The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1903-10-02
THE LATTER DAY SAINTS

AAc iiiSt view OF Cfe Mormon tenn
PIE, tabernacle and assembly house
grouped within the enclosure know
Temple Court" at Salt Lake CITY. i
one OF Disappointment. In the pic
lures seen Of the buildings the artis
mas cut away the surrounding foliage
which so largely conceals the temple
and almost wholly cuts off the view
OF the tabernacle. One must enter
the interiors to obtain any idea OF
their dimensions and beauty-ane
this is denied all but the faithful SC
far as the temple is concerned
Temple Court fills an entire block
$40 feet squire enclosed in an adobe
wall fourteen feet high on a stone
foundation. There are three entranc.
es, on as many sides, the main en-
trance being wide and fitted with
double iron gates. 1t is the intention
OF the Mormons to tear down the un.
slightly adope wall which so completely
shuts Oft the view of the handsome
grounds and houses Of worship and
erect in it's place neat iron fence.
The grounds and tabernacle are open
to the public at all times, and there is
a little building called the "Informa-
tion Bureau" where Mormon litera-
ture may be obtained plenty. The
temple occupies one corner of the
grounds, the tabernacle another.
while another building called Assem-
bly, Hall and which seats about $500
people, fills another corner. This
building resembles the ordinary church
and is used for Sunday school and
for special occasions when the taber-
nacle will not accommodate the gather
ings. The remainder OF the grounds
is laid out into walks and flower beds
and stretches of lawn, the whole set
with handsome trees, many Of which
overtop the tabernacle and hide from
view much Of the temple and assem-
bly, hall.
The cost of the temple handsome
and imposing as it is-has largely
been over estimated. Writers on Salt
Lake City frequently place the cost as
high as 100000 900, while the common
estimate is s4,OOo,0oO. The fact is,
nobody knows just what it did cost
SO much Of the work and material
was donated by the faithful Mormons.
Men familiar with the building of
similar structures say that it could be
replaced today for about S1,50O,0O0-
and goodness knows that means a
very costly and handsome house Of
worship. The temple is built of a
beautiful gray granite, brought from
a quarry about twenty miles Distant
Before the advent of the railway to
the quarry, in 1873, the hugh blocks
of stone were transported by OK teams.
1t took four yoke of oxen four days to
draw a single large stone from the
quarry to the temple grounds. The
temple is 1S6 feet long and 100 feet
wide. 1t has six towers, all of granite,
three on the east end and three on
the west end. The height of the east
central tower is 2l0 feet: the west
tower 107 feet. The thickness Of the
walls OF the temple vary from six to
nine feet. The footing wall on which
the building rests is sixteen feet deep
and as many feet wide. The east
central tower is surmounted by the
figure Of the angel Moroni. The fig.
CURE is hammered copper, covered
with gold leaf, and is l24 feet high.
The temple stands on a terrace a
few feet above the level of the sur
rounding grounds and around the
| terrace is a neat iron fence on a stone
coping. Forty years Of time to a day
was required to complete the magnifi-
cent building, the corner stone being
| laid April 6. 1858 and the structure
completed and dedicated April 6, 1898.
The temple is not open to the public
and none buta Mormon in good re.
pute can enter it's sacred precincts.
Nor is it used as a place Of worship,
as commonly supposed. 1t is within
| its walls that the different rites of the
priesthood and the strange ceremonies
and marriage and babtism are cele-
brated. 1t is said that the marriage
ceremony lasts 1--we days. Mormons
say that in an early day the building
was open to the public, but was finally
closed against it because Of the work
Of curiosity and relic hunters who
| did not hesitate to mar the furnish.
| ings, which are said to be the most
magnificent Of any building in
America.
The tabernacle is an immense
building, oval and oblong in shape and
capable Of seating 5000 people com.
fortably and 1000 more can be accomo
dated. 1t is $50 feet long, $50 feet
wide and 100 feet high in the center
of the roof, which is single mighty
larch and without any support except
/ the stone pillars all around the sides