SALT LAKE CITY — The public is invited to tour the newly completed Columbia River Washington Temple in Richland, Wash. The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that an open house will begin on Saturday, 27 October 2001, and will continue through Saturday, 10 November 2001. No tours will be offered on Sunday, 28 October and Sunday, 4 November.
Following the public open house, the temple will be formally dedicated on Sunday, 18 November 2001. Four dedicatory sessions are scheduled to accommodate the Latter-day Saints in the area who will be attending the temple.
The Church dedicated temples in Seattle in 1980 and Spokane in 1999. On 2 April 2000, the Church announced plans to build a third temple in Washington. The Columbia River Washington Temple will serve more than 34,000 Latter-day Saints in southeast Washington in stakes (similar to dioceses) in Richland, Moses Lake, Yakima, Pasco, Kennewick, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Selah, Othello and Ephrata, along with a stake in Hermiston, Oregon.
Latter-day Saint temples differ from the hundreds of meetinghouses or churches where members typically meet for Sunday worship services and midweek social activities. Temples are considered "Houses of the Lord" where Christ's teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other sacred ordinances that unite families for eternity.
More than 11 million people belong to the worldwide Church in 162 countries and territories. There are nearly 230,000 members in Washington state who worship in 473 congregations. Currently, the Church has 106 operating temples, with 19 more announced or under construction.
# # #
Style guide note: When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For a subsequent reference, the full name or the contractions "the Church of Jesus Christ" or "the Church" are appropriate. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to
our online style
guide.
