This is the temple where we were married. Also Neil and Pam. When we pass through Utah on our way home, we'd like to attend a session for old time's sake.