More than 4,000 business, academic, government, religious and judicial leaders visited the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple the first week of August — touring the Church’s 152nd temple, built in the heart of the City of Brotherly Love.
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conducted some of the tours. The comments he received from the visits “reflected the wonderful peace and spirituality they felt in the temple,” he said.
“When they see the comprehensiveness and spiritual depth of the revealed religious principles, it gives them a different feeling and an appreciation for the restored gospel and an enhanced respect for the Prophet Joseph Smith,” he said.
The temple is located downtown on 1739 Vine Street, near the Free Library. It will serve more than 40,000 Church members in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and all of Delaware. President Thomas S. Monson announced plans for a temple in Philadelphia in October 2008. Construction began with a formal groundbreaking on Sept. 17, 2011.
The 61,000-square-foot temple features classic Georgian architecture designed to blend with the historic Philadelphia architecture. The exterior is clad in granite from Maine, and the interior features stone from Egypt and Italy. The building includes original art glass and an oil-painting wall mural of landscapes important in both American and Church history, including the Susquehanna River and the Delaware River.
Elder Cook said many of those he hosted during the VIP visits commented on the workmanship, quality and beauty of the new temple.
He said the open house was not only an opportunity for friends of the Church to view the architecture, but also an opportunity to answer questions. “Already strong friendships were strengthened.”
In addition to Elder Cook, Elder Gerrit W. Gong, Elder Von G. Keetch, Elder Larry Y. Wilson, and Elder Lance B. Wickman conducted tours of the new building. Other prominent Church members, including Michael O. Leavitt, also lead VIP tours.
Elder Milan F. Kunz, Area Seventy and local temple committee chairman, called the VIP portion of the open house remarkable.
“The reaction has been outstanding,” he said.
The new temple has already been featured in many news reports, he added.
The temple is located just one block from the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul — the largest Catholic Church in Pennsylvania. An Aug. 5 article on CatholicPhilly.com featured the visit by the Archbishop Charles Chaput and is titled, “Welcoming the new neighbors.”
An Aug. 3 article on Philly.com by Inga Saffron, Inquirer Architecture Critic, calls the new temple “the most radical work of architecture built in Philadelphia in a half-century.”
“Clearly, that’s not because the gleaming classical tabernacle offers a fresh, 21st-century take on architectural form-making, or because the designers inventively use new materials, or because they stretch the limits of technology. It’s radical because it dares to be so out of step with today’s design sensibilities and our bottom-line culture. … The Mormon Temple is the real classical deal,” writes the author.
“Perhaps befitting a building inspired by the architectural language of Imperial Rome, the temple also represents a bold incursion into the hierarchical fabric of Philadelphia. Located on the northeast corner of Logan Square, the Mormon Temple has planted its flag on the city’s premier civic, cultural, and religious space,” writes the author.
In addition, Elder Kunz said the Church hosted a special neighborhood tour, during which businesses and residents inconvenienced by the temple construction were invited to see the building.
Next to the temple is a 24-story retirement building. Church leaders spent two days taking residents of that building, some who needed special assistance, through the temple. “It took a little longer,” said Elder Kunz. “They were so glad they could be included.”
Elder Kunz said the temple will continue to host visitors during the public open house, which will run through Sept. 9, except Sundays. Elder Kunz said the local temple committee anticipates 5,000 to 6,000 visitors each day during the public phase of the open house.
The temple will be dedicated in three sessions on Sunday, Sept. 18.
Business, academic, government, religious and judicial leaders who visited the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple the first week of August, including:
• Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and a group of others who have worked with the conference
• Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore
• Archbishop Charles Chaput and a group of priests, bishops and others from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
• Rabbi Noam E. Marans and local representatives from the American Jewish Committee
• Former New York Attorney General Robert Abrams
• Dr. Daniel Mark of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
• Dr. Robert P. George of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
• Dr. Ella Simmons, vice president of Seventh Day Adventists
• Naseem Mahdi; Waseem Sayed; Usman Choudary; national leaders of the Ahmadiyya Muslims
• Nuns from the Little Sisters of the Poor
• National and local representatives from the American Jewish Committee
• New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
• National director emeritus of the Anti-defamation League Abe Foxman
• Former Mayor Michael Nutter
• Galen Carey, National Association of Evangelicals
• Rev. Eugene F. Rivers, a Pentecostal minister in Boston
sarah@deseretnews.com @SJW_ChurchNews
