The Endowment House was an early

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

used by

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 ...

(LDS Church) to administer

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

ordinances in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...

. From the construction of the

Council House A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 ...

in 1852, Salt Lake City's first public building, until the construction of the Endowment House, the members of the LDS Church used the top floor of the Council House for administering temple ordinances. When this arrangement proved impractical,

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 ...

directed Truman O. Angell, architect of the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple ...

, to design a temporary temple. Completed in 1855, the building was dedicated by

Heber C. Kimball Heber Chase Kimball (June 14, 1801 – June 22, 1868) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement. He served as one of the original twelve apostles in the early Church of the Latter Day Saints, and as first counselor to Brigham Young ...

and came to be called the Endowment House after the endowment ceremonies that were conducted inside it.

Appearance

The Endowment House stood on the northwest corner of

Temple Square Temple Square is a complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediately ...

. Initially, it was a two-story

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

building, , with a single-story extension on its north side. In 1856, another extension was added on its south side and a

baptistry In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

on its west side. Inside, the Endowment House was the first building designed specifically for administering temple ordinances. Earlier buildings used for such purposes—such as

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

’s

Red Brick Store The Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois, was a building that was constructed and owned by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Original building Smith constructed the Red Brick Store in 1841. The building became a center of ...

in Nauvoo; the

Nauvoo Temple The Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.''Manuscript History of the Church'', LDS Church Archives, book A-1, p. 37; reproduced in Dean C. Jessee (comp.) (1989). ''The Papers of Jose ...

; and the Council House—only had temporary canvas partitions. The Endowment House had the typical

ordinance room In temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), an ordinance room is a room where the ceremony known as the '' Endowment'' is administered, as well as other ordinances such as Sealings. Some temples perform a progre ...

s found in some later

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

: a creation room; a garden room; a world room; a celestial room; and sealing rooms. In 1856, William Ward painted the walls of the creation room to represent the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...

, the first such temple

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

. It was one of the first buildings in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

to have indoor

bathroom A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower (or both). The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically i ...

Uses

The Endowment House was used primarily for performing temple ordinances. From 1857 to 1876 the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

was used to perform 134,053 baptisms for the dead. Between 1855 and 1884 54,170 persons received their washings and anointings and endowments. Between 1855 and 1889 68,767 couples were

sealed Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

in marriage—31,052 for the living and 37,715 for the dead. Members of the LDS Church did not consider the Endowment House a

, so they did not perform all temple ordinances in it. Brigham Young explained, "We can, at the present time

873 __NOTOC__ Year 873 ( DCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Carloman, son of King Charles the Bald, is hauled before a secular court an ...

go into the Endowment House and be baptized for our dead, receive our washings and anointings, etc. ... We also have the privilege of sealing women to men without a Temple ... but when we come to other sealing ordinances, ordinances pertaining to the holy Priesthood, to connect the chain of the Priesthood from father Adam until now, by sealing children to their parents, being sealed for our forefathers, etc., they cannot be done without a temple". Hence, there were no sealing of children nor endowments for the dead performed in the Endowment House. These ordinances were first administered in Utah's first temple, in

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, in 1877. The Endowment House was also used for other purposes, including prayer circles, settings apart, and instructing

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

before their departure, as well as meetings of the various church leaders, such as the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

and

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

Demolition

The Endowment House became a casualty of the anti-polygamy campaign of the

U.S. Federal Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 ...

, especially the

Edmunds–Tucker Act The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 was an Act of Congress that focused on restricting some practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). An amendment to the earlier Edmunds Act, it was passed in response to the dispute ...

of 1887, which disincorporated the LDS Church and allowed the federal government to seize all of its assets. In response, church leaders ceased performing new

plural marriage Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...

s. In October 1889,

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 ...

President of the Church In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed succe ...

, heard that an unauthorized sealing had occurred in the Endowment House. Woodruff ordered the building razed in October 1889. The ''Salt Lake Tribune'', in its issue dated November 17, 1889, reported that the building was "being demolished". By the end of the month all trace of the Endowment House was gone. Some two years later, Woodruff issued the

1890 Manifesto The 1890 Manifesto (also known as the Woodruff Manifesto, the Anti-polygamy Manifesto, or simply "the Manifesto") is a statement which officially advised against any future plural marriage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

, officially ending the Mormon practice of polygamy, which had been so firmly associated in the mind of the public with the Endowment House.

Other Endowment Houses

The Endowment House at Salt Lake City may not have been the only non-temple structure used for administering temple ordinances in Utah.Allen D. Roberts
"The 'Other' Endowment House,"
''

Sunstone Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along the midcoast of ...

'' 11 (July–August, 1978): 9-10. One of these is a building known as the "Endowment House" in

Spring City, Utah Spring City is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 988 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Description Although it is still largely a farming town, Spring City is becoming increasing ...

, built by

Orson Hyde Orson Hyde (January 8, 1805 – November 28, 1878) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a member of the first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus ...

. The building is still standing at 85 West 300 South. Local records indicate that this building was a

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

hall. It is unclear whether it was ever used to administer temple ordinances.

Notes

References

*. *. *. *.

External links

*{{commons category-inline 19th-century Latter Day Saint temples Demolished buildings and structures in Utah Former Latter Day Saint religious buildings and structures Former religious buildings and structures in Utah Religious buildings and structures in Salt Lake City Religious buildings and structures completed in 1855 Temple Square Temples (LDS Church) in Utah Defunct organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 20th-century Mormonism 1855 establishments in Utah Territory Buildings and structures demolished in 1889 Churches completed in 1855