Moving Things Around

The Assembly Hall on Temple Square

My wife likes to re-decorate constantly. Really, I enjoy it though as she has an eye and knack for the pleasant atmosphere that is created, no matter what the season is. Part of this includes the moving of furniture. Back when I worked a second shift, I would come home in the dark and stub my toe on something that was not there when I left for work earlier in the afternoon. I kid Kate that one of these days she’s going to move the toilet on me. Temple Square was no different. Things have been moved around throughout the years to meet the needs of the Church.

What originally occupied the spot on Temple Square where the Assembly Hall is currently located today?

a.      The first foundation of the Salt Lake Temple

b.      The first visitor center

c.       The old Tabernacle

d.      The first Church office building

Yesterday’s answer:

b.   The practice of the prayer circle

Another facet of the rhythm and cycle of routine life for John (W. Welch) in pioneer Paradise was the prayer circle. Only two prayer circles were organized in the Cache Stake. The Paradise circle functioned from May 12, 1907, to January 1, 1911, beginning with about fifteen male members and gradually declining to five, at which point it was discontinued due to lack of attendance. Participants initially met twice a month on Sundays in a special room in the ward house. They later met only on fast Sundays. The bishop was president of the circle.

Attendance requirements were stipulated to maintain membership and great efforts were made to contact and encourage those not attending. John once recorded that “there were too many vacant chairs in our prayer circled room and [we] felt that some of our brethren remained away without any excuse. We meet here for our own good and also for what good we can do to others” (Sunday, November 1, 1908). Members were required to ask themselves if they were full-tithe payers and if they obeyed the Word of Wisdom. Most of the time, members paid a full tithe, but some acknowledged that they did not fully obey the Word of Wisdom; many found it difficult to abstain from the use of tobacco and alcohol.

Nearly Everything Imaginable, Walker, Ronald W., Doris R. Dant ed., (Provo, Utah: BYU Press, 1999), 465.