Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/159

Rh and sacrifice, at whatever toll of self-denial and suffering, it should be procured.

The so-called "temple granite" is in reality a syenite, and occurs as an immense laccolith in the Cottonwood section of the Wasatch. The erosion of long ages had cut deep canyons through the eruptive mass; and glaciers, descending with irresistible force, had dislodged and transported countless boulders, many of them of colossal size. These isolated blocks, known as erratics, furnished the supply of building stone; it was not found necessary to quarry into the granite mountain-mass in place. In the canyon the boulders were divided mostly by the use of hand-drills and wedges, though low power explosives were used to a small extent. The rough blocks were conveyed at first by ox-teams; four yoke were required for each block, and every trip was a labored journey of three or four days. A canal for the conveyance of the rock by water was projected, and, indeed, work thereon was begun, but the plan was abandoned as the prospect of railroad transportation became more certain.

The plan of the building was given by Brigham Young, President of the Church, and the structural details were worked out under his direction by the Church architect—Truman O. Angell. A description by the latter was published as early as 1854, both in Utah and abroad.