Temple Ordinance Space and Other Space

My last post drew a lot of attention and has apparently led to some arguments and it sounds like hurt feelings.  I have re-read my post and made some changes that hopefully convey what I wanted to better without sounding negative.  I hope you will forgive me if my opinions, or the comments on either side of the issue offended you.  That post is somewhat related to this post.  I think this post is interesting, although it is essentially an essay.

Original Font, Logan Utah Temple

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' temples have certain areas that are required for ordinances.  These are the baptismal font, confirmation rooms, initiatory rooms, endowment rooms, celestial room, sealing rooms, Holy of Holies and Priesthood Assembly Halls (the sacrament is performed there).  Some of these are somewhat optional.  Confirmations don't require a separate room and are occasionally done in the font room.  A sealing room can also be used as a temporary Holy of Holies.  Temples generally need to have this ordinance space to be considered a temple, although the Kirtland temple only had initiatory space and Assembly halls and most temples don't have assembly halls.  In theory a temple could consist of purely a baptistry, although I would be really surprised to see the church build one like that.  The point I want to make is that ordinances and the rooms associated with them are what is most important architecturally in a temple.

Waiting Room, Palmyra New York Temple

There are other rooms in temples that aren't vital.  These include lobbies, waiting areas, worker training rooms, bride's rooms, kitchens and cafeterias, laundry areas, locker rooms, the grounds, atriums, temple offices, bathrooms, staircases, closets, etc.  None of these spaces are really required for a temple, although a lot of them are practical so we almost always see them in temples.  For example, locker rooms are always there so we don't have to change into our whites before even entering the temple.  Other spaces such as cafeterias are no longer added to temples to save space and money as they aren't necessary.  President Hinckley's small temples were possible because he identified what was really necessary for a temple and left almost everything else out.  This saved expense and space and allowed for easier permitting for temples and much faster construction.  Even so, these temples still have Bride's rooms, waiting areas, and locker rooms.

Bride's Room, Manhattan New York Temple

Temples often have non-ordinance areas either for convenience or to architecturally strengthen the temple experience.  Bride's rooms are a good example of this.  They allow a bride to relax and feel special on their wedding day.  This highlights the sealing ordinance.  In my earlier controversial post I argued that Groom's rooms could also be included in temples to enhance the sealing experience for men in the same way as they do for women.  I hope we all agree that Bride's rooms (and Groom's rooms if ever added) are other space.  They aren't vital to the temple, but they help the temple experience.  I think they would be a nice addition to the temple.  If you don't that is fine, but please let me have an opinion on the matter.

Spiral Staircase, Manti Utah Temple

Other rooms also help our experience.  Lobbies frequently contain art that inspires and adds to the temple experience.  The Washington D.C. Temple lobby displays a large mural of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  The Provo Utah Temple has a low relief sculpture of Christ with the woman at the well.  Other temples have paintings or stained glass of Christ visiting the Americas.  The Ogden Utah Temple used to have a mural or Christ and some Apostles at the Mount of Transfiguration.  These all help to reinforce temple themes and strengthen church members.   The atriums in the San Diego, Bountiful, Portland, and Las Vegas Temples highlight the beauty of God's creations, reinforcing themes from The Temple Endowment.  Spiral staircases give a feeling of upward movement and demonstrate great skill and dedication in the construction of the temples.  All of these non-ordinance spaces in temples augment the temple.

A major purpose of this blog, for me, was to influence future architects to build exceptional temples.  I have been writing about architectural insights I have about temples partly so future architects can learn from them.  Sometimes I write suggestions on what would be interesting to see.  Yes, groom's rooms are an example of this.  Other suggestions are ornate door handles, particularly if symbolic, stained glass, spiral staircases, etc.  I hope that readers will continue to appreciate my insights and suggestions, even when their tastes are different than mine.

Well that is the post.  I'm not sure that it had much or a point other than letting me think about how space is divided in temples and what is really important, what is helpful, and what is merely convenient.  Please comment with any thoughts you have.  Hopefully I'll get back to posting somewhat regularly soon.