welden andersen

Salt Lake Temple

Fifteen years ago, a great article appeared in the March 1993 Ensign entitled, “In His Holy House.” Several articles in this edition of the Ensign were focused on the Salt Lake Temple. This particular article had large photographs of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple that are not often seen today. ((There are other publications which have many more photographs of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple, including maps and other diagrams. The Salt Lake Temple: A Monument to the People, University Services Corporation, 1983. The Salt Lake Temple: A Centennial Book of Remembrance – 1893-1993, LDS Church, 1993.)) These photos were taken by Welden Andersen, a top Church photographer. ((On a side note, Welden Andersen is also an expert marksman and instructor in concealed weapons, and teaches Utah Concealed Carry Weapon Permit classes, which I have attended. You can visit Welden’s website here – www.self-defensesolutions.com. He is also a good friend of my father.))

See this link for the photos of the inside of the temple: ((The photos in the original Ensign publication are much larger and more detailed than are included online.))

• The creation room
• The baptistry
• The garden room
• The lower grand hallway
• The world room
• The upper grand hallway
• The terrestrial room
• The celestial room
• A couple temple sealing rooms
• The main assembly room
• The council room of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles
• The council room of the Twelve Apostles.
• The council room of the Presidency of the Seventy.

Some of these rooms, such as the council rooms and assembly room, I don’t think I had ever seen before. The council room of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles is probably where the brethren met on February 3rd, 2008, in order to reorganize the First Presidency. President Packer gives us some more insight into this special room:

Here each week [I believe it’s usually Thursday morning] the Brethren assemble to sit in council. First the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles meets; later in the morning the First Presidency arrives and the Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is convened. Here the Brethren wrestle with the weighty matters of the kingdom of God upon the earth, for its management is upon their shoulders. Here, dressed in the proper way for temple ordinance work, they approach the altar in the true order of prayer to seek divine guidance and inspiration as they consider these matters. The Presidents of the Seventy meet in their council room as well. ((Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple, 3))