The Bear Lake Stake Tabernacle, or Paris Tabernacle is situated on main street in

Paris, Idaho Paris is a city and county seat of Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. Located on the western side of the Bear Lake Valley, the city's population was 513 at the 2010 census, down from 576 in 2000. Paris was settled on September 26, 1863, by ...

, is a Romanesque red sandstone meetinghouse of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

Joseph Don Carlos Young Joseph Don Carlos Young (May 6, 1855 – October 19, 1938) was an American architect and the Church Architect for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1887 until 1893. In 1893, the office of Church Architect was disso ...

, the son of

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

built between 1884 and 1889. The

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

was built by Mormon pioneers of Bear Lake Valley who used horse and ox teams to haul rock quarried from Indian Creek Canyon nearly 18 miles away. After the completion of the

Logan Utah Temple The Logan Utah Temple (formerly the Logan Temple) was completed in 1884, and is the fourth temple built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Logan, Utah, it was the second temple built in the Rocky Mountain ...

in 1884, the workers began construction of the tabernacle.

William Budge William Budge (May 1, 1828 – March 18, 1919)Andrew Jenson. LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'. Vol. 4, p. 511–12. was a member of the Council of Fifty as well as the Idaho Legislature and was a mission president and stake president in the Church ...

supervised the construction.Budge, Jesse R. S.
The Life of William Budge
, Deseret News, Salt Lake City UT, 1915 page 132 It cost $50,000 ($ in dollars) to build and seats around 2000 people. The tabernacle was dedicated September 15, 1889 by LDS Church president

Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...

. It was planned to be dedicated in 1888, but a fire partially destroyed the interior, and it had to be restored. In 1972 the tabernacle was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The tabernacle was refurbished in 2004-2005 and continues to operate as a meeting place for the Bear Lake Stake congregations and community. File:Vestry on Paris Idaho Tabernacle.JPG,

Vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

on the Paris Idaho Tabernacle. Vestries are rare in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because special clothes are not worn by Bishops or Stake Presidents. The architect had studied churches in Europe and kept the vestry for architectural completeness, rather than for functionality. File:Paris Idaho Tabernacle Wood Painted.JPG, Door where the wood grain had been painted. This is a unique feature of the Tabernacle. All of the pews, pillars and wooden molding throughout the house of worship has hand painted wood grain. File:Paris Idaho Tabernacle Wood not Painted.JPG, Interior of door where the wood grain has NOT been painted. This part of a closet is not in view of the public and shows what the wood looked like before grain was painted on. File:Interior of Paris Idaho Tabernacle.JPG, Interior of the Tabernacle File:Paris Idaho Tabernacle Stand.JPG, Stand area in the Paris Idaho Tabernacle. All woodwork was hand done. This area burnt in 1887, and had to be re-done, delaying the dedication. File:Original Spire from Paris Idaho Tabernacle.JPG, Original Spire from Paris Idaho Tabernacle, located in the Paris Historical Museum

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Churches completed in 1889 19th-century Latter Day Saint church buildings Buildings and structures in Bear Lake County, Idaho Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho Romanesque Revival architecture in Idaho Tabernacles (LDS Church) National Register of Historic Places in Bear Lake County, Idaho

See also

References