The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Temple Symbols - Stars - Oquirrh Mountain Temple Stars

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I've been distracted by new nieces and nephews.  Holding newborns has taken precedence over the blog.  I don't think you can blame me.  They are really cute.

I've spent several posts discussing depictions of the sun, moon, star, earth, etc. on temples built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I've already discussed 5 and 6 pointed starstones.  Now I'd like to discuss the stars on the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple.  This temple has four pointed stars in many of the art glass windows of the temple.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple sealing room window

I've only seen this type of star on the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple.  They are on the second and third floors which hold the endowment rooms, celestial room, and sealing rooms.  I don't think the four points on the stars are symbolic, but the stars definitely are.  They probably symbolize the heavens and heavenly things.  Also, they are used to represent progression and increasing glory.  This is done by increasing the number of stars in windows as one progresses in the temple.  The basement and first floor windows have no stars.  The second floor has a few stars in each of the endowment room windows.  Then the celestial room has three main levels of windows with each gaining more and more stars.  This probably also refers to the three degrees of glory in the celestial kingdom.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Celestial Room Windows

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple's star theme is also apparent in the chandeliers which resemble stars.  In profile, many chandeliers resemble the four pointed stars used in the temple glass.  In plan most of these chandeliers actually make eight pointed stars or The Seal of Melchizedek (which I will eventually write on when I get to the San Diego Temple).

Celestial Room Chandelier

Sealing Room Chandelier

Staircase Chandelier

 I really like the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple.  I love its use of stars (and items that resemble stars).  I love the beauty these details add, and the subtle symbolism they convey.

Please comment and let us know what you think about this temple's stars.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple Symbols - Starstones - 6 Pointed Stars

I am again writing about temple symbols and this time about 6 pointed starstones.  Five pointed starstones get a lot of attention because critics misinterpret the symbolism and use that misinterpretation to falsely characterize the temple and the church.  Since six pointed stars are harder to interpret sinisterly, they are conveniently overlooked by critics.  I am not a critic and will tell you about six pointed starstones.

Nauvoo Temple detail showing starstones (original)

The Nauvoo Illinois Temple was the first to have six pointed starstones.  These were found in several places.  The first are just above the inverted five pointed stars under the roof overhang.  This makes these stars literally overhead, which fits as six-pointed stars often depict the actual stars in heaven.  In this context, these stars can simply be a symbol for heaven or the heavens.  They can also remind us that as the stars are above this earth, God and his ways are greater and higher than this earth.  The temple then is an elevated place, a place where things greater than just this earth happen.

More six-pointed stars are also found further up on a railing surrounding the roof line (they are five sided point up stars near the tower).

What else do these stars represent?  Well, in my earlier posts on sunstones, moonstones, and five pointed starstones, I pointed out that one meaning was to represent the vision of John in Revelation 12:1 where he saw a woman with the moon at her feet, clothed with the sun, and with a crown of 12 stars.  This is part of the six pointed star meaning.  They can also have other meanings as discussed later on.

Salt Lake Temple big dipper (original)

Several temples were built after the Nauvoo Temple without six pointed starstones.  Then, the Salt Lake Temple was built with a few six pointed stars.  There are 7 of them (which is a symbolic number) and they are laid out to represent the big dipper constellation, which is the constellation used to find the north star, the one star that is fixed in the sky.  This makes these stars symbols of eternity, guidance, and finding our way (they help us find the north star which helps us find our way).  They represent the true direction possible through the temple and the priesthood.  An early trial version of these starstones is found inside one of the towers where there is a six pointed star cut into the stone rather than projecting out of it.  Apparently the builders didn't like the look and changed to the current design, but kept the trial stone for an interior block.

Washington D.C. Temple big dipper (original)

The next temple with six pointed stars was the Washington D.C. Temple.  Here the stars were again used to represent the big dipper.  In this case the stars were on the doors and are made out of metal.  A good image is found here.  A close up image of the big dipper panel is found here.  You will notice that not all of the stars are six pointed, but clearly they all represent the actual stars that make up the big dipper.

Portland Oregon Temple stars on spires (original)

The Portland Oregon Temple was the next to use six pointed stars.  Here they have several uses.  Most of the stars are on the eastern three spires (the west spires lack stars which confused me until I realized they were referencing the Salt Lake Temple symbolism).  These stars represent John's vision in Revelation 12:1 (being above the sunstones).  Additionally, they may represent the Melchizedek Priesthood guiding us and the noble and great ones foreordained to be the leaders in the church (read my 5-pointed starstone post for that explanation) The Salt Lake Temple has the same symbolic use of many stars (40) on the east towers that aren't on the west towers; whereas, the Portland Oregon Temple has 120 stars on the eastern spires.  Both numbers, 40 and 120, are symbolic.  Additionally, these six pointed stars can represent the heavens or heavenly things.  They may also represent the star of Bethlehem due to the elongated bottom point (as I also discussed in my 5-pointed star post). In the same way that the Star of Bethlehem pointed to where Christ was, these stars point down to the temple, where Christ can be found today.  The doors of the Portland Temple also have the same stars on them in beautiful wood.  Neither the wood door stars, nor the fiberglass spire stars are stone, so I guess these aren't really starstones, but they are close enough, and a beautiful variation on this symbol.

Las Vegas Nevada Temple Starglass

The Las Vegas Nevada Temple (a fraternal twin of the Portland Oregon Temple) has six pointed stars in art glass windows.  These are above the sunstones and represent John's vision and the heavens.  Additionally, the stars represent the 12 apostles.  This is because in the celestial room there are 12 star windows and one giant cut glass sunburst mandala (see manufacturer's website).  These combine to reference Lehi's vision in 1 Nephi 1 where he sees one like the sun followed by 12 like the stars.  So through clever placement of this star window, the star was able to have multiple meanings simultaneously.


The St. Louis Missouri Temple also features a six sided star glass window.  You can see it here.  You'll notice that there are also moons in the window, but I'm not going to get into the symbolism now.  The star portion of the window is a Star of David.  While this symbol is most commonly used to represent Judaism these days, on the temple it instead refers to God's covenant people, the restoration and gathering of the 12 tribes of Israel, God's covenants with us, etc.  Thus, it is not odd to see this symbol on this Christian Temple.  Similar Star of David windows are found on the Assembly Hall on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

I believe those are all of the six pointed stars on temples.  If I missed some, please tell us about them in the comments.  Also, please comment and let us know what you think about these stars and their use (symbolically and artistically) on temples built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Temple Symbols - Starstones - 5 Pointed Stars

I've already written about sunstones and moonstones on temples built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Now I'd like to write about starstones.  I'll begin with five pointed stars and gradually progress through the various types of stars on Latter-day Saints temples.

Nauvoo Temple corner with various symbolic stones

The Nauvoo Illinois Temple was the first to use symbolic sun, moon, and star stones.  As I pointed out earlier, these were meant to represent the vision of John in Revelation 12:1

 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

In this context, the stars would not represent the Telestial Kingdom of God, or lowest heaven.  This makes sense, as the stars are above the sunstones on the Nauvoo Temple.  There are several types of stars on the Nauvoo Temple.  In the photo (original here) you can see the five pointed stars are directly above the sunstones.  These stars are also upside down and have an elongated bottom point.  First off, they have no satanic meaning.  Upside down stars were first used to represent evil things decades after the temple was built (see FAIR article).  Inverted stars have been (and still are) used by many churches and organizations worldwide.  When I visited Illinois I noticed that buildings built in the 1800s often had inverted five pointed stars, even ones built far away from the saints.  I like how the inverted stars look on the Nauvoo Temple.  Notice that there are also red, white, and blue inverted star windows on the temple as well.  There are also right side up stars on the Nauvoo Temple on the tower and just below the tower.  You can see them in this picture.  I count 2 sets of 40 stars on the tower (possibly 40 more on the overhang for a symbolic 120 or 3X40) and a bunch more lower down along the railing.  In the Salt Lake Temple discussion I'll talk more about what right side up stars can mean, especially on towers and related to the number 40.

St George Temple celestial room

The St. George Utah Temple doesn't have exterior stars, but it does have some stars in the terrestrial and celestial rooms as well as the assembly hall.  These are not inverted.  I think they are used simply to represent heaven or the heavens, which is a common way to interpret a star.  This would explain how they can be used in a room representing the celestial kingdom.

Logan Temple Starstone

There is some added symbolism in the inverted star, particularly with an elongated point.  When the Logan Utah Temple was being built, the saints again added inverted five pointed stars.  They said that it represented the Star of the Morning, a symbol of Christ (see aforementioned FAIR article).  This makes sense as the morning star, actually the planet Venus, looks elongated because it is lit by the sun.  It is the bright morning and evening star, the first and last star in the sky, another way of saying the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.  The symbol can also have another meaning and represent us getting our light from Jesus Christ as the morning and evening star gets its light from the sun.  The Logan Temple has two of these star stones (one on the west center tower and one on the east center tower) and they are almost the only symbol on the temple (the towers, keystones, and scroll stones are the other symbols).  You can see the original photo I've used here.

Salt Lake Temple Starstone (original)

The Salt Lake Temple includes many star stones.  Among the five pointed stars represented are both point up and inverted stars.  Most are found on keystones above windows and doors.    The inverted stars represent Jesus Christ and the Morning Star and the other symbolism discussed above on the Logan Temple.  These stones are between the moon and sun stones so they do not relate to John's vision.  Original plans were going to have the inverted stars with an elongated bottom point, but the completed temple has equal length points on all stars.

Salt Lake Temple Starstone (original)

The use of point side up and inverted stars may also imply that some stars have an additional meaning.  It is likely that the point side up stars represent the heavens in general.  The point up stars are found on the east and west ends of the temple, and the point down stars are found on the main body of the temple.  Many point up stars are above the level of the sunstones and are used to represent John's vision as was done on the Nauvoo Temple.  You might notice in the north visitor's center on Temple Square that there are planter boxes near the Christus statue that have upside down five pointed stars with elongated points.  For a short while the north visitor's center was a temporary annex to the Salt Lake Temple while the current annex was being built.

On the east towers there are an additional forty point side up stars.  Some can be seen in this photo between the cloud stones (also known as trumpet stones).  The absence of these stars on the west towers (a similar absence on west towers has been copied in other temples) implies that they have special meaning to the Melchizedek Priesthood that the east towers represent.  In the book Sacred Walls: Learning From Temple Symbols by Gerald E. Hansen Jr., it states:

According to scholar Richard Oman, the forty five-pointed stars, found only on the three eastern towers, may refer also to God's gift of priesthood to guide us, in that they may represent the great and noble spirits of premortality whom God assigned to be rulers in His kingdom.

I'm not sure how this symbolism is derived, but it sounds interesting.  The number forty is also symbolic.  It is worth noting that the east towers have these forty point side up five-pointed stars forming a sort of constellation, while the west side has the big dipper constellation made out of six-pointed stars.  So the towers representing each priesthood have their own unique stars.

The Laie Hawaii Temple also has a five pointed star.  It is not really a starstone, but rather a part of the relief sculptures that surround the top of the temple.  I believe this one was meant to represent the Star of Bethlehem, which is a common meaning of starstones.  I didn't mention before, but the inverted stars on temples may also refer to the Star of Bethlehem that looked down on Jesus Christ's location.  On a temple then, it can mean that as the Star of Bethlehem pointed to where Christ was, these starstones are signifying that He can be found in this temple.

Washington D.C. Temple Star

The Washington D.C. Temple used stars again.  In this case they were metal star medallions on the doors.  You can see the full image on the left here.  Another great view of these doors is here.   In this usage, the stars clearly can refer to the Telestial Kingdom, or the lowest heaven, as they are at the bottom of the doors.  They can also have the meanings for inverted and point side up stars, as both are in the star.  You might also notice that the stars are inscribed in pentagons with smaller stars within larger stars, possibly symbolizing growth and progression and infinity (as the pattern could be repeated without end).  I like the new and interesting use of the star in this temple.

Mount Timpanogos Temple Starstones (see original)

The Bountiful Utah Temple and Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple (almost identical) each have starstones on their single towers.  The general arrangement of sun, moon, and starstones is the same as the Salt Lake Temple and they carry essentially the same meaning.  Here the stones have the stars cut into the spire (rather than projecting out of it).  Apparently this was tried in the Salt Lake Temple, but not used in the completed temple.  A single cut in star stone is found on the interior of a tower in the Salt Lake Temple.  There are 24 star stones on the Bountiful and Mount Timpanogos Temples.  In case you don't know, 24 is a symbolic number related to the priesthood.  For instance, one plan for the future temple at Independence, Missouri actually calls for 24 temples in a large complex.

The Preston England Temple uses starstones to represent the Telestial Kingdom and a starting point on our eternal progression.  The stone actually has a new moon as its center.  I go into a lot more detail in my post on moonstones.  I like that this starstone is unique.  There are only 2 starstones on this temple.

Albuquerque New Mexico Temple starstones (see original)

The Albquerque New Mexico Temple has star stones around its single spire (above the sunstones) suggesting the same symbolism of John's vision from the Nauvoo Temple and of the priesthood from the Salt Lake Temple east towers.

Palmyra New York Temple starstones.

The Palmyra New York Temple also has starstones on its spire.  In this case there are 12 of them with the number twelve used symbolically.  This may refer to the twelve apostles symbolized by stars in Lehi's vision in 1 Nephi 1:9-10 in The Book of Mormon (the symbolism especially works because the sunstones in this temple represent Jesus Christ).  The stars are also arranged with 3 on each of the 4 sides which adds symbolism from the number 3 (related to the Godhead) and 4 (related to man and this earth and its four corners).  It is nice that they added extra symbolism to this small temple.

I think those are all of the five-pointed stars used on Latter-day Saints' Temples with the exception of some in stained glass windows.  I hope this has been informative.  Remember, these symbols have deep and varied symbolism and usually represent heavenly things and only occasionally the Telestial Kingdom.  They represent Christ, his apostles and other laborers and the church of Christ and other holy things.  They can also represent creation as God's creation of the stars is recorded in the scriptures and the temple.

Please comment with your insights, information on other places these have been used, and anything else you'd like to discuss.

In future posts I will discuss 4, 6, 8, and 12 pointed stars and how they are used on temples.

Preston England Temple Sunstones Moonstones and Starstones

I served a mission in London, England from 2002-2004. This meant that I went to the Preston England Missionary Training Center which is a part of the Preston England Temple complex. We went to the temple 3 times while I was in the MTC. It is a really nice temple. The floor plan is very similar to the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple.

One unique feature of the Preston England Temple, that I have never seen in any other temple, is its distinctive sunstones, moonstones, and starstones shown above. What I find unique is that they are laid out horizontally and clearly represent the 3 degrees of glory and eternal progression.

In the picture at the top of this post (showing the north side of the temple) the left side is closest to the temple entrance and the right side is closest to the celestial room. Notice that the stones begin on the left with a starstone, then 4 moonstones and finally a sunstone. The same pattern is on the south side of the temple but reversed so the sunstone is still nearest the celestial room. I find this fitting because as we enter the temple and progress through the endowment rooms (there are two sets of two endowment rooms and you move from one room to another at this temple) and finally into the celestial room you are gaining light and progressing from this world to a celestial world.

Another thing I like about these stones is that they also show the cycles of the moon. Notice that the starstone is really a star with a new moon in the center and the sunstone is really a sun with a full moon in its center. So these stones also go around the temple in the phases of the moon. This is a symbol of time. The endless lunar cycles are a nice symbol for eternity on a building where eternal families are made.

I enjoy the fact that 2 or more interpretations of these symbols are present and the depth that they bring to the Preston England Temple experience. I hope to discover other unique details in Latter-day Saint temples I visit.