Has there been any statement from the Church about Masonic symbols being removed from the SLC Temple in the current renovation work? Or has this only been commented on by observers?

    It seems to me that it's pretty much a given that the church would rather ignore potential problems than court them.

      Of course, they could always say it was the Relief Society that sponsored the removal of the symbols and thus avoid any blame...

Ummmm?

What's the original source of this rumor/'information'?

"In a recent episode of Mormonism podcast (EP. 137 So much drama: the theatrical origins of Mormonism), Rebecca mentioned that they will remove the Masonic symbols from the SLC temple facade during the renovation. Does anyone know more about this?"

https://youtu.be/ttkvRPtWLNM?t=13m

https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/s/kBbXQ9Hmng

"Sea-Tea8982
•
3d ago
If you drive down to temple square and look at the construction it looks like they are sandblasting the walls clean. It was my first impression a few years ago when I saw it. I was glad to hear Rebecca mention it because anyone I’ve mentioned it to looks at me like I am crazy. I don’t think you will find anything about it in the media. I’m sure after the mural hullabaloo they are just going to keep it quiet. Then they’ll act like they never were there. My ancestors also helped build the temple and I’m crushed to see their craftsmanship destroyed!!"

Quick! Take away the evidence!

It only takes a little faith to ignore evidence if the church tells you to.

And the quantity and quality of the evidence have no bearing on how well good mormons can pretend it doesn't exist.

Wouldn't (water) pressure washing be the preferable method to wash granite?

Apparently not. It was also sandblasted back in the 1960s, which removed years of coal smoke. It made a dramatic difference

Misplaced



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2024 12:35AM by Brother Of Jerry.

Tattoo removal or washing and de-anointing?

Problem is, there are so many photos of masonic symbols on the SLC temple, they can never be fully disowned. The square and compass are one thing, but the beehive and the phrase "Holiness to the Lord" are masonic also. Are they planning to dump those as well? (And isn't "HTTL" on every temple?)

Ironically, the brand-new Utah state flag has the masonic beehive on it.

The Mesa temple has "The Glory of God is Intelligence" engraved on a big stone slab. It makes the insults to your intelligence more bearable.

That lovely motto, or whatever it is, has morphed to:

"The Glory of God is Intelligence, just don't Use It!"

$$$$$$$ take their place, I am not crying over the change.

A blinking neon $ a top of each temple would look great too.

If the Masonic symbols are removed from temples will they also be removed from the temple garments? I wonder how many members know that the symbols stitched (are they still stitched?) into the garments are Masonic symbols.

I expect the markings on the Temple garments will be changed at some point going forward also.

The Nike whoosh . . .    The Adidas three stripes . . .


What else?

Come on guys. We all knew this would happen. It was the first thing I thought of. Good hell, they are now wearing crosses! That used to be a big sin. "We do not worship a dead Christ". But really, what could you expect from MORMONS who don't want to be called MORMONS?

So much for being a "Peculiar People".

Are they though? Inquiring minds want to know.

WOW! Now I should buy my daughter a really nice cross necklace. The twins' best friend in elementary school was a Baptist and they went to his house a lot and were good friends with the whole family. The mother did ask me once why I let them spend time with her family as in living here for a long time none of the mormons would let their kids play with her kids.

My daughter wanted to have a cross as they wore them. I said sure. My sister flipped out when she saw it. I don't think my parents said anything about it.

How many piercings can they have now? ha ha ha My daughter snuck off with my niece to get her second piercing years ago as I wouldn't let her. She let it grow back in when she went back to church.

I think it is sad to do this to a structure that has so much history whether or not I'm mormon. I hear that it had cracks in the foundation--was it here I read that. So I guess they had to do something, but totally redo it?

What is left of the church I grew up in???

I think one of the reasons that the temple needs shoring up is that it's located on a tectonic fault line. Salt Lake City will get a good shaking up one day, but it could be far in the future.

That is exactly the reason, The entire building is essentially being put on rollers so it can slide back and forth in an earthquake. The entire Wasatch Front is an active earthquake zone.

It is of course much easier to install a foundation like that before putting up the building, and ruinously expensive to do it after the fact, but if the building is high enough value, you bite the bullet and do it.

Along the Wasatch Front, it is not a matter of if. It is a matter of when there will be a major earthquake. So far in my 30-some years in Utah, I’ve been in 3 earthquakes big enough to feel, one of which caused sheet rock and tile damage in my apartment.

That last earthquake was centered in Magna, UT, and was 4 years ago this week. A number of buildings were badly damaged, some beyond repair.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2024 09:51AM by Brother Of Jerry.

I didn't realize that the fault line is so extensive:

https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/wasatch-fault-above/

And whose fault is that?

It's not a single fault line either. There are dozens of them. Plus, unless a building happens to straddle the particular fault that slipped, often the most damage is done some distance away from the fault. The 2020 quake was centered in Magna, in the NW corner of the SL Valley.

The worst damage was to older brick buildings in Magna, but second worst was in the Liberty-Wells neighborhood just north of Sugarhouse, about 12 or 15 miles east of the quake center. The problem there was a combination of soil conditions, and a lot of older buildings that were masonry structures rather than wood frame. A wood frame house may be badly damaged in an earthquake, but it is very unlikely that it will collapse on its occupants. A building where the supporting walls are brick, not so much.

That's interesting. You would think that brick structures would be sturdier.

I used to live in NYC, and it would fascinate me to look out of my office window on windy days. You could see the tall skyscrapers swaying back and forth. I'm sure it was just a few inches each way, but it was noticeable. My brother, who was an engineer and project manager for large buildings, told me that the sway is built in. You want some flexibility, in the same way that most trees sway with the wind. Better to sway than snap.

It's interesting that the SLC temple was modified to be on rollers.

"How much does 111 west 57th sway?

"3 feet

"The dimensions of the tower make it highly susceptible to swaying – as much as 3 feet (0.9 meters) – when hit by high winds. Some visitors have complained of severe nausea because of the swaying."

Eeek! I didn't know it was that much.

111 West 57th Street, also known as Steinway Tower, is a supertall residential skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City.  Developed by JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group, it is situated along Billionaires' Row on the north side of 57th Street near Sixth Avenue.

Address: 111 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019

Height: 1,428′
Floors: 84

Floor area: 572,348 sq ft (53,172.9 m2)

Cost: $2 billion



In case you're interested in purchasing an apartment in this building:

https://www.cityrealty.com/nyc/midtown-west/111-west-57th-street/55221?src=Goog-BldgAAA-111W57&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-_mvBhDwARIsAA-Q0Q58mySIwGpZ0QNrkgOQQRXGWjedYCRbZYv6Hd3PIHuGM8IemnTBGpgaAoa7EALw_wcB

Here's an interesting article on the sound effects that can come with the tall, skinny towers on a windy day. Some people have said that it sounds like gunshots going off.

https://www.insidescience.org/news/why-skinny-skyscrapers-are-so-loud-and-how-quiet-them

Here's a fascinating article on how toilets work in really tall buildings and how people almost had their intestines pulled out of their keisters!

https://www.insidescience.potties/news/why-tall-toilets-are-crappy

Also because the temple footings were set in lime mortar and the temple is extremely heavy. They did not have cement available when those footings were built and lime mortar can become weakened over time especially if it’s exposed to moisture. You could have catastrophic failure if an earthquake hits.

The Church now has more money than it knows what to do with. It can afford to do such major overhauls.

I have yet to see a shred of evidence that they are removing anything (edit to add: from the exterior surface of the building) I think y’all are getting ahead of your skis.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2024 09:28AM by Brother Of Jerry.

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/03/12/lds-church-removes/

"In a loss for preservation, LDS Church removes historic murals from Salt Lake Temple
Wall paintings also will be taken out of the Manti Temple."

The LDS endowment movie also has been changed several times.

Manti was saved because so many members made it clear they wanted the Manti Temple left as is. Some of the more radical church leaders like Elder Bednar show a distain for the interest in the building and furnishings. They scold the members for being more interested in buildings than ordinances. My answer is stop building them then.

I was disappointed in the Salt lake temple when I went through it. It seemed like an odd retrofit. It turns out it was. Truman Angel originally drew plans for two assembly halls like the Nauvoo and Kirtland temples. Brigham Young’s son Don Carlos redesigned the floor plan. So the east and west foyers enter ordinance rooms. The main floor where the Celestial Room is was supposed to be an assembly hall with the foyers on each end and the upper assembly hall being accessed by the spiral staircases in the corner towers.

Temples became centered on the endowment instead of having mass church meetings in an assembly hall. In some temples the priesthood assembly hall still remain. I think the Washington DC temple was the last temple to be built with a priesthood assembly hall.