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