Open House and Dedication Dates Announced
The Boston Temple will be the 100th temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, fulfilling an announcement made two years ago by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
In announcing a large number of new temples at the conclusion of the April 1998 Annual General Conference of the Church, President Hinckley said, “This will be a tremendous undertaking. Nothing even approaching it has ever been tried . . . we are moving on a scale the like of which we have never seen before.”
President Hinckley established a goal for the Church to have 100 temples dedicated and operating by the end of this year. The acceleration of temple building reflects President Hinckley’s desire to make the blessings of the temple more accessible to Latter-day Saints, many of whom must currently travel considerable distances to receive the eternal blessings available in these sacred buildings.
The 70,000 square-foot Boston Temple is distinguished by its large oval stained glass windows. It is built on a beautifully landscaped, seven-acre site with exterior stone of Olympia white granite from Italy. Once legal issues are resolved, plans call for the temple’s spire to be topped with a replica of the Angel Moroni statue by renowned Boston-area sculptor Cyrus Dallin.
Latter-day Saint temples are considered “Houses of the Lord” where the Savior’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other sacred ordinances that unite families for eternity.
The Church was first established in Massachusetts in 1832. It has since grown to over 16,000 members in the state. Elder Loren C. Dunn, President of the Boston Temple, said the 100th designation has historical importance: “Many of the leaders of the Church and many of the members of the Church in the early days, when the church was just getting started, either came from New England and Boston or could trace their roots back to New England and Boston.”
Public tours for the Boston Temple will begin 29 August through 5 September 2000. No tours will be offered on Sunday, 3 September. Tours will resume on 9 September and continue through 23 September. No tours will be offered Sunday, 10 September but the public will be welcomed for half a day on Sunday, 17 September.
The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, 1 October during four dedicatory sessions and will be open for ordinances on Monday, 2 October.
Once the Boston Temple is dedicated there will be 100 temples in operation with 21 additional temples announced or under construction. Currently, nearly 11 million people belong to the worldwide Church.
Click here for photo of Boston Temple.
