Oquirrh Mountain Temple

My daughter Amy and I attended a satellite broadcast of the groundbreaking for the new Oquirrh Mountain, Utah Temple. After looking at the design of this temple, the exterior reminds me somewhat of the Nauvoo, Illinois temple.

It was a cold and snowy morning, but a large tent had been erected around the groundbreaking site. The tent was heated, and equipped with an organ. 1The First Presidency, several members of the Quorum of the Twelve, The Presiding Bishopric, and a few members of the Seventy were there. The audience was made up of Stake Presidents, and their families who reside within the new temple district.

A a beautiful sounding choir was also there. They sounded angelic and glorious! They sang common hymns found in the LDS Hymnbook, but they were special arrangements. I would not be surprised if they were specially arranged for this occasion.

All three members of the First Presidency spoke -- just 4-5 minute talks each. I was pleased to see President Faust feeling well enough to stand while giving his talk. President Faust spoke of a prophecy, from long ago, attributed to Brigham Young, that envisioned the Jordan River as being the center of the city, and that one-day there would be three million people in the valley. (We're somewhere around 1 million right now in Salt Lake County -- 2 million if you count the whole Wasatch Front.)

Originally, the name of the new temple was to be the "South Jordan, Utah" temple (that's what it said on our program too!) However, President Hinckley announced at the groundbreaking service that they had decided to change the name so as not to have this temple confused with the Jordan River Temple, which also happens to be in the city of South Jordan, Utah. When the Oquirrh Mountain Temple is completed, South Jordan, Utah will be the only city in the world that will have two LDS temples.

President Hinckley then offered the dedicatory prayer, dedicating the site for the construction of the temple. His prayer included all those who will work on the temple, that they may remember the special and sacred nature of this building, and do their work with the skill and care that this project will require.

After the prayer, and the close of the service, the ceremonial groundbreaking took place.

As you can see by the photo, they hauled in some fresh top soil for the occasion. They also erected a little platform, not unlike the deck of a swimming pool, covered in artificial turf. President Hinckley joked that, "This is kind of fake!" with the hauled in top soil.

However, the top soil served its purpose. Church leaders, civic leaders, and a representative of the Land Development company that donated the Land all had their turns.

Then they turned the shovels loose. Anyone in the tent, who had a desire, was invited to come and turn a spade of earth. There were several children present in the audience. What a great experience, especially for them.

You can read more about the groundbreaking in the Deseret News article here.

Temple Facts

Oquirrh Mountain, Utah Temple
Temple Site: 11 acres
Floor Space: 60,000 Square Feet
Location: 11022 S 4000 W, South Jordan, Utah
Wall Height: 63 feet
Spire Height: 193 feet
Exterior Finish: Light beige granite from China

Just to get an idea of how the size of this new temple, compares to the size of other existing temples, I looked up the following information from an LDS Temples web site:

Temple Square Footage Comparisons:

Salt Lake Temple: 253,000 sq. ft.
Jordan River Temple: 148,000 sq. ft.
Provo, Utah Temple: 128,000 sq. ft
Mount Timpanogos Temple: 107, 000 sq. ft
Manti, Utah Temple: 100,000 sq. ft.

Oquirrh Mountain, Utah Temple: 60,000 sq. ft.

Draper, Utah Temple: 57,000 sq. ft. (Under Construction)
Nauvoo, Illinois Temple: 54,000 sq. ft.
Dallas, Texas Temple: 47,000 sq. ft.
Chicago, Illinois Temple: 30,000 sq. ft.
Monticello, Utah Temple: 11,000 sq. ft.

Eternal Life

We recently visited St. George to visit Dawn Ann's parents, and her Sister Tina. While there, I wanted to continue my quest of photographing LDS Temples. I have never actually been inside the St. George Temple. But that will change in February, when here Nephew, Neil, will be married there.

We were fortunate to get there in the late afternoon, and found that the cloud patterns overhead provided wonderful leading lines toward the temple.

Bryan and I returned there one evening for some nighttime photos. Once again I used my mini-tripod. I had Bryan set the self-timer on the camera. I would like to get him involved in photography, if possible. It is something that we could both enjoy together. We'll see how it works out. You can see more of our St. George Temple Photos here.

I wanted show some of these photos because I have been thinking about our own mortality, especially in light of the passing of Lt. Scott Lundell in Afghanistan.

Even though there is great loss, there is also great hope. Temples symbolize that hope, which comes to us through Christ's redemption from the dead. Covenants once made in temples, and then kept throughout life, will result in eternal relationships with our loved ones. Through Christ, we will all be resurrected. Death will be deprived of its temporary victory.

In time, death will come to each of us. Some will live to a ripe old age. Others of us will be called home sooner -- and even sometimes at inopportune times. However, death is a temporary separation. Eventually we will join our loved ones in the Spirit World, and together there await the glorious resurrection day.

These beautiful temples inspire me to think of things eternal. The cares and worries of our day-to-day struggles melt away, as I consider life from an eternal perspective. They stand as reminders of what is truly important, and bolster our faith in Christ, and help us trust in His promises to us.

Chicago Temple

While visiting the Chicago area, I wanted to visit the LDS Temple in Chicago. Much like the meetinghouse locater, there is a web site that will give you driving directions, hours of operation, and other information about the temple. I was able to locate the temple without too much trouble.

The temple is located in a suburb North of Chicago, called Glenview. The community is a nice area, but not ritzy either. It is located near a forest preserve, which was amzinging beautiful, right there in the heart of the suburbs along the Des Plaines River.

This gives you a good idea of what the forest preserve along the Des Plaines River looks like. The forest preserve is about 28 miles long, and about 2-3 miles wide. It goes through the city limits of many municiplaities in the area. The bike trail is pictured here, but there are also campgrounds, picnic areas, and hiking trails.

The wilderness aspects of the preserve make for a nice neighbor to the temple.

I actually visited the temple grounds 3 times on my trip. The first time was on Sunday after I attended church. I took some daytime photos that day, but could not go onto the temple grounds because it is closed on Sunday.

The second time, I took my handy mini-tripod, and took some nighttime picutres. Some of them came out quite nice. By now I was getting good at taking time exposures with my tripod and the self timer. You can see more of my Chicago Temple pictures here.

My third visit was on Thursday night, my last night in the Chicago area. I attended a session at the temple. Class let out early that day, and I was able to get there in time for the 5:00 pm session. It was a small session, 5 men and 2 women. But it was nice. It was as beautiful on the inside as it was on the outside.

I spent a lot of time at the temple in my three visits. But I couldn't think of a place I would rather be. -- Besides, it kept me out of trouble!