Erastus Snow — Prophecy of the St. George Temple Site

When Brigham Young proposed a temple for St. George at a council meeting with local leaders on January 31, 1871, Elder Erastus Snow of the Twelve — who had presided over the Southern Utah settlements since the Cotton Mission began — burst out with "Glory! Hallelujah!" The Saints of the little desert city had endured ten years of floods, heat, and hardship, and a temple was the desire of their hearts.

When it came time to choose the site, local leaders proposed two hilltop locations but could not agree. Brigham Young instead directed them to the lowest part of the valley — a swamp infested with marsh grass and cattails, where after a storm no one could drive across the land "without horses and wagons sinking way down." "There is no place to build a foundation," the brethren protested. President Young answered simply: "We will make a foundation." Erastus Snow presided over the settlement that undertook it, and when the excavation filled with water and mud, the pioneers drove hundreds of tons of black volcanic rock deep into the bog until the ground held — and the temple rose exactly where the prophet had directed, on ground that Albert E. Miller's history of the settlement records Snow had witnessed prophesied and sustained as the Lord's designated site.

At the groundbreaking on November 9, 1871, after President George A. Smith's dedicatory prayer and Brigham Young's declaration — "I now commence by moving this dirt in the name of Israel's God" — Erastus Snow earnestly prayed "that our beloved President, Brigham, might live to officiate at [the temple's] dedication," and the people gave a hearty Amen. The prayer was answered to the month: Brigham Young, though ailing, traveled south and presided at the dedication of the St. George Temple on April 6–8, 1877, the first temple completed in Utah — and died just four months later.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Albert E. Miller, Immortal Pioneers: Founders of City of St. George, Utah (St. George, 1946), 91–95):

When President Brigham Young arrived in St. George in January 1871, he looked over the valley and selected the site for the temple. It was a low, swampy piece of ground, covered with wire grass and rushes, and was considered by many to be entirely unsuitable for such a purpose. When the President pointed out the spot, some of the brethren remarked that it was a swamp and that it would be impossible to build a foundation there. President Young replied, 'We will make a foundation.' The work of draining the swamp and preparing the foundation was a difficult task. The ground was so soft that it was necessary to drive hundreds of tons of black volcanic rock into the mud before a solid foundation could be secured. Erastus Snow, who was in charge of the work, often remarked that he had seen the site in vision before the temple was built and that he knew it was the place the Lord had chosen. At the groundbreaking ceremony on November 9, 1871, Erastus Snow offered a prayer in which he expressed the hope that President Brigham Young might live to see the temple completed and to officiate at its dedication. This prayer was answered, for President Young was present and presided at the dedication of the St. George Temple in April 1877, just four months before his death.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in Albert E. Miller, Immortal Pioneers: Founders of City of St. George, Utah (St. George, 1946), 91–95):

When President Brigham Young arrived in St. George in January 1871, he looked over the valley and selected the site for the temple. It was a low, swampy piece of ground, covered with wire grass and rushes, and was considered by many to be entirely unsuitable for such a purpose. When the President pointed out the spot, some of the brethren remarked that it was a swamp and that it would be impossible to build a foundation there. President Young replied, 'We will make a foundation.' The work of draining the swamp and preparing the foundation was a difficult task. The ground was so soft that it was necessary to drive hundreds of tons of black volcanic rock into the mud before a solid foundation could be secured. Erastus Snow, who was in charge of the work, often remarked that he had seen the site in vision before the temple was built and that he knew it was the place the Lord had chosen. At the groundbreaking ceremony on November 9, 1871, Erastus Snow offered a prayer in which he expressed the hope that President Brigham Young might live to see the temple completed and to officiate at its dedication. This prayer was answered, for President Young was present and presided at the dedication of the St. George Temple in April 1877, just four months before his death.