Saga of the Sanpitch Volume 17, 1985 - Sanpete County

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A TEMPLE IS BUILT A massive hill of stone, a valley carpeted with sagebrush, dotted with scrub cedars, a colony of Indian tepees, clustered close together. . .this was Sanpete Valley in 1849 when a group of 225 men and women, led by Isaac Morley settled in a place they called Manti, named after one of the cities found in the Book of Mormon. Under the protection of what is now called "Temple Hill," the settlers spent that first winter huddled in caves and dugouts beneath the stone ledges. Although the people were few in number, they undertook the grim task of pioneering a harsh, strange land. Theirs was to be a constant struggle against drought, grasshoppers, sickness, and poverty. Yet, as early as 1854, they began thinking about building a temple. When President Brigham Young and others were making the location of a settlement at Manti, Heber C. Kimball, then in the First Presidency, made the prediction that a temple would be built on "Manti Hill" and that the rock from which it would be built would be quarried from that hill. In a conference held at Ephraim December 4, 1873, President Young announced that a temple would be built in Sanpete County; and two years later he said, "The temple will be built on the Manti stone quarry." The Board of Trustees of the Latter-day Saint Church received the deed conveying the land on which the temple was to be built from Manti City" and the ground was surveyed and laid out in April 1877 by Jesse W. Fox, Surveyor. He was assisted by Truman O. Angel and William H. Folsom, church architects. At the time of the dedication of the St. George Temple, April 6, 1877, Edward Parry was called to be the Master Mason at the Manti Temple. It was on April 25, 1877 that President Brigham Young and Warren Snow went to the spot where the temple was to stand. There is a legend that at that time President Young said, "Here is the spot where the Prophet Moroni stood and dedicated this piece of land for a temple site; and that is the reason why the location is made here, and we can't move it from this spot; and if you and I are the only persons that come here at high noon today, we will dedicate this ground." The site for the Manti Temple was dedicated that day by President Brigham Young. Directions were given to start preparing the ground for the mason work. Five days later 107 men and 17 teams were there ready to begin the herculean task of "removing a mountain." In order to excavate 50 feet or more on the east side of the building, to loosen the ground, and to make it easier to move, "tunnels were driven in some 20 to 30 feet, then wings were made forming a T in which were placed altogether over 375 pounds of gun powder." This was all the black powder available in Utah Territory at that time. Double rows of fuse were run for perfect ignition. The tunnels were then refilled and the fuse lighted. Hundreds of tons of debris were loosened in this way. Now the hill could be plowed and scraped and made ready for construction. The plowing and scraping took two years. The rock that had been loosened by the blasting was used in the construction of terraces, four in number. Each was 16 feet high and 6 feet thick at the base, tapering to 2 feet at the top, resembling a solid fortification . By 1879 the people of the valley were anxiously waiting the laying of the cornerstones. On April 14, after music by the Nephi brass band, President John Taylor proceeded to lay the southeast or principal corner stone. Records were then deposited in this corner stone in a zinc case. Lorenzo Snow gave the dedicatory prayer. This was followed by the laying of the cornerstone on the southwest corner. Presiding Bishop Edward Hunter, his counselors and several local church authorities laid this stone„ The dedicatory prayer was offered by Bishop L. W. Hardy. The northwest cornerstone was laid by President Frederick Walter Cox of the High 66
Priest Quorum of the Sanpete Stake and his counselors, and by Sanpete Stake President Canute Peterson and his counselors, assisted by other stake presidents. The dedicatory prayer was offered by President Peterson. The northeast cornerstone was laid by the presidencies of the seventies and elder's quorums. John VannCott gave the dedicatory prayer. The work on the temple now commenced and progressed rapidly during the first three years of construction. The people were devoted to the cause and anxious to spend their time and energy in the erection of this house to the Lord. The struggle and sacrifice during the building period is best told from incidents recorded in pioneer journals and handed down from one generation to the next. Some of the temple workers walked the miles from Mt. Pleasant, Spring City, Ephraim and Sterling to Manti each week to work on the temple. Andrew Christian Nielson, "Mormon Preacher," a stone cutter, walked five miles each day to the temple, put in a day's work and walked to his home at Shumway each evening. The men's hands would become so sore from the rough work that it was common practice for them to rub mutton tallow on their hands at night and then wear the hand-knitted socks on their hands so they would be ready for another day of work. Money was scarce but the people were generous with what they had. A Mr. Jones from Emery County, when called on to give a donation, gave his only cow which was needed for his family. Later, a cow was provided him by a bachelor who asked in return to "eat with the family once in awhile." The women helped provide food and clothing for the men as they worked, as well as supplying donations for the temple construction. One lady in Manti, Marie Rath, was an experienced cheese maker from Germany. Each Monday morning women would bring two quarts of milk to Marie. She would make cheese and take it to the tithing office where donations were accepted. Children did their share by gathering "Sunday eggs." Some $117,000 was raised through the gathering of Sunday eggs. The children also gleaned wheat from the fields to be donated or made into bread for the workers. As the men worked and the building grew, scaffolding was built and anchored to the walls by means of small holes made in the wall and later filled with rocks made to fit. The materials used were within easy access. The buff colored stone used in the foundation was quarried from the hills south of Manti. The oolite stone was obtained from the quarry east of the temple and from the Parry brothers' quarry east of Ephraim. Most of the lumber used was red pine from the local mountains. Some came from the mountains east of Spring City and some from Panguitch. The black walnut and bird's eye maple used for the banisters and circular staircases were imported from the eastern part of the United States. A lumber mill with steam power was built at the base of the temple hill. At this mill the lumber was planed, shaped and grooved. The rocks were cut at the quarry and transported by wagon, after being fastened under the wagon frame„ A double pulley with chain was used to hoist the rocks into place after they were pulled up the hill on a "stone boat" by mules. A story is told about the Parry mules that were used in this operation. One morning the mules could not be found, so it was finally decided to go to the hill without them. There at the foot of the hill were the mules, ready to be hitched. They, too, must have been "serious about the work." Only the best rocks were used in building the temple. Edward L. Parry, Master Mason, inspected each stone to see that it was cut to the right dimensions. One day he noticed that a worker was about to place a rock that was slightly cracked in the wall„ When Mr. Parry approached the worker about it, the worker said it was such a small crack it wouldn't make any difference, and it could be on the inside so no one would ever know about it. Mr. Parry told him there would be three people who would know: "You, me and the Lord." 67
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SAGA OF THE SANPITCH VOLUMN XVII CO
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Volume XVII of the Saga of the Sanp
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TABLE OF CONTENTS and WINNERS 1985
Page 9 and 10:
THE MANTI TEMPLE 1877-1985 A TEMPLE
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Arriving home, Emily was greeted by
Page 13 and 14:
COURTHOUSES OF SANPETE COUNTY Elean
Page 15 and 16: figuring how to make the project wo
Page 17 and 18: especially those who had settled in
Page 19 and 20: know whether my aim was good enough
Page 21 and 22: Dear Sir: I wish to express unto yo
Page 23 and 24: I came with dad the day the real es
Page 25 and 26: It seemed to me that I was such a g
Page 27 and 28: OLD SONGS Eleanor Peterson Madsen 2
Page 29 and 30: This poem is based on a real person
Page 31 and 32: to mobs and unfair government. This
Page 33 and 34: quilts across my throat and choked
Page 35 and 36: Associations existed to help steer
Page 37 and 38: 40 acres was too small a farm to su
Page 39 and 40: would eat all that was put before i
Page 41 and 42: HEALERS AND HEALING Mary Louise Mad
Page 43 and 44: courted by her soon-to-be-husband,
Page 45 and 46: Whoa, back to the wards--then there
Page 47 and 48: CHILDHOOD DAYS OF SUMMER Mae Paulse
Page 49 and 50: We also loved to play "Hide the Thi
Page 51 and 52: Each of these women regarded it as
Page 53 and 54: treacherous epidemic. Source: Perso
Page 55 and 56: -3- World, we have need of leaders
Page 57 and 58: Sources: Family records; History of
Page 59 and 60: attempting to exterminate the pale
Page 61 and 62: "Pa will mend the roof, and when sp
Page 63 and 64: Sena Iona was buried in the cemeter
Page 68 and 69: Jens Christian Jensen was another w
Page 70 and 71: Room were painted and the mural pai
Page 72 and 73: It is also interesting to note that
Page 74 and 75: Paxman hung the huge east doors of
Page 76 and 77: BISHOP FARNWORTH'S VISION Brother G
Page 78 and 79: these fearsome intruders, the men c
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Saga of the Sanpitch Volume 17, 1985 - Sanpete County

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