An excavation near the centre of the square, partially filled with dirt
previously to the exodus to Provo, marks the spot where the Temple is
to rise. It is intended that this edifice shall infinitely surpass in
magnificence its predecessor at Nauvoo. The design purports to be a
revelation from heaven, and, if so, must have emanated from some one
of the Gothic architects of the Middle Ages whose taste had become
bewildered by his residence among the spheres; for the turrets are to be
surmounted by figures of sun, moon, and stars, and the whole building
bedecked with such celestial emblems. Only part of the foundation-wall
has yet been laid, but it sinks thirty feet deep and is eight feet broad
at the surface of the ground. Its length, according to the heavenly
plan, is to be two hundred and twenty feet, and its width one hundred
and fifty feet. Beside the Tabernacle and the incipient Temple, the only
considerable building within the square is the Endowment-House, where
those rites are celebrated which bind a member to fidelity to the Church
under penalty of death, and admit him to the privilege of polygamy.
The other principal buildings within the city are the Council-House,
a square pile of sandstone, once used as the Capitol,--and the County
Court-House, yet unfinished, above which rises a cupola covered with
tin.
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