The Church released a news story today announcing some changes to the Salt Lake Temple renovation and an update on the Manti Temple renovation. In contrast to the earlier announcement, which promised to preserve the Salt Lake Temple's architecture, restoring earlier styles such as paint colors, this news release announced that the Temple will transition to single-room, film-presentation of the endowment ordinance. Not only does this mean the loss of progression and live endowment, but it sounds like the temple will be significantly reconfigured--walls coming down, including murals, many of which will not be able to be preserved. It's Logan all over again.
Here are the releases of the planned endowment rooms. They are ornate, but fairly simple. No murals remain.
Before:
After:
The terrestrial room never had murals, so it looks largely the same, although the seats now face north instead of east.
The Celestial Room looks largely the same:
Furthermore, the release made it clear that the murals were removed, and not all of them were saved. Sure, pictures were taken before they were removed--as was done in Logan--but we probably won't see them again.
Furthermore, the same changes will be made in Manti--murals removed, rooms reconfigured, and presentation changed to single-room, film presentations. Ironically, the St. George Temple seems to have escaped these drastic changes (for now), in spite of its heavy use. Temples renovated earlier (like Idaho Falls, Mesa, and Laie) also escaped these changes. But Salt Lake and Manti--two of the top three most architecturally significant and preserved temples (the third is Cardston)--did not.
Why did this happen?
I personally had a lot of confidence that the Church would preserve the historic components of these temples. This announcement was surprising and disheartening.
The Church has always faced a pendulum with its historic architecture, swinging back and forth between preserving it and removing it. This is for two reasons:
1) Historic buildings are not built for the modern Church. Chapels and tabernacles were too small and too expensive. Temples are inefficient in terms of the number of sessions you can have and the number of people in each session. Live sessions require significantly more work on the part of temple workers. The Logan Temple was drastically remodeled because it was just inefficient and wait times were long. Plenty of tabernacles and chapels were not big enough for modern wards and stakes.
2) Historic buildings do not fit the Church's desired universal standard. Unlike most religious organizations, the Church is centrally managed. Local wards, stakes, and temple districts have little to no say on what is done with the architecture in their area. With worldwide administration, the Church wants to have a consistent experience across the world. This begs the question--should some members get to attend sacrament meeting in an ornate building with stained glass while 95%+ of the Church attends in plain, utilitarian chapels? Should those in Salt Lake or Manti get a different temple experience from those in other countries where there is no live endowment, no historic murals? Should millions more be expended on the preservation of those features?
I personally think that historic architecture that connects us to our past is more important than either of these concerns--and President Nelson's initial announcement of these renovations seemed to support that--but this sudden switch, announced more than a year into the renovation, seems to indicate that there was some debate or hesitancy among the top councils of the Church on these points. The Church also announced these changes after (it appears) murals have already been removed from Salt Lake. There is no way for local (or worldwide) members to petition these decisions.
This makes me significantly more concerned for historic buildings, temples and chapels alike, moving forward. Are we seeing the pendulum swift more toward a focus on efficiency, present uses, and consistency, as was done in the 60s and 70s? Or is this an aberration?
History shows that the Church goes back and forth on this, but the problem is that we can't ever get back the important architectural features that we lost. The connection of the Manti and Salt Lake temples will be gone, just as it is in Logan. History shows that this loss won't be easy--Spencer W. Kimball, who approved the drastic gutting of the Logan Temple, later said he regretted the loss of the original temple's architecture.
Historic architecture connects us to the past and places us in the context of the Church's timeline and our own family's timeline. These experiences are profoundly spiritual and difficult to replicate.
I started a petition to save the Manti Murals.
ReplyDeletehttp://chng.it/x65HGCYMY6
Thanks for sharing, Jake.
DeleteThe news of this today hit me like a wrecking ball.
ReplyDeleteNice to know I'm not alone, Anon. It's one thing to have read so much about when the Logan Temple was gutted, but having it happen in my lifetime is another thing altogether. Definitely grieving today.
DeleteIt really feels like a bait and switch. We were told that the renovation would reflect the sacrifice and dedication of the pioneers and more closely resemble the Temple experience they had; instead we get this....
DeleteThis makes me very, very sad. I did not like the endowment until I went to a live endowment session in Salt Lake. The live session made the endowment make sense to me in a way I doubt the video presentations ever would have.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this; I don't know that I would have heard about it otherwise.
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ReplyDeleteHonestly, the church should not have released the interior renderings a couple of years ago to get us hyped up. Now, this has killed any excitement that I had for the renovation. They were already building temples in Taylorsville and Toelle, which would have cut the numbers of Salt Lake, so there was no need to switch to stationary endowments. An incalculable loss to be sure 😔.
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty unfortunate. I would love to know the reason for the sudden change. As I mentioned, there must have been someone in charge who was not happy with the remodels.
DeleteThey are also removing the statue in the celestial room above the veil. It was a woman holding a plant and had 2 cherubs. That will help eliminate misunderstandings (it was meant to represent peace or something), but this is also sad to lose. The rendering looks nice though, and I appreciate the sconces and wallpaper returning and the furniture matching. I also like the addition of art glass in the veil wall that matches the large art glass that had previously been above the veil.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right. She's not in the rendering. That statue has been there since the temple was dedicated, and was purchased specifically to place in the temple. What a loss.
DeleteI believe the additional art glass is a door where sessions will come from their stationary rooms into what is now the veil room.
My feeling is that damage was done to the murals that were irreversible and the decision was made during the process to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteI've considered this too, Brett. Maybe in the renovation process they found out it was worse than they had considered or some damage was done. Although I'm not sure why they didn't say if that was the case, and if it was, why they couldn't replace the damaged portions of the murals (as has been done in other historic temples like Mesa). The PR department may filter the information we get.
DeleteI share your disappointment, but it is not going to affect my testimony. It sounds to me like the difference between wishes and reality. The church went into the project last year with the wish that the original murals and architecture could be preserved. And that was the plan. As they moved along the project, they realized that it simply was not a reality to do so.
ReplyDeleteI am not an architect nor am I in construction. I am in IT. I know from experience that well-intentioned plans sometimes just can't happen.
I also know that many people world-wide come to Salt Lake. It's sad that their temple experience is diminished because they can't participate in a language that they understand.
In the end, what we are losing is art. That's sad that we are losing that type of art. We are not losing the ability to worship in the house of the Lord. That's good.
I agree we should be understanding with the Brethren, Ben, although they could have clarified that they tried to preserve the murals and were unable to.
DeleteThe decision to move to a film presentation does not mean that the rooms needed to be redone. Plenty of temples (Cardston, Idaho Falls, etc.) have their creation/garden/world rooms and still use the film presentation with different languages. So the decision really came down to efficiency. This may be a bit more justified in SLC, but it's perplexing that it's also applied to Manti.
Furthermore, Manti's floor plan (like Logan's) does not accommodate stationary rooms. The first two floors will likely have to be gutted in some way.
I think that members can genuinely say this decision hurts them and that they disagree with it without it reflecting on their testimony of the Church or the Brethren. I think we need to allow people that space. History has shown that when past architectural treasures were threatened (Heber, Coalville), those who tried to save the buildings were seen as apostates. But when the Bountiful Tabernacle was almost razed, President Kimball made it clear that people could disagree with and even petition the decision and be in good standing and not have their testimony questioned.
I just wanted to say thank you for your blog.
ReplyDeleteI deferred my mission call last April, because of COVID, but I knew that I wanted to receive my Endowment as soon as the temples reopened. I spent the entire summer reading books, researching historical sources, and using your blog to understand the deep and beautiful symbolism that makes the Endowment so special. I've known for a long time that I needed to receive my Endowment in the Manti Temple.
The Manti Temple is very dear to my family. My Fourth Great Grandfather, Lorenzo Snow, dedicated it, and many of my ancestors were the stone masons of both the Salt Lake and Manti Temple. Both Temples are so dear to my family.
In December of 2020, I went to the Manti temple. Besides myself, it was just my mother and father. It was one of the most spiritual and beautiful experiences of my life. The live Endowment was so special - something I'm so grateful I was able to experience. It's hard to believe that few people my age will never have that experience. I wanted to thank you for your blog, and the preparation it brought me.
When I found out about the changes, it broke my heart. I truly don't understand how a change of this magnitude could be made. Many of the craftsmen who carved, chiseled, and painted these beautiful rooms did it out of full devotion to God. They walked hundreds of miles, leaving their beloved temple behind. Many of them spent the rest of their lives, sacrificing all they had to build this building to the Lord - and now their craftwork is gone. The church has always inspired me with their desire to preserve history. The Provo City Center Temple, for example, was one of the most daring and faithful acts I've ever seen. What church puts a burned down building on stilts, only then to restore and rebuild it? It's amazing what we can do.
These changes break me to pieces. As well as myself, I know many people who are somehow connected to the temple. That legacy is now disappearing. These temples are more than properties owned by the Church - they are historical and cultural landmarks. They keep record of my ancestors, and all of the brave souls who left everything behind, in order to consecrate all they had to the Lord. When I was in the Manti Temple, I realized that I was walking in the footsteps of my ancestors. Of the brave men and women who built the edifice so dear to my heart. That's now gone. I don't understand why.
Samuel, I'm really glad you enjoyed the blog, and that you were able to experience Manti. The treatment of architecture appears to vary wildly based on leadership and location, and generally emphasizes function over form. It's been a very difficult weekend!
DeleteI felt physically sick as I read the news this past Friday. We were told this would be a restoration and that the interior would be preserved, only now to learn they've already gutted these rooms. The hard work of so many pioneers now lies in some garbage pile. The temple was meant to last through the millennium, now only select parts of it will.
ReplyDeleteI can understand if the seismic retrofit would have caused damage to the murals, but I don't understand why so much needed to be torn out and replaced. Could they not have just kept the same layout and repainted the murals while preserving the woodwork and room progression? While increased capacity was the reason given, other than when I (and everyone else) attended right before the closure, never once was I in a full endowment session. Although I admit my own observations do not necessarily reflect reality.
People came to the Salt Lake Temple for it's unique interior and live sessions, which for the most part are now gone. Because of this, I believe that the need for more capacity is even less of an issue now. Historical tourism is a big deal, and while temples are not tourist attractions, the underlying human attitude/behavior is still true–we like to visit historic places. I understand some parts are to be preserved, but the majority of those were not open to patrons anyway.
While they may use finishes that look like the originals, they are not in fact historic. The original Parthenon in Athens gets a lot more visitors than does the exact replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. Replicas are never better than the original and do not connect one to the past.
Some older temples were murals were taken out (Mesa, St. George) and now having them put back with new murals that complement the old ones, so something like that isn't unheard of. It's difficult to understand the decision when we don't have all the information on why it was made.
DeleteAre you sure that the Mesa murals won't be removed? They seem outdated and I cannot imagine having an open house for the public while the old murals are displayed. If I recall correctly, the murals depict Joseph & Hyrum preaching to Native Americans and baptizing them.
DeleteAnon, unless plans have changed (which this announcement proves they can), the murals were going to be kept and restored. The murals you're referencing are on the walls of the grand staircase, and all indications are that they would be restored and kept.
DeleteRight now there's a lot of controversy over what to do with historic items that have proved culturally insensitive. I would prefer that these items be kept, maybe with some kind of plaque that educates modern viewers on the history of the item, the reason why it depicted what it did, etc. Although I doubt there will be even that.
Thank you for this blog and thank you for the thoughtful and informative post.
ReplyDeleteI felt gutted and shocked to hear about the upcoming plans for the Salt Lake and Manti temples. Although it seems the damage has already been done to the Salt Lake temple, I was somewhat encouraged by the online petition to save the Manti temple murals referenced in Jake’s comment above.
What else can be done to raise awareness and petition the Church to reconsider their plans for the Manti Temple endowment rooms? What has been effective in the past? How were previous generations able to petition the Church to preserve the Bountiful tabernacle?
Without some sort of organization that would spearhead this, it's unlikely to get much momentum; it's also made difficult when the culture of the Church still tends to ostracize those members who petition these decisions. (I've already had people on my Facebook tell me that God wants to gut the Manti Temple.)
DeleteI have seen some accounts refer those who want to express their opinion to the Church at 801-240-1000 and ask for Tom Owen. He has apparently been called to take calls and comments from the public. But I'm not sure if that's really a way to change anything.
Thank you for the phone number! Even if the call doesn’t effect change, I will feel better knowing I did everything I could think of to avoid this tragedy.
DeleteIn the Manti Temple, the current murals in the Garden and World rooms are not the originals. They were repainted by Robert L. Shepherd and Minerva Teichert about 1946.
ReplyDelete"The plaster in the garden and world rooms had deteriorated so much that the valiant efforts to save the murals by Danquart Weggeland and C. C. A. Christensen failed. The rooms were replastered and high quality sail canvas applied to the walls, the renovation in the world room being completed August 1946."
"Minerva Teichert's Manti Temple Murals", BYU Studies Quarterly, 7-1-1999, page 8
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3318&context=byusq
The current murals are on canvas, so it should be possible to remove them. Perhaps they could build a visitors center in Manti and display them there.
Correct, only the creation room (CCA Christensen's mural) is original, and some portions were repainted.
DeleteI would love for any saved portions of murals to be visible, but of course they lose their meaning when their function is removed. The function of the murals was to immerse participants in the story of the endowment. Without that function, they lose some value.
You would be surprised how much public momentum can change a decision. Look at the temple being built in Tooele for example. It was originally going to be surrounded by high-density housing, which was completely out of place for a rural community. After intense pushback from the community, the plans were altered to foster better relations with the residents in Tooele. The church is invested in preserving its image (as it should), and when they get overwhelming feedback, they will respond.
ReplyDeleteIt's true, James; I should be more optimistic, although it's hard. For example, it was tremendous feedback that saved the Bountiful Tabernacle when it was slated for demolition, and the feedback from the Logan Temple renovation in the 1970s certainly saved the Manti Temple the first time it was renovated in the 1980s. I'll keep posting as I hear of new information on how to provide feedback and get involved.
DeleteIt is too bad that in the case of Manti they couldn't follow the pattern set in Cardston where there is a film and progression. It makes things more efficient while preserving the murals and details. Regrettably Salt Lake is so busy that they just may not be able to do that there. I wonder if perhaps there was damage to the underlying plaster that prohibited the saving of those murals in each location.
ReplyDeleteI've wondered this myself, although I wish if that were/is the case that they would come out and say it. Manti's Garden and World Murals were done on canvas applied to walls, so there shouldn't be the same issues there.
DeleteThe biggest obstacle to keeping the murals in the Manti Temple is accessibility. The spiral floorplan has each room slightly higher than the last and connected only by stairs. There's no central hallway, no one place to put an elevator. Perhaps they could remove the floor in the Terrestrial Room and and rebuilt it on the same level as the Celestial Room and keep both rooms, but everything from the World Room down to the Creation Room would have to be demolished and rebuilt with rooms all on the same level. They would probably want to reposition the baptistry as well.
DeleteSome wild brainstorming:
To keep the original rooms intact, yet also provide accessibility, we would need an alternate path to the Celestial room. To the east of the temple is a little plaza with exterior staircases leading up to the third floor assembly room. If you removed the stairs and excavated part of the hill, you could add a couple instruction rooms and a veil room which would approach the Celestial Room from the side opposite the original Terrestrial Room. The new addition, fully accessible, could be hidden in the hillside with a new plaza on top.
Or, while rebuilding the annex, we could add a second Celestial Room with any number of instruction rooms around it. Perhaps the two Celestial Rooms could be connected by hallway, stairs, and elevator so you could pass from one to the other.
I will miss live presentations. There's a great beauty in their simplicity. The problem of memorizing large portions of text could possibly be solved by adding a teleprompter on the rear wall, maybe a screen that rolls down from the ceiling. While text is displayed to be spoken aloud by temple workers, recordings in various languages could play by headset as necessary. A pause button could keep everything in sync. A deaf temple worker could sign dialog, while the recording for that part plays over speakers. If the session is short workers, a couple minor parts could be played by recording.
I’ve been studying this out in my mind since hearing the news of the new and improved SLC Temple. With all the pile driving and drilling that has been going on since the renovation started it would be safe to say that the plaster was literally shaken from the walls bringing the murals to their tragic end. This opened up the means to bring about the drastic changes now being made within. It would be nice to see a representation of the murals repainted within the newly created spaces of the temple and maybe the Lord will inspire them to do so. If my little cookie cutter temple in Columbia SC can have wall papered murals in the instruction room than why not do the same for Salt Lake. As for Manti I believe they need to read Spencer W Kimbals thoughts on the Logan Temple renovation. Let us lift our voices heavenward and petition the Lord to allow us to keep our pioneer heritage. I’m sorry if someone with disabilities can’t access these Temples, try going to one of the many others Temples you have been so fortunate to have within the Utah area. We shouldn’t destroy a 100 or more years of of history and all the blood,sweat, and tears that went into the building of these sacred structures. Turn it into a museum and build another one then everyone can enjoy it.
DeleteGrant, I've thought about that too. My idea was to just widen the doors between the rooms and add a ramp or lift. My other idea was to just offer stationary sessions in the terrestrial room every so often with direct access to the terrestrial room. I believe the Cardston Temple offers that, I remember seeing times for it when I visited.
DeleteWhen the LA Temple first opened they actually did just have audio, no video, so something like that could be feasible.
Vilaman68, I have wondered if that was the case too, although I would feel better if the Church had come out and said that they wanted to save the murals but it became impossible. There are some groups working to respectfully and humbly offer feedback on the Manti Temple decision.
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ReplyDeleteClever perhaps, but cruel. I would argue that there's even more resistance now due to that approach. It makes the church look even more insensitive and tactless.
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DeleteI think it is safe to say that the pendulum has swung back to the out with the old, in with the new mindset that prevailed in the 1960s and 1970s. I've lost all interest in attending the SL or Manti temples again. I don't want my temple experience to be marred by an intense disappointment in the renovation.
ReplyDeleteI now consider it a tender mercy the Lord kept me in Utah for a few years after I graduated from BYU, even though I desperately wanted to live elsewhere. Being there meant I could attend the SL and Manti temples as often as I liked, and I certainly took advantage of that. I guess that it's just as good that I now live 2,000 miles away from them.
My dear friend Paul Anderson will be rolling in his grave over this. He and Florence Jacobson fought so hard and then devoted years to restoring the Manti Temple. They used such care and love. Paul was an advocate for Mormon architecture and contributed countless hours and materials to preserving and honoring it. I am old man now and quite sorry I have live to see this return to barbarism by bureaucrats who believe the past must be sacrificed for the now. So,so sad.
ReplyDeleteHas there been any update about any of this? The church still going ahead with it all? It is curious that the church takes such care with some of it's buildings and then sacrifices others in the name of efficiency. Those of us who care about these buildings appear to be helpless.
ReplyDeleteI have a different take on why the sudden change in plans.
ReplyDeleteI am suspicious that the earthquake that happened just after the temple closed for renovation/restoration did more damage to the interior of the building than has been stated. This is just my guess. Or, the walls for the Endowment rooms holding up the murals were deteriorated more than they had suspected, and it just became unrealistic to try to save it all. Because I believe the prophet really did want to restore the Salt Lake temple, I do not think the decision to do otherwise was an easy decision for him to make. Believe me, I cried over this announcement as hard as anyone could have, but I honestly think there are reasons that just have not been made public.
I also agree that there are many things that we don't know about behind the scenes that prompted the updated decision. However, the March 2021 statement on the changes was sloppy.
DeleteWith that statement stressing efficiency and numbers, I think that they were trying to make the changes sound positive; but instead, it came across as indifferent and tactless.
I know that President Nelson isn't some sort of villain with a vendetta against all art. His response to Manti shows that he's at least aware of concerns by artistically-minded Latter-day Saints.
Know it may be a little late but started a petition to save the Salt Lake Temple https://chng.it/sxcYvYXxWQ
ReplyDeletehttps://chng.it/sxcYvYXxWQ
ReplyDeleteThe furniture in the rendering of the celestial room was tested out before the temple was closed for repairs. I went at least once in the months prior to the close and saw the new furniture. It looked so much better better in that space than the white painted furniture that preceded it.
ReplyDeleteI like the rendering for the Celestial Room, though I'd like to see a rendering of what it would look like with a huge rug with wood flooring showing around the edges of the room (like in the Provo CC Temple or the Philadelphia Temple).