Thursday: The Importance of The Arts—St. George Temple

This time last week we were relaxing in St. George. It was the first time all four of us had been there and we sure needed the break. When we visit new places we love to enjoy the local nature and visit the beautiful landmark buildings they have in the area. We learn as much as we can about the architecture, the story behind the group or person who built building and share it with our girls. We love to see their imaginations spark when they get involved in the story as if it is some sort of fairy tale. One of the landmarks we visited in St. George was the St. George Utah Temple owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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One story behind this beautiful building:

The president of the church at the time, Brigham Young chose a spot for the temple he felt very strongly about. Unfortunately, the members of the church soon discovered that the chosen site was swampy with numerous underground streams. Young was consulted on moving the site, but the prophet remained firm in the idea that this was the site for the temple. To deal with the problem of the swampy site, the Saints created drains to eliminate as much water as possible. Then they decided to bring lava rock to the site, crush it and use the fragments to create a dry foundation for the temple. This led to a new problem: how to crush the rock. Someone suggested using an old cannon that the city had acquired. After creating a pulley system, the cannon was used like a pile driver to compact the lava rock and earth and create a firm foundation.

The old cannon had an interesting history. It was made in France and used by Napoleon during his siege on Moscow. During Napoleon’s hasty retreat, however, the cannon was left behind. It was later dragged to Siberia, then Alaska, and finally ended up at a fort in California. Members of the Mormon Battalion acquired the cannon, had it mounted on wheels, and brought it to Utah. Today, the old cannon is displayed on the temple grounds.

The girls loved hearing about everything to do with the group of people who build this beautiful building. Everything from what the children loved to play to what kind of crops they grew to support themselves. Don’t you think beautiful buildings are such wonderful pieces of art?
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To learn more about temples and my faith, click here.

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