plaque

Only a Stonecutter

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DVD cover

DVD cover

A new short film by Excel Entertainment and T.C. Christensen has been released entitled “Only a Stonecutter: One Man’s Sacrifice to Build the House of the Lord.”  The film tells the story about John Rowe Moyle and how for 20 years he walked 22 miles from Alpine to Salt Lake to work as a stone mason on the Salt Lake Temple.  He endured this rigorous routine even after losing his leg in an accident.

Several general authorities have told this story, including President Uchtdorf in the Priesthood Session of the most recent General Conference (October 2008).  We have also recounted this story previously as told by Elder Holland in the April 2000 Conference.  As a capstone to Br. Moyle’s work on the temple, he is the one who chiseled “Holiness to the Lord” on the eastern façade.

The film is 14 minutes long and available at Deseret Book and likely wherever LDS items are sold.  A short preview video clip is below.

Holiness to the Lord

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Plaque on Salt Lake TempleA member of my ward emailed me this quote from Elder Holland’s April 2000 Conference address.  I thought it was a very good story of dedication, hard work, and faith:

One other account from those early, faithful builders of modern Zion. John R. Moyle lived in Alpine, Utah, about 22 miles as the crow flies to the Salt Lake Temple, where he was the chief superintendent of masonry during its construction. To make certain he was always at work by 8 o’clock, Brother Moyle would start walking about 2 a.m. on Monday mornings. He would finish his work week at 5 p.m. on Friday and then start the walk home, arriving there shortly before midnight. Each week he would repeat that schedule for the entire time he served on the construction of the temple.

Once when he was home on the weekend, one of his cows bolted during milking and kicked Brother Moyle in the leg, shattering the bone just below the knee. With no better medical help than they had in such rural circumstances, his family and friends took a door off the hinges and strapped him onto that makeshift operating table. They then took the bucksaw they had been using to cut branches from a nearby tree and amputated his leg just a few inches below the knee. When against all medical likelihood the leg finally started to heal, Brother Moyle took a piece of wood and carved an artificial leg. First he walked in the house. Then he walked around the yard. Finally he ventured out about his property. When he felt he could stand the pain, he strapped on his leg, walked the 22 miles to the Salt Lake Temple, climbed the scaffolding, and with a chisel in his hand hammered out the declaration “Holiness to the Lord.” ((Jeffrey R. Holland, “As Doves to Our Windows,” Ensign, May 2000, 75))