St. George Tabernacle, St. George, Utah, USA

The St. George Tabernacle Photo courtesy of The Library of Congress
The St. George Tabernacle
Photo courtesy of The Library of Congress

The St. George Tabernacle was built between 1863 and 1876, shortly after the establishment of St. George, Utah. It was built under the direction of Brigham Young who told Elder Erastus Snow, the local leader in St. George, he wanted a “commodius well-furnished meetinghouse, one large enough to comfortably seat at least 2,000 persons, and that will not only be useful, but also an ornament to your city.”1

The structure follows a New England style, similar to the Kirtland or Nauvoo Temples. The Tabernacle was constructed from local hand-hewn, red sandstone bricks quarried from a nearby location, and the cornerstone was placed on Brigham Young’s Birthday, June 1, 1863. The clock in the tower, constructed in London, added a level of prestige to the community. It allowed the Saints to signal various events, such as when Church began, when Church ended, and the start and end of community gatherings; and to signal dignitaries coming to the community. Additionally, it allowed a standard reckoning of time, which to that point had been determined by when the sun came up each morning.

After the balcony was completed and in place, Brigham Young visited the Tabernacle and noticed that people sitting in the balcony were so high that they could not see the pulpit. President Young directed the building superintendent, Miles Romney, to cut off the various posts holding up the balcony to allow those sitting in the balcony to see the pulpit.

In 1899, President Lorenzo Snow was directed by the Lord to visit the members of the Church in St. George. While speaking in the Tabernacle, a revelation opened to him, causing him to declare that “the time has now come for every Latter-day Saint who calculates to be prepared for the future and to hold his feet strong upon a proper foundation, to do the will of the Lord and to pay his tithing in full. That is the word of the Lord to you, and it will be the word of the Lord to every settlement throughout the land of Zion.”2

Since that time the St. George Tabernacle has continued to serve the people of St. George as a gathering place and today regular concerts are held there. It remains a monument to the faithful dedication of the early St. George pioneers.


SOURCES

1 Douglas D. Alder, “St. George Tabernacle,” Arnold K. Garr, Donald Q. Cannon, & Richard O. Cowan, eds., Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 2000), 1178.

2 LeRoi C. Snow, “The Lord’s Way Out of Bondage,” Improvement Era, July 1938, No. 7, 439.

Map & Directions

View Larger Map

 

Hours of Operation :
Winter – 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Summer – 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.

Phone Number: (435) 673-5181

Admission: Free

Articles & Resources

LeRoi C. Snow's Account of President Snow's Revelation on Tithing

Author(s): LeRoi C. Snow
Type: First-person account
Source(s): LeRoi C. Snow, “The Lord’s Way Out of Bondage,” Improvement Era, July 1938, No. 7, 439.

It was Wednesday, May 17, the day on which the special conference opened in the tabernacle in St. George. It was during one of these meetings that President Snow received the renewed revelation on…

LeRoi C. Snow, “The Lord’s Way Out of Bondage,” Improvement Era, July 1938, No. 7.

Thomas S. Monson, “Tears, Trials, Trust, Testimony,”  Ensign, September 1997, 2.