A Quick Glimpse of Salt Lake Temple - A Renowned Mormon Temple
Salt Lake Temple on the Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah is the largest and most famous temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is also the first temple to be constructed in the state. It is regarded as an international symbol of the Church owing to its distinctive spires and the statue of the angel Moroni on the temple.
The temple is located in "The Tops of the Mountains" with several mountains peaks surrounding three directions. In the northwest of the temple lies the Great Salt Lake. At the utmost east of it, the highest point is 210 feet high, making the temple much taller than the Temple of Solomon at Jerusalem. Many people believe that the two temples resemble each other. Besides, because of its location in the Temple Square, one of the most popular attractions in the city and the world headquarters of the Mormons, this temple is endowed with a sacred significance that can't be matched by any other temple in the world.
The construction of this gigantic, six-pinnacle began in the year 1853 and didn't finish until 1893. Brigham Young decided that a temple be built where he dropped his cane and then he presided over the groundbreaking ceremonies on February 14th, 1853. After 40 years of hard work and selfless dedication of the pioneers to Salt Lake Valley, the temple finally saw its capstone laid by President Woodruff, who dedicated it unto the Lord as a sacred house of worship. This temple is different from Latter-day Saint meeting houses in that only the faithful Church members are allowed to perform their highest and most sacred rites inside the temple.
As one of the most popular Mormon temples, Salt Lake Temple bears prolonged historic significance and deep Church symbolism. The whole structure depicts human kind's journey from mortality to eternity and the many stones, towers and other things on it all help elaborate its boundless symbolisms. There are six towers here, representing the power of the priesthood. The three on the east symbolize the First Presidency of the Church and Melchizedek priesthood while the three ones on the west side stand for the Presiding Bishopric and the Aaronic Priesthood. In the west side of the temple you will also find the Big Dipper, which is a representation of a constellation that the travelers used to find the North Star. There are "sunstones", "earthstones", "moonstones", "starstones" and "cloudstones" which all have their respective meanings. The All-Seeing Eye of God on top of each tower is a depiction of God's ability to see all things. This is really a temple brimmed with symbolic significance.