A recent game of “Jeopardy!” tested players’ knowledge of religious structures throughout the world, highlighting the first temple in Jerusalem, cathedrals in France, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India ... and a historic landmark in Salt Lake City.
A historic Utah building gets a shoutout on ‘Jeopardy!’
The contestants seemed to know their religious structures — all three were able to correctly answer a clue from the category.
But one of the five clues did go unanswered: “A Baptist church with this biblical name opened in London in 1861, a few years before another faith opened one in Utah.”
When none of the contestants were able to come up with a response, host Ken Jennings filled them in.
“It’s also like the one in Salt Lake,” he said.
The answer: a tabernacle.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle was completed in 1867, and immediately became a gathering place for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The historic building, where the Tabernacle Choir performs its weekly “Music and the Spoken Word” broadcast, has also hosted several U.S. presidents, world leaders, entertainers and musicians, as the Deseret News reported in 2017.
The $1,200 clue highlighting the tabernacle was one of 14 clues that stumped all three players during Thursday’s game, per “Jeopardy!” archives.
But that didn’t keep Geoff Barnes, an analyst from Washington, D.C., from racking up a high total. Barnes ended up securing his victory early, ahead of the Final Jeopardy round, with $23,000 — second place was far behind with $9,600.
Barnes also won Friday’s game and will seek his third victory on Monday.
Other ‘Jeopardy!’ clues about Utah, Latter-day Saints
“Jeopardy!” has featured a number of clues connected to Latter-day Saints over the years.
In April, the quiz show highlighted a piece of history in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “A popular tourist destination drawing millions each year, this seat of Clark County was settled by Mormon missionaries in 1855.”
The correct response: Las Vegas.
“The missionaries would be surprised today,” Jennings joked.
A couple of weeks later, during a game of “Celebrity Jeopardy!”, the show drew attention to Utah’s new state flag: “Utah’s revamped state flag features a beehive, once favored by Brigham Young as an emblem of this religion.”
Entrepreneur Dave Friedberg buzzed in with “What is Mormonism?” — which Jennings deemed correct.
The show has also featured an entire category dedicated to celebrities with ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and highlighted the full name of the church with a clue that stumped all three contestants: “In 2018, the Mormon or LDS Church announced a course correction to stress the full name that mentions the Savior.”
Jennings, who is a member of the church, provided the correct response. He later told the Deseret News he did not bring that clue to the table.
“No, that was not me. I would not be injecting my own identity politics into the game,” he told the Deseret News during an interview about his latest book.
As a lifelong “Jeopardy!” fan, Jennings — who holds the all-time record for most “Jeopardy!” wins with a staggering 74 — said he’s seen several references to the Church of Jesus Christ over the years.
“When I was a contestant on the show, I wagered $3,800 one time on a Daily Double where the response turned out to be ‘Who is Brigham Young?‘” he told the Deseret News in 2013. “I remember wishing I’d wagered a lot more.”