Review
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Title: Temples In the Tops of The Mountains: Sacred Houses of The Lord in Utah
Authors: Richard O. Cowan & Clinton D. Christensen
Publishers: BYU Religious Studies Center & Deseret Book
Year Published: 2023
Number of Pages: 367
Binding: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-9503-0439-4
Price: $32.99
Reviewed by Trudy Thompson for the Association for Mormon Letters
Temples In the Tops of The Mountains: Sacred Houses of The Lord in Utah is an informative, historical, and well-documented book that covers every single temple in Utah from the preparations for building a temple in the Salt Lake Valley to the first temple completed in Utah, to those recently dedicated, and those in the planning stages and still under construction. The book contains many hundreds of photos and artists’ renditions of key moments in church history relating to the planning, construction, open houses, and dedication of all the current and future temples in Utah. All this material is arranged chronologically. The stories of the miracles behind these temples show the hand of God in the lives of the Saints and the faith and efforts that have built so many temples throughout Utah.
Temples In the Tops of The Mountains includes an extensive write-up of each of the Utah temples. Drawings, photos, and paintings are included of design elements, construction details, early ordinance workers, dedication tickets, the cost of building each temple, and what those costs would be in today’s money. Early photos include one of the first couples to be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, the laying of the cornerstones, and the prophets associated with the planning and announcement of, and dedication of each temple.
I found it especially fascinating to see the painting depicting when the Spirits of the Dead of many prominent men from American history appeared to Wilford Woodruff in the St. George Temple to request that they receive those temple ordinances. This included the signers of the Declaration of Independence. After identifying other non-relatives who should receive these ordinances, Woodruff was baptized for Christopher Columbus, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John Wesley. Next, he baptized another man for all the deceased presidents of the United States except for three whose family members had already done their work.
It is interesting to note that the still-under-renovation Salt Lake City temple will have two baptistries, both to be located on the lower floor of a new annex. There will be two endowment rooms in the space formerly occupied by the baptistry that will be added, bringing the total to five. Four will be on the first floor and one on the second floor. Each will seat 150 patrons. New sessions could begin every twenty to thirty minutes rather than just one each hour. Rather than moving from room to room, all endowment sessions will be conducted in a single room by film in more than eighty languages. There is a beautiful rendering of the second baptistry of this temple.
I also found it very intriguing to read about the Mount Timpanogos Temple. When that temple was under construction, we had a friend who knew a woman who was the secretary to the architect of that beautiful building. One Sunday afternoon my husband, our son, and I went with these two women to walk around this beautiful building still under construction, while it was explained to us where the celestial room would be etc. My husband, our son, and I were blessed to assist in the temple during the open house. As I stood in the bride’s room listening to the recording of how a bride and her mother would use that room on the young woman’s wedding day, I had to fight back the tears of the beauty of it all. Our son was assigned to push wheelchairs through the building for those who needed assistance to tour the beautiful new building. After attending the dedication, my husband and I were once again blessed and privileged to work in that temple for one year.
There are also chapters on larger temples during the latter twentieth century, the smaller temples, new styles of temples, and the ones that went from being a tabernacle to a temple.
This beautiful, extensive, large coffee table book is to be read, studied, enjoyed, and shared with our families. It is an amazing teaching tool for our children, to teach them the history and importance of temples, the saving ordinances performed in them, the sacred nature of every room in those temples, and the meaning behind it all. Every Latter-day Saint home needs this book!