Exterior Oquirrh Utah Mormon Temple

On the exterior of the temple is engraved the words “Holiness to the Lord.”  The gardens are meant to inspire and bless those who walk through them, and anyone is invited to do so.  The Lord’s spirit can be felt in these gardens, but even more so inside the temple.  Atop the temple spire is a statue of the Angel Moroni.  Moroni was the last prophet to write in the Book of Mormon.  He visited Joseph Smith as a resurrected being and informed Joseph that the time had fully come when the words of Malachi would be fulfilled; that is, that the hearts of the children would turn to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children.  This is the purpose of temples…to bind families together for eternity in the kingdom of God.

When one enters the temple, there is a spacious entry area with a waiting room, and sometimes a quiet room where families with young children can wait without disturbing others.  There is usually a stairway downstairs to the baptistry from here.  As one proceeds to enter the temple, there is a recommend desk, where one’s temple recommend is checked.  The recommend is a small slip of paper certifying that the patron has been interviewed by his or her bishop and stake president and found worthy to attend the temple.  Mormons who are temple-worthy are active in their congregations and serve in their callings (or voluntary service positions) as they are asked by their leaders.  They pay a full tithe (10% of one’s income) and live the “Word of Wisdom” by avoiding the use of tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and tea.  They are morally clean and honest in their dealings with their fellow men.

As one passes by the recommend desk, there is usually another waiting room.  Past the waiting room are dressing rooms (one for men and one for women), a “family file” office to help patrons with preparing family names for temple ordinances, and a desk with temple clothing available to those who need it.  In all these areas, there are temple workers dressed in white, who volunteer their time to help patrons use the services of the temple.

When a patron arrives to perform an “endowment,” he or she goes first to the dressing room to change into white clothing, and then to an endowment room, which is like a very small auditorium.  There, the story of the creation is recounted and instruction is given to enable those attending to feel God’s love and empowering spirit in their lives.  The patrons covenant to keep the commandments of God and to follow the Savior Jesus Christ.

Oquirrh Temple Grand Staircase

Sometimes endowment rooms, sealing rooms and offices are upstairs, and there is a staircase (and elevators) for access to those rooms.  An endowment session takes about 90 minutes, and in most temples a session begins every 30 minutes.  This depends on how many patrons typically attend, and how many endowment rooms there are.  Some temples open very early in the morning to accommodate patrons’ schedules, and some even stay open very late at night on occasion.

An endowment room in the Oquirrh Temple

This photograph is taken from the front of an endowment room.  Thus, the rows of seats where the patrons sit are at the back in this picture.  There is an altar, behind which an officiator stands. Behind him is a small movie screen for instructional purposes, and a white curtain, through which one may enter the celestial room of the temple.  Entering the celestial room is the culmination of the endowment, and is symbolic of entering the kingdom of God.

Oquirrh Temple Celestial Room

The celestial room is always the most beautiful room in the temple.  There, patrons can sit and pray or meditate.  The spirit in the celestial room is the most peaceful, tranquil, and holy of any place on earth.

Oquirrh Temple Baptistry

Baptism for the Dead

People who arrive prepared to do baptisms for the dead, go downstairs to the baptistry.  The baptistry has its own recommend desk.  Children over 12 years old can participate in this ordinance by acting as proxies for their deceased ancestors.  They receive “conditional recommends” from their bishops to gain entrance to the baptistry.  A recommend to enter the baptistry therefore might not qualify a patron to enter the main parts of the temple.  The baptismal font is below ground, because baptism by immersion represents death and rebirth.  Patrons change into white baptismal clothing in the baptistry dressing rooms.  The baptismal font is designed according to ancient temple custom, upon the backs of twelve oxen, representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

Weddings

Weddings are performed in Mormon temples, but the vows are not “’till death do us part.”  Temple “sealings,” as they are called, are meant to be eternal.  Temple weddings are very beautiful.  The bride and groom make an appointment to arrange their sealing ceremony.  Temples have more than one sealing room, and they vary in size, so it’s necessary to reserve one that will accommodate all the guests.  Guests who wish to attend temple sealings must also have temple recommends to attend.  Guests wear Sunday-best clothes and are ushered into a marriage waiting room prior to the ceremony.

Oquirrh Temple Marriage Waiting Room

When the bride and groom enter the temple, they are greeted and given encouragement and instruction by a member of the temple presidency.  Then, they are guided to special dressing rooms.  The bride’s dressing room is especially lovely.  There, she dons the dress she’ll wear for the sealing ceremony.  Some brides choose to wear a wedding dress for the sealing, while others wear a more simple white dress.  The bride can leave her street clothes and cosmetics in the dressing room.

Oquirrh Temple Bride's Room

When the bride and groom enter the sealing room, the guests will already be seated around the periphery of the room.  Mirrors are mounted on opposing walls, so that the reflection repeats itself an infinite number of times, symbolizing the eternal nature of the covenant.  An altar is located at the center of the room, and the bride and groom kneel on either side and hold hands across the altar, while the “sealer,” or officiator helps them with their vows and gives them counsel.  Afterwards, the bride and groom may rise and exchange rings and greet their guests.

Oquirrh Temple Sealing Room

After the sealing, the bride and groom return to their dressing rooms.  If the bride has chosen to wear a simpler dress for the sealing, now she changes into her bridal gown for photographs.  This is also the case if the bride has chosen a gown that is not pure white.  She wears a white dress for the sealing and then changes into her gown for photographs and the reception.  The family goes outside to wait for the bride and groom to exit the temple.  The family then gathers for photographs in the temple gardens.  It’s a festive occasion for everyone.

A Mormon family gathers for wedding photos

Members in the Trujillo area must travel 9-10 hours to reach the existing temple in Lima.  Some days, the Lima Temple is so busy, that patrons patiently wait for hours before being able to enter.

Originally, trenches were dug every 10 to 15 feet across the property, since construction could not continue if Roman ruins were discovered.  Latter-day Saints in the area held a special fast in the hope that the site (which the Church purchased in the 1990’s) would be free of antiquities.  No antiquities were discovered anywhere on the 15 acres, yet a Roman village was discovered just 100 yards beyond the property’s boundary.

The Rome Italy Temple will be the first temple in Italy and in the Mediterranean region. For years, Italian Saints have traveled the long distance to the Bern Switzerland Temple, which now serves more stakes and districts from Italy than from any other country.  The temple will be the twelfth built in Europe.

The first Mormon missionaries arrived in Italy in the 1850’s, including Lorenzo Snow, future prophet of the Church.  The early converts (slightly over 200) emigrated to the United States, and the mission was closed.  Attempts to obtain permission for missionaries to come again to Italy were rebuffed by the Italian government in 1900.  The Church was finally reestablished in 1951, and the Church has made a movie about the first convert, Vincenzo di Francesca, who found a charred Book of Mormon in a trash bin.  It was missing its cover and title page, so at first, he had no idea what he was reading.  Italians who had converted outside of Italy returned to the country.  In 1964, there were over 200 members in Italy.

Missionaries were again allowed to proselyte in Italy in 1965.  Today, there are about 23,000 members in the country.  The Church is hoping to gain government approval granted to the Catholic Church and others.  Signed by the prime minister in 2007, the “concordate” must still be approved by parliament.

This will be the first LDS temple to be built in Pennsylvania.

Several significant events in Church history took place in Pennsylvania including much of the translation of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of priesthood authority. The Church was first established in Pennsylvania in 1839—growing to 450 members by October 1840. Membership fell following the migration of the Saints to Salt Lake but grew again as Mormon European emigrants arrived. Eventually the first stake was organized in 1960 with 1,100 members located in congregations in southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. Today there are nearly 48,000 members in Pennsylvania alone (LDS Newsroom, October, 2008).

In the early years of the Church, Mormons had attempted to build two temples in Missouri, one in Far West and one in Independence.  Both attempts were thwarted by mob violence against the Mormons.

Mormons had also settled in Kansas, but they left when the Church relocated its headquarters to Nauvoo, Illinois, and then to Salt Lake City, Utah. Church members are now found in every major city in the Midwest. Kansas City’s first stake was established in 1956. Today there are approximately 100,000 members in Missouri and Kansas organized into 21 stakes where the Church has one operating temple in St. Louis, Missouri.

Members in the Córdoba area currently travel some 400 miles to participate in temple ordinances in the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple, which serves 60 stakes and 30 districts throughout Argentina.

Membership of the Church in Argentina has grown steadily since the 1920’s.  The first members were European immigrants who requested missionaries.  There were  356, 000 Mormons in Argentina in 2006.

The Tuscany/Royal Oak train station will be within walking distance of the temple and will be completed in 2011, about the same time as the temple is due to be completed.  The Calgary Alberta Temple will be Canada’s eighth temple and Alberta’s third.

Mormons first began to settle in southern Alberta in the 1880s as contract workers on the Canadian Pacific Railroad and as farmers in present-day Cardston. By 1895, the first stake in Alberta was established, and membership in the Church has continued to thrive ever since. Today there are over 75,000 members throughout the province (LDS Newsroom, Oct, 2008).

The announcement came less than a month following the announcement that temples would be built in Gilbert, Arizona, and in Arizona’s Gila Valley. A temple in Phoenix will decrease travel time for members in the northern and western areas of Phoenix, who currently attend the Mesa Arizona Temple, which serves 74 stakes throughout much of the state. The Mesa temple is attended by more patrons than any other temple outside of Utah.

More information: LDS Church Temples.com

The design of the temple is expected to be similar to that of the Twin Falls, Idaho temple.  Discussions are now taking place as to what sort of land use will surround the temple, since prior plans included recreational facilities not in keeping with the sacred nature of the temple.  The Church prefers residential or peaceful commercial zoning.

This temple, and the one under construction in Gila Valley, are meant to take the pressure off the two temples already existing in Arizona, in Mesa and Snowflake.

Located in the fast-growing Southeast Valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area—just south of Mesa—Gilbert and its surrounding communities enjoy a high concentration of Church members, who currently attend the Mesa Arizona Temple, which serves currently serves 74 stakes throughout much of Arizona. The edifice will make the sacred ordinances of the temple more accessible to the members of these communities.

More information: LDS Church Temples.com

Representatives of the Church praised the members of Guatemala and said it is their faith and diligence that has led the Lord to bless them with a temple in closer proximity to their homes.  Members of this region of Guatemala have faithfully attended the temple since the time they had to travel to the Mesa Arizona Temple (1927), then to the México City México Temple (1983), and finally to the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple (1984).

The hillside site selected for the temple is located on the western side of the city in Zone 7, just west of the city zoo—Parque Zoológico Minerva—and across from Los Cerezos condominiums.

Quetzaltenango (Xela) is Guatemala’s second largest city located 128 miles northwest of Guatemala City—the largest city—in a large valley surrounded by mountains and two volcanoes.  This will be the second temple in Guatemala, and it is due to open in 2011.