Written by Gabe Martinez

Both markers placed by: The National Register of Historic Places, Division of State History

GPS Location: N 40° 45.755 W 111° 52.843

Historical Marker 1: No. S-28

Reads: First Church of Christ, Scientist, Salt Lake City: Organized July 17, 1891: Cornerstone laid June 4, 1898: Dedication November 27, 1898: Built of brick and kyune sandstone: Architect: W.E. Ware: First Christian Science Church established in Utah: Marker placed 1973

Historical Marker 2: No. N-120

Reads:First Church of Christ, Scientist, The First Church of Christ Scientist in Utah was organized in Salt Lake City on July 17, 1891. The church, designed by architect Walter E. Ware, was constructed of brick and kyune sandstone. Dedicated on November 27, 1898, the building is the oldest Christian Science Church in Utah and one of the oldest continuously Christian Science Churches in the world.

Extended Research:

This building upon its dedication on November 27, 1898 housed The First Church of Christ, Scientist. The First Church of Christ, Scientist began in 1866 in Boston Massachusetts. The church was founded by Mary Baker Eddy through a healing experience with The Bible after a severe slip and fall [1]. Upon establishing the church, years later in 1879, Eddy received a state charter to create the Massachusetts Metaphysical College where the doctrine of Christian Science was taught to missionaries [3]. One of her students, Mrs. M. A. Bagley graduated and brought the doctrine to Salt Lake City. On July 17, 1891 in the home of Mrs. M.A. Bagley along with 10 other individuals (8 women and 3 men total) The First Church of Christ, Scientist was formed in Salt Lake [3]. This building was fully funded by donations of the congregation and with the help of Walter E. Ware as the architect [4]. At the time of dedication, the church was able to seat 650 people but more than 1000 would show up to the services from all across the western frontier, with Mrs. M. A. Bagley leading  the service [1]. Little is known about all the members of the congregation but stories of individual members do survive.

One of these members is Anna K. Craig. In 1892, Craig travelled to Utah to teach kindergarten at Brigham Young Academy. Along with being a devout practitioner of Christian Science, Craig was also a member of the Utah Sororis Club, a nineteenth-century club in Provo, and a member of the first Board of Directors of the Woman’s Council [8]. Craig was one of many great women of not only the Christian Science Church but also her community. She played an active role in pushing the state to implement kindergarten in the Utah educational system [8].

In 1869, several years before the dedication of the First Church of Christ Scientist building, the first non-Latter-day Saint worship building, The Church of the Good Samaritan, in Corinne, UT was constructed. Following the Good Samaritan, the first Catholic Church in Salt Lake City was built in 1871 [6]. After that, in 1883, a Baptist church joined the growing list of new religious buildings [7]. These along with many others like the First Church of Christ, Scientist were a part of a worship space revival in Utah as faith began to diversify due largely to an influx of immigrants from diverse religious traditions who arrived in the state from the 1880s to the 1920s.

Most of the elaborate architecture and building features of the First Church of Christ, Scientist still stand today. For example the original organ and pipes remain but are not in use (pictured above). A majority of the wooden pews, including the ones on the second level, are original to the building (pictured above). All of the stained glass seen throughout the building is also original. Pictured below is the original stain glass window which reads “First Church of Christ Scientist” that can only be seen from the inside of the building.

This building now houses The Light of the World Church (La Luz Del Mundo). The Light of the World Church is not affiliated with the First Church of Christ, Scientist or Christian Science. In 2002, members of the First Church of Christ, Scientist sold the historic building largely due to changing demographics in the congregation and a move from downtown Salt Lake City to other areas of the state. The building then became home to Anthony’s Fine Art and Antiques. In 2006, The Light of the World Church purchased the building from Anthony’s.

In 2019, Christian Science churches in Utah have active congregations in the Salt Lake City area, Ogden, and Park City [5].

Primary Sources:

[1] Eddy, Mary Baker, 1821-1910, and Scientist First Church of Christ. The Christian Science Journal. Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society

Secondary Sources:

[2] Johnson, Jeffery Ogden. “Lucretia Heywood Kimball (1856–1920): Pioneer in Utah’s Early Christian Science Movement.” Worth Their Salt Too: More Notable But Often Unnoted Women of Utah, edited by Colleen Whitley, University Press of Colorado, 2000, pp. 55–60. JSTOR, .http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt4cgpjz.7

[3] Cannon II, Kenneth L. “Brigham Bicknell Young: Musical Christian Scientist.” Utah Historical Quarterly 50.2 (1982): 124-38.

[4] United States Government, National Register of Historic Places Collection, First Church of Christ Scientist, 30 July 1976, https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=005ff433-712f-44ef-bd56-4ac9d0530b39

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ,_Scientist#Recent_problems; Elizabeth Beall, Christian Science Committee on Publication for Utah.

[6] http://www.ereferencedesk.com/resources/state-history-timeline/utah.html

[7] http://www.firstbaptist-slc.org/find-out-more/church-history/

[8] Ventilla, Andrea. “Woman and the Kindergarten Movement in Utah”. Utah Historical Quarterly 81. 1-4 (2013) 133-150.