Announced: April 2, 2000.
Location: 7016 Frankford Ave., Lubbock, TX 79424; phone: (806) 794-0774; no clothing rental.
Site: 2.67-acre site shared with a stake center.
Exterior finish: Light colored granite.
Temple design: Traditional.
Architect: Tisdel Minckler and Associates.
Project manager: Leon Rowley.
Contractor: SpawGlass Construction.
Rooms: Celestial room, two ordinance rooms, two sealing rooms, baptistry, chapel, offices and waiting area.
Total floor area: 16,498 square feet.
Dimensions: 188 feet by 98 feet.
District: Five stakes in west Texas and one district in eastern New Mexico.
Groundbreaking, site dedication: Nov. 4, 2000, by Elder Rex D. Pinegar of the Seventy.
Dedication: April 21, 2002, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, 4 sessions.
Dedicatory Prayer
Done by President Thomas S. Monson
O God, our Eternal Father, Thou great Elohim, with bowed heads we come before Thee on this Sabbath day of dedication. Our hearts are filled with gratitude as we present to Thee and to Thy Beloved Son this sacred temple, the House of the Lord.
We love Thee and we love Thy precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the instrument in carrying out Thy divine plan for the salvation and blessing of all mankind. His great sacrifice brought salvation to Thy children of all generations and the offer of eternal life to all who would obey His commandments.
We thank Thee for the restoration of Thy divine gospel through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. We thank Thee for a parting of the curtain, revealing Thyself and Thine Only Begotten in this the dispensation of the fulness of times. We thank Thee for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and for the restoration of the priesthood with all of its power, authority, and keys.
We praise Thy name for the growth and glory of Thy work throughout the earth.
And now, acting in the authority of the holy priesthood and in the name of our Redeemer we dedicate and consecrate this the Lubbock Texas Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unto Thee and unto Thy Beloved Son as a house of holiness, even Thy house. We pray that Thou wilt accept it and that Thy Holy Spirit may ever abide herein.
We dedicate the earth on which it stands with nature's adornments of grass, flowers, shrubs, and trees. We dedicate the footings and the foundation, the walls and the steeple surmounted by the figure of Moroni the prophet. We dedicate all of the facilities found within these walls—the baptistry, the features for the initiatory ordinances, the endowment rooms, the beautiful celestial room, the sealing rooms, the offices and all other areas and furnishings of this sacred structure.
Dear Father, please accept our offering of this Thy temple. It has been built in obedience to Thy commandment to construct these sacred houses that Thy glorious work may go forward in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Sanctify this house. May Thy Holy Spirit dwell here at all times. Let Thy hallowing influence be felt by all who serve within these walls.
As was said in the dedication at Kirtland: "And now, Holy Father, we ask thee to assist us, thy people, with thy grace, in calling our solemn assembly, that it may be done to thine honor and to thy divine acceptance;
"And in a manner that we may be found worthy, in thy sight, to secure a fulfillment of the promises which Thou hast made unto us, thy people, in the revelations given unto us;
"That thy glory may rest down upon thy people, and upon this thy house, which we now dedicate to thee, that it may be sanctified and consecrated to be holy, and that thy holy presence may be continually in this house;
"And that all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord's house may feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness" (D&C 109:10-13).
We pray that Thou wilt protect it by Thy power from any destructive hand and from the storms of nature. May the people of this community look upon it as a place of holiness, a sacred edifice to be viewed with respect unto Thee.
May all who enter be clean of body and mind. May they lay aside the cares of the world as they pass these portals, here to feel at one with Thee in bringing to pass Thy divine purposes.
We invoke Thy blessings upon the temple president and his counselors, upon the matron and her assistants, that they may have strength and energy to carry forward the work pertaining to Thy house. We pray that they will not grow weary in body or mind, but that they may be refreshed and constantly strengthened in their duty. Bless all who serve with them that for each this may be a labor of love, a treasured opportunity, and a great privilege.
We invoke Thy blessings upon those who come as patrons. May they serve in righteousness before Thee as Thy children working together to accomplish Thine everlasting purposes.
This temple has been constructed through the tithes of Thy faithful Saints throughout the world. Open the windows of heaven, as Thou hast promised, and shower down blessings upon them. Bless them for their faith and for their obedience.
Bless all who serve in Thy work throughout the earth. Grant unto them great joy. May the assurance of Thy love crown their lives and bring into their hearts peace and gladness.
We pray for those who shall go from this house as messengers of Thy divine truth. Endow them from on high with power to serve in Thy name. Inspire them that they may speak unto the people words of everlasting truth and bring unto Thee, into Thy kingdom, those whom Thou wilt touch by Thy Holy Spirit with a testimony of the truth of this work.
Smile with love upon those who have been called to lead Thy work at this time. Give them strength and capacity according to their need that they may serve Thee in a manner acceptable unto Thee.
Now, our dear Father, as we dedicate this house we dedicate ourselves that we may more faithfully serve Thee as those called to work in Thy great kingdom.
We invoke Thy blessings upon this community, upon this state, upon this nation. Bless this chosen land that it may remain forever free, that peace and liberty may bless the lives of its people, and that righteousness may reign in the land.
We so pray, as Thy sons and daughters whose great desire it is to do thy will and merit Thy blessings. Accept of our prayer we humbly ask in the name of Thy Beloved Son, the Redeemer of the world, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Temple dedicated in 'The Hub' of vast west Texas
Lubbock is fertile ground for growth of Church
By Greg Hill
Church News staff writer
LUBBOCK, Texas — Rising over the south plains in west Texas, the Lubbock Texas Temple is central to a vast circle of cities and towns in this state and eastern New Mexico, and the members in that circle will now flow here for temple service. Many of those faithful members attended as President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated their new temple in four sessions on Sunday, April 21.
Joining President Hinckley here were his wife, Marjorie, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve and his wife, Elisa, and North America Southwest Area president Elder F. Burton Howard of the Seventy and his wife, Caroline.
Lubbock, a city of 200,000 notable for cotton farming and education, has become "The Hub" of the area. It began to take root around 1890, with the first Church members migrating here about 35 years later. Other cities have grown around various industries such as livestock in Amarillo to the north and oil around Midland and Odessa to the south. Stakes in those cities, as well as in Abilene and Roswell, N.M., form the rim of the circle.
Previously, those stakes were enclosed in a circle formed by temples in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Albuquerque, N.M.; Dallas, Texas; and Oklahoma City, Okla.
While the centrally located temple in a Lubbock residential area has reduced the travel time for most in the district (for example, the Dave and Linn Walker family now has a walk less than a block), many are still subject to the broad, flat expanse of the western part of the nation's second-largest state.
But the sentiment regularly expressed on the day of dedication was of gratitude and enthusiasm to continue flowing to it for temple blessings. Mary Lynn Pack of the Hobbs Ward, Roswell New Mexico Stake, noted that the two-hour trip to Lubbock from their community just over the border is much more pleasant than the five-hour-plus excursion to the Albuquerque temple.
"We will be happy to keep this temple busy," she said.
For Joe Whitehorn and his family in the Abilene 1st Ward, Abilene Texas Stake, Lubbock isn't a lot closer than Dallas in miles, but is far better than "fighting the traffic in Dallas," he said.
Lubbock has many big-city benefits in a small-community atmosphere. Traffic isn't heavy and, as Lubbock Texas Stake President Lorum H. Stratton said, "I can get anywhere in the city in 15 minutes." The city is tucked inside a loop highway and is insulated from the outside world by hundreds of square miles of wide-open farmland. Yet it is home to an outstanding university, Texas Tech; has an international airport and is culturally astute enough to be North America's only host of the "Medieval Frescoes from the Vatican Museums Collection" exhibition beginning in June.
One of Lubbock's greatest assets, according to President Stratton, a professor of Spanish at Texas Tech, is its people. While the Church is in the minority, the majority of the city's citizens share similar moral values and are openly friendly. He said the community was very receptive of the temple and responded positively to the open house. One woman who was on a tour he conducted is a teacher of a comparative religions class in her church. President Stratton said that at the end of her tour, she told him she had been teaching false things about the Church and would never do it again.
More than 21,500 people toured the temple — the Church's 109th and the third in Texas — as "it became the 'in thing' to do," he said noting that many called the temple "a blessing to our community."
Jimmy Alldredge of the Sweetwater Branch, Abilene Texas Stake, said that while he was working at the open house he saw a woman come out of a tour, drive away, then return a short time later with a car full of friends.
Lubbock, a city where religion is of great importance, has been a fertile ground for the growth of the Church.
Helen Green, 90, is the oldest living member of the first branch Sunday School started in Lubbock. She made the journey with other family members from her home in Orem, Utah, to attend the dedication. Musing outside the temple before her dedicatory session, she recalled the days when the branch Sunday School was held in a courtroom with west Texas Church pioneer and Texas Tech professor J.O. Ellsworth presiding from the judge's bench, the speakers giving their talks on the witness stand and the rest of the congregation often fitting comfortably in the jury box.
Thinking back to the beginnings, she said, "When I heard there was going to be a temple here, I knew I had to go to the dedication. It's just beyond me."
Attending with her was her brother, Harry Oleen Jones, who, when called to serve in the Southern States Mission, became the first full-time missionary called from Lubbock, according to a history written by Lubbock temple matron Alice Jensen. Now 84, Brother Jones lives in Lemesa, Texas.
Erin Williams, a Laurel in the College Station Texas Stake, said her dad, a member of the stake presidency, brought the family back because when he lived here he had to drive long distances to go to the temple, "so he wanted to see the temple dedicated in his home town."
The dedication led to a surprise and joyous reunion for two couples who are some of west Texas' many transplants. A few years ago, Glenn and Heather Ellis and Jared and Deeann Schultz were acquainted through school and other activities in Greeley, Colo. Brother Schultz is now on the faculty at Texas Tech and he and his wife live a short distance from the temple. Brother Ellis works in pharmaceuticals and he and his wife live in Abilene on the far edge of the temple district. As the two couples approached the line outside the stake center adjacent to the temple, holding tickets to the same session, they came face to face and were able to spend the long wait catching up on each other's lives.
John Bell, an oil man from Kermit, Texas, and his wife, Sylvia, said they were grateful their family could attend the dedication, no matter how far they had to drive.
And the spirit and emotion of the day were summed up by Holley Bustos after she sang in the last session's choir. She said participating in the dedication was as close as she has ever felt to angels.
E-mail: ghill@desnews.com
Ground broken for temple in Lubbock despite rainy day
By Julie A. Dockstader
Church News staff writer
LUBBOCK, Texas — Comparing breaking ground for a temple to breaking ground for a family home, Elder Rex D. Pinegar turned the first ceremonial shovelful of soil for the Lubbock Texas Temple Nov. 4
Despite a rainy, cold day, some 400 members of the new temple district, which includes 13,400 members in the Lubbock, Abilene, Amarillo and Odessa Texas stakes, and the Roswell New Mexico Stake, turned out for the event on the grounds of the Lubbock Texas Stake Center.
"A family gathers to see and be part of the beginning of the family home because it will be a place where they can come to experience the love, receive the counsel, and feel the belonging feelings of their earthly family," Elder Pinegar told the gathering. "There are few feelings to match that of 'coming home.' We have gathered here today to begin construction of a temple which is the symbol of our heavenly home. In this 'heavenly home' we will feel the love and experience the presence of the spirit of our Father in Heaven.
"Coming to this 'home' we can receive His greatest blessings," he continued. "And, just as there is work to do and service to give around an earthly home to enable all family members to enjoy the greatest happiness, there is work to do and service to give when we come to this 'home,' the House of the Lord."
This was an emotional time for members here, said former Lubbock stake President Jay B. Jensen, who is serving as coordinator of the local temple committee, during a later telephone interview. "Many said it was a like a dream, that they couldn't believe this was really happening. Their spirits were not dampened by the weather."
