Recent Temple News

We've posted many stories on Elliot's blog about temples, including, most recently. the open house at the new Kansas City Temple. In the past couple of weeks there have been several stories on the Church website about the development of new temples, so I thought it would be fun to compile those stories here. Click on the links to the titles of each story to read more, and enjoy the photos and videos embedded below.

• “Stately and Magnificent” Mormon Kansas City Missouri Temple Dedicated

On Sunday, May 6, President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the Kansas City Temple. He said this “stately and magnificent temple in the lovely part of the country, really the heartland of America, ... will shine as a beacon of righteousness to all who will follow its light — the light of the gospel, the light of the Savior.”

The Kansas City Missouri Temple is the Church's 137th temple worldwide, 67th in the United States and second in Missouri. The temple will serve some 45,000 Latter-day Saints in 126 congregations throughout Kansas, Missouri and small portions of Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Video: Kansas City Missouri Temple Dedication



Video: Kansas City Missouri Temple Cultural Celebration

• Ground Broken for Provo, Utah’s Second Temple

The Church broke ground for the new temple in Provo on May 12. The temple will be built on the site of the Provo Tabernacle, which burned in December 2010. The building was originally constructed from 1883 to 1898 at a cost of $100,000 and was a historic treasure for the Church. It was also a community gathering place for meetings and cultural events. One such popular event was Handel's Messiah sung each year at Christmastime in the tabernacle.

President Jeffrey R. Holland spoke at the groundbreaking:

What an absolute stunning site! It is a picture-perfect day in Utah County. The temple site is filled with faithful people making history. . . . You can tell people Elder Holland was downright giddy today about the temple groundbreaking.

• Connecticut and Indiana Mormon Temple Renderings Released

The Church recently released renderings for two new temples first announced at the October 2010 General Conference. The proposed plans call for the Hartford Connecticut Temple to be built at 1024 Farmington Avenue in Farmington, Connecticut (map). The Indianapolis Indiana Temple site (in the city of Carmel on the southwest corner of the intersection of W116th and Spring Mill Road (map)) was announced in January 2011. Renderings of both temples are below.

Hartford Connecticut Temple

Indianapolis Indiana Temple

• Manaus Brazil Temple Opens To the Public

The new temple in Manaus Brazil opened to the public on May 18 for an open house, following a media tour on May 16. It will remain open to the public until June 2. The temple will be formally dedicated on June 10 in three sessions. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to congregations of the Church within the temple district.In conjunction with the dedication of the temple, there will also be a cultural celebration featuring music and dance on June 9.

• Star Valley Wyoming Temple Site Announced

The Star Valley Wyoming temple, first announced at the October 2011 General Conference, will be constructed east of U.S. Highway 89 on the Haderlie Farm property south of Afton, Wyoming. It is the first temple in Wyoming and will serve members living in the western part of the state, who now travel approximately 1.5 hours to Idaho Falls and Rexburg, Idaho, for temple services.

“We truly believe this new temple will be a great asset not only to members of the Church but also to the people of the surrounding community, who will benefit from the peace and beauty a temple brings,” said Jerry Hansen, local spokesman for the Church. “Temples are where members participate in the highest sacraments of our faith — where we make and renew promises to God and to our families.”

Once construction of the new temple begins, it is expected to take approximately two years to complete.

• Mormon Beliefs Explained at Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center Exhibit

What do Mormons believe? Are they Christian? How do they worship? Those are a sampling of questions answered by a new exhibit in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ (Mormons) visitors’ center in Washington, D.C. The visitors’ center, which draws thousands of people each year, is adjacent to the Washington D.C. Temple.

“If people are going to ask questions, we need to do everything we can to give them the answers,” said Elder Don Olsen, visitors’ center director. “The Church has many resources to provide people with answers to their questions. We have a beautiful exhibit space and decided we should use it to help in that effort.”

The exhibit, entitled “We Follow Jesus Christ,” will be on display at the visitors’ center through the end of August. It provides answers to 24 questions about the Church that seem to have captured most people’s interest.

Unto All the World: "The Book of Mormon Testifies of Christ"

A central purpose of the Book of Mormon is to convince all people that Jesus is the Christ.  (Title page to the Book of Mormon.)  The Church has produced a video with testimonies of the prophets and apostles affirming the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and its message of the divinity of Christ.  From the Church website, Elder Perry explains:

The Book of Mormon “tells us of the plain and precious truths of the gospel,” says Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In its pages we learn of “the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for all mankind.”

Elder Holland adds:

The Book of Mormon offers a safe harbor from despair, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles teaches, through the “power of Christ to counter all troubles in all times. ... That is the message with which the Book of Mormon begins, and that is the message with which it ends, calling all to ‘come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.’” For us to receive the “fullest measure of peace and comfort,” he says, we must embrace “the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies.”

Finally, President Monson urges all of us to develop our own testimonies of the Book of Mormon:

“If you have not read the Book of Mormon, read it,” President Thomas S. Monson urges. “If you do so prayerfully and with a sincere desire to know the truth, the Holy Ghost will manifest its truth to you.”

Enjoy the video after the jump.

Mormon Messages: "Book of Mormon: An Introduction"

We posted a few stories recently on the history of the Bible and a current exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art (here, here, and here).  The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and serves as a companion scripture to the Bible.  The Church recently released a video (below) to introduce the Book of Mormon to those who may be less familiar with its history, its provenance, and its relevance to our lives today.  Narrating the video is Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elliot's purpose as a missionary is to share the message of Jesus Christ, as contained in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  Preach My Gospel teaches:

The testimony of the Book of Mormon confirms the testimony of the Bible that Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God and the Savior of the world. As you teach the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will testify often about the Savior and Redeemer of the world. By the power of the Holy Ghost, you will add your living witness of the truthfulness of this message.

Please enjoy the video.  And if you'd like to receive a free copy of the Book of Mormon, you can order one here.  You can also receive a free copy of the Bible here.

Mormon Messages: "An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ"

With Easter just a week ago, it seems appropriate to share the words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland as he describes his thoughts on the Savior and His life and sacrifice for all of us.  His address, "None Were With Him," was given at the April 2009 General Conference.  Elder Holland's concluding challenge to each of us is powerful:

He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance, that never again will He find only unresponsive onlookers when He sees you and me along His Via Dolorosa in our present day. As we approach this holy week—Passover Thursday with its Paschal Lamb, atoning Friday with its cross, Resurrection Sunday with its empty tomb—may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,” [Mosiah 18:9] for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.

Enjoy the video after the jump.

Elliot's August 26 letter home

Elliot wrote us a letter the same day as his last email, so there was not a lot of news.  He was excited that Elder Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke at the MTC and he recounted some of Elder Holland's comments.  I especially liked his comments about missionary work being a battle.  Elliot quoted Elder Holland: "We're not shooting bullets, we're handing out bandages."  Elliot explained that these words made him very happy because "all I really wanna do is make other people happy.  And I hope that people will be willing to hear what I have to say."  Somehow, I think they will.  He also told us that Carlton Reininger's companion was in Elliot's student ward at BYU.  Small world.  Here is a copy of his letter.