“The Beehive House,” Friend, June 2010, 6–7
A Year on Temple Square
The Beehive House
Come with us this month for a look at an important place on Temple Square.
Bees buzzed outside as Lauren and Nate C. of Pleasant View, Utah, stepped inside the Beehive House for a tour. Join them to learn more about this historical place—the house of the prophet Brigham Young, the second President of the Church.
Lauren, age 8, and Nate, age 6, look at the beehives engraved on a staircase in the house. Beehives represent hard work. Brigham Young believed that it was important for everyone to work together like bees do. Utah later earned the nickname “The Beehive State.”
Lauren really enjoys playing the piano. She was excited to learn that Brigham Young’s children also liked to play the piano and other musical instruments. At night, the family gathered in the sitting room to play music, learn about the gospel, and read the scriptures.
Brigham Young was not only the prophet, but also the governor of Utah Territory. For this reason, many important people came to the Beehive House, including U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. The prophet’s children would watch the guests arrive from the windows of a small room they called “the fairy castle.”
The sister missionaries explained to Lauren and Nate that Brigham Young felt it was important for children to play. The house has a room filled with toys, including this box of marbles.
Photographs by Craig Dimond; exterior photo of house by Mark Cannon, © 1989 IRI; bee and bread by Christina Smith; beehive woodcut © Dover Publications; honeycomb by Petr Kratochvil; pie © Getty Images