WASHINGTON, D.C.
Visitors to the United States capital can now add one more stop to their list of attractions to see. Travelers and residents near the Washington D.C. Temple, already a visible landmark in the area, can now see what the inside of the building looks like through a newly revealed, small-scale model of the temple.
Just over 9 feet high, about 6.5 feet wide and just under 6 feet deep, the replica is 1:48 scale to the actual building and showcases the different levels of the temple. The replica shows the different rooms where sacred ordinances take place, including a depiction of the baptistry, sealing and ordinance rooms.
The cut-out design allows patrons to see the different levels, as well as furniture and artwork made to look like what is inside the temple. Details even include moldings, doors and light fixtures. The top floor in the replica shows a large assembly hall with pulpits on either side of the room — much like the layout of the Church’s first temple in Kirtland. The replica shows the outside of the temple with the Washington D.C. Temple’s recognizable five gold spires.
Prior to the unveiling of the exhibit, President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency greeted and spoke to community leaders invited to see the model of the temple. A choir comprised of sister missionaries serving at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center provided music for the event on Jan. 10.
President Eyring said in a video available on mormonnewsroom.org, “This model is remarkable in the sense that it catches the beauty and I think the feeling of reverence. There’s various parts of the building that allow you to talk about the Plan of Salvation in a way that you couldn’t without the model. A lot of what the temple is is visual, and you get the feeling of light and the feeling of wonderful grandeur. This is the House of the Lord.”
The Washington D.C. Temple, located just off the Capital Beltway in Kensington, Maryland, only 10 miles north of the U.S. capital, has been a noticeable landmark since its dedication in 1974.
“We have been hoping and planning for this temple display for most of the two years my wife and I have been serving here at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center,” said Elder Harden Eyring in an LDS Newsroom release. Elder Eyring served along side his wife, Sister Loi Anne Eyring, as director of the site until his release on Jan. 16. “Now that it has arrived and is ready for its introduction to the public, we are simply overwhelmed with how beautiful and inspiring it is.”
According to LDS Newsroom, Elder Eyring said that he hopes “the experience of contemplating this display will create a curiosity and desire in many sons and daughters of God to know more and to seek to understand how they can open the doors of the temple for themselves and their families.”
