William Randall Cone had just lately returned from San Francisco, worldly smart and considerably jaded towards faith, when he accepted an invite from his brother to assist construct the Washington D.C. Temple within the Seventies.

It was then, engaged on a workforce filled with former missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that Cone’s curiosity was piqued in his brother’s religion. “These building employees I used to be working with had been terrific folks,” Cone stated. “They had been fascinating. They had been attention-grabbing. They had been humorous. However they had been all the time trustworthy. I imply, who’s all the time trustworthy? It was wonderful. And I believed, ‘Who wouldn’t wish to be like this? How are they this manner?’”

“And but,” he provides, “I used to be blessed past measure. I used to be given the instruments — and so they’re right here in [the Washington D.C. Temple] — to deal ethically and virtuously with each circumstance that this world can throw at you.”

Now, greater than 4 a long time later, Cone is rejoicing with different Latter-day Saints as the home of the Lord he helped construct reopens after a serious renovation and an prolonged open home delay as a result of COVID-19.

The Open Home and Temple Rededication

These coming to the Washington D.C. Temple open home ought to perceive that Latter-day Saints think about temples to be probably the most sacred area on this planet. Ceremonies in every temple train the aim of life and unite households, previous and current. The mere presence of temples in communities across the globe reminds Latter-day Saints of the significance of getting religion within the widespread Father of all humanity, the necessity for fixed enchancment of the soul, the opportunity of household relationships that attain past the grave, and the salvation that comes solely by means of the grace of Jesus Christ.

The Washington D.C. Temple open home will start with non-public excursions for invited friends from April 19 to April 27. A public open home will begin on April 28 and prolong for a number of months (excluding Sundays). Open home ticket data is obtainable at dctemple.org.

A youth devotional will probably be held on August 13, adopted by the temple rededication on August 14 in three periods. The youth devotional and rededication will probably be broadcast for all congregations within the Washington D. C. Temple district.

What Was Renovated?

The temple first opened in 1974 and closed in March 2018 for a big renovation. Vitality-efficient mechanical, electrical and lighting techniques all through the 160,000-square-foot construction have been put in, as has new plumbing.

Dan Holt, challenge supervisor for the Washington D.C. Temple renovation challenge, stated the intent was to “deliver the constructing again to its unique glory” as a midcentury trendy construction. A gothic arch motif that directs eyes heavenward is prevalent all through — in altars, carpeting, gold leafing and the reframed stained glass home windows (now backlit with LED lights for extra prominence) on the east and west of the temple. The home windows’ colours develop into lighter as they close to the spire. This design, Holt stated, signifies the “brighter mild we’ve got and the data we obtain from the gospel as we be taught and develop and ascend to be extra like our Heavenly Father.”

The temple exterior is manufactured from Alabama white marble, quarried in Sylacauga, Alabama. Quickly after the constructing was accomplished in 1974, Alabama quarries stopped producing retail slab marble, making it unattainable to seek out substitute marble of the identical coloration ought to the Church ever want it because the temple aged. However in 2016, a marble quarry reopened, permitting the Church to buy the stone that matches the temple’s exterior. This marble, Holt stated, has a silver veining that turns gold over time because it oxidizes and is uncovered to water and daylight. Over time, the newly put in marble will assimilate with the remainder of the unique temple stone.

A Image of the Church’s Future

The Washington D.C. Temple was the Church’s first temple constructed east of the Mississippi River because the Nauvoo Temple greater than a century earlier.