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I have received access to a letter in the LDS Church Historian's office, dated June 2nd, 1916.

Part of the letter (from Walter Ackroyd, a High Councilman of the Taylor Stake) states:
"I lived in Bear Lake, Idaho, from 1881 to 1899, when I was called to settle in Canada. While there I received the blessing of the temple ordinances..."

What "There" is he talking about?

The ground breaking for the first temple in Idaho wasn't until 1939. And although the Cardston Alberta temple ground breaking began in 1913, I have read that "the first endowment session [in the Cardston Alberta temple] was held on the evening of August 29, 1923." http://www.telusplanet.net/public/mtoll/LDS.htm

Perhaps it's a grammatical error of object and subject and he's still referring to Bear Lake. In that case, I'm assuming the temple would be Logan, UT, dedicated in 1884.

I know of some endowments being performed outside of temples in various locations in the history of the Church. I assume this is no different.

bcspace wrote:Perhaps it's a grammatical error of object and subject and he's still referring to Bear Lake. In that case, I'm assuming the temple would be Logan, UT, dedicated in 1884.

That sounds likely. Thanks bcspace!

LifeOnaPlate wrote:I know of some endowments being performed outside of temples in various locations in the history of the Church. I assume this is no different.

This is what I thought at first, but then I realized that the letter implied that the temple in question was already built: "While there I received the blessing of the temple ordinances and observed that the figure of the cross nor the triangle was not there..." I think bcspace is right. Having looked at a map, the Logan temple is within 50 miles of Bear Lake. Thanks for your help guys.

Mike Reed wrote:I have received access to a letter in the LDS Church Historian's office, dated June 2nd, 1916.

Part of the letter (from Walter Ackroyd, a High Councilman of the Taylor Stake) states:
"I lived in Bear Lake, Idaho, from 1881 to 1899, when I was called to settle in Canada. While there I received the blessing of the temple ordinances..."

What "There" is he talking about?

The ground breaking for the first temple in Idaho wasn't until 1939. And although the Cardston Alberta temple ground breaking began in 1913, I have read that "the first endowment session [in the Cardston Alberta temple] was held on the evening of August 29, 1923." http://www.telusplanet.net/public/mtoll/LDS.htm

I agree with bcspace. I read this as his saying that while living at Bear Lake, he visited the Logan temple to take out his endowments. Since it was written in 1916 and there were only a couple of temples, and Logan is close to Bear Lake, there would have been no confusion for his letter reader of what he meant.

bcspace wrote:Perhaps it's a grammatical error of object and subject and he's still referring to Bear Lake. In that case, I'm assuming the temple would be Logan, UT, dedicated in 1884.

Members in Bear Lake, Idaho, to this day, prefer Logan Temple over others in Idaho. Shorter distance.

To clarify: The lake itself strattles the Utah/Idaho border. "Bear Lake" is also a county in Idaho who's county seat is Paris - settled in 1863.

Ten Bear wrote:Members in Bear Lake, Idaho, to this day, prefer Logan Temple over others in Idaho. Shorter distance.

To clarify: The lake itself strattles the Utah/Idaho border. "Bear Lake" is also a county in Idaho who's county seat is Paris - settled in 1863.

So that would make the distance closer to 60 miles. Still pretty close. Thanks for the feedback.