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Provo's Two Temples
Trace the unique construction, history, and other details that tell the stories behind the Provo and the new Provo City Center Temples.
Hardcover
Published October 5, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 5, 2016
This is a tremendous book, full of wonderful photographs, meticulous research, and personal experiences. Provo will be the second city to have two temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints within its borders when the second one is dedicated March 20, 2016, and this book talks about each of the temples--the Provo Utah Temple, dedicated in 1971, and the newest addition, the Provo City Center Temple.
The author gives necessary background and history so the reader can place events in context, but does it in a way that is very readable and interesting. In addition, people who are not members of the LDS Church will appreciate Brother Cowan's synopsis of the origins of the Church and the excellent and respectful explanations of temple work.
Originally, the author intended only to write a book about the history of the Provo Temple, but when the beloved Provo Tabernacle burned, and it was announced that it would be restored as a temple, Brother Cowan made the decision to document the transformation of that special building from beginning to end and add it to the book he was working on. With the help of his son, Lee, and a few other key people, Brother Cowan was able to provide the most comprehensive account of the fire and its cause, the investigation, the deliberations on what to do with the building, the decision to turn it into a temple, and the immensely complex process of doing just that. Quotes from Church leaders, synopses of talks and prayers, amazing photographs, and detailed explanations of so many things, made possible by the generous people supervising and working on the project, make this a true treasure.
The information for the Provo Temple is just as excellent and filled with as much detail from every stage of development as possible, although not quite as comprehensive as the second temple. In addition, Brother Cowan included information on the operations of the temple that many will find quite interesting. The Provo Utah Temple has been one of the busiest--if not the busiest--in the Church since it was built, and it is to the credit of those who live in the area (and the missionaries at the Missionary Training Center) that this has been the case. We personally have very tender memories of attending the Provo Temple many times during our almost five year tenure in Provo, and my husband volunteered there for a couple of years while attending school at BYU. We also have fond memories of the Provo Tabernacle, as we attended many stake conferences there, and my paternal great-grandparents and their children attended many a church meeting there. It is a special place, and even more so now as a temple.
This book brought back so many precious memories, increased my appreciation for temples and my love for these special buildings, and taught me so much about the process of building them and so much more. Best of all, the way Brother Cowan ties things of eternal significance into the events in the book is wonderful. It is clear that the Lord's hand was in every detail in both buildings, and that many lives were or have been changed forever in the association with the temples. The final section of the book is the reflections of the author.
The author gives necessary background and history so the reader can place events in context, but does it in a way that is very readable and interesting. In addition, people who are not members of the LDS Church will appreciate Brother Cowan's synopsis of the origins of the Church and the excellent and respectful explanations of temple work.
Originally, the author intended only to write a book about the history of the Provo Temple, but when the beloved Provo Tabernacle burned, and it was announced that it would be restored as a temple, Brother Cowan made the decision to document the transformation of that special building from beginning to end and add it to the book he was working on. With the help of his son, Lee, and a few other key people, Brother Cowan was able to provide the most comprehensive account of the fire and its cause, the investigation, the deliberations on what to do with the building, the decision to turn it into a temple, and the immensely complex process of doing just that. Quotes from Church leaders, synopses of talks and prayers, amazing photographs, and detailed explanations of so many things, made possible by the generous people supervising and working on the project, make this a true treasure.
The information for the Provo Temple is just as excellent and filled with as much detail from every stage of development as possible, although not quite as comprehensive as the second temple. In addition, Brother Cowan included information on the operations of the temple that many will find quite interesting. The Provo Utah Temple has been one of the busiest--if not the busiest--in the Church since it was built, and it is to the credit of those who live in the area (and the missionaries at the Missionary Training Center) that this has been the case. We personally have very tender memories of attending the Provo Temple many times during our almost five year tenure in Provo, and my husband volunteered there for a couple of years while attending school at BYU. We also have fond memories of the Provo Tabernacle, as we attended many stake conferences there, and my paternal great-grandparents and their children attended many a church meeting there. It is a special place, and even more so now as a temple.
This book brought back so many precious memories, increased my appreciation for temples and my love for these special buildings, and taught me so much about the process of building them and so much more. Best of all, the way Brother Cowan ties things of eternal significance into the events in the book is wonderful. It is clear that the Lord's hand was in every detail in both buildings, and that many lives were or have been changed forever in the association with the temples. The final section of the book is the reflections of the author.
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January 16, 2017When the Provo Utah Temple was being planned in the 1960s, it was a departure in design from the temples in Salt Lake, Logan and Manti and would be modeled after the recently dedicated temple in Switzerland with the endowment presented using an audio-video format.
It’s part of the history of the temple that’s included in “Provo’s Two Temples,” by Richard O. Cowan, a professor emeritus of church history at Brigham Young University, and Justin R. Bray, who is the coordinator of oral histories for the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Here's the link to the review I did for the Mormon Times section of the Deseret News.
It’s part of the history of the temple that’s included in “Provo’s Two Temples,” by Richard O. Cowan, a professor emeritus of church history at Brigham Young University, and Justin R. Bray, who is the coordinator of oral histories for the Church History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Here's the link to the review I did for the Mormon Times section of the Deseret News.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews