Salt Lake Valley's fourth temple opens
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SOUTH JORDAN, UTAH
Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple President Alan S. Layton arrived early at the newly dedicated edifice Aug. 25 and quickly learned he was not alone.
A group of young men and young women were gathered in the dark outside the temple's locked doors. It was the first day the baptistery would be open and the wide-eyed teens were eager and ready to begin performing their sacred temple duty.
The doors opened at 6 a.m. The young people reverently changed into their white baptismal clothes and commenced the work inside the Church's 130th temple.
That early-morning anticipation felt by President Layton and his young friends is emblematic of the excitement felt by tens of thousands of members who participated in the Aug. 21-23 dedication of the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. The building was dedicated in nine sessions — three each day — and included the dedicatory prayer penned by President Thomas S. Monson.
The Church president was joined during the dedicatory weekend at various sessions by his counselors in the First Presidency — President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf — along with President Boyd K. Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve, and several members of the Quorum of the Twelve and the Seventy and various leaders from the Church's general auxiliary presidencies.
The dedication of the Salt Lake Valley's fourth temple (and Utah's 13th) "was absolutely magnificent," said President Layton. "It was just marvelous with the way the saints gathered to dedicate this temple."
Some 14,500 members participated inside the temple during the dedicatory sessions and enjoyed generally pleasant summer weather during the historic event. Tens of thousands of others from across the Beehive State joined in the sacred celebration. Traditional Sabbath meeting schedules on Aug. 23 were cancelled so faithful LDS Utahns could view one of the sessions via closed- circuit broadcasts in their local meetinghouses. Sunday dedicatory sessions were observed in 657 Church buildings.
President Layton said each of those meetinghouses became extensions of the stately Uinta gold granite temple that now assumes a commanding vista in the southwest corner of the Salt Lake Valley.
"As we sang 'The Spirit of God' inside the temple, I thought about the thousands of members sitting in those meetinghouses all singing that glorious anthem of hallelujah," he said.
Many who gathered at the dedication of the temple at the edge of Utah's Oquirrh Mountains said they were participating in the literal fulfillment of ancient prophesy. It was Isaiah who wrote: "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 the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
"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" (Isaiah 2:2-3).
During the dedicatory sessions, more than one General Authority reminded the members that the new temple is the only one in the world with the word "mountain" included in its name; the only other that comes close is the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple. Folks who have lived in this area for generations marvel that a second LDS temple operates within the 84095 zip code. The Jordan River Utah Temple, dedicated in 1981 by President Marion G. Romney, is easily seen just a few miles to the northeast from the entrance of the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. South Jordan is the only municipality in the world with two such edifices.
It's perhaps apropos that the areas surrounding the new temple have long been known for their rich fertility and resources. For generations, the southwest corner of the Salt Lake Valley was a stretch of land where people from such towns as Bluffdale, Herriman, Copperton and West Jordan raised alfalfa and cattle and mined copper. In 1848, President Brigham Young dispatched many prominent pioneers to settle this area west of the Jordan River.
A miller named Archibald Gardner was assigned in 1859 to lead the "Western Jordan" congregation that included all the pioneer settlements west of the local river named for its biblical counterpart. Two years later, the first non-log permanent Church building outside of Salt Lake City was constructed under the direction of Bishop Gardner. That building — known as the Rock Meeting House — still stands in West Jordan.
Oftentimes, a new temple signals unprecedented access to the Lord's most sacred buildings in places where the Church is young and developing. That's not the case with the Church's 130th temple. Members here today have always enjoyed easy access to temples, including the Draper Utah Temple to the east that was dedicated just six months ago. Still, this unique moment of temple building has provided many with the opportunity to meet President Monson's challenge to "rededicate" their own lives to temple worship and gospel living.
South Jordan residents Ray and Mary Stock spent the better part of two months performing hospitality duties during the temple open house and subsequent dedication. They said their own lives were forever changed as they witnessed the temple's influence on visitors of all ages and backgrounds.
"It was amazing to see the change in people's hearts from the time they came to the temple to the time that they left," said Brother Stock.
During one of the final dedication sessions, the Stocks were able to escort an elderly woman to the base of the temple's grand staircase as folks throughout the building's many rooms and halls joined in singing "The Spirit of God." The sound, said Brother Stock, was angelic, and the woman wept.
With the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple open house and dedication forever preserved in photographs and journal entries, faithful members such as the Stocks said they are now focused on the sacred work for which the temple was built.
Sister Stock said she could hardly wait for her ward's upcoming temple night so she could return to the edifice she has grown to love over the past several weeks.
"It was such a sacred experience working everyday with [the companionship] of the Holy Ghost," she said. "I was in the temple for all nine sessions. ... I am newly dedicated as well. This experience has changed me."
Fellow member Ron McCabe spent the dedication weekend assigned to security outside the temple and being on call for any first-aid needs that might arise. As the ninth and final dedicatory session neared its conclusion, Brother McCabe considered the staggering responsibility that was commencing with the opening of the temple.
Now the temple is dedicated and the real work begins, said Brother McCabe.
This Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple — like all temples — is synonymous with families. Following the dedication, President Layton said it is his prayer that families living in the new district do all they can to realize the blessings of the temple with parents, spouses, children, siblings and grandchildren.
"We invite our members to come to the temple as families and to do all they can here with their families."
Ultimately, he added, the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple stands as another of the Lord's sacred forums. It is here where the faithful can "go up to the mountain" to learn His ways and walk in His paths. The excitement and gratitude for such a building need never fade.
"My heart and soul are stirred every time I pass the recommend desk," President Layton said. "There is nothing routine about it."
