“Could you tell me a little about the history of our temple baptismal fonts? Why are oxen used to support the fonts?”

Answer/Brother Emil B. Fetzer

The baptismal fonts in the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are beautiful and yet unique and singular in design. They take their basic pattern from the historical and ancient design of the so-called “sea” of the great temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem as described in the Bible.

These baptismal fonts are not only unusual in design and appearance, but they are also used for a very sacred purpose not generally known to the world outside of the Church. The purpose was revealed by the Lord through his prophets to fulfill his plan and all righteousness.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie in his book Mormon Doctrine gives an excellent statement on the necessity for living, worthy, authorized members of the Church to perform the baptismal ordinances for those who have departed this life. “Indeed, so unvarying is the eternal law which states, ‘Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God’ (John 3:5), that this holy baptismal ordinance must be performed vicariously for accountable persons who departed this life unbaptized but who would have complied with the law had the privilege been afforded them. Hence we have the doctrine of baptism for the dead.” (Mormon Doctrine, Bookcraft, 1966, p. 71.)

“Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Cor. 15:29.) The Lord through revelation commanded that this work was only to be done in his holy temples. (See D&C 124.)

The “sea” or brazen laver of the great temple built by Solomon is accounted for in some detail in the Bible. (See 1 Kgs. 7:23–26.) In essence this record states that the “molten sea” was 15 feet in diameter, in the shape of a hemisphere—therefore 7 1/2 feet deep and 45 feet in circumference. Under the brim on the outside were two rows of ornaments cast on the surface. The bowl was placed upon 12 oxen cast of metal. (Undoubtedly these represented the 12 tribes.) Three oxen faced to the north, three to the west, three to the south, and three to the east, and their hind pads were inward, under and supporting the bowl. The metal of the bowl was a hand breadth thick. The brim was fashioned as a brim of a cup, with a lily flower design upon it. The bowl contained water equivalent in volume to that of two thousand baths. In the book Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus there is an unique description of this “sea” on page 175.

In modern times the first temple built in this dispensation was constructed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, during the years 1833 to 1836. No baptismal font was included in its design as the revelation on baptism for the dead had not yet been given to the Prophet Joseph Smith. This temple was the site where tremendous revelations were given to the Prophet by the Lord; they were of utmost importance in restoring the fulness of the gospel and in establishing His kingdom here upon the earth.

The second temple constructed by the Church was built in Nauvoo, Illinois. The cornerstones were laid on April 6, 1841, and the temple was dedicated on May 1, 1846. The Lord commanded the Saints, through revelation, to erect this temple for the purpose of revealing keys and powers of the priesthood and for the salvation of the living and the dead.

In this revelation the Lord states among many other things, “For a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my saints, may be baptized for those who are dead.” (D&C 124:29.) Therefore, a very important feature of this temple was the baptismal font.

The Prophet Joseph Smith in 1841 described the first temporary wood font as follows: “[The font] is constructed of pine timber, and put together of staves tongued and grooved, oval shaped, sixteen feet long east and west and twelve feet wide, seven feet high from the foundation, the basin four feet deep, the moulding of the cap and base are formed of beautiful carved wood in antique style. The sides are finished with panel work. A flight of stairs in the north and south sides lead up and down into the basin, guarded by side railing.

“The font stands upon twelve oxen, four on each side, and two at each end, their heads, shoulders, and fore legs projecting out from under the font; they are carved out of pine plank, glued together, and copied after the most beautiful five-year-old steer that could be found in the country. …

“The oxen and ornamental mouldings of the font were carved by Elder Elijah Fordham of New York.” (History of the Church 4:446.) At a later date this font was replaced by one carved out of solid stone but of similar design. An excellent model of this font is on display at the Nauvoo Visitors Center as are stone fragments of this stone font.

Fonts, following the general design of the Nauvoo font, are in each of the temples built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Keeping to the general pattern the design architects have made interesting variations and have used different materials and finishes. The St. George Temple font is a close reproduction of the Nauvoo font, but is, however, constructed of metal and weighs nine tons. President Brigham Young presented this font to the Church. All of the older temples of Utah—Salt Lake, Manti, and Logan—have fonts fashioned of metal. The font at the Arizona Temple is finished in terra cotta. The fonts in the temples at Idaho Falls, London, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Los Angeles are of cast metal, some of golden bronze and others of white bronze. Most of the fonts of recently constructed temples such as Alberta, Oakland, Ogden, Provo, and Washington are made of white marble cast stone with stainless steel liners in the font basins.

During the period of time that the Ogden and Provo Temples were being designed, I had the rare and, for me, awesome privilege and opportunity of receiving guidance and counsel in meetings with the First Presidency of the Church on specific details and requirements of the temple designs. One of the items there discussed was the design of the baptismal fonts. A review of the fonts of all previously built temples was made, and it was mentioned that these were patterned after the “sea” of the great temple built by Solomon and that the oxen represented the 12 tribes. It was emphasized that this design motif was not imperative to the validity of the ordinance. More important would be that the font be proper, clean, beautiful, and of a size adequate to accommodate baptism by immersion performed by those having authority from God through the holy priesthood. They did give permission for the temple fonts at Ogden and Provo to be designed according to the traditional pattern, since these were to be large, full-sized temples. The font basins for these two temples are round and are supported on the backs of 12 oxen equidistantly spaced around the circumference of each of the fonts.

It is possible to contemplate that in the future when many temples will be built, as has been foretold, the design of valid and beautiful baptismal fonts in smaller-sized temples need not necessarily follow the traditional design. Rather, these fonts could be similar to the beautiful fonts presently used in meetinghouses and stake centers for the baptism of persons as they enter into Church membership and fulfill the requirements of this important and sacred ordinance in life.