Building the Lord's temple was the greatest accomplishment of Solomon's reign. David, Solomon's father and predecessor as king, had desired and planned to build a house to the Lord, but he was not permitted to do so because he had sinned. David was allowed to gather the materials for the temple, but it was Solomon who had the privilege of building it.
In his book, The House of the Lord, Elder James E. Talmage wrote: "Temples have never been regarded as places of ordinary public assembly, but as sacred enclosures consecrated to the most solemn ceremonials of that particular system of worship. . . ."In olden times the people of Israel were distinguished among nations as the builders of sanctuaries to the name of the living God. This service was specifically required of them by Jehovah, whom they professed to serve. . . .
"Soon after Solomon's accession to the throne he set about the labor, which, as heritage and honor, had come to him with his crown. He laid the foundation in the fourth year of his reign, and the building was completed within seven years and a half. With the great wealth accumulated by his kingly father and specifically reserved for the building of the temple, Solomon was able to put the known world under tribute, and to enlist the cooperation of nations in his undertaking.
"The temple workmen numbered scores of thousands, and every department was in charge of master craftsmen. To serve on the great structure in any capacity was an honor; and labor acquired a dignity never before recognized. Masonry became a profession, and the graded orders therein established have endured until this day. The erection of the Temple of Solomon was an epoch-making event, not alone in the history of Israel, but in that of the world."
