In his first trip out of the Salt Lake Valley since his mild heart attack last October, a vigorous President Ezra Taft Benson broke ground Feb. 27 for the San Diego California Temple.
It was a significant day for members in San Diego and surrounding areas, and memorable for President Benson, who presided for the first time at a temple goundbreaking.Accompanying President Benson was President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency, who spoke and dedicated the site for the temple. Also speaking were Elder Wm. Grant Bangerter of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy, executive director of the Temple Department; and Elder Gene R. Cook of the First Quorum of the Seventy and president of the North America West Area. Sister Flora Benson, Sister Frances Monson, Sister Geri Bangerter and Sister Janelle Cook accompanied their husbands. Rep. Ron Packard, R-San Diego, and federal Judge J. Clifford Wallace, both members, also attended.
During the meeting, sand-laced gusts of wind peppered the gathering of about 400 leaders and their families. Bursts of wind, however, were the only disturbances from a passing storm front from which rain had been predicted. The group clustered on a ridge just above the San Diego Freeway in the north San Diego suburb of La Jolla, where the temple will be erected during the next two to three years. Some 160,000 cars a day pass by the site on the freeway. Drivers will have a full view of the temple's four stories and multiple spires that will rise sharply to a final height of 190 feet, topped by a statue of the Angel Moroni. Construction is expected to begin later this month.
About 65,000 members live in the 15 stakes in the San Diego Temple District, including four stakes in nearby Mexico.
About 2,000 members also gathered in the afternoon at the San Diego North Stake Center to hear addresses of President Benson and President Monson and other leaders.
In his first address outside of Utah in more than four months, President Benson emphasized the importance of fortifying families through temple ordinances and proper teaching.
The temple, he said in forceful tones, will bring blessings to the entire area. It will bring blessings to the entire area. It will be "a beacon to members and non-members alike," and "will be a standing witness that the power of God can stay the powers of evil in our midst."
"Many parents in and out of the Church are concerned about protection against the cascading evil of wickedness which threatens to engulf the world," he said.
"There is a power associated with the ordinances of heaven, even the power of godliness, which can and will thwart the forces of evil if we will be worthy of those sacred covenants available and made in the temple of God. Our families will be protected, our children will be safeguarded as we live the gospel, visit the temple and live close to the Lord."
Parents who point to the temple where they were married can instill the ideal of temple marriage into the hearts and minds of children while very young. "If our children and their children are taught well by us, this temple will have special significance," said President Benson. "It will be an ever-present reminder that God intends the family to be eternal."
President Benson said that holy places are set apart and consecrated so that worthy men and women can learn the order of heaven and obey God's will.
"The saints have been commanded to stand in holy places, such as our temples, in order to avoid the tribulations which are to come in the latter days," he said.
"A temple is a constant visible symbol that God has not left man to grope in darkness," he said.
In his address at the alter assembly, President Benson expressed his love for Sister Benson, for his family, his counselors and members of the Church.
"God bless you my brothers and sisters," he said, "I love you with all my soul. I am so grateful for all of you."
In his address, President Monson reminisced about his experiences in San Diego, commenting that he had served his entire Navy duty here 43 years earlier. "It is like coming home for me," he said. "I should like to express appreciation to all of you for the many sailors from all of the homes of Latter-day Saints who came though San Diego during that tumultuous period of World War II and the subsequent period.
"I will never forget your kindness at the Balboa Ward, the congenial smiles, and the firmness of testimonies, to let us know that while we were far away from home, we were never far away from God."
He encouraged members to remember the military men and women who have preserved our sacred freedoms. "May we look forward for the time that we may perform work for those who have gone beyond," he said. "Remember the endowment is like a compass to our lives, pointing the way we would go."
President Monson also spoke of the Mormon Battalion that passed by this area some 140 years earlier. "Even the sand that is blowing may serve as a reminder of the men of that Mormon Battalion who walked through sand much more severe than we are experiencing today," he said. This battalion "came to this very location, among others, on that historic march, the longest march in American history among any who have served their country."
President Monson, in dedicating the coastal temple site, asked "that it may be held sacred, and that it may be a gathering place for all of the saints in this area."
"We pray that those who may be unbelievers who may come to scoff may return to pray. . . . May we, as we see stone placed upon stone in the erection of this temple, build those same building blocks into our very lives that we may grow as temples unto thee."
Elder Bangerter said that if present schedules are met, the San Diego Temple will be the 45th in the Church when completed in two or three years.
"We have noted the faithfulness of the members of the Church in San Diego in attending the temple in Los Angeles," he said. "People in this area have been among the most faithful." He encouraged members to maintain that level of commitment even when the goal becomes easier to achieve.
"In these days when we are being taught to come unto Christ, the ordinances of the temple are absolutely essential," he said.
Elder Cook noted that the first members to the area were the Mormon Battalion, who came in 1847, and that the first California branch was organized in 1869. "Now we have 50,000 plus in the San Diego area, and 600,000 in California," he said.
As the groundbreaking signified the turning over of topsoil, so it would be "a good day for all of us to turn over a new leaf, another page in the book of life," Elder Cook said. He urged members to examine their lives "with intent to re-dedicate ourselves."
Also speaking at the event was Donald R. McArthur, co-chairman of the temple committee, who outlined the decade-long search for property. Despite delays, "We are on the Lord's timetable," he said. He noted that members of the district have already contributed 150 percent of their share for the temple, and commitments are still being met.
Another who spoke briefly was Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a former regional representative who has been considered for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. A native of San Diego, he said he has watched the Church grow here during his entire lifetime. "The crowning of all we have done will be the House of the Lord," he said.
