This week in Church history
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25 years ago
President Spencer W. Kimball dedicated the Seattle Washington Temple on Nov. 17, 1980, according to the Nov. 22, 1980, Church News. About 43,000 members attended the event, which included 13 dedicatory sessions during a five-day period.
The article noted that President Kimball's counselors — President N. Eldon Tanner and President Marion G. Romney — also attended and spoke during the week.
It added, "Members of the Council of the Twelve who addressed the services were President Ezra Taft Benson, Elders Mark E. Petersen, Howard W. Hunter, Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, Boyd K. Packer, Bruce R. McConkie, L. Tom Perry, David B. Haight and James E. Faust."
The temple, actually located in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, was dedicated just 21 days after the Tokyo Japan Temple.
According to the article, President Kimball "spoke of the growth of the Church in the northwestern part of the United States that has led to the building and dedicating of a temple. He recounted the efforts of the first missionaries in 1857 to the Oregon and Washington territories and the eventual establishment of the Northwestern States Mission. The total number of members in the mission in 1900 was 953. Today (in1980), there are approximately 285,000 members in the temple district, which includes all of Washington, Alaska, British Columbia, the panhandle of Idaho and most of Oregon."
