Announced: April 20, 2001.
Location: 2110 California Circle, Rancho Cordova, CA 95742-6402. (916) 357-5870.
Exterior finish: Temple white granite from Fuzhou, China.
Temple design: Classic elegance.
Site: 47 acres.
Architects: Brian Everett and Maury Maher of Nichols, Melburg & Rossetto of Fair Oaks, Calif.
Project manager: Vern Hancock.
Contractor: Okland Construction of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Rooms: Celestial room, baptistry, two ordinance rooms, four sealing rooms.
Total floor area: 19,500 square feet.
Dimensions: 220-feet by 120-feet by 131-feet.
District: 21 stakes in northern California.
Groundbreaking, site dedication: Aug. 22, 2004, by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Dedication: Sept. 3, 2006, by President Gordon B. Hinckley; four sessions.
Dedicatory Prayer
Done by President Gordon B. Hinckley
O God, our Eternal Father, Thou great Elohim, in the name of Thy Beloved Son, we come unto Thee in solemn prayer.
This is a time of great significance to us, Thy sons and daughters, when we dedicate this, the Sacramento California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Now, acting in the authority of Thy holy priesthood, we dedicate and consecrate unto Thee and unto Thy Son this sacred structure as the house of the Lord, a house of holy ordinances, where Thine eternal work may be carried forward.
We ask that Thou wilt accept it as a gift of love for Thee and for Thy Son.
We dedicate the ground on which it stands with its beautiful plantings. We dedicate the foundation, the walls, and the roof with the crowning figure of Moroni. We dedicate all of the interior elements with all of the appurtenances
associated therewith, the baptistry, the ordinance rooms, the sealing rooms, the offices, and the magnificent celestial room.
May Thy watch care be over this sacred edifice. Keep it from the destructive elements of nature and from the hand of the vandal. If any hand be raised against it, may it be summarily stricken down.
May no unworthy individual enter these sacred portals. May all who serve here in any capacity, be they workers or patrons, be worthy in every respect. Wilt Thou impress upon their minds an understanding of the sacred work in which they will be engaged.
We invoke Thy blessings on those who will preside in this temple, the president and his counselors, the matron and her assistants. Give them strength that they will not weary in their dedicated service.
We pray for this nation of which we are citizens, that the liberties and freedoms of the people may be preserved, that righteousness may reign, and peace may prevail. Take from our hearts all bitterness and hatred, and end the conflicts which rage in many quarters.
We pray for this great State of California. This temple, in the environs of the capital city, joins its six sister institutions in providing for the needs of Thy faithful Saints in this part of the nation.
Father, this house has been made possible by the tithes and offerings of Thy people throughout the world. Keep Thine ancient promise unto them. Open the windows of heaven and shower blessings upon them, such that there will not be room
to contain them. Bless them for their faithfulness.
We thank Thee, O Father, for the restoration of the gospel through the instrumentality of Thy prophet Joseph Smith, with the authority and the keys related to work for both the living and the dead. As he prayed at Kirtland:
“Deliver thy people from the calamity of the wicked; enable thy servants to seal up the law, and bind up the testimony” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:46).
Bless Thy Church that it “may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.
“And be adorned as a bride for that day when thou shalt unveil the heavens, and cause the mountains to flow down at thy presence, and the valleys to be exalted, the rough places made smooth; that thy glory may fill the earth” (Doctrine and Covenants. 109:73-74).
Now in conclusion, dear Father, we ask that Thou wilt bless Thy servants whom Thou hast called to preside over this work. Give them wisdom and energy to do what Thou hast called them to do. Make them adequate to every responsibility that has been placed upon them.
For these things we humbly pray, to Thy glory and that of Thy Son, in the sacred and holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Awaited joy: Adding a new treasure to ’49 gold rush country
By Greg Hill
Church News staff writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In the area that sparked the California gold rush more than 160 years ago, Church members celebrated the dedication of a more precious treasure, the Sacramento California Temple, Sunday, Sept. 3.
President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the temple. Accompanying President Hinckley and participating in the four dedicatory sessions were President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency; Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve; Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy, and Elder Richard G. Hinckley of the Seventy. Sisters Barbara Perry, Melanie Rasband and Jane Hinckley also attended.
Joining those in the temple, members participated in the dedicatory services via satellite broadcast to meetinghouses in the 21 stakes of the temple district.
The joy of having a temple in Sacramento was expressed by Lisa West of the temple’s public affairs committee. “We have really waited a long time for a temple,” she said. “We have been patient and faithful. Today, our patience paid off. It’s done. It’s ready. It’s ours.”
Pioneers who sailed to California on the ship Brooklyn and members of the Mormon Battalion were part of the early history of the Sacramento area, settling in the area or traveling through on their way to Utah. A key factor leading to the gold rush was the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill where Battalion members were working.
Though most members moved from California in the mid-19th century, members moving into the area since then and the fruits of missionary work have strengthened the Church in the temple district. And for many years members have longed to have a temple in their midst.
Prior to volunteer duty during the dedication, Anthony and Stephanie Farnworth of the Sacramento 1st Ward, Sacramento California Stake, gazed with wonder through the fence at the temple. “It’s like it’s not even real,” Sister Farnworth said.
For Al Parker of the Payson 11th Ward, Payson Utah West Stake, the transition on the temple hill was remarkable. A convert to the Church and recently a member of a stake presidency in the Sacramento area, Brother Parker remembered playing basketball in the building adjacent to the temple located in Rancho Cordova, about 15 miles east of California’s capital city.
At that time, more than four decades ago, it was a recreation center for his employer, the Aerojet aerospace company. The Church purchased the property atop a low-rising hill in the early 1970s and converted the recreation center into a meetinghouse of the Fair Oaks California Stake. The Church continued to use the forested property for recreation such as picnics and camping, softball and volleyball. Even now, the forest is home to deer, wild turkeys, foxes and other animals that roam freely on the hill.
General growth has resulted in significant growth in the Church in the area recently, especially the suburbs of Sacramento, said Richard Linn, first counselor in the Rocklin California Stake presidency. He and his wife, Janet, attended the dedication with their children. Many people are moving from the San Francisco Bay area to the family-oriented area, he said.
The temple is “an answer to prayer and a blessing to members here,” he emphasized. He noted that there was some opposition to the temple at first, but it was overcome when many leaders of other churches spoke in favor of the temple. He credited that attitude to positive outreach and interfaith efforts by the Church.
There was very good coverage of the temple open house, cultural celebration and dedication by local media. Sister West said members of the media didn’t know much about the Church at first, but were eager to learn and were intrigued by what they found out. The media platform at the dedication’s cornerstone ceremony was packed with TV cameras and reporters.
The Sacramento temple fills in an area between the Oakland, Reno and Fresno temples. Most members of the new district previously traveled to the temple in Oakland, and many attending the dedication expressed gratitude for the blessing of a temple in closer proximity. Though they live in the far northern area of the temple district, Kevin and Kimberley Wagner of the Chico 2nd Ward, Chico California Stake, said attending the temple in Sacramento will greatly reduce the 12-hour commitment it took to attend the temple in Oakland.
California’s seventh temple, the 123rd working temple of the Church, will serve more than 80,000 members.
E-mail to: ghill@desnews.com
Sacramento temple opens to the public: All goes well — even the weather — as guests begin open house tours
By Lisa West
Sacramento Area Public Affairs Council
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Prepared with more than 350 volunteers, 8,400 cookies and more than 100 gallons of punch, the first day of the open house for the newly completed Sacramento California Temple went off without a hitch.
“It couldn’t have been better, even the weather cooperated,” said S. Dennis Holland, Northern California director of public affairs.
Just slightly fewer than 6,000 visitors toured the temple and the grounds as it opened to the public Saturday, July 29. Although the first tours were not scheduled to begin until 9 a.m., guests began arriving early, including 250 members of the Chico 5th Ward who had traveled two hours by bus. “We didn’t want them to wait until 9 o’clock, so we started taking them in as soon as they arrived,” Brother Holland reported.
In the days leading up to the open house, Northern California experienced a sweltering heat wave that claimed the lives of more than 100 residents of the state. A new record of 11 straight days of temperatures over 100 degrees (many exceeding 110) was almost unbearable. Tour hosts in training sessions even noted that the heat was burning through the soles of their shoes on the short walk from the temple back to the hosting center in the meetinghouse adjacent to the temple.
With just two days to go, the blistering heat started to roll back just a bit. The temperature started to drop just a little, then just a little more and the delta breezes moved through the Sacramento valley.
“On the first day of open house, it wasn’t just bearable, it was actually quite pleasant,” noted volunteer Dianna Hall of the Fair Oaks California Stake.
The open house continues through August 26, except Sundays. The hours of the open house tours are Monday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Tickets are required of all visitors to the open house, and are free of charge. They can be obtained at the site: www.lds.org/reservations.
Ward tour group representatives and organizers and those without Internet access can call (800) 537-6214. The reservation desk is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It is estimated between 150,000 and 160,000 visitors will tour the 19,500-square-foot temple which sits on a hill overlooking Lake Natoma.
The Sacramento California Temple was announced by President Gordon B. Hinckley on April 21, 2001. The planning and permit process took just over three years; ground was broken by President Hinckley on Aug. 22, 2004. The temple will be dedicated Sept. 3, 2006.
