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Show LDS Temple A Desert Jewel The latter-day Saints had. built impressive temples in Ohio and Illinois before presecution forced them to the Rocky Mountains in 1847. Construction of the massive granite temple in Salt Lake City commenced in 1853 under the direction of Brigham Young, but he did not live to see the forty-year task accomplished. It was in a remote area ref fered to as "Utah's Dixie," in the beautiful, desert oasis community com-munity of St. George, that the first Mormon Temple in Utah was completed. St. George, some three hundred miles south of Salt Lake City, was first settled in 1861 when Brigham Young, has determined that the warm climate there was unstable for growing cotton, a commodity made scarce because of the Civil War. The site was dedicated in November, 1871. The people1 rejoiced with special commemorative com-memorative meetings and band concerts as the project moved from groundbreaking to the cornerstone ceremonies and on into general construction. At first some workers questioned . the aptness of the site since it was necessary to dig a deep drainage canal and haul in thousands of tons of black, volcanic rock to create a solid foundation. However under the watchful care of thecontruction superintendent, Miles P. Romney, the work progressed steadily. The workmen laid up outside walls of red sandstone from the tabernacle quarry and plastered them with coating of white stucco. Teamsters hauled lumber eighty miles by oxcart from Mt. Turmbull's steam sawmill and from other pineries. Carpenters fastened heavy, landhewn timbers with wooden pegs for roof beams, and skilled craftsmen fashioned , spiral staircases and carved the delicate interior woodwork. The building measures about 114 by 93 feet, with outside walls rising 84 feet from foundation to , castellated parapets. From his winter home in St. George, Brigham Young was able to oversee the operation on a periodic basis. Under his direction, the temple was dedicated on April 6, 1877, less than five months before his death. |