Item Detail
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7085
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6
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25
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English
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Exterior Symbolism of the Salt Lake Temple : Reflecting the Faith That Called the Place into Being
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BYU Studies
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1996-97
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36
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4
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6-68
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"Shortly after World War II, a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps wrote a book called Man's Search for Meaning. This title captures one of humanity's deepest yearnings. Temples answer some of the most important aspects of that search for Latter-day Saints; many of those answers are expressed visually on the exterior of the Salt Lake Temple. This paper represents my personal reflections on the visual symbolism of this temple as informed by the scriptures, the LDS historical record, and statements from General Authorities. Because the temple is a place sacred to the Latter-day Saints, it must be studied within the framework of the tradition of faith that called that place into being. When scholars see sacred places and traditions through the lens of modern secularism, they usually deceive themselves regarding those institutions: "Examine the institutions of the ancients without thinking of their religious notions, and you find them obscure, whimsical, and inexplicable." Such scholars miss the spirit that drives and animates. Their work would be like studying Joseph Smith as simply a collection of chemical compounds--interesting chemistry perhaps but not a very useful way to study Joseph Smith's contributions to religious thought and history. Therefore, I have done my best to see the Salt Lake Temple with the "eye of faith" (Ether 12:19) and to describe the meaning of the temple exterior from within the Latter-day Saint tradition. Nevertheless, this exposition is in no way an official statement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, nor am I claiming completeness. Attempting to analyze the exterior of the temple led me through a series of challenges. I first tried to create a simple equation list; sunstones equal this, starstones equal that. It was like reading a dictionary instead of Shakespeare. I discovered that it was the relationships between the symbols that contained much of the iconographical meaning. Like most complex symbolic creations, the temple has multiple layers of meaning." [Publisher's abstract]
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Folklore in Utah
In God’s Image and Likeness: Ancient and Modern Perspectives on the Book of Moses
Joseph Smith at the Veil: Significant Ritual, Symbolism, and Temple Influence at Latter-day Saint Beginnings
Latter-day Houses of the Lord : Developments in Their Design and Function
Latter-Day Saint Temples as Symbols
Salt Lake City : The Place Which God Prepared -
Acculturation and Transformation of Salt Lake Temple Symbols in Mormon Tombstone Art
A Description of the Great Temple, Salt Lake City, and A Statement Concerning the Purposes for Which it Has Been Built
Authorship and Architectural Influences on the Salt Lake Temple
Encyclopedia of Mormonism : The History, Scripture, Doctrine, and Procedures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Every Stone a Sermon : The Magnificent Story of the Construction and Dedication of the Salt Lake Temple
History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Period I : History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, by Himself
History of the Construction of the Salt Lake Temple
Images of Faith : Art of the Latter-day Saints
Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Mormon Doctrine
Mormonism and Early Christianity
Nineteenth-Century Mormon Architecture and City Planning
Our Latter-day Hymns : The Stories and Messages
Symbols in Stone : Symbolism on the Early Temples of the Restoration
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
Temple and Cosmos : Beyond this Ignorant Present
Temples of the Most High
The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff
The Early Temples of the Mormons : The Architecture of the Millennial Kingdom in the American West
The Everlasting Spires : A Story of the Salt Lake Temple
The House of the Lord : A Study of Holy Sanctuaries Ancient and Modern
The Mormon Ideology of Place : Cosmic Symbolism of the City of Zion, 1830-1846
The Salt Lake Temple : A Monument to a People
The Salt Lake Temple : An Architectural Monograph
The Salt Lake Temple and the Metaphors of Transformation