In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a tabernacle is a multipurpose religious building, used for church services and conferences, and as community centers. Tabernacles were typically built as endeavors of multiple congregations (termed wards or branches), usually at the stake level. They differ from meetinghouses in scale and differ from temples in purpose. [1]
There were 79 total tabernacles built during the mid-to-late nineteenth and early twentieth century, usually within areas of the Mormon Corridor near the Rocky Mountains in North America that had predominantly Latter-day Saint populations. [2] The largest such tabernacle is in Salt Lake City on Temple Square. The last tabernacle commissioned by the church was the Ogden Stake Tabernacle, built in 1956.
While some tabernacles are still used for a few ecclesiastical and community cultural activities, stake centers are now normally used in their place. Many tabernacles have been demolished, sold, or renovated, with two repurposed into temples (Vernal Utah Temple, Provo City Center Temple).
Prior to 2000, the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square was used twice a year for the church's general conferences. In April 2000, the conferences moved one block north to the Conference Center.
Henry Grow, Jr. was a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) builder and civil engineer in pioneer-era Utah. His most notable achievement was aiding the construction of the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Grow engineered the meeting hall's unique elongated dome roof.
Temple Square is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediately adjacent to Temple Square. Contained within Temple Square are the Salt Lake Temple, Salt Lake Tabernacle, Salt Lake Assembly Hall, the Seagull Monument, and two visitors' centers. The square was designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1964, recognizing the Mormon achievement in the settlement of Utah.
William Harrison Folsom was an architect and contractor. He constructed many of the historic buildings in Utah, particularly in Salt Lake City. Many of his most prominent works were commissioned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For a time he was sustained as the Church Architect, a calling in the church.
The Conference Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the premier meeting hall for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Completed in 2000, the 21,000-seat Conference Center replaced the traditional use of the nearby Salt Lake Tabernacle, built in 1868, for the church's biannual general conference and other major gatherings, devotionals, and events.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, in the U.S. state of Utah. The Tabernacle was built from 1863 to 1875 to house meetings for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the location of the church's semi-annual general conference until the meeting was moved to the new and larger LDS Conference Center in 2000. Now a historic building on Temple Square, the Salt Lake Tabernacle is still used for overflow crowds during general conference. It is renowned for its remarkable acoustics and iconic pipe organ. The Tabernacle Choir has performed there for over 100 years.
The Vernal Utah Temple is the fifty-first temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The temple is located in Vernal and was the church's tenth temple built in Utah.
The Provo Utah Temple was a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in Provo, Utah, just north of Brigham Young University (BYU). The intent to build the temple was announced on August 14, 1967, by Hugh B. Brown and N. Eldon Tanner. The church's temples are a sacred space where church members make covenants and perform ordinances for themselves and their deceased ancestors. The temple was designed by architect Emil B. Fetzer and was dedicated in 1972 as the church's seventeenth constructed and fifteenth operating temple. It was the sixth temple built in Utah, and the first in both Utah County and Provo.
The Ogden Utah Temple is the sixteenth constructed and fourteenth operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Ogden, Utah, it was originally built with a modern, single-spire design, similar to the Provo Utah Temple. The temples in Ogden and Provo were designed to be sister temples and are the only ones dedicated by church president Joseph Fielding Smith. The temple became the church’s fifth in Utah, and second along the Wasatch Front, dedicated almost 79 years after the Salt Lake Temple. It was the first to be dedicated in the state of Utah, as the previous ones were dedicated when Utah was still a territory.
Fred Lewis Markham was an American architect in the early 20th century who designed movie theatres and many buildings on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord. Temples are considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in California. California has the 2nd most members of the LDS Church in the United States, behind Utah. The LDS Church is the 2nd largest denomination in California, behind the Roman Catholic Church.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Utah. Utah has more church members than any other U.S. state or country. The LDS Church is also the largest denomination in Utah.
The Provo Tabernacle was a tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1898 to 2010 in downtown Provo, Utah, United States. It was a historic icon of Provo and had been home to many religious and cultural events. All but the outer walls of the building were destroyed by fire in December 2010. The LDS Church preserved the remaining outer walls and built a new foundation and interior as part of the Provo City Center Temple, completed in 2016.
The Provo City Center Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, built on the site of the former Provo Tabernacle in Provo, Utah. Completed in 2016, the temple uses much of the external shell of the tabernacle that remained from the original building after a fire in December 2010. The intent to build the temple was announced on October 1, 2011, by church president Thomas S. Monson, during the church's general conference. The temple is the second in Provo, was the sixteenth in Utah, and the church's 150th worldwide. This temple has a distinctive exterior with Gothic-inspired stained glass windows. A groundbreaking ceremony, to signify the beginning of construction, was held on May 12, 2012, conducted by Jeffrey R. Holland.
The Alpine Stake Tabernacle or Alpine Tabernacle, located at 110 East Main Street (US-89) in American Fork, Utah, United States, functions as a meeting place for large gatherings of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in northern Utah County for worship services. The building is part of the American Fork Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Harold William Burton was an early 20th-century architect with architectural works throughout the western United States and Canada. Burton was one of the most prolific architects of chapels, meetinghouses, tabernacles and temples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1910 he opened an architectural firm with Hyrum Pope in Salt Lake City, Utah. They particularly appreciated Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School architectural style. As young architects, Pope & Burton won design competitions for two of their better-known works, the Cardston Alberta and Laie Hawaii temples of the LDS Church. Burton moved to Los Angeles, California in 1927 to set up another office in the firm with Pope. After Pope unexpectedly died in 1939, Burton established a new firm with his son Douglas W. Burton. Together they continued to design many buildings, including some for the church, and in 1955 Harold Burton became the chief supervising architect for the LDS Church. One of his final works was the Oakland California Temple. Aside from places of worship, Burton designed civic buildings and homes. Many of his works exist today, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Weber Stake Tabernacle, later known as the Ogden Pioneer Tabernacle, was a tabernacle belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The tabernacle was constructed by Latter-day Saints in Ogden, Utah during the 1850s. The building stood for over one-hundred years, until it was razed in 1971 to make way for the Ogden Utah Temple.
The Old Salt Lake Tabernacle, was a tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that was built in 1852 in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. It stood on Temple Square where the Salt Lake Assembly Hall now stands. The building was 126 feet long and 64 feet wide and seated 2,500. It was constructed of adobe bricks. It was also called the Old Tabernacle and the Adobe Tabernacle. It was the original home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Improvements were made in 1860s, but it was demolished in 1877 and replaced with the Assembly Hall, a larger structure.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The architecture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes the design and use of the church's temples, meetinghouses, historic sites, and other buildings and facilities. The LDS Church is known for its unique and often imposing architecture. The church's architecture differs based on the uses of individual buildings and varies in style throughout the world.