2 Nephi 5:15–16 (constructed between 588 to 569 B.C.)

The first mention of a Nephite temple is recorded by Nephi, son of Lehi, when many of his extended family were forced to leave the land of first inheritance and travel north “for the space of many days” to a new land they called the land of Nephi. Here they constructed the first temple. This journey to the land of Nephi occurred between 588 and 559 B.C., only a few years after their arrival in the promised land and shortly after the death of father Lehi (2 Ne. 5:1–17). The scriptural record indicates the materials used in the temple’s construction and the role of Nephi in teaching the people how to work with these materials:

This first temple was built by Nephi, “after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things” (2 Ne. 5:16). It is not clear what is meant by “manner” of construction. Was it the same size or shape of Solomon’s temple or was it built of the same materials or was the “manner” only the intended purpose and function of the temple? Nephi’s small group of settlers—probably no more than 30—required shelters for homes and other essential amenities and most likely had minimal material and labor resources to build other than a small temple structure.

How did Nephi obtain directions for building a temple? Nephi was rather young (unmarried) when his family left the land of Jerusalem, but he could have recalled the general shape and the outer building details of Solomon’s temple, prominently located in the city of Jerusalem. We suggest, however, that Nephi learned how to build this first temple directly from the Lord, the same as the Prophet Joseph Smith received instructions on the building of the Kirtland temple—its rectangular layout and interior functions, and the manner of construction in keeping with their building skills and available resources (D&C 94:1–9; 105:33; 109:2–4). The pattern and purpose of Moses’ tabernacle, a portable temple, were revealed by the Lord (Ex. 31:3–6). The Lord had already given Nephi direction on building a ship (1 Ne. 17:8–11). The brass plates brought by Lehi’s family from Jerusalem were “a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,” and could have contained the same rather extensive construction details for both Solomon’s temple and Moses’ tabernacle outlined in our current Bible record (1 Ne. 5:10–22; see temple accounts in 1 Kgs. 5–8; 1 Chr. 22, 28; 2 Chr. 3–5, 9; and the numerous references in Bible Dictionary, “Tabernacle”). Nephi’s temple could have matched the shape and purpose of the temple of Solomon, but not necessarily its size given the small number of potential workers. For example, Solomon’s temple was patterned after the model of Moses’ tabernacle, but with each of the building’s dimensions being doubled in length.

Solomon’s temple, according to the scriptural record, was not large, but rectangular and not pyramid-shaped like many ancient structures in Meso-America that some claim to be Nephite temples. There is no evidence that Nephi ever saw the pyramids of Egypt, nor any evidence in scripture that the Lord ever directed his people to build a temple in the form of a pyramid. The interior dimensions of Solomon’s temple were 60 cubits long (about 90 feet), 20 cubits wide (about 30 feet), 30 cubits high (about 45 feet), however, some calculate that the height was only 15 cubits or about 22 feet (see Bible Dictionary, “Temple of Solomon”). It had a front porch 10 cubits deep (15 feet) with two carved, olive wood doors flanked by two imposing pillars of brass standing 23 cubits high (about 34 feet). Solomon’s temple was built primarily of wood (cedar, cypress, juniper, olive and pine) and metal (gold and bronze) and precious gemstones. Parts of the outer walls were made of hewn or quarried stones prepared by masons hired from other lands. Nearly all the building materials were transported some distance and prepared by thousands of hired laborers, nearly all from outlying areas and not from the local culture. The descendants of father Jacob (Israel) were primarily farmers and herdsmen and not skilled builders, thus the need for imported laborers and materials for the building of their larger and more ornate structures. It is difficult to know how all these costly and elaborate construction features played out with a small Nephite group attempting to build a temple after the “manner” of Solomon’s, without access to imported materials and foreign workers, coupled with not finding some “precious” building items on their new lands.

We note that stone construction is not mentioned by Nephi, even though he taught his “people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance” (2 Ne. 5:15). One would expect that if stone construction were used, this labor-intensive material would have been listed along with the other building materials. But as with temples today, the most important “manner” of construction might not have been the size, shape nor the materials, but the intent of building a well-crafted and attractive temple, though small, as a place for the performance of sacred ordinances, including, for the Nephites, the ordinances and practices of the law of Moses.