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The St. George Utah Temple is the first operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Located in the city of St. George, Utah, it was the first LDS temple built in the Rocky Mountains. It was designed by Truman O. Angell.
The temple was announced in 1871 by Brigham Young, and was the third to be constructed by the church. The Salt Lake City Temple had been announced years before in 1847 but construction was still underway and would be until 1893, so the St. George Temple was built to satisfy the church's immediate need for a temple. The temple was built on a 6 acre plot, has 3 ordinance rooms and 18 sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 110,000 feet. The St. George Utah temple was the next completed temple after the Nauvoo Temple, which Truman O. Angell had helped work on as well, and is more similar in design to the Nauvoo Temple than the temples constructed afterwards. It was originally built like the Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples, with two large assembly halls. The lower Assembly Hall was partitioned with curtains to provide the ordinance rooms for the Endowment Ceremony. In 1938 the lower Assembly Hall was rebuilt with permanant walls dividing it into the 4 Ordinance rooms. The 4 Ordinance rooms were later changed into three rooms and the endowment was changed from a live endowment to one presented on video.
This was the only Utah temple completed while Brigham Young was still alive. The first time that Brigham Young saw the completed temple, he noted that the tower was wrong. He was told that it was too late to change the tower, so the dedication proceeded as planned. However, shortly after Brigham Young died, a lightning strike caused a fire that burned just as much of the tower as President Young had been troubled about. The tower was then rebuilt according to Brigham Young's instructions causing the builders to claim that even in death, Brigham Young got his way.
Originally dedicated on April 6, 1877, by Daniel H. Wells, the temple was renovated and rededicated on November 11, 1975 by Spencer W. Kimball.
See also
External links
- Official LDS St. George Utah Temple page
- St. George Utah Temple Page
- St. George Utah Temple Page
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Official Site
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Visitors Site
- Unofficial LDS Temples Site