Show TEMPLES N the occasion of laying the capstone ON 0 of the salt lake city temple it seemed appropriate to give descriptions of sacred buildings that have been erected under divine guidance in ancient and modem times to do this in a concise and comprehensive form has been the object of the author for the data obtained in these sketches the following works have been coli cod suited the bible the two books of the doctrine and covenants joseph angus bible handbook henry and scotts commentary josephus digest of the laws of moses history of joseph smith by president george Q cannon juvenile instructor gesch achte des rabbi Jeshua by clemens historical record andrew jenson contributor abid an ocher doher available works the dates and measurements of the ancient temples areol course only approximate as the best authors do not agree on the subject the calculations as to measurements are made anthe on the supposition that one cubit is equal to twenty one in inches ches israel in egypt from the hist hi si orical works of moses but little is known about the religious condition of israel while in bondad bondage in in egypt edyt not long after the death dea of joseph the country chan changed d rulers the kings who ayd had reigned as victorious invaders for about five hundred years were overthrown afdera series of battles for independence on part pan of the egyptians and a new king kingi jarose arose who was under no obligation to the descendants ants of jacob anthe on the contrary as a matter of policy he took measures to exterminate them mem he made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and in brick and of all manner of labor in the field and decreed at last that all their male infants should be hillid that a people so situated were unable to devote their time to the rearing of temples is obvious yet there is every reason to believe that during the happier part of their sojourn as strang strangers ws in the land of goschen they had erected some kind of a sanctuary and under the guidance of their father and their illustrious brother both i inspired ired men had organized a system of T worship which however would necessarily be much neglected when the persecution raged this may be inferred from the fact that when moses was sent to liberate them they had elders to represent them and could hold conferences anthe divine message to be delivered to pharaoh it is repeatedly stated that moses gathered the elders of israel this presupposes pre supposes a place of gathen gathering i ng and an organized representative body but no description is given of either the sanctuary sanctuary y may have been a tent ten t since israel did not expect to demain permanently in egypt and it seems to have ve been brought out of the country when the people left it is called the ithe testimony ex xvi 34 probably as a reminiscence of the servitude in egypt and to its sacred furniture was soon added a hermetically closed vessel containing manna to be kept for future generations as an ait evidence of the power and goodness of god mis M is important to note the existence of such a 0 sanctuary as early as before the exodus of egypt because it proves amat th at th the history of of sacred places dates as aarback far faY back blick as tho the history of the people of god asa nation itis it is a remarkable fact as will appear in taj abe following sketch that the history othe the condition of of the people of god itself sanctuaries ersted under the supervision of the at al lauty are more than specimens of arp architecture the they are types of the Ct on irth earth ahe the tabOr tabernacle of the with the glorious presence of the was wals a sy symbol ahbol odthe pith pilgrim church h guarded by day and by night ay 3 the angel of jehovah the gorgeous grorge ous t temple t 1 6 of dt solomon solamon was a reflex of the people at that time the inferior building P Zerub babel reflected the condition of of the aws jews returned from captivity and the tempel of herod with its splendid exterior but without the most sacred amplem implements ants of worship was an equally true symbol of the deplorable religious condition of the jews at that time we in T may draw the analogy further and diffut notice that the absence of any temple after thi the fall of jerusalem indicates the absence from the earth of the true church while the rearing of temples in this age again proves that god has a people on earth for the lesson of history is that when the temple fell the pe people cje of god were scattered and when h K agran tow rose front its ruins the people gatner Cd ithe lie the children of israel were gods L in a peculiar peculiar culiar sense of the word ay virtue 0 of ie th the covenants made with isaac and jacob he delivered them from the bondage bandage of egypt and add undertook to guide them through the to the promised landl it was therefore in the nature of things that teat one cde of their first undertakings after the exodus should be to rear a suitable structure where the presence of df thac 6 lord was to be manifested jehovah was act according to their form of kowm ment the die sovereign ruler he saye gave toe the lawi law to him the judicial power belonge avion dand to him questions ue scions of of peace and war vau were referred a all 1 I 1 through his authorized servants the necess necessity fit of a place especially espedia lly set apart for divine purposes was therefore at once felt and buffit was reared which became known i mhd tabernacle of the congregation etwas practically the palace of jehovah while his people were wandering about in r the arabian desert and for a long vine time alter the entrance into canaan minute descriptions of this interesting at structure mature are vivenia gavelin exodus the expenses of the building were defrayed by voluntary contributions by the people e A ekil call was made tipon them to me goldy gold silver and brass fine ahnen n of various colors ranis rams skins dyed red and badgers skins and woodi i probably ro y t the acacia nacacia or egyptian thorn ad for light spices for anointing cointin vh an for r sw sweet incense nse or perau perfume e onyx stones and other precious stones bac F xiv IP T 7 they responded responded willid willingly gly to this call Ms is stated imanil EX EK 22 that they earner both men and women as many as were willing hearted and brought bracelets and earrings and rings and tablets tabas and jewelry of gold and the ladies that were wise hearted did spin and offered their productions of blue purple scarlet and fine linen as well as of coarser stuff and in this way the necessary mat materials als were soon brought together then everyone who felt able to work offered his service and as architects or superintendents 0 of the building moses selected two skillful workmen bezaleel Bea Belza leel and Aho aholiab who were filled with the spirit of god in wisdom in understanding in in knowledge and in all manner of wor workmanship man ship ex 31 so eager were the people in bringing th their r gifts that a proclamation had to be issued restraining them hem from giving because more came in than could be used for the purpose de designed le ned the tabernacle was built in the following manner A frame was erected 55 5 feet by 18 consisting of planks of acacia wood standing erect on sockets of silver each plank being about 30 inches wide bride and 17 feet 6 inches long the planks were united with poles all overlaid with gold and resting iii ift gold rings thereby holding the planks in position the east end of the tabernacle was not boarded but was closed by a curt curtain aih of costly mate material riat stig suspended from silver rods which res rested tedon on five pillars cov covered red with pure gold this framework was covered with four dl different berent curtains the first was made of fine twined linen curiously embroidered in figures representing cherubim in blue scarlet and purple the second cover was madlof made of goats hair the thirld third of rams skins dyed red and the fourth protecting ottly only thle roof was made of badgers skins sams all these curtains were made i nil sect sections ibm hooked together the interior of the tent was divided into two apartments by a veil also made of fine and embroidered in blue purple ana and scarlet it was suspended on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold and r resting 9 on bases of silver sifter the first a nd and i larger apartment was known as the H holy oly P place e and the second behind the v veil 11 as the holy of lj olies around the tabernacle was an enclosure or court feet by go 90 formed b by linen curtains suspended from rods ol 01 of silver which rested on OB pillars of wood odd these columns of which there were t verity twenty on each side were about 8 feet ahli high b and rested on sockets of bra brass the biance entrance to the jouit was on the east side arid was closed by falling failing tapestry embroidered similarly simil arfy atly as the veil in afie the tabernacle PA ex 0 7 17 27 the planks of the tabernacle and and the columns of the fence were further secured scoured in a firm position by pins of brass ex 18 which according to josephus were 21 i inches long and were driven into the ground let us u now enter the court of this sacred edifice here the sacrifices were slam slain on the altar of 01 burnt offering a structure of acacia wood overlaid with brass 8 feet 9 inches square and 5 feet 3 inches hith high on the south side were steps leading up to it and all the aten sits sils necessary alor for the sacrifices abre were of brass between the altar and the tabernacle was placed a laver or baptismal font made of brass and filled with water concerning this the lord says to moses aaron and and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet therein when they go into the tabernacle of the congregation gre gire gation they shall wash with water that they die not ex axx 1720 1720 17 ao 20 As a feature of special interest is mentioned the material of which this baptismal font was made small mirrors of metal were used by the ladies and it seems that chany of them gave these precious I 1 Irti articles cles to the tabernacle for the sacred historian says and he made the laver of brass and the foot of it of assof brassoff br the mirrors of the women who assembled ak at the door of the tabernacle ex 8 the furniture of the anteroom ante room or the holy place consisted of the altar ofin conse cense the table of and the candlestick the altar of incense was made of acacia wood 21 inches and 40 inches high it was overlaid with pure gold and richly ornamented on it aaron was to burn incense every morning and evening when he entered the place to dress the lamps or to light them opposite ethis this altar was a table of the same material 42 inches long and 21 2 inches wide it was also overlaid with gold and to it belonged various plates covers spoons etc all made of solid gold this table was to be always spread and furnished furbish ed with the twelve loaves one for each tribe and set in two rows this bread was made of fine flour and belonged to aaron and his sons after having been on the lords table they were to eat it however only in a holy place lev 59 5 9 in the centre of the room before the veil stood a candlestick made of a shaft of lot pure gold with six branches three t on eady each side seven lamps spread the light in this room which was without windows A bulf full description of th candlestick is given in exodus xiv with its tongs and other implements it weighed one talent which is considered equal in value to pounds sterlin sterling I 1 in t ane L holy of holies was the ark of the Coven covenant atit an chest of wood covered with gold and surmounted with wibb two golden figures called cherubim the glory of god rested on the lid of this chest the mercy seat and in the ark were deposited the book of the law a vessel containing marma manna and aad aarons rod all this work was completed in less than one year and on the first day 0 the first month of the second year after the exodus the die tabernacle was solemnly dedicated to the lord lorda the date was fixed by divine command and corresponds rids perhaps with the ath ot of april rhe the date of the organization of the die church of jesus christ of latter day saints since duce the first month of the ecclesiastical year commenced in the early times ac according cordin to prominent archaeologists with atje the new moon of april when everything had been dedicated a cloud boxed coxed covered the tent of the congregation and the glory of the lord filled the tabernacle and moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation because the cloud abode thereon the cloud clead of the lord was upon the tabernacle by day and fire was on it by night in the sight of all the house hous e of israel israel throughout all their ex xiv 33 38 this remarkable structure followed israel during forty years pi pilgrimage grima e in the wilderness wilde rhess whenever the cloud cloud was lifted up the taber tabernacle Rafe was taken down and its various pieces consigned to the carriers and it was again set up when the people went into camp on entrance into canaan joshua chose a place called shiloh where the taber inalle was erected and here it remained for more than years when david became king the ark was removed to the city of david and when the temple of solomon was erected the tabernacle i was lost sight of the sacred structure which by this dae must have borne all the marks of extreme age was laid away in i 1 the temple the author of the sad relates that the prophet djeremiah before the destruction of iw pei by took both the tabernacle and the ark with its contents and hid bid them in in a cave on mount sinai it is expected by many jews that when the final restoration of the people of god shall take place these sacred cred relics will again b be e brought r to light as testimonies to the jh e great and doa dealings lings of jehovah with his people in past ages the temple of i when men king solomon was advanced to the throne of israel he found himself n possession of a vast amount of money treasured up by his bis royal father t fr for the purpose of bunding bading a temple david had also purchased a suitable site on mount moriah and had corn com plated most of the plans for thai building this was done by the approval of god through the prophet nathan 2 sam vii 1 17 solomon could therefore commence the without del delay the first step he took was to form an alliance with hiram the king of tyre in order to have access to lebanon with its splendid forests of majestic cedars I hiram blessed god for the opportunity port unity of having the famous king of jerusalem for his friend and the work of cutting abutting timber was at once begun men were sum summoned moped of israel and sent into the mountains mounta ipp mere here they we were joined rejoined by hirama men the great cedar trees were felled and floated alon along the coast probably yo to jaffa and flom from there transported to jerusalem for the timber solomon 4 paid hiram a yearly tribute of measures of wheat and 20 20 measures of jure tw tire oil besides these workmen four score 4 thousand stone stonecutters cutters and three score and ten thousand were employed that carried burdens over which were 1300 i f overseers it is probable that this great gratt force did not work simultaneously but i ain rotation giving them opportunity to filock to their own business as well as to work on the temple in the fourth year yar of his ascension to t i the throne the king iring laid the foundation atad jaad the building was completed in seven years the temple of solomon was built in the main according to ao the plan of the tk bernacle but it was much larger and snore more elaborately decorated the ime whole length of it was feet the breadth 35 and the height 52 feet before rethe the entrance was wad a porch which towo towered re dover over the main building to |