Manti Temple Renovation Complete

Photos were posted today of the completed Manti Temple renovation. All of the photos below come from Church Newsroom.

I'm very, very happy about this renovation. It seems they were able to keep everything that makes this temple unique, with the exception of the live endowment.

The annex looks much the same; a historically accurate green color is on the walls. You can see that Isaac Morley's temple apron is still hanging at the end of the annex.

In the chapel, John Hafen's 1906 painting (a copy of Benard Plockhorst's Jesus Blessing the Children) still remains at the front of the chapel:

In keeping with the Church's Christ-centric focus, especially in temples, the Christensen mural of the Manti Temple in the lobby has been replaced with a beautiful painting of Christ as a shepherd. I'm assuming the Manti Temple mural is elsewhere in the building. Beneath the painting, the Logan Temple sacrament table still remains.

In the baptistry, the murals of Christ and Joseph Smith's baptism were added by Robert L. Shepehrd in 1946. In 1982, the scriptural quotations were added by Wes Wright. 

The mural even extends to the ceiling above the font.

On the back wall is a mural of baptisms from the Book of Mormon, also done by Shepherd.

In the ordinance room, the Church has kept the original murals as well as the benches. I was particularly happy that they kept the benches, as it adds some authenticity to the endowment experience. While the film presentation is now used, they added it with projectors and screens that come down from the ceiling, leaving the walls undisturbed.

I had assumed that there would be some kind of equipment in place to make the endowment rooms more accessible--like ramps or lifts. It appears that after some study, the Church decided it would cause too much damage, and so it must still be difficult to complete an endowment session if you have accessibility concerns. (In one session I attended, they recruited 4 brothers to carry a woman up the stairs in her wheelchair.) However, with the Ephraim Temple being built 15 minutes up the road, no one in the valley should have issues completing temple ordinances.

The oldest temple mural in use, C.C.A. Christensen's 1886 mural in the creation room, remains. I had read in another source that the Church planned to remove it and repaint it during the course of the renovation, but it appears that they decided to keep it. This was the most difficult one, since it was painted directly on the plaster (not on canvas like the other ordinance room murals). They said they even found a few animals in cleaning it that you couldn't see before.

It's so nice to have this mural in place!

The garden room's mural, Robert Shepherd's 1944 garden mural has been preserved. The screens at the front, used by actors in the live endomwent, are gone. Also, heavy curtains (that presumably close when needed) have been added to windows in this and the world room; before, there were only sheer ones.

The most popular mural, Minerva Teichert's world mural, has been well-preserved here, too. I also like that the Church kept altars in the garden and world rooms (even though with the current ceremony's iteration they won't be used here).

The terrestrial room looks exactly the same, although two large screens have been added to the front of the room. While somewhat jarring, it would have been really hard to add projectors and screens here. In the other ordinance rooms, everyone faces forward; here people are facing 3 directions (forward and to the sides, all toward the center of the room), so a screen was probably the best option.

The celestial room looks the same, and it looks like it's kept much of the same furniture as it did before:

Several sealing room images were provided, although I'm less familiar with these and can't pinpoint their locations as well. Some are in the annex, and smaller ones are off of the celestial room. If I had to guess, I think the first sealing room pictured here is one of the smaller ones in the east tower (added in the 1980s renovation), the second one is in the annex (also added in the 1980s), and the last one is on the same floor as the celestial room.

The sealing room just off the Celestial Room--which serves as the temple's Holy of Holies--has also been beautifully preserved:

Finally, the Church provided images of the spiral staircases and the assembly room. Both look in great shape. In the assembly room, they've kept most of the floor uncovered, using just runners in the aisles, as before.

The benches face toward the Melchizedek Priesthood pulpits on the temple's east side. This side includes a microphone, speakers, and an organ:

The Aaronic Priesthood pulpits, seen here, are on the west side, but look exactly the same. After the Kirtland and St. George Temples, assembly room pulpits didn't have initials for priesthood offices.

Nearly everything in this room, except for the carper runners and some upholstery, is original. Even the panes of glass. No curtains are needed in this room, and participants can see a beautiful view of the Sanpete Valley.

It will be fantastic to see the open spiral staircases in-person again.

I'm very happy with this remodel. I wish a similar remodel could have been done to the Salt Lake Temple (or even the St. George Temple), but at least the Manti Temple remains the best way to see pioneer temple architecture.

Architecture Highlights: International Mormon Architecture

Note: This post is updated with new pictures.

The history of the LDS Church means that most significant architecture (built anywhere before 1950) is found in the Mormon corridor. Almost all of my posts focus on meetinghouses, chapels, tabernacles, and temples built in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, California, and Arizona. However, I've had several readers message me asking about historic international architecture. Here are some highlights I'd like to share:

Mexico

The Church has a long-established history in Mexico, beginning with the Mormon Colonies (just south of the border) in the 1880s. Two colonies still remain--Colonia Dublan and Colonia Juarez--and both have great examples of historic buildings. Dublan has this former meetinghouse, constructed in 1898, which now serves as a museum:

(Image Source)

Colonia Juarez has the historic academy (the only stake academy that remains in its original form, and the old LDS-run high school in Mexico), constructed in 1904.

(Image Source)

However, many other significant historic chapels are found throughout Mexico. I ended up serving in one of these on my mission (which I found out later). The best source to find these chapels is the Mormon Images Instagram account. Here a just a couple of good examples:

This is a chapel constructed of native stone in Santiago Tezontlale, State of Hidalgo. (It's a small town north of Mexico City). It was built in 1933, and is very likely the oldest chapel still in use by the Church. From what I can see a newer chapel connects to it, so my guess is that this original chapel now serves as some type of classroom.

(Image Source)

In another nearby town, Tula, there is a chapel with a tower. It was built in the late 1920s, but largely reconstructed in 1951.

(Image Source)

This chapel is the only one I'm aware of that has stained glass in the country.

(Image Source)

South America

The oldest chapel in South America is located in Joinville, Brazil. A number of Latter-day Saints from Europe, mostly Germany, had moved to Joinville. In 1929 they acquired an old house to serve as a chapel, and while it's been heavily remodeled, it's still standing.

 

New Zealand & South Pacific

New Zealand and the South Pacific have a long history in the Church.One of the oldest chapels there is found in Takaroa in French Polynesia, dating back to 1891. I believe this was originally a Catholic or other Church that the members purchased.

(Image Source: Mormon Newsroom)

 

New Zealand has a fair amount of historic architecture in Hamilton, where the Hamilton New Zealand Temple (currently undergoing a renovation) and the former campus of the Church College of New Zealand is located. Most of these buildings were built by labor missionaries serving for the Church. While the temple is being remodeled, many of the buildings of the closed campus have been largely remodeled or rebuilt entirely. Pictured below is the remodeled Wendell B. Mendenhall Library, which now houses historic exhibits. The architecture is much less ornate due to the conditions in which it was built, but it's significant just the same.

(Image Source)

Canada 

Most of the Church's historic identity in Canada traces back to the Cardson area, which I've visited and written about. However, the first chapel in Eastern Canada is found in Toronto, built in 1939.

The building has since had additions, but the current primary room is the old chapel. It has high ceilings, stained glass windows, a dark oak pulpit with "Thy Word is Truth" carved into it, and an original bench. 

 

 

Europe

Much more well-known is the Gadfield Elm chapel, built in 1836 by a religious group (the United Brethren) that entirely converted to the LDS faith 4 years later, thanks to Wilford Woodruff. The chapel was sold in 1842 to fund emigration, but was bought back by LDS members in 1994, and given to the Church in 2004. It's still open and operated as a historic site.

(Image Source: Wikipedia)

That's all I have for now. What did I miss? Has anyone else visited a unique LDS meetinghouse outside of the Mormon corridor, historic or not?

Manti Temple Open House: What to Expect

The Church recently announced that the Manti Temple renovation is complete and the open house will be held in early 2024. The Manti Temple is one of my favorites, and I wanted to do a brief post on what I anticipate we'll see when it comes to the results of the renovations. I think overall the outcome will be great, and the Manti Temple will remain the most well-preserved pioneer temple.

Preservation of the garden and world room murals. These murals were painted on canvas, so they have been cleaned and preserved and will still be in their rooms. I believe this is the case for the baptistry as well, but I'm not sure.

A duplicate of the creation room mural. Christensen's 1888 mural in the creation room was painted directly on the walls. The type of renovation the Church does on its temples requires them to get behind the walls, and so all (or at least most) of this mural would be removed. My understanding is that they are going to put up a reproduction so that it looks the same. (This means that the new oldest existing mural in a temple now goes to Laie.)

Increased accessibility. I'm curious to see how they will make the progression between endowment rooms, and most especially between the garden and world rooms, work. It's only a few steps between the other rooms, but it's about a dozen steps between the garden and world rooms. My guess is there will be a small lift, and ramps may replace stairs where feasible. (There are also ways to convert stairs to ramps, but I think the stairs are too steep for that.)

The addition of modern equipment. Basically, there are two ways they could convert the temple to add the film ceremony: have a blank spot at the front of the room (less mural) where the film is projected, or have a projector come down from the ceiling. I really hope it's the latter.

A well-preserved celestial room, sealing rooms, spiral staircases, and assembly room. I believe the renovation team has done their best to preserve these rooms and keep them looking accurate to the time period. After seeing the assembly hall in the St. George Temple, I'm sincerely hoping that the open house next year includes the assembly hall in Manti.

 

 

 

I am curious about how other areas have been preserved. Have they kept Hafen's mural of Christ with the children in the chapel? Will benches remain in the endowment room, or will they go with the updated look where it's benches with individual, padded seats? Will Christensen's murals of Manti remain in the annex hallway, along with Isaac Morley's Nauvoo-era temple apron? I'm hoping for positive results.

St. George Temple Renovation Complete

The St. George Temple begins its open house this week, and pictures of the renovation were posted today on the Church Newsroom site. I wanted to share my thoughts on the results. (If you want a more detailed history/layout of the temple, see my other post that includes floor plans.)

First, the historical significance of the St. George Temple (and other pioneer temples) is usually forgotten in favor of the more prominent Salt Lake Temple. This was the first temple in Utah, and really, the only "pioneer" temple in that it was completed entirely before a railroad was available at the temple site. Everything in the St. George Temple came from the local area, with the exception of the glass (which was shipped to Salt Lake and then brought down on wagon carts). The pioneers were ingenious in their use of construction materials. 

Second, the temple has undergone significant changes even before this renovation. The ordinance rooms were originally housed in the basement, and were only officially bumped up to the second floor entirely in the 1930s (when murals were also added). The temple's only main staircases, two spiral ones on the east side, are insufficient, and so in the 1970s, a whole addition was added on the west side with a new staircase. In that renovation, murals were also removed, the 4-stage progression was converted to stationary, and other changes were made.

Overall, this renovation is very sensitive to the time period in which the temple was built. Whenever something could fit the time period of the late 1800s, it appears they went with that. In terms of structural integrity, though, the temple had to have some major upgrades, meaning some major parts of the temple are no longer "original." This includes the wood windows. However, on the tour, I did notice that some windows in the assembly hall floor still had the "wavy" or "bubbly" look that used to indicate that it was original glass. So maybe they kept some of the original glass, although it was upgraded to triple-pane windows. The floors and ceilings (which were sagging), and major parts of the walls, especially on the main floor, were also replaced.

The Baptistry

The font bowl and oxen are the originals from 1877. Much of the font railings appear more ornate than they were before (from the 1970 renovation).

Ordinance Rooms

The 1930 murals were removed in the 1970s renovation. In the 1990s, the temple president requested that they be replaced, and each ordinance room received one piece of an original mural.

Unfortunately, these original mural pieces are not in the temple anymore. (In Mesa, original mural pieces were placed in certain hallways; I see no indication of that here, and assume they are back in Church archives). Instead, new murals were painted in the three ordinance rooms. Below is the (former) creation room:

The garden room is in the center of the temple, while the creation and world rooms were on the sides. This meant the garden room had a higher, domed ceiling. This higher ceiling was covered with an unenthusiastic drop ceiling in the 1970s renovation, but the higher ceiling is restored now:

It also appears that the murals were very lightly inspired/based off of originals, as you can see the placement of the swan when comparing the new garden mural (above) to the original:

The world room in the southwest corner of the temple certainly has much more red rock than the original did.

While I'm using the terms creation, garden, and world rooms, progression was not restored in this temple. I did not expect it to be restored, although it is disappointing. Had the St. George Temple been renovated in an earlier time frame (such as the late 2000s or early 2010s) it almost certainly would have been restored, as it was in other historic temples (such as Laie). However, the Church appears to be moving away from progression, even when it could be restored. Therefore, while each ordinance room has a themed mural to the creation, garden, or world rooms, patrons remain in each one for almost the entire session. The terrestrial room continues to serve as the veil room:

The mural on the ceiling of the desert sky was not preserved; likely because it was a later addition, and the ceilings had to be replaced.

The celestial room looks much the same. It used to have a small anteroom on the south side which, for all purposes, was part of the celestial room; it has not just been removed and incorporated into the larger celestial room.

Some small decorative paint on the walls are no longer there, likely keeping in the spirit of the original temple decorations.

Finally, the sealing room off the celestial room, in the east tower, remains.

The assembly room also remains on the temple's fourth floor. It appears that less here was touched, and much of it remains original. They added electrical lights here for the first time--the flower molds were built in anticipation of lights; but it took nearly 150 years to add them!

The image here is taken facing toward the Melchizedek Priesthood pulpits on the east end of the temple (toward the front, with the tower). Here is an original image of the assembly room's west end:

The window behind the pulpits went away in the 1970s with the addition on the west end, but they actually brought back the window behind the west (Aaronic Priesthood) pulpits, although it now looks into the west addition staircase instead of outside. Still, a nice touch.

Overall, I'm a bit disappointed that we couldn't keep any of the original murals and that we lost so much of the historic structure like windows and flooring. However, I also understand the Church's desire to make the building meet all modern codes and make it durable, especially in case of future seismic activity.

I didn't touch on any of the new parts of the temple such as the new annex and rebuilt west addition, but they all look lovely. Overall, I'm very happy with this renovation and wish the Salt Lake renovation had followed this one and not been so drastic in the removal of the original ordinance rooms.

When I actually get to the open house I'll post any more thoughts I have. Have you seen the renovated temple? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!