Happy Birthday to Me

11 April 1983

My first birthday in Utah … a quiet celebration.

Mui comes bearing gifts …

… for the birthday girl.

It’s nice to be remembered by far away friends.

Temple Square: the Symbolic Heart of the LDS

9 April 1983

Utah, the Beehive State, was founded by the Latter Day Saints (LDS, or more commonly, the Mormons).  When they first arrived in the region in 1847, under the leadership of Brigham Young, they named it Deseret, meaning honeybee in the Book of Mormon, and representing industry and hard work.  (The name was changed to Utah when it became a territory in 1850.)

Our day of sightseeing took us to Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City (SLC).  The square is considered to be the symbolic heart of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It is completely enclosed by a 15-foot (4.5 m) high wall that surrounds the imposing granite Temple, domed Tabernacle with its great organ, Assembly Hall, Sea Gull Monument, two visitor centers, and the log remains of Salt Lake Valley’s oldest standing home.  (For more information about the Mormon Church and Temple Square, click here.)

Aerial view of Temple Square.
[scanned from a postcard]

We started our visit at the Meridian Marker, which is located outside the wall.  It was placed in 1847 to define the boundaries of Temple Square.  The marker also serves as the point of origination for the numbering system for the streets of SLC, which are laid out in a well-planned grid.

The Meridian Marker is placed at
Latitude 40°46’04” and Longitude 111°54’00”.

Inside the walls, we stopped to see various points of interest, starting with the Nauvoo Bell, which originally hung in the Nauvoo Temple in Illinois.  The bell was removed by the Saints in 1846 when they were forced to leave Illinois.  It was brought to the Salt Lake Valley by the second company of pioneers that made the cross-country trip.

Next, we stopped to view the Gothic-style Assembly Hall, which was constructed between 1877 and 1882.  We found the Sea Gull Monument in front of this building.  Why a monument to sea gulls?  You see, in the spring of 1848 the Mormon pioneers planted crops in the valley.  As these crops ripened, they were attacked by crickets.  The Saints fought a losing battle against the crickets until, like a deliverance, their prayers were answered and thousands of sea gulls showed up to feast on the pesky bugs.

Left: the Nauvoo Bell
Right: the Assembly Hall and the Sea Gull Monument

Of all the buildings in Temple Square, the one that is probably second only to the temple itself is the oval-shaped Tabernacle.  The idea for it came from Brigham Young.  It was built between 1863-67 by a bridge builder named Henry Grow.  Virtually no nails were used in the construction, and the building is held together with wooden pegs and rawhide strips.  The Saints liked marble and oak, neither of which was available, so they used pine for the benches and pillars and then painted them to resemble their favored medium.  The Tabernacle’s most striking feature is the great organ, built by an Austrian convert.  Made of white pine, the organ has 11,000 parts.  The world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs regularly (more information here).

The acoustics are so perfect that from the back you can
hear a pin that is dropped on the stage at the front.

Of course, at the heart of square is the majestic, six-spired Temple.  It is not open to the general public and we were told that only “good” Mormons can enter through the doors.  Begun in 1853, construction was completed 40 years later.  It is built of granite, which was hauled 23 miles (37 km) by ox-drawn carts.  The 9-foot (2.7 m) thick walls at ground level narrow to 6 feet (1.8 m) at the top.  The center tower is 210 feet (64 m) high and is topped with a gold statue of the Angel Moroni heralding the restoration to earth the gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days.

The temple is used by church members for weddings and other
sacred ordinances designed to strengthen family ties,
both now and for eternity.

This was the first of many visits we made to Temple Square during the eight years we lived in Utah.  Yes, each time we went there, we were approached by missionaries who wanted to educate us about the Saints and their church.  They were always polite; never insistent — a quick thanks, but no thanks; and we were left to wander around on our own.

Easter Snow and Canyon Winds

3 April 1983

We weren’t expecting to see snow when we woke up and looked out the window on Easter morning.  By the end of the day, we had somewhere around 10 inches (25 cm) of accumulation in the driveway.

There was quite a bit of wind as well, but we took it in stride … until the next day, when a 3-day siege of extreme canyon winds began rattling the windows with a fury that you had to be there to appreciate.  The wall of glass in the living room, which faced the Wasatch Mountains, bore the brunt of the winds.  Gusts up to 104 mph (166 kph) were recorded.  When the news came that Hill AFB had essentially shut down, we knew the storm was serious.  We rode it out, safe in our basement apartment.