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78-519: The Nauvoo Illinois Temple is the 113th dedicated temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The intent to build the temple was announced on April 4, 1999, by church president Gordon B. Hinckley during general conference . It is the third temple built in Illinois (after the original Nauvoo and Chicago Illinois temples). The temple has an attached end tower with

156-455: A controversial race-based policy . As of 2023 , all temple ordinances are unavailable to lesbian , gay , or bisexual persons who are in a same-sex marriage or homosexual sexual relationship, and to all transgender individuals who are transitioning or have transitioned. These restrictions have also garnered criticism from both outside, and inside the LDS church. To qualify for

234-433: A conversation with Woodruff, Logan Temple president Marriner W. Merrill stated that the contemplated public announcement prohibiting additional polygamist unions was "the only way to retain the possession of our temples and continue the ordinance work for the living and dead which was considered of more importance than continuing the practice of plural marriage for the present." Latter-day Saint temple building halted until

312-542: A desire to continue the ordinance work in temples was a significant consideration preceding Wilford Woodruff's decision (announced in his Manifesto of September 1890 ) that the church would discontinue its practice of polygamy . In 1887 the US Congress passed the Edmunds–Tucker Act , which disincorporated the church and directed federal officials to begin seizing its assets, potentially including its temples. After

390-477: A garden with potted plants and a veil. (Anderson & Bergera, Quorum of Anointed , 3–4). After conducting the endowment services, Smith told Brigham Young , "This is not arranged right but we have done the best we could under the circumstances in which we are placed." Smith concluded that he wanted Young to "organize and systemize all these ceremonies." (Anderson & Bergera, Quorum of Anointed , 6–7). After Smith's death in 1844, Young also used canvas to divide

468-399: A global scale, church leaders announced an end to the one-year waiting period in most cases, except in relation to converts to the church, who are still required to wait a year after their own confirmation before entering the temple. Celestial room In temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), an ordinance room is a room where the ceremony known as

546-474: A robe and cap. The angel held a book in one hand and a trumpet in the other. Church leaders and architects carefully worked to replicate the original exterior design of the 19th-century temple , which was damaged by an arson fire in 1848 and by a tornado on May 27, 1850. It was consequently condemned and demolished by the Nauvoo City Council. Construction materials and furniture were derived from

624-549: A series of four ordinance rooms through which patrons moved during the presentation of the endowment, followed this layout. The first three rooms were decorated with murals representing, the creation of the world, the Garden of Eden, and the world after the fall of Adam and Eve. The fourth room, known as the Terrestrial Room, was ornately decorated but lacked murals. The Los Angeles California Temple , dedicated in 1956,

702-530: A statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith . The building is constructed with limestone similar to the stone used for the original Nauvoo Temple. The exterior has a single attached end tower with an angel Moroni statue, along with other elements chosen for their symbolic significance and alignment with temple traditions. The design uses elements which reflect both local culture and broader church symbolism. The building measures approximately 130 feet (40 m) long, 90 feet (27 m) wide, and 162 feet (49 m) tall to

780-426: A statue of the angel Moroni . This temple’s architecture was designed to replicate the original Nauvoo Temple, which was designed by Joseph Smith . A groundbreaking ceremony, to signify the beginning of construction, was held on October 24, 1999, and was conducted Hinckley. Located in the town of Nauvoo , the temple's construction was announced on April 4, 1999, by church president Gordon B. Hinckley. Groundbreaking

858-682: A temple for the use of the Norwegian Latter Day Saints. Meanwhile, Young urged the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo to redouble their efforts to finish the temple. By the end of 1845, the building was sufficiently finished to allow temple ordinances to be performed. Ordinances continued to be performed in early 1846 as the Mormons were forced to abandon the city. A small crew remained in the city and continued to work on

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936-642: A temple recommend, an LDS Church member must faithfully answer the following questions which affirm the individual's adherence to essential church doctrine: A list of questions were first introduced in 1857 and used to qualify whether an individual could enter the Endowment House , before the first temple in Utah was built. They reflected the context of the times, including questions about ones belief in polygamy, branding an animal that one did not own, and using another person's irrigation water. Since then,

1014-506: A temple, only church members in good standing who have a valid temple recommend are permitted to attend the ceremony. In many nations outside the United States, a civil ceremony, where required by the law of the land, has been immediately followed by a temple sealing. In the United States, a one-year waiting period between the civil ceremony and a temple sealing was required until 2019. In May 2019, to standardize sealing policies on

1092-400: Is a process which culminates in the participation by the couple in a ritual called the sealing ordinance; which involves pronouncing the couple as having a permanent marriage bond which persists even beyond death. This ceremony, among others, is taught as being vital to an individual's and family's exaltation status, following the final judgment . With the sealing ordinance being held inside

1170-547: Is an overview of God's plan for humanity. Beginning with the creation , the endowment reviews man's mortal existence, and what one must do in order to return to God's presence as husband and wife with their children. This room generally has "murals on the walls [which] are subdued in tones, and depict scenes representative of the creation of the earth" as recorded in Genesis . It has no altar, only comfortable theater seating (Talmage, 204). In this room temple patrons "learn about

1248-522: Is discussed in the bible. The first building to have ordinance rooms, designed to conduct the Endowment, was Joseph Smith 's store in Nauvoo , Illinois , in 1842. Using canvas, Smith divided the store's large, second-floor room into "departments," which represented "the interior of a temple as much as circumstances would permit" (Anderson & Bergera, Quorum of Anointed , 2). The departments included

1326-410: Is the president, with Jane H. Church as matron. After the temple was completed, a public open house from 6 May to 22 June 2002 and attracted over 250,000 visitors. The dedication on June 27, 2002, was the anniversary of the death of Joseph Smith , the church's founder. Up to 1.5 million visitors a year have visited Nauvoo since the temple opened in 2002. In 2020, like all the church's other temples,

1404-705: The Endowment is administered, as well as other ordinances such as Sealings . Some temples perform a progressive -style ordinance where patrons move from room to room, each room representing a progression of mankind: the Creation room , representing the Genesis creation story; the Garden room represents the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived prior to the fall of man; the World room , where Adam and Eve lived after

1482-663: The Tabernacle was considered a "portable temple" by the children of Israel in the Old Testament. The first Latter-day Saint temple ceremonies were performed in Kirtland, Ohio , but differed significantly from the endowment performed on the second floor of Joseph Smith 's Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois, and the Nauvoo Temple . Kirtland ordinances included washings and anointings (differing in many ways from

1560-589: The succession crisis , Brigham Young assumed control of the church's headquarters at Nauvoo, Illinois. While he and the rest of the Quorum of the Twelve made contingency plans for abandoning the city, he may have hoped that it would not prove necessary. For example, in early 1845, Young convened a conference at the Norwegian colony at Norway, Illinois , and announced a plan to build a Latter-day Saint town there with

1638-516: The 1850s, Young followed the same method of using canvas to divide an upper floor of the Council House into the ordinance departments (Hyde, 90–99). The above arrangement for administering the Endowment consisted of only temporary modifications to a building's interior rooms; obviously canvas partitions were not meant to be permanent. The first building to be designed specifically with actual progressive-style ordinance rooms for presentation of

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1716-461: The City of Zion plan and designated four of these to contain temples: Salt Lake City (1847), St. George (1871), Manti (1875), and Logan (1877). The St. George Temple was the first to be completed in 1877, followed by Logan (1884) and Manti (1888). The Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to complete because of various setbacks and delays. It was dedicated in 1893. In the late 1880s and in 1890,

1794-594: The Endowment was the Endowment House built in 1855 on Temple Square . This structure had the same rooms as the Nauvoo Temple and Council House, including a Garden Room with murals and potted evergreen plants, but the sealing room was not called the Holy of Holies (Tingen, 10). However, when the St. George Temple was completed in 1877, Young followed the Nauvoo Temple pattern of using "frame petitions [sic., partitions] with

1872-495: The English Reformation and the church's first missions to Britain. The temple and the historic Nauvoo sites are managed by the church and provide educating and spiritually uplifting elements and insights into church history in Nauvoo. The Historic Nauvoo Visitors' Center, equipped with historic exhibits including a diorama of Nauvoo, provides all visitors with an understanding of the faith of early church members and

1950-779: The First Presidency also dedicated a number of temples during Monson's administration. As of October 2018, Monson's successor, Russell M. Nelson , has dedicated the Concepción Chile Temple . The LDS Church has 367 temples in various phases, which includes 201 dedicated temples (192 operating and 9 previously-dedicated, but closed for renovation ), 3 scheduled for dedication , 48 under construction , 1 scheduled for groundbreaking , and 114 others announced (not yet under construction). It has been suggested that recent temple construction represents an attempt by church leadership to “re-energize” congregations in

2028-493: The Garden of Eden....how Satan tempted Adam and Eve, and how they were cast out of the garden and out of the presence of God into our world" ( Temples , 11). This room's murals stand "in strong contrast to with those of the Garden Room." The "rocks are rent and riven" with "gnarled trees, misshapen, and blasted; shrubs maintain a precarious roothold in rocky clefts; thorns, thistles , cacti , and noxious weeds abound," and

2106-683: The LDS Church and purchased another piece of land that he later sold to the church. He also organized a group of church members from the Chicago Illinois Stake , co-led by Ariel S. Williams, to clear and beautify the recently purchased land. At the time, the Chicago Stake was one of only two east of the Mississippi River . Wood purchased land in 1951 that included a house which was made a visitors' center for

2184-543: The Nauvoo Illinois Temple was closed for a time in response to the coronavirus pandemic . Like all the church's temples, it is not used for Sunday worship services. To members of the church, temples are regarded as sacred houses of the Lord. Once dedicated, only church members with a current temple recommend can enter for worship. Temple (LDS Church) Upon completion, temples are usually open to

2262-530: The Sealing Room and the Holy of Holies. All temples have at least one Sealing Room, and most temples have two or more. Sealing rooms come in a variety of sizes from small to large to accommodate varying numbers of people. Each room is dominated by a large "richly upholstered altar." Around the room are comfortable chairs and sofas. The "walls are of light tint," and generally on two of the walls are large mirrors, opposite each other. In this room "is solemnized

2340-437: The animals depicted "are living under the ever-present menace of death" The scenes depicts the "lone and dreary world," where Adam and Eve "[have] been driven out to meet contention, to struggle with difficulties, [and] to live by strife and sweat" in a "fallen world." It has an altar and theater seating (Talmage, 205–206). In this room temple patrons "learn about the joys as well as the discomforts of life,...[where they are taught

2418-406: The condition of exaltation after the final judgment . They are also taught that a vast number of dead souls exist in a condition termed as spirit prison , and that a dead individual upon whom the temple ordinances are completed will have a chance to be freed of this imprisoning condition. In this framework ordinances are said to be completed on behalf of either the participant, or a dead individual

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2496-570: The creation of the world" ( Temples, 11). This room has murals "showing landscape of rare beauty." The murals depict scenes such as "sylvan grottos and mossy dells, lakelets and brooks, waterfalls and rivulets, trees, vines and flowers, insects, birds and beasts, in short, the earth beautiful, as it was before the Fall of Adam and Eve . It may be called the Garden of Eden Room." It has an altar and theater seating (Talmage, 204–205). In this room temple patrons learn "about our first parents being placed in

2574-556: The curtains and doors" for Endowment rooms (McKinney, 7:305). Apparently, the rooms were later made more permanent in 1881, when a group of Utah artists painted murals on the walls (O'Brien, 14–15). Perhaps, using the precedent of the rooms in Endowment House and St. George, architect Truman O. Angell, Jr., specifically designed the Logan Temple interior with progressive ordinance rooms; the first temple so designed, which

2652-589: The dead , washing and anointing (or "initiatory" ordinances), the endowment , and eternal marriage sealings . Ordinances are a vital part of the theology of the church, which teaches that they were practiced by the Lord's covenant people in all dispensations . Latter-day Saints cite various Old Testament references to temple ordinances such as those found in Exodus 29:4–9 , Exodus 28:2–43 and Leviticus 8:6–13 . The words "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" can be found on LDS temples as referenced in Exodus 28:36 . Likewise

2730-420: The dead. The initiatory, endowment, and sealing ceremonies are today performed only within a temple. The sealing ordinance can be performed on behalf of dead couples; so long as the two living participants are of opposite sex they need not be married. It is also performed on behalf of living couples who wish to be legally married. In this manner, the ordinance is typically performed as a celestial marriage , with

2808-595: The endowment rather than live actors. Joseph Fielding Smith dedicated a temple in Ogden, Utah , and Harold B. Lee dedicated its twin in Provo, Utah . Spencer W. Kimball began a plan to build many more smaller temples according to standardized plans. Twenty-one temples were dedicated during his presidency, including the tiny Papeete Tahiti Temple —which has a floorspace of less than 10,000 square feet (900 m ). This trend has continued. Nine additional temples were dedicated in

2886-719: The endowments" (Talmage, 206–207). The veil separates this room from the Terrestrial Room. Again, this room has no murals, but "in finish and furnishings it is the grandest of all the large [ordinance] rooms within the walls" of the temple. Like the Terrestrial Room it has large mirrors, paintings, and chandeliers, but it is more "suggestive of conditions yet more exalted." Instead of theater-style seating for instruction it has tables with floral arrangements as well as comfortable sofas and chairs (Talmadge, 207–209). The Celestial Room "symbolizes life as eternal families with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ", and represents

2964-504: The face of flat numerical growth. Most temples are built facing east, the direction from which Jesus Christ is prophesied to return. The spires and towers on the east end of multi-spired temples are elevated higher than spires and towers on the west side for this same reason, and to represent the Melchizedek, or higher, priesthood. Some temples, such as Salt Lake , Chicago , and Washington D.C. , have triple spires on each side of

3042-457: The faithful where certain rites of the church must be performed. The LDS Church has 367 temples in various phases, which includes 201 dedicated temples (192 operating and 9 previously-dedicated, but closed for renovation ), 3 scheduled for dedication , 48 under construction , 1 scheduled for groundbreaking , and 114 others announced (not yet under construction). There are temples in many U.S. states, as well as in many countries across

3120-641: The fall; the Terrestrial room ; and the Celestial room representing the Celestial Kingdom of God, or more commonly, heaven . There is also an additional ordinance room, the Sealing room , and at least one temple has a Holy of Holies . These two rooms are reserved for the administration of ordinances beyond the Endowment. The Holy of Holies is representative of that talked about when the temple

3198-524: The first members of Smith's Quorum of the Anointed , or Holy Order, as it was also known, were made on May 3, 1842. The walls of the second level of the Red Brick Store were painted with garden-themed murals, the rooms fitted with carpets, potted plants, and a veil hung from the ceiling. All the while, the ground level continued to operate as Smith's general mercantile. After the early events of

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3276-595: The first room combines the functions of the Creation, Garden, and World rooms, while the second serves as the Terrestrial room, thus restoring part of the progressive style of earlier temples. However, no matter the number or arrangement of ordinances rooms, the Celestial room is always a separate room, which culminates the Endowment experience. After the Endowment is a culmination of the temple rites administered in

3354-486: The glory of the highest degree of heaven. (Temple brochure, LDS Church). The Celestial Room is so called because it is symbolic of the Celestial Kingdom in LDS theology. Thus, the Celestial Room is a quiet and reverent place, where individuals may pause to pray, read the scriptures, and discuss amongst themselves. In most LDS temples, celestial rooms are elegant, beautiful, and brighter in decor than other parts of

3432-535: The glory of the latter-day Church of Jesus Christ.” The temple and its surrounding grounds have been a gathering place for community events, including the Nauvoo Pageant and the British Pageant, which are both held every summer in Nauvoo. The Nauvoo Pageant is narrated by Parley P. Pratt , and tells the story of Joseph Smith, the early LDS Church, and the Nauvoo Temple. The British Pageant portrays

3510-408: The gospel and enter into covenants of obedience with God" ( Temples, 11). This room has no murals, but is "restful in its soft coloring and air of comfort." Its appointments "combine richness and simplicity," often including elaborately framed mirrors and paintings, and crystal chandeliers. "For convenience [this room is] designated the Terrestrial Room." In this room "lectures are given pertaining to

3588-460: The idea the marriage bond lasts after their death, or for "time and all eternity". A "time only" modification can be made to the ordinance, such as when the surviving widow of a celestial marriage wishes to legally remarry. In addition to the ordinances listed above, 19th-century temples were host to other ordinances that are no longer practiced such as the baptism for health and baptism for renewal of covenants. In 1922, Heber J. Grant discontinued

3666-478: The keys, the spiritual keys and the very literal key to this one door in that sacred edifice.” Of all the rooms in the Salt Lake Temple, this circular room is "by far the most beautiful" with "splendid simplicity rather than of sumptuous splendor". Its ceiling is domed and fitted with circular and semi-circular windows. Its doorway "corresponds to the inner curtain or veil that shielded from public view

3744-564: The large attic room in the Nauvoo Temple in the departments. Participants in the Nauvoo Temple ceremonies used the same names for these departments as the ordinance rooms in later temples: Garden Room, World Room, Terrestrial Room, Celestial Room, and Sealing Room, which was also called the Holy of Holies . (Anderson & Bergera, Endowment Companies, 2–4, 377; Smith, 204–206). With the resumption of temple ordinances in Salt Lake City in

3822-524: The modern portion) and the washing of the feet ordinance. For nearly four years, beginning in 1842, Smith's Red Brick Store functioned as a de facto temple—the site of the first washings, anointings, endowments, and sealings. In contrast, the grand edifice known as the Nauvoo Temple was in operation for only two months before the Latter Day Saints left Illinois for the West. Preparations to initiate

3900-399: The most sacred precincts" of earlier temples. Opposite the doorway is a large stained glass window depicting Joseph Smith's First Vision . The room has an altar, chairs and sofas. The Holy of Holies "is reserved for the higher ordinances in the priesthood relating to the exaltation of both the living and the dead." In temples without a Holy of Holies these ordinances are administered in one of

3978-437: The original design as well. The interior is inspired by the time period of the original temple, including a spiral staircase. The temple includes five instruction rooms, a celestial room , six sealing rooms , an assembly room, a baptistry, and a chapel, each arranged for ceremonial use. Symbolic elements are integrated into the design, providing deeper meaning to the temple's function and aesthetics. The interior floor plan of

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4056-489: The pattern for all temples until the construction of the Swiss Temple , when non-progressive ordinance rooms were developed to incorporate the new filmed Endowment ceremony (Buerger, 166). The following description of the various rooms is based on James E. Talmage 's The House of the Lord , which is typical of similar rooms in other LDS Church temples. These ordinance rooms reflect the overall temple ceremonies, which

4134-486: The practice of baptisms for health in the church. The second anointing is a rare, but currently practiced ordinance for live participants, and (less commonly) vicariously for deceased individuals, though, it is usually only given in absolute secrecy to a small number of members after a lifetime of service. The LDS Church booklet " Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple " explains that Latter-day Saints "do not discuss

4212-639: The presidency of Ezra Taft Benson and two in the brief presidency of Howard W. Hunter . Under church president Gordon B. Hinckley , the church dedicated 77 temples. In 1997, Hinckley introduced a standardized, smaller temple plan designed to bring temple services to smaller or remote congregations at a reduced cost. The first of this new generation of temples was completed in 1998 with the Monticello Utah Temple . The original plan called for 6,800 square feet (630 m ), later increased to 10,700 square feet (990 m ). Subsequent revisions to

4290-476: The presidency of Joseph F. Smith , who announced two additional temples: Cardston, Alberta (1913), and Lāʻie, Hawaiʻi (1915). Cardston became the first Latter-day Saint temple dedicated outside of the United States. Smith broke with the previous tradition (established since Kirtland) of building temples with upper and lower courts. Temples previously had been ever larger, but the Laie Hawaii Temple

4368-554: The public for a short period of time (an "open house"). During the open house, the church conducts tours of the temple with missionaries and members from the local area serving as tour guides, and all rooms of the temple are open to the public. The temple is then dedicated as a "House of the Lord", after which only members who are deemed "temple-worthy" by their congregational leaders are permitted entrance. Temples are not churches or Meetinghouses designated for public weekly worship services, but rather are places of worship open only to

4446-430: The recommend, indicating their approval of that member's worthiness. The individual also signs the recommend, acknowledging the responsibility to remain eligible to hold the recommend. Most recommends are valid for two years. Temple ordinances have historically been unavailable to some members. For about 130 years (between 1847 and 1978) all LDS endowment-related temple ordinances were denied to all Black women and men in

4524-542: The sacred ordinance of marriage between the parties who come to plight their vows of marital fidelity for time and eternity" (Talmage, 208–209). The only temple with a room designated as the Holy of Holies is the Salt Lake Temple. Boyd K. Packer said that “hidden away in the central part of the temple is the Holy of Holies, where the President of the Church may retire when burdened down with heavy decisions to seek an interview with Him whose Church it is. The prophet holds

4602-505: The same sex as the participant ("on behalf of the dead" or "by proxy"). Ordinances performed in the temple include: Most ordinances are performed by proxy only on participants who have already completed the ordinance. Similarly, most ordinances are completed only one time for a participant in a lifetime and all subsequent temple ordinance participation is seen as acting for a dead individual. Baptism, confirmation, and priesthood ordination are usually performed in temples only when on behalf of

4680-501: The standard design further increased the size and complexity of the temples. The majority of the temples dedicated under Hinckley's tenure were of the smaller design, but one particularly noteworthy achievement was the rebuilding of the temple in Nauvoo, Illinois , known as the Nauvoo Illinois Temple . Hinckely's successor, Thomas S. Monson , dedicated 26 temples during his time as church president. His counselors in

4758-400: The sun rising above clouds, while the moonstones featured relief carvings of downward-facing crescent moons. The star stones consisted of large five-pointed stars, each with an elongated bottom ray Together, these elements represent “the glory of the latter-day church or kingdom, further symbolized by the sun rising through the clouds, with the trumpets heralding the restoration of the gospel and

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4836-728: The temple for time only. It may only be used in conjunction with a standard temple recommend. A limited-use recommend is available to members who have not yet received their endowment or who have not been a member for one year. These may also be issued to a group for a single visit to the temple, to youth 11 and older, or to others for specific cases. Those without recommends occasionally need to enter temples after dedication during fires, medical emergencies, or building inspections. They are escorted by temple personnel during such visits. Temples may offer introductory tours to new local firefighters and emergency medical technicians during regularly scheduled maintenance periods. The LDS temple wedding

4914-440: The temple is noticeably different from the original structure in which the endowment ceremony assumed its present format . At the direction of Joseph Smith, the west end of the attic story was divided by cloth partitions into four spaces used to administer the endowment. One of the canvas "rooms" was decorated with potted plants to suggest the Garden of Eden . The Salt Lake City Endowment House and early Utah temples, each with

4992-444: The temple ordinances outside the temples". To enter the temple, an individual must be baptized, and after one year, may seek a temple recommend , which authorizes admission to the temple. The person is interviewed by their bishop , during which the candidate is asked a series of questions to determine worthiness to enter the temple. The individual is also interviewed by his or her stake president . The bishop and stake president sign

5070-432: The temple recommend questions have changed significantly, though less so in recent years. The standard temple recommend authorizes a member who has been baptized at least one year prior to take part in all temple ordinances and is valid for two years. A recommend for living ordinances is given to individuals who are participating in the endowment for the first time, being sealed to a spouse, or anyone being married in

5148-691: The temple representing three different offices in both the Melchizedek and Aaronic priesthood . A statue of the Angel Moroni , stands atop many temples built after the Salt Lake Temple. The statue design represents the Latter-day Saint belief that Moroni was the angel spoken of in Revelation 14. LDS Church members perform rituals (termed ordinances ) within temples. They are taught that temple ordinances are essential to achieving

5226-456: The temple site. In the late-1950s, and then in 1962, agents for the LDS Church completed purchase of the temple lot. Following construction, an open house was held from May 6-June 22, 2002. The temple was dedicated by Hinckley on June 27, 2002. The dedication was broadcast via satellite to “2,300 locations throughout 72 countries and in 38 languages,” making it the first temple dedication to be broadcast internationally. The Nauvoo Illinois Temple

5304-613: The temple until April 30, 1846, when it was formally dedicated in a private ceremony by Joseph Young , the senior of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy . It was used for three months, then abandoned in late summer 1846. The completed temple was eventually destroyed by fire, and the remaining structure was later demolished by a whirlwind . Upon reaching the Great Basin , Brigham Young began to build settlements based on

5382-467: The temple's appearance and function. Symbolism is important to church members. One example is the temple’s sunstones used to decorate the exterior, which are a recreation of the sunstones featured on the original Nauvoo Temple. Like the original, the temple features “30 pilasters, each with a moonstone at the base and a sunstone at the top,” with a star stone above each sunstone. The sunstones were characterized by two hands holding trumpets above an image of

5460-467: The temple's unique place in church history. The church's temples are directed by a temple president and matron, each typically serving a term of three years. The president and matron oversee the administration of temple operations and provide guidance and training for both temple patrons and staff. Notable presidents include Richard W. Winder (2002–04), who was the first after its dedication, and Spencer J. Condie (2010–13). As of 2024, Chris V. Church

5538-533: The temple. From the 1950s until 2002, LDS Church temples were built with between one and six ordinance rooms, any one of which could accommodate the entire endowment ceremony, combining the functions of the four progressive-style rooms. When the Nauvoo Illinois Temple was built in 2002, it was designed with progressive ordinance rooms, apparently as a tribute to the original Nauvoo temple ( 2005 Church Almanac, 495–555). Temples built since 2002 have generally paired two ordinance rooms together. In this arrangement,

5616-474: The top of the statue of angel Moroni on top of the temple spire. It has an area of 54,000 square feet (5,000 m). It is the church's only operating temple that has a bell tower; the Kirtland Temple also has a bell tower, but it is not a functioning temple. The angel on the first Nauvoo temple was a weathervane, sculpted of metal. The figure was positioned horizontally as if it were flying, clothed in

5694-460: The world. Several temples are at historical sites of the LDS Church, such as Nauvoo, Illinois , Palmyra, New York , and Salt Lake City, Utah . The importance of temples is often emphasized in weekly meetings, and regular participation in "temple work" is strongly encouraged for all Latter-day Saints (LDS). Within temples, members of the church make covenants , receive instructions, and perform sacred ceremonies and ordinances , such as baptism for

5772-542: Was conducted on October 24, 1999 and the cornerstones were laid November 5, 2000, with Hinckley presiding over both ceremonies. The structure itself was built in the Greek Revival to replicate the architectural style of the original Nauvoo Temple, using limestone block quarried in Russellville, Alabama . The origins of the new temple go back to 1937 when Wilford C. Wood purchased some of the land on behalf of

5850-552: Was dedicated in 1884. Manti Temple architect William Folsom, followed the same arrangement for that temple, which was dedicated in 1888. Based on his experience with the Logan Temple, Angell petitioned church president John Taylor to override Young's original design for the Salt Lake Temple 's interior with progressive ordinance rooms, which Taylor enthusiastically approved ( Salt Lake Temple, 54–55). This became

5928-415: Was designed to replicate the original Nauvoo Temple, which utilized a mix of architectural styles, incorporating elements of Roman , Grecian , and Gothic architecture. Designed by FFKR Architects, the temple's architecture reflects both the cultural heritage of the Nauvoo region and its spiritual significance to the church. The temple sits on a 3.3-acre plot, and the landscaping around the temple features

6006-627: Was smaller than the Nauvoo Temple had been. Both Cardston and Laie were dedicated under church president Heber J. Grant , as was a temple in Mesa, Arizona . George Albert Smith dedicated the next temple in Idaho Falls, Idaho . David O. McKay dedicated five additional temples including one in Bern, Switzerland —which was the first temple dedicated in Europe and the first temple to use film recording of

6084-613: Was the last temple with this layout. Subsequent temples presented the endowment in one or two rooms without murals in the ordinance rooms. The use of murals resumed again in 2001 with the opening of the Columbia River Washington Temple . The Nauvoo Illinois Temple, using the four room layout, is the sole exception, as it has the four-room progressive format with murals decorating the first three rooms. The design includes elements representing Latter-day Saint and Biblical symbolism, representing spiritual meaning to

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