Mahonri Young's Seagull Monument sits immediately east of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall on Temple Square. Created by artist Mahonri Young and placed here in 1913, this memorial is believed to be the first monument dedicated to birds in the United States. It commemorates an 1848 event woven into the culture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: the miracle of the gulls.
In the first spring after the Mormon pioneers settled the Salt Lake Valley they planted crops that matured only to be attacked by swarms of Mormon crickets. The insects descended on the farms and consumed entire fields. According to the account remembered here, the pioneer settlers offered prayers to God for assistance, and flocks of native seagulls were observed to devour the crop-destroying crickets, saving the harvest.
Latter-day Saints recall that sequence of prayer and relief as a miracle. As you stand here, let the simple story behind the monument — of planting, answered prayer, and seagulls devouring the crickets — settle around you. That story of prayer and rescue still shapes how Latter-day Saints remember the Assembly Hall beside you.