The St. George Temple was built in 1877 in Utah Territory during President Brigham Young’s administration. Precedents were set there for clothing, performing ordinances in behalf of those outside of family, endowments for the dead, and record keeping. In addition, the endowment ceremony was put in writing for the first time in association with the temple’s construction. It was also in the St. George Temple that Wilford Woodruff saw the Founding Fathers in vision. This post discusses the history and significance of the St. George, Utah Temple.
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Table of Contents
- Settling and Building
- Symbolism and Significance
- Sacred Architecture and Ordinances
- Pictures
- Renovations
- Resources
Settling and Building in St. George
How did people react to being called on missions to settle St. George?
People had mixed reactions when they were unexpectedly called to settle St. George. Some accepted the mission with faith and determination, while others were reluctant, overwhelmed, or even left the Church to avoid the sacrifice.
Settling St. George was no light undertaking. The community was planned as a central settlement for the Cotton Mission in southern Utah—an initiative to take advantage of the warmer climate to produce cotton and grapes while the Civil War threatened to cut off access to those resources from the southern United States.
But the land was not hospitable to settlement, with alkaline soils, volatile rivers subject to flash floods and changes in course, and an arid and hot climate.
George A. Smith once described southern Utah thus: “I think if the Lord had got up all the rough, rocky and the broken fragments of the earth in one he might have dropped it down there.”[1] Southern Utah was not seen as a hospitable place.
The calls to settle St. George were extended during the October 1861 General Conference without prior warning. Those to whom the calling was extended were chosen for their varied skills and commitment to the Church.
Reactions varied. John Pulsipher, for example, wrote:
At an evening meeting in the City I was informed by Bro Geo. A. Smith that I was selected for a missionary to the south—on, what was known as the cotton mission.
This news was very unexpected to me. Volunteers were called for at conference to go on this mission—but I did not think it meant me, for I had a good home, was well satisfied & had plenty to do.”
But when the apostle Geo. A. told me I was selected to go I saw the importance of the mission to Sustain Israel in the mountains—we had need of a possession in a warmer climate, & I thot I might as well go as any body. Then the Spirit came upon me so that I felt to thank the Lord that I was worthy to go.[2]
Others were very stoic in accepting the call. When the Jarvis family arrived at their lot (which consisted of a mesquite bush on a sand knoll), Mr. Jarvis said: “Well, we are home. Get out mother.” Mrs. Jarvis looked around and began to cry. She got herself under control, then told their children: “Don’t you dare cry. Father says this is home so let’s get started.”[3] It was far from her ideal, but she was committed to carrying out their mission.
Yet others refused. William Fawcett observed that: “Some made excuses, some backed out. … Some would not sell without sacrifice, others clung to their property or deserted their mission. Some thought they were called for a punishment.”[4] I’m not sure the exact chronology of events, but one of my ancestors was already under pressure to take a second wife when the call to move to southern Utah came. He was quite successful with his farms in the Jordan area, and the dual push of plural marriage and settling in southern Utah led the whole family to quit the Church rather than abandoning the life they had built.
Brigham Young felt a sense of urgency to have the temple built.
Given the challenges of the call, St. George was thought of as a community of very committed Latter-day Saints. Ongoing challenges of food and water supply led some to leave, creating further selection pressure in favor of those committed enough to the Church to risk and sacrifice everything to fulfill their mission.
This commitment to the Church was one reason they were host to the construction of the first completed temple in Utah (along with the logistical reality that the warmer climate allowed for a longer working season).
How were St. George Temple workers fed and supplied?
St. George Temple workers were fed and supplied through a mix of local donations, tithing, and organized efforts by Church leaders. Food and provisions were often scarce, so members traveled from settlement to settlement gathering supplies to keep the work going. These community-driven efforts ensured that construction never had to stop due to a lack of resources.
The construction of the temple required a lot of work from many people, who had to be fed and clothed. While St. George had come a long way from its first few years of starvation, there was still not a superabundance of supplies available.
In fact, one of Juanita Brooks’s favorite stories to tell was of her grandmother meeting with some of the wives of Brigham Young:
They came down to establish the Retrenchment Society. They told us how it was the wish of the President that we should do away with all our extravagences in dress and habits. I looked around at the women in the audience. We were all in homespun, coarse and faded-looking … and the speaker wore a silk dress with wide bands of velvet ribbon and lace edging. I sat there and listened as long as I could stand it, and then I said: “Which do you want us to retrench from, Sister Young, the bread or the molasses?”[6]
Throughout construction, the temple workers always felt short on supplies, but managed to pull through.
The efforts of members to donate and transport supplies were what made it possible. For example, Charles Pulsipher (John Pulsipher’s brother and one of Zerah Pulsipher’s sons) traveled extensively around southwestern Utah to collect and coordinate these donations.
As he recalled:
I went down and went to work with the carpenters on the Temple I had worked a few days when I attendid a meeting in the evening and after meeting was out their was severel Standing around the Stove before starting home[.] B[isho]p Mcarthur said [“]Bro Snow what are we agoing to do for provisions to keepe these Temple hands at work[?”] for the most of the hands had not got their Suplies … but dependid on the tithing Office to furnish them[.] [“]We have sent for the last load of corn that I have any acct of to get[.”]
Bro Snow Studdi[e]d a little and said to him [“]dont you think considerable could be raised by freewill Offerings[?”]
[“]well[,”] the Bp said [“]perhaps a little might be got in that way but nothing to what it take to feede those 40 hands and their families[.”] he then turnd round to me putting putting the question derectly to me [“]and what do you think about it Bro Charles[?”] I was Suprised that he should ask me that question[.]
I said [ “]about 3 week ago I was up to Sedar City to get my flour for the winter and I found quite a lively intrest manifested in regard the building of a Temple and I think that if Some thorough arangements was enterd into and persevereing missionaries Sent that considerable means could be geatherd[.”]
Charles learned that he had to be careful about making suggestions. In one instance, he was the person assigned to carry out his own suggestion:
he Slapt his hand on my sholder and Said [ “]wont you Start out and See what can be done[?”]
I said [“]why Bro Snow I ant a preacher and not one of the missionaries[.”]
[“]well we can well we can make you a missionary and you can learn to be a preacher.[”]
[“]Well if you Say go[,] of course I will go and do the best I can.[”]
[“]When you get your pardner of your choice come around and I will see you off[”] …
So we prepaird our selves … and went from one settlement to the <next> holding a meeting at every settlement urgeing the necessity of donateing of our means to help along the noble work and as Soon as we got a load we would ♢ome one or two to go and take it rite dowen So that the hands might keepe at work and thus we kept them agoing[.][7]
Through these donations, the temple construction work was provisioned.
What foundation issues did builders face during the St. George Temple construction?
Builders faced serious foundation issues because the temple site was on unstable, swampy ground. They had to dig out mud by hand, reinforce the site with lava rock, and use a lead-filled cannon to compact the earth. It took nearly a year and a half to prepare the ground before laying the foundation stones.
Brigham Young rejected locations proposed for the temple by the local Latter-day Saints and selected a spot that was known for turning into wetlands during portions of the year. Apparently, an underground limestone formation blocks the flow of groundwater from a nearby hill, causing the water to flow to the surface.
Brigham Young still insisted that it was the spot where the temple needed to be built.
When the logistical difficulties of building in a bog were pointed out by Robert Gardner and others, Brigham Young still insisted that it was the spot where the temple needed to be built, saying: “This site was selected by inspiration and dedicated to the Lord.”[8] When work on digging the foundation began, it became apparent that the bog would not support the weight of a heavy building like the temple and construction work stopped for a time, until Brigham Young inspected the situation and made the decision for them to keep moving forward.
Excavation to create the footings and basement was a difficult process. Mud had to be removed, and then the space was walled off to prevent more mud from refilling the space from which it had been removed. Some of the removal work was done using horses, but most of it was done by hand, loading wheelbarrows and buckets that were taken away from the site to be emptied. The process took ten months, but parts of the lot were still too unstable to support a heavy structure.
They dealt with the problem by packing the ground with small lava rocks (which were abundant in the area and known to resist leaching from the alkaline soil). The whole community worked to gather and deliver the rocks to the site, gradually building piles of rubble in the excavation.
An iron cannon purchased by the community for the local militia was filled with lead, then lifted with a derrick and dropped onto the lava rock to drive it into the ground. This process was repeated until the ground was compact enough to stabilize the footings, as evidenced by the cannon bouncing three times after impact. Drain lines were also created to funnel water away from the temple foundation.
All told, it took from November 1871 to March 1873 to get the land to the point where they could start laying the foundation stones in place.[9]
Symbolism and Significance of the Temple
What is the historical and spiritual significance of the St. George Temple?
There are several reasons that the St. George Temple is significant. Aside from the temple pro tem known as the Endowment House in Salt Lake City,[5] the St. George Temple was the earliest temple completed in Utah Territory. Unlike the Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake City temples, the railroad did not run to St. George, making it, in one sense, the only pioneer temple in the western United States.
The St. George Temple was the first fully operational temple to be used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after they abandoned the Nauvoo Temple while fleeing Illinois.
Brigham Young strongly believed that endowments for the dead and adoption sealings should be performed only in full-fledged temples. Thus, the first endowments for the dead took place in the St. George Temple. Also, as the first fully operational temple in the west, many of the conventions of record keeping, dress, and administration in temples were developed while operating the St. George Temple.
In addition, one of the major reasons Brigham Young felt a sense of urgency to have the temple built was so he could pass on the temple ordinances. (He proved somewhat prophetic in that regard, since he died before any other temples were completed in Utah Territory.)
As part of that process, Brigham Young worked with Wilford Woodruff to write down and refine a script for the endowment ceremony (which had only existed as an oral tradition up to that time).
What unusual materials were donated to build the St. George Temple?
Hair. The temple was built out of red rock, so the white facade was created using plaster. Plasters were also used inside the temple for decorative elements, covering the walls and ceilings, etc. In order to give the plaster more stability and resilience, hair was sometimes added as a binding agent.
For example, during one of the trips that Charles Pulsipher and John L. Smith made to gather supplies, they reported bringing back “forty bushels of hair for use in plastering the Temple.”[10]
Sometimes the hair came from horses and other livestock and sometimes the hair came from the Latter-day Saints themselves.
What role did the United Order play in the St. George Temple’s construction?
The United Order helped speed up the construction of the St. George Temple by pooling the labor, time, and resources of local Church members. Brigham Young introduced the system to help overcome economic challenges and keep the work moving. It allowed the community to focus their efforts on building the temple as a shared spiritual priority.
On February 9, 1874, Brigham Young organized St. George’s residents into a United Order. The practical reality for starting in St. George was that pooling resources would speed up the work by freeing up the labor force and reducing the effects of a recent recession (as mentioned above, Brigham Young was anxious to see a temple completed quickly).[11]
Beginning in St. George, Brigham Young went through the rest of the territory and established similar United Orders in most Latter-day Saint settlements. At one point, President Young even contemplated recording the promptings he had experienced that urged him to take this action in the form of a revelation, akin to those in the Doctrine and Covenants.
As he stated on one occasion:
The word of the Lord that was reveal[e]d to his People, by his servant the Prophet sear and Reverlator, President Brigham Young, Feb[r]uary 1874[.] He speak unto the people saying,
Thus saith the Lord it is my will that this people should enter into A Holy united order, by concentrating their labour, there time, and their means together for the interest of my Kingdom, and for their own mutual benefit, And I the Lord will bless them abundantly, they shall get along with less labour, and less means, And become a great deal richer, and happyer, and be enabled to do a great deal more good, And if not the curse of the Lord will be upon them, for we are got as far as we can get in our present position, for the time is fully come that we should enter into this Holy Order, the Lord is saying come, and Holy angles are saying come, and all good men are saying come, and I say come let us enter into this Holy Order, that the Kingdom of Heaven may continue to advance, till it fill the whole earth with the knowledge and love of God, Hear this oh Israil, I tell you the Kingdom of God cannot advance one step further until we enter into this Holy Order.[12]
This was never published as an official revelation, but serves to demonstrate how committed to the idea Brigham Young was and why St. George—along with other communities—were encouraged to establish these orders.
Sacred Architecture and Ordinances
Why was transporting the St. George Temple baptismal font difficult?
Transporting the St. George Temple baptismal font was difficult because it was massive, weighing 18,000 pounds, and had to be hauled by oxen across rough desert terrain from the nearest rail stop in Cedar City. The extreme heat wore down the animals, and the sacred nature of the font meant it had to stay covered, even when questioned by soldiers. Once in St. George, it was so heavy that men using ropes and pulleys, not livestock, had to lower it into place.
The baptismal font was one of the main components of the temple that was constructed outside the St. George area. Brigham Young commissioned the font with an ironworking foundry in Salt Lake City, paying for it as a donation to the St. George Temple. The oxen came first, though when Brigham Young saw the first draft of a wooden model by Amos Howe, he declared: “That won’t do, Amos,” and initiated a search in Utah and Idaho for a perfect ox to use as a live model.
It took a few months, but they found it, and the result was excellent enough that Brigham Young declared: “Brother Howe, you have even registered the disposition of the live ox.”[13]
The work moved forward, with Amos Howe and Nathan Davis creating the oxen, font, and steps.
That much metal is heavy (around 8165 kg or 18,000 lb), and the railroad only made it to the Cedar City area. After arriving at the railroad terminal, the components of the font were loaded onto a series of wagons that made their way to St. George as a caravan. The hot weather and heavy loads were hard on the oxen, making it difficult to stop the oxen from stampeding when they smelled water.
Another difficulty was that, given the sacred nature of what they were transporting, leaders of the wagon train generally did not allow people to lift the covers and see what they were transporting. This even applied to federal soldiers, who were in the area because of John D. Lee’s trial and execution in connection with the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
On at least one occasion, the soldiers suspected that the wagon train was transporting weapons that might be used against them and stopped the wagon train, but ultimately, the train moved forward without them seeing what was inside the wagons.
When they arrived in St. George, the components of the font were assembled and welded together in the basement. Once assembled, they had to move it into its final position. It was decided that oxen would not be able to bring the font in for a smooth and safe landing, so men would have to do the pulling. A group of former sailors carried out the task, safely maneuvering the front in the temple with ropes and pulleys. It was then anchored into place directly onto the compacted rock footing. The flooring was then added around it, giving the appearance of the hooves being buried in the floor.[14]
What significant contributions did Wilford Woodruff make at the St. George Temple?
Wilford Woodruff made several important contributions at the St. George Temple, including helping Brigham Young write down the temple endowment for the first time. He also received a revelation that allowed Church members to perform ordinances for people beyond their own families. As the temple’s first president, he set the example of wearing white during temple service—a tradition that continues today.
Wilford Woodruff was called as the first president of the St. George Temple. One thing he chose to do that has become traditional is to wear white while attending to temple work. President Woodruff also received a revelation (that Brigham Young approved), which allowed people to perform ordinances for the dead for people beyond their family and close friends.
As he noted in his journal on February 23, 1877: “While meeting at the altar I received a revelation concerning the redemption of my dead.”[15]
He later explained:
When I inquired of the Lord how I could redeem my dead, while I was in St. George, not having any of my family there, the Lord told me to call upon the Saints in St. George and let them officiate for me in that temple, and it should be acceptable unto Him. Brother McAllister and the brethren and sisters there have assisted me in this work, and I felt to bless them with every feeling of my heart. This is a revelation to us. We can help one another in these matters, if we have not relatives sufficient to carry this on, and it will be acceptable unto the Lord.[16]
This formed an important precedent for temple work moving forward and also serves as context for the Wilford Woodruff vision of the Founding Fathers.
Did Brigham Young cause the St. George Temple tower to burn down?
No, the tower burned after Brigham Young died—but it’s a common joke to suggest that he did. It ended up being short and squat during the initial construction phase. Brigham Young thought it looked bad and expressed displeasure with how the tower had turned out, but left it as it was.
On August 16, 1878, however, lightning struck the tower, causing it to catch fire. The tower burned down before the fire was stopped, and smoldering embers continued to threaten to burn down the rest of the structure for a few days. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the opening was just covered over, but eventually construction began on a new tower, which was completed in 1883. They were able to make the tower taller and more visually appealing this time around, and it has not burned down since.
At the time the tower was struck by lightning, Brigham Young had been dead for about a year. Given the displeasure he expressed about the tower during his lifetime, people have joked from time to time that he arranged for the lightning to strike the tower from the other side of the veil, kind of like Yoda’s force ghost did with the Jedi temple in Star Wars VII: The Last Jedi. Most likely, it was natural causes that led to the lightning striking the tower, but you never know.
Pictures of the St. George Temple
Ox Team Hauling the Baptismal Font (1874)
St. George Temple Under Construction (1870s)
St. George Temple with Scaffolding and Workers on the Spire (1875)
1877 Replica of St. George Showing Temple and Early City Growth
Traditional View of the Completed St. George Temple (1921)
Rodeo or Horse Show with St. George Temple in the Background (1930s)
Photo of the Completed St. George Temple with Vintage Automobiles (1938)
Renovations Over Time
What renovations and changes have been made to the St. George Temple over time?
The St. George Temple has undergone several renovations and changes over the years. For example, when the temple was constructed, it was organized like the Kirtland and Nauvoo temples, with two assembly halls stacked on top of each other, forming the majority of the interior.
Given that temple ordinances had become the primary function of temples (with tabernacles and meetinghouses serving as meeting spaces), the lower assembly hall was partitioned using heavy canvases to function as an endowment space with room-to-room movement, as was the case at the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. This was made permanent in 1938 by installing walls on the main floor to divide the different rooms.[17]
Notable St. George Temple Renovations (1883–2019)
Here are some of the notable renovations over the years:
- 1883: The tower was replaced after the original had burned down a few years beforehand. Temple annex buildings were constructed sometime within the next decade as well, though those annexes burned down in November 1928.
- 1903: An additional annex was constructed, work was done to patch up the ceiling, repainting, etc.
- 1917: Two marriage rooms were added.
- 1938: The lower Assembly Hall was rebuilt with permanent walls dividing it into four ordinance rooms. An elevator was added for the first time, and the landscape was remodeled. Annexes were added in subsequent years to replace the former ones that had burned down in 1928.
- 1975: The annexes were demolished and rebuilt as a structure larger in total volume than the temple itself. The basement was expanded to match, with additional marriage rooms, office areas, a chapel, elevators, a cafeteria, a laundry room, and an engineering room. The interior of the temple was remodeled to allow for the use of the endowment videos rather than live ceremonies. Utilities were updated Renovations were extensive enough to require a rededication.[18]
- 2019: This is the renovation that was just barely completed. Additions include a new bride’s plaza on the east side, a new St. George temple baptistry entrance added on the south side, steel added to the original wood trusses of the temple, and a new heating and cooling system. Demolition crews removed the 20th-century additions to the north and west sides of the temple and replaced them with ones that match the temple better. A rededication ceremony took place on December 10, 2023.[19]
FAQ: St. George Utah Temple
How old is the St. George Temple?
The St. George Utah Temple was built in 1877, making it the oldest operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the first temple built in Utah and the third overall in the church’s history.
Why does the St. George Temple not have an angel Moroni?
The St. George Temple does not have an angel Moroni statue because it was constructed before the tradition of placing Moroni atop temples began. Its design reflects earlier pioneer-era architecture and was not retrofitted with a statue during later renovations.
What are some facts about the St. George Temple?
The St. George Temple was the first temple completed in Utah, dedicated in 1877 by President Brigham Young. It introduced written temple ordinances, hosted Wilford Woodruff’s Founding Fathers vision, and has undergone several major renovations, most recently in 2023.
Who dedicated the St. George Temple?
The St. George Utah Temple was dedicated on April 6, 1877, by President Daniel H. Wells, a counselor in the First Presidency. He offered the dedicatory prayer on behalf of Brigham Young, who directed the temple’s construction but was too ill to officiate.
When was the St. George Temple rededicated?
The most recent rededication of the St. George Temple took place on December 10, 2023, following extensive renovations. The prayer was offered by Jeffrey R. Holland, following a previous rededication in 1975.
Are there two temples in St. George?
Yes, St. George, Utah, is home to two temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The historic St. George Utah Temple was completed in 1877, and a second temple—the Red Cliffs Utah Temple—was dedicated in 2024 to accommodate the area’s growing population.
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Further Reading
- What Did Brigham Young Teach About Temples?
- How Did Latter-day Saint Temple Worship Develop?
- Does the St. George Temple Have an Angel Moroni Statue?
- Why Did Jacob Hamblin Believe St. George’s Founding Harmed the Paiutes?
- What is the Law of Consecration?
St. George Temple Resources
- All That Was Promised: St George Temple and the Unfolding of the Restoration (Deseret Book)
- Five Things You Should Know about the St. George Utah Temple (Church History)
- Why the St. George Temple Holds ‘a Special Place in the Hearts of Latter-day Saints’ (Church News)
- St. George Utah Temple Visitors’ Center (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- “Which Is the Wisest Course?”: The Transformation in Mormon Temple Consciousness, 1870-1898 (BYU Studies)
Dedication of the St. George Temple
The St. George Temple was dedicated initially by Daniel H. Wells on April 6, 1877. The following prayer was offered by President Jeffrey R. Holland when the temple was most recently rededicated on December 10, 2023:
Our Beloved and Holy Father in Heaven, Father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and divine Father of Thine Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His sacred name and with unfailing gratitude for His redeeming Atonement, we present ourselves before Thee in this holy house of righteousness, this sanctuary of spirituality.
Father, we acknowledge that the hallowed masterpiece in which we gather was originally built by weary but believing pioneer hands. As our beloved Spencer W. Kimball once said here, those valiant souls were “hardly settled from their long, painful and distressing exodus across the plains, [when they] were again uprooted and sent to this desert place to colonize the valleys of the mountains and to build the first temple [in the] West.”
This morning we remember their disappointments and their tears as they labored in the heat, with alkali soil, malaria and flooding streams to taunt them. We are grateful that they successfully met all of the difficulties presented to them by a rebellious virgin land and an uncontrollable Virgin River. Father, we desire to be more like those Saints of the historic Cotton Mission, who moistened these stones with their tears and lifted these beams with their strength. We know they did that in part for us and also for the legions of kindred dead who yet wait for us, the living, to see that their eternal possibilities are realized.
Father, it is with all of this and more in our hearts that we rededicate, reconsecrate and make holy once again this sacred house of exalting covenants. As voice for this ordinance, I am acting at the direction of our President and Prophet Russell M. Nelson, and with the apostolic authority restored to earth in these latter days. All of this we do in the name of Jesus Christ, He whose priesthood carries His name, even the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God.
We rededicate the foundation stones, the beams and girders that bear up this magnificent monument. We bless the functioning of the mechanical, electrical and audiovisual systems, and all other support services of the temple. We dedicate the carpets and drapes, the ornaments, murals and altars, pulpits, partitions and every accessory adorning this newly refurbished project. We rededicate the offices, the dressing rooms, the initiatory rooms and baptistry, the endowment rooms, the sealing rooms and the beautiful celestial room symbolic of our ultimate quest for exaltation and our rest in the presence of the Lord. We dedicate unto Thee the beautiful exterior improvements of the temple with stunningly designed grounds that will welcome little children, curious visitors and devoted patrons who faithfully come here. May all who enter these precincts treat them reverently, keeping them free from desecration of any kind. May this acreage be free from earthquakes, lightning, fire, floods or any such damage by nature or the wanton hand of man.
Our Beloved Father, in closing, we leave a blessing on the temple presidency, the matron and her assistants, and all the faithful workers who will serve in this house in any way. In that spirit, we rededicate the lives of all in this temple district and in the communities that host them, that we will try to be clean and kind, that we will think celestially, and we will let Thee rule and reign in our lives. We pray that we will fulfill the measure of our creation and live outside the temple the way we act, speak and promise to live inside it. Today we ask a special blessing on those in this audience who have personal concerns, who came here this morning with trouble or burden or anxiety or fear. We pray for them, for their families, for their friends and those for whom they weep. We bless them by the power of this priesthood by which we are invited here to serve and assure them that their prayers are indeed heard, and their pleadings will be honored according to Thy will and their faith.
For all of this and all else thou seest fit to grant us, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Great I Am, the Bright and Morning Star, the Author and the Finisher of our faith, amen.
Sources
[1] Cited in Ronald W. Walker, Richard E. Turley Jr., Glen M. Leonard, Massacre at Mountain Meadows: An American Tragedy (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 68.
[2] John Pulsipher, Part of the Life and Doings of John Pulsipher: From 1827 to 1874, 2 vol.(unpublished manuscript, copy in author’s possession), 1:138.
[3] Cited in Blaine M. Yorgason, Richard A. Schmutz, and Douglas D. Alder, All That Was Promised: The St. George Temple and the Unfolding of the Restoration (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013), 47.
[4] William Fawcett, “William Fawcett Version of the Dixie Settlement,” Washington County News, 12 January 1961, in Andrew Karl Larson Papers, Dixie State University Special Collections.
[5] See Lisle G Brown, “‘Temple Pro Tempore”: The Salt Lake City Endowment House,” Journal of Mormon History, 34/4 (Fall 2008): 1-68.
[6] Juanita Brooks, Quicksand and Cactus: A Memoir of the Southern Mormon Frontier (Salt Lake City: Howe Brother, 1984), 112.
[7] Pulsipher, Charles, 1830 – 1915. Charles Pulsipher reminiscences, https://zerahpulsipherplace.wordpress.com/2023/06/21/charles-pulsipher-reminiscences-and-diary/.
[8] Cited in Yorgason, Schmutz and Alder, All That Was Promised, 88.
[9] See Yorgason, Schmutz and Alder, All That Was Promised, 98–117.
[10] Yorgason, Schmutz and Alder, All That Was Promised, 222.
[11] See Leonard J. Arrington, Great Basin Kingdom: Economic History of the Latter-day Saints, 1830–1900 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1958, 1966), 323–329.
[12] Thomas C. Haddon, writings, circa 1882, MS 3216, Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.
[13] Cited in Yorgason, Schmutz and Alder, All That Was Promised, 199.
[14] See Yorgason, Schmutz and Alder, All That Was Promised, 197–204.
[15] “Journal (January 1, 1873 – February 7, 1880),” February 22, 1877 – February 28, 1877, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, accessed September 18, 2023, https://wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/p/MQoG.
[16] “Discourse 1894-04-08,” p. 10, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, accessed September 18, 2023, https://wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/p/nJY7. See also Jennifer Ann Mackley, Wilford Woodruff’s Witness: The Development of Temple Doctrine (Seattle: High Desert Publishing, 2014), 178–180.
[17] Richard O. Cowan, Temples to Dot the Earth (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1989), 138–139.
[18] See Yorgason, Schmutz and Alder, All That Was Promised, 317–338.
[19] “St. George Utah Temple,” Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/st.-george-utah-temple/. Accessed September 18, 2023.
Citation Information
This post was originally published on October 26, 2023. The most recent update on July 31, 2025 includes new content and resources, relevant links, and an improved online reading experience.
