Upon the construction of Salt Lake City’s first public building, the Council House, the Mormons used its top floor for administering temple rituals in 1852. When this arrangement proved impractical, Brigham Young directed Truman O. Angell, architect of the Salt Lake Temple, to design a temporary temple. Completed in 1855, Heber C. Kimball dedicated the building which came to be called the Endowment House. Flag Seal Nickname: Crossroads of the West Location Location of Salt Lake City in Salt Lake County, Utah Coordinates , Government County Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson Geographical characteristics Area     City 285. ... The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the most-recognized architectural symbol of Mormonism For other uses, see Mormon (disambiguation). ... In Mormonism, an ordinance is a religious ritual of special significance, often involving a covenant with God. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was the second prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ... Truman O. Angell (June 5, 1810 – October 16, 1887), served as many years as Church Architect for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and was one of the original Mormon Pioneers, entering the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. ... Salt Lake Temple is the centerpiece of the 10 acre (40,000 m²) Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. ... The Salt Lake Temple is the most well-known Mormon Temple. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Heber C. Kimball Heber Chase Kimball (June 14, 1801 – June 22, 1868) (commonly known as Heber C. Kimball) was a leader in the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ...

The Endowment House that stood on Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Appearance of the Endowment House

The Endowment House stood on the northwest corner of Temple Square. Initially, it was a two-story adobe building, 44 feet by 34 feet, with a single-story 20-foot extension on its north side. In 1856 another extension was added on its south side and a baptistry on its west side. This photo of Temple Square, circa 1897, shows that the plot housed the tallest buildings in Salt Lake City at the time, namely the Salt Lake Temple, Tabernacle and Assembly Hall. ... It has been suggested that Mudbrick be merged into this article or section. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Christen redirects here. ...

Inside, it was the first building designed specifically for administering temple rituals. Earlier buildings used for such purposes, Joseph Smith’s red brick store in Nauvoo, the Nauvoo Temple and the Council House, only had temporary canvas partitions. It had the typical rooms found in some later Mormon temples: creation room, garden room, world room, celestial room, as well as a sealing room. In 1856 William Ward painted the walls of the creation room to represented the Garden of Eden, the first such temple mural. It was one of the first buildings in Utah to have indoor bathrooms. Joseph Smith, Jr. ... Nauvoo (נאוו to be beautiful, Sephardi Hebrew Nåvu, Tiberian Hebrew Nâwû) is a city located in Hancock County, Illinois. ... See also: Nauvoo Illinois Temple for an overview of a similar or rebuilt structure currently standing on the same site. ... The Salt Lake Temple is the most well-known Mormon Temple. ... In temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the celestial room symbolizes life as eternal families with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ(Temple brochure, LDS Church). ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew Gan Ä’den, גַּן עֵדֶן) is described by the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man - Adam - and woman - Eve - lived after they were created by God. The past... Salle des illustres, ceiling painting, by Jean André Rixens. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  Ranked 13th  - Total 84,876 sq mi (219,887 km²)  - Width 270 miles (435 km)  - Length 350 miles (565 km)  - % water 3. ... A typical American bathroom A bathroom is a room that may have different functions depending on the cultural context it is used in. ...

Uses of the Endowment House

The building was used primarily for performing temple ordinances. From 1857 to 1876 the baptismal font was used to perform 134,053 baptisms for the dead. Between 1855 and 1884 54,170 persons received their washings and anointings and endowments. Between 1855 and 1889 68,767 couples were sealed in marriage--31,052 for the living and 37,715 for the dead. 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Baptismal font in Magdeburg Cathedral, Germany A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for the baptism of children and adults. ... Baptism for the dead is an ordinance performed today in temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for those who have died without having been baptized by one having authority. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... In Mormonism, washing and anointing (also called the Initiatory) is an ordinance (ritual) that symbolizes ritual cleansing and anointing to be a king or queen in heaven. ... In Mormonism, the Endowment is a heavenly gift of priesthood power, connected with the construction and use of the Mormon temple. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... In Mormonism, a sealing is an ordinance (ritual), generally performed in temples, that seals familial relationships, purportedly making possible the existence of family relationships throughout eternity. ...

Mormons did not considered the Endowment House a temple, so they did not perform all temple ordinances in it. Brigham Young explained, “We can, at the present time [1874], go into the Endowment House and be baptized for our dead, receive our washings and anointings, etc....We also have the privilege of sealing women to men without a Temple....but when we come to other sealing ordinances, ordinances pertaining to the holy Priesthood, to connect the chain of the Priesthood from father Adam until now, by sealing children to their parents, being sealed for our forefathers, etc., they cannot be done without a temple” (Journal of Discourses, 16:185). Hence, there were no sealing of children nor endowments for the dead performed in the Endowment House. These ordinances were first administered in Utah’s first temple, the St. George Temple, in 1877. The Salt Lake Temple is the most well-known Mormon Temple. ... The St. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

It was also used for other purposes, including prayer circles, setting apart and instructing missionaries before their departure, as well as meetings of the various church leaders, such as the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In Mormonism, a Prayer Circle, also known as the True Order of Prayer is a ritual established by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... Mormon Missionaries are called of God to serve in their right place on Earth for a certain amount of time. ... In Mormonism, the First Presidency (or the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy of several Latter Day Saint denominations. ... In Mormonism, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Quorum of the Twelve, the Council of the Twelve, or the Twelve) is one of the governing bodies of church hierarchy in many Latter Day Saint denominations. ...

Destruction of the Endowment House

The Endowment House became a casualty of the anti-polygamy campaign of the U.S. Federal Government, especially the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887, which disincorporated the LDS Church and allowed the federal government to freeze all of its assets. In response the Church leaders ceased performing new plural marriages. When it was reported to Wilford Woodruff, President of the Church, that a plural marriage had been performed in the Endowment House in the spring of 1889 without his knowledge, he ordered the building razed without delay and issued the Manifesto, which officially ended the Mormon practice of polygamy. The exact date of its destruction is not known. This law-related article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887 touched all the issues at dispute between Congress and the Mormons. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Plural marriage (also sometimes called celestial marriage or The Patriarchal Order of marriage) is a type of polygamy that was allegedly practiced by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... Wilford Woodruff (March 1, 1807 – September 2, 1898) was the fourth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), from 1889 until his death in 1898. ... In Mormonism, the President of the Church is the head of a Latter Day Saint denomination or church. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... The 1890 Manifesto, sometimes simply called The Manifesto, was a historical statement which officially renounced the practice of polygamy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS Church; see also Mormon). Signed on by LDS President Wilford Woodruff in September of 1890, the Manifesto was a...

Other Endowment Houses

So-called Endowment House, Spring City, Utah.

The Endowment House at Salt Lake City may not have been the only non-temple structured used for administering temple ordinances. Another possible candidate is the so-called Endowment House in Spring City, Utah, built by Orson Hyde. Spring City is a city located in Sanpete County, Utah. ... Orson Hyde Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. ...

References

• A. William Lund. "History of the Salt Lake Endowment House." Improvement Era, 39 (Apr. 1936):213.
• Allen D. Roberts, “The ‘Other’ Endowment House,” Sunstone, 11 (July-August, 1978): 9-10.
• James D. Tingen, “The Endowment House, 1855-1889,” Senior History Research Paper, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1974.