The House of the Lord

'The House of the Lord: A Study of Holy Sanctuaries, Ancient and Modern,' was written by James Edward Talmage and was published in 1912. It was the first book of its kind that not only gave an understanding of temple worship, both ancient and modern but also published photos of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple. The story behind the publication is as fascinating as seeing the old photos taken at the turn of the century.


In a FARMS article titled, Explaining the Temple to the World: James E. Talmage's Monumental Book, The House of the Lord by David R. Seely we are told how the events unfolded that brought about the publication of this first temple book. Seely explains how,

On 16 September 1911, the Salt Lake Tribune published an account of certain individuals who had secretly taken pictures of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple and who had attempted to sell them to the church. The headlines read: "Photographs secretly taken of Mormon Temple's interior; sent for sale to Church chief. President replies: Church will not negotiate with thieves and blackmailers.'" The blackmail scheme was perpetrated by Max Florence, who was at the time in New York City trying to sell sixty-eight unauthorized photographs of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple. Florence had employed the help of a recent convert to the church, Gisbert Bossard, who, disenchanted with the administration of the church, had, assisted by a gardener for the temple grounds, gained access to the Salt Lake Temple and had taken a series of photographs of the interior of the Salt Lake Temple. Apparently motivated by money and "revenge" on the church, these individuals had taken the pictures when the Salt Lake Temple was closed for renovation during the summer of 1911. Florence and Bossard had sent a letter to the First Presidency with a proposal of blackmail—that the church would give them $100,000 and the photographs would be returned; otherwise, they would be shown publicly. President Joseph F. Smith, the recipient of the letter, was outraged, and his response was, "I will make no bargain with thieves or traffickers in stolen goods. I prefer to let the law deal with them."


The rest of Seely's article details how James E. Talmage was commissioned by the First Presidency three months before becoming an Apostle to write 'The House of the Lord' with better quality photos of the interior and exterior of the Salt Lake Temple as a "preemptive strike" against the designs of the blackmailers. Talmage has been described as "the most eloquent and prolific writer of the early twentieth-century LDS Apostles."

I was not able to find the Salt Lake Tribune article mentioned above but was able to find some articles from other newspapers in Utah at that time. They can be found at Utah Digital Newspapers at this link: 'My Favorites.'

This captivating book has generated intense interest and even some controversy from its first publication with additional editions released over the past century. The original 1912 edition with photography can be downloaded for free from Google Books.
The House of the Lord: A Study of Holy Sanctuaries, Ancient and Modern

Bookcraft republished the book in 1962 after it had been out of print for many years. The book publisher said it had received more requests for the out-of-print book than any other book. Deseret Book also republished it in 1968. Both reprints had several revisions to the original version. Several copies of these editions are available at
Ebay search for 'The House of the Lord'.

Signature Books released a special reprint of the original 1912 first edition, with the addition of a foreword by Howard Heath, who explains the history of the book and gives a biographical sketch of Elder Talmage's life. There is also an appendix by John Widtsoe, written in 1921, which gives further details about temple worship. In the Talmage text, he discusses the history of temple worship, why we need temples today, modern temple ordinances and includes several chapters detailing the specific dimensions of the interior and exterior of the Salt Lake Temple.


There are 80 black and white photos of rooms in the temple, including pictures and description of the "Holy of Holies" room and the veil of the temple which were controversial at the time of the first publication. These photos were left out of the other reprints of this book. The pictures in this book are fascinating, not because they reveal anything secret, but because they show the changes from 1912 until now.
Amazon Books
Barnes & Noble

Deseret Books has come out with the latest edition of 'The House of the Lord' and also has a CD version available. This Collector's Edition contains the complete text from the original 1912 printing along with 12 beautiful color plates from well-known artists. This edition also includes stunning pictures for every LDS temple, as well as the dedication date for each temple and an excerpt from each dedicatory prayer. The original photos in the first edition are not included in this edition.
Deseret Books
Deseret CD

For quality color photos of the Salt Lake Temple go here: In His Holy House

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great book. I read it years ago but it was one without the photos. The blackmail story is very interesting. Never knew that. I like the idea of a temple study book club. Thanks.

Jason said...

Way Cool!

Hannah Rebekah said...

Thanks for your comments. I have been reading the 1912 version of 'The House of the Lord' and I noticed that Talmage refers to his other book, 'The Articles of Faith' in some of his footnotes. I found an online copy of the 1899 version of this book also at Google Books. A PDF copy can also be downloaded for those who are interested in following the footnotes. You can find it here, ‘The Articles of Faith.’
http://books.google.com/books?id=JecQAAAAIAAJ
I have really enjoyed Talmage's easy, flowing style of writing. Chapter II was really interesting about 'Sanctuaries In Earlier Dispensations.' That's because I have always had a thing for history.
At MAD (Mormon Apoligetics and Discussion Board) on a thread titled, "The Most Influential Mormon Theologians & Authors" John Larsen listed his favorites and had this to say about Talmage:
"James E. Talmage-Modern Mormonism was born under the pen of Talmage. He was able to cut and edit the many lines of the 19th century into a coherent religion that would play in the 20th century. Mormon thought can be divided into two camps, before Talmage and after Talmage."
I love how Talmage's works are timeless. He was the author of other classics such as Jesus the Christ, The Great Apostasy and The Articles of Faith as mentioned above. These books were an effort during his era to clarify LDS doctrine and are still favorites and widely read by Latter-day Saints today.

Anonymous said...

I downloaded the book and the pictures are great. I never knew the story of the Church being blackmailed either. I wonder whatever happened to the two men involved. Were they excommunicated? How gutsy was that to get into the temple and take pictures?
Glad to know the Church stood up to them. Great story behind the book. I'm not through reading the book yet but what I have read is really good.

Sarah said...

Hi HR,
I just finished The House of the Lord. I choose to read the 1912 version and downloaded it onto my computer. I loved it, I think this book is a must read for all Mormons. I am going to buy the special reprint for myself. This book would also be a great gift as well. I sent a link of the online book to several of my friends and my mom. I've been telling them about the pictures, it's really great to see how the Temple looked back then. Talmage is a great writer.
SW

Hannah Rebekah said...

Hi Everyone,
I've had a lot of feedback from family and friends by email about the book club and the first book featured, The House of the Lord. Although I appreciate the comments sent to me, I hope all will see the importance of making their comments online for others to see their testimonies. I too am ordering the reprint of 'The House of the Lord' with the old pictures to have as a permanent part of my library. It's a great book and as always, Talmage is timeless.
Hope you all appreciate the next pick, Temple and Cosmos by Hugh Nibley.
HR

Anonymous said...

Did this die out? I am a latecomer and wish to participate but posts seem to be a year old. I am very interested in learning more about some of the things that have been discussed on your other blogs along with these things. I love the focus of your studies!

Yvonne said...

Dear Hannah,
Read your comments regarding Temple book club. Have you seen Day Star, by Val Brinkerhoff? Fantastic read on LDS Temples with the most beautiful photos available anywhere today.