London England Mormon Temple

The London England Mormon Temple sits on 32 acres of lush countryside at Newchapel in Surrey, England. This rectangular edifice reaches 160 feet high. The exterior is adorned with white limestone and topped by a lead-coated copper spire and, since the end of 2008, a statue of the angel Moroni. Surrounding the Mormon temple are gardens, which compose two-thirds of the acreage. Oaks trees (which are listed with the British registry), spacious lawns, an ornamental pond and colorful rhododendrons and azaleas beautify the grounds of the temple throughout the year.

The area of the London Temple has a rich history. At the time of early Christianity Celts, Romans, Saxons, and Danes occupied the area; now, Sir Winston Churchill’s property adjoins the grounds of the Temple.

After the property was purchased for the building of the temple, President David O. McKay and Church architect Edward Anderson spent time deciding where to place the Temple. Land selected by President McKay “had been partially covered by a lily pond, which had left the ground marshy, and the engineers feared that it would not be suitable for the Temple’s foundation. President McKay, however, insisted, that this was where the Temple was to be built. When work began on the site, workers discovered that beneath the boggy ground was solid shale at the proper depth to support the temple.”1

Upon its completion, the Mormon Temple’s doors were opened to members and non-members alike for three weeks. At that time more than seventy-six thousand people toured the temple, whereas only fifty thousand had been expected. In September 1958, President David O. McKay dedicated the London Temple: “This is a great day for the members of the Church in Great Britain…The temple is the opening of a new era”, stated President McKay. Following the open house and dedication of the Mormon Temple, there were over twelve hundred convert baptisms within the next year.2

After thirty-two years, the London Temple was closed for remodeling and refurbishing. An additional 8,500 feet was added, as well as a fourth floor. This time, the temple open house was preceded by the distribution of posters and flyers and personal invitations throughout the area. In addition, advertisements and stories in local and national newspapers were placed, and radio ads were featured by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

In October 1992, Mormon Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated the London Temple. It was “…the best single event in terms of its effect on the general public that we’ve ever had in Britain,” stated Bryan Grant, UK public affairs director for the Mormon Church.3

Mailing address:
West Park Road
Newchapel
Surrey RH7 6HW
ENGLAND
United Kingdom
Phone:   (44) 1342-832-759

For more information about the Mormon Church or Temples please see the following websites:

Mormon Temples
Mormon Beliefs

Logan Utah Temple

On May 17, 1877, the building of the Logan Utah Mormon temple was announced. The day before, the site had been dedicated, and construction began quickly. The site of the Logan Temple had been held in reserve for many years. It was used as a park and public grounds before being dedicated as the site for the temple.

A call was sent out for workers. Brigham Young asked that all of the people that worked on the temple volunteer their time or other aid. “We require the brethren to go with their might and erect a temple and from the architect to the boy who carries the drinking water and the men who work on the building, we wish them to understand that wages are entirely out of the question. We are going to build a house for ourselves and we shall expect the brethren and sisters, neighborhood after neighborhood, ward after ward, to turn out their proportion of men to come here and labor as they shall be notified.” He also encouraged the saints to have the temple done in three and a half years.

25,000 people worked on the temple. Rocks were hauled from Logan Canyon mostly during winter because it was easier to haul the rocks by sleigh than on a wagon. As completion of the temple neared, women in the area were asked to make carpet for the temple, because commercially-made carpet could not be purchased in Utah. The women spent two months working to handmake two thousand square yards of carpet.

The Logan temple was only the second temple to be completed in the Utah area and is the sixth largest temple. Its design, by the Church’s head architect Truman O. Angell, has two towers and was based on the Salt Lake Temple, with a large assembly hall and other similar rooms. On May 17, 1884, the Logan temple was dedicated. Unfortunately, just a few years later in 1917, a fire destroyed much of the southeast stairway of the temple. Forty thousand dollars was spent to repair it in three months. In 1949 the temple was remodeled and received updated lighting, heat, air conditioning, elevators, and other modern conveniences. In 1977 another remodeling began. The interior was completely gutted and redone. President Spencer W. Kimball said that although the remodeling was necessary, he regretted the loss of the original interior. After remodeling, the temple was rededicated on March 13, 1979, by Prophet Spencer W. Kimball.

Mailing address:
175 North 300 East
Logan, Utah 84321-4720
United States
Phone:   435-752-3611

Lima Peru Mormon Temple

To Mormons, a temple is a building dedicated to be a house of God.  Mormon temples differ from a church meetinghouse, in that the meetinghouse is used for weekly worship services, and the temples are used for special forms of worship. The importance of temples is emphasized in the Mormon Church and the Church strongly encourages its members to become worthy to attend the temple often.

Worthy members participate in sacred ordinances and make covenants with God in the temple. These ordinances and covenants are necessary for the salvation of man and can only be performed in  temples. The temple is a learning center where those who enter gain a better understanding of our purpose in life and our relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Only in the Mormon temple can a family be sealed together forever. Marriage in the temple joins a man and woman as husband and wife eternally, if they honor their covenants. When a man and woman are married in the temple, their children also become part of their eternal family.1

Structures devoted to religious purposes are not new to Peruvians. They have, after all, the world-renowned Incan ruins and impressive cathedrals, particularly in Lima, where the influence of Spanish colonialism is still easily seen.

Because of the tremendous growth in the Church, Mormon leaders announced that a temple would be built in the beautiful city of Lima. The Mormon temple was constructed in an undeveloped area on 5 acres.  The temple has six spires that reach toward the heavens.

The temple has influenced many of the Peruvians since it’s dedication on January 10, 1986. A member of the Lima Peru Mormon Temple presidency said, that “building a new Temple is like throwing a stone into a lake; the resulting ripples radiate out and lift everything they touch.”

Despite serious economic and political problems in Peru, it has not hindered the temple attendance of the Mormon Saints. Temple attendance tripled during the years 1988 to 1990. For some members of the Church, it can be quite difficult and costly to attend, and can mean three months’ worth of some workers’ salary for transportation of their large families. However, the sacrifice is one Peruvian Church members are willing to make in order to partake of the blessings of the Mormon temple.3

Physical Address:
AV. JAVIER PRADO ESTE 6420
LA MOLINA
LIMA 12
PERU
Mailing address:
c/o South America West Administration Office
POUCH
Peru
Phone:   (51) 1-612-7200

For more information about Mormon Temples, please see the following links:

LDS Temples – Mormon Temples – Salt Lake TempleTeachings About Mormon Temples

Temple Enlightenment

‘Mormon’ Temples: A Little Enlightenment
By Annie L. Henderson Cechini

In the short film Between Heaven and Earth, Krister Stendahl, former Dean of the Harvard Divinity School, states that in any interfaith discussion, individuals should never compare bests with worsts.  Stendahl reasons that, “Most people think of their own tradition as it is at its best, and they use caricatures of the others.” I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It’s a mouthful, I know, and most people therefore refer to my church as the Mormon Church.

Fig. 1: Washington D.C. Temple

Immediately, some of you readers are pulling out the sketchbooks and charcoal to begin work on the caricatures just from reading that name.  In composing this article, I am driven by my experience of being viewed through cracker-jack lenses because of said caricatures. These inaccurate and sometimes painful sketches abound in even highly respectable minds and institutions regarding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

A little over a year ago, I served an 18 month mission in Washington D.C. In addition to having the pleasure of working with families in the surrounding areas, I was also asked to serve part time in the Visitor’s Center located on temple property.  I was asked many questions, and spent many hours studying in order to answer competently.  I will respond to some of the questions I received then in an effort to dispel some modern ‘Mormon’ mythology now.  I will show that a) the concept of temples is not new; rather it is worldwide and cross-cultural, b) historical background on temples will shed further light on the subject, c) there is a biblical connection between ancient and modern temples, and d) there are surprisingly simple answers to the questions about the temple.

Judaism, Hinduism, Egyptology, ancient American history, Buddhism, and Christianity could not be more different, yet all unite under the banner of the temple.  Judaism’s temple history includes the Tabernacle, a portable temple that the Israelites carried with them in their wanderings.  Buddhist temples are spacious and built for congregational worship.  Hindu temples are ornate yet smaller, intended for individual worship.  Egyptian temples as well as those of the ancient Americas are often associated with the grim practice of human sacrifice, though there is evidence to suggest that loftier ceremonies took place there.

Despite these differences, there are some striking similarities between these temples.  All of them are a place set apart, or in other words, holy.  Holy, sacred-both of these words are indicative or something or somewhere that is set apart from the every-day.  Each of these edifices was originally built for the purpose of tugging at the spiritual heart strings of the practitioner, drawing their thoughts towards higher purposes.  These temples often share common symbols: spires that draw the eye upwards, beautiful landscapes that remind us of the wonder of creation, ordinances-or ceremonies-that focus the mind on a larger picture. Indeed, the temple concept is a global one.

Fig. 2: Each of the red dots denotes just a few of the areas where one can either find the culture or the creed spoken of in the above paragraph.

Christians like myself (remember, the name of my church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ was Jewish.  He grew up in a temple culture.  The Tabernacle was a very hallowed place, as were the later constructed temples of Solomon, Zerrubabel and Herod.  Christ was born after the reconstruction of the latter.  On the occasion of his circumcision, Joseph and Mary brought their son to the temple to offer sacrifice.  At the age of twelve, Jesus and his parents returned to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, an annual tradition in his family (Luke 2:41-42 KJV).  Was the temple important even to a child of twelve?  The fact that Christ knew as a boy where to go to speak of holy things is indicative of that.  His later cleansing of the temple shows understanding of its sacred (or set apart from the world) nature.

Temples, therefore, must play a role in Christian worship.  This brings forth other important questions, such as who has the authority to build something like that, how should it be built, and what happens inside once it’s built?  David and Solomon were given specific charges by God to build the temple or perform temple building related tasks.  Clearly, I can’t just build a temple and stamp Gods’ seal of approval on it without being given the authority to do so.  Yet the scriptures are plain on the necessity of modern temples.  Often in the scriptures, and especially in the Old Testament, the temple is referenced to by a metaphor or symbol of a mountain.  Moses received the law near the top of Mt. Sinai.  Other prophets have had similarly holy experiences high in the mountains-away from the world.  In Isaiah 2:2-3, it states:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above all the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

This scripture is referring to the time just prior to the return of the resurrected Jesus Christ.  It is clear that if the symbol of a mountain is referring to a temple, then there must be a restoration of temple worship in modern Christianity before Christ comes again.

To draw connections between ancient temples and modern, in order to go forward one must first go back.  Let us therefore step back into the time predating Herod or Solomon’s temple-back to the days of the portable Tabernacle. To more fully understand temples, and why a restoration of temples might be necessary, it is important to know what the Tabernacle was like and what happened inside of it.

Fig.3 Very rough sketch of the tabernacle courtyard from my notes J

The tabernacle itself was surrounded by a large fence.  In the courtyard of the tabernacle there was a larger altar on which the sacrifices were placed.  There was also a large brass basin in which the priests were required to cleanse themselves before entering the tabernacle.

Fig. 4: In addition to being practical, the ritual washing of hands and feet was symbolic of an inner cleanliness that was required of the priest before entering the Lord’s House.

The Tabernacle was covered with a fabric of skins, and upon entering the first room, or Holy Place, the viewer would find three objects.  On one side would be the menorah.  The menorah is a candelabra with seven wicks on each side of an eighth center wick.  The menorah is a very important symbol in the temple.  One of the principle characteristics of a deity is higher intelligence; another way of saying someone is smart is to say that they are bright.  Often, individuals go to a higher source of knowledge when they’ve run out of ideas or ways to deal with a situation-this is the heart of why temples are so important.

On the opposite side, the viewer would see a table of showbread (or showbread).  “The Israelites knew God didn’t eat anything,” said Laurence H. Schiffman, director of Judaic Studies at New York University. “By giving [him] these beautiful breads, eventually shared with the priests, it was a kind of showing that we want to give the best of what we have to the god”(Schiffman, Between Heaven and Earth)

Fig 5: Last of the notes, I promise!

Finally, there was the Altar of Incense.  According to one Bible Dictionary, the altar of incense was   similar to the altar in the courtyard, “…but smaller and overlaid with gold.  On it incense was burned morning and evening…and on its horns was put once a year, on the day of atonement, the blood of the sin offering (Ex. 30:10)” (Bible Dictionary, LDS quad, KJV).  The symbol here is that the priests, the people of Israel had lit something that would ascend up to the presence of God.

Across the room extended a large piece of fabric referred to as the veil of the temple.  It separated the Holy Place from a room called the Holy of Holies.  In that room was the Ark of the Covenant.  Seated on top of the ark were two cherubim, or winged angels, their wings facing each other.  This area of the Ark was known as the Mercy Seat.  Here it was that God would appear to speak to his people, and therefore it was the most hallowed and sacred place in the temple.  It was in essence a throne room.  In addition to the blood of the sin offering being put on the altar of incense, it was also placed on the mercy seat on the day of atonement.

Solomon’s temple was built with the same basic concepts in mind, simply on a much grander and more elegant scale.  It was unfortunately destroyed during the Babylonian captivity in 600 B.C. It was rebuilt almost 100 years later by Zerrubabel, but was burned in the Roman captivity.  Later on in 17 B.C., Herod rebuilt the temple yet again in an effort to gain favor with the Jewish community.  From this history we see that rebuilding the temple was of the utmost importance to the Jews, as was its sacred nature.  Into this community and culture Christ was born.  As mentioned previously, he spent time there teaching, reading the law and cleansing the temple. After his death, and the death of the apostles, many of the truths that he taught were either changed or lost.  The years following are known in the history books as the Dark Ages.

The Christian sects of today are at variance as far as authority goes, or whether it (or a lot of Christian doctrine) is even necessary.  However, if a Christian believes the Bible to be the word of God as spoken through the mouths of his prophets, things become a little less vague.

In the New Testament, Christ restored and taught the gospel.  He called apostles and gave them priesthood authority to preach the gospel and, most importantly for our discussion here, perform saving ordinances like baptism.  However, as we know Christ was crucified.  His apostles were rejected and killed, and without revelation through a prophet, the doctrine of Christ, and the ordinances he taught, were changed.  This falling away, or apostasy from the original gospel Christ taught was prophesied by the very apostles he chose.  In 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3 it states:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

1. That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand,
2. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come [the second coming of Christ] except there be a falling away first…

As the history books reveal, there was a period of religious reformation in the 1600-1700’s, followed in the United States by a time known as the Great Awakening.  It was during this time that a young boy named Joseph Smith was searching for Christ’s church.  There was so much confusion between the different churches regarding the doctrine that Joseph, like many of us, was unsure if the truth was even discoverable. However, he prayed in faith to know what to do, and in answer he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  He was called to be a prophet, and it is through revelation, and a restoration of the gospel again through one having authority that we have temples on the earth today.

In canvassing the topic of the Tabernacle, I mentioned it would be beneficial to a discussion on modern temples.  As a missionary I sometimes heard the question , “Hey, why is your building so fancy?  Aren’t there still starving children who need the money more?” There are, and if the reader only knew how much the church does for them.  It goes right back to the Tabernacle and the showbread.  As Laurence H. Schiffman mentioned, we all know God doesn’t have to eat “people food”.  Therefore, we give the best that we can in building his house.  There is still a sense of modesty and economy even in the temples-they are not done without regard for resource.  Still, how the temples look is a reflection of how those who worship inside them feel about its importance.  In addition to the showbread, we can also refer back to the menorah when discussing the decorations and designs of the inside of the temples.  The temples are brimming with light.  As you will see in the images following, light plays a distinctive role in the temples, again acting as a symbol of deity and of the divine.

There are three major ordinances that are performed in these temples.  The first is probably the one over which there is the most confusion.  This is baptisms for the dead.  This doesn’t mean that we baptize corpses, or that those for whom the ordinance is being performed automatically get ‘Mormon’ stamped on their heads in the afterlife.  It does, however, reflect the love of God for all of his children regardless of their location or whether or not they hear his gospel in this life.

Fig. 6 Baptismal font, Nauvoo Ill.

In John 3:5, Christ states that a man must be born of water, and of the spirit, or he can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.  That’s pretty unequivocal, you either have it or you don’t.  Well, what about Joe the farmer, who is out on some remote island in the pacific, and hasn’t ever heard about any of that?  In death, the spirit and the body separate, so after this life is over, there is no opportunity for Joe to receive that ordinance on his own. Is it fair to require someone to live by a law they’ve never even heard of?  That doesn’t seem like justice to me.  God is described as perfect, so how could a perfect being be so unfair?  God isn’t unfair, and he is perfect as this ordinance evidences.  Heavenly Father provides a mediator, a go-between if you will, for those who live and die without being able to keep that commandment.

The ordinances are performed in the temples by proxy for those who have already died.  If those working in the temples have the authority to perform these ordinances, then they will be efficacious not only now but in eternity.  It is my feeling that the authority does exist today in the restored priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Through baptisms for the dead, Heavenly Father allows his children to have another chance to choose to follow his commandments.  As I mentioned earlier, this does not force anyone to accept that baptism.  However, it does preserve that individual’s agency, or the right to choose for themselves who they will elect to follow.  This ordinance is not new-in a discourse to the people of Corinth Paul himself speaks of this doctrine.  Paul is responding to a group of individuals who do not believe in a resurrection, but are following the practice of being baptized for the dead anyway.  After his discourse on the necessity and doctrinal certainty of the resurrection, Paul essentially says, if there is no resurrection, what’s the point? 1st Corinthians 15:29 states:

1. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?  Why then are they baptized for the dead?

This ordinance is not a new invention, but a restoration of an original gospel practice.

The second ordinance is called the endowment.  An endowment is a gift, generally given to help a group or individual financially.  This endowment is a gift from Heavenly Father to help his children navigate through life.  In the endowment the worshipper is taught the truths as outlined in the Bible and other scriptures.

Fig. 7: Ordinance room-Samoa

These truths teach us the   fundamentals about who we are, what we can do in this life, and where we are going.  We make promises to our Heavenly Father that, if kept, will help us to really live the gospel of Jesus Christ, not just profess a belief in it.  How does this relate to ancient temples?  As you can see, the ordinance room is filled with light.  At the front of the room there is an altar.  As the altar of incense was a symbol of sending an offering to heaven, prayers are offered on the altars of modern temples.  The sacrifice today is one of time, and instead of offering animal sacrifice, we offer our own lives.  The altar is not pictured in the ordinance room because it is sacred.  I have seen them, and they are not weird or scary-they aren’t even ornate.  They are simple and beautiful, and sacred. At the end of the endowment, each individual passes through the veil of the temple-another similarity between the ancient and modern temples.  There is no ark of the covenant on the other side of the veil, but the place on the other side-called the celestial room-is remarkable.  It is designed to be like the Holy of Holies in the sense that it is symbolic of a throne room.  It is also symbolic of what heaven might feel like.  It is a place of peace, beauty and quiet.  Worshippers may sit and ponder, or read the scriptures, pray, or simply feel the serenity of being away from the world.

Elder Jeffrey R.Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, states, “We all need first aid.  We all need an infusion every now and again.  We all need hope, and help, and holiness.  And the temple does all of that for me”(Holland, Between Heaven and Earth).

Fig. 8: The celestial room-Samoa

The third and final ordinance performed in the temples is temple marriage, also called a sealing.  I was able to participate myself in this ordinance earlier this year when I married my very best friend, Matt.  Sealings are incredibly simple and sweet.  At ours, a very kind older gentleman stood at the head of an altar (again not pictured here for the reasons explained earlier), and my fiancé and I knelt across it.

Fig.9: A sealing room, Samoa

There were high mirrors that we looked into, and saw ourselves reflected in them together, going on as far as we could see.  It is a symbol of a union that can last throughout eternity, not just for this life only.  I could not imagine my life without Matt.  We have been friends since high school.  We met when we were only 14, and he has become so much a part of who I am.  He is my true love, my hero and my inspiration.  I don’t want to spend my existence, wherever or whatever it is, without him in it (and how lucky am I, he feels the same way!). Again, to quote Elder Holland, “I don’t know how to speak of heaven in the traditional, lovely, paradisiacal beauty that we speak of heaven…I wouldn’t know how to speak of heaven without my wife, or my children.  It would not be heaven for me.  Now, you can say that’s wishful thinking, you can say, ‘ Well that’s just because you love each other and you’ve gotten cozy here on earth and you like each other’s company.’ It’s a lot more than that.  There is something eternal in the statement that neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord.  That isn’t just good sociology it’s good theology, it’s eternal” (Holland, Between Heaven and Earth).

Being sealed in the temple gives a perspective that ‘till death do us part’ can’t quite live up to.  My parents lost a son to an extremely rare childhood cancer.  I was almost four, he was almost two.  My mother was 25, my father was 28.  Neither of them had graduated from college, though they are both exceptionally bright individuals.  However, there is no way their marriage would have survived losing my brother Scottie, were in not for the eternal perspective being married forever gave them.  They fought to stay married, even when divorce seemed easier and at times inevitable.  Over 90 % of parents who lose a child to cancer end up divorced.  My parents are a statistical anomaly in so many ways, and it is due to the fact that they know they will be able to be with our family forever if they live as they believe.  Four kids later, their marriage is not perfect, but it is better than it has ever been.  The family is the very heart of everything about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the temple fortifies and strengthens families in the particularly turbulent times in which we live.

Now that what happens inside the temples has been covered, there are some other questions I frequently heard on my mission.  Most often I heard, “Why can’t I go in there?! Why the restrictions on who can enter?”  Again, we can go back to the tabernacle for some answers.  It was a holy place, it was sacred.  The priests had to perform the ritual washing before even they were allowed to enter.  Imagine you’ve just received an invitation to the Presidents’ Inaugural Ball while working in your garden.  Do you jump up, race to the White House and show them the invitation while you’re still in your blue jeans?  Of course not!  You would feel awkward.  Similarly, when going to the temple, we need to be clean inside and out.  Who determines this?  Well, frankly, you do.  There are two interviews with ecclesiastical leaders.  They ask questions regarding how you conduct your life and what you believe.  However, the final question impresses me each time: Do you consider yourself worthy to enter the temple?

I am the judge there.  I decide whether or not I am worthy to go, because who knows better than myself?
Another question I heard frequently was, ‘Can’t I go anywhere to be close to God?’ The answer is, of course.  Some of my most profound spiritual experiences have taken place out in nature.  I love hiking and observing the world around me, and I find special comfort close to the rivers and the oceans.  However, there is something set apart and special about the temples that is different from just personal closeness to God, although that is a benefit often received by serving there.  In the temples, we do for others what they cannot do for themselves, and we work out our own salvation too.  That is something that needs to happen in a holy place set apart from the world for just such a purpose.

My favorite question was, ‘How can I go inside?’ Talk to the missionaries, the young elders and sisters who work so hard for two years or eighteen months at their own expense.  They only want to explain their beliefs to you, and give you the chance to decide for yourself whether or not it’s true.  Read the scriptures, pray to know if God is there, and whether or not these things are true.  If you find that they are, you will begin walking down a path that leads to the doors of the temple, and to some of the greatest blessings you can know in this life.
I hope that in writing this article I have clarified some points.  I know that I am not a perfect writer, but I do know that the doctrines and principles and ordinances of the church are given to us by a perfect Heavenly Father.  He loves us so much.  We are his children.  He would not create a temple experience that is strange or perverse, or he wouldn’t be God.  I have been in every major room in the Washington D.C. temple.  There isn’t anything wrong or weird or even strange about it.  It is beautiful and holy and sacred.  And everyone is invited to come.

If talking to the missionaries is a little much, go to a temple with a visitors’ center.  There are sister missionaries serving there who are constantly studying and ready to answer your questions.  If there is a temple being built in your community, go to the open house, where the members of the church will take you on tours of the temple.  They aren’t perfect either, so if you ask a question that momentarily bewilders them, don’t let that bother you.  They’re simply trying to speak of something sacred without being flippant.  Ask all the questions you want.  Even better, if you have friends who are members, ask them.  Be curious.  That is how we learn to understand each other.  That is when caricatures are laid aside for stunning and beautiful portraiture.

Fig. 10: Annie and Matt at the Oakland Temple, July 1st 2006

Regina Saskatchewan Mormon Temple

News of the proposed Regina, Saskatchewan Temple was announced on August 3, 1998, while President Hinckley was visiting with missionaries and members in Regina. During the visit President Hinckley told the people, “You are good people… You get on your knees and pray to God. That is a wonderful thing, when all is said and done. … Many years ago, generations ago, family prayer was a very common phenomenon in Canada and the United States. There isn’t much of it anymore.”1 It is partly because of the prayers of the 6,700 members in the 252,000 square mile area of Saskatchewan that they now have a temple.

Dedication of the Regina Temple made history, when for the first time two Mormon temples were dedicated the same day. Because of issues with transportation, President Hinckley’s dedication of the Halifax Nova Scotia temple was delayed a day. Not wanting members to have to go home and come back, President Hinckley decided to go ahead with the dedication of the Nova Scotia temple. Meanwhile President Packer, first counselor to the prophet, was sent to dedicate the Regina Saskatchewan temple.

Prior to the dedication, members frantically worked to complete the landscaping and masonry. Because of a trucker’s strike, the materials had not arrived until a few days before. So crews worked around the clock to finish the light gray granite facing, completing the exterior the night before the dedication.

The day before the LDS (Mormon) temple dedication a mission tri-zone conference was canceled, and the 60 missionaries along with about 40 youth and adult members worked together to lay 18,000 square-feet of sod, plant trees, and raise the granite sign, which stated that the building was a Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Lord tempered the weather for those traveling to the dedication, which was held 14 November 1999. Donna McKay, wife of Prince Albert Saskatchewan Branch President Duane McKay, said, “They’ve been predicting storms for two weeks. You know the Lord’s hand is in this. November is well known for freezing rain. We’ve been very fortunate in traveling to get here.” 2

About 2,000 members traveled to attend the dedication. One of these was 88-year old Margaret Johnson, who rode with another member for seven hours to attend the dedication. She like so many others never believed a Mormon temple would be built in Regina. Dan Morse, one of Regina’s first converts, put it best when he said, “Never, never, never,” he said. “The whole province has only a million people. At the groundbreaking, I saw some ground turned over, and still couldn’t believe it; not until I was in the celestial room when there was plasterboard up when the temple was being constructed could I believe it.” 3

During the dedicatory prayer, President Boyd K. Packer offered the temple to the Lord saying, “Wilt Thou be pleased to accept of this the offering of our hands and our hearts. It has been erected as an expression of love for Thee and for Thy divine Son.” He also asked that the Lord pour out rain upon the land, temper the elements, and prosper the Saints as “they serve thee in righteousness.” 4

After the dedication, President Packer said, “The Spirit of the Lord was present in great abundance.” 5

Mailing address:
111 Wascana Gate North
Regina, Saskatchewan S4V 2J6
CANADA
Phone:   306-545-8194

For more information about Mormon temples visit the sites below:

LDS (Mormon) Temple resources
Teachings About Mormon Temples

(1) “News of the Church,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 105
(2) December 1999, Church News
(3) December 1999, Church News
(4) “Dedicatory prayer: ‘Wilt Thou be pleased to visit it,’” Church News 4 Dec. 1999: 11.
(5) News of the Church,” Ensign, Feb. 2000, 74

Kiev Ukraine Mormon Temple

Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe and is commonly referred to as the breadbasket, because of its many fertile farms. Eighty-percent of the 53 million Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians due to Christianity being introduced into the country in A.D. 988. After obtaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine is now a democratic nation and is enjoying a resurgence of culture and language.

The first Mormon missionaries arrived in the country of Ukraine in October 1990, and in June 1991 the Kiev Branch was formed. In September 1991, Elder Boyd K. Packer and Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Mormon Church arrived to dedicate the land for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And finally, in October 1991, the missionary work officially began. During 1992, Mormon missionaries began preaching outside of Kiev; preaching in Donetsk, Gorlovka, and Khar’kov. In July 1993, the Ukraine Donetsk Mission was formed.

With the membership of the Mormon Church growing at a steady rate the past thirteen years, and with the dedication and faithfulness of its members, the announcement to build a Mormon Temple was announced by the First Presidency on July 20, 1998.  (2006 church statistics show over 10,000 members in Ukraine.)

In 2002, while on a trip to Europe to rededicate the Freiberg Germany Temple and dedicate the Hague Netherlands Temple, President Gordon B. Hinckley visited the Ukrainian Church members. He encouraged them to remain faithful, but he did not reveal the site for the temple in Kiev, which he had announced four years earlier. During the trip, President Hinckley did meet with Viktor Bondarenko, chairman of the state committee on religious affairs in Ukraine, who was assisting the Church in acquiring property for the building of the Mormon Temple. During a trip to Utah, Mr. Bondarenko indicated that securing the property for the temple had been a major complication since it required about 3 or 4 hectares (1 hectare: 10,000 sq meters or 2.47 acres); but indicated that the process was being finalized.1

With the founding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Ukraine, many members have found a life that they never knew existed before. “…Before I met the missionaries, I asserted that life was a pool of hopeless boredom and hardships where people tried to entertain themselves as they could…I can’t help standing all amazed at the love the Lord has offered me,” expressed Vadim Malishkevich.

The groundbreaking for the Kiev Ukraine Mormon Temple was held on 23 June 2007 with Paul B. Pieper presiding.  The temple is scheduled for completion in mid-2010.  Details of the temple interior will include traditional Ukrainian art.

For more information about the Mormon Church or Mormon Temples, please see the following websites:

Mormon Church
Mormon Temples

Boise Idaho Mormon Temple

“Each [Mormon] Temple stands as a witness to the faith of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) that life is eternal, that death is not the end, that the soul of man lives on, and that we shall continue to live and function as individuals when we pass through the veil of death. Each of these buildings bears witness to our conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of the living God, and that all are beneficiaries of his redeeming sacrifice, that his resurrection was a reality, and that all may partake of the resurrection made possible through him,” spoke President Gordon B. Hinckley prior to the dedication of the Boise Idaho Mormon Temple.1

Mormon leaders discussed building a Mormon Temple in the western section of Idaho as early as 1939. But with the majority of the membership in the eastern part of Idaho, the leaders decided against it and concentrated on building a Mormon Temple in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Members were told that a temple would be built when the membership of the Church increased substantially.

Forty-five years later, Church leaders announced that a Temple would be built in the Boise area. Church leaders wanted a site that would be easily accessible to travelers. After considering numerous locations, they decided on a property that was near an exit from Interstate 84. This location was ideal for those traveling along the highway, as well as a visible landmark for pilots at the nearby airport.

The Boise Idaho Temple was the first Mormon Temple to have six-spires and would serve as a pattern for fourteen other Temples which would be built between the years of 1984 and 1989. The six-spired Temple was designed to maximize efficiency and space and would be built at a much lower cost and in a shorter amount of time.

Seventy thousand visitors were expected to tour the Temple during the nineteen-day open house. Instead, over 128,000 attended. Because of the open house, interest in the Mormon Church increased; thirty people joined the Church in response to the feelings that they felt when touring. “We’ve had people call us here at the office and ask how they could get their families baptized,” said Elder Adam Titus, a spokesman for the Idaho Boise Mission. “They were very impressed with the Temple.”1

After the dedication of the Boise Idaho Temple in 1984, attendance at the Temple was much higher than expected. So in October 1986, the Temple was closed for renovation.1 After opening in 1987, the Temple was able to serve more than 100,000 members in southwestern Idaho and part of eastern Oregon.

Mailing address:
1211 South Cole Road
Boise, Idaho 83709-1871
United States
Phone:   208-322-4422

For more information on the Mormon Church or temples please see the following:

Mormon belief
Mormon Temples

Boston Massachusetts Mormon Temple

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the 100th operating temple in Boston Massachusetts on 1 October 2000. President Hinckley had announced the building of small temples at the April 1998 general conference and then stated the goal to have 100 Mormon temples built by the end of the year 2000. The Boston Massachusetts temple marked the completion of that goal. The temple is large at about 69,00 square feet ,with four endowment rooms and four sealing rooms. The exterior is finished with Olympia white granite.

New England is where the roots of the Church are found. Joseph Smith was born in Vermont and once visited the city of Boston. The Church was first organized in the New England area. Mormon missionaries were sent and congregations established. Many prominent leaders of the church came from the New England area.

The first missionaries were sent to Boston in 1832. At the time of Joseph Smith’s assassination, there were over a dozen congregations in the area. But most members moved west with the rest of the Saints. It was almost fifty years before members of the Mormon Church were found in Massachusetts again. Since that time there has been a steady increase in the number of members. Now there are over 16,000 members in Massachusetts.

At the groundbreaking Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained the reason The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints builds temples.

“While we have over 10,000 meetinghouses in the world, temples are unique sanctuaries for sacred ordinances. They witness to the immortality of the soul. We believe that because of ordinances that can be performed in this sacred house, a man and a woman can be united for eternity and sealed to their children, who live worthily, forever. That ending of a religious [marriage] ceremony that is so common in the world today: ‘until death do you part,’ need not be the final outcome of marriage.” 1

The open house of the 100th Mormon temple captured media and public attention. About 82,600 visitors toured the temple prior to its dedication. A local radio station and newspaper working together produced the first on-line tours of a temple. It included narration accompanied by photographs of the temple’s interior.

Because of a lawsuit from local residents, the temple was dedicated without the planned steeple. President Hinckley was optimistic about the issue saying,

” We wish the steeple were on it. I regret that it isn’t. But we can get along without it while awaiting the outcome of the legal action. In the meantime, we’ll go forward performing the ordinance work of this sacred house.” 2

His optimism was rewarded, when in May the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled in favor of the Church. Previously, Judge Elizabeth Fahey had ruled that the building’s steeple was not a “necessary element of the Mormon religion.” Therefore under the law, the building height limit could be enforced. But the Supreme Court overruled her ruling saying, “A rose window at Notre Dame Cathedral, a balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica, are judges to decide whether these architectural elements are ‘necessary’ to the faith served by those buildings?” The judges concluded that, “It is not for judges to determine whether the inclusion of a particular architectural feature is ‘necessary’ for a particular religion.”3 And on September 21, 2001, the steeple with the famous angel Moroni was set in place, completing the Boston temple.

Mailing address:
86 Frontage Road
Belmont, Massachusetts 02478-2135
United States

Phone:   617-993-9993

For more information about Mormon temples visit the sites below:

Mormanity: Mormon Temples and “Secrecy”
History of Mormon Temples
Mormon Temple Ordinances – ReligionFacts.com

(1) Church News, 21 June 1997.
(2) “News of the Church,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 108
(3) Larsen, Kent. Boston Temple Steeple Oked. News about Mormons, Mormonism, and the LDS Church. 16 May 01.

Laie Hawaii Mormon Temple

The Laie Hawaii Mormon Temple is the fifth still-operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and marks a significant milestone in the Church, because it the oldest operating temple that was built outside of the state of Utah.

The proposed building of the Laie Hawaii Temple was announced in October General Conference in 1915; construction began after the groundbreaking ceremony held on June 1, 1915. The site for the temple is on 11 acres of land that was a part of a 6,000 acre plantation the Church bought in 1865 as a place of gathering for the Saints of the area.

The design of the temple was made to look like the ancient temples found in South America. President Joseph F. Smith stated many times that he wanted it to look like Solomon’s temple from the scriptures. It is one of the few LDS temples that does not have a tower. The temple is 47,224 square feet and houses three ordinance rooms and six sealing rooms.

During construction, builders ran out of wood, which was a scarce commodity on the islands. They prayed for help in finishing the temple and just a little while later a ship was spotted off shore. The captain explained to them that his ship had run aground and that he needed to get rid of some of his cargo to get the ship out. The builders offered to help and soon learned that the ships cargo was lumber. The builders unloaded enough lumber that the ship could get out. They were told to keep it. The lumber they had taken from the ship was just the right amount to finish the temple.

The exterior of the temple exhibits four large friezes that depict God’s dealings with man. The north frieze depicts the story of the Book of Mormon. The west wall shows the people of the Old Testament; the New Testament and great apostasy are depicted on the southern wall of the temple, and the restoration of the Church through Joseph Smith is shown on the east wall.

On November 27, 1919, President Heber J. Grant dedicated the temple. President Spencer W. Kimball rededicated it on June 13, 1978, after the temple was extensively remodeled.

Physical Address:
55-600 NANILOA LOOP
LAIE HI 96762-1240
United States

Mailing address:
3143 Bavarian Court
Sandy, Utah 84093-6580
United States
Phone:   808-293-2427

Bern Switzerland Mormon Temple

The building of the Bern Switzerland Mormon temple was announced on July 1, 1952. With its completion, it became the ninth operating temple worldwide. The Bern temple was the first temple built outside of the United States and Canada, as well as being the first temple built in Europe.

The Bern temple, originally known as the Swiss temple, is also known for another first; it was the first temple to use a video presentation of the endowment ceremony. This was done because so many of the patrons of the Bern temple speak different languages. The films made it easier to meet the needs of those attending. Mormon history in the area is long and rich. The first mission was opened on November 24, 1850. The first Mormon missionary president was Thomas B. H. Stenhouse. It was in Switzerland in 1906 that Joseph F. Smith, who was the president of the Mormon Church at the time, made a prophecy that temples would be built in various countries of the world.  At the time the prophecy was far from being fulfilled; there were only four temples in operation, and all of them were in Utah. Procuring the site where David O. McKay wanted to build the Bern Temple was a difficult task. There were 30 heirs with claim to the property, and it took much negotiation.  In the end the originally-chosen site was not available, and the site where the temple now stands was found and purchased in a short space of time.

A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held on August 5, 1953. President of the Mormon Church at the time, David O. McKay, presided at the ceremony and dedication. The temple site sits on seven acres in the village of Zollikofen, just at the edge of a national forest. The capital city of Switzerland, Bern, is just south of the temple. The design of the temple is modern, with a single spire. The exterior is finished with reinforced concrete, covered in cream terra cotta facing and trimmed in white. The temple has a total floor area of 35,546 square feet and provides members with four ordinance rooms and seven sealing rooms.

David O. McKay originally dedicated the temple September 11th through the 15th 1955. Many in attendance at the dedication had traveled very long distances and wanted to be able to attend a temple session, so sessions started the day after the dedication at 5:00 in the morning. By the end of the day 22 sessions had been held in the temple, at which 900 people had been in attendance. After a two-and-a-half year extensive renovation, President Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated the temple October 23rd through the 25th 1992. The renovation updated the interior and added more endowment and sealing rooms. In 2005 another addition was added to the Bern temple. An angel Moroni was added to the spire to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the temple. The Bern Mormon temple serves 39,000 members in 10 stakes in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland.

Physical Address:
TEMPELSTRASSE 2
CH-3052 ZOLLIKOFEN
SWITZERLAND

Mailing address:
Tempelstrasse 4 – Postfach
CH-3052 Zollikofen
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland
Phone:   (41) 31-915-5252

Other Links:

Mormanity: Mormon Temples and “Secrecy”
History of Mormon Temples – Lightplanet.com

Search for Mormon temples at LDSsearch.com

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