The two tablet stones that reside on the east and west side of the Salt Lake Temple came from the Manti stone quarry. During the process of removing these large stones President Brigham Young went to a conference held in Ephraim, Sanpete County, June 25, 1875. At that conference nearly all speakers expressed their desires to have a temple built most agreeing that it should be built on the 'Manti stone quarry.'

From the “Life of Heber C. Kimball" it says on page 436, "Early on the morning of April 25, 1877, President Brigham Young asked Brother Warren S. Snow to go with him to Temple hill. Brother Snow says, 'We two were alone, President Young took me to the spot where the Temple was to stand. We went to the southeast corner, and President Young said, "Here is the spot where the Prophet Moroni stood and dedicated this piece of land for a Temple site and that is the reason why the location is made here, and we can't move it from this spot, and if you and I are the only persons that come here at high noon today, we will dedicate this ground.'"

Reproduced from the artists digital file.