This is a picture of the Salt Lake Temple located at Temple Square, and you can see the cityscape in the background. This beautiful city was built by the pioneering efforts and skills of LDS pioneers. A typical family would pull a handcart, (which is not very big), with all of their belongings, tools and supplies. The trek would follow the Western Railroad Line, across the great Western Plains, and up through the Rocky Mountains.
Before settling into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, this trek on foot would be over 1300 miles and would take at least 16 weeks of travel. All the pioneers had to start building this great city was what they had pulled across the trails with them in their little handcarts.
The Salt Lake Temple took the pioneers over 40 years to build and the stone used (quartz monzonite, which has the look of granite) was quarried at Little Cottonwood Canyon, which is about 20 miles (32km) south-east of the temple site. The stone was brought to the site by teams of oxen and then later by rail. The stone was cut by hand under the craftsmanship of LDS stonecutters, many of whom came from the British Isles.