Holy of Holies in Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Holy of Holies is the most sacred part of a temple and is only really in one temple today - the Salt Lake Temple.  Little known is the fact that several temples have had Holy of Holies.

To start out I should point out that the term "Holy of Holies" comes from the Bible and referred to the most sacred part of the Tabernacle, Solomon's Temple, Zerrubbabel's Temple, and the Temple of Herod.  The term "Most Holy Place" is usually another name for the Holy of Holies.  The room contained the ark of the covenant and could only be entered by the High Priest once a year.  It was separated from "the holy place" by the veil of the temple.  In this way, our current temple celestial rooms are somewhat comparable to the Jewish Holy of Holies.  Still, the rooms are quite a bit different.  This should be expected as the Jewish temples were Aaronic Priesthood preparatory temples while ours are Melchizedek Priesthood higher law Christian temples.

The Holy of Holies in our temples have some similarities to their ancient counterparts.  They have limited access - the prophet and occasionally others can enter the room.  They are also used for heavenly visitations.  Anciently, the Holy of Holies was where Gabriel appeared and announced to Zacharias that his wife would give birth to John the Baptist.  In today's Holy of Holies, the prophet may receive similar heavenly visitations and directions on how to run Christ's church.

You might wonder what else "Holy of Holies" is used for.  Apparently it is used for the higher ordinances of the priesthood.  Apostle James E. Talmage said that it is "reserved for the higher ordinances in the priesthood relating to the exaltation of both living and dead".  See his book The House of the Lord for this information. There are several temple ordinances mentioned in the scriptures which aren't performed often or even talked about regularly.  I suspect that some of them might performed in the holy of holies.  Here is one such verse:

Therefore, verily I say unto you, that your annointings, and your washings, and your baptisms for the dead, and your solemn assemblies, and your memorials for your sacrifices by the sons of Levi, and for your oracles in your most holy places wherein you receive conversations, and your statutes and judgments, for the beginning of the revelations and foundation of Zion, and for the glory, honor, and endowment of all her municipals, are ordained by the ordinance of my holy house, which my people are always commanded to build unto my holy name.

D&C 124:39

Notice that this verse says "most holy places" which might mean "Holy of Holies".  I suspect that the "memorials for your sacrifices by the sons of Levi" may simply refer to the sacrament served during solemn assemblies.  In another place we read:

And he shall be received by the ordinance of the washing of feet, for unto this end was the ordinance of the washing of feet instituted.

And again, the ordinance of washing feet is to be administered by the president, or presiding elder of the church.

It is to be commenced with prayer; and after partaking of bread and wine, he is to gird himself according to the pattern given in the thirteenth chapter of John's testimony concerning me. Amen.                                 

D&C 88:139-141

This verse refers to the ordinance of washing of feet - particularly in relation to the School of the Prophets.  This ordinance was instituted by Jesus Christ just prior to his crucifixion and is a priesthood ordinance.  Christ gave this ordinance to his apostles and I highly suspect that the same ordinance is given to any apostle, although it is also apparently given to others as well.  It would not surprise me if the Holy of Holies was used for this ordinance, although it may be performed elsewhere in the temple.

Lets leave this chain of thought and instead get to the architecture of the Holy of Holies and when they have been used.

You can consider the Kirtland Temple to have included a Holy of Holies.  The assembly halls could be divided using curtains (essentially veils) and on April 3, 1836 the Melchizedek Priesthood pulpits were curtained off with Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery inside when Jesus Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared to them, accepted the temple, and conferred priesthood keys and the sealing power.  For this reason, I think you could consider the pulpits in the Kirtland Temple as an early Holy of Holies.

The original Nauvoo Temple included a sealing room identified as the Holy of Holies.  This was room 1 or the clerk's office.  It was a sealing room, clerk's office, and Holy of Holies.  Apparently it was used so much for the higher ordinances that other rooms had to be used for sealings so the room could be used for the higher ordinances.  See this article for more details.  Here is a drawing of a sealing room in the original Nauvoo Temple from lds.org.  Details of how the room looked are probably guessed, but it gives you some idea of what the Holy of Holies may have looked like.

I don't know if the St. George Temple had a Holy of Holies, but I suspect it at least had a sealing room occasionally used for that purpose.

The Logan Temple used to contain a sealing room sometimes used as the Holy of Holies.  This was the Gold Room.  The room had gold directly applied to the plaster walls using a hot iron.  As you can see, intricate patterns were made on the walls.  The curtain is covering a doorway leading into the southeast tower spiral staircase.  Also, notice the stained glass window.  The windows were removed when the temple was gutted and remodeled in the 1980s.  You can see the windows in the Church History museum (and I think the Manti Temple cafeteria has some of them as well - they looked familiar last time I ate there). 

Logan Temple Gold Room - Sometimes a Holy of Holies

Logan Temple Gold Room - Sometimes a Holy of Holies

The Manti Temple also included a Holy of Holies.  This one is directly off the celestial room and is still in the temple.  It has its door left open so you can see the room and is now officially a sealing room, although one you can't use.  Apparently President Hinckley wanted the room kept special because of its history (according to temple workers at the Manti Temple who said the room is rumored to have been a Holy of Holies.  As you can see, the room is extremely ornate.  I particularly like the arched area above the altar and the intricate detailing used there.  Even small details such as the door handle and the hinges on the door are covered in symbolic details.  This really is a fitting Holy of Holies.

Manti Temple Sealing Room - Sometimes a Holy of Holies

The Salt Lake Temple is currently the only temple with a permanent Holy of Holies.  This room is accessed from the celestial room and is in between two sealing rooms that are also directly off the celestial room.  The room is round with a dome.  In fact, the room directly above the Holy of Holies is called the dome room because the dome ceiling of the Holy of Holies takes up the middle of the room.  As you can see, the room has numerous art glass windows in the dome (lights in the dome room light them up).  There is also an authentic Tiffany Glass window depicting the First Vision (which can be seen on the other side of the window from the sealing office).  The glass window says

IF ANY OF YOU LACK WISDOM LET HIM ASK OF GOD

THAT GIVETH TO MEN LIBERALLY AND UPBRAIDETH NOT

AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN HIM

                                     James 1-5v

THIS IS MY BELOVED SON       HEAR HIM

The room contains other nice architectural details.  Carved faces are found on the arches.  Vines are found on the columns.  Sconces, a chandelier(s?), and art glass windows bring a lot of light into the room.  You can also see that the room has intricate carvings.  Despite all of this, the room is remarkably restrained for a room with so many intricate details. In Talmage's book The House of the Lord he states that the Holy of Holies is

reached by an additional flight of six steps inside the sliding doors.  The short staircase is bordered by hand-carved balustrades, which terminate in a pair of newel-posts bearing bronze figures symbolizing innocent childhood; these support flower clusters, each jeweled blossom enclosing an electric bulb.  On the landing at the head of the steps is another archway, beneath which are sliding doors; these doors mark the threshold of the inner room or Holy of Holies. . . 

Talmage then describes the Holy of Holies:

The floor is of native hard wood blocks, each an inch in cross section.  The room is of circular outline, eighteen feet in diameter, with paneled walls, the panels separated by carved pillars supporting arches; it is decorated in blue and gold.  The entrance doorway and the panels are framed in red velvet with an outer border finished in gold.  Four wall niches, bordered in crimson and gold, have a deep blue background, and within these are tall vases holding flowers.  The room is practically without natural light, but it is brilliantly illuminated by a large electrolier and eight side clusters of lamps.  The ceiling is a dome in which are set circular and semicircular windows of jeweled glass, and on the outside of these, therefore above the ceiling, are electric globes whose light penetrates into the room in countless hues of subdued intensity. . .

Salt Lake Temple Holy of Holies

In many ways we only need the one Holy of Holies because a major function of the room is for the prophet to go and pray and receive revelation and heavenly visitations relating to how the church should be run.  Yet, it also has its function for higher ordinances and the prophet (or apostles) may wish to use a Holy of Holies when they are away from Salt Lake.  For these reasons, sealing rooms in temples are occasionally used as Holy of Holies.  I was told in the Preston England Temple that one of the sealing rooms in that temple is designated to be used for the prophet or apostles when needed.  When they need the room it is temporarily set apart for that purpose, so essentially it is occasional a Holy of Holies.  This may also explain why many temples have one small sealing room that is really nice, but impractical for large weddings.  It is probably used only for sealings for the dead and also rarely as a Holy of Holies.

I hope you found this interesting.  You may comment but remember that this is on the internet and these are sacred rooms, so let's be restrained in our comments on this one.

Here is a picture of the Dome Room, the room above the Holy of Holies in the Salt Lake Temple.  It is just used to access the ceiling lights above the Holy of Holies and has been used as a dressing room.

Dome Room Above Holy of Holies in the Salt Lake Temple

Talmage describes the Dome Room as follows:

. . . the large Dome Room, thirty nine by forty four feet.  On the south side are three oval windows, and opposite these on the north are semi-discs of pebbled glass looking down into the Celestial Room and set in the arches thereof.  In the center appears a large dome, fifty one feet in circumference at its base and seven feet high.  This is set with seventeen jeweled windows and may be readily recognized as the ceiling of the Holy of Holies . . . In each of these windows electric bulbs are placed, and it is from these the room below derives its beauty of ceiling illumination and coloring.  The walls are hung with portraits of Church authorities.  No specific ordinance work belongs to this apartment. . .

For more information, please read James E. Talmage's The House of the Lord first printed in 1912.

Salt Lake Temple Symbolic Progression

One of the best parts of the older temples is the use of symbolic progression as one moves through the temple.  When you move from endowment room to endowment room the architecture of each room can be designed to compliment the endowment ceremony in meaningful ways.  I want to explain how some of this is achieved in the Salt Lake Temple.  Each room in the Salt Lake Temple is more than the previous room.  It symbolizes that as we progress in the gospel we become more.  We become better people, we gain more skills, we become more righteous and holy.  We become closer to God and we become more like Him.  I'm just going to show pictures of each endowment room and explain how it achieves this.

The Creation Room:

Salt Lake Temple Creation Room

Originally the creation room didn't even have murals (they were added many years later).  The lighting is very simple (newer lighting has been installed in the last few years, but it still has the simplest lighting).  There are no staircases and no natural light.  Also notice that there isn't even an altar in the room.  Although a nice, moving room, the creation room is very simple.  It is also the lowest in elevation (in the basement) and has the lowest ceilings of the endowment rooms.  This is the first endowment room in the temple.  It is our starting point - the creation of the earth and mankind.  The murals in the creation room also show progression from a disorganized world, to land and seas being formed, to plants being formed.  It is somewhat interesting that no animals are shown in the murals in the creation room despite the fact that animals were created during the creation.  This is used as a way to show progression in the garden room. 

The Garden Room:

Salt Lake Temple Garden Room

The next endowment room in the Salt Lake Temple is the Garden Room.  This room represents The Garden of Eden.  To get to the room, patrons go up a small rise from the creation room (a few feet).  The room is now larger and taller.  There are more lights are each is more ornate (in the picture they are slightly more involved, newly installed lights are really nice) and there is a large light at the top where the ceiling is recessed (recently upgraded with clear art glass incorporating sego lilies).  An altar is present, and although nice, is simpler than other altars in the temple.  3 staircases are now present although they are short and fairly simple.  Originally this would have had a small greenhouse behind the curtains that can be seen in the photo.  This would have brought natural light into the room.  Also notice that the door has glass on the top half and filling the arch above.  The murals now show the Garden of Eden in idyllic splendor with nice plants and animals all getting along.  Adding animals shows progression from the creation room.

 The Grand Staircase:

Grand Staircase, Salt Lake Temple

Upon leaving the garden room, patrons exit (if I recall correctly going down 1 step symbolizing the fall) onto a landing and then go up the grand staircase.  This is a fitting symbol of progression.  A stained glass window of Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden is also seen. 

Grand Staircase, Salt Lake Temple

This staircase brings patrons to the first floor of the temple where they will enter the world room.  As they go up the staircase, the doors to the celestial room are visible before patrons turn to enter the world room.  This gives a glimpse of things to come. As a side note, Jesus Christ appeared to President Lorenzo Snow at the top of this staircase and told him he was to be the next prophet and to reorganize the first presidency.

 

 The Telestial or World Room:

Salt Lake Temple World Room

This room represents the fallen world that we all live in, yet at the same time it has to symbolize a progression.  The fallen state of the world is shown through fighting animals, trees competing for space or dying, a river eroding a hillside, etc.  The progression is shown in many ways.  Tall windows let natural light flood into the room.  In addition, the chandeliers are now clusters of ball lights instead of single lights.  The altar is more ornate.  The doors are taller.  The staircase is now more detailed and quite a bit taller.  The entire room is more spacious.  Also notice that the doors now have significantly more glass than in the garden room.  The color scheme is also slightly lighter than the garden room.  The murals also show progression because although representing a fallen world, they are more interesting than those in the garden room with more going on.  Notice that to leave this room one goes up a slight rise.

The Terrestrial Room:

Salt Lake Temple Terrestrial Room (back)

Salt Lake Temple Terrestrial Room (front)

Patrons go straight from the world room to the terrestrial room.  This room represents the Terrestrial Kingdom of God (2nd highest of 3 heavens) or the better world we can experience while still alive if we follow God's commandments.  The room shows obvious progression with ornate chandeliers, moldings, columns, details window arches, a Tiffany art glass window, a nice altar, this time surrounded with a large platform.  A staircase is also present with intricate carvings on it.  The color scheme of the room is the brightest yet with pastel blue and pink and cream.  A large painting is hung in this room (the temple rotates which painting hangs here so I can't say which one), usually of Jesus Christ as a fitting symbol of the only way to attain this state and more even further in life and towards life with God.  Interestingly, the chandeliers were originally clusters of ball lights like those seen in the world room.  This made it so the lights followed one theme and got nicer.  Also, the windows used to let natural light in, but have since been blocked by the sealing room annex (a hallway is now on the other side of the windows).  The terrestrial room is taller, larger, and higher than previous rooms.  Like the other rooms, the architecture here shows us that as we progress in the gospel and follow God's plan we increase in every way.  You might also notice that above the stained glass window there is a detailed carving with flowers and I think fruit, a small hint of what is to come in the celestial room.

The Celestial Room:

Salt Lake Temple Celestial Room

The endowment ceremony always ends in the celestial room, no matter the temple.  In the Salt Lake Temple, the celestial room's architecture is used in an effective way to reinforce the teachings of the endowment.  The room is the largest, highest, tallest, and most ornate of the endowment rooms.  The lighting now consists of eight chandeliers with clusters of more ornate pointed lights (instead of spheres).  Windows and Tiffany art glass windows along the top are also used to bring in light.  Mirrors and glass are used a lot.  Columns, arches, etc. are all far more ornate than in the terrestrial room.  Also, along the ceiling there is a lot of carved fruit and flowers.  Vines, trophies, flowers, etc. are painted on the walls.  Birds are carved into the walls.  The color scheme is bright and glorious with gold details.  When I first went to the Salt Lake Temple I didn't know how the terrestrial room's architecture could be outdone (and I had seen pictures of the celestial room).  Then I stepped into the celestial room and saw how much nicer a room could get.  It is breathtakingly beautiful with so many intricate details.  It is a wonderful representation of the highest heaven where we can dwell with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  No picture does this room justice.

Although not endowment rooms, the sealing rooms and Holy of Holies in the Salt Lake Temple continue the theme of progression.  Notice that from the celestial room you can see (and walk into if you want) the sealing rooms.  To enter each you go up either 2 steps or up a short staircase.  The staircase has a cupid statue as a symbol of love.  Each sealing room is even more ornate than the celestial room, and two of them contain art glass windows.  The sealing rooms have the most ornate altars and have high ceilings.  This shows that as we are married for eternity in temples, and sealed together as eternal families, we grow, progress, fulfill God's plan, and become qualified to enter the highest part of the highest heaven.  In the photo, the second doorway from the right (next to the open sealing room) leads into the Holy of Holies.  This room is the most ornate of all with a short staircase leading from the doorway to another doorway into the room.  The room has a tall dome with art glass windows along the top and a stained glass window of the First Vision.  You can see a picture of it in my post on temple stained glass windows here. 

I love how the architecture of the Salt Lake Temple has been used to give a progression with patrons moving higher from room to more ornate/tall/spacious/bright/light/detailed/etc. room.  I love how the endowment feels when presented in this way.  Unfortunately, most temples have patrons in a single endowment room for the entire ceremony and then finally entering the celestial room.  This gives these temple their own unique ways to symbolize the progression (generally through the lights getting turned on brighter partway through the ceremony), but I think the temples with 4 endowment rooms before the celestial room are able to show this best.  In my opinion, the Salt Lake Temple does this best with the most areas of progression used.

Please comment and let me know what you think.  If there are details you noticed that I didn't mention, or other insights you had, please comment and let us all know.