Los Angeles California Temple
The Los Angeles California Temple is the 10th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The First Presidency of the Church announced on March 6, 1937, that a temple would be built in Los Angeles, California. On March 23, 1937, a site was found and purchased from the Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Company by President of the Church at the time Heber J. Grant. However, the onset of World War II and financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression stopped construction. During this time, modifications were made to the plans of the temple, a priesthood room was added as well as a spire with an angel Moroni statue. These modifications made the Los Angeles Temple more like the Salt Lake Temple. With its completion, the Los Angeles Temple was the first of twelve temples to be built in California.
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Groundbreaking Ceremony, Open House, Dedication
A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held on September 22, 1951. David O. McKay presided at the ceremony. The site of the temple is thirteen acres overlooking Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles. The exterior finish of the temple is Mo-Sai stone facing, which is a mixture of crushed quartz and cement. The wainscot of the exterior is Rockville granite quarried in Minnesota. The temple grounds are beautifully landscaped with rare trees and plants and includes Canary Island Pine trees, palm trees, Bird of Paradise trees, olive trees, and Chinese Ginkgo trees. The grounds also feature two fountains, a reflection pool, and numerous statues. Also located on the site are other Church facilities such as a meetinghouse, a baseball field, a Family History library, apartments for missionaries, and the headquarters for the Los Angeles Mission.
In October of 1954, a fifteen-and-a-half-foot angel Moroni statue was placed on top of the temple. During a visit to the temple, President David O. McKay noticed that the statue faced southeast. He informed the architect that the angel should be facing due east, and the statue was turned.
The temple was open to the public December 19, 1955, through February 18, 1956. The 650,000 who attended the open house were taken on tours of the 190,614-square-foot temple. Following its construction, the Los Angeles temple was the largest temple of the Church, but the Salt Lake Temple has since had additions making it the largest Latter-day Saint temple in the world. The Los Angeles temple is so large that it is able to accommodate 300 people per session. On the open house tour patrons were able to see the ten sealing rooms, four ordinance rooms, celestial room, baptistry, and other facilities used for carrying out Latter-day Saint beliefs associated with temple ordinances and covenants. The celestial room of the temple features murals on the walls, making it one of only two Latter-day Saint temples that have murals in the celestial room; the other is the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.
The dedication of the Los Angeles California Temple was held March 11-14, 1956. David O. McKay gave the dedicatory prayer.
Renovations
The temple has seen various changes since it was dedicated in 1956. Originally, patrons progressed through each ordinance room as part of one session. This was later changed to have patrons remain in one ordinance room for the entire session. As part of this change, one ordinance room was split and its beautiful murals removed. As part of the renovation in the 1990s, the split room was reunited and patrons again moved from room to room.
In 2005 the temple closed for major renovations. The temple required seismic retrofitting for current earthquake standards. As part of the renovation, the 50-year-old ventilation systems were updated and the entrance foyer interior was completely remodeled. It was hoped that the temple would be open in March 2006 for the 50th anniversary, but due to construction delays the temple was not reopened until July 2006.
In 2010 a two-year renovation and update for the Los Angeles temple visitors' center was completed. [1] The renovation includes the latest technology in interactive media. One new exhibit takes visitors to the Holy Land in a 2-D presentation. "The center was expanded by about 20 percent to 12,817 square feet. The renovation includes a 180-seat theater, complete with a multipurpose space for films, cultural performances and traveling exhibits." The Savior is the focus of the exhibit. The center re-opened to the public on August 7, 2010, and has added some historical exhibits. There are a history of the Los Angeles Temple, including previously unseen video, interviews from President David O. McKay and a “testimonial from the first June bride,” as well as artifacts from the 1956 dedication.
Other interesting facts about the Los Angeles temple:
- In the days when Church members within the temple district donated the entire cost of the temple, the Los Angeles temple required the largest ever contribution of about $1.6 million. According to the inflation calculator, that translates to roughly $15.4 million in today’s currency.
- It was the first temple to be built on the West Coast.
- Lighting the Los Angeles temple grounds for Christmas has been an annual event since 1979.
- All of the General Authorities and general officers of the Church attended the dedication except one, whose wife was ill.[2]
Temples in California
- Bakersfield California Temple
- Feather River California Temple
- Fresno California Temple
- Los Angeles California Temple
- Modesto California Temple
- Newport Beach California Temple
- Oakland California Temple
- Redlands California Temple
- Sacramento California Temple
- San Diego California Temple
- San Jose California Temple
- Yorba Linda California Temple
