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<p>The Church History Museum’s Evenings at the Museum&nbsp;program provides special lectures and events throughout the year. Past lecturers have included General Authorities, artists, musicians, researchers, and many others. These programs are open to the public, though reservations may be required.</p><div>Scheduled around the time of General Conference and holidays, visitors to the museum and participate in the&nbsp;Living History Program where they&nbsp;will see docents in period dress giving special presentations and demonstrations reflecting the Church's pioneer heritage. Past presentations have included Blacksmiths, printing, butter-churning, tinsmiths, rag-doll making, storytelling, and musical performances.&nbsp;<br></div>

The museum is located west of Temple Square and north of the Family History Library.

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A brief video detailing the art restorations inside of the museum.

Video

"The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith," by  Matthew Bowman

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The Church History Museum is the premier museum operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gallery tours conducted by volunteer docents are available Monday through Saturday. Tours must be scheduled two weeks in advance. On these tours, visitors get a closer look at both of the museum's permanent galleries as well as its temporary exhibits.

Church History Museum

This short walking tour starts at the LDS Temple and includes numerous monuments and historic buildings related to the history of the church and Temple Square. The tour ends at the Tabernacle, home to the most famous choir in the world.

Highlights of Temple Square Walking Tour, Salt Lake City 

<p>Visitors to the city are often surprised to find that this
was the fourth temple built in Utah. Although church members began planning the
construction of this temple in 1847, fears of its destruction halted the
project in 1857. Although church members had been
persecuted in the past, they were relieved that the army that entered
Salt Lake and established a camp nearby did not have hostile intentions and
church members revived construction efforts in 1861. Construction moved slowly
for many years, as the building's plans required the movement of large sections
of limestone that weighed many tons in an era when there were no railroads in
Utah. </p>

<p>The Salt Lake Temple was the only temple dedicated ion 1893
by Church President Wilford Woodruff
after over forty years of effort. The temple's ornate interior was completed in just a year. The Temple is
considered a feat of architecture because the walls are nine feet thick at the
base and six feet thick at the top. It was also the first temple to feature a
standing Moroni statue. The statue is 14-feet tall and attached to a rod that
extends 27 feet into the tower, terminating with a 4,000-pound counterbalance
to keep the statue immovable.</p>

<p>The Salt Lake Temple features beautiful hand-painted murals
on the walls of its progressive-style ordinance rooms: Creation Room, Garden
Room, World Room, Terrestrial Room, and Celestial Room. The Salt Lake Temple
was completed the afternoon before the dedication. That evening invited non-Mormon government officials, business leaders,
and other guests were given a complete
tour of the temple. It was the first time that a temple had been opened to the public before its dedication.</p>

Dedicated in 1893, the Salt Lake Temple and its surrounding 10-acre square is Utah’s most visited attraction. There are two visitors centers located directly north and south of the Temple. Both serve as a sort of church history and Salt Lake City history museum, with LDS missionaries serving as tour guides and docents. Visitors to Salt Lake City might not be able to tour the LDS Temple due to its sacred nature to members of the church, but they can enjoy a guided tour of Temple Square at no cost.

Salt Lake Temple

<p>The Relief Society (RS) is a philanthropic and educational women's organization and an official auxiliary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, USA and has approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories. The Relief Society is often referred to by the church and others as "one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world."</p><p>The motto of the Relief Society, taken from 1 Corinthians 13:8, is "Charity never faileth". The official purpose of Relief Society is to "prepare women for the blessings of eternal life by helping them increase their faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and help those in need. Relief Society accomplishes these purposes through Sunday gospel instruction, other Relief Society meetings, visiting teaching, and welfare and compassionate service."</p><p></p><p>In the spring of 1842 Sarah Granger Kimball and her seamstress, Margaret A. Cook, discussed combining their efforts to sew clothing for workers constructing the Latter Day Saints' Nauvoo Temple. They determined to invite their neighbors to assist by creating a Ladies' Society. Kimball asked Eliza R. Snow to write a constitution and by-laws for the organization for submission to President of the Church Joseph Smith for review. After reviewing the documents, Smith called them "the best he had ever seen" but said, "this is not what you want. Tell the sisters their offering is accepted of the Lord , and He has something better for them than a written constitution. . . . I will organize the women under the priesthood after a pattern of the priesthood."</p><p>Twenty women gathered on Thursday, March 17, 1842 in the second-story meeting room over Smith's Red Brick Store in Nauvoo. Smith, John Taylor, and Willard Richards sat on the platform at the upper end of the room with the women facing them. "The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning" was sung, and Taylor opened the meeting with prayer. The women in attendance at the initial meeting were: Emma Hale Smith, Sarah M. Cleveland, Phebe Ann Hawkes, Elizabeth Jones, Sophia Packard, Philinda Merrick, Martha McBride Knight, Desdemona Fulmer, Elizabeth Ann Whitney, Leonora Taylor, Bathsheba W. Smith, Phebe M. Wheeler, Elvira A. Coles (Cowles; later Elivira A. C. Holmes), Margaret A. Cook, Athalia Robinson, Sarah Granger Kimball, Eliza R. Snow, Sophia Robinson, Nancy Rigdon and Sophia R. Marks. Additionally, eight other women not present that day were admitted to membership: Sarah Higbee, Thirza Cahoon, Keziah A. Morrison, Marinda N. Hyde, Abigail Allred, Mary Snider, Sarah S. Granger, and Cynthia Ann Eldredge.</p><p>Smith stated "the object of the Society—that the Society of Sisters might provoke the brethren to good works in looking to the wants of the poor—searching after objects of charity, and in administering to their wants—to assist; by correcting the morals and strengthening the virtues of the female community, and save the Elders the trouble of rebuking; that they may give their time to other duties, &amp;c., in their public teaching." Smith also proposed that the women elect a presiding officer who would choose two counselors to assist her. Emma Hale Smith was elected unanimously as president. She chose Sarah M. Cleveland and Elizabeth Ann Whitney as her two counselors. John Taylor was appointed to ordain the women and he did so.</p><p>It was proposed that the organization go by the name <i>Benevolent Society</i> and with no opposition the vote carried. However, Emma Smith made a point of objection. She convinced the attendees that the term "relief" would better reflect the purpose of the organization, for they were "going to do something <i>extraordinary</i>," distinct from the popular benevolent institutions of the day. After discussion, it was unanimously agreed that the fledgling organization be named <i>The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo</i>. Joseph Smith then offered five dollars (worth $122 today) in gold to commence the funds of the Society and the men left the room. Eliza R. Snow was unanimously elected as secretary of the Society with Phebe M. Wheeler as Assistant Secretary and Elvira A. Coles as Treasurer. Emma Smith remarked that "each member should be ambitious to do good" and seek out and relieve the distressed. Several female members then made donations to the Society. The men returned, and Taylor and Richards also made donations. After singing "Come Let Us Rejoice," the meeting was adjourned to meet on the following Thursday at 10 o'clock. Taylor then gave a closing prayer. Of his experience Joseph Smith recorded: "I attended by request, the Female Relief Society, whose object is the relief of the poor, the destitute, the widow and the orphan, and for the exercise of all benevolent purposes. . . .[W]e feel convinced that with their concentrated efforts, the condition of the suffering poor, of the stranger and the fatherless will be ameliorated."</p><p>The new organization was popular and grew so rapidly that finding a meeting place for such a large group proved difficult. Under Emma Smith's direction, the Society was "divided for the purpose of meeting" according to each of the city's four municipal wards. Emma and her counselors continued to preside over the groups. Visiting committees were appointed to determine needs in each ward. Young mother Sarah Pea Rich, wife of Charles C. Rich, recalled, "We then, as a people were united and were more like family than like strangers." By March 1844, membership totaled 1331 women. The last recorded meeting of the Relief Society in Nauvoo was held on March 16, 1844.</p><p>Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were taken into custody and then killed by a mob at Carthage, Illinois on June 27, 1844. After their deaths, local church members focused on completing the Nauvoo Temple and performing ordinances before leaving the city.</p><p>When Relief Society secretary Eliza R. Snow joined the Saints in their exodus west in 1846, she carried the Relief Society Book of Records with her. Although they no longer met in an official capacity, women continued to assemble informally; the care and nurture of the needy continued without a formal Relief Society organization.</p><p>As Saints established homes in the Great Salt Lake valley and surrounding settlements, formal meetings for women gradually emerged. A Female Council of Health was established in 1851. On January 24, 1854, in response to Brigham Young’s call to Saints to assist neighboring Native Americans, women from several Salt Lake City wards decided to organize "a socity of females for the purpose of makeing clothing for Indian women and children." Two weeks later, February 9, 1854, they formally organized an association remembered as the "Indian Relief Society." Matilda Dudley was elected president and treasurer, Mary Hawkins and Mary Bird as counselors, Louisa R. Taylor as secretary, and Amanda Barnes Smith as assistant secretary. Twelve other women were listed as charter members. Though these Mormon women were poor in material goods, they felt the need of&nbsp;American&nbsp;Indians&nbsp;exceeded their own. Over the next four months, their efforts to clothe Indian women and children continued in earnest. In June 1854, Brigham Young encouraged women to form societies in their individual wards. Members of the first Indian Relief Society disbanded to help establish organizations in their own wards, many of them becoming leaders. Matilda Dudley, for example, became president of the Thirteenth Ward Relief Society with Augusta Cobb and Sarah A. Cook as her counselors and Martha Jane Coray as secretary. Records are limited but show that by 1858 over two dozen organizations had formed in some twelve Salt Lake City wards and in other outlying settlements such as Ogden, Provo, Spanish Fork, and Manti, Utah. Each Relief Society operated independently within its ward in cooperation with the local bishop. Ward societies apparently were not interconnected by central women’s leadership, though many of them engaged in similar activities such as sewing clothing for Indians, caring for the poor, especially emigrants, and weaving carpets for local meetinghouses.</p><p>In 2004, historian Carol Holindrake Nielson documented the organization, activities and membership of the Salt Lake City Fourteenth Ward Relief Society. The Fourteenth Ward included Temple Square and eleven residential squares to the south and west. This section contained the homes of many church leaders. Among others, the ward Relief Society roll included the names of Leonora Taylor and Jane B. Taylor, wives of John Taylor; Elizabeth B. Pratt, Kezia D. Pratt and Phoebe Soper Pratt, wives of Parley P. Pratt; and Phebe W. Woodruff, Emma Woodruff, Sarah Woodruff, Sarah Delight Woodruff, Phebe A. Woodruff, Susan C. Woodruff, Bulah Woodruff, wives and daughters of Wilford Woodruff.</p><p>Interrupted by the 1858 Utah War, no more than three or four of these independent ward organizations survived the temporary move of much of the Mormon population south of Salt Lake County.</p><p>In December 1867 church president Brigham Young publicly called for the reorganization of Relief Society in every ward. Eliza R. Snow provided a historical account of the society and described its purpose to seek "not only for the relief of the poor, but the accomplishment of every good and noble work." Young again addressed the need to establish local Relief Society units at the church's 1868 April conference, stating: <i>Now, Bishops, you have smart women for wives, many of you. Let them organize Female Relief Societies in the various wards. We have many talented women among us . . . . You will find that the sisters will be the mainspring of the movement.</i> Snow was then assigned to assist local bishops in organizing permanent branches of the Relief Society. Using the minutes recorded in the early Nauvoo meetings as a Constitution, Snow created a standard model for all local wards that united women in purpose and provided a permanent name and structure to their organization. She and nine other sisters began visiting wards and settlements in 1868, and at the end of the year, organizations existed in all twenty Salt Lake City congregations and in congregations in nearly every county in Utah.</p><p>Ward branches of the Relief Society performed a variety of functions. Women helped the bishop of the ward assist the poor by collecting and disbursing funds and commodities. They nursed the sick, cleaned homes, sewed carpet rags for local meeting houses, planted and tended gardens, promoted home industry, and shared doctrinal instruction and testimony.</p><p>Snow provided central leadership both before and after her call as General President in 1880. She emphasized spirituality and self-sufficiency. The Relief Society sent women to medical school, trained nurses, opened the Deseret Hospital, operated cooperative stores, promoted silk manufacture, saved wheat, and built granaries. In 1872 Snow provided assistance and advice to Louisa Lula Greene (Richards) in the creation of a woman's publication, the <i>Woman's Exponent</i>, which was loosely affiliated with the Relief Society. Emmeline B. Wells succeeded her and continued as editor until its final issue in 1914.</p><p>Under Snow's direction, Relief Society sisters nurtured young women and children. Heeding Brigham Young's 1869 call to reform, Snow, Mary Isabella Horne, and others established the Ladies' Cooperative Retrenchment Association from which the Young Ladies' Department of the Ladies' Cooperative Retrenchment was formed (later called the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association and now the Young Women). Snow also worked with Aurelia Spencer Rogers to establish the first ward Primary Association in 1878. By 1888, the Relief Society had more than 22,000 members in 400 local wards and branches.</p><p>Early Relief Society meetings were generally held semi-monthly. One meeting per month was devoted to sewing and caring for the needs of the poor. At meetings members might receive instruction, discuss elevating and educational topics, and bear testimony. The women were also encouraged to explore and develop cultural opportunities for their community. Stakes began circulating outlines for lessons in 1902. The first standardized lessons were published by the General Board in 1914 in the <i>Relief Society Bulletin</i>, later renamed the <i>Relief Society Magazine</i> in 1915.</p><p>By 1942, membership in the organization was approximately 115,000 women, growing to 300,000 members in 1966. In 2009, the Relief Society had approximately 6 million members in over 170 countries and territories.</p><p>In the LDS Church today, every Latter-day Saint woman on her 18th birthday, or within the coming year, and women under 18 who are married, advance into Relief Society from the Young Women. Additionally, unwed teen-aged mothers who are 17 or older and who choose to keep the child are advanced into Relief Society. There are no fees or membership dues for joining the Relief Society.</p><p>In each local congregation of the church, a member of the Relief Society serves as the local President of the organization. The president is permitted to ask two other women from the congregation to assist her as counselors; together the three women make up the local Relief Society Presidency. The Relief Society Presidency acts under the direction of the bishop or branch president in presiding over and serving the women in the congregation. Additionally, stake or district Relief Society presidencies exist to supervise five or more local Relief Society Presidencies.</p><p>Relief Society holds weekly meetings every Sunday that last approximately fifty minutes. During these meetings, an educational lesson is presented by a member of the Relief Society Presidency or another woman who has been asked to serve as the Relief Society instructor. Since the 1990s, the curriculum has been composed of <i>Teachings of Presidents of the Church</i> and other materials. The Relief Society also leads the LDS Church's efforts to teach basic literacy skills to those members and non-members that lack them.</p><p>Three women are called to serve as the General Relief Society Presidency of the entire LDS Church. Although these women are not considered general authorities, they are considered to be <i>general officers</i> of the church and are among the highest ranking women in the LDS Church's hierarchy. Since April 2012, the General Relief Society Presidency has been composed of Linda K. Burton, President; Carole M. Stephens, First Counselor; and Linda S. Reeves, Second Counselor. They are assisted and advised by a Relief Society General Board drawn from women in the church.</p><p>From the 1970s to 2013, the Relief Society held a general meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, annually in late September, which was broadcast around the world via television, radio, satellite and the Internet. This meeting was an opportunity for the General Relief Society Presidency to address the entire body of the Relief Society. Typically a member of the church's First Presidency also spoke to the women of the church.</p><p>However, in 2014, it was announced that such meetings (along with the March General Young Women Meeting) would be replaced by a biannual women's meeting that would be held in March and September, one week before general conference). The meeting is for all women of the church ages 8 and older. The first of these meetings was held in March 2014 and the general presidents of the Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society General Presidencies spoke along with Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency.</p><p>In Salt Lake City, the Relief Society occupies its own headquarters building known as the Relief Society Building, which is separate from the other administrative offices of the LDS Church. While the Quorum of the Seventy had a building in Nauvoo in the 1840s, the Relief Society is the only auxiliary organization in the LDS Church today which has a completely separate facility. This building is also the closest of any building to the door of the Salt Lake Temple.</p><p>In every LDS congregation, each member of the Relief Society is paired with another member; this companionship is then assigned by the Relief Society Presidency to be the <i>visiting teachers</i> of one or more other members of the Relief Society. Visiting teachers strive to make a monthly contact with the women assigned to them; ideally, this contact is a personal visit in the member's home. If this is not possible, the member may be contacted by telephone, letter, e-mail, or a visit in a location other than the member's home. Visiting teachers are encouraged to look for opportunities to serve the individuals that they "visit teach."</p><p>Along with the bishop or branch president, the Relief Society President is the key person in the ward in ensuring that the temporal and emotional needs of the members of the congregation are met. The Relief Society Presidency is responsible for helping the women of the congregation learn welfare principles such as work, self-reliance, provident living, personal and family preparedness, and compassionate service of others. In many congregations, the Relief Society will ask a woman to serve as the Compassionate Service Leader, who is responsible for organizing service activities and responses to members' needs in times of emergency or hardship.</p><p>An extra Relief Society meeting is usually held quarterly on a week-night in each congregation of the church. At this meeting women learn a variety of skills, with special emphasis on parenting and homemaking skills. Local congregations may also choose to hold monthly or weekly meetings for women with similar needs and interests. These extra meetings are less formal than the weekly Sunday meetings and local congregations have a wide discretion in determining what activities will be part of these extra meetings. These meetings were originally called "Homemaking", and on January 1, 2000 the name changed to "Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment", or "Enrichment" for short. In September 2009, due to the complexity of the name and different interpretations of the meeting's purpose, the separate name for the extra weekday meetings was discontinued and all meetings of the Relief Society began to be referred to simply as "Relief Society meetings."</p><p></p>

Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized the female Relief Society in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois. Today it is one of the world's oldest and largest women's organizations. It is an integral part of the Mormon Church. Its headquarters are located in the Relief Society Building on North Temple Street just northeast of the Salt Lake Temple. It was constructed in 1956 using primarily funds donated by the women of the church, and houses two other church sub-organizations in addition to the Relief Society.

Relief Society Building

<span>Brigham Young was born in Vermont in 1801 and succeeded Joseph Smith as the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Young is best-known for selecting the Wasatch Valley as the home of church members after they faced persecution and even violent threats in Illinois and Missouri. Young was the territorial&nbsp;governor of Utah in the early 1850s and oversaw the growth of Salt Lake and the LDS Church. He died in Salt Lake City in 1877.&nbsp;</span>

This Salt Lake City park was dedicated in 1995 and is located on land that was once part of Brigham Young's small farm which extended from the Beehive House and the present-day Eagle Gate to the south side of the state capitol complex. The farm included numerous outbuildings, including a carpenter and Blacksmith shop. The park includes a walking path with historical markers, bronze sculptures of pioneers, and a waterwheel. The park is home to public events including lectures and free musical performances in the summer. 

Brigham Young Historic Park 

<p>During 1847 and 1869, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from all over the world immigrated to the Salt Lake Valley and environs to escape religious persecution, to join with the main body of the church, and to strengthen the church. The Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument is dedicated to the more than 6,000 pioneers who died making the journey. </p><p>The monument is located in a one-acre cemetery on First Avenue in Salt Lake City. It is known as the Brigham Young Cemetery because Brigham Young, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ is buried there.  </p><p>Brigham Young was born in 1801 in Vermont. In 1847, he led the migration of members of the church from Illinois to Utah. The first president, Joseph Smith, was martyred in Illinois in 1844. Within a few years after settling in the Salt Lake Valley in the Utah Territory, Young sent members of the Church of Jesus Christ to colonize surrounding areas, including Arizona, Idaho, and Nevada. He was territorial governor from 1850 to 1856. Young died in 1877 and was buried in a corner of his own property that had been designated as a graveyard. The site once overlooked Young’s homestead and the Salt Lake Valley. The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Mutual Improvement Associations, which Young had organized, added the bronze marker in 1938. </p><p>Approximately eleven other people are interred there, including six of Brigham Young’s wives and two of his sons. Possibly more of his children were buried there because ten of his children died in infancy or childhood. </p><p>Richard W. Young (one of President Young’s descendants) deeded the property to the Church of Jesus Christ in 1927 with the stipulation that the burials not be disturbed. On June 1, 1974, the 173rd anniversary of Young’s birth, N. Eldon Tanner, of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ, dedicated the cemetery. </p><p>The cemetery was restored and redesigned in 2000. At that time the statues and two monuments that remember two hymn writers were added. One of the monuments is dedicated to Eliza R. Snow, who wrote many of the church’s hymns. She was also president of the Relief Society for twenty-one years. She was married to Joseph Smith until his death and then married Brigham Young. She is buried in the cemetery. The other monument is dedicated to William Clayton, the author of the hymn “Come, Come Ye Saints.” He is buried in the Salt Lake Cemetery. </p><p>Just eleven persons have been buried in the cemetery. These include:</p><ol><li>Brigham Young — an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah Territory, United States. Young also led the founding of the precursors to the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.</li><li>Eliza R. Snow — was sealed to Joseph Smith. Following his death she was sealed to Brigham Young for time. She was one of the most celebrated Latter-day Saint women of the nineteenth century. A renowned poet, she chronicled history, celebrated nature and relationships, and expounded scripture and doctrine.</li><li>Mary Ann Angell Young — the sister of Salt Lake Temple architect, Truman O. Angell. Brigham's first wife died before he joined the Church. Mary was his second wife. She bore him 6 children. Brigham's first wife, Miriam Works, bore him 2 children before she died in 1832.</li><li>Joseph Angell Young — the first son of Brigham and Mary Angell</li><li>Alice Young Clawson — Alice Young Clawson was the 4th child of Brigham and Mary Ann Angell.</li><li>Lucy Ann Decker — Lucy Ann Decker was 20 when she became Brigham's first polygamous wife, 14 Jun 1842. She was previously married to and divorced from William Seeley, who was alcoholic and abusive. She always felt her polygamous relationship with Brigham was superior to her monogamous relationship with William. She was well organized and efficiently ran the Lion House. Her younger sister, Clarissa (Clara) Decker, became Brigham's 4th polygamous wife two years later, at age 16, and crossed the plains with him and her mother, Harriet Wheeler Decker</li><li>Mary Van Cott Young — wife number 51. She married her first husband, James Cobb, three months before being married to Brigham. Her father, John Van Cott, was well known and respected.</li></ol><p>The Brigham Young family cemetery was dedicated by N. Eldon Tanner as a memorial park to the Mormon pioneers on June 1, 1974, which was the 173rd anniversary of Brigham Young’s birth. The park was redesigned and restored in 2000.</p><p>The monument is open to the public daily.</p>

The Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument is dedicated to the more than 6,000 pioneers who died making the journey to Utah from Illinois and other parts of the world between 1847 and 1869. It is also contains the gravesite of Brigham Young and other early Mormon leaders. The monument is open to the public daily.

Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument

<span>Originally the Eagle Gate marked the entry to LDS President Brigham Young's private property at the center of the city. The public was allowed to use the gate to gain access to City Creek Canyon, which was the location of the city water supply and the only available timber in the area. The original eagle was hand-carved in wood by Ralph Ramsay, but it was replaced in 1963 by the current eagle with a larger 20 foot wingspan. The original sculpture can be seen at the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum.<br><br></span><p>The monument was erected in 1859 and&nbsp;was originally topped by a wooden eagle, refurbished several times and eventually replaced by the current 4,000-pound,&nbsp;bronze&nbsp;eagle, with a wingspan of 20 feet. Carved by Ralph Ramsay,&nbsp;the original wooden eagle is on display at the&nbsp;Daughters of Utah Pioneers&nbsp;Museum located at 300 North Main Street.</p><p>The first Eagle Gate was remodeled and enlarged with new stone piers and wider inverted arches in the early 1890s (with Ralph Ramsay's eagle rebuilt and fortified); designed by Don&nbsp;Carlos Young, an architect son of Brigham Young. Due to the widening of State Street in the early 1960s, the prior monument including Ramsay's eagle was removed and replaced with a much wider and larger third generation Eagle Gate, designed by Salt Lake City architect George Cannon Young. Young was the son of Don Carlos Young and the grandson of Brigham Young. The monument is one of Salt Lake City's most well known pioneer landmarks, and its current design is one of Salt Lake City's best standing examples of&nbsp;Mid-Century Modern&nbsp;design.</p>

The Eagle Gate monument is a historical monument (more in the form of an arch than a gate) seventy-six feet across, situated at the intersection of State Street at South Temple, adjacent to Temple Square, in Salt Lake City.

Eagle Gate Monument

<span><p>The old mansion is the pioneer home of Brigham Young, built between 1853 and 1855 to meet the dual needs of Brigham Young, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ 0f Latter-day Saints (LDS) and first governor what became the Utah Territory. </p><p>Years earlier, in 1847, Salt Lake City (located in Mexico, at the time) had been founded by nearly 150 LDS pioneers led by Brigham Young. As with many pioneers and explorers, their desire to freely practice their religion inspired their migration to Salt Lake. Indeed, after the murder of LDS founder, Joseph Smith, many LDS members felt it necessary to explore a new region to call home. </p><p>The house is one example of the group's motivation to actively plan and develop the city and church. Indeed, within a few days of arriving, the LDS pioneers formulated a city plan that included a city grid system fanning out from its central point -- today's Temple Square (specifically South Temple and Main Street). &nbsp;The 1848 signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the US-Mexican war included the addition of what is today Utah. Back then, in 1850, the region had been named the “State of Deseret,” meaning honeybee. The beehive later became the state symbol, which is the meaning behind the name "Beehive House."</p><p>The house's dual purpose arose in 1850 when President Millard Fillmore named Brigham Young as the first governor of the U.S. territory of Utah. Young only maintained that position for seven years because he had not only publicly sanctioned the practice of polygamy, but he also had twenty wives. Thus, In 1857, President James Buchanan removed Young as governor and sent U.S. Army troops to gain federal control of the territory of Utah.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the tensions with the federal government, the Beehive House and Brigham Young hosted several notable guests such as President Ulysses S. Grant, Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil, General William T. Sherman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Jay Gould, Horace Greeley, and even the Tom Thumb. &nbsp;</p><p>Young died in 1877, but continued tensions between LDS and its propensity to practice polygamy prevented the territory from becoming a state until the 1890s. LDS President Wilford Woodruff issued his Manifesto in 1890, renouncing polygamy and reducing the influence the church had in governmental affairs in Utah. As a result, six years later in 1896, Utah entered the Union as the 45th state.</p><p>Three years after the issuance of the Manifesto, in 1893, LDS purchased the historic building with hopes of turning it into a hotel. However, that plan failed to materialize. Therefore the church decided to make it the official home for the church president, though only two presidents -- Lorenzo Snow and Joseph F. Smith -- resided there. After the death of President Smith, the house stood vacant for several years. However, in 1920, the Young Women Mutual Improvement Association of the LDS Church opened the Beehive House as a boarding home for female students and single women working in Salt Lake City, many of whom were working at LDS Church headquarters. &nbsp;</p><p>In 1959, a group primarily led by Young's descendants spent eighteen months restoring the building to its original look and turning it into a historic house museum. Today, it remains a museum that guests can tour. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><div><br></div></span>

Built between 1853-1855, the Beehive House served as the residence for the Church of Latter-Day Saints' second president Brigham Young and his twenty wives. He not only presided over church matters at the house, but served as the first governor of the Utah Territory from 1850-57. During the 1930s and '40s, the Beehive House functioned as a boarding house for girls before being restored as a historic house. Today, guests can tour the house and view how the house appeared when the polygamous Young family resided there. 

The Beehive House

<p>Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints leader Brigham Young led efforts to construct a vast estate at this location in 1873. Construction was guided by Joseph Ridged and William Harrison Folsom, two notable designers of the area at the time.</p>

<p>Construction for the home was slow, with delays caused in by the time it took to receive building materials. Due to these setbacks, Brigham Young never witnessed the completion of the home. John Taylor took Young's place as the leader of the church, and he moved into the home in 1879. Young had an office in the home that was the location of many meetings attended by church leaders.&nbsp;</p><p>One of the leading concerns at this time was the Edmunds Act, an 1882 law that made polygamy a felony punishable by a fine or prison time. The Edmunds-Tucker Act followed five years later and revoked the church's incorporation and ordered the seizure of church property valued over $50,000. The church eventually barred the practice of polygamy, but the laws at this time was understood by many members as a hostile act given the long history of persecution they had faced in previous decades.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Wilford Woodruff was the next president of the Church after John Taylor's death in 1887 and also maintained an office at the Gardo House. Because the church owned the property and faced fees and taxes because of the Edmunds-Tucker Act, church leaders tried to have this home certified as a parsonage. The effort failed and the Gardo House was eventually leased to the Keely Institute. This organization focused on alcohol and drug addiction and only used the home for a year. Church leaders decided to rent out the home over the next few years.</p>

<p>The Gardo House was purchased by Edward F. Holmes in 1901 as a present for his wife. The Holmes redecorated their new home, bringing the mansion to a new level of notoriety. The couple held lavish parties with various entertainments and had hundreds of visitors on days at home. The Holmes resided in the home till around the start of World War I. Becoming more accustom to their home in California, they listed the mansion, yet could not find a suitable buyer. Due to this, they lent the Gardo House to the Red Cross who commonly held lessons on health and basic skills till the war's end.</p>With the war’s end, the Holmes sold the Gardo House back to the church on March 20, 1920, for $100,000. Plans were made by the church to use the Holmes’ additions to the home for a school of music. Before these plans came to fruition, the Federal Reserve Bank offered to buy the home for an additional $15,000 due to needing more space. From this offer, the church decided to move the Gardo House, yet the new location they planned on is unknown. After assessing the mansion, it was deemed beyond the church’s budget, having an aged foundation and in need of costly repairs. The Federal Reserve Bank appointed the home to be demolished with the Gardo House facing deconstruction on November 26, 1921.&nbsp;

Brigham Young planned the construction of a mansion that stood at this location until 1921 and was home to several leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Construction began in 1873 and occurred in phases while the home was occupied by Young's widows. The property was completed a decade later and the center of many events in the early history of the LDS Church from important decisions to a federal raid. The name "Gardo" was a reference to a novel that Brigham Young read and followed Joseph Smith's idea to have an official residence that would accommodate travelers who came to speak with church leaders. Church presidents John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff lived in the home. The property was later purchased by Edward Holmes who expanded the structure and hired designers from Marshall Fields to furnish the interior. The home fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1921.

The Gardo House (1873-1921)

<p>Brigham Young was the son of John Young and Abigail “Nabby” Howe. He was born  Whitingham, Vermont, and began his young career as a traveling carpenter and Blacksmith. He converted to the Mormon faith in 1832.  Young would then go on to perform missionary work in Upper Canada. He helped establish a religious community in Kirtland, Ohio, and aided in organizing the exodus of Latter-day Saints from Missouri in 1838. After the 1844 murder of Joseph Smith (who was the founder, and First president of the Church), the question of succession brought Brigham Young’s name to the forefront. Young was named the second President of the Church three years after the death of Smith. Unfortunately, Young inherited all the trials and tribulations of his predecessor.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some of the earlier, Mormon practices were frowned upon. There was widespread acceptance of slavery and polygamy within the church This garnered a negative reputation among Gentiles (a name for non-members of the church). Young and his constituents were forced to relocate to the Salt Lake Valley due to conflicting beliefs between Mormons and Gentiles. At this time, Salt Lake Valley was apart of Mexico, but Young organized an exodus. This exodus would first take 2,500 Mormon pioneers to Nebraska from 1846 to 1847. Then the pioneers would move on to the Salt Lake Valley. At the time of their arrival on July 24, 1847 (now recognized in Utah as “Pioneer Day”) the area had come under American Control as a result of their war with Mexico.</p><p><br /></p><p> Young initially petitioned for Congress to create the State of Deseret from those lands gained by America during the Mexican Cession. This resulted in the Compromise of 1850 that drew out the boundaries of Utah Territory. On February 3, 1851, as colonizer and founder of Salt Lake City, Brigham Young was officially selected as the territory’s first governor and superintendent by President Millard Filmore. President James Buchanan would later install a non-Mormon governor after being made aware of the reports of widespread and systematic obstruction of federal officials in Utah. </p><p><br /></p><p>Along with his choice of new governor, Buchanan also sent troops to garrison forts in the new territory. When Young received word of these actions, he retaliated by calling on his militia to ambush the federal force. What resulted was the Utah War (1857 – 1858), where Young managed to hold the U.S. Army at bay for an entire winter before eventually relenting and agreeing to step down as governor. He was later pardoned by President Buchanan and continued to serve as President of the Church until his death in 1877.</p><p><br /></p><p>Constructed in the year preceding the Utah Wars, the historic Lion House originally served as a more private residence for Brigham Young and his family than official residence, the Beehive House. It is also where the Young Ladies’ Department of the Ladies’ Cooperative Retrenchment Association was founded in 1870. In 1931 that same association received approval from the First Presidency to use the Lion House as a social center for girls and women after the departure of Latter-day Saints' University's domestic science department from the location. </p><p><br /></p><p>The Lion House overcame the threat of demolition in the 1960s and, after going through a series of renovations and restorations, it was eventually reopened as a restaurant and reception center. The Lion House Pantry has gained international fame for their rolls and has even appeared in an episode with Bobby Flay’s on the Food Network.</p>

The Lion House was constructed in 1856 for Brigham Young. Young was the second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was also the first Governor of Utah Territory. Young was the father of 57 biological children. He also adopted and fostered children. The Lion House was built to home Young and his large family. The house adjoins the historic Beehive House on the west, which acted as the official governor’s residence. During the 1920s, Lion House served as the location of the domestic science department of Latter-day Saint’s University. Today, the ground floor houses a functional, cafeteria-style restaurant known as “The Lion House Pantry.” 

Lion House

<p>The Hotel Utah, built between 1909-1911, exists on the same lot that once served the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS) as one of many nineteenth-century locations used as general tithing offices, bishop storehouses, and LDS offices. Replacing some older buildings with the hotel marked a change Salt Lake City as it moved away from its early settlement period, dominated by the LDS church, and more focused on city growth that included a focus on consumerism and tourism, although the LDS remained integral in that urban development. </p><p>Architects for the modern Italian Renaissance building was the firm of Parkinson and Bergstrom of Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, who created a first-class, ten-story structure complete with ornate decor and a host of modern comforts and amenities. The construction took two years, from 1909 to 1911.  </p><p>While the Hotel Utah provided first class accommodations for tourists and helped alleviate feelings of civic inferiority among Salt Lake City residents, its construction also noted a change in LDS philosophy. The chief stockholders in the company were also high ranking LDS officials who viewed their investment as a symbol of Mormon progressivism, whereas in the past, it was believed LDS members hesitated to champion urban progress for fear of losing its influence on the city. Indeed, stockholders also included non-LDS members such as the Utah Hotel operating company, whose president was the non-Mormon mining magnate Daniel T. Jackling. </p><p>The construction of the Hotel Utah also played a pivotal part in the West's labor history, including unions. On two separate occasions, dynamite bombs were exploded in attempts to delay work on the building. The controversy centered on efforts by the Jones Construction Company and the American Bridge Company to maintain an open shop despite demands by the local structural Iron Workers Union that only union men be hired to erect the steel frame.</p><p>The first bomb resulted in minor damage that and little, if any, delay in the construction schedule. Two men, Frank Wilson and James Delaney, were arrested and charged with the crime. Wilson denied any responsibility for the dynamiting but did admit he had been approached by members of the Structural Iron Workers Union and asked to participate in the bombing. In a trial held in February 1910, James Delaney was convicted of a minor crime and subsequently sentenced to six months in jail. A jury found Frank Wilson not guilty and did not find any link to the Structural Iron Workers Union.</p><p>A second, more "successful" bomb exploded during the morning of April 18, 1910, damaging steel beams and shattering glass windows within a one-block radius of the hotel. Again, many suspected the local Structural Iron Workers Union planned the bombing, but no arrests were made. However, several months later, the president of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers, and his brother, were arrested for the bombing of the Los Angeles Times Building on October 1, 1910, which killed twenty people and injured seventeen more. The investigation into that bombing revealed that they were also behind the two Hotel Utah bombings. </p><p>Upon completion, the hotel served Salt Lake City as one of its premier hotels. During its seventy-six years as a hotel, it received international awards and recognition for its world-class service. Numerous celebrities and dignitaries stayed in the hotel, including U.S. presidents. </p><p>Though the hotel ceased operations in 1987, a comprehensive remodeling project allowed it to re-open in 1993, this time as the Joseph Smith Memorial Building that served both community and church functions consisting of ballrooms and wedding venues, music events and theater productions, a genealogy research center, restaurants, LDS offices and a chapel. </p>

Originally the Hotel Utah, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building was later named in honor of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter-day Saint Church. It is located on the corner of Main Street and South Temple in Salt Lake City. It is now a social center with three restaurants: The Roof Restaurant, The Garden Restaurant and The Nauvoo Cafe. It is also a venue for events complete with 13 banquet rooms, catering services, event coordinators and a full-service floral department: Flowers Squared. Several levels of the building also serve as administrative offices for LDS Church departments such as FamilySearch. On January 3, 1978, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Hotel Utah.

Joseph Smith Memorial Building (formally Hotel Utah)

<div>The Zion Cooperative Mercantile Incorporated (ZCMI),&nbsp; often regarded as America’s first department store, was founded by Brigham Young in Salt Lake City in 1868 and then constructed a central, downtown location in 1876.&nbsp; By 1880, ZCMI boasted of 156 stores spanning 24 Utah counties and 126 cities. The downtown ZCMI store stood three stories high and enjoyed an interior chiefly lit by skylights in addition to this unique cast-iron facade. Restored and re-applied to the building where it originally stood, the facade now greets visitors as they enter the modern-day Macy's storefront.</div><div><br></div><div>During the 1870s, conflicts arose among Mormon and non-Mormon businesses, resulting in the creation of ZCMI. The cooperative&nbsp;worked as early Mormon settlers invested in a cooperative merchandising effort to manufacture, acquire and sell goods to one another and share in the profits. Rather than employ the use of cash registers, customers followed the honor system and placed money in large, Black kettles that were emptied and counted once they were full. to steal from the cooperative was nearly unthinkable for members owing to their deeply-held religious beliefs and the fact that many customers were also investor-owners.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Non-Mormon businesses regularly compared the ZCMI cooperative program to an unfair retail monopoly. Indeed, a few early founders of <i>The Salt Lake Tribune</i> lost their church membership after siding with Gentile (non-members) in a local dispute. At this time, church leaders made it clear that they would excommunicate those who did not actively support the store.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In 1973, plans to create a mall near ZCMI resulted in a plan to restore the decaying facade. Steven T. Baird, a young preservation architect, was commissioned to complete the project. Regarded as the first restoration of a cast-iron facade in American history, Baird's research on classic architectural cast iron architecture inspired several other inner-city developments. The project's success allowed Baird and his team to develop Historical Arts &amp; Casting, Inc., a firm dedicated to keeping alive the history, tradition, and craftsmanship of architectural cast metal ornament.</div><div><br></div><div>In 1999, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) sold off its majority stock in ZCMI. For a short time, stores operated under the Meier &amp; Frank name but later switched to Macy's. In 2007, the ZCMI cast iron facade was disassembled and stored before demolition and excavation for a new twenty acre commercial and residential development, City Creek Center, which was financed by the LDS (Mormon) Church. The Macy's store existed as part of that project, and the facade was placed on its storefront. Though the chain of stores is no more, its legacy remains with the restoration of the facade, notably as the ZCMI name remains atop the ornate feature.</div>

Brigham Young formed ZCMI (Zions Cooperative Mercantile Association)  in 1868. this mercantile grew to 156 stores across 24 Utah counties. This large downtown store was completed in 1876 is considered by many to be the first true department store in America. The ornate building was adorned by a decorative cast-iron facade that was restored in the 1970s. The LDS church sold its interests in the store in 1999 to Macy's. In 2007, the facade was restored once again, this time being removed, restored, and placed on the Macy's storefront in nearly the same location as it stood a century prior. 

Zions Cooperative Mercantile Association (ZCMI Building, Salt Lake)

<div>The Base and Meridian marker and plaque marks the center of Salt Lake City's urban grid system. Not surprisingly given the centrality of the LDS (Church of Latter-Day Saints) Temple, Temple Square serves as the starting point of the grid system. That urban planning system has a history that predates the city by thousands of years and has been around in a variety of forms from the great cities in Africa and Europe such as ancient Rome. The Salt Lake City system begins at Temple Square, a reminder of the significance and centrality of the LDS in the founding and development of Utah and its largest city.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Created by LDS settlers, the Salt Lake City grid emerged as part of a grander plan to turn the new city into a spiritual utopia. LDS founder, Joseph Smith, developed the Plat of Zion, which provided details regarding road sizes, lot arrangement, and how many people would reside in each block. (The original document is on display at the Church History Museum, located in Temple Square.)</div><div><br></div><div>The original Plat of Zion allowed for equally sized, but especially large blocks -- 660 feet wide -- set at right angles. The only exception involved blocks found in the city's center, where Joseph Smith imagined twenty-four temples would be located. The spacious city blocks had a purpose: Smith envisioned a city as populous as New York or Philadelphia and include modern infrastructure, education, and community, but without sin or crime because it would be less crowded. Smith hoped to build a city where each church member would own a house on a plot of land sizable enough to support gardens and fruit trees.&nbsp;</div><div><br>Joseph Smith never had the opportunity to turn his utopian vision into a reality, however, as an anti-Mormon mob killed Smith in 1844. As a result of his death, church leadership fell to Brigham Young, who led LDS members to the Salt Lake Valley; they established Salt Lake City in 1847.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Brigham Young mostly believed in the spirit of the Plat of Zion but understood that it might not be that pragmatic to adhere fully to Smith's utopian ideal. For instance, instead of building twenty-four temples, Young started with one. Young also felt that a modern city could not rely on a home economic model, so Young planned for commercial and industrial districts.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Neither Young or Smith, in the mid-nineteenth century, could have foreseen the development of the automobile or the modern skyscraper, let alone the declining influence of Mormons on secular politics and culture. Nonetheless, the Base and Meridian center point is a lasting example of how LDS members traversed the U.S. and then settled, founded and built Salt Lake City.&nbsp;</div>

This small marker at the corner of South and West Temple, just outside the Temple Square area, holds tremendous historical significance to the history of Salt Lake. When Joseph Smith and his followers arrived in the Wasatch Valley, they planned to create a utopian society based on their religious beliefs and their faith in education. The later included support for the idea of a planned city based on a grid system and designating certain areas for public use. That system is (mostly) in existence today. Smith died before making the trek to the American West, but Brigham Young followed the plan with some pragmatic revisions. The "0,0" point (established in 1847) is designated by this marker which became the basis of Salt Lake's streets and addresses. This commitment to urban planning serves as a reminder of the influence of early church leaders both logistically and culturally. 

Base and Meridian

<div>Eighteen days before Brigham Young's death, in 1877, he announced plans to replace the Old Tabernacle (built 1851-52) with a new Assembly Hall in Temple Square to accommodate overflow from conferences in the Tabernacle. Despite Young's passing, construction quickly commenced.&nbsp; Obed Taylor designed the 12 x 68-foot Gothic-Victorian style hall, and William Folson managed the project. Irregularly shaped granite blocks used in the building arrived from the same quarry used in the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. <br><br>The entire undertaking took three years to complete (1877 - 1880), helped in part by a call to all Church of Latter-Day Saints' (LDS) members to dedicate at least one day of work towards the project. However, the building's dedication did not occur until two years later, in 1882, under the direction of LDS President Joseph F. Smith. The Assembly Hall became the second permanent structure still standing on Temple Square after the Tabernacle, completed in 1867. It served as an alternate location for many Church meetings including General Conference of the Church.</div><div><br></div><div>Structural weaknesses of the building's tower and roof trusses forced the LDS church&nbsp;to engage in a comprehensive renovation project of the Hall between 1979 to 1983. As well, the project including the addition of a new 3,489 pipe organ and hundreds of small speakers; the refinishing of all the pews and floors; and the replacement of the twenty-four spires with fiberglass moldings.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Today, the Assembly Hall serves as an overflow facility for General Conference of the Church, held twice per year. It also serves as the primary location for the Temple Square Concert Series held on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the year, featuring local and international artists.</div>

Brigham Young announced the plans to build Assembly Hall, the second permanent structure built in Temple Square after the Tabernacle, at a priesthood meeting on August 11, 1877, eighteen days before he died. The Assembly Hall on Temple Square was then built between 1877 and 1880, though it was not officially opened until 1882. To defer costs, every member of Church of Latter-Day Saints was asked to contribute at least one-days’ work towards the completion of the Hall. 

Assembly Hall

*From LDS.org Church History website:<br><br><p>"The Deuel&nbsp;Log Home, on the plaza between the Church History Museum and the Family History Library, is the finest remaining example of the type of housing built by the pioneers during their first year in the Salt Lake Valley. As such, it stands as a testament to those pioneers' commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ, as well as to their industry, courage, and determination in settling a new land and making living conditions as pleasant as possible.</p><p>In size, method of construction, interior layout, and furnishings, the Deuel Log Home is probably representative of many other cabins built in the early years in the Salt Lake Valley and other settlements throughout the Great Basin.</p><p>The Deuel Log Home was constructed in 1847 in the north extension of a pioneer fort, part of a massive building project to provide shelter for the approximately 1,600 people who spent the winter of 1847-48 in the Salt Lake Valley. Immediately after Brigham Young’s company arrived in the valley in July 1847, there were several important and urgent tasks at hand. One of these tasks was to provide protection for the settlers from possible attack by American Indians. A second urgent need was to provide shelter for themselves and those on the trail who would arrive within a few weeks. Both requirements were met by constructing the fort, with housing built within its walls.</p><p>Osmyn Deuel and his brother, William, purchased three of the log homes built in the north extension of the fort. According to a report (similar to a census) taken in February 1848, Osmyn owned two log houses and William owned one. Osmyn's second house was probably used as a Blacksmith shop. Osmyn paid approximately $60 for his log home. The family probably moved into the home in October after adding finishing touches such as flooring, glass windows, and an ironcast stove. After moving in, they may have made other improvements to make the interior more homey, such as adding curtains and rugs.&nbsp;</p><p>Much of the material of the original structure survives in the present building. The logs in the walls and the roof poles are from the 1847 construction. The first layer of roof boards or sheathing were likely also placed in 1847. The log walls are red pine, a native variety of Douglas fir that were cut in the canyons east of Salt Lake City. The roof poles are lodge-pole pines, trees that grow straight and tall, with a slight taper from bottom to top that makes roof construction an easier task. The boards covering the roof poles are also red pine and can be seen from inside the cabin. On the outside, they are covered with dirt. The floor and shelving boards, the door, and window frames are also red pine, but are not original to the home; they were placed there during restoration work in 1984 and 1985. "</p><p>Two families, both Deuels, shared the cabin.&nbsp;<br></p>

This log cabin is one of only two existing pioneer homes built in 1847; the other is Levi E. Riter’s log house located in This Is the Place Heritage Park. It gives a good idea of the typical small homes built by the pioneers when they first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. 

Deuel Log Home

<p><sub></sub>The Tabernacle was built to house meetings for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was the location of the semi-annual LDS General Conference for 132 years. However, because of the growth in the number of conference attendees, this general conference was moved to the new and larger LDS Conference Center in 2000. In the October 1999 General Conference, church president Gordon B. Hinckley gave a talk honoring the Tabernacle and introducing the new Conference Center. Now a historic building on Temple Square, the Salt Lake Tabernacle is still used for overflow crowds during general conference. The Tabernacle is the home of the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and was the previous home of the Utah Symphony Orchestra until the construction of Abravanel Hall. It is the historic broadcasting home for the radio and television program known as <i>Music and the Spoken Word</i>. In 2005, the Tabernacle was closed for two years of intensive renovations that greatly increased its ability to withstand earthquakes. It was reopened and rededicated by Hinckley during the Saturday afternoon session of the church's general conference on March 31, 2007. The Museum of Church History and Art opened an extensive display on the Tabernacle as part of the rededication of the historic edifice.</p><p><sub></sub>The Salt Lake Tabernacle was inspired by an attempt to build a Canvas Tabernacle in Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s. This tabernacle was to be situated just to the West of the Nauvoo Temple and was to be oval shaped, much the same as the Salt Lake Tabernacle. However, the Nauvoo edifice (never built) was to have amphitheater-style or terraced seating, and was to have canvas roofing.</p><p>The Tabernacle was built between 1864 and 1867 on the west center-line axis of the Salt Lake Temple. The roof was constructed in an Ithiel Town lattice-truss arch system that is held together by dowels and wedges. The building has a sandstone foundation, and the dome is supported by forty-four sandstone piers. The overall seating capacity of the building is around 7,000, which includes the choir area and gallery (balcony).</p><p>Henry Grow, an LDS civil engineer oversaw the initial construction of the Tabernacle, the domed roof being the most innovative portion of the building. Brigham Young, president of the LDS Church at the time, wanted the Tabernacle roof constructed in an elongated dome shape. When Young asked Grow how large a roof he could construct using the style of lattice that he had used on the Remington bridge, Grow replied that it could be "100 feet wide and as long as is wanted." Eventually, Grow engineered the Tabernacle roof to be 150 feet across and 250 feet long. Skeptics insisted that when the interior scaffolding was removed, the whole roof would collapse. The roof structure was nine feet thick, formed by a "Remington lattice truss" of timbers pinned together with wooden pegs. Green rawhide was wrapped around the timbers so that when the rawhide dried it tightened its grip on the pegs. When the roof's structural work was completed, sheeting was applied on the roof, which was then covered with shingles. The interior was lathed and then plastered; the hair of cattle was mixed with the plaster to give it strength.</p><p>Construction of the Tabernacle began on July 26, 1864, but construction of the roof did not begin until 1865 when all 44 supporting sandstone piers designed by William H. Folsom were in place. Grow rapidly built the roof structure from the center out, but encountered difficulty engineering the semicircular ends of the roof. This difficulty dragged structural work on the roof into fall of 1866 even as other parts of the roof were being shingled. However, Grow finished and shingled the entire roof by the spring of 1867, before the interior of the building was finished. The Tabernacle was first used for the October 1867 conference. The roof has lasted for over a century without any structural problems, though the shingles were replaced with aluminum in 1947.&nbsp;</p><div><div><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TabernacleOrgan2.jpg"></a></div> </div><p>The original benches and columnns supporting the balcony were made from the native "white pine" (Engelmann Spruce) that the Mormon pioneers found in the area. Because they wanted to "give their best to the Lord", they hand painted grain on the benches to look like oak and the pillars to resemble marble. During the renovations completed in 2007, the original benches were replaced with new oak pews, and legroom was increased from nine to 14&nbsp;inches, causing an overall loss of capacity of 1000 seats.</p><p>The organ in the Tabernacle has the organ case positioned at the west end above the choir seats, and is the focal point of the Tabernacle's interior. The original organ was made by Joseph H. Ridges in 1867 and contained 700 pipes. The organ has been rebuilt several times with the total pipe count being 11,623, making the Tabernacle organ one of the largest pipe organs in the world. The current organ is the work of G. Donald Harrison of the Aeolian-Skinner organ company, and was completed in 1948. The organ was renovated and restored in 1989 with a few minor changes and additions. The largest 32-foot display pipes in the façade are made of wood and were constructed in the same manner as the balcony columnns.</p><p>The structure was an architectural wonder in its day, prompting a writer for <i>Scientific American</i> to comment on "the mechanical difficulties of attending the construction of so ponderous a roof." In 1882, while on a lecture tour of America, Oscar Wilde noted that the building had the appearance of a soup-kettle; he added that it was the most purely dreadful building he ever saw. Some visitors around the beginning of the 20th century criticized it as "a prodigious tortoise that has lost its way" or "the Church of the Holy Turtle," but Frank Lloyd Wright dubbed the tabernacle "one of the architectural masterpieces of the country and perhaps the world.</p><p>Built at a time before electronics and audio amplifiers, the Tabernacle was constructed with remarkable acoustic qualities so the entire congregation could hear sermons given there. The roof was constructed in a three-dimensional ellipse with the pulpit at one focus of the ellipse. The elliptical concept came from church president Brigham Young, who reportedly said that the design was inspired by "the best sounding board in the world ... the roof of my mouth." The elliptical design causes a large portion of the sound from the pulpit end of the building to be concentrated and projected to the focus at the opposite end of the building. Furthermore, the roof rests on sandstone piers around the outside, without any interior supports that would impede the sound waves.</p><p>Several years after the initial construction was completed, Truman O. Angell was brought in to further improve the building's acoustics, and was responsible for adding the gallery (balcony) in 1870 that resolved the outstanding acoustical issues. The building has an international reputation as one of the most acoustically perfect buildings in the world; it is common for LDS missionary tour guides to demonstrate the acoustic properties of the Tabernacle by dropping a pin on the pulpit or tearing a newspaper there, which can be heard throughout the building.</p><p>The Tabernacle was closed from January 2005 to March 2007 for seismic retrofitting and extensive renovations. The baptistry, which was located in the lower portion at the rear of the Tabernacle, was removed as part of the renovation. New gold leafing was applied to the visible organ pipes, the ceiling was repaired and repainted, new dressing rooms and a music library for choir members were created, three recording studios built underneath the main floor, the rostrum was remodeled to accommodate a secondary seating arrangement or a stage for performances, and all plumbing was replaced. The building was reopened in March 2007, and rededicated for use on March 31, 2007. An opening gala concert with the Tabernacle Choir was held on April 6–7, 2007.</p><p>As part of the renovation, all 44 piers that support the Tabernacle's roof were reinforced with steel bars, which were inserted into the piers from the bottom. The foundation of each pier was also reinforced with concrete. Steel boxes were used to connect trusses, and were also attached to the piers, clinched tight with structured steel.</p><p></p>

Also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, this structure was used by the LDS church as a location for their biannual General Conferences, musical programs by the famed multi-Grammy winner Mormon Tabernacle Choir and church services. Tours are conducted by missionaries assigned to Temple Square. The 700 pipe organ (expanded so much that it now contains 11,623 pipes), handcrafted in 1867, is a major tourist attraction. 

Highlights of Temple Square Walking Tour, Salt Lake City

Church History Museum

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information