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Show also the Brigham City Tabernacle (which was to be the gathering place for all of Brigham City and the surrounding areas when the Mormon church held its quarterly IIconferences and the Logan Temple a bit further north in Cache Valley (which was to be the place where wo r thy Mormons from the whole . area would go to perform sacred rites known only to church members) were also begun. These buildings were all financed through the tithing of church members, and built with the labor of church members. This was quite a burden for the new settlement to handle all at once, so it was 1890 before all the buildings begun in 1877 were completed and dedicated. ll ) Education was just as important as church-building to the Utah Mormons. Before they even left their last home in Illinois, they had been instructed to bring books, papers, and other educational materials with them . Schools were always begun soon after settlement. -However, public education, which would be free to all children and subject to influences other than that of the Mormon church, was not begun until much later. In Brigham City, it was 1896 before schools lost their connection with the ~10rmon wards, and even then many grades were still taught in the church meetinghouses, and by Mormon teachers. Not until 1911 was a central school built for all the children of Brigham City. This slow acceptance of public schooling is explained by Utah historian Leonard Arrington as due to the involvement of the people in survival struggles, and also ~he reluctance of Mormon leaders to expose the children of Utah to non-Mormon teac~ers. . _ - ._ _ ' . .' , ' .. _. _ :' _, The Old Brigham City First Ward, though no longer in Mormon hands, continues to unite religious, educational, and recreational uses. The Community Presbyterian Church holds some religious meetings there occasionally, a kindergarten class is often taught there, and everything from aeorbics to volleyball is played within the old stone walls. So, by use as well as by the integrity of the exterior of the building, it is a remi nder the history of religion, education, and recreation in Brigham City, as well as i n Utah. IJoseph Heinerman , "The Mormon Meetinghouse: Reflections of Pioneer Religious and Social Life in Salt Lake City , " Utah Historical Quarterly 5?(!~11 1982)~ 3530 ... - \ 2Leonard Jo Arrington , of the Latter Da Saints 18 Nebraska Press , 1970 , 5130 ' |
