�鶹��ý

Utah's temples dedicated up to 2010. Courtesy of Lee R. Cowan.

Soon after the pioneers arrived in the Great Basin, they established towns in the southern part of the Salt Lake Valley. For over a century, this area remained essentially agricultural, so population was small. During the later twentieth century, however, this began to change with an explosion of urban development in the area. The Jordan River Temple was dedicated in 1981 in response to this growth. As the twenty-first century dawned, accelerating growth in the southern end of the valley brought the need for yet more temples.

The Unfolding Announcement

As President Hinckley opened the October 2004 general conference, he pointed out that “the temples in the Salt Lake City area are extremely busy and at times are overloaded.” He therefore announced, “We have determined to build a new temple in the Salt Lake Valley.” He acknowledged that some may feel that “we are unduly favoring this area,” but he insisted that the Church was simply attempting to accommodate the overwhelming temple activity in the valley. In fact, he then suggested that “if the present growth trends continue, we shall probably need yet another.”[1]

When President Hinckley made this announcement, he did not specify an exact location. He indicated that it would be made known “shortly.” Of course, this led to widespread speculation as to where precisely the new temple would be built. On Sunday, November 21, Church leaders read a First Presidency letter at meetings throughout the southern Salt Lake Valley indicating that the temple would be near Corner Canyon in Draper. This announcement was not totally unexpected. As early as 2002, Church real estate representatives told developers in the area that the Church was purchasing additional property next to a stake center site for the possible construction of a temple.

The Shoshone name for the southeast corner of the Salt Lake Valley was Sivogah, meaning “willows.” As early as 1849 Ebenezer Brown, who had served in the Mormon Battalion, and his sons brought cattle into the area. The following year Ebenezer, his wife Phoebe, and their sons built cabins, settled their families there, and called the settlement South Willow Creek. In 1852 a branch was organized with Bishop William Draper, Phoebe’s brother, as presiding elder, and the area came to be called “Draperville” (the name “Brownsville” was already taken).[2] As population in the southern part of the valley grew, Church units were divided and redivided. The first stake with headquarters in Draper, the Mount Jordan Stake, was formed in 1942; it was renamed the Draper Utah Stake in 1974. Thus, the 2004 announcement that a temple would be built in Draper represented the culmination of over a century and a half of efforts by faithful Saints in the area.

Just a year later at the October 2005 general conference, President Hinckley announced that the Salt Lake Valley’s second new temple would be built in the Daybreak community located in South Jordan. He disclosed that the Church had two “excellent sites in the west and southwest areas of the valley through the kindness of the developers of these properties.” The Daybreak site was one of these. Located on the brow of the bluffs at the foot of the west mountains, it had a spectacular view of the valley.[3]

President Brigham Young directed settlement in the south end of the valley west of the River Jordan as early as 1848. Isaac J. Wardle, Samuel Alexander Beckstead, and Archibald Gardner were the original settlers in the South Jordan area in 1859 when a canal brought water to the land. Two years later they erected the first permanent structure in the valley outside of Salt Lake City—the rock meetinghouse, now in West Jordan. Other people followed and South Jordan became a ward in the Salt Lake Stake in 1877. It covered fourteen square miles of farming and sheep-raising land. The fertile soil produced grain, hay, sugar beets, and vegetables. As urbanization spread into the area, the population grew; a separate South Jordan Stake was organized in 1969. The Kennecott Land Company opened the master-planned four-thousand-acre Daybreak community in 2004 in the west half of the city, accelerating population growth.

The two new temples would be similar in size and built concurrently—the first time two temples would be built simultaneously in the same valley. Hence, their stories would be somewhat intertwined.

Groundbreakings

Top, Middle, Bottom: The First Presidency (left to right: James E. Faust, Thomas S. Monson, and Gordon B. Hinckley) break ground for the Draper Utah Temple. Courtesy of Deseret News and Church History Library.

On February 8, 2005, three months after the Draper site was announced, the city council approved a change in zoning regulations allowing houses of worship to reach a height of ninety feet (not including spires) in residential areas. This had been the only remaining obstacle to obtaining approval for the temple. On May 18 of the following year, the Draper planning commission approved plans for the fifty-seven-thousand-square-foot temple, a 492-space parking lot, and landscaping with a “large variety of trees.”[4]

Groundbreaking on the windswept mountainside was on a warm summer Saturday morning, August 5, 2006. The entire First Presidency and several other General Authorities were in attendance. Cooled air was pumped to the stand, which was shaded by a canopy, while the audience sat in the sun on folding chairs assembled from the adjoining Draper Utah South Mountain Stake center. Proceedings were also carried by closed-circuit television to selected stake centers in the temple district. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conducted the service.

President Hinckley declared that “this is a remarkable time” and that “it is a great tribute to our people that they are so faithful in temple attendance.” Since “temple service is a fundamental part of the gospel,” President Hinckley insisted, “we must build temples where people can get to them” throughout the world. “They are costly to construct and costly to maintain, but we must have them, and fortunately because of the faith of the tithe-paying Saints we have the means to do so.” President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, noted that Draper had been called “the egg basket of Utah.” He challenged his listeners to “make a pledge this day to do a little temple building” in their own lives, “taking as their blueprint the passage in Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 pertaining to establishing a house of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, order, a house of God.” Looking out over the valley, President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, appropriately cited Isaiah’s prophecy that in the last days the Lord’s house would be established “in the top of the mountains” and that “all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2–3). He then quoted the Lord’s promise to Solomon as he built his temple that if the people would keep the commandments, the Lord would dwell among them and not forsake them (1 Kings 6:12–13), and he prayed that this promise might be fulfilled for those building the temple in Draper.[5]

In the site dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley petitioned, “We pray that when [the temple] is completed it may be a place of refuge from the storms of life, a place holy and sanctified to all who will serve here, be they workers or patrons. We know the sacred work that will be done herein is a part of thine eternal plan for the happiness and well-being of thy children, both those in mortality and those beyond the veil of death.”[6]

Groundbreaking for the temple in South Jordan took place four months later. By this time construction was progressing well on the Draper Utah Temple. Elder Paul E. Koelliker, a member of the Seventy with responsibility for temples, reported that the footings and foundations were completed. Even the cement shell for the baptismal font had been poured. “The first floor concrete walls are in place. It’s above grade and it’s moving along very well in the last four months.”[7]

In contrast to the Draper groundbreaking, which was carried out in the hot summer sun, the December 16, 2006, groundbreaking for the temple in South Jordan took place on a freezing day. The invited audience gathered in a large, heated tent at the site; once again, proceedings were also broadcast in several area chapels. All three members of the First Presidency again attended and spoke. As he had done in Draper, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve conducted the services.

Peter McMahon, president of Kennecott Land, greeted the crowd. He reported that his firm had been negotiating with officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and representatives of other faiths concerning possible chapel sites. Amid these discussions, “the Church approached Kennecott in 2005 to ask if the company would be interested in having a temple built in the Daybreak development.” This resulted in the site being donated. Mr. McMahon declared that the temple would be “a wonderful and iconic building on the edge of the valley, and so we’re pretty excited about it.”[8]

President Hinckley reflected, “It seems appropriate to break ground for a new temple during a sacred holiday season when members honor Christ’s birth and the anniversary of Joseph Smith’s birthday. We couldn’t have a better Christmas present than the house of the Lord.” Up to this point, the new edifice had generally been known as the South Jordan Temple, but to avoid confusing it with the Jordan River Temple just five miles away located in the city of South Jordan, President Hinckley announced that its official name would be the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. This would be the first time two temples would in the same city and ZIP code—84095. Oquirrh is a Goshute name meaning “wooded or shining mountain.” “Patrons won’t know how to spell Oquirrh, but they don’t come to the temple to spell,” President Hinckley quipped as the audience laughed. “They come to serve in the work of the Lord.” While at the Draper Utah Temple groundbreaking, President Thomas S. Monson had recalled riding horses in that area as a youth. Now on this occasion, he spoke of riding bicycles and ice skating in South Jordan as a boy. He and President James E. Faust then gave counsel like that which they had shared four months earlier in Draper. President Faust also cited Brigham Young’s prophecy of great growth west of the Jordan River and insisted that “we are seeing the realization of that in our time.” In his prayer dedicating the site, President Hinckley petitioned that those building the temple might do so with “a spirit of worship.”[9]

The service concluded with the traditional breaking of the ground with gold-colored shovels. After Church leaders had their turn, others were invited to participate. One of the first to respond was Peter McMahon of Kennecott Land. President Hinckley thanked him publicly for the donated site.[10]

Constructing the Temples

Both the Draper Utah and Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temples would be moderate-sized with a floor area of about sixty thousand square feet and four fifty-seat rooms for endowment presentation. Although these rooms would be arranged differently in the buildings, each temple had two sets of two rooms, meaning that groups would progress from one room to another during the endowment and that a new session could begin about every half hour. These temples would not include the cafeteria or clothing-rental facilities common in many earlier temples. The Draper Utah Temple was designed by Steven A. Goodwin of FFKR Architects, while the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple was designed by the firm of Naylor Wentworth Lund Architects of Salt Lake City. Both temples would be built by Okland Construction. The actual work of building commenced shortly after groundbreaking, so the Draper Utah Temple was generally a few months ahead of the one in South Jordan.

Endowment room with mural, Draper Utah Temple. Courtesy of Church Newsroom/Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

The initial phase of construction took place in bitterly cold weather with record low temperatures. This phase consisted primarily of placing rebar and pouring concrete for foundations, floors, and walls. Because constructors needed to keep the cement at least thirty-five degrees so it could cure properly, they covered it with tarps or construction blankets and kept it warm by running hot water through tubes. The steel framework was erected during the spring and summer of 2007, the Draper Utah Temple topping out on July 20. In the fall the roof was completed, temporary windows were inserted, and the interior was heated so work could progress during the winter.

The Draper Utah Temple’s interior features stone that had been quarried in France and then cut and polished in Italy. African Makore cherrywood was installed in such a way that no nails or screws were visible. Art glass in the windows by Tom Holdman reflects the temple’s pioneer heritage by depicting the sego lily and a representation pattern typical of colorful block quilts. The sego motif was also carved into the woodwork and in carpets.

Murals featuring mountain scenery typical of the West adorn the walls of the first in each set of two endowment rooms. The mural in one of these rooms, painted by Utah artist Linda Curley Christensen, depicts pine-covered mountains; the other, by Colorado artist Keith Bond, features a grove of aspens. The second room in each set has no murals but is more brightly illuminated to symbolize progress to a higher level. From the celestial room’s fifty-foot ceiling hangs a chandelier that is thirteen feet tall and six feet in diameter; its two hundred lights are reflected by and through six thousand crystals from the Austrian Alps. The temple has five sealing rooms, one of which is the largest in any temple. Utah artist Dale Jolley added intricate stenciled paintings to the vaulted ceilings in the temple’s most beautiful rooms. A painting of Moroni delivering the plates to Joseph Smith, which earlier had adorned the former Draper Tabernacle, now hangs in the temple’s baptistry.

Celestial room, Draper Utah Temple. Courtesy of Church Newsroom/Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

Placing the statue of the angel Moroni atop a temple’s tower is a milestone event signaling the conclusion of exterior construction. Even though construction of the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain Temples was on different calendars, often months apart, setting the angelic figure took place on both temples within the same week. Still, the steps leading to this event at the two temples were quite different. A year before the figure was placed on the Draper Temple, the steel beams that would frame the tower were placed with great precision to assure that the angel would face due east. At Oquirrh Mountain, on the other hand, the spire was assembled on the ground and then set on the temple the same day as the angel; builders were careful to provide the spire a footing that not only could support the spire’s weight but was secure enough to withstand the horizontal forces that strong winds would exert.

The eagerly anticipated but unannounced placement at Draper came on Tuesday, July 8, 2008. When two tall cranes were seen at the temple the afternoon before, rumors started flying. One crane raised the angel, suspending it long enough near the crowd so photographs could be taken. The other crane lifted two workmen in a basket so they could secure the statue in place. Just three days later, on Friday, July 11, the spire and angel were set on the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. Motorists on the nearby Bangerter Highway saw what was happening, so a crowd quickly gathered.[11]

Statues for both temples were produced at 3-D Art, Inc. in nearby Kearns. Beginning in 1985, LaVar Wallgren had pioneered the process of producing fiberglass sculptures. The production of the figures for Draper and Oquirrh Mountain started eight months before they were placed. They were cast by Karl Quilter in three layers of fiberglass, each being allowed to cure before the next was applied. The finished statue was then painted with a sticky sizing that was allowed to dry overnight. This was the surface to which the 3.25-inch squares of gold leaf would adhere. Finally, the gold surface was buffed to a brilliant shine and then sprayed with a clear sealant to protect it from the weather. The figures were taken to the temple sites in a long open trailer pulled by a pickup truck. A large ring bolt in the figure’s head facilitated it being lifted; once the statue was in place, the bolt was removed and replaced by a lightning rod as a top needle.

On August 25, 2008, just six weeks after the statue of Moroni had been placed, a wildfire erupted in the hills near the Draper Utah Temple. When Ray Buhler, one of the builders, was asked if he were concerned about possible smoke damage, he responded, “No! The Lord doesn’t allow any smoking in the temple, so I don’t think He would let that happen.”[12]

Sealing room, Draper Utah Temple. Courtesy of Church Newsroom/Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

Similarly, beautiful features were incorporated into the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple with its golden granite exterior quarried in the Quanzhou/Xiamen area in China. The interior features light limestone from Morocco and darker limestone from Egypt. Woods include oak from Indiana and Kentucky and sycamore from the Bavarian Alps. Art glass was by John Quist. Schonbek chandeliers with Swarovski crystals are shaped like five-pointed stars. The celestial room chandelier is fifteen feet tall and has 19,447 individual crystals.

As construction drew to a close, workmen reflected on what they had accomplished. Despite always wanting to do his best work on the temple, Ray Buhler realized that not everything could be perfect. “Our lives are like that. Because of the Atonement of Christ, we can be like the temple. As we stand before the Lord, even though we’ve made mistakes, He will make us perfect, and we will be with Him eternally someday.”[13]

Project architect Steven Goodwin reflected on his work on the Draper Temple. “The temple is the most demanding project that I have worked on in my career as an architect.” It represents “something other worldly, literally a house of the Lord. Designing and constructing a house that God’s presence can dwell in is not a light effort. It requires many talented people and the vision of a prophet to guide our efforts.” He considered how the temple “shapes and directs the thoughts and feelings” of patrons so that “light and revelation can be received and understood in the house of the Lord.” The outside gardens are like “exterior rooms” that create a “sense of harmony and peace” as one arrives at the temple. “These feelings are enhanced as one then progresses through a series of spaces of varying sizes and finishing to the ordinance rooms,” culminating in the celestial and sealing rooms with their high, vaulted ceilings that “immediately draw the eye heavenward.”[14]

The Draper Utah Temple Open House and Dedication

Draper Utah Temple. Courtesy of Church Newsroom/Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

The contractors officially turned the temple over to the Church on December 19, 2008, so final preparation for the open house and dedication went forward. During the first two weeks of 2009, special VIP visits were available for clergy of other faiths as well as for business, educational, civic, and other community leaders. After visiting the temple, guests participated in a reception with a buffet table in the cultural hall of the adjacent stake center. Displays provided information about the importance of temple ordinances, the worldwide construction of temples, and specifically about the Draper Temple. Between twelve and fourteen thousand persons took advantage of this opportunity to walk through the beautiful new Latter-day Saint temple.

General Authorities conducted many of these tours. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, for example, sought to dispel the erroneous notion that members of other faiths were not welcome in any Latter-day Saint buildings. He felt sure that as a result of this tour members of the press would sense the sacredness of the special work done in the temples, but he noted that the Church’s fifty-three thousand missionaries were “doing everything they know how” to encourage people to come and worship with us in one of our eighteen thousand meetinghouses worldwide.[15]

Above: Temple dedication ticket. Below: President Monson, at cornerstone with nine-year-old Justin Spainhower. Courtesy of Deseret News and Church History Library.

This was also the time when the General Authorities could bring their own families to see the temple. When eighty-four-year-old Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Twelve “was asked if he might like to conserve his energy by using the elevator instead of climbing the stairs,” he respectfully declined, disclosing that he had spent the morning skiing. “The slopes offer a discount to those over eighty on Monday mornings,” he added. He assured his attentive hosts that “the stairs posed no particular problem.”[16]

The public open house commenced on Thursday, January 15. At this time of the year, winds and deep snow posed a significant challenge in the Corner Canyon area. Another challenge was the lack of sufficient parking adjacent to the temple. Open house tickets therefore specifically directed visitors to park at one of four chapels further down the mountain. Before boarding buses to the temple, they viewed a twelve-minute video introduction to temple service and to the Draper Temple. After walking silently through the building, they could enjoy cookies while viewing the exhibits in the stake center next door before being bused back to their cars. Tours were offered daily except Sunday. On any given day, up to six hundred volunteers performed such tasks as shoveling snow, operating audiovisual equipment, ushering visitors, playing reverent music in the reception area, or cleaning the temple each day after tours had ended. Thirty-five thousand volunteers served under the direction of Rodolfo C. Franco, president of the Draper Utah South Mountain Stake, who served as open house coordinator.

Visitors were invited to fill out comment cards at the end of their tour; their responses often reflected deep feelings. A visitor from another faith acknowledged, “When I was in the sealing room, I felt like I never wanted to leave.” A faithful Latter-day Saint recalled “forty-two years ago kneeling with my husband and our four daughters and being sealed. Now he is gone, as are two of those girls, and how grateful I am for the sealing room.” Another visitor conceded that he was not an active member of the Church, so “I felt so lucky to come and see the temple. Today I recommitted myself to come back to the Church.” A young man who had recently lost his mother and who had faced other trials affirmed, “Today I decided I want to go on a mission.” Yet another visitor who had been studying with the missionaries affirmed that “I was converted today.”[17] A young family preparing to be sealed testified that “the Spirit was so strong, it” was hard to leave the sealing room. “The only thing more beautiful than the temple was the look of awe in my children’s eyes.”[18] Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy, who served as director of the Church’s Temple Department, felt that it was significant that “there were numerous references to how people felt the Spirit. I think it is very significant that this was a temple that was not dedicated, and yet people still felt the Spirit and felt it very strongly.”[19] By the time tours ended on Saturday, March 14, a total of 684,721 interested persons had visited the temple.

Upon the death of President Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson had become President of the Church early in 2008. He dedicated the temple in twelve sessions beginning on Friday, March 20, 2009, and continuing through Sunday, the 22nd. Speakers were members of the First Presidency, other General Authorities, Church auxiliary leaders, and members of the Draper Temple presidency and their wives. These proceedings were conducted in the temple’s celestial room and viewed throughout the building by closed-circuit television. The tenth and twelfth sessions, both on Sunday, were also carried to stake centers in the temple district.

That was a beautiful spring weekend. Weather on Friday and Saturday was calm and sunny, while there were some showers on Sunday. According to President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, the beauty was not just outside: “It was as though there was sunshine inside, even within the enclosed walls. There is a beautiful feeling that another spot of heavenly light has come to the earth.”[20]

The traditional cornerstone ceremony was part of the first session Friday morning. A youth choir of 189 teens from the temple district provided music. President Monson humorously announced that the mortar and trowels were ready, but that those who would use them were untrained and so might spill some of the mortar on the ground; he drew a chuckle from the crowd assembled outside of the temple when he assured them that the professionals would clean it up and make things right afterward. As was customary, after Church leaders had their turn, the president invited some young people from the audience to help place some mortar. First was Gracie Awerkamp, who gratefully reflected, “This was my first time to see the prophet” and to participate in a temple dedication. Then, as Justin Spainhower knelt to take his turn, President Monson commented that the young man was “already getting ready for a mission”; Justin later reported that when his mother confirmed that he was the one President Monson had called a future missionary, “she started hugging me like crazy.” When the prophet invited thirteen-year-old Christoffer Hotvedt to come forward, he pointed to his younger sister Katrine, age seven, so both were invited to participate “as a pair.” Obviously enjoying the occasion, President Monson handed a trowel to Becky Alexander, the conductor of the youth choir, and suggested she could use it instead of a baton.[21]

The cornerstone box contained the usual historical items plus some that were unique to this temple. Jim West, chair of the cornerstone committee, had crafted special writing pens from the roots of scrub oak trees cleared from the site as well as from pieces of the African Makore wood used in the temple’s interior.[22]

“There is nothing like the dedication of a temple to bring out the best in people,” insisted President Monson. It is as though there is a welcome sign inviting, “Come, here you shall find peace, here you shall find a formula for happy families.” Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, made an interesting observation: “If you drive a little way up the hill from the Draper Temple, you can see six temples”—the Draper, Oquirrh Mountain, and Jordan River—“in a line across the valley”; the Salt Lake to the north, and the Mount Timpanogos and Provo to the south. “With that many temples within our view, we have little reason to neglect our forebearers.”[23]

Cultural celebration. Courtesy of Deseret News and Church History Library.

President Monson offered the dedicatory prayer in all twelve sessions. It petitioned blessings for “those faithful members here and throughout the world who have contributed their tithes which have made possible this magnificent edifice. The prayer expressed gratitude for “the sacred sealing power” brought by Elijah the prophet “so that in this temple and all Thy holy houses Thy faithful Saints may be endowed with power from on high” and enter covenants that bring “all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the holy prophets.” The prayer affirmed that “the plan of salvation taught in the temple with simplicity, yet with power, will be as a never-failing beacon of divine light to guide our footsteps and keep them constantly on the pathway of eternal life.” At a time of departure from safe moorings, the prayer asked that “youth of the noble birthright carry on in the traditions of their parents and grandparents.” Similarly, at a time “when the family unit is under attack and things long held sacred are ridiculed by the world, we seek Thy help to make us equal to our tasks, that our homes may be havens of peace and happiness.” As the temple was dedicated as “a house of baptism, a house of endowment, a house of sealing and a house of righteousness,” the prayer acknowledged that “we [also] rededicate our very lives to Thee and to Thy work.”[24]

Reflecting on the three days of dedication, President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, summarized, “It has been a wonderful experience. There has been a feeling of peace and joy in every session. . . . You could feel the faith of the people. Everything about it has been uplifting and marvelous.”[25]

A Joint Cultural Celebration

Ordinance room of Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

Beginning with the Ghana Temple in 2004, a “cultural celebration” had taken place the evening before temple dedications. Often held in outdoor stadiums where large audiences could be accommodated, these occasions allowed casts of several hundred or even thousands of youth to celebrate the history of their area culminating with the construction of the new temple. Because the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain Temples had been built together, the cultural celebrations in connection with their dedications would be held together. This event was scheduled for the last weekend in May 2009, several weeks after the March dedication of the Draper Utah Temple, and several weeks before the dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple the following August. Youth from the twenty-five stakes in the Draper Temple district made their presentation on Friday evening, May 29, while those from the twenty-six Oquirrh Mountain district stakes had their turn on Saturday evening, May 30. A total of fourteen thousand participated. These events took place in the new twenty-one-thousand-seat Conference Center adjacent to Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City.

The narration was the same both nights, but each group had its own costumes and choreography. Entitled Come Up to the Mountain of the Lord, the production honored the contributions of various groups beginning with Native Americans, early pioneers, and continuing to the multicultural population of recent years. As the drama reached its climax, “a glorious temple arose from the top of a great mountain,” and concourses of teens carrying flags representing the groups that had been honored climbed the mountain as they gathered to the house of the Lord.

On both nights, President Monson spoke to the youth before their dramatic presentation. “May I assure each of you that any effort you put forth will be rewarded many times over. You have had the opportunity to mingle with youth from other wards and stakes, you have made new acquaintances and forged new friendships.” He insisted that “tonight will be a night you will never forget.”[26]

Open House and Dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

Temple dedication ticket. Courtesy of the Temple Department.

Two full months, Monday, June 1 through Saturday, August 1, were scheduled for the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple’s open house. Ample parking near the temple was an advantage. The eight hundred volunteers who served on a typical day performed a variety of tasks including handing out cookies to visitors in the hospitality tent following their tours of the temple. Robert Homer, president of the South Jordan Utah Highland Stake, chaired this event. “Some volunteers were not active Church members. A few were not members at all,” he recalled. “Still, they graciously filled shifts and did whatever they were asked to do to help the open house function smoothly.”

Planners had anticipated that weather would be favorable during both months of the open house. June, however, was cool and stormy. In fact, during a thunderstorm on June 13, lightning struck the figure of Moroni atop the temple. Portions of the angel’s face, arm, and trumpet were blackened. Church officials determined that it would be better to replace the statue rather than trying to repair it in place some 180 feet above the ground. This would be done on August 11, just over a week before the temple’s dedication, the whole operation taking three hours. The new figure included lightning rods in the arm and trumpet as well as in the head.[27]

Seeing the temple affected individuals in different ways. An estimated 85 percent were Church members . Many visitors indicated that “they were eager to bring their young children to the temple and let them experience the beauty, wonder and spirit of the celestial room, baptistry, and mural-covered ordinance rooms.” Some young people who may have been wavering in their faith were prompted to serve a mission or prepare to be married in the temple. Two BYU roommates with the same first name attended together and were moved by their experience. Whitney Benton reflected, “I love the temple’s celestial room. I just imagined people dressed in white filling that room.” Whitney Kluber added, “I had a feeling of togetherness and wanting to be there in the temple with my family.” A single visit was not enough for Milvia Dique of West Jordan, even though she was a member of another faith. After touring the temple with friends, she returned with a relative vacationing in Utah from London. She returned yet a third time with her husband and two of their children. For her, the open house was “a beautiful experience—I’ve enjoyed being inside the temple so much. The feelings I have felt there have been so strong.” She acknowledged that she “gained an appreciation for temples. Any mystery that once surrounded the Church’s most holy edifices has been replaced with understanding and respect. I know now why the temple is such a sacred place.”[28]

Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

As visitors finished their tours, they were impressed not only with the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple but also with the scope of temple building. They could see the new Draper Utah Temple on the hillside southeast across the valley and the large Jordan River Utah Temple five miles to the northeast. By the time the two months were ended, nearly 590,000 had visited the temple.

President Monson dedicated the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple in nine sessions beginning Friday, August 21, 2009, through Sunday, August 23. Sunday meetings were cancelled throughout the state of Utah so Church members could view the dedicatory proceedings. Temple-worthy Church members gathered reverently in 657 stake centers, which were regarded as extensions of the temple. Still, an estimated total of 14,500 attended sessions in the temple during the three days of dedication.[29]

The customary cornerstone ceremony was part of the first session on Friday morning. A 187-voice choir sang spiritedly for the occasion. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, placed mortar on the cornerstone plaque, President Monson quipped, “For an airline pilot, that’s perfect.” The prophet then called for young volunteers to come forward to participate. When six-year-old Michael Branan in the back of the crowd raised his hand high, President Monson instructed, “Make way for the redhead.” Michael was grateful for his red hair, believing this was why the prophet had singled him out. This was President Monson’s eighty-second birthday; as the cornerstone ceremony drew to a close, the assembled audience began singing “Happy Birthday.” As they concluded, President Uchtdorf added, “And many more.” President Monson good-naturedly commented, “I was waiting for that.”[30]

Thomas S. Monson celebrated his eighty-second birthday the same day as the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple cornerstone ceremony. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

A choir sings at the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple dedication. Courtesy of Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

In the dedicatory prayer, President Monson expressed gratitude: “We are grateful for the knowledge Thou hast given us that Thou art our Father, to whom we may turn for inspiration and guidance, for revelation and strength in times of trouble and distress.” He also expressed gratitude for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and for guidance available through the Holy Ghost. The prayer continued, “We are grateful for this long-awaited day of dedication, when this, Thy holy house has been completed.” The prayer petitioned that those who had contributed to the temple’s construction might feel “the gratitude of those uncounted millions who have passed beyond this life, for whom the prison doors may now be opened and deliverance proclaimed through the devoted service of Thy people in this and other sacred temples.”[31]

Temple president Alan S. Layton prayed that the families living in the new district might “do all they can to realize the blessings of the temple with parents, spouses, children, siblings and grandchildren. . . . It is here where the faithful can ‘go up to the mountain’ to learn His ways and walk in His paths.” The Saints eagerly responded to this invitation. Even before daylight Tuesday morning, August 25, a large group of youth were at the temple, waiting for the door to open, wanting to be among the first who performed the sacred service of being baptized in behalf of their departed loved ones.[32]

Notes

[1] Gordon B. Hinckley, “Condition of the Church,” Ensign, November 2004, 4–5.

[2] Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1941), 197–98; R. Scott Lloyd, “Dedication of Temple Is Sign of Renewal,” Church News, March 28, 2009, 4.

[3] “Opening Remarks,” Ensign, November 2005, 4–5.

[4] “Draper Utah Temple,” https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/draper-utah-temple/.

[5] Lloyd, “Remarkable Time,” Church News, August 12, 2006, 3.

[6] Vicki Taylor and LaRayne Day, “The Draper Utah Temple” (unpublished manuscript), Church History Library, Salt Lake City, 43.

[7] Sam Penrod, “President Hinckley Dedicates Building Site of New Temple,” December 16, 2006, https://www.ksl.com/article/734498/president-hinckley-dedicates-building-site-of-new-temple.

[8] Penrod, “President Hinckley Dedicates.”

[9] Jason Swensen, “AGreat and Wonderful Day,” Church News, December 23, 2006, 3.

[10] Penrod, “President Hinckley Dedicates.”

[11] “Draper Utah Temple,” Church News, July 26, 2008, 13; “Oquirrh Mountain Temple,” Church News, July 19, 2008, 14.

[12] Taylor and Day, “Draper Temple,” 108.

[13] Taylor and Day, “Draper Temple,” 109.

[14] Taylor and Day, “Draper Temple,” 128–29.

[15] Scott Taylor, “Temple Tours,” Church News, January 17, 2009, 6–7.

[16] Taylor and Day, “Draper Utah Temple,” 159.

[17] “Speak Volumes,” Church News, March 21, 2009, 5.

[18] Taylor and Day, “Draper Utah Temple,” 163.

[19] “Speak Volumes,” 5.

[20] “A Feeling of Peace, Joy,” Church News, March 28, 2009, 9.

[21] Lloyd, “Dedication of Temple,” 3–4; Taylor and Day, “Draper Utah Temple,” 221.

[22] Lloyd, “Cornerstone Box ‘within Our Hearts,’” Church News, March 28, 2009, 10.

[23] “A Feeling of Peace,” 9.

[24] “This, Thy Holy House,” Church News, March 28, 2009, 6–7.

[25] “A Feeling of Peace,” 9.

[26] Sarah Jane Weaver, “Temple Celebrations,” Church News, June 6, 2009, 8–10.

[27] “Statue Replaced,” Church News, August 15, 2009, 7.

[28] Jason Swensen, “Illuminating,” Church News, June 13, 2009, 14; Swensen, “A Sacred Place,” Church News, August 8, 2009, 3–4.

[29] Jason Swensen, “Salt Lake Valley’s Fourth Temple Opened,” Church News, August 29, 2009, 3, 8, 9.

[30] Jason Swensen, “Cornerstone Sealed amid Mild Sunshine,” Church News, August 29, 2009, 3, 10.

[31] “Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple: Long-Awaited Dedication for ‘Magnificent Edifice,’” Church News, August 29, 2009, 4–5.

[32] Swensen, “Salt Lake Valley’s Fourth Temple Opens,” 3, 9.