Early LDS TemplesThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Kirtland TempleThe Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area, was the first temple to be built by the Latter Day Saint movement. The design mixes Federal, Greek Revival and Gothic Revival architectural styles

Beginning in 1831, members of the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints) under the direction of church founder and president Joseph Smith Jr., began to gather in the Kirtland area. In December 1832 Smith reported to have received a revelation that called for the construction of a house of worship, education, and order. On May 6, 1833, Smith reported that he had received a revelation from God, directing members of the church to construct "a house... wholly dedicated unto the Lord for the work of the presidency," "dedicated unto the Lord from the foundation thereof, according to the order of the priesthood." Directions were given to build a "lower court and a higher court," and a promise given that the Lord's "glory shall be there, and [his] presence shall be there." (LDS Doctrine & Covenants D&C 94:3-9 RLDS Doctrine and Covenants Section 91:3). This building which would have sat next to the Kirtland Temple was never started, nor the third building which was to be a house for the printing operations of the church. Instead the functions of this office building ended up in the attic of the Kirtland Temple. The date of this document is also in question as it makes reference to the Kirtland Temple which is described in the following section of the Doctrine Covenants and dated June 1, 1833.

Nauvoo Temple

The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. The church's first temple was completed in Kirtland, Ohio, United States, in 1836. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois, in the winter of 1846, the church attempted to sell the building, finally succeeding in 1848 [citation needed]. The building was damaged by fire and a tornado before being demolished.In 1937, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reacquired the lot on which the original temple had stood. The Church built a temple on the original site whose exterior is a replica of the first temple, but whose interior is laid out like a modern Latter-day Saint temple. On 27 June 2002, a date that coincided with the 158th anniversary of the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the temple was dedicated as the Nauvoo Illinois Temple.

Endowment House

The Endowment House was an early building used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to administer temple ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. From the construction of the Council House in 1852, Salt Lake City's first public building, until the construction of the Endowment House, the Mormons used the top floor of the Council House for administering temple rituals. 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, the building was dedicated by Heber C. Kimball and came to be called 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.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 ordinance 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.

St. George Utah Temple

The St. George Utah Temple (formerly the St. George Temple) is the first temple completed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) after the forced exodus of the body of the church from Nauvoo, Illinois, after the death of its founder Joseph Smith, Jr.

Logan Utah Temple

The Logan Utah Temple (formerly the Logan Temple) is the 4th constructed and 2nd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Located in the city of Logan, Utah, it was the second LDS temple built in the Rocky Mountains (after the St. George Utah Temple).The LDS temple in Logan was announced on May 18, 1877, just after the dedication of the St. G in April 1877. The site of the Logan Temple had been held in reserve for many years. It was used as a park and public grounds before being dedicated as the site for the temple. The Salt Lake Temple had been announced in 1847 but construction was still underway and would not be completed until 1893, so the Logan Temple was built along with the St. George Temple to satisfy the church's immediate need for temples.

Manti Utah TempleThe Manti Utah Temple (formerly the Manti Temple) is the fifth constructed temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Located in the city of Manti, Utah, it was the third LDS temple built west of the Mississippi River, after the Mormons' trek westward. (The St. George and Logan Utah temples preceded it.) The Manti Temple was designed by William Harrison Folsom, who moved to Manti while the temple was under construction. The temple dominates the Sanpete Valley, and can be seen from many miles. Like all LDS temples, only church members in good standing may enter. It is one of only two remaining LDS temples in the world where live actors are used in the endowment ceremonies (the other is the Salt Lake Temple); all other temples use films in the presentation of the endowment.

Salt Lake TempleThe Salt Lake Temple is the largest of more than 140 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is the sixth temple completed by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois.The golden Angel Moroni placed on the capstone of the temple symbolizes the angel mentioned in Revelation 14:6 that will come to welcome in the Second Coming of Christ. The six spires of the temple represent the power of the priesthood. The three spires on the east side are a little higher than those on the west: they represent the Melchizedek or "higher priesthood" and the Aaronic or "preparatory priesthood" respectively. The three spires on the east side represent the church's First Presidency and the twelve smaller spires on those three represent the Twelve Apostles. On the west side of the temple the Big Dipper appears, which represents how the constellation was used to help travelers find the North Star and help them on their way, in the same way the temple is viewed as a symbol to help people find their way back to Heaven. On the east side of the temple are "clouds raining down" representing the way God has continued revelation and still speaks to man "like the rains out of Heaven". Above each door appears the "hand clasp," which is a representation of covenants that are made within temples—a central point of the LDS religion. Around the temple there are several carved stones known as "sunstones" which represent Heaven, "moonstones" in different phases representing this life in its different phases, and "starstones" representing Jesus Christ. The center tower on each side contains a depiction of the All-Seeing Eye of God representing how God sees all things.

Laie Hawaii TempleThe Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple built by the LDS Church outside of the continental United States. The temple is also the oldest to operate outside of Utah, and the fifth-oldest LDS temple still in operation. In addition to initial building and construction, the temple has been dedicated for use by several presidents of the LDS Church. This includes the site of the temple being dedicated by Joseph F. Smith on June 1, 1915, the completed structure being dedicated by Heber J. Grant on November 27, 1919, being rededicated after significant expansion on June 13, 1978 by Spencer W. Kimball and then rededicated on November 21, 2010 by Thomas S. Monson following seismic upgrades and remodeling. The Laie Hawaii Temple was formerly known as the Hawaiian Temple or the Hawaii Temple until a standard naming convention for LDS temples was announced in 1999.

Cardston Alberta TempleThe Cardston Alberta Temple (formerly the Alberta Temple) is the eighth constructed and sixth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Cardston, Alberta, it is the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. It is one of eight temples that do not have an angel Moroni statue, and one of three without spires, similar to Solomon's Temple. The other two are the Laie Hawaii Temple and the Mesa Arizona Temple. It is also one of only two Mormon temples built in the shape of a cross, the other being the Laie Hawaii Temple.The temple was announced on June 27, 1913, and was built on Temple Hill, an eight-acre plot given to the church by Charles Ora Card. The site expanded to more than 10 acres (4.0 ha) in the mid-1950s. The granite used in building the temple was hand-hewn from quarries in Nelson, British Columbia.Originally dedicated on August 26, 1923, by church president Heber J. Grant, an addition was rededicated on July 2, 1962 by Hugh B. Brown. The temple was renovated in the 1990s, and Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated it on June 22, 1991.The temple has four ordinance rooms, five sealing rooms, and a floor area of 88,562 square feet (8,227.7 m2).The first president of the temple was Edward J. Wood, who served from 1923 to 1948.In 1992, the temple was declared a National Historic Site, and a plaque was dedicated in 1995.

Mesa Arizona TempleThe Mesa Arizona Temple (formerly the Arizona Temple; nicknamed the Lamanite Temple[1]) is the seventh operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, it is the first of six LDS temples built or planned in the state.The LDS temple in Mesa was one of the first to be constructed by the church. Similar to the Cardston, Alberta temple, the church decided to hold a competition for the design of the temple with the exception of only inviting three Salt Lake firms to participate. The winning design was proposed by Don Carlos Young, Jr. and Ramm Hansen. Announced in 1919, only a few short years after Arizona had achieved statehood, it was one of 3 temples announced and constructed to serve outlying Mormon settlements in the early part of the century, the others being constructed in Laie, Hawaii and Cardston, Alberta. While neither of the three settlements were particularly large in their own right, they were considered thriving centers of largely Mormon populations. The long and arduous trip to existing temples located in the state of Utah would prove costly and even dangerous for the faithful of the era, and temple attendance was (and is) an important part of the faith. As such, it was seen as necessary to construct temples in these communities.

Idaho Falls Idaho TempleThe Idaho Falls Idaho Temple (formerly the Idaho Falls Temple) is the tenth constructed and eighth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Idaho Falls, Idaho it was the first LDS temple built in Idaho, and the first temple built with a modern single-spire design.The LDS temple in Idaho Falls was announced on March 3, 1937. The building was designed by the Church board of temple architects; Edward O. Anderson, Georgious Y. Cannon, Ramm Hansen, John Fetzer, Hyrum Pope, Lorenzo Snow Young. The exterior of the temple was completed in September 1941 and the interior was expected to be completed the following year. However, with World War II shortages, it delayed the completion of the temple for four more years. In spite of delays, LDS Church President George Albert Smith dedicated the Idaho Falls Temple just one month after the war ended, on September 23, 1945