The Salt Lake Temple, Special Heavenly Visitors At Dedication And More...
Posted: November 15th, 2019, 6:06 pm
So many saw so much, hope you enjoy these.
The peace and tranquility of the dedicatory services being conducted inside the Assembly Room stood in sharp contrast to the terrible windstorm then raging outside the temple. "The worst windstorm, perhaps,which ever visited Salt Lake, prevailed between 10:30 and 12 o'clock noon," declared the Deseret News in describing the storm, "the destruction ... was beyond precedent here. The air was filled with dust, gravel and debris of many kinds and pedestrians sought shelter in the nearest buildings. Outhouses and small barns were blown down and trees uprooted in all parts of the city. Many fences were badly damaged by falling shade trees."Deseret News, 6 Apr. 1893,1; 7 Apr. 1893,4.
The timing of the storm with the dedication was not without spiritual overtones. To many who witnessed it, the raging storm stood as a manifestation of the anger and fury of Satan and his angels. One member wrote: Heber C. Kimball once predicted that when the Salt Lake Temple should be dedicated the power of Satan should be loosed and the strongest wind storm ever witnessed in Utah should be felt on that occasion. In pursuance and fulfillment of this prediction, a strong breeze began blowing upon our entering the grounds at 9 a.m. and increased to a hurricane of great violence at the precise time the dedicatory prayer was being offered by President] Wilford Woodruff. Hammond Journal, 6 Apr. 1893 (emphasis in the original); also John F. Tolton Auto-biography, 6 Apr. 1893; Jean Bickmore White, ed., Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of JohnHenry Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in Association with Smith Research Associates,1990), 6 Apr. 1893, 289 Thus the twin manifestations of the gulls and the gale became a powerful symbol of the ongoing battle between God and Satan, a battle centered on the Lord's Saints gathered at the temple.
Tolton Autobiography, 6 Apr. 1893, LDS archivesThe storm took on added significance when seagulls were sighted hovering over the temple. "The Evil One seemed mad," wrote one observer,and "gulls came and hovered over the House; [they] have not been seen here before for many years. They saved the crops in 1847 by devouring the crickets. "Hammond Journal, 6 Apr. 1893 (emphasis in the original); also John F. Tolton Auto-biography, 6 Apr. 1893; Jean Bickmore White, ed., Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of JohnHenry Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in Association with Smith Research Associates,1990), 6 Apr. 1893, 289
Susa Young Gates, the official stenographer for the dedicatory services, attended the first session of the dedication. “I was sitting on the lower side of the east pulpits, at the recorder’s table,” she wrote. “Almost as soon as President [Joseph F.] Smith began to address the Saints, there shone through his countenance a radiant light that gave me a peculiar feeling. I thought that the clouds must have lifted, and that a stream of sunlight had lighted on the President’s head. … I looked out of the window, and somewhat to my surprise … there was not the slightest rift in the heavy, black clouds above the city; there was not a gleam of sunshine anywhere. … Whence had come the light that shone from the face of President Smith? I was sure that I had seen the actual Presence of the Holy Spirit, focussed upon the features of the beloved leader. … I cherish the occurrence as one of the most sacred experiences of my life.”10 Sister Gates was not the only person to witness the light surrounding President Smith. An elder seated at the opposite end of the room saw a light of “yellowish or golden tint and exceedingly brilliant” appear around President Smith as he spoke.11
On Monday, 17 April 1893, Brother Andrew Smith, Jr., a member of the Tabernacle Choir, opened his eyes as President Cannon read the dedicatory prayer. He said of the experience, “I saw a bright light appeared above his [President Cannon’s] head and behind him from his shoulders upwards. This light remained in that position a few moments and then raised until I could see the face of a personage in the midst of it. It was the countenance of President Brigham Young. I turned my gaze away for a moment … and then I beheld the person of President John Taylor. … I also saw a personage whom I took to be Hyrum Smith … then Orson Pratt, whom I at once recognized. … When the prayer was concluded and just before and during the sacred hosanna shout, I noticed a bright halo of light surrounding several of the brethren. … I was overcome and wept for joy. Having my head bowed for a short time I saw nothing more for a few moments. On raising it again I saw a brilliant light over the head of each member of the First Presidency while they sat upon the stand. Whichever way any of the speakers turned while addressing the people, the light followed every movement made by them.”17
Eleven-year-old George Monk of Payson, Utah, attended the temple dedication with his mother and grandmother. He saw “a man appear at the south-east circular window of the assembly hall of the Temple. This personage looked into the interior.” When he told his mother, he was surprised to hear her say she could not see him. As the meeting continued, he saw “two other [angels moving] … across the upper part of the hall from south to north … and five others [who] had entered the large compartment and were ranged upon the wide ledge which runs along the wall under the row of circular windows,” and described them as “the prettiest men” he had ever seen. Just prior to the benediction, he said, “Mamma, look at that one under the clock, he is the prettiest of them all. See! he is holding up both his hands like this.” Then George held up his own hands to show his mother. In all, he saw eight angelic personages and described them as “dressed in loose flowing white robes” and “most, if not all, had long and somewhat wavy hair.”18 Though his mother did not view the same manifestation, she did confirm George’s conversation and hand gestures.
Hans Jensen Hals viewed a similar heavenly manifestation and recorded it in his journal. “I and [my] family and two hundred members of the ward had the privilege to be at the dedication services and had a splendid time. Rich instructions [came] from the authorities [of the Church]. Angels of God were seen coming in the south-east window and sitting on the corners. Two of them moved across the large hall over the people and went out the north window.”19
While outside the temple, others saw a “glow of glorious light surround the Temple and circle about it as if it were an intelligible Presence.”20
Rudger Clawson of the Quorum of the Twelve wrote in his journal that while he and his wife, Lydia, were waiting for the dedication service to begin on the evening of April 8, Lydia “heard beautiful singing that seemed to come from the South East Corner of the room. At first she thought there must be a choir there, but of course there was not. She heard the singing twice.”23
Eight-year-old Alice Minerva Richards recorded that during the meeting on April 7, she “heard beautiful music, beyond anything [she had ever] heard elsewhere … and saw angels.”24 When she returned home, she told her younger brothers and sisters, including seven-year-old LeGrand, who later became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, about her experience.
For footnotes on above quotes and more experiences click on the link.https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... s?lang=eng
The peace and tranquility of the dedicatory services being conducted inside the Assembly Room stood in sharp contrast to the terrible windstorm then raging outside the temple. "The worst windstorm, perhaps,which ever visited Salt Lake, prevailed between 10:30 and 12 o'clock noon," declared the Deseret News in describing the storm, "the destruction ... was beyond precedent here. The air was filled with dust, gravel and debris of many kinds and pedestrians sought shelter in the nearest buildings. Outhouses and small barns were blown down and trees uprooted in all parts of the city. Many fences were badly damaged by falling shade trees."Deseret News, 6 Apr. 1893,1; 7 Apr. 1893,4.
The timing of the storm with the dedication was not without spiritual overtones. To many who witnessed it, the raging storm stood as a manifestation of the anger and fury of Satan and his angels. One member wrote: Heber C. Kimball once predicted that when the Salt Lake Temple should be dedicated the power of Satan should be loosed and the strongest wind storm ever witnessed in Utah should be felt on that occasion. In pursuance and fulfillment of this prediction, a strong breeze began blowing upon our entering the grounds at 9 a.m. and increased to a hurricane of great violence at the precise time the dedicatory prayer was being offered by President] Wilford Woodruff. Hammond Journal, 6 Apr. 1893 (emphasis in the original); also John F. Tolton Auto-biography, 6 Apr. 1893; Jean Bickmore White, ed., Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of JohnHenry Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in Association with Smith Research Associates,1990), 6 Apr. 1893, 289 Thus the twin manifestations of the gulls and the gale became a powerful symbol of the ongoing battle between God and Satan, a battle centered on the Lord's Saints gathered at the temple.
Tolton Autobiography, 6 Apr. 1893, LDS archivesThe storm took on added significance when seagulls were sighted hovering over the temple. "The Evil One seemed mad," wrote one observer,and "gulls came and hovered over the House; [they] have not been seen here before for many years. They saved the crops in 1847 by devouring the crickets. "Hammond Journal, 6 Apr. 1893 (emphasis in the original); also John F. Tolton Auto-biography, 6 Apr. 1893; Jean Bickmore White, ed., Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of JohnHenry Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books in Association with Smith Research Associates,1990), 6 Apr. 1893, 289
Susa Young Gates, the official stenographer for the dedicatory services, attended the first session of the dedication. “I was sitting on the lower side of the east pulpits, at the recorder’s table,” she wrote. “Almost as soon as President [Joseph F.] Smith began to address the Saints, there shone through his countenance a radiant light that gave me a peculiar feeling. I thought that the clouds must have lifted, and that a stream of sunlight had lighted on the President’s head. … I looked out of the window, and somewhat to my surprise … there was not the slightest rift in the heavy, black clouds above the city; there was not a gleam of sunshine anywhere. … Whence had come the light that shone from the face of President Smith? I was sure that I had seen the actual Presence of the Holy Spirit, focussed upon the features of the beloved leader. … I cherish the occurrence as one of the most sacred experiences of my life.”10 Sister Gates was not the only person to witness the light surrounding President Smith. An elder seated at the opposite end of the room saw a light of “yellowish or golden tint and exceedingly brilliant” appear around President Smith as he spoke.11
On Monday, 17 April 1893, Brother Andrew Smith, Jr., a member of the Tabernacle Choir, opened his eyes as President Cannon read the dedicatory prayer. He said of the experience, “I saw a bright light appeared above his [President Cannon’s] head and behind him from his shoulders upwards. This light remained in that position a few moments and then raised until I could see the face of a personage in the midst of it. It was the countenance of President Brigham Young. I turned my gaze away for a moment … and then I beheld the person of President John Taylor. … I also saw a personage whom I took to be Hyrum Smith … then Orson Pratt, whom I at once recognized. … When the prayer was concluded and just before and during the sacred hosanna shout, I noticed a bright halo of light surrounding several of the brethren. … I was overcome and wept for joy. Having my head bowed for a short time I saw nothing more for a few moments. On raising it again I saw a brilliant light over the head of each member of the First Presidency while they sat upon the stand. Whichever way any of the speakers turned while addressing the people, the light followed every movement made by them.”17
Eleven-year-old George Monk of Payson, Utah, attended the temple dedication with his mother and grandmother. He saw “a man appear at the south-east circular window of the assembly hall of the Temple. This personage looked into the interior.” When he told his mother, he was surprised to hear her say she could not see him. As the meeting continued, he saw “two other [angels moving] … across the upper part of the hall from south to north … and five others [who] had entered the large compartment and were ranged upon the wide ledge which runs along the wall under the row of circular windows,” and described them as “the prettiest men” he had ever seen. Just prior to the benediction, he said, “Mamma, look at that one under the clock, he is the prettiest of them all. See! he is holding up both his hands like this.” Then George held up his own hands to show his mother. In all, he saw eight angelic personages and described them as “dressed in loose flowing white robes” and “most, if not all, had long and somewhat wavy hair.”18 Though his mother did not view the same manifestation, she did confirm George’s conversation and hand gestures.
Hans Jensen Hals viewed a similar heavenly manifestation and recorded it in his journal. “I and [my] family and two hundred members of the ward had the privilege to be at the dedication services and had a splendid time. Rich instructions [came] from the authorities [of the Church]. Angels of God were seen coming in the south-east window and sitting on the corners. Two of them moved across the large hall over the people and went out the north window.”19
While outside the temple, others saw a “glow of glorious light surround the Temple and circle about it as if it were an intelligible Presence.”20
Rudger Clawson of the Quorum of the Twelve wrote in his journal that while he and his wife, Lydia, were waiting for the dedication service to begin on the evening of April 8, Lydia “heard beautiful singing that seemed to come from the South East Corner of the room. At first she thought there must be a choir there, but of course there was not. She heard the singing twice.”23
Eight-year-old Alice Minerva Richards recorded that during the meeting on April 7, she “heard beautiful music, beyond anything [she had ever] heard elsewhere … and saw angels.”24 When she returned home, she told her younger brothers and sisters, including seven-year-old LeGrand, who later became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, about her experience.
For footnotes on above quotes and more experiences click on the link.https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... s?lang=eng