Salt Lake City is a unique city, due in part to the influence of revelations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. As the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the influence of the Lord’s directives recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants is evident in the buildings at the heart of the city—the world-renowned Salt Lake Temple, the elliptical-domed Tabernacle, the ten-acre Conference Center, the regal Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and the high-rise Church Office Building; all ornamented with beautiful gardens and fountains. In addition, local residents and visitors alike may tour Welfare Square and the Church’s Humanitarian Center, located away from the downtown area, to learn about efforts to provide for the poor and needy around the world.

One might ask, “Why did the early Mormon pioneers and those who have followed them build up Salt Lake City as they have?” Although no available records specifically state that Brigham Young and succeeding leaders of the Church searched the Doctrine and Covenants as the pattern to establish the city, there is ample indication that such was and is the case. Francis M. Gibbons noted that “after the Prophet [Joseph Smith]’s death, the whole object of Brigham’s ministry seemed to represent a deliberate effort to execute, in the most minute detail, the plans and programs of his predecessor.” [1] The Lord revealed to Brigham Young and the Saints that he called upon Joseph Smith “to bring forth my work; which foundation he did lay, and was faithful” (D&C 136:37-38). Those who accepted Joseph Smith as a Prophet saw themselves as building upon the foundation that he laid. Indeed, Brigham Young openly declared, “Brother Joseph, the Prophet, has laid the foundation for a great work, and we will build upon it.” [2] At a later time Brigham exclaimed, “I feel like shouting hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet whom the Lord raised up and ordained, and to whom he gave keys and power to build up the Kingdom of God on earth and sustain it. These keys are committed to this people, and we have power to continue the work that Joseph commenced, until everything is prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. This is the business of the Latter-day Saints, and it is all the business we have at hand.” [3] Further, the correlation between the instructions the Lord gave as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants and the Church buildings erected in Salt Lake City strongly suggests that such a connection between the two should be considered.

Most of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were received in the 1830s and 1840s. Over the ensuing years their instructions have served as the foundation of the Lord’s work wherever the Saints have gathered. Initially, the Lord addressed the community-building efforts of the Saints in upstate New York, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois—all areas in which the main body of Saints remained for less than ten years. In each case, the Saints did not have time to fully carry out the Lord’s commands. In contrast, Salt Lake City has been the headquarters of the Church for more than 160 years. Thus, as one might expect, the implementation of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants is most evident in the work of the Church in Salt Lake City.

As recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord revealed that several specific stewardships and structures are integral to building his kingdom. The stewardships or responsibilities the Lord gave to the Church are connected to the buildings that provide a space to fulfill the Lord’s commands to build up Zion. Several buildings pivotal to establishing Zion have been built in Salt Lake City with the attendant responsibilities of the stewardships given. The influence of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants may be seen in the building of the Salt Lake Temple, the Church Administration Building, the Bishops’ Central Storehouse, Welfare Square, the Humanitarian Center, Church Printing Services, the Church Office Building, the Church History Library, the Tabernacle and Conference Center, the remodeled Joseph Smith Memorial Building, various Church-owned businesses, and more. The genesis for each of these buildings may be traced to the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants. That which follows is intended as an overview of the relationship between the Doctrine and Covenants and selected buildings in Salt Lake City. Further research regarding each of the buildings, their purposes and history, will continue to reveal a rich story illustrating the influence of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants.

Temples: Houses of the Lord

In the Doctrine and Covenants, the chief edifice God commanded to be built was a temple—the house of the Lord. The Lord commanded temples to be built wherever the Saints have gathered in sufficient numbers to accomplish his work. [4] In 1831, he initially commanded that his house be built in Independence, Missouri (D&C 57:3). Subsequently, in 1833, he commanded that the Saints “establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (D&C 88:119) for the building up of “the city of the stake of Zion . . . . in the land of Kirtland, [Ohio]” (D&C 94:1). In 1838, after the Saints gathered to Far West, Missouri, the Lord declared, “Let the city, Far West, be a holy and consecrated land unto me. . . Therefore, I command you to build a house unto me, for the gathering together of my saints, that they may worship me” (D&C 115:7–8). Later, the Lord commanded the Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois, to “build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein” (D&C 124:27).

In 1847, after announcing that the Salt Lake Valley was the site the Lord wished the Saints to settle, one of the first matters of business for Brigham Young and other Church leaders was to identify a location for the temple. Indeed, the plat for Salt Lake City was organized around the block for Temple Square. [5] Efforts were soon begun to prepare a foundation for the temple on the center block of the city. Today the majestic, six-spired Salt Lake Temple is one of the most recognized symbols of the Latter-day Saints.

The Doctrine and Covenants also contains directions about the purposes of those temples, which expand the concept of temples to places of worship and instruction as well as places to perform ordinances. For example, the Lord’s instructions regarding the structural pattern of the Kirtland Temple focused on providing space for worship meetings and education. By revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord directed that sacred space on the first floor of the Kirtland Temple be provided “for your sacrament offering, and for your preaching, and your fasting, and your praying” (D&C 95:16). Further, he instructed that the upper court be used “for the school of mine apostles” (D&C 95:17). Earlier, the Lord had designated an upper room of the Newel K. Whitney store in Kirtland as “the house of God” in which the Saints were to hold the “school of the prophets” (see D&C 88:136–37). The Lord commanded that those attending the school “be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand” (D&C 88:78).

In Salt Lake City, the revelations regarding locations for the instruction and education of the Saints have resulted in buildings such as the Tabernacle, the Assembly Hall, and the spacious Conference Center, which occupies the entire block north of Temple Square. In addition, numerous Church buildings throughout the city follow the revealed pattern for the Kirtland Temple, with chapels set aside as places for worship and partaking of the sacrament, and classrooms for instructing young children, youth, and adults in the Primary, Sunday School, Young Women, Relief Society, and priesthood organizations and quorums.

The Lord’s revealed purposes for the Nauvoo Temple added distinct purposes to those for the temple in Kirtland. For example, the Lord instructed the Saints to build a baptismal font for performing baptisms for the dead in the Nauvoo Temple (see D&C 124:29–36). In addition, the Lord indicated that within the Nauvoo Temple the Saints should receive the ordinances of washings, anointings, conversations, statutes, and judgments (see D&C 124:37–41). Later the Lord commanded that the Saints enter into and seal their marriage covenants by the authority of the priesthood within the walls of his house. [6] In accordance with those revelations, sacred ordinances are performed within the Salt Lake Temple such as baptisms for the dead, washings, anointings, endowments, and sealings for the living and the dead. [7]

A House for the Presidency

After instructing the Saints to build temples in Kirtland, Ohio, and in Independence, Missouri, the Lord commanded the Saints to build “a house for the presidency, for the work of the presidency, in obtaining revelations; and for the work of the ministry of the presidency, in all things pertaining to the church and the kingdom” (D&C 94:3).

In Salt Lake City, the house for the presidency began modestly as an annex between Brigham Young’s homes—the Lion House and the Beehive House. In 1917, the Church Administration Building became the house for the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and other Church officers. [8]

Bishops’ Storehouse

The Lord commanded that a bishops’ storehouse be established as one of the first Church buildings in Kirtland and later in Independence, “to administer to the poor and the needy” (D&C 42:34; see also 58:24). Originally the bishops’ storehouse in Salt Lake City was located on lots overseen by President Brigham Young and Bishop Newel K. Whitney on the southwest corner of the block east of Temple Square. Currently, there are 141 Bishop’s Storehouses around the world. [9] The largest bishops’ storehouse, which serves as the flagship for the welfare system, is located on Welfare Square in Salt Lake City. [10] In the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants, a tithing and contributions office was added to the bishop’s responsibility and stewardship (see D&C 72:5–6; 119:1–5), and was to be presided over by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve (see D&C 120). Consequently, in Salt Lake City, the President’s Office in the annex between President Brigham Young’s residences included an early tithing office. In addition, a separate building was erected on that same block, directly east of Temple Square and occupying the same lot as the Bishops’ Central Storehouse, with yards for livestock and buildings for other donations in kind. Today the Council for the Disposition of the Tithes (see D&C 120), which oversees the use of sacred funds used in providing for the poor and needy through Bishop’s Storehouses, operates from two locations on the block east of Temple Square. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are housed in the Church Administration Building, and those working in the office of the Presiding Bishopric occupy space in the high-rise Church Office Building.

View of the granary at Welfare Square, part of the bishops' storehouse system. (Courtesy of Craig James Ostler.)

Printing Office

Among the first buildings the Lord connected with Zion were Church-owned printing establishments. In July 1831, he commanded, “Let my servant William W. Phelps be planted in this place [Independence], and be established as a printer unto the church” (D&C 57:11). In addition, the Lord revealed that “there should be lands purchased in Independence, for . . . the house of the printing” (D&C 58:37). Likewise, in Kirtland, the Lord directed that “the second lot on the south [of the temple] shall be dedicated unto me for the building of a house unto me, for the work of the printing of the translation of my scriptures, and all things whatsoever I shall command you” (D&C 94:10). The Lord appointed six brethren—Joseph Smith Jr., Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, John Whitmer, Sidney Rigdon, and William W. Phelps (see D&C 70:1)—as stewards to oversee the publishing of “the revelations and commandments which I have given unto them, and which I shall hereafter give unto them” (D&C 70:3). This council of brethren, known as the Literary Firm, prepared manuscripts of revelations and began to print the Book of Commandments before mobs in Missouri destroyed the printing establishment and printed pages. At the dissolution of the firm in Kirtland, the Lord appointed that “my servants Frederick G. Williams and Oliver Cowdery have the printing office and all things that pertain unto it” as their stewardship (D&C 104:29).

In accordance with the Lord’s commandments in the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants, Church leaders in Salt Lake City established the printing office of the Church in the Deseret News Building, which faced South Temple, where the Joseph Smith Memorial Building stands today. As the Church has grown, the needs for larger facilities have repeatedly arisen. The Church Printing Service building [11] currently occupies about 335,411 square feet of building space—roughly the size of six football fields. [12] Modern presses roll six days a week, twenty-four hours a day, printing over twenty thousand Church publications. Church periodicals such as the Ensign, New Era, Friend, and the international magazine the Liahona, as well as manuals, pamphlets, paintings reproduced for meetinghouses and temples, and most importantly, scriptures, are printed and made ready for distribution there.

The Church's Printing Division building in Salt Lake City. (Courtesy of Craig James Ostler.)

Translation of Sacred Texts and Church Publications

In order to send the word of the Lord to every kindred, tongue, and people, the Lord instructed that the Saints have a place for translation of the scriptures. The revelatory foundation and history of the Lord’s latter-day work regarding translation is rich and unremitting. During the process of bringing forth the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith sought a place to translate the plates in peace. In December 1827, he moved from Manchester, New York, to Harmony, Pennsylvania, with the financial help of Martin Harris. [13] In June 1829, approximately two months after Oliver Cowdery arrived in Harmony to serve as Joseph’s scribe, David Whitmer transported them to his father’s home in Fayette, New York, where they completed the translation. [14] Within two months after the Church was organized in the Whitmer home on April 6, 1830, the Lord directed the Prophet Joseph Smith to begin a revelatory and inspired translation of the Bible. [15] After Joseph and Emma moved to Kirtland, the Lord revealed “it is meet that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., should have a house built, in which to live and translate” (D&C 41:7). In Kirtland, the Lord commanded the “printing of the translation of my scriptures, and all things whatsoever I shall command you” (D&C 94:10).

Today the Church’s Translation Department is centered in the Church Office Building, with satellite locations around the world that are coordinated through the headquarters in Salt Lake City. Thus far, the Book of Mormon has been translated into eighty-seven languages, and selections of the Book of Mormon into twenty-five additional languages. [16] In 2009, the first Latter-day Saint Spanish edition of the Bible, based on the 1909 edition of the Reina-Valera Spanish Bible, was published with excerpts from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, new chapter headings, footnotes, and scriptural cross-references to all scriptures used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The duty of the President of the Church is “to be a seer, a revelator, a translator, and a prophet” (D&C 107:92; see also D&C 21:1). Thus, he directs the translations of sacred texts, such as scriptures and temple ordinances, into new languages. Employees and volunteers within the Translation Department act under the direction of the President of the Church. [17]

Church History and Church Records

From the earliest days of the Church, the Lord gave the Saints a command to keep a history. The first revelation given to members of the newly organized Church of Christ began, “Behold, there shall be a record kept among you” (D&C 21:1). Initially, Oliver Cowdery served as the Church historian and recorder. [18] Later, the Lord called John Whitmer “to keep the church record and history continually; for Oliver Cowdery I have appointed to another office” (D&C 47:3). In November 1831, the Lord reemphasized the importance of John Whitmer’s calling to “continue in writing and making a history of all the important things which he shall observe and know concerning my church” (D&C 69:3). Further, the Lord added that John was to “travel many times from place to place, . . . writing, copying, selecting, and obtaining all things which shall be for the good of the Church, and for the rising generations” (D&C 69:7–8). Underscoring the importance given to keeping and preserving the history of the Lord’s people, the Prophet Joseph Smith explained, “ I will give you a key by which you may never be deceived, if you will observe these facts: Where the true Church is, there will always be a majority of the Saints, and the records and history of the Church also.” [19]

After the Saints began to settle in Salt Lake City, the records of the Church were located in various temporary homes and buildings until 1856, when a modest building was constructed on South Temple across the street from Brigham Young’s homes and offices. That building served as the Historian’s Office until 1917, when the office and records were moved to the new Church Administration Building. Today the central locations fulfilling the divine command to keep records are located in the spacious Church History Library located on the corner of North Temple and Main Streets and in the Church membership department in the Church Office Building. [20] Underscoring the influence of the Doctrine and Covenants upon the building of the Church History Library, the words, “Behold, there shall be a record kept among you” (D&C 21:1) are inscribed over the entrance to the library.

Declare the Lord’s Word to All the World

When the Prophet Joseph Smith first arrived in Independence, the Lord commanded that “the sound [of the gospel] must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth” (D&C 58:64). In 1833, mobs drove the Saints from Jackson County, Missouri, before this command could be fulfilled. Nonetheless, from other locations the Saints have sent forth the word of the Lord in preaching the gospel.

Prophets have taught that obedience to this command includes sending missionaries to teach the gospel in every nation, wherever they are permitted to enter. For decades thousands of missionaries came to Salt Lake City to receive instructions, be endowed in the temple, and receive training before embarking to their fields of labor. Today missionaries do not gather to Salt Lake City but attend classes in Missionary Training Centers in various locations throughout the world. However, calls to serve continue to originate from Salt Lake, making it the center for gospel preaching within the Church. In addition, the sound of the gospel has literally gone forth from Salt Lake City to the entire world in other ways. General conferences of the Church, wherein the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and others preach the gospel, have been held in Salt Lake City for more than 150 years. Through the blessings of radio, television, satellites, and the internet, conference proceedings are transmitted around the world. For most of that time, the sound of the gospel was sent forth from the famed Tabernacle. Since April 2000, the Church has broadcast most conferences and general meetings from the Conference Center.

A massive interpretation center, in which proceedings are rendered into many languages and broadcast around the world, is located in the basement of the Conference Center. Satellite centers, which are connected to the computers and a broadcast hub in the Conference Center, are found in various locations around the world. The author met with the directors for interpretation and broadcasts, whom emphasized that in their work they were fulfilling the commandments in the Doctrine and Covenants. They cited such passages as, “For, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the utmost parts of the earth…” (D&C 58:64). Although this command was originally given in Independence, Missouri, in 1831, they felt that it was also their mandate for the work they are doing in Salt Lake City.

Peace for the Visitor to Zion

The Lord instructed the Saints settling Nauvoo to build a place where the traveler to Zion “may come from afar to lodge therein, . . . that the weary traveler may find health and safety while he shall contemplate the word of the Lord; and the corner-stone I have appointed for Zion” (D&C 124:23), “which shall be polished with the refinement which is after the similitude of a palace” (D&C 124:2). The Saints carried out this command by beginning the construction of the Nauvoo House, located not far from the banks of the Mississippi River, from which visitors were received to Nauvoo. Unfortunately, the Saints were forced to leave Nauvoo before the Nauvoo House could be completed.

In Salt Lake City, the Saints erected the majestic Hotel Utah east of Temple Square. The hotel was completed in 1911, with protest from some Church members, that the building “was a useless expenditure and the money should have been put to better use.” [21] Addressing those critics, President Smith took a moment in his closing remarks at the October, 1911 General Conference: “We have helped to build one of the most magnificent hotels that exists on the continent of America, or in the old continent either. I am told that it is equal to any in the world, for convenience and comfort of its guests, for sanitation, for its situation, and architectural beauty, and in many other ways. Well, some of our people have thought that we were extravagant. I would like you to turn to the book of Doctrine and Covenants and read the commandment of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the city of Nauvoo (D&C 124:22-24). The people were requested to contribute of their means to take stock in this building [the Nauvoo House]… for it was intended for the beauty of the city, for the glory of that stake of Zion, and to accommodate the stranger from afar who came to contemplate the doctrines of the Church and the work of the Lord.” [22] Today the original Hotel Utah has been renovated and serves as the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Although lodging is no longer provided to the weary traveler, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building provides a place of respite in the midst of the city in a magnificently but tastefully adorned setting. Keeping with the original intent of providing for the visitor to Salt Lake City, three of the four Temple Square Hospitality restaurants are located within the building. [23] In addition, the large-screened Legacy Theater, a center-piece of the building, is dedicated to showing films portraying the truths of the Restoration of the gospel, allowing visitors to contemplate the word of the Lord in latter days.

Church-Owned Businesses

The Lord directed that the Church manage for-profit businesses, often as stewardships, in which goods were to be sold “without fraud . . . [to] obtain money to buy lands for the good of the saints” (D&C 57:8). In Kirtland, the Lord commanded that those who oversaw Church properties such as the tannery, the printing office, the mercantile establishment, and the ashery place their profits in a treasury that could be drawn upon for “improving upon the properties which I have appointed unto you, in houses, or in lands, or in cattle” (D&C 104:68; see also 19–39). In addition to the earlier Hotel Utah and current Joseph Smith Memorial Building, the Church has made selected investments in other properties. During the administration of President Joseph F. Smith (1901-1918), “the Church maintained or acquired control of the Deseret News, Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Company, Utah-Idaho Sugar, and the Beneficial Life Insurance Company. It also purchased about 25 percent of the ZCMI stock. In 1919 the Deseret Sunday School Union Bookstore and the Deseret news Bookstore combined to form the Church operated Deseret Book Company.” [24] Today the Deseret Management Corporation, organized in 1966, is the holding company of the Church. Several of the companies overseen by Deseret Management Corporation are headquartered in Salt Lake City, including Deseret Media Companies, Beneficial Financial Group, and Temple Square Hospitality.

Deseret Media Companies include Bonneville International Corporation, a major broadcasting group of television and radio stations, satellite communications, web broadcasting, and more, and the aforementioned Deseret Book Company, which since 1866 has been the market leader in the publishing, distribution, and retailing of faith-based books, music, DVDs, art, and home décor. [25]

In 1905, the Church established Beneficial Financial Group “in direct response to Heber J. Grant’s recognition of a community’s responsibility to protect its widows and orphans.” Then on June 16, 2009, after considering that other businesses met the needs of providing life insurance and other services, “Beneficial and its parent company, Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), made a strategic decision to discontinue issuing new life insurance policies and annuities and no longer accept applications for these products after August 31, 2009.” [26] However, they continue to provide services for all those that had contracted with them before that time.

Temple Square Hospitality includes three restaurants in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building as well as the Lion House Pantry in Brigham Young’s historic home. All of these restaurants provide banquet services and are favorite locations for wedding breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, and receptions.

Prominently located south of Temple Square and extending east and west are Church-owned buildings leased to various private businesses. The most prominent for-profit business venture is the current City Creek project, which envisions redeveloping downtown by providing the area near Temple Square with resident housing and attendant food, clothing, and other stores. The Church’s business arm has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the City Creek project to make housing available to a community that lives in the area continuously. By revitalizing this block with upscale housing and business buildings, the Church is working to prevent the downtown decay that is evident in many other large cities. The Lord directed that the Presiding Bishopric shoulder the responsibility for temporal needs in his kingdom. Thus, often the Presiding Bishopric and those working under their direction have carried out those duties under the watchful eye and guidance of the First Presidency of the Church. [27]

View of Temple Square. (© Intellectual Reserve, Inc.)

Conclusion

From the Salt Lake Temple to the Church Administration Building to the Church Office Building and the Church History Library, the structures in Salt Lake City vividly illustrate the details for buildings in his kingdom, which the Lord revealed and are recorded in the pages of the Doctrine and Covenants. Church leaders and employees take great care to adhere to the guidance and direction given in the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants. Following scriptural mandates, many Church departments have crafted mission statements that connect their work to the revelations of the Restoration. As the world headquarters of the Church, Salt Lake City serves as an excellent reminder of the foundational revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants and the Lord’s constant and continuing hand in the work of the Restoration.

Notes

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[1] Francis M. Gibbons, Brigham Young: Modern Moses/Prophet of God (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1981), 22.

[2] History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ed. B. H. Roberts, 2^nd ed., rev., 7 volumes (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1973), 7:234. (Hereafter History of the Church).

[3] Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses (London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854–86), 3:51.

[4] History of the Church, 5:424, 427.

[5] President Brigham Young assigned Orson Pratt to design the future city by drawing upon Joseph Smith’s plan for the city of Zion. Orson went to work immediately, drawing the city plat with wide streets and large lots. By August 2, 1847, the base and meridian were established as the southeast corner of what was to become Temple Square. From there, he and Henry Sherwood began to survey the plat for Salt Lake City; streets were identified by the number of blocks east, west, north, or south of the meridian marker.

[6] There is no specific revelation connecting the covenant of eternal marriage to be performed only in temples. The Lord indicated that he wanted a house built unto his name in Nauvoo, “for there is not a place found on earth that he may come to restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood” (D&C 124:28). If “the fulness of the priesthood” includes eternal marriage, then there is a direct connection to the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants. On the other hand, over the last century prophets and apostles have taught that eternal marriages are authorized only within the walls of a temple. Yet ample evidence might be cited that eternal marriages performed by proper authority have occurred outside the temple over the history of the Restoration. For example, see Charles C. Rich, Journal of Discourses (London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854–86), 19:164. It is evident from Doctrine and Covenants 132:7 that the one man who holds the keys to this power, in other words, the President of the high priesthood and of the Church (see D&C 107:65–66, 91) directs the work of performing the eternal marriage covenants. Those individuals have emphatically taught that the covenants of eternal marriage and of temple marriage are one and the same. Marriages for eternity were preformed in the Nauvoo Temple in 1846. It also appears that the restricting of authorized eternal marriages to the temple occurred during the administration of President Joseph F. Smith. The restricting of eternal marriages to the temple is spelled out in Elder James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 12th ed. (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1924), 458. He repeated that explanation in his volume The House of the Lord (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1962), 57. Further research beyond the scope and intent of this article is needed to provide specifics that answer the questions of when and why eternal marriages may only be performed in temples today.

[7] See the Richard O. Cowan’s chapter in this volume.

[8] See Matthew O. Richardson’s chapter in this volume.

[9] “Welfare Service Fact Sheet,” 2009.

[10] Welfare Square is located at 751 West 700 South, Salt Lake City. The author has toured the facilities on several occasions as a guest of the directors of Welfare Square. These directors emphasized that the work at Welfare Square finds its foundation in the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants and the Lord’s inspiration to Church leaders that have clarified and built upon those revelations.

[11] The Church Printing Building is located at 1980 Industrial Circle (about 2000 South and 2000 East) in Salt Lake City.

[12] http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&vgnextoid=924851085c4c3210VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD (accessed 1/24/11).

[13] History of the Church, 1:19.

[14] History if the Church, 1:48-49.

[15] Robert J. Matthews, “A Plainer Translation,”Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible: A History and Commentary (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975), 3-4, 26-28.

[16] “News of the Church: Book of Mormon Published in Guarani," Ensign , Aug. 2009, 80.

[17] The introduction in the Latter-day Saint edition of the Santa Biblia includes the explanation that the Bible was prepared under the direction of the First Presidency and the Quorum of The Twelve Apostles as a revision of the Reina-Valera 1909 edition of the Bible. See also author’s notes from a presentation by Todd Harris of the Church Translation Department to professors and spouses from the Brigham Young University Department of Church History and Doctrine, July 14, 2010. Brother Harris emphasized the importance of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, especially those addressing the translation of the Book of Mormon, and subsequently, the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible as the foundation for the Church’s work of translation.

[18] History of the Church, 1:166n.

[19] Joseph Smith, in Andrew Jenson and Edward Stevenson, Infancy of the Church (Salt Lake City: n.p., 1889), 5.

[20] See Elder Marlin K. Jensen’s chapter in this volume.

[21] Joseph Fielding Smith, The Life of Joseph F. Smith, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1938), 425.

[22] President Joseph F. Smith, “Closing Remarks,” Conference Report, October 1911, 129-130.

[23] On the main floor is the Nauvoo Café, which offers a variety of menu selections throughout the day. On the top floor are the Garden and the Roof, offering fine dining with incredible views overlooking Temple Square.

[24] Richard O. Cowan, The Latter-day Saint Century, 1901-2000 (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1985, 1999 (revised)), 38.

[25] http://www.deseretmediacompanies.com/content/view/48 (accessed 1/24/11).

[26] http://www.deseretmanagement.com/?nid=19 (accessed 1/24/11).

[27] Author’s minutes from meetings held with Gary Porter, Secretary to the Presiding Bishopric, on July 13, 2010, and Dale Bills with City Creek Reserve, Inc. (CCRI) on July 16, 2010.