''The House of the Lord: A Study of Holy Sanctuaries, Ancient and Modern'' is a 1912 book by

James E. Talmage James Edward Talmage (21 September 1862 – 27 July 1933) was an English chemist, geologist, and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) fro ...

that discusses the doctrine and purpose of the

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 ...

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). Published by the LDS Church, it was the first book to contain photographs of the interiors of

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

temples. On September 16, 1911, the ''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...

'' published an account of individuals who had secretly taken photographs of the interior 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 ...

while it was undergoing renovation. The photographers had written to the church's

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 ...

in a

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

attempt. The church was offered the photographs for $100,000. If the church refused to pay, the photographers threatened to publicly display the photographs. Church president Joseph F. Smith was outraged and refused to deal with the photographers. In response to this report, Talmage wrote to the First Presidency and proposed the church pre-empt the revelation of the photographs by authorizing the publication of a book that contained high-quality photographs of the interior of temples. Talmage also proposed that the book could contain an explanation of the purpose and importance of temples to

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 ...

. The First Presidency agreed with Talmage's proposal and on September 22 assigned Talmage to produce such a book. The book was completed on September 30, 1912. During the time he was working on the book, Talmage was ordained as a church

apostle An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

in December 1911. ''The House of the Lord'' contained 46 photographic plates with descriptive captions and included photos of the interiors and exteriors of the six temples that built by 1912: the Kirtland, Nauvoo,

Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...

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 ...

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...

, and Manti temples. The majority of the photos—31 of them—were of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple, including one of the temple's

Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's prese ...

. In the 1968 edition of the book, the photograph of the Holy of Holies was omitted. Talmage's book "had a significant and long-lasting effect on nonmembers and members alike". The book has gone through a number of editions and remains in print. In October 2010, an adapted excerpt from the book was published by the LDS Church in its official magazine. In 2000,

Signature Books Signature Books is an American press specializing in subjects related to Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana. The company was founded in 1980 by George D. Smith and Scott Kenney and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is majority owned by the ...

published a 1912 first-edition reproduction.

Sample of photographic plates

File:Salt Lake Temple Holy of Holies.png, The

in the

File:Salt Lake Temple Celestial Room.jpg, The Celestial Room in the Salt Lake Temple File:CelestialRoomSLT3b18939u.jpg, The Celestial Room in the Salt Lake Temple File:SpiralstaircaseSLT3b18940u.jpg, A spiral staircase in the Salt Lake Temple File:Salt Lake temple baptismal font.jpg, 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). ...

in the Salt Lake Temple File:Salt Lake Temple Telestial Room.JPG, The Telestial Room in the Salt Lake Temple File:Salt Lake Temple Garden Room.JPG, The Garden Room in the Salt Lake Temple File:Salt Lake Temple Terrestrial Room.JPG, The Terrestrial Room in the Salt Lake Temple

Notes

External links

*
The House of the Lord
' on archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:House of the Lord, The 1912 non-fiction books 1912 in Christianity Temples (LDS Church) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints texts Works by James E. Talmage LDS non-fiction Works by apostles (LDS Church)

Sample of photographic plates

See also

Notes

External links