Temples

This week the Church announced that it will be renovating the Ogden Temple. They will be completely changing and updating the exterior so it will look more like the new temples they are currently building. They will be creating what some may call the Ogden Temple Square. They will remove the steeple from the Ogden Tabernacle, change the entrance from the west to the east side, remove the parking garage, and completely redo the landscaping. The Church is also contributing $1.5 million to Ogden for a homeless shelter. I’m pleased that the Church is using its resources to not only in Haiti but here at home. The temple renovation will take place in the next couple of years. I’m excited about the Payson and Brigham City Temples which will soon be built. They will be within the 60 mile radius of our mission. I wondered why the Church was making such an investment in temples that are so close to each other especially here in Utah. I know how hard it is to staff the temple with workers. Then I remembered what happens when ward or stakes are divided. More people are needed and become actively involved. The same thing would be true with temples. More people would be needed, the temples would be closer, and people would really feel the Spirit of Elijah. It is miraculous to see how much more temple work is being done especially with new.FamilySearch. There is a need for more temples to meet the demand.
Friday we went to the Salt Lake Temple for Go Forth Day with our zone. It was amazing the changes which had come to the temple during its two week closure. They had completely re-carpeted the entire second floor as well as all of the stairs and halls. The new carpet in the halls and stairs is gold with the beehive motif. All of the chairs were replaced in the Telestial Room. They are now a rich dark brown with a brocade fabric. The ones in the Terrestrial Room are of a light wood with extra plush padding. They are also beginning to replace some of the carpeting on the main floor with marble floors because the traffic is so heavy. The Church prefers not to close the temples for extended time for renovations but tries to do things quickly during normal closures.
It was amazing what they did with the Jordan River Temple during the December closing—including replacing all the carpeting the dressing rooms. There are no plans to close the Salt Lake, Provo, or Jordan River Temples for further renovations. Even though the Ogden and Provo Temple are “twins” their locations are entirely different. In 2003, the Provo Temple had extensive renovation and landscaping changes when the Angel Moroni was added.
Incidentally, the Catholic Church started gathering money for a new St. Joseph the Worker Church on Redwood Road in 2004. They demolished the old building last fall and broke ground for the new building this past week.