salt lake temple

Scale Model Exhibit of the Salt Lake Temple Opened on Temple Square

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Video of the Scale Model of the Salt Lake Temple

Video of the Scale Model of the Salt Lake Temple. (Press play to view)

Today, the Church unveiled an 88-inch scale model of the Salt Lake Temple in the South Visitors’ Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake.  You can see an introduction of the model in the video clip above.  It is a 1:32 scale replica of the temple, with the walls cut away so visitors can see the rooms inside.  Sixteen model makers constructed the model over five months, and went to great lengths to construct the model, using thousands of photographs to make sure every intricate detail was accurate, from the murals, to the wall paintings, chairs, lighting fixtures, etc.  You can look into nearly every room.

The community regularly gets to tour new temples in a public open house before they are dedicated, but since it’s been so long since the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, they hope this model will allow visitors to get the same experience of this temple:

“This replica will show the millions of visitors who come to Temple Square the beauty and majesty of this sacred and historic building,” said Elder Richard G. Hinckley, executive director of the Missionary Department. “Like all temples, once the building is dedicated it is used for sacred Church purposes and not open to the general public, but this exhibit will provide the public with a glimpse of the interior and a feeling of the Spirit that is present there.”

You can read more details, and see a few photos, about the model in the Church’s news release.  They also have more details about the project, photos, audio clips, and a fact sheet at this link about the creation process.

I’m going to have to go up to Temple Square to see this fantastic new model.

0.41 Gigapixel Photo of Salt Lake Temple

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Not to be outdone by yesterday’s 360° Panoramas of Temple Square, Dr. Hamblin has produced probably the highest resolution photograph of the Salt Lake Temple ever made.  It is 0.41 gigapixels, which amounts to 410 megapixels.  Compared with most modern digital cameras which are capable of 2-8 megapixels, this is a super high resolution image.  The total file size of the image is 400 megabytes, but don’t worry, you don’t have to download all of that data to see it.

Dr. Hamblin used a new technology called Gigapan to create the gigapixel panorama.  The results are nothing short of amazing.  The image loads fast, and you can zoom into any portion of the temple and see exquisite details very close-up. I have embedded the photo below for your convenience (if you are reading this in email or RSS, it will only display on the website). If you’d like to see the photo fullscreen, click here.

Dr. Hamblin has also produced a short guided tour of some of the architectural features of the eastern facade of the temple in this photo. It includes the building dedicatory inscription or plaque, sun stones, star stones, clouds, squared-circle stones (sometimes called “Saturn” stones), all seeing eye, moon stones, Alpha and Omega, the Right Hand of Fellowship, and the Angel Moroni.  To see these, click here, and then click on the “Snapshots.”

360° Panoramas of Temple Square

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360° panoramas of Temple Square let you look around as if you were there.

360° panoramas of Temple Square let you look around as if you were there.

Dr. William Hamblin has put together some very cool high resolution 360° panoramas of different locations on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  And they really are 360°.  You can look in all different directions, including up and down.  It gives the impression of standing on the spot.  Well done!

The locations he has included are:

  • West of the Salt Lake Temple (next to Tabernacle)
  • In between Assembly Hall and Tabernacle
  • East of the Salt Lake Temple
  • South of the Salt Lake Temple
  • Near the South Visitor’s Center
  • Christus statue in the North Visitor’s Center
  • Conference Center auditorium
  • Tabernacle interior

You get the best effect if you zoom in just a little.  You can zoom in and out by using the shift and Ctrl keys on your keyboard.  You can move around by clicking and dragging with your mouse.

I’ve always been impressed by how new technologies can take us places for fun or practical purposes.  I’ve written about visiting Utah temples with Google Street View, modeling temples in 3D with Google’s Sketchup, using Microsoft’s Photosynth technology to virtually zoom around Temple Square, or how the Church uses computer rendering to envision future temples.  Dr. Hamblin’s panoramas are a welcome addition!

See the 360° Panoramas of Temple Square

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.

Salt Lake Temple Symbols

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Symbols on the Salt Lake Temple

Symbols on the Salt Lake Temple

There is an article this morning in the Mormon Times about the symbolism in the architecture of the Salt Lake Temple.  It is written by Lynn Arave who used as a reference Dean R. Zimmerman’s article in the New Era entitled “The Salt Lake Temple” from June 1978.

The article cites a brief description and explanation of several of the symbols found on the temple, and includes some interesting details that I did not know before, including this:

Not all the symbolism originally planned for the Salt Lake Temple became a reality, either. For example, an early sketch of the temple by Angell found hanging today in Brigham Young’s guest room at Cove Fort shows that two Angel Moroni statues, one each on the east and west ends, were initially envisioned. Only an eastern statue was ever used for reasons unclear….

For perhaps its first few decades, the Salt Lake Temple used to have statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, one each in niches at the top of the two eastern stairways. These bronze statues were later removed and placed elsewhere on the temple block, according to Elder Talmage in “The House of the Lord.” The empty spaces for these two statues remain and are popular photography spots for wedding parties today. ((Lynn Arave, “Symbolism can be seen in architecture of S.L. Temple,” Mormon Times, November 27, 2008.))

For a more extensive treatment of the symbols of the Salt Lake Temple see Matthew Brown and Paul Smith’s excellent book Symbols in Stone.