Standing in "quiet splendor among the trees of the forest," the Portland Oregon Temple was dedicated Aug. 19-21.
A total of 40,942 members from the temple district's 29 stakes in Oregon and four in Washington attended the dedication of the Church's 42nd operating temple, located about eight miles south of downtown Portland. Some 90,000 members reside in the temple district.President Ezra Taft Benson presided over and briefly addressed each of three dedicatory sessions on Saturday, Aug. 19. President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, presided over four dedicatory sessions Sunday, Aug. 20. President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency, presided over the final four sessions Monday, Aug. 21.
Preceding the first dedicatory session on Aug. 19 was an 8 a.m. ceremony in which the temple's symbolic cornerstone was placed in a recess of the edifice.
Behind the cornerstone was sealed a box containing the scriptures, photographs, historical records, artifacts and other selected items pertinent to the Church in this part of the Northwest.
President Benson was the first to wield a trowel of mortar. His counselors, several General Authorities, Relief Society Gen. Pres. Barbara W. Winder, local priesthood leaders, members of the temple committee and temple presidency placed mortar around the stone.
Long lines of members waiting to enter the temple symbolized their long wait for the day a temple would open its doors in Oregon. With 55 television monitors placed in 39 viewing areas throughout the temple, each session accommodated up to 3,900 members. Music for the sessions was provided by combined stake choirs from the temple district.
Throughout the dedicatory sessions, expressions of praise and thanksgiving were given in glory and honor to the Lord for blessing members to have a temple in their midst.
Among the most humble, yet powerful, expressions of gratitude were those offered by President Benson, who recently observed his 90th birthday. President Benson, accompanied by his wife, Flora, traveled by plane early Aug. 19, arriving in time for the cornerstone ceremony and departing shortly after the third dedicatory session that afternoon.
At times the prophet's voice boomed a strong and powerful testimony. "The Lord is blessing this work," he testified. "I thank the Lord for temples. God bless you who will join in the great temple work of the Lord. . . . Bless you as you go forward in this great work. It is true and I know it."
After a brief pause, President Benson continued, "I thank the Lord for you, and for all that you do. This is your temple. . . . This temple is going to have a great mission, and some day you will find it."
President Benson spoke of his mother-in-law who was a temple worker and of his parents who went to the temple regularly. He said he and Sister Benson attend the temple nearly every week. "I want you to know we are a temple-going family," he exclaimed. "I love the temples of the Lord."
President Hinckley delivered the dedicatory prayer during the opening session, and spoke during the cornerstone ceremony and five dedicatory sessions. President Monson conducted the cornerstone ceremony and spoke during six dedicatory sessions.
In one of his addresses, President Hinckley referred to the dedicatory prayer of Solomon's Temple, in which Solomon prayed, "Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant . . . hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive." (2 Chron. 6:21.)
President Hinckley said of today's temple: "This is a house of forgiveness. This is a place of repentance. The Lord will forgive if we repent sincerely and in faith. This is a house that must be clean. That cleanliness is not particularly in the drapes, carpets and walls; that cleanliness is in the hearts of the people who come here."
In another session, President Hinckley said of the temple, "This is where we all stand equally before the Lord. When the president of the Church comes to the temple, he comes with recommend in hand and he dresses as all others. Here, he makes the same covenants, enters the same obligations and takes upon himself the same responsibilities. . . .
"We live in a world saturated with evil. It is all around us. Evil and vicious men exploit the mind. We need the peace, the solemn, wonderful peace of the house of the Lord where we may gather in His holy name and do His sacred work. There is something to be had here that can be had no where else. There is no compensation for service in terms of the coin of the world, but somehow there is a balm in these houses, a healing if you please, in these sacred places different from all others."
President Monson, in one address, made an analogy between the cleansing properties of a river's fresh waters and the temple.
He spoke of how barnacles become attached to the hulls of sea-going ships, slowing and damaging them. Putting the ship into dry dock to have the barnacles chiseled off is costly and time consuming. The wise captain, said President Monson, comes up the Columbia and Willamette rivers to Portland, 100 miles from the ocean. "In the fresh water, the barnacles automatically fall from the hull of the ship, and the ship takes on new vigor, able to return to sea unhindered," he said.
"This day, we have this magnificent temple, which should be a refuge for those who are carrying more burdens than they should. As we incur tremendous burdens, our progress is impaired. We need to get to the clear, pure waters of the temple. When this is accomplished and we leave the temple, we are better prepared to meet the challenges of life and be prepared to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father."
Throughout the sessions President Hinckley and President Monson addressed, they frequently directed comments to hundreds of boys and girls. (Minimum age for attending the dedication was 8.) They affirmed the temple is not just for the youngsters' parents and other grown-ups.
"You can come here when you are 12 years of age and do baptisms for the dead, important work that needs to be done," said President Hinckley to the boys and girls. "When you get older, before you go on a mission, you can come here and be endowed, receiving gifts and blessings that are given nowhere else. When you grow up and fall in love with the most wonderful man or the most wonderful woman in all the world, you can come to the temple and be married and sealed together."
President Monson encouraged young people attending the dedication to "touch the temple's carpets and chairs; touch the temple and let it touch you."
During the last session of the dedication on Aug. 21, mention was made that President Monson was observing his 62nd birthday. Instead of receiving a gift, he presented one to a child attending the dedication. From the congregation in the celestial room, he called Veronica Garner, 12, of the Lake Oswego (Ore.) Ward to stand by his side at the podium. He removed a solitary white rose from a flower arrangement and presented it to Veronica, saying, "I want you to always keep this as part of this temple, and come back here and get married for time and all eternity."
Veronica's white rose is only a tangible reminder of the dedication of the Portland Oregon Temple. For the thousands who attended, myriad blossoms were collected from a spiritual garden of memories.
(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)
General Authority, Relief Society speakers at rites
First Presidency: President Ezra Taft Benson, President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Thomas S. Monson.
Council of the Twelve: President Howard W. Hunter; and Elders Boyd K. Packer, Marvin J. Ashton, L. Tom Perry, David B. Haight, James E. Faust, Dallin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard, Joseph B. Wirthlin and Richard G. Scott.
Presidency of the Seventy: Elders Wm. Grant Bangerter, Robert L. Backman and J. Richard Clarke.
First Quorum of the Seventy: Elders Rex C. Reeve and Robert L. Simpson.
Second Quorum of the Seventy: Elders Robert B. Harbertson, L. Lionel Kendrick and Gerald E. Melchin.
Presiding Bishopric: Bishop Henry B. Eyring.
Relief Society: Gen. Pres. Barbara Winder.
Portland Oregon Temple facts
Ground breaking: Sept. 20, 1986, by President Gordon B. Hinckley of the First Presidency.
Beginning of construction: Oct. 27, 1986.
Open house: June 15-July 8, 1989. Total number of visitors: 314,232.
Dedication: 11 sessions, Aug. 19-21, 1989.
First endowment sessions: Aug. 22, 1989, attended by regional representatives, stake presidencies, high councilors and their wives. The temple is to open Aug. 29 to all patrons.
Presidency: L. Edward (Ted) Perry, Thomas D. Cottle and Reed Oldroyd. Temple matron, Nell Perry; assistant matrons, Mary Lou Cottle, Aileen Oldroyd. Recorder, Stan Hemphill; assistant recorder, Gary C. Haroldsen.
