Salt Lake Temple

From Freepedia

The Salt Lake Temple is the sixth completed (fourth completed (of more than 100) and best-known temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church overall, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois.

Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the location for the temple was first marked by Brigham Young, the church's president and prophet at the time, on July 28, 1847, just four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley. The temple site was dedicated on February 14, 1853. Groundbreaking ceremonies were presided by Brigham Young, who laid the cornerstone; construction officially began on April 6 of that year. Oxen transported granite from Little Cottonwood Canyon twenty miles southeast of the temple site. When construction was finally completed, LDS President Wilford Woodruff dedicated the temple on April 6, 1893, after exactly forty years.

The Salt Lake Temple is the centerpiece of the 10 acre (40,000 m²) Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. As this temple is located at church headquarters and because of its historical significance, it is patronized much by worthy Latter-day Saints and is the site where the church's prophet and apostles meet. It is also one of the few temples continuing to present a "live" endowment session; in other words, using temple workers rather than the video to present the endowment.

The Salt Lake Temple also is the location of the weekly meetings of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As such, there are special meeting rooms in the Salt Lake Temple for these purposes, including the Holy of Holies, which are not present in other temples.