Passaic City record., 1893-04-22
THE MORMON TEMPLE.
1T COST $50, ,Ooo.o 900 AND TOOK
FORTY YEARS TO BUILD.
An Immense Structure Begun Under
the Direction of Brigham
Young-DescriptiOn
of the Edifice.

~ ESCRIBING the recent dedica.
tion of the great Mormon TEN
pie, at Salt Lake City, Utah
the New York Recorder says il
was begun over forty years ago under
the direction of the prophet, Brigham
Young. It has been built at cost oi
nearly $50, 900, 900, and its dedication
on the sixty-third anniversary of the or
panization OF the Mormon Church
formed the most solemn occasion in its
history.
Work was begun on this monument of
the prophet in 1858. At this time the
Mormon doctrine in Utah was all SUI
preme. Whatever one might think on
this subject he had to seal his mouth, for
to express an unorthodox opinion was
a dangerous matter in those days in the
land of tie saints.
The new temple is to take the place
of the old Tabernacle, an umbrella
shaped structure, within which the se-
cret rites of the Latter Day Saints have
been performed for half century. 1t
stands on the banks of the River Jordan,
which river, flowing from sweet waters
of Lake Utah, the Lake Galilee Of the
Mormon City, is by singular coinci-
dence almost Of the exact length and
breadth and follows the same winding
course as does the Jordan of ancient
Syria.
For seventeen years after the excava-
tion for the building had been made an
army OF masons worked day by day lay
ing the foundations, and at the end of
that time the walls had only reached to
level with the ground. 1t now stands
ninety nine feet higher, extending over
fifty feet below the surface. Down in
the depths there are the dismal cata-
combs, modelled after the great cata-
combs in Rome.
1t il said that no building in America
embodies such perfection Of construc-
ton and solidity of foundation. It is so
monumental that it is expected to trans
NIT to the centuries to come the name
and fame of its founder, Brigham
Young, and the saints believe it des-
tined to outlive even the millennium it
self.
The material used in its construction
is the finest mountain granite, bright
gray in color, slightly fecked with blue,
the stones having been quarried from
nearby mountains and laid into their
places by pious Norman hands.
1t stands at the eastern end of what is
known as the Temple Block, plot con-
tanning ten acres of land, surrounded by
trees and luxuriant verdure, and from a
distance, as it rises out of les pedestal Of
green, reminds one of some great feudal
castle of old.
The central square Immediately sur
rounding the temple is inclosed by a wall
twelve feet high, the base of stone and
the upper portion of 'dobe and plaster.
This is surmounted by square turrets,
relieving the view every ten feet until
the entrance is reached. Here is a
massive gateway surmounted by stone
arches at the centns of each of its four
sides.
The interior is replete with rich and
costly fittings, though, unfortunately,
none but the faithful are ever likely to
feast their eyes on its magnifcence.
There are numerous grottoes, one
containing the golden plates which that
ingenious old gentleman, Joseph Smith,
claimed to have had given him by the
angel of God on the hill of Cummorah.
The s'Book of Mormon" the Bible of
the sect, supposed to have been trans
lated from the plates, also holds place
of honor in one of the recesses there.
Among the collections are two pre-
ciouystones used by the Egyptian seers
in ancient times, together with instru-
ments of necromancy. There are altars
heavily laid in gold and baptisnal tubs
of alabaster.
On the second floor stage has been
erected, with scenery and all the para
phernalia requisite for the performance
of the grand drama representing the
creation of man, after the Mormon con-
ception of that divine event. This en-
bodies the expulsion of Satan and fall of
man, the coming of Redeemer and the
final deliverance of mankind, with the
admonitions of John the Baptist through
Joseph Smith on the occasion mentioned.
This is presented to keep fresh in the
minds of the Latter Day Saints the
memory of the first martyr in the Nor
mon faith, whose death they have sworn
to avenge.
or the secret chambers there are many
in which the mystic rites of the sect are
performed; then there are others whose
uses can be surmised, and are known
only to chosen few. Perhaps some
day the history of this great mysterious
pile of masonry may be told, but to-day
in the heat Of religious fervor which per.
vades all the Mormons its secrets are as
effectually hidden as if buried in tht
heart of the pyramids.
Found a Pearl l., tine Sani.