The Role of Cornerstone Ceremonies in Latter-day Saint Temple Building

On 17 June 2023, the First Presidency issued a significant statement one day prior to the dedication of the Helena Montana Temple. The statement read simply, “Construction techniques have advanced to the point that cornerstones are no longer included in large buildings. Therefore, temple cornerstone ceremonies will no longer be part of temple dedications.”

For Latter-day Saints, the temple cornerstone has deep doctrinal significance. The apostle Paul explained that the church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” Similarly, an early revelation referred to Jesus Christ as “the stone of Israel,” promising that “he that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall.” In keeping with these verses, temple cornerstones became integral temple features, symbolically pointing Latter-day Saints toward Jesus Christ.

In the earliest days of the church, when temples were built out of cut stone, cornerstones were laid at the beginning of construction during a ceremony intended to galvanize members in the building effort. Because of persecutions, the Kirtland Temple ceremony was more subdued, but the event still included Joseph Smith and twenty-three other elders laying the cornerstones “after the order of the Holy Priesthood.” Eight years later, Joseph Smith invited thousands of Latter-day Saints, and neighbors from surrounding towns, to witness the laying of the Nauvoo Temple cornerstones.

Brigham Young described the April 1853 cornerstone ceremony for the Salt Lake Temple to the thousands in attendance as “one of the most solemn, interesting, joyful, and glorious occasions, that ever has, or will transpire among the children of men.” Then, following a tradition that Joseph Smith had begun by placing the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon into the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House, Brigham Young and others gathered on 13 September 1857 to place items into a large stone box near the southeast corner of the Salt Lake Temple. In addition to copies of the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, the contents included volumes of the Times and Seasons and the Millennial Star, as well as poems by Eliza R. Snow, publications in foreign languages, and portraits of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles. Many later temples also had capsules placed within their cornerstones, usually containing historical documents and items related to the time and place of the temple construction.

As building techniques changed between 1870 and 1980, temple cornerstone ceremonies progressively moved toward the middle and then the end of the construction process. By the mid-twentieth century, rather than being integral pieces of the foundation, cornerstones became decorative markers on the temple facade. Still, the symbolic significance of these stones was highlighted by ceremonies presided over by a member of either the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As the number of temples increased, however, independent cornerstone ceremonies became increasingly taxing. By 1983, cornerstone ceremonies were entirely merged with dedicatory services, with this model prevailing until the June 2023 announcement.

Although the First Presidency statement brought an end to the cornerstone ceremonies that had dated back to August 1831, a survey of temple history reveals that this practice had never been completely set in stone. Rather, such ceremonies had often been altered according to the needs of the church. While formal cornerstone ceremonies no longer occur and commemorative capsules are no longer placed within the temples, the church continues to incorporate cornerstones and their rich symbolic meaning into temple architecture.

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Sources:

History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834], 330.

“Fate of the Twenty-Four Elders Who Laid the Foundation of the Kirtland Temple,” November 1859, Historian’s Office, Joseph Smith History Documents, CR 100 396, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

“The Mormons,” Western World (Warsaw, IL), 31 March 1841, 2.

“The Mormons,” Western World (Warsaw, IL), 7 April 1841, 3.

“Lee County Whig Convention,” Warsaw (IL) Signal, 9 June 1841, 2.

“Celebration of the Anniversary of the Church,” Times and Seasons, 15 April 1841, 2:376.

“Minutes of the General Conference,” Deseret News, 16 April 1853, 2.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News 1985 Church Almanac (Deseret News, 1982).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News 1982 Church Almanac (Deseret News, 1982), 12.

John Whitmer, History, 1831–circa 1847, 31–32.