In the early years of Church history, Brigham Young witnesses the Saints having to leave behind several temples. Most poignantly, Brigham Young himself leads the Saints' departure from Nauvoo in 1846. They abandoned the Nauvoo Temple that they had sacrificed so much time and so many resources to build over five years. So when Brigham Young arrives in the Salt Lake Valley, he is absolutely determined to build another temple, one that will last, one that will be permanent. In 1853, Brigham Young dedicated the Salt Lake Temple site for construction. What are we here for this day? To lay the foundation of a temple to the Most High God so that His Son may have a place where he can lay His head and not only spend a night or a day but find a place of peace. Brigham Young. When the Saints started construction, when they laid that first cornerstone, there was a lot of excitement. And I think there were some high expectations that the temple would be completed fairly quickly. But there were a number of things that beset construction, and, before you know it, 20 years had gone and the temple was not above the ground, which I'm sure was very frustrating for Brigham Young. Brigham Young, as President of the Church, had information and keys that only he could pass on, and by about 1870 he knew he wouldn't live to see the completion of the Salt Lake Temple. So he needed to go to a community of Saints that would get a temple finished so he could pass on the keys of salvation. Brigham Young contemplated building another temple far from Salt Lake, in the deserts of southern Utah. The idea may arise that this is a hard land to get a living, but it's a splendid country in which to rear Saints. Brigham Young. In 1871, Brigham Young announced a temple would be built in St. George. Though they knew the project would be difficult, Church members were able to draw on their prior experience. Shortly after St. George was founded, Brigham Young commissioned the Saints in the area to build a public meeting space, a tabernacle. They started construction in 1863, and they used the tabernacle, really, as a way to understand how to build in St. George. They figured out where the stone came from and where the lime for the plaster and the mortar and where the wood would have come from. It became their practice for the temple. Truman Angell drafted plans for the temple. Brigham Young dedicated the site on November 9, 1871, and soon spent winters at a home nearby, supervising construction during his visits. The site selected for the St. George temple was partially on a marsh, and so the first step in building the foundation was stabilizing the ground. So they took black volcanic rock from a bluff near the temple site and pounded it into the ground with a cannon that they had turned into a pile driver. And when that pile driver bounced three times, they knew the ground was stable enough to build the foundation on top of it. By February 1874, the foundation was finished. To build the walls, workers began bringing in red stone from a nearby quarry and timber from Mount Trumbull. In 19th-century Utah, the construction of a temple involved everyone in the community. Everyone in St. George but also the surrounding southern-Utah area would have had some connection to that building. If you lived in St. George, no matter how poor you were, you gave something. We have stories of members of the Church that donate $1 because that is all they had. Other people sewed together carpets, fed the workers, made clothes for the workers, or just were there in support. You may not understand one fact that is before our eyes, that the temple in St. George is being built upon the principles of the United Order. When we cease our selfishness and our whole interest is for the building of the kingdom of God on the earth, we can do anything. Brigham Young. After the red sandstone walls were completed, workers plastered over the sandstone, dressing the temple in white. As each portion of the temple was finished, Brigham Young dedicated it for use. In 1877, as the work neared completion, he announced that the April general conference would be held in St. George. When Brigham Young arrived in St. George, he was met by big banners and crowds of people, and the banners said "Brigham Young, Our Chief Builder." These people were so excited for this temple. They were so excited that their prophet was here to dedicate this temple. I think it would have been a great relief to Brigham Young to know that the St. George temple was completed and the Saints could go in and receive those ordinances and receive those covenants and blessings. Many of these Saints didn't think they would ever see another temple. Some of them had been in Nauvoo. Orson Hyde recalled that when he saw the font being installed, he left the temple weeping, because he didn't think it would ever happen. After the dedication of the St. George temple, Brigham Young sits down with Wilford Woodruff, who's a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and also the first president of the St. George temple. And together, with others, they write down and record those precious temple ordinances, ensuring that they'll be preserved and available to future generations of Saints. The April 1877 general conference in St. George proved to be Brigham Young's last. He died that summer. But he left the Saints with the first temple they were able to keep, the first temple where they were able to perform endowments not only for themselves but also for the dead. What do you suppose the fathers would say if they could speak from the dead? What would they whisper in our ears? Why, if they had the power the very thunders of heaven would be in our ears, if we could realize the importance of the work we are engaged in. All the angels in heaven are looking at this little handful of people, and stimulating them to the salvation of the human family. Brigham Young. [MUSIC]