A Temple in Zion

A Temple in Zion. . , The pioneers of Sanpete were committed to fostering their relationship with God and desired to build a temple where they could worship and increase their spiritual understanding of God's principles. Twenty-eight years after the first pioneers arrived in the Sanpete valley, construction began on a temple., Brigham Young dedicated the Temple Site and broke the ground for construction in 1877. The pioneers gathered materials for the temple, cutting and crafting the local oolite stone into beautiful blocks. Many of the pioneers donated their time and resources to the construction effort. The craftsmanship of the temple reflected the pioneers' belief that the temple was a house of God, and every aspect from the design to the finish work was carefully considered and implemented. , President Wilford Woodruff, a Latter-day Saint prophet, dedicated the temple in 1888 and noted that the Manti Temple was "the finest temple, best finished, and most costly of any building the Latter-day Saints have ever built since the organization of the Church.", The temple became a symbol of the pioneers' faith and their willingness to sacrifice. The sense of sacredness in worshipping God provided meaning in their lives and brought hope as they faced hardships., The temple construction lasted eleven years. The exhilarated saints hed patiently waited a total of thirty-nine years for a temple to be finished in the Sanpete valley., Pioneers volunteered their time and resources to build the temple., Owned and operated by the Central Utah Pioneer Heritage Association