Seagulls Hover Over the Temple During the Dedication Storm (1893)

As the violent storm raged over Salt Lake City on 6 April 1893 during the temple dedication, seagulls appeared and hovered over the temple. One observer wrote, "The Evil One seemed mad," and "gulls came and hovered over the House; [they] have not been seen here before for many years. They saved the crops in 1847 by devouring the crickets." The reappearance of the seagulls, the very birds Latter-day Saints had long revered for miraculously saving the 1848 pioneer crops from the cricket plague, was taken as a powerful symbol of divine oversight. To the Saints gathered at the dedication, the twin manifestations of the gulls and the gale became a visible sign of the ongoing battle between God and Satan, centered on the Lord's people and the House they had built.