In July of 1847 Brigham Young looked over the Salt Lake valley for the first time and said "this is the right place." The Mormons then followed him down Emigration Canyon into the valley where they would live.
Four days after they arrived, Brigham Young struck his cane into the ground and said "Here we will build a Temple to our God." Construction began in 1853 and was completed 40 yrs later.
Material for the walls was taken from a granite quarry 20 miles from the city and transported by ox team. One round trip took 3 or 4 days. Later, a railroad helped speed up transportation. The solid granite walls are 9 ft thick on the first level, and 6 ft thick at the top. The Temple was dedicated on April 6, 1893.
I've really enjoyed spending a few days in SLC. On Thursday one of the board members of the Epilepsy Foundation of Utah came & picked me up in Provo and took me to SLC to give a talk at an epilepsy support group meeting. After the meeting we all went out for pizza. I went home with Valerie Leafty, a single lady, 45-ish, who just had brain surgery for her epilepsy 4 mos ago.
On Friday Val & I took the bus to Temple Square and met Kris Hansen
there. Kris mans the office of the Ep Found. While Val & I were walking to where we were going to meet Kris, I asked a man in a suit & tie if we were heading in the right direction. He said he'd take us right to the spot. He asked if we were from around here, so I told him my story. He gave me his business card and asked to be put on my email list.
We met up with Kris and then she showed us around Temple Square. I thoroughly enjoyed being there. Temple Square is a 10 acre sight and Salt Lake City was built around that. We went inside the Tabernacle which was completed in 1867. It is 250 ft long, 150 ft wide, and 80 ft high. It can seat approx 6,500 people. The acoustics within the Tabernacle are remarkable. A tour guide can drop a pin from the pulpit and you can hear it clear in the rear of the auditorium!
We also went to the Rotunda Room of the North Visitors Center. The statue Christus, by Thorualdsen, is there. The walls around the statue are painted like the universe: dk blue, stars, planets & clouds.
We also saw the Assembly Hall, which was constructed of granite stone left over from the building of the Temple. It was completed in 1880. It is a place of worship, and visitors are welcome. It seats around 2,000 people. The truncated spires were originally chimneys.
We went out to eat at the Lion House, also at Temple Square. After that Kris drove us to the Ep Found office and showed us around. I loaded up on some literature, and Kris said she'd contact the other Chambers of Commerce in Utah and let them know I'm coming. She also said she'd contact several more affiliate offices of the Epilepsy Foundation.