Like a beacon on a hill, the Bountiful Utah Temple was dedicated Sunday morning, Jan. 8, in the first of 28 sessions.

President Howard W. Hunter offered the dedicatory prayer of the gleaming white temple, situated high on the east bench of Bountiful, located some 10 miles north of Salt Lake City. The temple is the second temple that President Hunter has dedicated since becoming president of the Church last June. In October he dedicated the Orlando Florida Temple. More than 10,000 members participated in the first session, with some 2,000 gathered in the temple and another 8,000 in five other locations from Salt Lake City to Logan.

Before pronouncing the prayer, President Hunter addressed the congregation. Other speakers during the first session were President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency; President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency; and President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Council of the Twelve.

Arriving at the temple in the chill of winter's pre-dawn hours, members - quietly and reverently - filed into the many rooms of the sacred edifice to await the 7 a.m. cornerstone session, which was followed by the first dedicatory session at 8 a.m.

The sessions continue through Saturday, Jan. 14, with four sessions held each day. Tens of thousands of members were expected to have participated during the week, with congregations gathering in the temple, the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Bountiful Regional Center, the Ogden Tabernacle, the Brigham City Tabernacle and the Logan Tabernacle. All worthy Church members, age 8 and older, in the Utah North Area were invited to participate in the dedication.

During the week, President Hunter presided over six sessions and addressed four sessions.

President Hinckley and President Monson presided over the other sessions. Each of the counselors in the First Presidency gave 17 addresses during the week, and took turns conducting the sessions. The dedicatory prayer that was pronounced by President Hunter in the first session was read in subsequent sessions by his counselors and members of the Council of the Twelve.

During the week of dedication, 49 members of the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, the Quorums of the Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric, as well as the temple presidency and matron, addressed the sessions. (See page 5 for list of General Authority speakers.)

Following the cornerstone session, at which President Hinckley, President Monson and President Packer spoke, members of the First Presidency and their wives, other General Authorities and their wives, the temple presidency and their wives, and others exited the temple and walked down a wooden ramp to the cornerstone at the southeast corner of the temple. There they participated in the ceremonial sealing of the cornerstone containing historic artifacts.

As President Hunter and his wife, Inis, approached, followed by President Hinckley and his wife, Marjorie; President Monson and his wife, Frances; and President Packer and his wife, Donna, the cornerstone choir burst into song, singing "High on the Mountain Top." The choir was composed of members from the stakes in the temple district, which covers from North Salt Lake to Kaysville in Davis County. Another choir composed of singers from the temple district sang during the cornerstone session inside the temple.

President Monson conducted the cornerstone ceremony, held just before sunrise on a chilly January morning with a cold wind blowing. Huge lights illuminated the cornerstone. President Hinckley quipped, "Let's get this mud in place before it freezes." He then added, "It's a beautiful morning . . . make that a beautiful night."

President Hunter applied the first mortar, and was followed by President Hinckley and President Monson.

President Monson then invited President Packer; Elder W. Eugene Hansen of Presidency the Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department; and Elder John E. Fowler of the Seventy, president of the Utah North Area and chairman of the Bountiful Utah Temple Committee, to take part in the ceremony.

President Monson then invited Sister Hunter to place mortar "representing all the sisters here."

Even though it was chilly during the ceremony, it was a significant event in the lives of those who participated. "We were warmed by the Spirit," said Clair R. Jones, a counselor in the bishopric in the Bountiful Val Verda 2nd Ward and a member of the choir. "It was one of the sublime moments of my life."

After the ceremony, the Church leaders returned to the temple for the first dedicatory session.

Twenty-eight stake choirs provided the music for the dedicatory sessions. At the end of each session, members reverently left the temple. Lives were emotionally touched by the experience of attending a temple dedication, and tears flowed openly. It was a cherished experience to be long remembered. As members left, others were already awaiting their turn to enter the temple for the next session. It was a scene repeated over and over again during the week.

The Bountiful temple was announced in 1988. The ground was broken four years later by President Ezra Taft Benson with 10,000 people attending.

An open house for the temple was held Nov. 5 to Dec. 17, and then the temple was closed to prepare the edifice for dedication. During the six weeks of open house, more than 870,000 people, assisted by 45,000 volunteers, visited the temple.

The temple will open for ordinance work on Tuesday, Jan. 17, reported temple Pres. Harold C. Yancey.