St George Utah Mormon Temple

The announcement to build the St. George Mormon Temple was given on November 9, 1871, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held the same day. Brigham Young, the Prophet and President of the Church at the time, chose a six-acre plot as the site for the temple. The afternoon of the groundbreaking ceremony, the Saints immediately began construction on the temple. Unfortunately, the Saints soon discovered that the site was swampy with numerous underground streams.

They asked Brigham Young if perhaps they should move the site, but he remained firm in the idea that this was the site for the temple. The methods used by the Saints to overcome the problems of the swampy site make an interesting story. They decided to bring lava rock to the site. They made drains and got rid of much of the water. Then the plan was to crush the lava rock and use it to create a dry foundation to build the temple on. The only problem was how to crush the rock. Someone suggested using the old canon that the city had acquired. This old canon had an interesting history. It was made in France and used by Napoleon when he laid siege on Moscow. During Napoleon’s hasty retreat, the canon was left behind. It was later dragged to Siberia, then Alaska, and finally ended up at a fort in California.

Members of the Mormon Battalion obtained the cannon, had it mounted on wheels, and brought it to Utah. The Saints created a pulley system and used the canon like a pile driver to create a good foundation. Now the old canon is displayed on the temple grounds. After finishing the foundation, work finally began on the structure itself. The walls of the temple were actually made out of the red sandstone so prevalent in the area and then plastered over so that the temple would be white.

The Saints worked tirelessly over five and a half years to complete the temple. By the time it was finished, the Saints had used a million feet of lumber, which had been hand chopped and hauled between forty and eighty miles. They also used seventeen thousand tons of volcanic rock and sandstone, which had to be hand cut and hauled by mule teams. When the temple was completed, Brigham Young was not completely satisfied with the tower and dome. He said it looked too short, and suggested having it fixed, but the Saints were so excited to have the temple done that Brigham Young did not push the suggestion.

The dedication ceremony took place on April 6, 1877. Brigham Young presided, and Daniel H. Wells, his second counselor, gave the dedicatory prayer. The dedication of the St. George Temple was an important event in Brigham Young’s presidency, because it was the only temple completed while he was president. Shortly after the dedication Brigham Young went home to Salt Lake and passed away a few days later on August 29, 1877. He was 76 years old. About a year later, on October 16, 1878, a large storm rolled through St. George. A lightening bolt struck the tower of the temple and made it necessary to reconstruct the tower and dome. The way Brigham Young had felt about the tower was well known, and a new design was made for the tower, making it taller.

The St. George Temple is the oldest temple still used by the members of the Church as a temple. In the 1970’s the temple was closed and underwent extensive remodeling. Spencer W. Kimball rededicated it in 1975. The temple is designed in a Gothic style, and is 110,000 square feet. It has three ordinance rooms and eighteen sealing rooms. This beautiful temple is in the center of St. George and stands as a beautiful reminder of the hard work and dedication that was required by the Saints for the building of the temple.

Mailing address:
250 East 400 South
St. George, Utah 84770-3699
United States
Phone:   435-673-3533

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