History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

96 THE STORY OF MORMONISM.
for the use of the bishop; the holy evangelical house,
for the high priesthood of the holy order of God;
house of the Lord for the elders of Zion ; house of the
Lord for the presidency of the high priesthood; house
of the Lord for the high priesthood after the order of
Aaron; house of the Lord for the teachers in Zion;
house of the Lord for the deacons in Zion ; and others.
There are also to be farms, barns, and dwellings. The
ground secured for the purpose is a mile square, and
will accommodate fifteen or twenty thousand people. 31
Affairs in Missouri were very prosperous. "Immigration
had poured into the county of Jackson in great
numbers," says Parley P. Pratt, "and the church
31 A plan and specifications for the new city of Zion were sent ont from
Kirtland. The plot was one mile square, drawn to a scale of 600 feet to one
inch. Each square was to contain ten acres, or 660 feet fronts. Lots were
to be laid out alternately in the squares; in one, fronting north or south; in
the next east or west; each lot extending to the centre line of its square, with
a frontage of 66 feet and a depth of 330 feet, or half an acre. By this arrangement
in one square the houses would stand on one street, and in the
square opposite on another street. Through the middle of the plot ran a
range of blocks 660 feet by 990 feet set apart for the public buildings, and
in these the lots were all laid off north and south, the greatest length of the
blocks being from east to west: thus making all the lots equal in size. The
whole plot was supposed to be sufficient for the accommodation of from 13,000
to 20,000 people. All stables, barns, etc., were to be built north or south of
the plot, none being permitted in the city among the houses. Sufficient adjoining
ground on all sides was to be reserved for supplying the city with
vegetables, etc. All streets were to be 132 feet (8 perches) wide, and a like
width was to be laid off between the temple and its surrounding streets. But
one house was to be built on a lot, and that must front on a line 25 feet from
the sti-eet, the space iu front to be set out with trees, shrubs, etc., according
to the builder's taste. All houses to be of either brick or stone. The house
of the Lord for the presidency was to be 61 feet by 87 feet, 10 feet of the length
for a stairway. The interior was so arranged as to permit its division into 4
parts by curtains. At the east and west ends were to be pulpits arranged for
the several grades of president and council, bishop and council, high priests
and elders, at the west; and the lesser priesthood, comprising presidency,
priests, teachers, and deacons, at the east. Provision was also made to seat
visiting officers according to their grades. The pews were fitted with sliding
seats, so that the audience could face either pulpit as required. There was
to be no gallery, but the house was to be divided into 2 stories of 14 feet each.
A bell of very large size was also ordered. Finally, on each public building
must be written, Holiness to the Lord. When this plot was settled, another
was to be laid out, and so on. Time* and Seasons, vi. 7S5-7, 800. Zion City
—its prototype in Enoch's City. Young's History of the Seventies, 9-15, no.
10, in Mormon Pamphlets. It was revealed to Smith that the waters of
the gulf of Mexico covered the site of a prehistoric city, built by and named
for Enoch; and that it was translated because its inhabitants had become so
far advanced that further earthly residence was unnecessary. Zion, Smith's
ideal city, was finally to reach a like state of perfection.